Luke 1

Luke 1:1-4

Chapter 2 Things Most Surely Believed Among Us There are four things to be learned from these opening words of Luke’s gospel. I must give them to you with great brevity; but I pray that God the Holy Spirit, whose words they are, will burn them into our hearts. Some Things All Christians Believe The first thing to be learned from the opening words of Luke’s gospel is the fact that there are some things all true Christians believe. Luke does not mince words about this. Neither should we. Let men accuse us of being narrow-minded dogmatists, out of step with the rest of the religious world, and heap upon us whatever ugly names they choose, the Word of God plainly declares that some things are vital. Some things must be known and believed. Those who do not believe these things are not saved. Luke tells us that he wrote his gospel, “to set forth in order those things which are most surely believed among us.” All who are, like Theophilus, lovers of God, love those things most surely believed among us. What are those things? I will give them to you in five, unmistakable statements. (1.) All men and women are sinners in need of God’s salvation, lost, ruined, dead in trespasses and sins, under the curse of God’s holy law, and totally incapable of changing their condition. Like the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son, described in the parable (Luke 15), none could ever be saved except the triune God seek us out, find us and bring us home to himself by redeeming blood and omnipotent grace. (2.) Jesus Christ is the incarnate God. The Son of God came in the flesh (Luke 9:20). (3.) The Lord Jesus Christ has effectually accomplished and obtained salvation for sinners by his obedience and death as the sinners’ Substitute (Luke 1:68). (4.) This salvation comes to sinners by the gift of God, according to his own sovereign, eternal purpose of grace in Christ, as a matter of pure, free, sovereign grace (Luke 4:25-27). (5.) God’s grace in Christ is so abundantly free that every sinner in this world who needs it has it (Luke 9:11). Eyewitnesses And Ministers The second thing revealed here is the fact that God’s servants tell only what they know from firsthand experience, by direct experience, by divine revelation, as those who are taught of God. Luke describes the apostles as those men who were “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word”. I am aware that these words, in their strict interpretation, apply only to the apostles, those who saw the Lord Jesus in the flesh and learned the gospel directly from his lips. But there are no apostles, in the official sense of that word today. Does that mean the text has no meaning for us? Of course not! All true gospel preachers, like the original apostles, are “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word”. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3). Faithful men do not deal in second hand goods, or debate about matters of doubtful disputation. They tell what they know, report what they have seen, and teach what they have been taught of God. I take no license with the scriptures when I tell you that all that Luke says in verses two and three is applicable to all true gospel preachers. “Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus.” We preach that which we have experienced by the grace of God, as eyewitnesses. We are ministers, servants of the Word of God (2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:7). God’s servants are men who have a God-given, complete, comprehensive understanding of all things spiritual. When Luke says that he had “perfect understanding of all things”, he was not suggesting infallible knowledge, but complete knowledge. And every servant of God, every man called and gifted of God to preach the gospel has that same knowledge of holy scripture. That man who has not yet learned the message of the scriptures is not yet called and gifted of God to be a preacher. Such a man is not apt to teach and is not fit to teach, because he has nothing worth teaching. The words, “from the very first” (Luke 1:3), should be and most commonly are translated “from above” (John 3:31; John 19:11; James 1:17; James 3:15; James 3:17). God’s servants are men who get their knowledge, their understanding, and their message from above. By the preaching of the gospel they set forth the things of God in order, in an orderly fashion, before men. The Word Of God Third, Luke here teaches us that the Bible is the Book of God’s writing, the inspired Word of God. In their strict sense, these words must be understood as a claim to divine inspiration. Most commentators, especially the modern men who love to appear intellectual, try to prove that Luke used this source or that as the historic basis for his gospel narrative. Such speculations tend to undermine our sense of the Bible’s divine inspiration and authority as the Word of God. This Book is The Book of God, given to us by supernatural, divine inspiration. Let us always reverence it, not as the word of men, but as the very Word of God himself (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). Because the Bible is the Word of God, let us always bow to it, submitting our reason, learning and experience, our emotions, traditions and prejudices to the scriptures. If we see something in the Bible that we cannot understand or reconcile with some other passage of scripture, the fault is not with the Word of God, but with our puny brains. To Make Us Wise Unto Salvation Fourth, we are here taught that the purpose of God in giving us his Word is to make us wise unto salvation. Blessed are they who, like Timothy, have grace bestowed upon them by which they know “the holy scriptures, which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:10-13). Jesus Christ is God’s Salvation. This great salvation is the gift of God’s grace. God gives it to every sinner who believes the record he gave concerning his Son. Will you believe God; or will you die in your sins? God help you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:5-12

