109 Blest be the God of Israel: Song of Zechariah
Blest be the God of Israel, who comes to set us free,
Who visits and redeems us, who grants us liberty.
The prophets spoke of mercy, of freedom and release;
God shall fulfill that promise and bring the people peace.
God from the house of David a child of grace has given;
A savior comes among us to raise us up to heaven.
Before him goes the herald, forerunner in the way,
The prophet of salvation, the harbinger of day.
On those who sit in darkness the sun begins to rise,
The dawning of forgiveness upon the sinner's eyes,
God guides the feet of pilgrims along the paths of peace.
O bless our God and Savior with songs that never cease!
Devotion
The blessing that begins this hymn begs the question: “free from what?” Jesus said in Romans 8:34: “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” But what is sin? I was raised to think of sin as “breaking rules.” But this definition can be both too narrow and too harsh. I now consider the essence of sin as thoughts, words, and deeds that create separation, that inhibit, damage, or destroy relationships with God and others. According to Marilynne Robinson, John Calvin defined sin “as injury to another person, someone whom God values so highly as to have bestowed his likeness on him or her, that is, injury to anyone at all. And not only active harm to them, but inattentiveness to their wellbeing.” Slavery to sin means slavery to self.
According to Leviticus 25:47-50, when a Jew became poor and sold himself into slavery to pay his debts, one of his relatives had the right to redeem him out of slavery by paying the debt. The debt we accumulate is measured in the suffering of God and others that results from our sin. Jesus paid the price for our slavery to sin by taking upon himself this suffering, including the injury, the separation, and the ultimate separation of death.
A final question is “what is freedom from sin?” John Stott said that “true freedom is freedom to be my true self, as God made me and meant me to be. But God made me for loving, and loving is giving, self-giving. Therefore, in order to be myself, I have to deny myself and give myself in love for God and others. In order to be free, I have to serve.” “Freedom is the exact opposite of what most people think it is.” It is not freedom of responsibility to God and other people so one can live for one’s self. “It is liberation from a preoccupation with my silly little self in order to be free to love God and my neighbor.”
According to Leviticus 25:47-50, when a Jew became poor and sold himself into slavery to pay his debts, one of his relatives had the right to redeem him out of slavery by paying the debt. The debt we accumulate is measured in the suffering of God and others that results from our sin. Jesus paid the price for our slavery to sin by taking upon himself this suffering, including the injury, the separation, and the ultimate separation of death.
A final question is “what is freedom from sin?” John Stott said that “true freedom is freedom to be my true self, as God made me and meant me to be. But God made me for loving, and loving is giving, self-giving. Therefore, in order to be myself, I have to deny myself and give myself in love for God and others. In order to be free, I have to serve.” “Freedom is the exact opposite of what most people think it is.” It is not freedom of responsibility to God and other people so one can live for one’s self. “It is liberation from a preoccupation with my silly little self in order to be free to love God and my neighbor.”