Luk 1:69, Rev 17:3 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 69. And hath raised up a horn of salvation ] That is, a mighty and glorious Saviour : a quotation from . Horns are the well known emblems of strength, glory , and power , both in the sacred and profane writers, because the strength and beauty of horned animals consist in their horns. Horns have also been considered as emblems of light ; therefore the heathen god Apollo is represented with horns, to point out the power, glory, and excellence of the solar light. The Chaldee paraphrast sometimes translates keren, horn , by malcuth , or malcutha , ; , which signify a kingdom : but it is likely that the allusion is here made to the horns of the altar ; and as the altar was a place of refuge and safety, and those who laid hold on its horns were considered to be under the protection of the Lord, so, according to the expression of Zacharias, Jesus Christ is a new altar , to which whosoever flees shall find refuge. Some imagine that this form of speech is taken from the custom of ancient warriors, who had a horn of steel on the top of their helmets , which ordinarily lay flat , till the person came victorious from battle, and then it was erected , as emblematical of the victory gained. Such a horn as this is represented on the helmet of the Abyssinian kings and warriors: see the plates in Bruce's Travels . To this custom of wearing or lifting up the horn , the following scriptures are thought to allude: ; ; . In ancient gems and coins , this form of the horn on helmets is easily discernible, sometimes flat , sometimes erected . A horn, filled with various fruits , was also the emblem of abundance among the ancients: hence their cornu copia , or horn of plenty . From all this we may learn that the Lord Jesus gives a luminous, powerfuly prevalent, glorious , and abundant SALVATION or REFUGE to mankind. In the house of his servant David ] Or, in the family : so the word οικος, house , is often used in the Sacred Writings. In , the angel states that Mary was of the family of David ; and Zacharias, who, from the nature of his office, must have been well acquainted with the public genealogical tables, attests the same thing. This is a matter of considerable importance; because it shows forth the truth of all the prophetic declarations, which uniformly state that the Messiah should come from the family and sit on the throne of DAVID.

‏ Luke 1:69

Verse 69. And hath raised up a horn of salvation] That is, a mighty and glorious Saviour: a quotation from Ps 18:2. Horns are the well known emblems of strength, glory, and power, both in the sacred and profane writers, because the strength and beauty of horned animals consist in their horns. Horns have also been considered as emblems of light; therefore the heathen god Apollo is represented with horns, to point out the power, glory, and excellence of the solar light. The Chaldee paraphrast sometimes translates keren, horn, by malcuth, or malcutha, 1Sa 2:10; Jer 48:25, which signify a kingdom: but it is likely that the allusion is here made to the horns of the altar; and as the altar was a place of refuge and safety, and those who laid hold on its horns were considered to be under the protection of the Lord, so, according to the expression of Zacharias, Jesus Christ is a new altar, to which whosoever flees shall find refuge.

Some imagine that this form of speech is taken from the custom of ancient warriors, who had a horn of steel on the top of their helmets, which ordinarily lay flat, till the person came victorious from battle, and then it was erected, as emblematical of the victory gained. Such a horn as this is represented on the helmet of the Abyssinian kings and warriors: see the plates in Bruce's Travels. To this custom of wearing or lifting up the horn, the following scriptures are thought to allude: 1Sa 2:10; Ps 112:9; 148:4; La 2:17. In ancient gems and coins, this form of the horn on helmets is easily discernible, sometimes flat, sometimes erected. A horn, filled with various fruits, was also the emblem of abundance among the ancients: hence their cornu copia, or horn of plenty. From all this we may learn that the Lord Jesus gives a luminous, powerfuly prevalent, glorious, and abundant SALVATION or REFUGE to mankind.

In the house of his servant David] Or, in the family: so the word οικος, house, is often used in the Sacred Writings. In Lu 1:32, the angel states that Mary was of the family of David; and Zacharias, who, from the nature of his office, must have been well acquainted with the public genealogical tables, attests the same thing. This is a matter of considerable importance; because it shows forth the truth of all the prophetic declarations, which uniformly state that the Messiah should come from the family and sit on the throne of DAVID.

‏ Revelation of John 17:3

Verse 3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness] This wilderness into which the apostle was carried is the desolate state of the true Church of Christ, in one of the wings of the once mighty Roman empire. It was a truly awful sight, a terrible desert, a waste howling wilderness; for when he came hither he:-

Saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.] No doubt can now be entertained that this woman is the Latin Church, for she sits upon the beast with seven heads and ten horns, which has been already proved to be the Latin empire, because this empire alone contains the number 666. See Clarke on Re 13:18. This is a representation of the Latin Church in her highest state of antichristian prosperity, for she SITS UPON the scarlet coloured beast, a striking emblem of her complete domination over the secular Latin empire. The state of the Latin Church from the commencement of the fourteenth century to the time of the Reformation may be considered that which corresponds to this prophetic description in the most literal and extensive sense of the words; for during this period she was at her highest pitch of worldly grandeur and temporal authority. The beast is full of names of blasphemy; and it is well known that the nations, in support of the Latin or Romish Church, have abounded in blasphemous appellations, and have not blushed to attribute to themselves and to their Church the most sacred titles, not only blaspheming by the improper use of sacred names, but even by applying to its bishop those names which alone belong to God; for God hath expressly declared that he will not give his glory to another, neither his praise to graven images.