Chapter 3 When God Broke His Long Silence For four hundred years no one on earth had received any word from God. For four hundred years no prophet had been inspired to write a word of inspiration. For four hundred years no angel had been sent from heaven to earth with a message from God to man. No revelation had been given, no vision had been granted. No word had come from God in four hundred years. Then, God spoke again! God chose one man and sent his angel to him with glad tidings from the throne of God. No one had heard from God since the days of the prophet Malachi. Then God spoke. Can you imagine what it must have been like to have been a man, faithful, devout, serving God in his appointed place, knowing that no one had heard from heaven in four hundred years, then, suddenly, to have an angel of the Lord appear to you alone with a word of divine revelation? That is what we have before us in this passage. The first thing recorded in Luke’s gospel is the appearance of an angel to one of the ordinary priests in Israel, named Zacharias. The angel announced to this old man that his wife, who was an old woman, well past the age of child-bearing, was, by direct, divine intervention, going to have a son, and that his son would be the forerunner of the long-awaited Messiah. What a word of grace! It was too good for this old man to believe. Being a faithful man, Zacharias knew that God had promised four hundred years before that when Messiah came some man in the spirit and power of Elijah would go before him to prepare his way before the people (Malachi 3:1). It is, I am sure, impossible for us 2,000 years later to grasp what an astounding thing this was. God made the promise four hundred years earlier. Then the heavens were silent. Not another word was given. Then, suddenly, without any preparatory work, God sent his angel to a certain old man to tell him that Daniel’s prophetic weeks were about to be fulfilled. “Messiah, the Prince” was about to be revealed (Daniel 9:25). That “seed” of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed, was about to come (Genesis 22:18). “The Desire of all nations”, who would fill the house of God with glory, would soon be revealed from heaven (Haggai 2:7). We cannot grasp the extent of this revelation given to such a man in such circumstances, yet, there are several things in the verses before us to instruct our souls. Divine Election First, we have before us an example of divine election. God the Holy Spirit tells us that God sent his angel to “a certain priest named Zacharias, of the order of Abia.” God did not send his angel to the High Priest. God did not send his angel to all the priests. But God sent his angel to “a certain priest named Zacharias.” Let men and women fuss and squirm as they may, the Book of God teaches the doctrine of God’s sovereign electing grace. God Almighty, in all his works of grace, chooses some and passes by others, according to the good pleasure of his will. God has, from eternity, chosen some certain sinners, as the objects of his love and grace, to be the heirs of eternal life; and at the appointed time of love, he sends his angel (a gospel preacher) to announce to them the good news of his salvation in Christ. He not only sends a preacher with the message of grace, he sends his Spirit to bring the word of grace home to the heart of his elect by the omnipotent power of his irresistible grace (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5; 2 Timothy 1:9-10). When God has a special work to do, he has certain men especially and specifically chosen to do the work. Usually, those men who are chosen of God for very special things are the men who we would consider the least likely. Zacharias was one of the common, everyday priests, from the course of Abia.[1] He was probably unknown by name to anyone, except a small circle of friends, family, and acquaintances. [1] When the temple was built there were twenty-four courses (classes) of priests. The course of Abia was the eighth of the twenty-four (1 Chronicles 24:10). God knows where his chosen servants are. He knows what he will do with them. And when the time comes for them to perform his work, he calls them to it and equips them for it. “Righteous Before God” Second, Zacharias and Elizabeth set before us the character of the righteous. We are told that “they were both righteous before God.” They were not naturally righteous. The Word of God tells us plainly that “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. We are all gone out of the way. We are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12). Zacharias and Elizabeth were made righteous by the grace of God, by the righteousness of Christ being imputed to them in justification and imparted to them in sanctification, in the new birth. These two things go hand in hand. None are sanctified but those who have been justified by Christ. And all who were justified at Calvary are, at God’s appointed time of grace, sanctified by the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Both Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were “righteous before God”. Theirs was not merely the outward righteousness of the Pharisees before men, but that righteousness which stands before God and is accepted of him. They were righteous in God’s sight. And they were “both righteous before God.” What a blessed home that is in which both a man and his wife are the recipients of God’s grace in Christ, when both walk together before God in the paths of righteousness! “They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” This believing couple, this old man and woman here show us the character of true faith. True faith walks in obedience to the Word of God. It is written, “he that doeth righteousness is righteous” (1 John 3:7). Believers are men and women who, in the habit of their lives, in the tenor of their lives, live in submission and obedience to the revealed will of God. God’s saints are not rebels. Not only is it true that God’s saints live righteously in the tenor of their lives; the Spirit of God tells us plainly that that new man, “created in righteousness and true holiness”, that new nature in us that “is born of God doth not commit sin” and “cannot sin, because it is born of God” (Ephesians 4:24; 1 John 3:9). Here is another trait found in God’s saints. They submit to and keep the ordinances of divine worship. These two old saints kept the ordinances of divine worship in a day when few in Israel did. To most, the ordinances of divine worship were a burden they did not care to bear. But Zacharias and Elizabeth delighted in them. God’s people still do. Believing men and women confess Christ in believer’s baptism, assemble with God’s saints in public worship and remember the Redeemer together in the sweet communion of God’s family at the Lord’s Table. Moreover, they were blameless in their behaviour before men. John Gill correctly gives this meaning to that word “blameless”. “They were so strict in their lives and conduct that none of their acquaintances had any just reason to reproach them.” A Crook In The Lot Third, in verse seven we see that there is a crook in the lot of every believer. The lot of the believer is a blessed lot. The life of faith in Christ is a life of joy and gladness. We are the people blessed of the Lord. In this doomed, damned, sin-cursed world we have a good hope through grace of eternal life in Christ. But there is a crook in the lot of us all. In this world it has pleased our God to lay trials upon his people, sometimes heavy trials, by which he is resolved to try and prove our faith, trials by which he will ultimately make our faith to shine. For Zacharias and Elizabeth the trial was the barrenness of Elizabeth’s womb. We read in Luke 1:7 “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.” This was the crook in their lot. We can hardly fathom how heavy a trial that was in ancient times. In those days to be childless was a shameful thing to a man and one of the most bitter sorrows a woman could endure (1 Samuel 1:10). The grace of God does not exempt us from trials and troubles, heartaches and sorrows in this world. Not even exemplary faithfulness, to the point of blamelessness, will keep us from the trials of faith. If we follow Christ, we must never consider it some strange thing when God tries our faith. This is the portion of our cup, given to us by the infinite wisdom and goodness of our heavenly Father, by which he chastens us, “that we may be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:5-11). We may not think so at the time; but our trials are great blessings of grace, by which our ever-gracious God drives us into the arms of Christ, drives us to our knees in prayer, and drives us to the scriptures. In the world to come we will see them in better light than we do now (James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:7). Place Of Blessing Fourth, we see in Luke 1:8-11 that the place of divine blessing is the house of our God, the house of prayer. “And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” Let me be crystal clear here. There is nothing we can do which will automatically secure God’s blessings. Sacramental religion is utter idolatry. You will not automatically be blessed of God by church attendance, Bible reading, or even prayer. Yet, the Word of God does specifically tell us that God has ordained a place of worship, and that he commonly meets his people in the place of worship which he has established. In the typical, ceremonial days of the Old Testament the Lord God established his worship first in the tabernacle in the wilderness, then in the temple. He promised to meet sinners upon the mercy-seat in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement (Exodus 25:22). He did, from time to time, visit and meet with sinners in other places; but he never promised to meet a man anywhere else; and no one could expect to meet him anywhere else. It was Zacharias’ privilege and responsibility to burn incense in the house of God in the holy place every morning and every evening (Exodus 30:1; Exodus 30:7-8). That might not seem like much of a job in the eyes of men; but it was the job God gave him, and he did it faithfully, even when he was an old man. Others may have looked upon it as a meaningless religious ritual; but Zacharias considered it his highest honour. He went about his duty, serving and worshipping the Lord God, purely for his glory. And what a privilege his work was! That altar of incense which he kept burning day and night was typical of the unceasing intercession of Christ for us as our great High Priest, who lives forever to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). The Lord God sent his angel to Zacharias with the good news of Messiah’s coming, the good news that he who would be the forerunner of our Redeemer, Saviour and King was about to be born to his own wife Elizabeth. Where was this old man when God met him? What was he doing when the Lord sent his angel to him and so greatly blessed him? He was in the house of God. He was worshipping God. He was doing that which God had given him the privilege of doing for the glory of his name and the good of his people. You and I cannot expect God’s blessings upon us, upon our own souls, or upon our families; we cannot expect God to meet us, speak to us, or honour us, if we wilfully despise his will and his worship (1 Samuel 2:30; Hebrews 10:23-29). There is only one place where the Son of God promises he will meet with, speak to, and reveal himself to his people, and that place is the assembly of his saints, gathered in his name (Matthew 18:20). This place, the church of the living God, the assembly of sinners saved by the grace of God, is called “the house of God” and “the temple of God”, because that is where God meets with his people. To neglect his house, his worship, his Word, and the assembly of his saints is to despise him Angelic Interest Fifth, we are once more shown that which is the single great interest and concern of the holy angels. Countless books have been written about angels. Most of them reveal the utter ignorance and superstition of the authors and tell us nothing about the angels of God. The simple fact is we do not know much about them. But the one thing that is clearly revealed about them is completely missed by most who write about them. The scriptures plainly and repeatedly show us that the angels of God have only one great, singular interest and concern. They seem to care about only one thing. These holy creatures, who cry continually before the throne of God, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts”, do not seem to care about anything except that one great work of God by which his glory is revealed and made known. These holy creatures have a deep, abiding, all-consuming interest in the redemptive work of Christ and the salvation of God’s elect in him. The angels always stand before the throne of grace, looking upon the mercy-seat (Isaiah 6). An angel announced the birth of John the Baptist, our Lord’s forerunner. An angel announced the birth of Christ, and a chorus of angels sang when he came into this world to save us. When our Saviour was tempted, the angels of God ministered to him. The angels of God are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of God’s salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

The angels of heaven gather with God’s saints to learn from redeemed sinners “the manifold wisdom of God” displayed in our redemption by Christ (Ephesians 3:10). The angels rejoice in the presence of our God every time God saves a sinner by his grace. The angels of God will come with Christ at the last day to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth into everlasting glory. J. C. Ryle wrote, “Let us strive to be like them, while we are upon earth, to be of their mind and to share their joys. This is the way to be in tune for heaven. It is written of those who enter in there that they shall be ‘as the angels.’” May God the Holy Spirit give us grace to imitate the angels of God in this. Let us make the redeeming work of Christ and the salvation of sinners in him the all-consuming interest of our hearts and lives. Perfect Holiness And Sinful Man Sixth, as we read Luke 1:12 we see the effect perfect holiness has upon a sinful man. “When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.” Zacharias was a righteous man in Christ; but he was a sinful man by nature, and he knew it. When he stood before a perfectly holy angel, his soul quaked within him. We have seen this scene repeated many times in scripture. Moses trembled before the burning bush. Manoah and his wife were fearful because the Angel of the Lord appeared to them. Daniel quaked as he stood before the Lord at the great river Hiddekel.

The women who saw the angel at the empty tomb were fearful. John fell before the face of the angel that spoke to him on Patmos. They all, like Zacharias, when they saw holy angels and visions of things belonging to the world of eternal things, trembled with fear. If these, who were made holy by the grace of God, trembled in the presence of holy angels, how do you hope to stand before the presence of God’s infinite holiness (Nahum 1:5-6) in the Day of Judgment? The only hope there is for our poor souls is Christ, the only Mediator between God and men. All who take refuge in him, all who trust him shall stand without sin and without fear before the august majesty of God’s perfect holiness, with clean hands and pure hearts.

Luke 1:13-17

Chapter 4 Filled With The Holy Ghost From His Mother’s Womb John the Baptist was a remarkable man, a man separated and distinguished from other men by the hand of God even before he was born. In Luke 1:13-17 we are allowed to hear the message the angel Gabriel delivered to his father Zacharias in the temple before he was born, before he was even conceived in his mother’s womb. It is a message full of spiritual instruction. May God the Holy Spirit seal it to our hearts. That which stands out most prominently in these verses and the lessons they are intended to convey is the fact that God’s ways are not our ways. That fact should never surprise us. The Lord has shown us in his Word and by experience that “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways higher than our ways, and his thoughts than our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). William Cowper wrote, God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Our Prayers And God’s Answers The first lesson in this passage is a lesson about prayer. I hope we will all lay it to heart. God’s answers to our prayers are often delayed for a long, long time. Sometimes, perhaps most often, the Lord graciously and wisely delays answering our prayers for many, many years. That certainly was the case with Zacharias and Elizabeth. No doubt, they had often prayed for the Lord to give them a child.

