Our scripture lesson is Luke 1, verses 67 through 79. 67 through 79. As you can see from your Bibles, at least the one I'm reading from here in the pulpit, it's entitled, Zacharias' Prophecy. sometimes called the Song of Zacharias. We're reading the entire portion then of that song, verses 67 through 79. This is the word of the living God, his holy inspired word. And his father, that is John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and accomplished redemption for his people. and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David, his servant, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy toward our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham, our father, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days, And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. to guide our feet into the way of peace. So far, let's listen once again to verses 78 and 79. Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sun rise from on high will visit us to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word and also our meditation upon that word as we meditate on him who is the sunrise from heaven. You know, the Christmas season, dear friends in Christ, is certainly a time for singing, isn't it? To be sure, for a true Christian, every season of the year is a time for singing. That's why we do it here in the church every Sunday again when we gather for worship. But the Christmas season is always filled with singing. Schools, whether they be elementary, high school, or colleges, put on Christmas concerts. Choir groups put on their concerts. Performances like Handel's great Oratorio Messiah. Radio stations and even stores and restaurants blare out Christmas music. I know many of those are purely secular songs which have nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas. They're only played to put us into the Christmas spirit and spur us on to buy more Christmas gifts. The merchants love this season. But for us, who know the true cause for celebration, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is a time of spirit-filled singing, such as we've been doing already here this morning. And we could also do it in our homes and with our families as well. How joyful, how inspiring it is to sing the praises of God. Well, may each and every heart here be filled with that joy today. And I thought for our inspiration that also I'd like to consider with you briefly a song of joy in scripture connected to the birth of Christ. It's a song that we just read from Luke chapter one. typically is called the Song of Zacharias. Another name for it in Latin is the Benedictus. You can hear the word benediction in that title. Benedictus is the Latin word for blessed, which is the very first word that Zacharias used in his song as he exclaimed, blessed, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. Now I realize that these were spoken words, not a literal song. What Zachariah spoke can be considered a song because it is in the form of a psalm, like the ones you will find in the Old Testament book of Psalms. These are an expression of joyful thanks and of praise to God, uttered in a poetic manner. And they are also a divinely inspired song. Because as you heard in verse 67, introducing this song, we read, his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. So here we have then an inspired song to inspire us to praise God again on this Christmas day. Now, my special focus is going to be on verses 78 and 79, where Zacharias gives us a unique description of Christ and his birth. He calls him there the sunrise from on high. Certainly a striking description. However, before we look at that description, it's good to look first a moment at the special occasion for Zacharias' words. And then we'll look at his special description of that Savior in his spirit-filled song. And thirdly and lastly, we'll consider the special blessing that Christ has come to bring us as the sunrise from on high. But first of all, it's noteworthy that the prophecy of Zacharias expressed here in Luke 1, constitute the first words which he spoke after the birth of his son, John the Baptist. In fact, they were the first words Zacharias spoke after quite some time. Because as I think many of you know, probably most of you realize, Zacharias had been unable to speak since the angel Gabriel had appeared to him in the temple to announce to him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son in their old age. That's all recorded in the first part of Luke 1. Zacharias and Elizabeth had been unable to have children, and Elizabeth was now past the normal age for childbearing. And so Zacharias was stunned when suddenly Angel Gabriel told him that he and his wife would have a son, and a unique son at that, one who would become the forerunner of the Messiah. Yet Zacharias was so stunned that he just could not believe this promise. And so he said to Gabriel, asked him, oh, how can I be sure of this? Well, Gabriel did give him a sign of some sorts, but not a very pleasant one. Because of his lack of faith in the power of God, Zacharias was told by Gabriel, who was sent by God to deliver this good news to him, that he was told by the angel that he would be unable to speak until the day that the promised child would be born. And so as you remember, you know, Zacharias left the temple literally