Luke 1:13. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;
The best quietus to fear is answered prayer. If God has heard thee, be not thou again afraid.
Luke 1:13. And thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
"The grace" or "the gift of God", so the name "John" signifies; and it is a sweet name for anyone to bear: "Thou shalt call his name John." I do not think the prayer alluded to here was so much a prayer for a son; if so, methinks that Zacharias had long ago left off praying it, and now his old prayers are heard, after he had discontinued them. I think that it alludes rather to his prayer for the coming of the Christ, the appearance of the Messiah; that prayer was heard, as we shall see further on.
Luke 1:13. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;
The best quietus to fear is answered prayer. If God has heard thee, be not thou again afraid.
Luke 1:13. And thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
"The grace" or "the gift of God", so the name "John" signifies; and it is a sweet name for anyone to bear: "Thou shalt call his name John." I do not think the prayer alluded to here was so much a prayer for a son; if so, methinks that Zacharias had long ago left off praying it, and now his old prayers are heard, after he had discontinued them. I think that it alludes rather to his prayer for the coming of the Christ, the appearance of the Messiah; that prayer was heard, as we shall see further on.