It looked as though they had prayed in vain. Now, they were old people. The thought of having children had completely vanished from their minds. They had ceased long ago mentioning this matter to the Lord. Yet, the very first words that fell from the lips of the angel to this old man were, “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” We must never attempt to prescribe to our God how or when to do anything. He knows and does what is best, in the best way, and at the best time. He knows the best time for his people to be born; and he knows the best time for them to be born again. And we should never conclude that our prayers are not answered because they are not answered in the way or at the time we desire. Do not conclude that the Lord ignores your supplications because he does not immediately gratify your desires. Prayer has something to do with believing God; and the Lord often tries our faith in him by delaying our requests. Prayer also has something to do with seeking and submitting to the will of God. Prayer is not simply bombarding God with our desires, be they ever so sincere. Prayer is seeking the will and glory of God, bowing our will to his will. It may be that the Lord sometimes delays our requests, not because he does not intend to answer them, but because he is determined to make us willing for him not to answer them. The fact is none of us know what to pray for as we ought. The experience of the Apostle Paul recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 certainly teaches this. Because we do not know what is best, we do not know how to pray for anything as we ought. It is written, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). Prayer is not for the gratification of our carnal lusts. It is not the means by which we obtain what we want from the Lord. Prayer, true prayer, involves submission to the will of God. It is the cry of the believer’s heart to his heavenly Father to do what is right and best. If I am God’s child, if truly I know him and trust him, I want what he has purposed. I bow to him, surrendering my will to his will, my desires to his purpose, my pleasure to his glory, knowing that his will is best. Therefore, when we pray (in our ignorance), the Holy Spirit cleans up our prayers and presents to the Father the true groanings of our hearts (Romans 8:26). Paul tells us plainly that though the Lord graciously refused to give him what he asked for, he graciously granted him what he really wanted and needed. John Gill wrote … “The Lord always hears and answers his people sooner or later, in one form or another, though not always in the way and manner they desire; but yet in such a way as is most for his glory and their good. The apostle had not his request granted, that Satan might immediately depart from him, only he is assured of a sufficiency of grace to support him under the exercise, so long as it should last.” Our Lord Jesus taught us ever to surrender our will to the Father’s will. When the will of God appears to contradict that which might appear to be most pleasing to our flesh, we ought always to follow our Master’s example, saying, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42; cf. John 12:27-28). I repeat, we do not know what is best for us, best for the glory of God, best for his kingdom, or best for the accomplishment of his purpose. Let us, therefore, wisely bow to his will in all things (Romans 8:26). Grace For Our Children Look at Luke 1:14-15, and learn a second thing. Here is a lesson all parents should always bear in mind. Grace must be the principle thing we seek for our sons and daughters. “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” What a blessed word this is from God! Zacharias was assured, before his son was born, that his only son would be numbered among the sons of God![2] [2] Let all those who are blessed of God with the burden of caring for children with limited mental capacity, or who have lost children in infancy, be cheered with this fact. God has granted you the rare privilege of being assured that you have a child who will be numbered among the redeemed in Glory. What more could any parent desire? Nothing can give a believing father and mother greater joy than to see their sons and daughters experience, possess and walk in the grace of God. Just before promising this old man that his son would be filled with the Holy Ghost, the angel of the Lord said to Zacharias, not only are you going to have a son, you are going to have a son who is chosen of God, “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth”! Above all things, seek grace for your children. Beauty, brilliance, wealth and honour, even health and happiness are utterly insignificant when compared to this. Our sons and daughters need Christ. They need the grace of God in Christ. Let us seek, earnestly seek, the grace of God in Christ for our children. Happy is that father who is assured upon good grounds that his son or daughter is chosen of God, redeemed by Christ and born of the Spirit! True Greatness The third lesson is a lesson about true greatness. It is found in Luke 1:15. True greatness is greatness in the sight of the Lord. “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord.” Men always measure greatness by a very short stick. That which men call greatness is nothing. Politicians and presidents, doctors and lawyers, philosophers and statesmen, artists and authors, athletes and movie stars all who are called and admired as great by little fools are utterly insignificant to the angels of God. Those who are great before men, they count nothing. Those who are great in the sight of God, they count great. We will be wise to learn to measure greatness the way they measure it. The angels of God measure greatness by God’s measuring stick. Let us seek for ourselves and our children this true greatness, greatness before God, greatness in the world to come, greatness forever. What is this greatness in the sight of God? It is, the greatness of grace, the greatness of divine approval, the greatness of faith, the greatness of all who believe, the greatness of Christ. Our Saviour said, “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). Divine Sovereignty Look at Luke 1:15 again, and learn something about the operations of God. God always acts in total sovereignty; and his sovereignty defies explanation. Here we are told that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” Almost everyone presumes that to mean that John the Baptist was regenerated in his mother’s womb. But that is not what the text says. Some use this as a basis for baptizing babies. Some use it as a proof text to show that God does not necessarily use the preaching of the gospel to save his elect. Let us be honest with the scriptures. Do not grab a verse or a statement, rip it out of its context, and make it mean whatever you want it to mean. We build our doctrine on the plain statements of scripture, not on the whims of our wild imaginations. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, no more and no less (Ephesians 5:18). When the scriptures tell us that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, it asserts that John, like Jeremiah, was sanctified, set apart, and ordained to be the prophet of the Highest, before he came out of his mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). The same thing was true of the apostle Paul (Galatians 1:15-16). While still in his mother’s womb, John, under such an influence of the Spirit of God, leaped for joy at the salutation of Mary to his mother Elizabeth (Luke 1:41; Luke 1:44). Like David, he was under the constant protection and care of God’s mercy, love, and grace, from his mother’s womb (Psalms 22:9-10). Even before he was born, God began preparing him for the work he had for him to do. God the Holy Spirit gave him special gifts and grace, qualifying him for the work for which he was chosen. God’s Messengers In Luke 1:16-17 we are taught something about those men who are sent of God as his messengers to men. They are God’s blessings upon men. No man is a greater blessing to men than those men who are sent from God as his messengers. “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” That is an accurate, angelic, biblical description of the character, conduct, work, and usefulness of a gospel preacher. He, as an instrument in the hands of God, turns the hearts of men. He turns the hearts of Israel, God’s elect. He turns them from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light, from superstition to revelation, from unbelief to faith, and from sin to righteousness. Obviously, the work of turning sinners to Christ is the work of God our Creator, not the work of a man; but the Spirit of God here describes it as the work of a man, because it is a work God performs by human instrumentality, by the instrumentality of gospel preaching (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; James 1:18). The messenger of grace goes before the Lord, walks before God in the Spirit and power of Elijah, seeking God’s message, God’s grace and God’s will for his people, seeking God’s glory, and serving to build God’s kingdom. By the preaching of the gospel, he makes ready a people for the Lord, prepares chosen, redeemed sinners to meet the Lord at his appearing. The gospel preacher is a man sent from God, filled with the Holy Ghost, proclaiming God’s salvation. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth”! These are the men we need. These are the men God uses. Blessed are those people to whom God sends such men! By them, God calls out his elect. By them, Christ is uplifted and glorified. By them, God leads his people.

Luke 1:18-25

Chapter 5 Unbelief Here is Zacharias, a man of great faith and faithfulness, stricken dumb by the angel of God because of his unbelief. One of the first corruptions of the human race was the horrible sin of unbelief. It is recorded in Genesis chapter three that our mother, Eve, being beguiled by the serpent, was persuaded to unbelief. She believed the devil’s lie without reason and did not believe God, whom she had every reason to believe. Such is the natural wickedness of the human heart. We are all naturally inclined to believe the devil’s lie regarding all things, without the slightest justification for doing so, and naturally inclined not to believe God, when we have every reason for doing so. Unbelief is an original and universal corruption of all men. It is the deepest seated of all corruption. And it is at once the worst of all corruptions and the father of all other corruptions. If pride is the mother of all sin, unbelief is the father. Yes, I did say unbelief is the worst of all the corruptions of fallen humanity. Nothing so highly honours God as believing him; and nothing so vilely dishonours God as unbelief. Yet, horrible as this offence is, it is the sin we most readily excuse in rebels and most easily justify in ourselves. May God the Holy Spirit unmask this devil who yet resides in us all, expose his ugly face, and inspire our hearts to oppose him with vengeance. Unbelief is found in the hearts of the strongest believers. Zacharias was a truly remarkable man. He believed God when very few did. He worshipped God in Spirit when almost all around him were entirely given over to ceremonialism. Yet, when Gabriel told him that his wife would soon bear him a son, this faithful old man said, “Oh, no. You must be mistaken. Not my wife. I’m too old and she is too” (Luke 1:18). Why did Zacharias not believe the angel’s message? It was because the angel’s message was totally contrary to human reason, experience and science. The basis of faith is divine revelation; but the basis of unbelief is human reason. As J. C. Ryle put it, “Where reason begins, faith ends.” This well instructed priest in Israel had read in the Book of God about Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. He knew about God’s wonders with Manoah and his wife, and the birth of Samson. He was aware of what God did for Hannah. Zacharias knew all those historic facts better that we do. He knew very well that the Lord our God is the sovereign, omnipotent Monarch of the universe. He knew that with God nothing is impossible. He knew that the God who could cause the sun to go backwards ten degrees could easily reverse the aging process of an old woman’s womb. There was nothing wrong with Zacharias’ doctrine. The problem was with his heart. When it came to the personal, practical application of divine truth to his own life and his own experience, Zacharias, this man of great faith, was overcome with unbelief! But we must not censure old Zacharias alone. His fault is the common fault of us all. All God’s people on this earth are plagued with unbelief. It is a fault, a sin, a horrible evil in us all. The histories of Abraham, Lot, Moses and Peter stand as glaring beacons to warn us, to make us aware of this monstrous devil which resides in us all. Let us pray, honestly and earnestly, like the poor, distraught father in Mark 9, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”! How our unbelief must shock the angels of God. It was this same angel, Gabriel, who 490 years earlier brought a message from the throne of God to Daniel, assuring him of the coming and redemptive accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be cut off as the sinners’ Substitute, not for his own sins, but for ours (Daniel 9:26). Daniel believed God’s word. Daniel, a prisoner at Babylon, without one shred of external evidence, believed God! But Zacharias, who virtually lived in the temple, who had the entire Old Testament, with all the recorded miracles wrought by God, when that same angel spoke to him, turned his heart not toward God and his Word, but toward his own life experiences and learned reason. Therefore, he was filled with unbelief. God no longer speaks to men by angels (Hebrews 1:1-3), though they were frequently messengers of mercy in days gone by. Still, the Lord God does have angels today (pastors, Revelation 1-3), by whom he speaks to men upon the earth, by whom he shows fallen men his wonders (Psalms 96:3-4; Psalms 105:3-7). But our unbelief puts a heavy, dark, thick veil over the Word of God. Unbelief hides the glory of God from us (John 11:40). Unbelief holds back the blessings of God from us (Isaiah 48:16-19). And unbelief keeps the Lord from performing his mighty works among us (Mark 6:3-6).

