I'd like you to turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 1 verses 67 to 79.

This text is come to be known in the history of the church as the Benedictus, the Latin for the word blessed with which the text begins.

It's Zachariah's hymn of praise and we want to look at it this morning. But first some background.

When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest by the name of Zachariah and he had a wife whose name was Elizabeth.

She was of the daughters of Aaron.

He was of the division of a bygien. They were both righteous, walking in all the

commandments and ordinances of the Lord, Luke tells us blameless. But they had no

child because Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years.

But God, desiring to demonstrate

mercy on the broken-hearted and that nothing human can stand in the way of his resolves to be good, sends the mighty angel Gabriel to

Zachariah.

And Gabriel says to him, your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth is going to bear you a son and you will call his name John and he will be great and he will drink no wine or any strong drink but he will be filled with the

Holy Spirit from his mother's womb and he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord, their God.

And he will go out in the power of Elijah, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and he will prepare a people for the Lord. Zakaria could not believe his ears and he said as much and

that made Gabriel angry and Gabriel said to Zakariah, I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God

Almighty and he sent me here to bring you this good news and you will be speechless

until it comes to pass because you did not believe the words that I spoke to you which will have their fulfillment in their time.

And nine months later, the time came And Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist.

And at his circumcision they were about to name him

Zachariah, that is, the neighbors were.

And Elizabeth said, no, isn't it? that is the neighbors were.

And Elizabeth said, no, his name is John.

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