It is believed to have been first introduced by Benedict of Nursia. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Benedictus is part of Lauds, probably because of the song of thanksgiving for the coming of the Redeemer in the first part of the canticle. The Pulpit Commentary refers to a belief that the Benedictus was "first introduced into the public worship of the Church about the middle of the sixth century by St. 76) was of course an allusion to the well-known words of Isaiah 40:3 which John himself afterwards applied to his own mission ( John 1:23), and which all three Synoptic Gospels adopt ( Matthew 3:3 Mark 1:2 Luke 3:4). The prophecy that he was to "go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" (v. The second part of the canticle is an address by Zechariah to his own son, who was to take so important a part in the scheme of the Redemption for he was to be a prophet, and to preach the remission of sins before the coming of the Redeemer from on high. The deliverance was now at hand, and was pointed to by Zechariah as the fulfilment of God's oath to Abraham but the fulfilment is described as a deliverance not for the sake of worldly power, but that "we may serve him without fear, in holiness and justice all our days". While the Jews had impatiently borne the yoke of the Romans, they had continually sighed for the time when the House of David was to be their deliverer. The horn is a sign of power, and the "horn of salvation" signified the power of delivering or "a mighty deliverance". As of old, in the family of David, there was power to defend the nation against their enemies, now again that of which they had been so long deprived, and for which they had been yearning, was to be restored to them, but in a higher and spiritual sense. The first (verses 68–75) is a song of thanksgiving for the realization of the Messianic hopes of the Jewish nation but to such realization is given a characteristically Christian tone. The whole canticle naturally falls into two parts. 3.3.1 International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
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