on the eighth day they came that is called by this to circumcise the child; and name. they called him Zacharias, 62 And they made signs to after the name of his father. his father, how he would have him called. 60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred Gen. 17. 12; Lev. 12. 3.-h Ver. 13. 59. They came-To the house probably of Zacharias. For no particular place was prescribed, and no particular person as performer of the rite. To circumcise the child-Circumcision was given by God to Abraham as the sign of the covenant between God and the circumcised. Perhaps it was, as in the case of sacrifices, merely the renewal of an ancient rite, for we find that not only the Jews and other Abrahamic tribes practised the rite, but the Ethiopians, Abyssinians, Egyptians, and others. Under the Mosaic law, infant circumcision was the rite of induction into the kingdom of God. It was the condition to be performed before the adult person could partake of the paschal feast. Exod. xii, 43-48. This was enjoined with great solemnity. So under the Christian dispensation except a man be externally born of water he cannot see the external kingdom of God. John iii, 3. That is, as circumcision once, so baptism now is the admission rite of the Church of God. From this it would follow that no one who is not qualified-if an adult, by justifying faith, if an infant, by the unconditional power of the atonement-to enter the kingdom of God, is qualified for baptism. And as circumcision was required previous to the paschal feast, so baptism should be performed previous to the partaking of the communion. They called him-The name was generally given to the child by the Jews at circumcision. Like baptism, circumcision was the sacred recognition of the personality of the individual; and the persons solemnly present are proper witnesses to identify him in case of i 63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. i Ver. 13. future dispute. So in our old English, to baptize is to christen, that is, both to Christianize and to name him; giving him his Christian or christen name. 60. His mother answered-She had probably learned from Zacharias by writing what his name was commanded to be. 61. None of thy kindred-The custom of naming children from some one of the circle of relations was so common, not to say so natural, that this new name seemed unwelcome. 62. Made signs-For the father, as we have already remarked, was deaf as well as dumb. 63. Writing table-It was a small, flat piece of wood, (for the simple conveniences of pen, ink, and paper were then unknown,) like a slate, overspread with a surface of wax. The writing TABLET AND STYLUS. was done with an iron stylus or bodkin, sharp at one end, and broad and smooth at the other, so that the opposite ends could be used for writing and erasing. His name is John-Not his 64 k And his mouth was open- of child shall this be! And ed immediately, and his tongue" the hand of the Lord was loosed, and he spake, and with him. praised, God. 65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 P Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up a 66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their horn of salvation for us in the hearts, saying, What manner house of his servant David; k Ver. 20.4 Or, things. - Ver. 39. m Chap. 2. 19, 51.-n Gen. 39. 2; Psa. 80. 17, & 89. 21; Acts 11. 21.-o Joel 2. 28. 1 Kin. name shall be called John; for Zacharias recognizes that the angel of God had already named him. Zacharias is only a recorder of the divine commandment. 64. His mouth was opened immediately -As the want of faith had produced the dumbness, so the act of faith reproduced the speech. Moreover, the sign was reedless now that the reality had come. 65. Fear came on all-A holy awe, inspired by the thought that the angel of God had indeed visited them, and that prophecy and miracle had revived, as in the Old Testament times. Noised abroad-The wonder began at Jerusalem, but its consequences and results took place in the Hill Country; and there, too, the wonderful boy remained, to be the object of speculation and rumour. 66. What manner of child-Doubtless these facts were still remembered by many when John finally came forth as a prophet, and stirred the nation with his powerful preaching. The hand of the Lord-This is Luke's statement, not the people's. For Josephus's account of the baptism and fame of John, see note on Matt. iv, 3. 68-79. The Benedictus, or hymn of Zacharias. 67. Prophesied-All inspired utterances are called prophesying, but in the present case there was clearly inspired prediction. In the Old Testament spirit the kingdom of Christ in 1. 48; Psa. 41. 13, & 72. 18, & 106. 48.- Exod. 3. 16, & 4. 31; Psa. 111. 9; chap. 7. 16-r Psa. 132. 17. the future is described in general terms, but vaguely understood by the prophet himself. It is prophetic description rather than prophetic history. The traits of the description are to be found in the Christian dispensation as a future whole, not to be fully verified until the world is gathered into the Church, and the Church shall rise to the predicted ideal. The prophetic hymn consists of two parts. Part first (68-75) predicts, under Jewish images, the power and safety of Messiah's kingdom. Part second, (76–79,) in an address to the infant John, predicts his preparatory office as herald of the Messiah's manifestation and his glorious kingdom of human salvation on earth and in heaven. I. 68-75. Power and safety of Messiah's kingdom. 