The martyrdom of Saint Bibiana
Legnanino
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Isaiah 26:1-6
Songs of Salvation (Continuation)
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[1] In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. [2] Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in. [3] Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee. [4] Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. [5] For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. [6] The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.”
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Commentary:
25:9-26:6. After the celebration of the banquet prepared by God, two hymns are intoned that will be sung “on that day The first praises the Lord he is faithful those who put their hope of salvation in him will never be disappointed, whereas Moab will be laid low on account of its pride (25:9-12). The second hymn returns (cf. 25:1-5) to the theme of praise of the Lord for giving refuge to the poor and needy (26:1-6).
26:7-19. Now comes a personal dialogue with God in the form of a prayer or sapiential psalm (vv. 7-10). Here the greatness of the Lord is not being described to third parties nor are his works being praised: the prophet is addressing him directly, to tell him that he trusts in Him (vv. 7-8), to express his innermost feelings (v. 9a; cf. Ps 42), to ask him to reveal his righteousness (vv. 9b-10) and intervene (v. 11) and bring peace (v. 12), and to celebrate enduring fidelity to the Lord (vv. 13-19). Verse 19 is a ray of hope in personal resurrection, although here, as in 25:8, it refers to the resurgence of the nation, as in the vision of the bones restored to life in the book of Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 37:1-14). Daniel 12:1-3 clearly predicts the resurrection of people from the dead. Commenting on v. 10, St Bernard addresses God, saying: “Father of mercies, may your anger be roused against me--the anger that chastens a soul who has lost his way, not the wrath by which you seal off the path of righteousness” ("In Cantica Canticorum", 42, 4).