Translate


Monday, December 25, 2006

O

O Wisdom
O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, Thou encirclest the world from one end to the other, Thou orderest all things with might and mercy: O come to us and reveal the way of wisdom and of understanding O Wisdom.

O Adonai
Adonai, the Lord and leader of the house of Israel, In the burning bush hast thou appeared unto Moses And given him the law upon the mountain: O come and deliver us with thy powerful arm O come and deliver us with thy powerful arm O come and deliver us with thy powerful arm Adonaï

O Scion of Isaiah's Line
O Scion of Isaiah's Line, predestined to be a sign for The nations, The rulers of the earth fall silent before thee, The Nations cry unto thee: O come and save us, bestir thyself, delay no longer

O David's Key
O David's key, sceptre of the house of Israel, That which thou openest, none can secure, That which thou securest, no power may open; O come and unlock the prison of darkness and the fetters of death

O Morning Star
O morning star, incandescence of pure light, Radiant sun of righteousness; O come and enlighten Those who sit there in darkness And in the shadow of death.

O King of All Nations
O king of all nations, their expectation and desire, Keystone, which holds all things together: O come and save mankind, whom thou hast formed from clay! O king of all nations, their expectation and desire, Keystone, which holds all things together: O come and save mankind, whom thou hast formed from clay! O come and save mankind, O come and save mankind, whom thou hast formed from clay!

O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, our king and counselor, Thou hope and saviour of the nations: O come, make haste to help us, Thou our Lord and our God, our God

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A joyous Christmas to you, brother.

Lifewish said...

In traditional Christian mythology, isn't the Morning Star another name for Lucifer?

Bro. Bartleby said...

Lucifer and the Morning Star. Many myths surround Venus, once thought to be two different "stars" -- the evening star and the morning star. I think Lucifer was called the Morning Star because all the other stars are high in the sky, this last bright star at the break of dawn is a "fallen star." Whereas with the reference to Jesus as the Morning Star, the Greek word used is phosphoros or "light bearer" -- now using Venus in an entirely different light, instead of fallen star, the bright morning 'star' is the light bearer of the coming dawn.

Lifewish said...

But "Lucifer" just means "light-bearer" in Latin. It's extremely interesting that these two apparently diametrically opposed entities should be given identical names. It's very reminiscent of Gnostic dualism.

Bro. Bartleby said...

I think it all has to do with the fascination through the ages with the planet Venus, this bright star or "Venus as metaphor" seems to be included in myths of all cultures, and depending upon the story telling, Venus can be cast in a positive or negative light. And yes, Lucifer means "light-bearer" in Latin, but how "Lucifer" made his/her/its way in Christian theology is by the Vulgate Bible (5th Cen.) as translated (partly) by Jerome. I think he was using "light-bearer" as Prometheus, so by using the Latin "Lucifer" he was painting a fallen angel much the same as Prometheus -- he that brings fire/light (stolen from God) to humanity. Then later Dante reinforced this idea of Lucifer/Satan in The Divine Comedy ... and too Milton in Paradise Lost.