Obviously, God’s will and God’s work is not thwarted or even slightly impeded by our unbelief. Yet, the scriptures make it plain that a man’s unbelief is an evil for which he is responsible. Faith is God’s gift and operation. Unbelief is our sin. No sin is more vile, reprehensible and dishonouring to God than unbelief. As nothing dishonours God like unbelief, so nothing provokes him to wrath and judgment like unbelief. “While it is said, today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 3:15 to Hebrews 4:3). What is it that makes unbelief such a base, vile thing? Unbelief is a denial of God’s power, a denial of his Word, and a denial of his veracity (1 John 5:9-11). By unbelief, man asserts that God is a liar! Unbelief, perhaps more than anything else, compels our heavenly Father to use his rod of correction upon his children. God never punishes his people for sin. He punished our sins in his dear Son at Calvary. But he is a truly loving Father. As such, he chastens his children with the rod of correction (Hebrews 12:5-11). Zacharias’ unbelief brought the Father’s rod down heavily upon him. He was stricken deaf[3] and dumb by the hand of God for at least nine long months. Divine chastisement is sometimes lengthy; but always suitable. The ears that refused to hear God’s Word were stricken deaf, until Zacharias learned to hearken to the Word of God. The tongue that refused to speak God’s praise was tied, until it learned to speak forth Jehovah’s praise. [3] The fact that others communicated to him with signs (Luke 1:62) implies that he was deaf as well as dumb. Unbelief Will Bring Sinners To Eternal Ruin “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:35-36). Yes, faith is the gift of God. No one can believe, except God give him faith. Yet, unbelief is the deliberate, wilful choice of rebels. And God will not hold any guiltless for their rebellion against him and his Son. All Unbelief Will Soon Come To An End The Lord God will soon cause all men to see all truth with absolute clarity. In that day, those who perish in unbelief will be convinced of all truth, but brought into everlasting contempt. And, blessed be his name, in that day, when the Lord visits us again as he did Elizabeth of old (Luke 1:24-25), he will take away our reproach forever. Thanks be unto our God, we will not forever struggle with these evil hearts of unbelief! Until that day, let us watch and pray against this terrible sin, by which our God is so greatly dishonoured. Unbelief robs us of peace. Unbelief makes our knees weak and our hands heavy. Unbelief takes the joy out of our salvation. Unbelief destroys patience. Unbelief makes contentment impossible. It is written, “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established” (Isaiah 7:9). Let us seek grace from our God to trust him implicitly, for the glory of his name. Unbelief trembles before a maid. Faith slays Goliath. Unbelief trembles in a thunderstorm. Faith sleeps in a lions’ den. Unbelief paces the floor. Faith believes God. Unbelief dishonours our God. Faith honours him.

Luke 1:26-33

Chapter 6 The Greatness Of Our Saviour The verses before us contain the most sublime things ever revealed to men. May God the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with wonder, faith, love, and praise as we now behold the wonders of God’s grace here set before us. Christ’s Humiliation Everything connected with our Saviour’s incarnation displays his great humiliation as our Mediator. Gabriel was sent to an obscure town in Galilee called Nazareth. All of Galilee was looked upon by the Jews with contempt; and the most contemptible village in the region was Nazareth. It was a common thought among them that nothing good could come out of Nazareth (John 1:46). Mary, the woman chosen to be the mother of our Lord’s human body and nature, was a very poor woman from a very poor area. There was nothing about her that the world would consider enviable or great. Everything involved in the incarnation of our Saviour was arranged and brought to pass by God’s wise and good providence. He who orders all things in heaven, earth and hell according to his own sovereign will chose a poor, despised woman in a poor despised village to be the vessel by which he would send our Saviour into this world. What a great stoop the God of glory made when he stooped to save us from our sins! “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our Saviour’s great love for us, that love that constrained him to take our nature into union with himself that he might live and die as our Substitute, ought to constrain us to love him and live not for ourselves, but for him who loved us and gave himself for us. Let us in all things have the mind of Christ and follow his example. “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not”! “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). “Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Romans 12:16). Let us seek grace from our God to live continually in the spirit of Christ, with the mind of Christ, for the benefit of God’s elect. As our Lord Jesus identified himself with our poverty, both spiritually and materially, let us never despise poverty in others, or be ashamed of it in ourselves, if the Lord brings us into such a condition. Riches make no one honourable; and poverty makes no one dishonourable. Men grovelling for riches and honour remind me of a dog digging for moles. The filthy rodent just isn’t worth the dig. Saving Grace God’s choice of Mary stands in holy scripture as a beautiful picture of his sovereign, saving grace to needy sinners. “To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God” (Luke 1:27-30). Romanism places Mary on the highest pedestal imaginable, making her a mediatrix, or a co-mediator with Christ, ascribing to her an immaculate nature and divine power. When a previous pope was shot, he ascribed his recovery from the assassin’s bullet not to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, but to Mary. Such veneration of Mary is utterly contemptible idolatry. It must never be honoured as an acceptable thing. Such idolatry is not Christian, but pagan. Mary is never presented as an immaculate, sinless woman, but as a sinner saved by grace, just like you and me. This she gladly acknowledged. We read in Luke 1:46-47, “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” It is true, she is called “a virgin” but she is never referred to as “the virgin”. Her virginity is mentioned repeatedly in the scriptures, not so much to honour her[4] as it is to declare the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as the woman’s seed, by miraculous, divine intervention. The body of our Saviour, that holy thing prepared in Mary’s virgin womb, was specifically prepared by God the Holy Spirit to be a suitable body for our Saviour to make him a sacrifice for our souls. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5). [4] Virginity is truly an honourable thing among women. Chastity ought always to be cherished and protected; but it does not make one honourable before God. Mary’s name indicates what she was and what we all are by nature. “Mary” means “bitter rebel”. It is the same as the name of Moses’ sister, Miriam, and the name Naomi applied to herself, Mara. Yet, Mary was the object of God’s sovereign, distinguishing grace. The Lord God chose Mary for salvation and chose her for the high honour of being the mother of our Saviour’s humanity. Mary was not the mother of God! The words, “highly favoured” (Luke 1:28), could also be translated, “graciously accepted”. Mary was graciously accepted of God in Christ by an act of sovereign grace, just like we are (Ephesians 1:6).[5] The Lord was with her, just as he is with us: to protect her, provide for her, save her and to bless her. [5] Mary was full of grace in exactly the same way every saved sinner is, by the bounty of God’s grace in Christ. She was the object of grace; but she was not made the giver of grace! Mary was a woman blessed of God. “Blessed art thou among women”! The word “blessed” is exactly the same word used to describe the blessedness of all God’s elect in Christ, the distinguishing blessedness of grace. Mary was, like all who are saved by God’s free grace in Christ, blessed of God in and with Christ. Like us, she was blessed of God from eternity with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, according as she was chosen in eternal, electing love. She was blessed with redemption and the free forgiveness of all her sins, as the object of God’s covenant grace, in Christ her Mediator. In a word, Mary found favour with God! “Thou hast found favour with God”! Mary did not bless God. God blessed her. God did not find favour in Mary’s eyes. Mary found favour in God’s eyes. The phrase in Luke 1:30 is exactly the same as that in Luke 1:28. It simply means that Mary was a sinner chosen from among women as the object of God’s mercy, love and grace, and blessed by him with all grace. We must never exalt Mary above this level to a position of idolatrous envy, because believers, all believers, have a far nearer relationship to Christ than Mary enjoyed as his earthly mother. Her relationship, the relationship given to her in providence, was a purely carnal, physical, temporary relationship. Ours is a permanent, spiritual relationship. We are truly the Saviour’s family (Mark 3:15). Mary’s great blessedness was not in her physical relationship to Christ, but in her spiritual relationship. Our Master himself tells us that it is more blessed to believe on him than to have carried him in the womb (Luke 11:27-28). Christ’s Greatness The primary thing revealed in this passage of scripture is the glorious greatness of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Gabriel’s announcement was no ordinary birth announcement. It was not the announcement of the birth of a mere man, but the announcement of the incarnation of God! Gabriel was sent to proclaim that God the Son was about to take humanity into union with himself, and enter into this sin cursed world to save his people from their sins. Look at what we are told in Luke 1:31-33. “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” The child born from Mary’s virgin womb was and is God the Son given in human flesh (Isaiah 9:6). “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). Our Saviour is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature. None but the incarnate God could save us. And this great, incarnate God came into this world as our Mediator and covenant Surety on a specific mission: to save his people from their sins. His name was called, “Jesus”, because he was sent here to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). And that which he was sent to do, that which he came to do, he has done. As Joshua did for Israel what Moses never could, so the Lord Jesus Christ, our Joshua, did what the law could never do. He brought us to God! “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4). A Fivefold Declaration Of Our Saviour’s Greatness “He shall be great.” Christ is great in all his offices. Greater than all who went before him. And greater than all who come after him. He “shall be called the Son of the Highest.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is God the Son. “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” Our Saviour has won the right to rule the universe as our God-man Mediator (Psalms 2:8; John 17:2; Romans 14:9). “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever.” He is the Head of his body, the Church and her King as well. “And of his kingdom there shall be no end.” The Lord Jesus did not come here to rule as a King over that little piece of land called “Israel” for a few hundred years. He rules as King in Zion forever! All the kingdoms of this world have been and are designed of God only for the building of the kingdom of our God and his Christ. The kingdoms of this world are only the scaffolding by which our God builds his kingdom. Like Nineveh, Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, Carthage, Rome, the British Empire and the Soviet Union, all the nations and empires of this world shall perish and all men shall be made to bow before this great and glorious King, who alone shall reign forever (Philippians 2:9-11; Daniel 7:14; Daniel 7:27).

