Isaiah — Chapter 51
Synopsis Capitis
Synopsis: Multiple 'listen to me' oracles — the Messianic promise of salvation for Israel and the nations. Key images: the rock from which they were hewn (Abraham and Sarah, v.1-2), the garden of Eden restored (v.3), the arm of the Lord that divided the sea (v.9-10, echoing creation and Exodus). The 'cup of staggering' and the 'cup of wrath' (v.17-23) = God's judgment transferred from Israel to her enemies. Lapide reads the 'arm of the Lord' passage as a prayer for the Incarnation.
Verse 9
Consurge, consurge, induere fortitudine brachium Domini
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord — the prayer for divine intervention, echoing the Exodus victories (Rahab, the dragon, the sea-division). 'Arm of the Lord' = Christ (John 12:38 cites Is 53:1: 'to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' of those who disbelieve in Christ). Lapide: the Church's prayer through the ages repeats this cry — 'awake' is the prayer for the Incarnation, for the Resurrection, and for the Second Coming. Applied to liturgical prayer: the Church always prays the 'Awake, awake' until the Lord comes in glory.