Scripture References:
st. 1 = Luke 1:68-75
st. 2 = Luke 1:76-79
The Song of Zechariah is the second "great" canticle recorded by Luke (1:68-79), well-known as the Benedictus, after its incipit in the Latin Vulgate. Zechariah uttered his song as prophecy and praise upon the naming of his son, John the Baptist. Stanza 1 praises God for bringing deliverance from evil and being true to his word spoken by earlier prophets; stanza 2 addresses John, the forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would "guide our feet in ways of peace."
Zechariah's reference to "the rising sun" (Luke 1:78) caused the early church to use this canticle in morning services, initially at Lauds, the hour of early morning praise. The song is still used for morning prayer by churches with a tradition of daily prayer services (see PHH 247 for more information on this tradition). Bert Polman (PHH 37) versified Zechariah's song in 1986 specifically for the tune AN WASSERFLÜSSEN BABYLON in an attempt to include a concise paraphrase of this long canticle in the 1987 Psalter Hymnal.
Liturgical Use:
Advent; morning worship services.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
Bert Frederick Polman (b. Rozenburg, Zuid Holland, the Netherlands, 1945; d. Grand Rapids, Michigan, July 1, 2013) was chair of the Music Department at Calvin College and senior research fellow for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Dr. Bert studied at Dordt College (BA 1968), the University of Minnesota (MA 1969, PhD in musicology 1981), and the Institute for Christian Studies. Dr. Bert was a longtime is professor of music at Redeemer College in Ancaster, Ontario, and organist at Bethel Christian Reformed Church, Waterdown, Ontario. His teaching covered a wide range of courses in music theory, music history, music literature, and worship, and Canadian Native studies. His research specialty was Christian hymnody. He was also an orga… Go to person page >
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