O Flower

O Flower of Jesse’s stem,
you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples;
kings stand silent in your presence;
the nations bow down in worship before you.
Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

--Vespers antiphon


O Come O Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From every foe deliver them
That trust your mighty power to save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.

--Latin hymn – ninth century


Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
As seers of old have sung.
It came, a blossom bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ‘twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it,
The Virgin Mother kind.
To show God’s love aright,
She bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

O Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispel in glorious splendor
The darkness ev’rywhere;
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death now save us,
And share our ev’ry load.

--German carol