O Emmanuel: December 23rd, The “O Antiphons”

 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Hymn Verse:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Latin Text:

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
expectratio gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos,
Domines, Deus noster.

English Translation:

O Emmanuel, Our King and Lawgiver,
The Desire of the nations, and their Savior:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1046:

O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord,
the anointed for the nations and
their | Savior: *
Come and save us, O | Lord our God.

Emmanuel is the Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל “God With Us.” This title for Christ refers Him as the Restoration of fallen sinful humanity to the presence of God. Drawing on Isaiah 7:14 this title is explicitly incarnational, that is, it refers to the fact of God taking upon Himself human flesh. This final antiphon summarizes the

O Rex Gentium: December 22nd, The “O Antiphons”

Come, Desire Of Nations

Hymn Verse:

O Come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 Latin Text:

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

English Translation:

O King of the Gentiles, and their Desire,
The Corner-stone, Who madest both one:
Come and save man,
Whom You have formed out of the dust of the earth.

LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1042:

O King of the nations, the ruler
they long for, the cornerstone
uniting all | people: *
Come and save us all,
whom You formed | out of clay.

Rex Gentium means King of Nations, based primarily on Isaiah 10:11, though the title for Christ is used in many other passages. This antiphon is a confession that the Christ is the Savior of all nations. The petition is based on the fact that all humanity is descended from Adam, whom God formed out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). Their fall into sin was the fall of all nations from God. The Promise of in the curse on Satan is the Promise to all nations. All nations were

O Oriens: December 21st, The “O Antiphons”

O Come, Thou Dayspring From On High

Hymn Verse:

O Come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death’s dark shadow put to flight.

Latin Text:

O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae,
et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris,
et umbra mortis.

English Translation:

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.

LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1039:

O Dayspring, splendor of light
ever- | lasting: *
Come and enlighten those who
sit in darkness and in the shad- | ow
of death.

Oriens means “Dayspring” or “Morning Star” or “Sunrise.” This title for Christ is found throughout Scripture. The purpose of this title is point out that Christ is the light of the world, that His gift of salvation is like the dawn of a new day after a dark night of terror. The theme of the O Antiphons builds again. Here in Oriens the Creator of light on the first day. He is the Creator of the Sun, Moon, and Stars on the fourth day (Wednesday); which He appointed not only to give light to the world, but to be for signs and to mark seasons. He is the Greater Light that has come into this world.

The theme builds from creation, to the Promise to Abraham, to the Incarnation, to Transfiguration, to the Resurrection of Christ, and to the Throne of Christ in His Kingdom of Glory.

Study on O Oriens

In the beginning the world was shapeless and empty. It could do nothing for itself. “Darkness was on the face of the deep.” The Word of God declared “Let

O Clavis David: December 20th, The “O Antiphons”

O Come, Thou Key of David, Come

Hymn Verse:

O Come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home,
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Latin Text:

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel,
qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperuit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

English Translation

O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel,
controlling at your will the gate of heaven:
Come, break down the prison walls of death
for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;
and lead your captive people into freedom.

LSB “O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1035:

O Key of David and scepter of theHouse of Israel, You open and no one
can close, You close and no one
can | open: *
Come and rescue the prisoners who
are in darkness and the shad- | ow
of death.

Clavis means Key. This title for Christ is from Revelation 3:7 and is drawn from God’s commission of Eliakim son of Hilkiah in Isaiah 22:22. The title Key of

O Radix Jesse: December 19th, The “O Antiphons”

O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s Stem

Hymn Verse:

O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From ev’ry foe deliver them
That trust Thy mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Latin Text:

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

English Translation:

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
Before You kings will shut their mouths,
To You the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1032:

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign
before the peoples, before whom all
kings are mute, to whom the nations
will do | homage: *
Come quickly to de- | liver us.

Radix is the Latin word “Root.” The reference is to Isaiah 11:1 and 10:

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”

This title for Christ focuses on the fact that He is the legitimate Heir to the throne of David. He fulfills the promise made to Abraham and renewed in David. The genealogy of Christ in Matthew chapter 1 emphasizes that Jesus is the legal Inheritor of the title “Son of David” the son of Abraham. The prophecy in Isaiah and elsewhere paints the parallel that the Son of God is the Root of Jesse and ALSO the branch that grows from the stem of Jesse. The Tree and its branches represent the inheritance of the Davidic Throne according to God’s Promise.  The tree symbolism also calls to remembrance Christ as the Tree of Life in Genesis 2-3, in Proverbs, and in Revelation 2:7 and 22:2.

The fact that God, the Creator of Jesse and David would choose to become the human Son of David, humbling Himself to offer His life in the place of sinners for

O Sapientia: December 17th, The “O Antiphons”

O Come, Thou Wisdom From on High

The Hymn:

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

Who orderest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Latin Text:

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,

attingens a fine usque ad finem,

fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:

veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

English Translation:

O Wisdom, who proceeds from the mouth of the Most High,

Who reaches from one end to the other,

Who mightily and sweetly orders all things;

Come to teach us the way of prudence.

LSB “O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1025:

O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth

of the Most High, pervading and

permeating all creation, mightily

ordering | all things*

Come and teach us the way

of | prudence.

The Antiphon focuses us on Wisdom as both a title and an attribute of Christ, that He is the Word of God who speaks for God, that He is with God as creator of all things, and ruler of all things through his Wisdom. The petition we bring to Divine Wisdom is that He come and teach us His way of prudence; to teach us to govern ourselves and guard ourselves wisely in this world avoiding danger and evil.

A Study for O Sapienta

Sapienta or Wisdom is the title given to the Messiah in the prophecy of Isaiah 11. Here we have both the Spirit of Wisdom as equated with the Spirit of the Lord, and the fact that He works through the judgements of His mouth and the

The “O Antiphons”

The hymn “O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel” (TLH 62; LW 31; CW 32; ; ELH 110; LSB 357) is a rendition of the medieval “O Antiphons” also called the “Greater Antiphons.”

An Antiphon is a selection of Scripture and prayer chanted responsively by the officiant and assembly. The purpose of the Antiphon is to set the focus for the reading selected for that particular day of the Church year.

The O Antiphons were to be sung during Vespers one on each day seven days before the feast of the Nativity of Christ: that is, from December 17th through the 23rd. Each Antiphon focuses on a Scriptural title for Christ as He is named in Biblical prophecy and a petition to Christ to come fulfilling the promise made through that title and prophecy.
The Messianic prophecies in Isaiah form the heart of the seven antiphons, which draw particularly on Isaiah 11.

The traditional order of the seven antiphons is
(1) Sapientia: “O Wisdom” Isaiah 11:2-3,
(2) Adonai: “O Lord of Might” Isaiah 11:4-5,
(3) Radix Jesse: “O Root/Branch/Rod of Jesse” Isaiah 11:1 and 10,
(4) Clavis David: “O Key of David” Isaiah 22:22,
(5) Oriens: “O Dayspring” Isaiah 9:2,
(6) Rex Gentium: “O Desire of Nations/King of Gentiles” Isaiah 2:4; 9:6; 11:10-12,
(7) Emmanuel: “O Emmanuel” Isaiah 7:14.

When one takes first letters of the titles for Christ in the antiphons and reads them from right to left they form a Latin acrostic “Ero Cras” which means “I will