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The Hymns Blessing God
I will
declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church Michael Nekora Ahymn is a
song of praise to God. The .four recorded in
Luke are all unique to ..that gospel and
consist of words from Mary, Zachariah, Simeon, and the angels at the birth of
Jesus. All are contained in the first two chapters. The Greek word humneo
(Strong’s 5214) means to sing a hymn and is used just four times in the New
Testament: in Matthew (26:30) and Mark (14:26) referring to the singing of a
hymn at the end of the last supper, in Acts (16:25) when Paul and Silas sang
praises to God while in prison, and in Hebrews 2:12 (which quotes Psalm 22:22).
The New
International Version Bible supplies the heading “Mary’s Song” and
“Zechariah’s Song” in front of the first two hymns (Luke 1:46,67); the angels
sang their praises, one would imagine with a transcendent majesty never heard
before nor since. All four hymns are in the style of Hebrew poetry and
originally were probably uttered in Aramaic; it was later that they were
written in the Greek form we have today.
The Magnificat
of Mary “My soul
glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been
mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will
call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has
performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud
in their inmost thought. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has
lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent
the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be
merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our
father.”—Luke 1:46-55, NIV In Latin the
first words of this song are magnificat anima mea Dominum which is why
this is called “The Magnificat” (Latin for magnify, the word used in the
KJV). The words are similar to
the prayer of Hannah when she brought the young boy Samuel to Eli the priest to
minister before the Lord (see 1 Samuel 2:1-10). Albert
Barnes says, “There are few pieces of poetry—for this is poetry, and almost the
only poetry in the New Testament—more beautiful than this” (Barnes’ Notes on
the New Testament, p. 186). Mary praises God because “he has been
mindful of the humble state of his servant.” Being no respecter of persons is
one of God’s great characteristics (Romans 2:11). Mary sees herself as one of
the least within the nation, a woman who has been selected for the most
wonderful honor imaginable. Likewise the shepherd David had a position so low
within his family that no one called him when the prophet Samuel arrived to
anoint the next king. It was perhaps after being anointed that David writes:
“Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly” (Psalm 138:6).
Later when the gospel message was preached to the Gentiles, the Jews learned
that God’s lack of respect for persons was even more extensive than they had
imagined. Mary not
only praises God for what he has done for her, she rejoices in the prospect of
what will be done by the one she will bear. She knows salvation is
something that comes through Jesus, not through her. As with all four hymns in
this gospel the words speak of what will take place as though it had taken
place already. Such an outlook can only come from a bedrock of deep faith. Though one
would hardly expect a hymn of praise to also be revolutionary, William
Barclay in The Daily Study Bible Series notes that this hymn describes
three “revolutions” caused by Christianity:
Thus one can
say that Christianity begets a revolution in every human being and this will
lead eventually to a revolution in the entire world.
The Benedictus
of Zachariah “Praise be
to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his
people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant
David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our
enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers and
to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to
rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without
fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, my child,
will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of
peace.”—Luke 1:67-79, NIV Benedictus comes from the Latin verb meaning to bless
and is the first word of this hymn in the Vulgate. Zachariah was the husband of
Elizabeth and father of John, later to be known as John the Baptist. “The oath he
[God] swore to our father Abraham” is recorded in Genesis 22:16,17: “By myself
have I sworn, saith the Lord … that in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies.” That promise made so long in the past was now about to be fulfilled
by the coming of the Messiah. Such a prospect is so sure to Zachariah that he
says God has already visited, has already redeemed his people even though the
actual redemption would not take place until more than three decades later. All devout
Jews longed for the day when this promised Messiah would come. Most believed
that before he came a forerunner would announce his coming and prepare his way.
The usual belief was that it would be Elijah (Malachi 4:5). But Zachariah
prophesies that it will be his son John. He says of
John, “[you will] prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of
salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.” God used John to prepare the
hearts of the people to accept Jesus Christ just as he overrules the
experiences of those he is drawing in this age. Mankind did not know what God
was like until Jesus arrived. The Jews knew only of a demanding God, one who
enforced his laws and passed judgment. There was no comfort there. But Jesus’
message was that God is love and the startled world could only say, “We never
knew God was like that.” Forgiveness
of sins restores a relationship. We still must bear the penalty of our sins
since acts do have consequences. But estrangement from God can be nullified
resulting in the restoration of friendship with God. Zachariah praises God
because “he has redeemed his people.” The Companion Bible says the Greek
means “wrought a ransom for.” The concept of a ransom paid to redeem or rescue
one taken captive is the heart of God’s great plan of redemption. Jesus Christ,
sinless and undefiled, willingly gave his life to ransom father Adam who became
a captive of sin and death. “This song
of Zacharias is exceedingly beautiful. It expresses with elegance the great
points of the plan of redemption, the doings of John and the mercy of
God in providing that plan. That mercy was great. It is worthy of
praise—of our highest, loftiest songs of thanksgiving; for we were in the
shadow of death—sinful, wretched, wandering—and the light arose, the gospel
came, and men may rejoice in hope of eternal life.”—Barnes’ Notes on the New
Testament, p. 188.
The Gloria
in Excelsis of the Angels “Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”—Luke
2:14, NIV Although
this is just a single sentence hymn, one can imagine the grandeur of the
singing. Just as Handel in the Messiah took the word “halleluiah” and
combined and recombined it in various ways to thrill us, undoubtedly the angels
did the same. This was no ten-second performance which left the shepherds
wondering just what had happened. Luke loved
the word peace. He used it more often than the other three gospel writers
combined. Barclay says, “Peace in Hebrew does not mean merely freedom from
trouble; it means all that makes for a man’s highest good; and through Christ a
man is enabled to walk in the ways that lead to everything that means
life, and no longer to all that means death.” The work of
redemption is universally presented as based in the love of God (John 3:16;
Ephesians 5:2). “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Highest
praise is to be given to God for his love in redeeming mankind. Would that not
only angels but all of humankind join universally in this song of praise.
The Nunc
Dimittis of Simeon “Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes
have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a
light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”—Luke
2:29-32, NIV In Latin the
two words “now dismiss” are nunc dimittis which is how this fourth and
final hymn is identified by the scholars. In some unidentified way Simeon had
been promised that his life would not end until he had seen God’s anointed one.
In the babe before him he recognized the promised one and was glad. It is
somewhat unexpected to see a Jew praising God for the one who would be “a light
to the Gentiles.” Simeon may be thinking of a prophecy in Isaiah: “… to restore
the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles,
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
There are numerous other direct statements in the Old Testament that Messiah
was not just to be the savior of the Jews alone. “From the rising of the sun
even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles”
(Malachi 1:11). “In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand
for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek” (Isaiah 11:10). We all, like
Simeon, should feel grateful that the Savior was given for the Gentiles. But if
our departure is to be in peace as was his, our life must also be “just
and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Waiting is
expected of all God’s faithful ones. We know the one who is too wise to err is
in control and all things are working together for good. Though there is
trouble on every hand, “we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and
a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). |