Zechariah's Song

Our second song of Advent is from the father of John the Baptist, named Zechariah. Like Mary, Zechariah’s song is a response of praise to God for his work of salvation in Jesus, the Messiah. The back story of this song is that when the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to inform him that his barren wife would bring forth a son who would prepare the way for the Messiah, Zechariah objected in disbelief. For this, the angel said, "And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place because you did not believe my words." At the birth of John, his tongue was loosed and the first thing he did was sing praises, not about John, but Jesus, whom he called the sun of righteousness. As you read Zechariah’s song, you see in stunning detail that Jesus came to save us so we might worship in joy and holiness.