Luke 1

Luke 1:26

26. — in the sixth month] The sixth month after Elisabeth’s conception. Dr. Hammond. — the angel Gabriel] It is remarkable that this annunciation is made by the same archangel Gabriel, who had formerly appeared to the Prophet Daniel, chap. yiii. 16; ix. 21; and probably to the Prophet Zechariah, chap. ii. 1—4, and described to both so circumstantially the coming of Christ, His rejection by the Jews, and the final establishment of His kingdom. Dr. Hales.

Luke 1:28

28. — Hail, thou that art highly favoured.] That, is, who hast found favour from God, ver. 30. Dr. Whitby. — blessed art thou among women.] This whole expression is a form of salutation, denoting kindness, and not reverence; and no argument can be drawn from this passage for any religious worship paid to the Virgin Mary. Bp. Mann.

Luke 1:31

31. — his name JESUS.] See note at Matt. i. 21.

Luke 1:32

32. He shall be great, &c.] He shall be a great and glorious Person, even the expected Messiah, the Son of the Most High God; and God shall give Him an eternal and spiritual kingdom, of which that short and temporal one of David was but a type and representation. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:34

34. — How shall this be.] A question not arising from disbelief, but from wonder, and a desire to be satisfied how events so strange should be brought to pass. Dean Stanhope.

Luke 1:35

35. — The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, &c.] It was necessary to the scheme of redemption, by the Redeemer’s offering Himself up as an expiatory sacrifice, that the manner of our Lord’s conception should be such that He should in no degree partake of the natural pollution of the fallen race, for whose guilt He came to stone, nor be included in the general condemnation of Adam’s progeny. In order to reverse the universal sentence passed upon mankind, and to purge their universal corruption, a Redeemer was to be found, pure of every stain of inbred and contracted guilt. And, since every person, produced in the ordinary course of generation, could not but be of this contaminated race; the purity, requisite to the efficacy of the Redeemer’s atonement, made it necessary that the manner of His conception should be supernatural. Thus the miraculous conception has a natural connexion with the other articles of our faith. Without it, it could not have been true, as St. John asserts, that “the Word was made flesh,” John i. 14, and the atonement of the Redeemer would have been inadequate and ineffectual. Bp. Horsley. — therefore also that holy thing — shall be called the Son of God.] The glorious truth which is covered under this veil of words, is not, it must be acknowledged, clearly understood by us. Men have been styled the sons of God, as being the work of His hands, and being formed in His image. Spirits, superiour to man, have also been called the sons of God, and even His firstborn, for the same reasons, and because they were in being before us. But Jesus is the Son of God in a sense very different from all these; derived from the Supreme Father, in a superiour and more immediate manner, and not only among many brethren the firstborn, but, among them all, the only-begotten. Dr. Ogden. The reason why “that holy thing” was to be called the Son of God is clear; namely, because the Holy Ghost is God: for, were He a creature, and not God Himself, by whom our Saviour was thus born of a virgin, He must have been the Son of a creature, not of God. Bp. Pearson.

Luke 1:36

36. And, behold, thy cousin &c.] To remove every doubt respecting the sure fulfilment of that which was now promised, the angel desires her to behold her cousin Elisabeth, who had been made to conceive a son when past the age of child-bearing, by the miraculous power of God. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:38

38. — Behold the handmaid &c.] In these words, Mary expresses her consent, her humility, her faith, and her rejoicing, in the gracious purpose of God. Dean Stanhope. M Elisabeth saluted by Mary. Mary’s song of thanksgiving Before the Account called Anno Domini the sixth Year. and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

Luke 1:39

39.—into the hill country,—into a city of Juda.] The city here spoken of, it is supposed, is Hebron, this being one of the cities given to the priests in the tribe of Judah, Josh. xxi. 10, 13; and also said expressly to lie in the mountains or hills, Josh. xi. 21; xv. 48, 54: these hills, running across the middle of Judea from south to north, gave to the tract, along which they run, the name of the hill country. Dr. Wells.

Luke 1:41

41.—was filled with the Holy Ghost.] By this heavenly inspiration she knew that her cousin Mary had conceived; that the child conceived was to be her Lord, ver. 43; and that Mary had believed the angel who appeared to her; see ver. 45. Bp. Pearce.

Luke 1:43

43. And whence is this to me.] She says, And herein am I also greatly honoured, that I am visited by the mother of our Lord. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:46

