MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/18/2026
9:16 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: Introduction
to Luke 1:67-71
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
1:67-71
Message of the verses: “67 ¶
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
saying, 68 "Blessed be the Lord God
of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David, 70 as
he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us;”
I will begin to quote from the introduction of these
verses as seen in John MacArthur’s commentary:
“One expression of the joy that marks the redeemed (cf. Neh 8:10; Ps.
16:11; Rom. 4:17; Gal. 5:22; 1 Peter 1:8) is ‘singing and making melody with
[the] heart to the Lord’ (Eph. 5:19; cf. Col. 3:16). That theme runs throughout
Scripture. Psalm 5:11 declares, ‘Let
all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy’; in Psalm
13:6, the psalmist exults, ‘I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt
bountifully with me’; Psalm 30:4 exhorts, ‘Sing praise to the Lord, you
His godly ones’; and Psalm 92:1 affirms that ‘it is good to give thanks
to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High’ (cf. v. 4; 7:17;
9:2, 11; 18:49; 27:6; 28:7; 33:1-3; 40:3; 47:6-7; 57:7; 59:16 -17; 61:8; 63:7;
66:2; 68:4; 59:30; 71:22-23; 75:9; 81:1; 90:14; 95:1; 96:1-2; 98:1; 104:33;
105:2; 108:1, 3; 119:54, 72; 132:9, 16; 135:3; 138:1; 144:9; 146:2; 147:1, 7;
149:1, 3, 5; Ex. 15:1, 21; Judg. 5:3; 2 Sam. 22:50; 1 Kings 4:32; 1 Chron.
16:9, 23; Ezra 3:11; Isa. 12:2, 5; 42:10; Jer. 20:13; Zech. 2:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3;
15:3-4).
“In addition to those
exhortations to sing praise, the Bible records numerous songs of praise to
God. After God miraculously delivered
them from the pursing Egyptians by drowning Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea,
Moses and the Israelites sang a son of celebrating that deliverance (Ex.
15:1-21). Deborah and Barak also sang of
God’s deliverance of His people, this time from the Canaanite forces led by
Sisera (Judg. 5:1-30). At the dedication
of the temple12 and all the Levitical
singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine
linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests
who were trumpeters; 13 and it was the
duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise
and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and
cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is
good, for his steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the
LORD, was filled with a cloud, 14 so
that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the
glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chron. 5:12-14 ESV).
“Hannah
sang a song of praise to the Lord for delivering her from the stigma of
barrenness (1 Sam. 2:1-10). The book of
Psalms, Israel’s hymn book, is filled with songs celebrating the delivering,
saving, redeeming acts of God toward His people. The book of Revelation records songs of
praise sung in heaven (5:9-10; 15:3-4).
“In the first two chapters of his
gospel, Luke records five tributes of praise; those of Elizabeth (1:41-45),
Mary (1:46-55), Zacharias (1:67-79), the angels who announced Christ’s birth
(2:13-14), and Simeon (2:25-32). And
though her words were not recorded the devout ‘prophetess, Anna’ (2:36), who ‘never
left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers’ (v.37), gave
‘thanks to God [for the infant Jesus], and continued to speak of Him to all
those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem’ (38). We have no information as to whether they
were ever sung, or intended to be sung, but they were clearly outbursts of
praise.
“Verses 67-79 of chapter 1 comprise
the third of those five anthems that of Zacharias. Mary’s praise, the Magnificat, emphasized
personal salvation; Zacharias’s praise, known as the Benedictus (from the first
word in the Latin Vulgate), focuses on collective salvation. It is a tribute of praise to God for the
salvation of sinners, and therefore, omits any mention of divine judgment. As was fitting for a priest, who devoted his
life to the study and teaching of the law, Zacharias’s praise. Like Mary’s was
deeply rooted in the Old Testament. It
focused especially on the three great covenants; the Davidic, Abrahamic, and
New covenants, and thus is a major bridge from the Old Testament to the New. Zachariah’s words plainly reveal that
Christianity is not a new religion, but rather the fulfillment of everything
promised in the Old Testament through the power and work of the Messiah, the
Lord Jesus Christ.”
I will do my best to complete this
introduction in this evening’s SD
Spiritual
Meaning for My life today: I see a need in my life to praise
the Lord more than I am doing, to thank the Lord for His grace and mercy from which
comes my salvation through the sacrifice that Jesus did while on the cross as
He died for me, then was resurrected to show that God had accepted His
sacrifice, and then went back to heaven where He intercedes for me.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I
am trusting the Lord that the infusion that my wife will get today will be
something that will be helpful in getting rid of any cancer in her body.
3/18/2026
10:02 AM
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