“O Adonai” (O, Lord) - A Review of the O Antiphons This Advent
Thursday’s Verse:
From Isaiah 33:22 ESV
“For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.”
Isaiah says these words to a people living in the shadow of enemies and the threat of invasion. They had kings who were weak, laws that could not deliver them. So God gives them a name. He does not give them a system or a set of strategies. He simply gives himself. And then the promise that holds it all together: he will save us.
This verse pierces the heart of both pride and despair for Lutherans. As judge, God knows us. We cannot cover up our sin or justify it. As lawgiver, he names what is good even if it condemns us. But as king, he does not reign to destroy. He reigns to save. The same Lord who shows us our need is the Lord who provides.
This Advent we wait for the coming of this Lord. But he comes not as a distant king on a throne, but as a baby laid in a manger. The Judge is judged in our place. The Lawgiver fulfills the law for us. The King wears a crown of thorns. This is how he saves.
When our lives are dominated by guilt or fear or disorder, O Adonai speaks to us once more. “I am your Lord. I will save you.” We cannot save ourselves. We are saved by the One who reigns.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
O Adonai, Lord of Israel and Lord of our lives, you judge rightly, you command what is good, and you reign in mercy. Save us from our sin and from trusting in lesser kings. Come to us again in your Word and Sacraments, and teach us to wait in faith. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above was licensed through Unsplash+