46.—My soul doth &c.] On the decisive evidence now afforded to her, Mary gives full expression to all her mingled emotions of joy, gratitude, humility, and reliance on God’s mercies, not only for herself, but for all those that fear Him, from generation to generation, or to the remotest ages, in this admirable hymn, which so strongly resembles, and furnishes the finest commentary on the hymn of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 1—10, in which the Blessed Seed was first celebrated, and by a woman, under the title of the Messiah, Christ (anointed) or King of Israel. Dr. Hales. This hymn of the Blessed Virgin is appointed to be used in our Church service after the first lesson at evening prayer. It is called the Magnificat from the word with which it begins in Latin. It is the first hymn recorded in the New Testament; and, from its ancient use among the primitive Christians, has been continued in the offices of the Church in other countries as well as in ours. For, as the holy Virgin, when she reflected on the promises of the Old Testament, now about to be fulfilled in the mysterious conception and happy birth, of which God had designed her to be the instrument, expressed her joy in this form; so we, when we bear in the lessons like examples of His mercy, and are told of those prophecies and promises which were then fulfilled, may not improperly rejoice with her in the same words, as having a proportionable share of interest in the same blessings. Wheatley. Most fitly has our Church appointed sacred hymns to be used, after the reading of the lessons from the Holy Scriptures. For who is there, that, hearing God speak from heaven to him for his soul’s health, can do less than rise up and praise Him? And what hymns can be fitter to praise God with for our salvation, than those which formed the earliest gratulation, with which the advent of our Saviour to the world was hailed? Bp. Sparrow.

46—48.—My soul doth magnify &c.] All honour, glory, thanksgiving, and praise, be unto God, who is the Author of all blessings, and who has now filled my heart with exceeding great joy. For, though I was of low condition, and had no reason to expect that any extraordinary person would arise in my family; yet hath God, out of His infinite bounty, wroclauded to exalt me to the highest dignity, and to make me the instrument of bringing the Messiah into the world, on whose account the generations of men through all ages to the end of the world shall call me blessed. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:48

48.—all generations shall call me blessed.] Because in her was to be accomplished the ancient prophecy, that “a virgin should conceive and bear a Son,” Iasi. vii. 14; of her was to be born the Redeemer of Israel, the Saviour of the world, the Holy One, the mighty God, the Prince of Peace. Well therefore might all after-ages “call her blessed;” well might they celebrate her memory, the fruit of whose womb was the Author of eternal salvation; well might they admire her as a pattern of true meekness, and piety, and purity of manners: but farther than this we dare not go. To invoke as the queen of heaven, to pray to her and worship her, as one having Divine power, is the height of profaneness and impiety; and a direct breach of the first and great commandment. How must her meek and humble spirit have been offended and shocked, could she have foreseen the idolatrous adoration of the Church of Rome, which not only “calls her blessed,” but places her upon an equality with the blessed Lord of heaven and earth; may, in some sense makes her superiour to our Saviour, by beseeching her to “command her Son” to grant their requests. Waldo.

Luke 1:51

51. He hath showed strength &c.] Thus, she proceeds, in old time God has frequently given remarkable instances of His power and wisdom, in confounding and bringing to nought the devices of proud and designing men, and turning things, beyond all expectation, to the advantage of the modest and humble. Dr. S. Clarke. The nativity and circumcision of John the Baptist. Before the Account called Anno Domini the eith Year. g 1 Sam. 2. 6.

Luke 1:54

54, 55. He hath holpen his servant &c.] In particular, He hath all along preserved and blessed His peculiar people, the Jews, in an especial manner; in old time, by leading them through the greatest dangers, and delivering them from their most powerful enemies; and now, by sending to them the Messiah, their Saviour; according to the gracious promise which He made to our forefathers, and the rest of the Patriarchs, that He would shew extraordinary mercy to them and their posterity through all generations. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:57

57. — and she brought forth a son.] It is observable, that the Baptist’s nativity is the only one (that of Christ excepted) which the Christian Church has thought proper to celebrate. The days appointed for the commemoration of other saints are generally those on which they respectively ceased from their labours, and entered into their everlasting rest; the day of a good man’s death being indeed the day of his birth, and this world no more than the womb in which he is formed and matured for his admission where there is neither sorrow or pain. But the nativity of St. John being designed, by the remarkable incidents that accompanied it, to turn the eyes of men towards One that was far greater; One, the latch of whose shoes he confessed himself not worthy to unloose; the Church keeps a day sacred to it, and directs us to begin our meditations by considering, as all Judas did when it happened, “what manner of child” that should be, which was so wonderfully born. Bp. Horne.

Luke 1:59

59. — on the eighth day] See Lev. xii. 1—3. They gave the name to the child at the time of the circumsion, the name of Abram having been changed at the first institution of this rite, Gen. xvii. 5, 10. Dr. Lightfoot.

Luke 1:62

62. — they made signs to his father.] This seems to shew that Zacharias was deaf, as well as dumb. Bp. Pearce.

Luke 1:63

63. — they marvelled all.] For the reason, at ver. 60, 61.

Luke 1:66

66. — And the hand of the Lord was with him.] The child grew and appeared to be blessed in a peculiar manner by the continual care of Divine Providence. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:67