68. Redeemed his people-Namely, the theocracy, that is, the kingdom of God, whether the Jewish Church un. der the old dispensation, or the Christian Church under the new. 69. Raised up a horn of salvation— This image of his Church is taken from nature, after the simplicity of primitive times. A horn is the strength, power, and beauty of the animal that wears it; and so it became an image of power, both in the ancient classic writers and in the Old Testament. So Psa. cxxxii, 17: "I will make the horn of David to bud." From signifying power as a quality, the word is made to signify a power, king X 70 As he spake by the might serve him without mouth of his holy prophets, fear, which have been since the 75 In holiness and righteousworld began: ness before him, all the days of our life. 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 "The oath which he sware to our Father Abraham, 74 That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, 8 Jer. 23. 5, 6, & 30. 10; Dan. 9. 24; Acts 3. 21; Rom. 1. 2.-t Lev. 26. 42; Psa. 98. 3, & 105. 8, 9, & 106. 45; Ezek. 16. 60; ver. 54. Gen. 12. 3, 17. 4, & 22. 16, 17; Heb. 6. 13, 17. Rom. dom, or king. Rev. xvii, 12: "The ten horns thou sawest are ten kings." Jer. xlviii, 25: "The horn of Moab is cut off." So here it is applied to the Messiah about to be born. House-Family lineage, as we say, The house of Bourbon, or of Brunswick. 70. By the mouth of his holy prophets -The Messiah is the theme of prophecy and the antitype of the types since the world began. Even in the garden of Eden the first prediction of the Saviour was given. Gen. iii, 15. But Peter, in Acts iii, 21, uses similar words: All his holy prophets since the world began; by which he plainly means Moses and the prophets following. The words world began are a very loose translation. The original is un' ai@vos, which means not from the creation, but from an ancient age, from of old. The same phrase is used by the Septuagint in Gen. vi, 4, and Psa. xxv, 6. 71. That we-The true Church of God, consisting of all faithful believers, whether of the old or new dispensation. Zacharias, as an individual, doubtless understood the words in a Jewish sense of the Jewish theocracy, or State Church alone. But the Holy Spirit knew its future application. Should be saved from our enemies - Collectively, the 6 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the 6. 18, 22.-y Eph. 4. 24; Tit. 2. 12; 1 Pet. 1. 15. 2 Isa. 40. 3; Mal. 3. 1; Matt. 11. 10; ver. 17. a Mark 1. 4; chap. 3. 3.5 Or, for.-6 Or bowels of the mercy. Church shall be preserved in the midst of its wrathful foes, and finally obtain complete victory and triumphant security. Individually, the Christian shall have a divine protection amid both temporal and spiritual dangers, and in the triumphant age of the Church even temporal triumph. The phrase that we should be saved depends upon the phrase (verse 70) as he spake. What God spake by his holy prophets was that we should be saved, etc., by the power of the Messiah. This 72. To perform the mercy· phrase depends upon hath raised up a horn, verse 69. God hath raised up a Messiah in order to bring about these results. The oath is in apposition with covenant, and is the object of remember. 75. In holiness-Towards God. And righteousness-Towards man. II. 76-79. The prediction addressed to his son, the infant Baptist, in regard to his office. 77. Salvation... by remission of sins-On condition of repentance in faith on an approaching Messiah. 78. Dayspring from on high- The beautiful English word dayspring is taken, we suppose, from the conceptior of the spring or fountain of light, from 7 dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them 7 Or, sunrising, or, branch, Num. 24. 17; Isa. 11. 1; Zech. 3. 8, & 6. 12; Mal. 4. 2. which day is conceived to be poured upon us from the morning sky. The Greek word here used, avaroλn, signifies rising, namely, of the sun at dawn; and thence it signifies the east, or region of sunrise. But it is objected that the rising of the sun does not come from on high, but is at the horizon. Hence some commentators have, very tastelessly, referred the Greek word to the upspringing of the plant, as the image of the Messiah. Professor Owen refers it to the sun, but confines the figure to the word avarohn, referring the phrase from on high literally to the Messiah, as being from above. But the dayspring is not limited to the luminary alone. The avaroλn is the rising of the morning light, not merely of the sun; and the ascent of the daylight, or dawn of a clear morning, from which the commencing day comes down upon us, really mounts the firmament and reaches the zenith long before the sun attains the horizon. The dawn or dayspring, therefore, is from on high, as belonging to the firmament above us, and not to the plane of the earth beneath us. As so descending from above, it is here the beautiful image of light and salvation from heaven. that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. b Isa. 9. 2, & 42. 7, & 49. 9; Matt. 4. 16; Acts 26. 18. appearing the speakers are still in tho dimness of the Jewish dispensation as to the exact character of the Messiah and his reign. Had these prophetic passages been, as sceptics represent, composed after the crucifixion, or even after the destruction of Jerusalem, the writer would have suited the details to the then existing facts. 