Church Fathers Commentary Luke 1:75

"In holiness and righteousness before him all our days." — Luke 1:75 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Zacharias glorifies the Lord because He has enabled us to serve Him with full confidence—not in the flesh, as Judah did with the blood of sacrifices, but in the spirit with good works. This is what he means by in holiness and righteousness. For holiness is the proper observance of our duty toward God, and righteousness our duty toward man; for example, when a person devoutly performs God’s commands and lives honorably among others. But he does not say this is done before men, like hypocrites who desire to please people, but before God, like those whose praise is not from people but from God. And this is not for a short time, but for all the days of their life, as it is said, all our days.

The Venerable Bede: For whoever departs from God’s service before he dies, or with any impurity stains either the integrity or the purity of his faith, or strives to be holy and righteous before people and not before God, does not yet serve the Lord in perfect freedom from the hand of his spiritual enemies. Instead, following the example of the ancient Samaritans, he endeavors to serve both the gods of the Gentiles and his Lord.