"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, For he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
And redeemed - That is, was “about to redeem,” or had given the pledge that he “would redeem.” This was spoken under the belief that the Messiah, “the Redeemer,” was about to appear, and would certainly accomplish his work. The literal translation of this passage is, “He hath made a “ransom” for his people. A “ransom” was the “price” paid to deliver a captive taken in war. A is a prisoner taken in war by B. B has a right to detain him as a prisoner by the laws of war, but C offers B a “price” if he will release A and suffer him to go at liberty. The price which he pays, and which must be “satisfactory” to B - that is, be a “reason” to B why he should release him is called a “price” or “ransom.” Men are sinners. They are bound over to just punishment by the law. The law is holy, and God, as a just governor, must see that the law is honored and the wicked punished; but if anything can be done which will have the same “good effect” as the punishment of the sinner, or which will be an “equivalent” for it - that is, be of equal value to the universe - God may consistently release him.