V. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
The congregation, during this ceremony, was assembled out in the courts, for this was the hour of prayer, about nine o'clock in the morning, and the offering of incense was a type and symbol of the prayers arising to the throne of God, Ps. 141, 2.
The angel messenger: V. 11. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. V. 12. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
While Zacharias was engaged in the work of his ministry, while the fumes of the incense in the censer were being wafted upward before the veil of the Most Holy Place, there suddenly appeared to him an angel of the Lord. It was not a revelation in a dream or in an unconscious state, but an actual appearance, about whose definiteness there could be no doubt.
On the right side, that is, on the south side of the altar of incense, the heavenly visitor stood. Zacharias was not in an ecstatic state, his mind was perfectly clear, he noted every detail. But he was deeply moved at the sight, greatly perturbed, as might be expected under the circumstances. And this perturbation took the form of fear, which fell upon him. Well might a sinful man be filled with fear in the presence of a sinless messenger from the holy God.