“bowels of mercies.” The bowels are a center of a person’s emotional life, and that is reflected in the biblical text. God has deep feelings for His people, which is expressed by the phrase “bowels of mercies.”

[For more on “bowels” see commentary on Phil. 1:8.]

“the Rising Sun from on high.” The “rising sun” or “the Rising Sun from on high” is a title of the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes from the word anatole (#395 ἀνατολή), which is used to describe the dawn, “a change in darkness to light.”^a This leads naturally into verse 79, where Christ is said to “give light to those who sit in darkness.” The verb form of anatole occurs in the LXX translation of Malachi 4:2, describing the rise of the Sun of Righteousness. Here, the Rising Sun is said to visit us “from on high,” the same Greek phrase found in 2 Samuel 22:17; Psalm 18:16; 102:19; 144:7; and Luke 24:49. These passages in 1 Samuel and Psalms show that rescue from one’s enemies is said to come “from on high”—this theme comes up in Zechariah’s prophecy, especially verses 71 and 74. A similar title is used in Malachi 4:2, where the Messiah is called the “Sun of Righteousness.”

“visit.” See commentary on Luke 1:68; “visited”.