Luke 1:34-38

Chapter 7 “How Can These Things Be?” The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced God’s grace and mercy to her. He told her that she had been chosen of God to be that virgin through whom the Messiah would come into the world, by whom the Seed of woman would come, through whom God the Father would send his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to save his people from their sins. God the Spirit has recorded all that is needful for our soul’s edification regarding the mystery of the incarnation of our blessed Saviour in the few verses before us. I call your attention to six things in these verses. The Wonder Of Faith Earlier in this chapter (Luke 1:18-20), we saw that when Zacharias asked, “Whereby shall I know this?”, his question was an expression of unbelief. Yet, when Mary asked virtually the same thing, her question was an expression of faith (Luke 1:45). Zacharias asked what he did because he looked upon the promise of God as a thing impossible. Mary asked what she did because she looked upon the promise of God as astonishing. Mary’s words are an expression of admiration. She knew that the Son of God was coming into the world in human flesh, that Messiah must come into the world as a woman’s seed, untainted by Adam’s transgression, that God was going to send his Son into the world through the womb of a virgin; and now she knew that she was that virgin! Mary’s words expressed her desire to know how the Lord would do this great, wondrous thing. She did not question the fact that God would do as he said. She simply desired to know how he would do it. Mary could not imagine how such an amazing work could be accomplished, since she was indeed a virgin, as she put it, “Seeing I know not a man.” True faith often expresses itself in words of amazement and astonishment. David was astonished at God’s promise to him and his house; but he believed the promise (2 Samuel 7). Mephibosheth was astonished that David would look on such a dead dog as he thought himself to be before such a magnificent king; but he believed David’s word. So it is with God’s people. We often ask, “Why would the Lord love me?” “Why would he choose me?” “Why would Christ die for me?” “How can God use me?” Yet, we believe that which the Lord God has revealed in his Word. The Mystery Of The Incarnation In response to Mary’s question, Gabriel explained the mystery of the incarnation with absolute reverence, using the simplest words possible to declare the most profound mystery in the universe. “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). We ought always to follow this angelic example of total reverence regarding the things of God. Vain questions, carnal debate, idle speculations about holy things are utterly out of place. Divine things are divine. They are to be treated as divine. Here is the great mystery of godliness. “God was manifest in the flesh”! “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Robert Hawker rightly observed … “The Word of God teacheth, that all the persons of the Godhead were engaged in the formation of the human nature of Christ. Concerning God the Father, it was said by Christ, under the spirit of prophecy, ages before his incarnation: a body hast thou prepared me. Compare Psalms 40:6 with Hebrews 10:5. And that God the Son had a hand in it is evident, for the Holy Ghost by Paul saith; that he took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. And again, he took of flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14; Hebrews 2:16). And in this chapter we have the wonderful relation of the part which God the Holy Ghost had in the work, in his overshadowing power.” When God sent his Son into this world, he prepared a body for him called, “that holy thing”, in which our redemption could be accomplished (Hebrews 10:5). He took part of our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14). He became what we are. When he came into this world, he took hold of the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2:15), took hold on his covenant people to save them. This great Saviour was “made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4-6). Yet, our great Saviour is himself God (Colossians 2:9). What more should be said? What more can be said? To go beyond these simple statements of divine Revelation would be to foolishly rush in where angels fear to tread and darken counsel by words without knowledge. The Work Of The Triune God “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). As the incarnation was a work involving all three persons in the Triune God, the salvation of our souls is the work of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were chosen by God the Father in eternal election, purchased by God the Son in effectual redemption, and sanctified by God the Spirit in sovereign regeneration. Yet, we must not fail to notice the unique work of God the Spirit, with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. As God the Father always points to and glorifies Christ, so God the Spirit always points us to and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. Did God the Son come into this world in human flesh? It was God the Spirit who prepared a body for him in the womb of a virgin. Did the Lord Jesus die to make atonement for our sins? It is written that he “through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God” (Hebrews 9:14). Did the crucified Christ rise from the dead for our justification? It is written, “he was justified in the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16). Our Redeemer was “quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18). Does the Prince of Peace give comfort to his people? It is by the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter. Does Christ our Prophet teach us? It is by the Spirit of Truth. In all things, especially in the affair of our salvation, the Triune God is one. The Condescension Of Grace Our God is so gracious, so good, so merciful that he condescends to help our weaknesses. Grace anticipates our weakness and inability. We see this beautifully set forth in Luke 1:36. Though Mary believed God’s promise, though she asked for no sign, the Lord condescended to encourage her faith, by telling her of another miraculous birth, by which God would fulfil his prophetic Word. “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” As soon as Mary found herself with child, she took off to see her cousin, Elizabeth. How they must have helped one another. Both were in embarrassing, difficult situations. While they were together, they ministered to one another and encouraged one another in the worship of God, celebrating his goodness and his grace. The Omnipotence Of Our God Here is the pillar of our confidence, the strength of our faith, and the solace of our souls in all things! “With God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Our peace in this world, our confidence regarding the purposes, promises and grace of our God stand and fall with our firm persuasion of our heavenly Father’s absolute omnipotence. With our God, nothing is impossible! He who called the universe into being by the mere exercise of his will, he who created all things out of nothing by the bidding of his power, he who upholds all things by the word of his power can perform all his purposes, all his promises and all that we need, at all times! That which is impossible with us is a piece of cake for our God. Nothing is too hard for the Lord! “With God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). I cannot express the message of Luk 1:37 any better than J. C. Ryle did in his Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke. Ryle wrote … “There is no sin too black and bad to be pardoned. The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. There is no heart too hard and wicked to be changed. The heart of stone can be made a heart of flesh. There is no work too hard for a believer to do. We may do all things through Christ strengthening us. There is no trial too hard to be borne. The grace of God is sufficient for us. There is no promise too great to be fulfilled. Christ’s words shall never pass away, and what he has promised he is able to perform. There is no difficulty too great for a believer to overcome. When God is for us, who shall be against us? The mountains shall become as a plain. Faith never rests so calmly and peacefully as when it lays its head on the pillow of God’s omnipotence.” Our great and glorious God is the omnipotent God, the God of omnipotent ability to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. Child of God, be assured, “With God nothing shall be impossible”! He is able to complete the work of his grace in you. He is able to keep you. He is able to save you to the uttermost (Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25). The Lord is King! Who then shall dare Resist his will, distrust his care, Or murmur at his wise decrees, Or doubt his royal promises? ’Til God all-wise can make mistakes, His pow’r abate, his love forsake, His children must not cease to sing The Lord Omnipotent is King! Josiah Conder If indeed we believe God, if indeed our God is omnipotent, surrendering ourselves to him in all things should be in our minds the simplest, most reasonable thing in this world. Oh, may God give us grace to follow Mary’s example in this matter. In Luke 1:38, she shows us by humble example … The Surrender Of Faith “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.” The great privilege granted to Mary, like all truly great privileges, involved (at least for the present) great and costly difficulty. Though it would ultimately be her everlasting honour, for the present, Mary knew her honourable name and reputation, her marriage to a good and honourable man, and her respect from family and friend alike would very possibly be in jeopardy. These things presented no small trial to her faith. But, believing God, for the honour of God, to do the will of God, Mary was willing to risk everything. She raised no objections. She asked no questions. She asked no favours. She simply bowed to the will of God, with ready and willing heart. May God be pleased to give me such grace, that I may be willing to go anywhere, endure anything, and do anything, whatever the cost, in obedience to his will, for the glory of Christ. Faith is most noble when it yields blind obedience to the will of God.

