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| The arc of the covenant is carried into the Temple Hours of the Duc of Berry |
Last week I posted a few notes on the first of the third nocturn canticles used at Matins in the Benedictine Office during the extended Christmas season. Today a brief look at the second of the set, which comes from Isaiah 26: 1-12.
Isaiah 26:1-12
Vulgate
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Douay-Rheims
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Urbs
fortitudinis nostræ Sion; salvator ponetur in ea murus et antemurale
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Sion the city of
our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein.
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2 Aperite
portas, et ingrediatur gens justa, custodiens veritatem.
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Open ye the
gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in.
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3 Vetus
error abiit: servabis pacem; pacem, quia in te speravimus
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The old error is
passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.
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4 Sperastis
in Domino in sæculis æternis; in Domino Deo forti in perpetuum.
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You have hoped
in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.
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5 Quia
incurvabit habitantes in excelso; civitatem sublimem humiliabit:
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For he shall
bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low.
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6. humiliabit
eam usque ad terram, detrahet eam usque ad pulverem
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He shall bring
it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.
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7 Conculcabit eam
pes, pedes pauperis, gressus egenorum.
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The foot shall
tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy
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8 Semita justi
recta est, rectus callis justi ad ambulandum.
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The way of the
just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in.
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9 Et in semita
judiciorum tuorum, Domine, sustinuimus te: nomen tuum et memoriale tuum in
desiderio animæ.
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And in the way
of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and
thy remembrance are the desire of the soul.
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10. Anima mea
desideravit te in nocte, sed et spiritu meo in præcordiis meis de mane
vigilabo ad te.
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My soul hath
desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning
early I will watch to thee.
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11. Cum feceris
judicia tua in terra, justitiam discent habitatores orbis.
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When thou shalt
do thy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn
justice.
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12 Misereamur
impio, et non discet justitiam; in terra sanctorum iniqua gessit, et non
videbit gloriam Domini.
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Let us have
pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints
he hath done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord.
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13. Domine,
exaltetur manus tua, et non videant; videant, et confundantur zelantes
populi; et ignis hostes tuos devoret.
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Lord, let thy
hand be exalted, and let them not see: let the envious people see, and be
confounded: and let fire devour thy enemies.
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14. Domine,
dabis pacem nobis: omnia enim opera nostra operatus es nobis.
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Lord,
thou wilt give us peace: for thou hast wrought all our works for us.
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The Fathers typically interpreted the strong city referred to in verse 1 as both Christ himself, and as the Church he established.
The double walls that guard it are variously interpreted as Christ
and his angels; faith and good works; and the prophets and the Gospel.
The second verse, urging that the gates be
lifted up is very similar to the sentiments of Psalm 23, used in the Messiah,
and the following verses clearly speak of Christ's mission to bring us peace
and justice.
The verses speaking of the longing to see
God are often interpreted by the Fathers as references to the beatific vision,
but they can also be interpreted rather more literally here, in the context of the
season, as the fulfillment of the promises of old in the Incarnation.
