Luke 2:29-32

“ Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31 Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel. ”

The vivid insight and energetic conciseness which characterize this song remind us of the compositions of David. Simeon represents himself under the image of a sentinel whom his master has placed in an elevated position, and charged to look for the appearance of a star, and then announce it to the world. He sees this long-desired star; he proclaims its rising, and asks to be relieved of the post he has occupied so long. In the same way, at the opening of AEschylus' Agamemnon, when the sentinel, set to watch for the appearing of the fire that is to announce the taking of Troy, beholds at last the signal so impatiently expected, he sings at once both the victory of Greece and his own release.

Beneath each of these terms in Luke 2:29 is found the figure which we have just indicated: νῦν, now, that is to say, at last, after such long waiting! The word ἀπολύειν, to release, discharge, contains the two ideas of relieving a sentinel on duty, and delivering from the burden of life. These two ideas are mixed up together here, because for a long time past Simeon's earthly existence had been prolonged simply in view of this special mandate. The term δέσποτα, lord, expresses Simeon's acknowledgment of God's absolute right over him. ῾Ρῆμά σου, Thy word, is an allusion to the word of command which the commander gives to the sentinel. The expression, in peace, answers to the word now, with which the song begins. This soul, which for a long time past has been all expectation, has now found the satisfaction it desired, and can depart from earth in perfect peace.

Luk 2:30-31 form, as it were, a second strophe. Simeon is now free. For his eyes have seen.

The term σωτήριον, which we can only translate by salvation, is equivalent neither to σωτήρ, Saviour, nor to σωτηρία, salvation. This word, the neuter of the adjective σωτήριος, saving, denotes an apparatus fitted to save. Simeon sees in this little child the means of deliverance which God is giving to the world. The term prepare is connected with this sense of σωτήριον : we make ready an apparatus. This notion of preparation may be applied to the entire theocracy, by which God had for a long time past been preparing for the appearance of the Messiah. But it is simpler to apply this term to the birth of the infant. The complement, in the sight of, must be explained in this case by an intermediate idea, “Thou hast prepared this means for placing before the eyes of...,” that is to say, in order that all may have the advantage of it. It is a similar expression to that of Psalms 23:5, “ Thou hast prepared a table before me. ” Perhaps this expression, in the sight of all nations, is connected with the fact that this scene took place in the court of the Gentiles. The universalism contained in these words, all nations, in no way goes beyond the horizon of the prophets, of Isaiah in particular (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 60:3); it is perfectly appropriate in the mouth of a man like Simeon, to whom the prophetic spirit is attributed.

The collective idea, all people, is divided, in the third strophe, into its two essential elements, the Gentiles and Israel. From Genesis to Revelation this is the great dualism of history, the contrast which determines its phases. The Gentiles are here placed first. Did Simeon already perceive that the salvation of the Jews could only be realized after the enlightenment of the heathen, and by this means? We shall see what a profound insight this old man had into the moral condition of the generation in which he lived. Guided by all that Isaiah had foretold respecting the future unbelief of Israel, he might have arrived at the conviction that his people were about to reject the Messiah (Luke 2:35).

The idea of salvation is presented under two different aspects, according as it is applied to the heathen or to the Jews. To the first this child brings light, to the second glory. The heathen, in fact, are sunk in ignorance. In Isaiah 25:7 they are represented as enveloped in a thick mist, and covered with darkness. This covering is taken away by the Messiah. The genitive ἐθνῷν may be regarded as a genitive of the subject, the enlightenment which the heathen receive. The heathen might also be made the object of the enlightenment, the light whereby the covering which keeps them in darkness is done away, and they themselves are brought into open day. But this second sense is somewhat forced.

Whilst the ignorant heathen receive in this child the light of divine revelation, of which they have hitherto been deprived, the humiliated Jews are delivered by Him from their reproach, and obtain the glory which was promised them. Springing from amongst them, Jesus appears their crown in the eyes of mankind. But this will be at the end, not at the commencement of the Messianic drama.

In this song all is original, concise, enigmatical even, as the words of an oracle. In these brief pregnant sentences is contained the substance of the history of future ages. Neither the hackneyed inventions of legend, nor any preconceived dogmatic views, have any share in the composition of this joyous lyric.