dumbfounded, that is physically unable to speak a word. And when shortly thereafter, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, it must have been very hard, I think, for Zacharias not to be able to express his delight and joy vocally. For then, indeed, he knew, and then he certainly believed, that God's promise would be fulfilled. Yes, inside his heart, we can be sure that Zacharias was singing a song of praise to God already then, but he still could not speak. for the nine months to follow. And then, as you read this morning, Elizabeth gave birth to her son, and her neighbors and relatives came over to celebrate the special event and rejoice with her. And they came over again on the eighth day after his birth, because that was the day of the circumcision for this boy, the day when he was to be officially named. And everybody thought and even recommended that they should call this little boy Zacharias after his father. But his mother said, no, no, he's to be called John. You know what that name means? It means the Lord is gracious. And certainly God had been gracious to Zacharias and Elizabeth to give them not just this miracle child born of an aged woman past childbearing years, but also a child who would have a special role to play in God's saving plan. But aside from that, this was the name Gabriel had told Zacharias in the temple to call this child. And so when the assembly of the friends and family gathered made signs to the mute father to ask what his son's name should be, Zacharias took a writing tablet and he wrote, his name is to be John. That sealed it. But at the same time, it unsealed Zacharias' mouth. Immediately, he could speak. Luke 1, verse 64 states, and at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. And the people throughout the country of Judea came to hear the news of this wonderful, amazing birth and child. Yes, Luke records that they perceived there was something unique about John. the Lord had a special purpose and role for this child to play. And today, you and I, of course, know what that purpose was. John was the one who was to prepare the way for the Messiah who was to come. John would be that great prophet who would lead many people to repentance so they might be ready for the Son of God himself and believe in him, who would earn their salvation. But now you know what's interesting is that when Zacharias would finally speak again and praise God for this wondrous act in the birth of John, his focus was not on John, but on that person who would follow John, Christ. When you, young parents here, receive a baby, God gives you a child that's just born, and your family and your friends come over to see the new baby, give all the attention to that newborn. That's not the time for you to start talking about somebody else's baby, right? Your focus is on your baby, how much he weighs, what he looks like, how cute she is, et cetera, and whatever else may strike you about this child. But that's not what Zacharias did, at least not in this prophecy and song recorded here in Luke 1. Did you notice that in his song, Zacharias speaks more about Christ Yes, Christ is the center and the focus of his prophecy. Of the 12 verses comprising the song of Zacharias, there are only two which speak about John the Baptist. And those are verses 76 and 77, where Zacharias says about his own child, and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways to give to his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. All the other verses speak about another child or son, God's son. Why? Because he's the one who alone could provide salvation, the salvation that John the Baptist could only talk about and point to. You recall John himself said, one is coming after me who was before me. The thong of whose sandals I'm unworthy to untie. And when Jesus came to John at the Jordan River to be baptized, remember John pointed to Christ and said, behold, the Lamb of God. He's the one who takes away the sin of the world. And so in his prophetic song, uttered just after the birth of John and just before the birth of Christ, the Holy Spirit inspired Zacharias to speak, not first of all about John, but about Christ, the Son of God. And so let me turn secondly this morning to what Zacharias says about that Son, how he describes Him, who is this Son, and what would He come to do? Well, in the first part of his song, Zacharias praises God for sending a Redeemer. He says in verse 67, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. Zacharias speaks, as you notice, as if that Redeemer has already come, because the miraculous birth of John provided the certainty that God's redemption now was sure to be accomplished. In fact, Zacharias spoke these words The Virgin Mary was already carrying the Redeemer in her womb. And then in verse 69, Zacharias continues, and God has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David, his servant, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. Here we have another striking reference to Christ. Zacharias calls him, notice, the horn of salvation. Horn, referring of course here not to a musical horn, but to an animal horn. He's speaking of the horn of an ox, or the horn of a ram, or of a goat, which is an instrument by which those animals defend themselves against potential predators. Their horns, in effect, are their weapons