Luke 1:70

(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been of old), Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.

His holy prophets ... Beginning with Genesis 3:15 and through the last words of the Old Testament, there are 333 prophecies regarding Jesus the Saviour; and fittingly enough this received emphasis by Zacharias. This holy priest had probably spent the previous months studying those very prophecies and coming to the conclusion that the time had arrived for God to fulfill them all.

Salvation from our enemies ... It is too much to suppose that Zacharias knew the full meaning of this; for like the majority of his contemporaries, he might fully have expected that God would chase out the Romans and restore the earthly kingdom. The true enemies, of which God spake through him, however, were Satan and the sins which warred against the souls of men. The bondage from which Israel most required to be delivered was the servitude of Satan, not political vassalage under the Romans. Yet, so very few of Israel were aware of this. As Godet expressed it:

A carnal and malignant patriotism had taken possession of the people and their rulers, and the idea of a political deliverance had been substituted for that of a moral salvation.[36]

Speaking under the power of God's Spirit, Zacharias spoke truth beyond his full comprehension of it (1 Peter 1:10-12).