"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler,
the Lord is our king; he will save us." Isaiah 33:22
“O Lord and leader of Israel, you showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, and you gave him the holy Law on Sinai. O come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.
O Adonai! O Lord, Come!”
(From the O Antiphons, in use by the 8th century).
This prayer seems birthed out of a recognition that things on earth are not well. It is more like a groan, really, a cry of desperation from a broken world. It assumes that the world needs a benevolent Lord who will put things in proper place, judge wickedness, and bring about righteousness. In the darkness of pain, turmoil, chaos, and war, this world needs a good ruler who will come and set things right. Come, Lord!
But this is a bold prayer. To ask the Lord, who is Judge, Lawgiver, and King, to come. It assumes that somehow, judgment, the Law, and the King are on our side, and when He comes, it will go well with those of us who pray for it. But isn’t this impudent? Haven't scores of wars been fought under the presumption that God is on our side? Do we really want the Lord to come, then?
Wrapped in our longing for the world to be set right must be a place for us to pray, “Lord, set me right, too.” Bring justice to those I have oppressed. Slay the wicked, even if that be me. To ask the Lord to come in earnest:
I have to want justice more than I want to justify myself.
I have to want the Law more than I want to condemn others.
I have to want a King more than I want my own kingdom.
Thankfully, we can pray this prayer with a memory rooted deep in a history into which we have been supernaturally grafted. That history is Israel’s history, and it reminds us of a promise of God’s deliverance in a burning bush. It reminds us of a declaration of God’s Lordship over all creation in ten plagues. It reminds us of a vow of God’s faithfulness from Sinai. He didn’t save Israel out of the chaos and pain of Egypt because He judged her worthy. He saved her because He is good.
Asking the Lord to come expresses a brazen trust in the faithfulness of a Good Lord who has determined to save us, even if from ourselves. Can we reject our judgments, lay aside our law, cast off our crowns and scatter them like palm branches to prepare His way?
“O Adonai! O Lord, come!”
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