of power. And so Christ, he says, is the horn of salvation. That means he's the one who's bringing salvation and has shown thereby his power, his power over sin, his power over Satan, and all his hosts, his power over death and hell. You know, salvation isn't just a warm, fuzzy experience that we feel in our souls. No, it means that you and I are delivered from our greatest enemies. As Zacharias says in verse 71, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. The Jews in their day thought of their enemies as being primarily the Romans. They conceived salvation only in political terms. They hoped that that horn of salvation, the Messiah came to come, would deliver them from the Romans. would deliver them from their conquerors. But the Redeemer God sent them would provide a much greater and more needful deliverance. He would rescue them from the power of sin, the enemy of the devil, the enemy of slavery to sin. About what Jesus said to the Jews in John 8 34, you remember, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. But then Jesus added, but if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. There are millions of Americans today living in this free land of ours who are enslaved by sin. Sins of all kinds which hold them captive and give them much misery and sadness. And there are also millions of people today living in lands where they are oppressed. where they have no political freedom whatsoever, but who have been set free by Christ and by his mercy, who know him as their Savior. And that salvation enables them and enables all who have experienced it to serve God. Zacharias also mentions that in his song. He says in verses 74 and 75 that this horn of salvation, Christ, has come to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. is a salvation, you see, which leads to sanctification, that is, which gives us strength to serve God and to live holy lives for Christ. We're not just saved from something, from sin, from Satan, from hell. We're saved to do something, to serve God, to righteous deeds, to holiness of life. Remember that. God has given you and me a blessed purpose for life on Earth. We not only rejoice in this season, in what Christ has done for us, what he's accomplished, but also in what we now are enabled to do for him. In our individual lives, in our homes, in our families, in our work and careers, we can now serve the horn of salvation, the Redeemer who has saved us. And then we come, people of God, to that striking description of Christ, which we mentioned earlier, and which is found towards the end of Zacharias' song. After briefly mentioning the role of his own newborn son, John the Baptist, in verses 76 and 77, which I've already noted, his role of preparing the way for Christ, prepare the way for the Lord, proclaimed John. But why? Because that Lord was about to appear. A sun was about to rise. A sunrise from heaven was imminent, said Zacharias. And so he ends his song of praise to God by speaking these words in verse 78. Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us. What a unique, what a beautiful description of the coming of Christ. The sunrise from on high. If you happen to have an older Bible translation, it might use a different expression. The American Standard Version, on which the New American Standard Version is based, but it reads in verse 78, the dayspring from on high shall visit us. And similarly, the King James Version used that same expression, the dayspring from on high will visit us. Now what is a dayspring? I could even find that word in my Webster Collegiate Dictionary. So it has to be a pretty archaic term. But I'm sure what it means is that when a new day begins, when it springs forth, you have a day spring. The Greek word used here, that's of course the key, is anatoli, which means arising, arising, specifically arising of light. And so it can be translated sunrise or dawn. In any case, what the text means is that the sun is about to rise. A new light is about to appear. A new day is about to dawn. And notice that Zacharias says that this sunrise will come to us from on high. That is, he will come to us from heaven. Not the heaven, which is the sky above us. but the heaven where God lives in his glory. Zacharias is speaking, of course, about a person, a person of divine origin, a light coming to us from heaven. What a striking metaphor, what a marvelous description of Christ and his birth this is. It was, by the way, not a totally unique description that Zacharias used here of the Messiah. He was borrowing the imagery of the Old Testament, which, of course, he no doubt knew well, and which also spoke of the dawning of a new light. Zacharias may have been thinking of the words of the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 9, verse 2, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death. A light has dawned. Perhaps he recalled the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24, verse 17, the star will come out of Jacob. And no doubt he knew the words of the prophet Malachi in chapter four, verse two, but for you who revere my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. Yes, God had certainly promised the dawning of a new light. And clearly, that light is Christ, who himself made the claim in John 8, verse 12, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but will see