Luke 1:39-45

Chapter 8 A Visit To The Hill Country When I was a boy, there was one delightful ray of sunshine in my dark life, one thing which was always sure to give me a season of pure pleasure and happiness. At least once a year, I would get to go for a week or more to the mountains to visit my dad’s family. My grandmother, great aunt, and my aunts and uncles were always a pleasure to be around. I remember dreaming, with delightful anticipation, about going to the hills of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The happiest days of my childhood were spent in the hills. In these verses the Spirit of God takes us with Mary to the hill country of Judah. She went there to visit her aging cousin Elisabeth. What a pleasurable, instructive and spiritually beneficial visit it was. A Beneficial Communion “And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Luke 1:39-42). Here we see Mary and Elisabeth, a young virgin and an elderly mother in Israel, walking together in delightful, blessed fellowship and communion. They were cousins, but their fellowship was much more and much, much sweeter and beneficial than the companionship of family. Their fellowship with one another was the fellowship of faith. Their communion was the communion of grace. When I talk about fellowship and communion, I am talking about the fellowship of believers, the communion of grace in Christ. We who believe “have all things common”. We have a common salvation, a common election, a common atonement, a common hope, a common family, a common warfare and a common inheritance. Luke tells us that these dear saints, when they visited with one another, were mutually benefited, spiritually benefited by each other. Their hearts were cheered. Their minds were uplifted. Their souls were refreshed. Their spirits were edified. As they visited and communed with one another, discussing the grace of God, the wonders of his providence, and the excellence of his mercy, his covenant, his promises and his faithfulness, Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; and Mary was inspired to sing a new song of praise to the Lord. We should always regard the fellowship of God’s saints as one of our greatest privileges in this world. Sadly, J. C. Ryle rightly observed, “There are many who fear the Lord and think upon his name, and yet forget to speak often one to another.” That ought not be the case. “As iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his friend … As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man” (Proverbs 27:17; Proverbs 27:19). “They that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Malachi 3:16). What a refreshing break in our pilgrimage, what an oasis in this desert, what a resting place in this troubled world a season of fellowship with God’s saints is! Let us never take this privilege lightly. “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers (especially fellow strangers!): for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:1-2). Fellowship with God’s saints is as near as we come to heaven on earth. We will be wise to seize every opportunity to enjoy the company of God’s elect in the assembly of public worship and in private company. When we have the privilege, let us take care that our company is helpful, not harmful, edifying, not a hindrance, to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should speak to one another, as Mary and Elisabeth did, about the things of God. And in the house of God, when God’s messenger has delivered God’s message to your soul, speak to one another about the message. Our chosen companions in this world should always be companions in the grace of God. I do not suggest that we live as hermits in this world, that we isolate ourselves from society. That would be irresponsible. I do not suggest that we treat other people contemptuously. That would be horribly wicked. Yet, believers should never choose unbelievers for their companions in any sphere of life. I am always concerned when I see anyone who professes to be a child of God choosing to spend his or her leisure time with unbelievers. Such a choice is like choosing to take fire into your bosom. It is like inviting a traitor into your camp. It is bringing a thief into your home. No good can come from it (1 Corinthians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 15:33-34; 2 Corinthians 6:14-15). A Believer’s Confession “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke 1:43-44). Often, we think that God’s saints in days gone by were very terribly ignorant concerning the person and work of Christ. Like us, many of them were weak and ignorant of many things. They often expressed themselves poorly. They often behaved in a way that was contrary to the gospel, and contrary to their God given faith. They were, after all, men and women like us! Yet, those men and women in days of old who knew God were also given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). Elisabeth’s language in verse forty-three, where she called Mary “the mother of my Lord”, is the language of remarkable faith. It is a confession of faith every bit as remarkable as that of Peter, who confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We must not put words in her mouth, but when she made this confession concerning the baby in Mary’s womb, Elisabeth acknowledged that the child conceived in Mary’s womb was the long expected Messiah, the son of David, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. She understood what Mary sang in Luke 1:46-55. “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.” Elisabeth’s confession was an acknowledgement of voluntary surrender to, and faith in, Christ as her Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). This dear old saint had learned and gladly acknowledged what all must soon acknowledge: Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). A Blessed Confidence “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). Here, we see an old, old woman, a woman who had learned the folly of both vanity and flattery, speaking in glowing terms about the blessedness of faith in Christ, the blessedness of believing God. It is indeed a blessed thing to believe God. Faith has always been a grace by which God’s saints in this world have obtained a good report (Hebrews 11:1-16). The story of God’s saints is a story of faith, the narrative of chosen, redeemed sinners who, believing God, were and are blessed of God. By faith, they embrace God’s promises, walk with God, endure hardships, look to Christ, endure temptations, triumph over the world, the flesh and the devil, live, die and enter into glory! There is a great volume of instruction contained in these words “Blessed is she that believed.” Faith is nothing less than confidence in God. Read Elisabeth’s words again. “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Faith is confidence that God will accomplish all his Word, that he will perform all his promises, that he will fulfil his every decree (Philippians 1:6).This faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 1:19; Ephesians 2:8; Colossians 1:12). Blessed is that sinner to whom it is given in the behalf of Christ to believe on his name (Philippians 1:29). Do we know anything about this precious gift of faith? “Blessed are they that have believed” (John 20:29). Oh, gift of gifts! Oh, grace of faith! My God, how can it be That Thou, who hast discerning love, Shouldst give that gift to me? Ah, Grace! Into unlikeliest hearts It is Thy boast to come; The glory of Thy light to find In darkest spots a home. Thy choice, (O God of goodness!) then I lovingly adore; Oh, give me grace to keep Thy grace, And grace to long for more! Fredrick W. Faber

Luke 1:46-56

Chapter 9 Mary’s Song After Mary heard the good news of Christ’s incarnation she went to visit her older, beloved cousin Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. When the two women met together, they talked of the marvellous things God had done for them and taught them. Both were full of faith and joy. They were mutually inspirational to one another. What a blessing good companions are! They help each other in the way. Happy are those family meetings where Christ is the theme of thought and conversation! When we meet with our families and friends, let us pray that our time together may be both pleasant and profitable. We ought to always try to be spiritually helpful to those around us, to those who come under our influence. Mary Mary, the mother of our Lord, is held before us in the Book of God as a great example of God’s saving grace. Being taught of God, she was a woman of remarkable faith. She believed God’s revelation concerning a totally unprecedented matter, scientifically impossible, and believed it without any evidence to support her. The angel of the Lord said to her, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). In Luke 1:45, after the baby in Elisabeth’s womb leaped for joy, because of the incarnate God in Mary’s womb, Elisabeth said of Mary, “Blessed is she that hath believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Let every child of God pray that the Holy Spirit might grant us the kind of faith he gave Mary. Mary was a woman of remarkable knowledge, too. She had a clear, firm knowledge and understanding of holy scripture. As we read Mary’s hymn, though she was but a young woman, we see she had a ready grasp of the Old Testament. She quotes the Psalms, refers to God’s works of old, refers to his goodness to Leah and repeats many of the words of Hannah’s prayer in 2 Samuel 2. All who have been made the recipients of God’s saving mercy should seek to become more and more fully and more and more experimentally acquainted with holy scripture. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). Such a knowledge of holy scripture can never be attained without regular, daily study; but the benefits of such study will prove priceless. When she needed them most, Mary had a firm grasp of the promises of God in the Bible; and these strengthened her faith. That which Mary knew and believed caused her to be a truly humbled soul before God. True faith and spiritual knowledge never swell the heart with pride. Rather these are the things by which the Lord breaks his own and makes them humble and contrite before him. J. C. Ryle rightly observed … “She who was chosen of God to the high honour of being Messiah’s mother, speaks of her own ‘low estate’, and acknowledges her need of a Saviour. She does not let fall a word to show that she regarded herself as a sinless, ‘immaculate’ person. On the contrary, she uses the language of one who has been taught by the grace of God to feel her own sins, and so far from being able to save others, requires a Saviour for her own soul.” As humility is the daughter of saving faith, gratitude is the daughter of humility. All who experience God’s free favour and saving grace in Christ are filled with thanksgiving to God; and Mary certainly demonstrates such thanksgiving. That which stands out in this hymn, perhaps above everything else, is the fact that Mary considered herself a debtor to mercy alone. She sought to magnify the Lord her God, from whom all mercy and grace springs. Her knowledge of Christ as God her Saviour filled Mary with contentment. She was a poor woman. We have no evidence that she ever ceased to be afflicted with poverty. When the Saviour died, he committed his poor mother to the care of one of his disciples. Yet, Mary appears to have been perfectly content. In all that is written about her in holy scripture, the Holy Spirit never gives even a hint of dissatisfaction in her.

Having Christ to be her Saviour, she wanted no more. She says, “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47). In Luke 1:56 we read that “Mary returned to her own house.” Though she was blessed in the most extraordinary manner, she was content to go back to her modest home and become the wife of a simple carpenter. May God give us that blessed spirit of contentment, so that we can say with Paul, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:11-12). Mary’s Song In Luke 1:46-56, God the Holy Spirit has preserved for our learning the song Mary composed and sang when she and Elizabeth met one another. It is a song of praise to God, arising from a heart of faith, humility, gratitude and love. Robert Hawker writes: “The song of Mary is full of the breathings of a soul under the influence of the Holy Ghost. How blessedly she speaks of God her Saviour; evidently showing, that she had a perfect apprehension of what the Prophets had taught, concerning the miraculous conception; and therefore knew, that the child then in her womb was, in one and the same moment, her Son and her Saviour! And how blessedly she speaks of the low estate, both in the temporal poverty of her father’s house, and the spiritual reduced estate, by reason of sin, to the whole race of Adam. And the personal dignity to which she, a poor, young, and humble Virgin, was exalted. He that is mighty (said she) hath done to me great things. Great indeed, and, until that period, never heard of before; and never to be again wrought in the earth.

