Luke 1:76-79 Description Canticle of Zechariah — He went before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation Preface and Praise of Sacred Scripture VI. The Old Testament as Forerunner to the New — Applied to Moses and the prophets as forerunners of Christ, just as John the Baptist was "went before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people; to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace." Related Moses