the light of life. And so with the coming of Christ, a new day has dawned. The sun has risen to give us light and to visit us from heaven. That's the grand truth that we celebrate today. You know, you boys and girls here, you know that you can't look directly into the sun, right, when it's high in the sky? It's too bright for us to look into. But we can look at the sun when it first rises in the eastern sky. Then we can look at that sun in the early morning hours, as perhaps some of us could do here this morning, today. And what a joy it is then to open the curtains especially here in Michigan in the wintertime, to open the curtains so that we can see the sun rising. It gives us an immediate lift. When Jesus came to earth, men saw the sunrise from heaven, and they could see him. As John writes in his gospel, the first chapter, he says, you know, we have seen his glory. The glory of the one and only begotten Son from the Father full of grace and truth. The Son has risen indeed. And so let me turn thirdly and lastly this morning to the great blessings of this sunrise from heaven, which he has brought. And Zechariah states it like this in verse 79. The sunrise from on high will visit us to shine upon those living in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. Zacharias is again using the terminology of the Old Testament prophets. Before the coming of Christ, this world was enshrouded in darkness. Even in Israel itself, there was still a lot of darkness and death when the people of God in the Old Testament forsook him to serve idols. And today there is still so much darkness in this world and the shadow of death is ever present. What's our hope? What's our consolation? It's when Christ shines on us and in us. When we come to know him and to believe in him and to belong to him, it's then that the darkness lifts and death is no longer to be feared. As Jesus himself said, he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Our only source of light and life, people of God, is Christ. That's the one central message of the scriptures. There is no other light by whom we must be saved and who can dispel the darkness of our sin and death and free us from hell. I just said there are many dark places still in our world today. And when I say that, I'm not only thinking about Syria or Sudan or the Congo or Somalia, I'm thinking also about Europe, where only a very, very small percentage of people still acknowledge and believe and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. And the same could be said about many places in North America. There's a lot of dark places. many places in our world. The question is, what about your heart and your life? Has the sun risen there? Has the light of Christ dawned in you? Then we don't have to fear the darkness because the light has conquered it. The sun is shining in our hearts to give us new joy, new hope, new purpose, and peace, peace. That's also what Christ came to bring. As Zacharias sings in verse 79, the sun has risen to guide our feet into the path of peace. It's also what the angel sang to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace toward men on whom his favor rests or in whom he is well pleased. That's not just a temporary peace. That's not a political peace. That's not just peace or goodwill between people. Those may all be good things in our, but the peace that we need to fill our hearts and to guide our feet is the peace of God, the peace of knowing him, of being reconciled to him, of having him to lead us through all of our days and experiences of life. Without Christ and his salvation, we will never have that peace, for he is the one who came to bring it. The sun has risen. That's our assurance. As we continue on our present life journey, we're not yet there in that place, you know, where the sun always shines. And I don't mean now the physical sun, but the eternal sun, God's son, who has come, who has died, who has risen from the dead, ascended to glory. But we're still living here on earth, where there is still darkness. But the assurance that we have is that when we follow Christ and live by his word and trust in him day by day, he will guide our feet into the path of peace, that path of life which is true joy, lasting hope, abiding peace. We can have it already today. And that will lead us. That will lead us to that even brighter day. which will dawn one day, when that Christ, that Son, will return from heaven, that we may then live forever in his light, in that land, in that creation, where the Son, that is God's Son, will shine, and we with him, forever. Amen, let's pray. Oh Lord Christ, how we rejoice in your coming How grateful that you have risen. Your light has risen. The dawn has appeared. And indeed, you have already vanquished the powers of darkness. We're grateful that you, gracious Savior, are the one who gives us life and light, that we can live in the blessing of your light and of your salvation, that we can live our lives day by day with that peace that you came to bring. Oh, Lord, we rejoice in that today. What a reason we have again to sing, and we sing praises to you, O Lord God. As Zacharias did, it is blessed be the God of Israel who has come to redeem his people. Receive our thanks, Lord. Apply this word to our hearts. Continue to bless us throughout this day. For Jesus' sake we pray, amen.