The Christian Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. An antiphon is a psalm, hymn or prayer sung or chanted in alternate parts. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Messiah. The importance of the O Antiphons is twofold: each one highlights a title for the Messiah: O Emmanuel, O Wisdom, O Lord, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Dayspring and O Desire of the Nations. Each one, also, refers to the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.
Each devotion in this O Antiphons series begins with a Scripture reading on a name for Christ, followed by a brief devotional thought, and completed with one of the ancient hymn verses as we sing about that name of Christ.
FIRST ANTIPHON: IMMANUEL Isaiah 7:10-16
The LORD spoke to Ahaz again. He said, 11“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God. Ask for it either in the depths below or in the heights above.”
12But Ahaz responded, “I will not ask. I will not test the LORD.”
13So Isaiah said:
Listen now, you house of David. Is it not enough for you to test the patience of men? Will you test the patience of my God as well? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign for all of you. Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel. 15He will eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse evil and choose good, 16because even before the child knows how to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.
We cannot help ourselves. On our own, we are helpless. We cannot save ourselves from hell. We cannot free ourselves from our damning prison. We cannot raise our spiritually dead souls or our physically dead corpses. We are hell-bound and cannot change our direction.
The most helpless creature in our world is a human infant. So, what does God do to save us? He sends his divine Son into our world as a human infant! The Son of God sets down his crown and takes off his royal robes. He puts on our humanity. He is God with us to do what we cannot do on our own. He saves us, frees us, and raises us – body and soul. All because he is Immanuel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
SECOND ANTIPHON: LORD OF MIGHT Exodus 19:16-20
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was over the mountain, and there was a very loud blast of a ram’s horn. All the people in the camp trembled. 17Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19When the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in the thunder. 20The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, at the top of the mountain. The Lord then called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
We are weak on our own. We would become slaves of a tyrant. We would be trapped between the rage of Pharaoh and the raging waters of the Red Sea. We would die in the desert from thirst and hunger.
The Lord of Might comes to rescue his people. He comes in a burning bush to name a leader. He comes as a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud to protect his people from the Egyptians. He comes to blow his mighty wind to dry a path in the Red Sea waters. He comes to feed his people with manna and quail and give them water flowing from a rock. He comes on Mt. Sinai to give the law in cloud and majesty and awe.
O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
THIRD ANTIPHON: ROOT OF JESSE Isaiah 11:1,10-12
A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
10This is what will take place on that day. The peoples will seek the Root of Jesse, who will be standing like a banner for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious.
11On that day the Lord will reach out his hand for the second time to reclaim the
remnant of this people who survive from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coasts of the sea.
12He will set up a banner for the nations,
and he will assemble the outcasts of Israel
and gather together the scattered people of Judah,
from the four corners of the earth.
If we closely examine our family trees, there are probably family members we don’t want to admit to knowing and certainly don’t want others to know about. … Maybe our family members feel the same way about us. Gasp! We are all messed up!
Jesus comes from a family tree that was all messed up – Gentiles, a prostitute, adulterers, a king who was also a murderer! Jesse is one of the men in Jesus’ family tree. Jesse is the father of King David. After David, the family tree becomes like a stump. Yet, even from this decrepit, lifeless stump, Jesus came as the Root of Jesse. He brings life back into the trunk, branches, and leaves of the tree. Though we and our fellow Christians are still messed up – we’re still gossips, thieves, adulterers, murderers, and more – Jesus accepts us all as those who have faith in him. Jesus has grafted us onto the Root of Jesse. Now we are part of Jesus’ family tree … and we will bear much fruit.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
FOURTH ANTIPHON: DAYSPRING Revelation 22:12-16
Look, I am coming soon and my reward is with me, to repay each one according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and so that they may enter through the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs, that is, the sorcerers, the adulterers, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.
Adam and Eve’s sin plunged this world into darkness and death. Sin loves the darkness and hates the light. Sin loves death and hates life. Adam hid in the darkness of Eden’s trees. Judas betrayed Jesus in the darkness of Gethsemane. We
often attempt to hide our embarrassing guilt when we are alone in the darkness.
God sent his Son, the light of the world, into the darkness. He is “the light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). Jesus was born in the darkness so we might be reborn as children of the light. He died in the darkness so we might live in the light of his life. He rose at dawn to usher in the new day of his resurrection. He is the light that chases away our darkness. He is the light that exposes our sins, so we come to him in repentance and seeking forgiveness. Jesus is the bright Morning Star, the Dayspring from on High. His very name means there will never be darkness in his eternal paradise.
O come, Thou Day-spring, from on high,
And cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
FIFTH ANTIPHON: KEY OF DAVID Revelation 3:7-8
To the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write:
The Holy One, the one who is true, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open, says this:8I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Because of our sinful nature and because of sins, we are locked out of heaven. Sin cannot exist in the holiness of our God. We are in bondage to our sin and cannot free us from our pitiful condition. No matter how much we struggle against the chains and rattle the bars, we are unable to break out of our prison. The eternal penitentiary of hell is waiting once death finds us.
Jesus the Christ entered our world. He endured the Law’s sentence. He stormed the gates of hell with his death, resurrection, and descent into hell. He is the Key of David. He frees us from our damnable dungeon by locking the gates of hell to us. Through faith in him, he unlocks the portals of paradise to us. He is the Key of David who opens the doors that no one else can close. He is the Key of David who shuts the doors that no one else can open.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
SIXTH ANTIPHON: WISDOM Isaiah 11:2-5
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him:
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3He will be delighted with the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears,
4but with righteousness he will judge the poor,
and he will render fair decisions in favor of the oppressed on the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death.
5Righteousness will be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his hips.
We are so foolish! Our current culture has become consumed with keeping “Mother Earth” from being angry with us because of “climate change.” Our culture has elevated the earth, the trees, the oceans, and the animals to become pagan gods. It is the new pagan religion of our age that’s no different from the pagan religion of past ages. It is the worship of the created instead of worship of the Creator. How foolish!
Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God incarnate. He is God’s Wisdom in the flesh. He is the “power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). It seems foolish that the Creator would take on the flesh of a creature to save his fallen creation. But that’s exactly what happened! This sounds foolish, yet Scripture says of this, Since the world through its wisdom did not know God, God in his wisdom decided to save those who believe, through the foolishness of the preached message” (1 Corinthians 1:21). What is this “foolishly” wise message? “We preach Christ crucified, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25a).
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.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
SEVENTH ANTIPHON: DESIRE OF THE NATIONS Haggai 2:6-9
Listen, this is what the LORD of Armies says. Once again, in a little while, I myself will shake the heavens and the earth, the seas and the dry land. 7I will shake all the nations, and the desired of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Armies. 8The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of Armies. 9The glory of this second house will be greater than that of the first one, says the LORD of Armies. For in this place I will provide peace, declares the LORD of Armies.
What do you desire? We can have desires that are spoiled by sin. Desires for a better job, better economy, better leaders. We can have desires that are set apart by sanctification. Peace in our homes, peace in our cities, peace among the nations.
Jesus Christ is the Desire of the Nations. He is what we and our world really need and should really be longing for. He is the Desire that shakes the nations (Haggai 2:7). Jesus caused the greatest upheaval in history. He split time between B.C. – Before Christ – and A.D. – Anno Domini, the Year of Our Lord. What happened in Bethlehem that Christmas night long ago is still sending its shockwaves among the nations. The Savior came to all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages. It is the Advent of our Lord.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.