The second of the third Nocturn canticles set for Advent is from Isaiah 42, and focuses on the proclamation of the Gospel to all nations.
Canticle of Isaiah 42: 10-16
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Cantate Domino
canticum novum, laus eius
ab extrémis terræ:
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Sing ye to the Lord a new song, his praise is
from the ends of the earth:
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Qui descénditis in mare, et
plenitúdo eius; insulæ, et habitatóres eárum.
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You that go down to the sea, and
all that are therein: ye islands, and ye inhabitants of them.
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Sublevétur desértum et civitátes
eius. In dómibus habitábit Cedar:
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Let the desert and the cities
thereof be exalted: Cedar shall dwell in houses:
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Laudáte, habitatóres petræ; de vértice
móntium clamábunt.
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Ye inhabitants of Petra, give
praise, they shall cry from the top of the mountains.
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Ponent Dómino glóriam, et laudem
eius in ínsulis nuntiábunt.
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They shall give glory to the
Lord, and shall declare his praise in the islands.
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Dóminus sicut fortis egrediétur,
sicut vir præliátor suscitábit zelum;
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The Lord shall go forth as a
mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal;
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Vociferábitur, et clamábit: super
inimícos suos confortábitur.
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he shall shout and cry: he shall
prevail against his enemies.
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Tácui semper, sílui, pátiens
fui: sicut partúriens loquar:
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I have always held my peace, I
have I kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in
labour.
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Dissipábo, et absorbébo simul. †
Desértos fáciam montes et colles, et omne gramen eórum exsiccábo:
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I will destroy, and swallow up
at once. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And will make all their
grass to wither:
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Et ponam flúmina in insúlas, et
stagna arefáciam.
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and I will turn rivers into
islands, and will dry up the standing pools.
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Et ducam cæcos in viam quam nésciunt,
et in sémitis quas ignoravérunt ambuláre eos fáciam;
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And I will lead the blind into
the way which they know not: and in the paths which they were ignorant of I
will make them walk;
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Ponam tónebras coram eis in
lucem, et prava in recta.
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I will make darkness light
before them, and crooked things straight.
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Glória
Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
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Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
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Sicut
erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
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As
it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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Pope St John Paul II gave a General Audience on this canticle (in the context of Lauds in the liturgy of the hours) on this canticle on 2 April 2003:
1. In the Book that bears the Prophet Isaiah's name, scholars have identified various voices all of which are placed under the patronage of this great prophet who lived in the eighth century B.C. This is the case with the vigorous hymn of joy and victory that has just been proclaimed as part of the Liturgy of Lauds of the Fourth Week. Exegetes refer to it as the so-called "Second Isaiah", a prophet who lived in the sixth century B.C., at the time of the return of the Hebrews from the Babylonian Exile. The hymn begins with an appeal to "sing to the Lord a new song" (cf. Is 42,10), as in other Psalms (cf. Ps 96,1 [95]: 1 and Ps 98,1 [97]: 1).
The "newness" of the song that the Prophet invites the Hebrews to sing certainly refers to the unfolding horizon of freedom, a radical turning-point in the history of a people which experienced oppression and exile in a foreign land (cf. Ps 137 [136]).
2. In the Bible, "newness" often has the flavour of a perfect and definitive reality. It is almost the sign of the beginning of an era of saving fullness that seals humanity's tormented history. The Canticle of Isaiah has this exalted tone that is well suited to Christian prayer.
The whole world, including the earth, sea, coastlands, deserts and cities, is invited to sing to the Lord a "new song" (cf. Is 42,10-12). All space is involved, even its furthest horizons that also contain the unknown, and its vertical dimension, which rises from the desert plain, the dwelling place of the nomadic tribes of Kedar (cf. Is 21,16-17), and soars to the mountains. High up, in the territory of the Edomites, we can locate the city of Sela which many people have identified with Petra, a city placed between the rocky peaks.
22 All the Earth's inhabitants are invited to become like an immense choir to acclaim the Lord with exultation and to give him glory.
3. After the solemn invitation to sing (cf. Is 42,10-12), the Prophet brings the Lord onto the scene, represented as the God of the Exodus, who has set his people free from slavery in Egypt: "The Lord goes forth like a mighty man, like a warrior" (Is 42,13). He sows terror among his foes, who oppress others and commit injustice.
The Canticle of Moses also portrays the Lord during the Red Sea crossing as a "man of war", ready to stretch out his right hand and destroy the enemy (cf. Ex 15,3-8). With the return of the Hebrews from the deportation to Babylon, a new exodus is about to take place, and the faithful must be assured that history is not at the mercy of destiny, chaos or oppressive powers: the last word rests with God who is just and strong. The Psalmist had already sung: "Grant us help against the foe, for vain is the help of man!" (Ps 60,13 [59]: 13).
4. Having entered on the scene, the Lord speaks and his vehement words (cf. Is 42,14-16) combine judgement and salvation. He begins by recalling that "for a long time" he has "held [his] peace": in other words, he has not intervened. The divine silence is often a cause of perplexity to the just, and even scandalous, as Job's long lamentation attests (cf. Jb 3,1-26). However, it is not a silence that suggests absence as if history had been left in the hands of the perverse, or the Lord were indifferent and impassive. In fact, that silence gives vent to a reaction similar to a woman in labour who gasps and pants and screams with pain. It is the divine judgement on evil, presented with images of aridity, destruction, desert (cf. Is 42,15), which has a living and fruitful result as its goal.
In fact, the Lord brings forth a new world, an age of freedom and salvation. The eyes of the blind will be opened so that they may enjoy the brilliant light. The path will be levelled and hope will blossom (cf. Is 42,16), making it possible to continue to trust in God and in his future of peace and happiness.
5. Every day the believer must be able to discern the signs of divine action even when they are hidden by the apparently monotonous, aimless flow of time. As a highly-esteemed modern Christian author has written: "The earth is pervaded by a cosmic ecstasy: in it is an eternal reality and presence which, however, usually sleeps under the veil of habit. Eternal reality must now be revealed, as in an epiphany of God, through all that exists" (R. Guardini, Sapienza dei Salmi, Brescia, 1976, p. 52).
Discovering this divine presence, with the eyes of faith, in space and time but also within ourselves, is a source of hope and confidence, even when our hearts are agitated and shaken "as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (Is 7,2). Indeed, the Lord enters the scene to govern and to judge "the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth" (Ps 96,13 [95]: 13).
