The Face Of Praise Series

The debt has been paid. Jesus came into this world and paid the fine with no questions asked. God sent Him into the world to suffer on our behalf. He suffered for many who will never recognize that he’s even there. It is not our own actions that have blessed us with a forgiving savior, it is the grace of God and by Him alone that we are able to share in this blessing.

For all have sinned, and the wages for that sin is death, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

It is this joy that we are here to celebrate this morning. It’s the Joy of knowing God loves us so much that he not only promised to send his only son, but he did it. HE\ HAS REDEEMED US BY HIS BLOOD! HALLELUA!

BECAUSE HE RAISED UP A HORN OF SALVATION FOR US

69and(T) has raised up(U) a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

Now, if you are like me you want to ask, :WHAT IS A HORN OF SALVATION?

In the Bible a horn symbolizes power and victory.

Psalm 89:17

English Standard Version (ESV)

17For you are(A) the glory of their strength; by your favor our(B) horn is exalted.

Psalm 89:24

English Standard Version (ESV)

24My(A) faithfulness and my(B) steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

The picture is that of an army about to be taken captive, but then help arrives and the enemy is defeated. IN the previous picture, the captives are set free; but in this picture, the enemy is defeated so that he cannot capture any more prisoners. It means total victory for the people of God.

Illustration: Lord of the ring the Two Towers…The king is about to fall at the hands of the Orks, but then on the dawn of the third day, the light shines, and Gandalf along with his army arrives in the nick of time to defeat the orks and save mankind from annihilation.

The word salvation, connected here with the word “horn,” means that this “strength,” or this mighty Redeemer, was able to save. He was not weak or hindered in any way. There was no part of purchasing our salvation that was beyond His ability to bring to pass.

Now notice something about what Zacharias said in verses 68 and 69. He said that God was to be praised because He visited, redeemed and raised up a horn of salvation for his people, all of which are stated in the past tense.

Why is that worthy of noting? Because Christ hasn’t even been born yet! Zacharias speaks about them as though they were already done when the One who would perform them hadn’t come yet! What does that mean?

It means first that he had great confidence in the God who made the promises, and secondly that so far as God was concerned it was a done deal. God’s work of redemption had been worked out long before the world was even created by the God who sees the future just as plainly as He sees the past.

If the first three reasons for praising God concerned what He was doing, then the next reason has to do with His motives for doing them. Why did God visit, redeem and raise up a horn of salvation?