And how beautifully she ends her hymn of praise, in singing the sure deliverance of the Church, by this stupendous event. He hath holpen (said she) his servant Israel: meaning, he hath redeemed the Church of God, in the Israel of God, his chosen; thus confirming the Covenant made with Abraham, that in his seed should all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3. with Galatians 3:16).” Notice, as you read this sweet song of praise, that everything spoken of in it is spoken of as though it had already been accomplished, though, as yet, Christ had not even been born. Why is that? The answer should be obvious: That which God has purposed was finished when he purposed it. Here are seven truths to learn from Mary’s song. First, Mary gives praise to the Lord God, who was in her womb, for being her Saviour. “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:46-47). If Christ is our Saviour, we have reason to sing! As she sang his praise, unlike most who pretend to sing his praise today, Mary spoke of her God with great reverence. Yet, trusting Christ, she claimed a personal interest in Christ. Thus, she magnified her Lord by acknowledging him as her Lord and ascribing greatness to him as God her Saviour. The word “magnify” here means to enlarge and make room for. Mary flung open the gates of her soul for the King of glory to come in! She rejoiced in her Lord. That word means “danced”. Like her great grandfather David, Mary danced before the Lord. Second, Mary’s song of praise was inspired by the wondrous mystery of Christ’s incarnation (2 Corinthians 9:15). Mary sang this song because she believed the report of the angel Gabriel. “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:30-35). Let sinners sing praise to God: Immanuel is come! (Matthew 1:21). Third, Mary particularly gives praise to God for his particular, distinguishing grace. “For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). God chose her to be the mother of our Redeemer. She was blessed of God in Christ. She was blessed because Christ was in her by a supernatural work of grace and power by God the Holy Spirit. She is called blessed because of God’s goodness to her as the object of his grace. We who are the objects of God’s special love and distinguishing grace have reason to sing his praise! Fourth, Mary gives praise to the Lord God because of his glorious holiness. She declares, “Holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). That which caused Moses, Isaiah and Daniel to tremble caused Mary to rejoice, because she saw clearly that God in his holiness had provided a holy Sacrifice. Holiness seen through the blood shed at Calvary is the most comforting and delightful thing in the world. Let this heart sing God’s praise. I have seen mercy and truth meet together. I have seen righteousness and peace kiss each other. Then, fifth, Mary offers praise to the Lord for the great things he has done. “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:49-53). God has done great things in providence, in the incarnation, in redemption, in the experience of grace. He puts down the mighty, exalts them of low degree, fills the hungry with good things and the rich he sends away empty. “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men” (Psalms 107:31). “The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD” (Psalms 107:42-43). Sixth, Mary gives praise to the Lord God for his unfailing help. “He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy” (Luke 1:54). The word “holpen” means to place one’s hand under the fallen, prostrate one, and lift him to his feet. God helps his elect. He always remembers mercy to his own. “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations” (Psalms 89:1). Last, in Luke 1:55, Mary gives praise to the Lord her God for his covenant faithfulness. “As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever” (Luke 1:55). In Christ God has fulfilled his promises to the fathers, and particularly his promise to Abraham; the woman’s seed (Genesis 3:15), the lamb provided (Genesis 22), the blessings of grace (Galatians 3:13-16). An Example While God abideth faithful, I have reason to sing his praise. Let us each, from the depths of our hearts, join Mary in this song of praise to our great God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us honour him for who he is, worship him for all that he has done, praise him for his distinguishing grace (1 Corinthians 1:26; 2 Corinthians 4:7) and magnify his great faithfulness!

Luke 1:57-66

Chapter 10 “The Hand Of The Lord Was With Him” The very last word spoken by God in the Old Testament was a word of promise and prophecy, a promise of mercy and a prophecy of the coming of another Elijah to prepare the way for Christ, the Messiah, our Saviour. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). Four hundred years had passed; but now Malachi’s prophecy was fulfilled. Six months prior to the birth of our Saviour, John the Baptist was born by the special intervention of God. How easily we ought to believe God! He who gave life to Elizabeth’s dead womb can do “whatsoever seemeth him good”! “With God nothing shall be impossible”! We ought to believe him implicitly and trust him confidently, without the slightest doubt, even when (especially when) all things appear to contradict his Word. The decree of God is absolute, and cannot be altered. The Word of God is inerrant and must be fulfilled. The promises of God in Christ are yea and amen and can never become nay. God Almighty will do; indeed, he who is God must do all that he has said. If one word from God shall fall to the ground, the whole Book of God crumbles to nothing but a religious myth! Notice that the birth of John the Baptist was looked upon as a singular, special act of God’s great mercy upon Elizabeth. “Her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her” (Luke 1:58). It was an act of divine mercy that caused her to conceive, an act of special mercy that carried an old woman through a full term pregnancy, an act of mercy that gave her strength to deliver, and an act of great mercy that gave birth to the child. The birth of a child is a remarkable instance of God’s great mercy; and with the mercy comes a tremendous responsibility. Happy are those homes where these things are known. The Blessedness Of Affection In all the circumstances surrounding John’s birth, the Lord has graciously scattered nuggets of grace for the edification of our souls. We have before us in the conduct of Elizabeth’s family and friends an example of that milk of human kindness, love, affection and care, which ought to flow from our breasts to one another. “They rejoiced with her” (Luke 1:58). Let all who name the name of Christ follow their example. How much more happiness there would be in this evil world, if such conduct were not so rare. Sympathy in time of sorrow costs little, but is of great value. Oil in your car’s engine may appear to be an insignificant thing; but it is vital to the engine’s movement; and expressions of care and sympathy may seem insignificant, but they are not. A kind word on a dark day is seldom forgotten. A consoling hand on heavy shoulders is a sweet succour. A thoughtful card at the appropriate time is invaluable. A word of congratulation to one who imagines he is unnoticed is a great boon. A word of appreciation, kindness, encouragement, or thoughtfulness is never out of order. Pastors, elders, preachers, teachers, and deacons must never forget that thoughtfulness, kindness, and compassion are the very essence of ministering to the souls of men. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). In all the strife about words and battles over doctrine, in all the controversies raging about “great” theological issues, we must never overlook or fail to give affection and sympathy to one another (Romans 12:15; Galatians 6:1-2). The gospel of Christ, while it sets forth the righteousness, justice and truth of God, is also a great revelation of the love of God and the kindness of our Saviour. The Lord Jesus Christ saw our need and supplied it by the sacrifice of himself (John 3:14-16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:16-17; 1 John 4:9-11). Our Saviour’s name is Jehovah-Jireh. He still sees our need and runs to our relief. What an example of kindness he left us. He went to the marriage feast in Cana to celebrate a wedding with some friends in John 2. He went to Bethany in John 11 to weep by the grave of a friend with his broken-hearted sisters. Words are inadequate to describe the blessedness of affection in the eyes of those who need it and receive it. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Ephesians 4:32 to Ephesians 5:2). The Benefit Of Afflictions As long as we are in this world, we will be children in need of instruction, protection, provision, and discipline, children under the care of our heavenly Father. In Luke 1:59-64 we see in Zacharias’ conduct an example of a corrected child. This old, old man was still a child of God, a child of God who required his Father’s rod, even in his old age. Because of his unbelief, Zacharias had been deaf and dumb for nine long months. But those months of affliction had not been useless. He who was so slow to believe now believed every word that proceeded from the mouth of God. No doubt, the nine months of his adversity had been spent wisely by Zacharias. In all likelihood he learned more about himself and about God, more about the character of his own heart and more about the goodness, grace and glory of God in those nine months than he had learned in all his life previously. Correction had given him instruction. He was now ashamed of his unbelief. Like Job, he could say, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee” (Job 42:5). Like Hezekiah, when the Lord left him, he found out what was in his heart (2 Chronicles 32:31). We will never escape trouble in this world of woe. Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7). But in the time of trouble we ought to seek grace that we may learn by the rod of discipline. Any and every sorrow that humbles us, drives us to our knees, and brings us to our God is a great blessing of his grace and evidence of his love. Someone once said, “Sanctified afflictions are spiritual promotions.” Trials do not change anything; but they reveal everything. William Cowper wrote: ’Tis my happiness below Not to live without the cross, But the Saviour’s power to know, Sanctifying every loss; Trials must and will befall; But with humble faith to see Love inscribed upon them all, This is happiness to me. God in Israel sows the seeds Of affliction, pain, and toil; These spring up and choke the weeds Which would else o’erspread the soil: Trials make the promise sweet, Trials give new life to prayer; Trials bring me to his feet, Lay me low, and keep me there. Did I meet no trials here, No chastisement by the way, Might I not with reason fear I should prove a castaway? Bastards may escape the rod, Sunk in earthly vain delight; But the true-born child of God Must not, would not, if he might.” The Best Of Ambitions We all have great ambitions for ourselves; but we have especially great ambitions for our children. We want and seek so many things for them; and we make great plans for them. But when I read the last sentence of Luk 1:66, I thought to myself, “This is the best of all ambitions, indeed, the only ambition that is truly worth pursuing with all our hearts.” “And the hand of the Lord was with him”! This great blessing which was upon John the Baptist is the thing we ought to seek, desire, and pray for on behalf of our sons and daughters. “The hand of the Lord was with him.” This is “the one thing needful”, the one thing that will benefit their souls, the one thing that can never be lost, the one thing that will go with them beyond the grave! “The hand of the Lord was with him” to protect him, to convert him, to prepare him for his work, to strengthen him in his work, to comfort him in his trials, to sustain him in his dying hours, and to carry him into glory. What the hand of the Lord did for John the Baptist it can do for our sons and daughters as well. Let us seek it for them.

