Second Week of Advent

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. But He shall judge the poor with justice, and shall favor with equity the meek of the earth.

And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His loins: and faith the girdle of His reins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb: and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the cobra: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the viper. They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all My holy mountain, for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who stands for an ensign of the people, Him the Gentiles shall beseech, and His sepulcher shall be glorious.

Lesson iv
Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaias of Saint Jerome, Priest
Book 4, Chapter 11

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse." From the beginning of the book of this prophet until the thirteenth chapter, where begins the vision, or burden of Babylon, the whole of the vision of Isaias, the son of Amoz, is one continual prophecy of Christ. We must explain it part by part, for if we were to take it all at once, the memory of the reader would be confused.

We, however, understand that the rod out of the root of Jesse signifies the holy Virgin Mary. She was a clean stem that had as yet put forth no shoot; as we have read above "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son" [Isaias 7:14]. And the flower we believe to mean the Lord our Redeemer, Who hath elsewhere compared Himself to a flower; "I am a flower of the plain, and a lily of the valleys" [Canticles 2:1].

The Spirit of the Lord then shall rest upon this flower; this flower which shall come forth from the stem and roots of Jesse by means of the Virgin Mary. And truly the Spirit of the Lord did rest upon our Redeemer. It is written that "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" [Colossians 2:9]. The Spirit was not shed on Him by measure, as it is upon the saints. To Him we may apply the words of the Hebrew Gospel used by the Nazarenes; The whole fountain of the Holy Ghost shall be poured forth upon Him "The Lord is a spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" [II Corinthians 3:17].

Lesson vii

The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Matthew 11:2-10

Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ: sending two of his disciples they said to him: "Art Thou He that is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answering said to them: "Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in Me. And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind? But what did you go out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold those who are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings. But what did you go out to see? a prophet? yea I tell you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold I send My angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee' [cf. Isaias 40:3]."

The sight of so many signs and so many mighty works should have been a source of wonder, and not a stumbling-block. And yet the unfaithful found these very works a rock of offence, when they afterwards saw Him Who had worked so many miracles dying on the Cross. Hence Paul says: "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block and unto the Gentiles foolishness" [I Corinthians 1:23]. It is indeed folly in the eyes of men to say that the Author of life died for men and thus men put as a stumbling-block to hinder them from coming to Jesus, the very thing that obliges them the most toward Him. For the more humbling God has undergone for man's sake, the more worthy is He that man should worship Him.

"And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in Me." Now what is this, but a plain mention of that time, when He afterwards humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross? It is as if He said: I indeed do wonderful works, but the day will come when I shall not refuse to suffer shame and evil treatment. Take heed then, ye who now worship Me for the works' sake, that when I come to die ye despise Me not for My death's sake.

And, as the disciples of John departed, what did Jesus say unto the multitudes concerning this same John? Let us hear. "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" Here our Lord teaches not by assertion, but by negation. Now a reed is a thing so made that as soon as the wind blows upon it, it bends it over toward the opposite quarter. And the fleshly-minded man is like a human reed. As he is praised or blamed so he bends himself in the one direction or the other.

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thine only-begotten Son; that through His coming we may attain to serve Thee with purified minds. Who liveth and reigneth with God the Father....

An oracle concerning Babylon, which Isaias the son of Amos saw. "Upon the dark mountain lift ye up a banner, exalt the voice, lift up the hand, and let the rulers go into the gates. I have commanded My sanctified ones, and have called My strong ones in My wrath, them that rejoice in my glory. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as it were of many people, the noise of the sound of kings, of nations gathered together:"

The Lord of hosts has given charge to the troops of war. To them that come from a country afar off, from the end of heaven: the Lord and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is near: it shall come as a destruction from the Lord. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every heart of man shall melt, And shall be broken. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall be in pain as a woman in labor. Every one shall be amazed at his neighbor, their countenances shall be as faces burnt.

Behold, the day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day, and full of indignation, and of wrath, and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to destroy the sinners out of it. For the stars of heaven, and their brightness shall not display their light: the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not shine with her light. And I will visit the evils of the world, and against the wicked for their iniquity: and I will make the pride of infidels to cease, and will bring down the arrogance of the mighty.

Her time is near at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged. For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose out of Israel, and will make them rest upon their own ground: and the stranger shall be joined with them, and shall adhere to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them into their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall make them captives that had taken them, and shall subdue their oppressors.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give you rest from your labor, and from your vexation, and from the hard bondage, in which you did serve, You shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shall say: "How has the oppressor come to nothing, how has the tribute ceased? The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers, that struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner.

How have you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise i the morning? how have you fallen to the earth, you that wounded the nations? And you said in your heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the most High." But yet you shall be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit.

Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from Petra of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Sion. And it shall come to pass, that as a bird fleeing away, and as young ones flying out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be in the passage of Arnon. Take counsel, gather a council: make your shadow as the night in the midday: hide those who flee, and betray not those who wander about. My fugitives shall dwell with you: O Moab, be a covert to them from the face of the destroyer:

For the dust is at an end, the wretch is consumed: he that trod the earth under foot has failed. And a throne shall be prepared in mercy, and one shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment and quickly rendering that which is just. We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his pride and his arrogance, and his indignation is more than his strength.

Therefore shall Moabites howl for Moab, every one shall howl: to them that feel secure behind the brick walls, tell them of their punishment. For the suburbs of Hesebon are desolate, and the lords of the nations have destroyed the vineyard of Sabama: the branches of which once reached even to Jazer: they have wandered in the wilderness, the branches thereof are left, they are gone over to the sea, and beyond.

The burden of Egypt. Behold the Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof. "And I will set the Egyptians to fight against the Egyptians: and they shall fight brother against brother, and friend against friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom."

"And the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the bowels thereof, and I will cast down their counsel: and they shall consult their idols, and their diviners, and their wizards, and soothsayers. And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king shall rule over them," said the Lord the God of hosts. And the water of the sea shall be dried up, and the river shall be wasted and dry. And the rivers shall fail: the streams of the banks shall be diminished, and be dried up. The reed and the bulrush shall wither away.

The channel of the river shall be laid bare from its fountain, and every thing sown by the water shall be dried up, it shall wither away, and shall be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all that cast a hook into the river shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish away. They shall be confounded that wrought in flax, combing and weaving fine linen. And its watery places shall be dry, all they shall mourn that made pools to take fishes.

The princes of Tanis have become fools, the wise counselors of Pharao have given foolish counsel: how will you say to Pharao: "I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?" Where are now thy wise men? let them tell thee, and show what the Lord of hosts has purposed for Egypt. The princes of Tanis have become fools, the princes of Memphis have gone astray, thr leaders of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

Behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof, and scatter its inhabitants abroad. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest: and as with the servant, so with his master: as with the handmaid, so with her mistress: as with the buyer, so with the seller: as with the lender, so with the borrower: as with him who calls for his money, so with him that owes it. With desolation shall the earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

The earth mourned, and faded away, and is weakened: the world faded away, the height of the people of the earth is weakened. And the earth is infected by its inhabitants: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and its inhabitants shall sin: and therefore those who dwell therein shall be scorched, and few men shall be left.

The vintage has mourned, the vine has languished away, all the merry-hearted have sighed. The mirth of timbrels has ceased, the noise of them that rejoice is ended, the melody of the harp is silent. They shall not drink wine with a song: the drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no man comes in. There shall be a crying for wine in the streets: all mirth is forsaken: the joy of the earth is gone away. Desolation is left in the city, and calamity shall oppress the gates. For it shall be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as if a few olives, that remain, should be shaken out of the olive tree: or grapes, when the vintage is ended. These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise: when the Lord shall be glorified, they shall make a joyful noise from the sea. Therefore glorify ye the Lord in instruction: the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of the just one. And I said: "My secret to myself, my secret to myself, woe is me: the liars have lied, and with the lying of transgressors they have lied."

O Lord, Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee, and give glory to Thy name: for Thou hast done wonderful things, Thy designs of old faithful, amen. For Thou hast reduced the city to a heap, the strong city to ruin, the house of strangers, to be no city, and to be no more built up for ever. Therefore shall a strong people praise Thee, the city of mighty nations shall fear Thee. Because Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress: a refuge from the whirlwind, a shadow from the heat.

For the blast of the Mighty is like a whirlwind beating against a wall. Thou shalt bring down the tumult of strangers, as heat in thirst: and as with heat under a burning cloud, Thou shalt make the branch of the mighty to wither away. And the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this mountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, of wine purified from the lees. And He shall destroy in this mountain the face of the bond with which all people were tied, and the web that He began over all nations.

He shall cast death down headlong for ever: and the Lord God shall wipe away tears from every face, and the reproach of His people He shall take away from off the whole earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And they shall say in that day: Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord, we have patiently waited for Him, we shall rejoice and be joyful in His salvation. For the hand of the Lord shall rest in this mountain: and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, as straw is broken in pieces with the wagon. And He shall stretch forth his hands under Him, as the swimmer stretches forth his hands to swim: and He shall bring down their glory with the dashing of their hands. And the bulwarks of your high walls shall fall, and be brought low, and shall be pulled down to the ground, even to the dust.

If the third lesson is to be taken from the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin or from a simplex feast of a Saint, Lessons ii and iii above are concatenated.

Occurring Scripture for the Hour of Matins

Second Week of Advent

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