O Wisdom

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Isaiah 7:14

For the prayers in my Advent readings for this fourth week of Advent, the writer is using the "O Antiphons", which are ancient prayers used during this season since at least the seventh century. Only a few monasteries still continue to sing these antiphons beginning on December 17. I think these prayers are beautiful in their simplicity so I want to quote them here this week. There are two today:

O Wisdom, O holy word of God,
you govern all creation
with your strong yet tender care;
Come and show your people the way to salvation.

O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel,
who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush,
who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain;
Come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.