67. — and prophesied.] Meaning, that, by Divine inspiration, he composed the following hymn, (Dr. S. Clarke,) in which he prophetically describes what will be done by his son, and the Messiah hereafter. Dr. Whitby. The occasion on which the following hymn was composed was the birth of St. John; the subject of it is the covenant of grace in Jesus Christ; the speaker is a priest and a Prophet, “filled with the Holy Ghost.” During a tedious interval of silence, Zacharias had beheld the accomplishment of the Divine promise to himself; and he likewise knew that the Saviour of mankind would soon be born of his relation, the Virgin Mary. We may judge, therefore, what pain and grief he felt, while restrained from uttering that “good matter,” of which his heart was so full, that, when at length God saw fit to grant His permission, it burst forth at once in an impetuous and irresistible torrent of thanksgiving. Bp. Horne. This hymn of Zacharias, containing a thanksgiving to God for the incarnation of our Saviour, and for those unspeakable mercies, which were soon afterwards the subject of the Church’s praises, is one of those appointed to be used in our Church service after the second lesson at the morning service. The second lesson is always taken either from the Gospels or the Acts, which contain an historical account of the great work of our redemption: and therefore, as the angel that first published the glad tidings of salvation was joined by a multitude of the heavenly host, who all brake forth in praises to God; so, when the same tidings are rehearsed by the priest, it is most proper that both he and the people should unite in mutual gratulations, and in praising and blessing the name of God in the expressions of this Divine hymn. Wheatley. M 2 The prophecy of Zacharias. Before the Account called Anno Domini the sixth Year.

Luke 1:68

68.—hath visited] Hath visited in mercy. So Ruth i. 6; Ps. lxxx. 14. Dr. Whitby.

It was no new thing for the God of Israel to visit and redeem His people. He had often done it when they were in captivity and affliction. But so to visit and redeem was not all that he intended to do for His chosen. Through things temporal He was desirous that they should look at things eternal, and carry on their views from a bodily to a spiritual redemption, in which all His counsels terminated; a redemption to be effected by His visiting mankind, dwelling among them in a tabernacle of flesh, and in that tabernacle offering up the true propitatory sacrifice; a redemption that should extend to Gentiles as well as Jews, and of both make one people, a new Israel, of which He should be the Lord God for evermore. Bp. Horne.

Luke 1:69

69.—an horn of salvation] Meaning a great deliverance. Dr. S. Clarke. A strength and power sufficient to save us. Bp. Pearce. See note at 1 Sam. ii. 1.

Luke 1:70

70—72. As he spake &c.] According to the many gracious promises which He made and declared by the ancient Prophets; that He would send salvation to His people, and deliver them from the power of their greatest enemies; that He would certainly perform the covenant made with the Patriarchs our forefathers, and extend His mercy to their posterity in all ages. Dr. S. Clarke.

70.—since the world began.] All the Prophets from Adam downwards spake of the salvation and deliverance from the power of Satan, to be accomplished by Christ, as foretold at Gen. iii. 16. Dr. Lightfoot.

Luke 1:73

73—75. The oath which he swore] And according to the oath which He swore to our forefather Abraham; that his posterity, being delivered from all the enemies of their religion and happiness, should worship God cheerfully and safely; and under the instruction of the Messiah, should live in sincere righteousness and holiness of heart and life, through all generations. Dr. S. Clarke.

Luke 1:76

76.—shall be called &c.] Shall be, in a peculiar and extraordinary manner, His Prophet and forerunner. Dr. S. Clarke.

—the Highest:—the Lord] John is here said to be the Prophet of “the Highest,” and to go before the face of “the Lord.” But it was Christ, before whose face he was sent as a messenger, and whose Prophet he

Luke 1:77

77. To give knowledge &c.] To preach to the people repentance, as the condition, which the infinite mercy of God is pleased to offer them, of reconciliation and salvation. Dr. S. Clarke.

—by the remission of their sins.] Remission of sins is the doctrine in which the Christian religion justly glorieth, as that most necessary and fundamental point in which every other religion fails. The heathen here confesses himself to be in the dark. The blood of bulls and goats cannot wash away the sins of the Jews; and his oblations, since the truth is come which they were intended to prefigure, are preposterous and impious. The doctrine of salvation by the remission of sins, through faith in a Redeemer, was, from the beginning the sum and substance of true religion, which subsisted in promise, prophecy, and figure, till John preached their accomplishment in the person of Jesus. Bp. Horne.

Luke 1:78

78, 79. Through the tender mercy &c.] By that unspeakable compassion of God, who hath sent His Son from heaven, that, like the sun, He should disperse the darkness of ignorance and misery, and enlighten the minds of a blind world, to find the paths of knowledge and salvation. Dean Stanhope.

St. John was the morning star, that preceded the Sun of righteousness at His rising; an event, the glory of which is due to the tender mercy of God, since towards the production of it man can do no more, than he can do towards causing the natural sun to rise upon the earth. The blessed effects of the day-spring, which then dawned from on high, and gradually increased more and more unto the perfect day, were, the dispersion of ignorance, which is the darkness of the intellectual world; the awakening of men from sin, which is the sleep of the soul; and the conversion and direction of their hearts and inclinations into “the way of peace;” that is, of reconciliation to God by the blood of Christ, to themselves by the answer of a conscience cleansed from sin, and to one another by mutual love. Bp. Horne.

Luke 1:79

79.—the shadow of death,] Meaning, in a spiritual sense, a state of ignorance and sin, under the want of light and grace; the state of mankind, till Christ imparted to them salvation and light, Dr. Hammond.

Luke 1:80

80.—waxed strong in spirit,] Advanced in spiritual as well as natural accomplishments. Dean Stanhope.