Luke 1:67-80

Chapter 11 Three Great Reasons For Praise The Prophecy Zacharias was not a prophet; but his song was a prophecy. It stands before us as one of the most instructive prophesies ever given. He was not a musician; but his prophecy was a song, one of the greatest hymns ever written. What qualified him to write this song and give this prophecy? Luke tells us in Luke 1:67. “Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied.” God not only forgave the old man for his unbelief, he poured out his grace upon him in an extraordinary manner by filling him with the Holy Ghost. To be filled with the Holy Ghost is to be controlled by the Spirit. Every believer ought to seek, always, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, ruled by the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives (Ephesians 5:18). The Spirit filled life is not an emotional frenzy of senseless religion. The Spirit filled life is a life of wisdom, “understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). It is a life of thanksgiving and praise, “giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). And it is a life of voluntary submission, submitting my will and my life to Christ and his people, “submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21). But there is another sense in which a man is filled with the Holy Ghost. Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost in the sense that he was given a special unction, a special anointing to deliver the Word of God. He was divinely inspired. That is what every God-called preacher wants and seeks. He wants, more than words can express, to preach to those who hear him as a man filled with the Holy Ghost, to deliver a message directly from God to eternity bound sinners, for the praise, honour and glory of God alone! It will be your mercy to pray that God will grant that to his servant every time you go to the house of God for worship. In these last words of Luke 1 we have a message directly from God to his people, for our good and his glory. The grace of God toward Zacharias in this passage is as instructive as it is remarkable. The Lord graciously removed the affliction he had brought upon himself by unbelief, though he had done nothing to merit such mercy, or even to seek it. Let us never fail to remember that God’s grace does not wait upon us. Grace comes before we seek it; and we can never deserve it. It flows to chosen sinners from God’s free, sovereign love for us in Christ. Because of his unbelief, the Lord had made the old priest a deaf-mute for nine months. Now, the Lord graciously took away his reproach, opened his mouth, loosed his tongue, and unstopped his ears. What will this old man say? What will he talk about? Miracles? No. His experiences? No. The angelic visit? No. Zacharias spoke not as a man, but as a prophet. He spoke for God. So he passed by all those things which tickle men’s ears and spoke about God, his grace, his Son, his redemption, his salvation and his praise! The passage before us contains the very first words spoken by Zacharias after the Lord loosed his tongue. He had been a deaf mute for nine long months. But now, after the birth of his son, John the Baptist, the old servant of God speaks to God in a song of praise; and his song of praise to God was, to his newborn son and to all future generations, a song of instruction. Moreover, his song of praise and instruction was a prophecy concerning both the person and work of Christ and the ministry of John the Baptist. Hawker again writes: “No sooner is his tongue untied, but the Lord loosens both heart and tongue to speak the Lord’s praise; and to proclaim the Lord’s mercy. And how doth he praise the Lord? Do not fail to observe, it is, as the God of Israel: Israel’s God in covenant. All, and every part of redemption is, to perform the mercy, promised. Yes! For the Lord’s Christ is the mercy promised: the first born in the womb of mercy; the whole of mercy; yea, mercy itself in the full; for there is no mercy, but in Christ.

Everything which can be called mercy must have Christ in it, or it is no mercy, be it what it may. It must have its very nature from Christ; its sweetness from Christ, its value from Christ, and its everlasting continuance from Christ. And hence Zacharias harps upon this sweet string; that it was to perform the mercy promised, and to fulfil Jehovah’s covenant and oath, in all the blessings of Christ, for evermore.” God Our Saviour This old man, filled with the Holy Ghost, gave praise to God for three specific reasons; and every believer has great reason to give praise to God for these three things: God our Saviour (Luke 1:68), God’s great salvation (Luke 1:69-75), and God’s chosen servant (Luke 1:76-80). Zacharias’ first word of thanksgiving and praise is about God our Saviour. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:67). Let us ever be quick with praise and thanksgiving to the great God, our Saviour. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel”! We must never forget to thank God for his blessings; but we ought to thank and praise him first and foremost for his Being! “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel”! The entire first chapter of Ephesians is taken up with blessing God our Saviour, the great, glorious, triune God. There the Apostle Paul was inspired to write out words of praise, ascribing blessedness and glory to God the Father who planned salvation for us, to God the Son who purchased salvation for us, and to God the Holy Spirit who performs salvation in us. “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake” (Psalms 115:1). Let us ever give praise to our God because he is God. “Bless the Lord, O my soul. All that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalms 103:1). God’s Great Salvation After ascribing all praise, honour and glory to God, Zacharias offers thanksgiving and praise for God’s great salvation. That which fills a man’s mouth when he is filled with the Spirit is God’s salvation (Luke 1:69-75). What a description we have here of God’s salvation! In Luke 1:69 we are told that God has “raised up an horn of salvation”. Those words tell us four things about salvation: (1.) It is God’s work. God raised up this horn of salvation. (2.) It is an exalted salvation for it is “raised up”. (3.) It is a powerful, omnipotent salvation. The horn is a symbol of power. (4.) It is a bountiful salvation “a horn”, a cornucopia, “of salvation”. God’s salvation is for a specific people. It was never God’s intention or purpose to save all men. He did not send his Son to save all men. God’s salvation is for his elect, the house of David, the Israel of God. In Luke 1:70 we see that this great salvation of which we speak is a Bible salvation, spoken of by all the prophets, “As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.” God’s salvation is a very old salvation. This was not some new thing, which Christ came to do, and John came to preach. God’s salvation was spoken of, ordained and accomplished by the triune God in eternity (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9). And faithful men have spoken about God’s great salvation since the beginning of time. Adam told his sons about it. Enoch proclaimed it. Noah preached it. Job declared it. And it was spoken of by all the prophets of God. God’s prophets have always spoken about just one thing; God’s salvation. And they still do. Salvation is the complete deliverance of our souls from all our enemies into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. “That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us” (Luke 1:71). “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:33-39). Salvation is an act and work of God’s covenant mercy. It is the performance of “the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham” (Luke 1:72-73). Salvation is the performance of God’s mercy, God’s covenant and God’s oath (Hebrews 6:16-20). God wrought salvation causes sinners to become the willing servants of God forever. “That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life” (Luke 1:74-75). The Lord our God has saved us that we might serve him. Do you see that? Those who are saved by God serve God without fear, in true holiness and righteousness, the holiness and righteousness of Christ that he has made ours by his grace, walking before him in his immediate presence all the days of our lives. What a blessed privilege that is! God’s Chosen Servant Zacharias offered praise and thanksgiving to God for God himself. Then he gave thanks to God for his great salvation. In Luke 1:76-80 Zacharias expresses praise and thanksgiving for the gift of his chosen servant. “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.” Faithful, gospel preachers are the gifts of Christ to his church in this world. It is by these chosen men, specifically called and gifted for the work of the gospel, that God speaks to, ministers to, calls, converts, edifies, comforts, corrects, feeds and cares for chosen sinners in this world (Ephesians 4:11-16). Gospel preachers do not seek, or want praise from men. Faithful men seek and crave the praise of God alone. We must never make idols out of God’s servants, treating them as priests, mediators, or lords over our souls. Yet, God’s servants are not to be despised and treated as useless things. Both the welfare of your own soul and the happiness and peace of God’s church is greatly determined by the love and respect God’s people show for and to those who preach the gospel to them (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). Here, in Luke 1:76-80 we see an old, old man talking about his own son; but talking about his son not as his son, but as God’s messenger to men. What Zacharias said here concerning John the Baptist is specifically a prophecy concerning that great man and his extraordinary ministry. However, it is also a declaration of every faithful gospel preacher’s work in this world. The gospel preacher is the servant of God, whose business it is to prepare the way of the Lord (Luke 1:76; Isaiah 40:3-4). Men who are God’s servants are sent with a specific message to declare, by which they prepare the way of the Lord (Luke 1:77-79). It is every preacher’s business and responsibility, his only business and responsibility, “To give knowledge of salvation”. He cannot give salvation; but he must give the knowledge of it. And there is no knowledge of salvation apart from the preaching of the gospel. The salvation we proclaim is not a general salvation hoped for, but the salvation of “his people” accomplished. The only way salvation can come to sinners is “by the remission of their sins”. The source and cause of this salvation by the remission of sins is “the tender mercy of our God”! The only way this salvation could ever be accomplished is by the incarnation, life, and death of Christ as our Substitute, “Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us”. It is the preacher’s business “to give light to them that sit in darkness”. By the preaching of the gospel, God’s servants “guide our feet into the way of peace”. For every chosen preacher, God has appointed “the day of his showing to Israel” (Luke 1:80). If a man is chosen of God for this great and glorious work, he will not need to wave his own flag and toot his own horn. God knows where he is. At the time appointed, God will show his people who he is. “And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them” (Ezekiel 33:33).