2. All the elements which are here ascribed to the Messiah's kingdom are really in its very nature and substance, and are to be developed in its history from the beginning and in future ages. Mercy, holiness, truth, light, and peace are its inmost principles. and to those are given, in the present and future, power to triumph in the world. reigns in this kingdom. He lives and 3. The Messiah now truly lives and reigns personally and in the body. He lives and reigns as personally and corporeally as if he reigned visibly, and as if he now sat upon a golden throne in the city of Jerusalem. He sways the sceptre of the world though the world be in rebellion. Without visible manifestation or show of physical or mechanical power, and allowing the principles of probation and free-agency to 79. To them that sit in darkness-The work out their problem, he is ever rusimage is here completed. The people in order to the development and ultiing and overruling the affairs of men are sitting in sullen darkness, the dark-mate prevalence of the reign of truth ness even of death, and the dayspring and righteousness in the earth, in order pours down its splendour from the east- that millions on millions may be reern sky upon them. Guide our feet deemed; to the end that he shall finally into the way of peace-The sitters in darkness have wandered far from the paths of peace, and the dayspring from on high reveals to them the true way. 'So breaks on the traveller, faint and astray, The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn." On this song of Zacharias, and on this chapter generally, we may remark: 1. On the very eve of the Messiah's 66 see the travail of his soul and be satisfied." 4. Christian scholars have always been aware that, in the narratives of the births both of John and of Jesus, there is an abundance both of events and phrases that are framed after the model of Old Testament examples. Zacharias is visited in the same manner by an angel, and with the same message, as was Abraham. Mary's 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel. c Chap. 2. 40.- -d Matt. 3. 1, & 11. 7. hymn is paralleled by Hannah's upon a similar occasion. John is, like Samson, heralded by an angel before his birth, and is bound to be a Nazarite. The mythical scheme of the skeptical Strauss uses these well known facts to show that the whole story is a fabrication manufactured by the imagination of the early Christians out of these Old Testament histories, blended mythically together. His system represents the main share of gospel history to be thus constructed out of Old Testament materials. Every New Testament fact that has anything like it in the Old Testament is a plagiary and an imitation; and every event fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy is held to be invented to fit the prophecy, or to be made out of the prophecy itself. The real truth is, that the Old Testament does contain the kernel and shadows of the New. The Jewish people were a living type of a better dispensation. The prediction is verified in the fulfillment, the type in the antitype, the sacrifice in the atonement, the shadow in the substance. CHAPTER II. AND it came to pass in those § 8.-JESUS'S BIRTH, 1-7. 1. In those days-The evangelist having detailed the fact of the birth of Messiah's forerunner gives now a narrative of the manifestation of Messiah himself. He furnishes a circle of facts obtained by him, perhaps from James, the son of Mary and Joseph, or even from the blessed mother herself, omitted by all the other evangelists. Cesar Augustus-Under the power and genius of the celebrated Julius Cesar the Roman republic fell, and the imperial government was established. He was succeeded by his nephew, Augustus Cesar, under whom the world of New Testament history was subdued. During his reign the temple of Janus was shut, in token of universal peace, and the Prince of peace made his advent. The worldThe Roman world. Should be taxedNot taxed, but the census taken, and the names of all enrolled. No contempora ry historian gives any account of this census, but authentic mention is made of a breviarium, or summary of the resources of the empire, which must have been the result of something of this nature. From other sources than contemporary history also we know that there was a topographical survey made of the geographical extent of the empire. 80. Grew-In body, as waxed strong refers to mind. Similar description of the growth of Samson, Judg. xiii, 2; of Jesus, Luke ii, 40. The deserts-Not strictly deserts, but the rural region, little inhabited, of his native hill country. "They are mistaken," says Grotius, "who think that this only indicates his country home, for his home Palestine was not indeed in form a was a city;" it signifies that resigning province of the Roman empire, inashome he dwelt in the solitudes. So his much as Herod was its king. But his severer food comported with his wil- kingdom was a gift from Augustus, derness life to express his Elijah-like who spared his life and placed him in mission to preach repentance. This power, although he had forfeited all by was his preparatory schooling, in which taking side with Anthony in the war silence, study of God's word, and pray- for the empire against Augustus. The er, with meditation, nourished his spir- Jews were required to take an oath of itual strength. This concealment stands allegiance to Augustus as well as to in contrast to his showing, or manifesta- Herod. Augustus was little likely to tion, when the fullness of time arrived. | hesitate to include Palestine in his conVOL. II.-3 |