O come, O come Emmanuel

Yesterday we started the season of Advent, the time when we look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth at Christmas (and start panicking about how much we need to do, even in these strange COVID-Christmas times!). There are 2 hymns that I really look forward to hearing each year, and we’ll ponder them this week.  The first one is O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and when I hear it, it’s a sure sign that Christmas is on the way! You can listen to a moving version here and I’ve copied the lyrics below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP4iyJqrPvY

There are lots of versions of the hymn, but in all of them in the first line of each verse we hear a mysterious descriptions of Jesus: “O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high” or “O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free”.  As I was pondering the words this week, I realised that they all pointed to one thing – Hope! 

We have the hope of God coming to earth so He could rescue us (Emmanuel: God with us), and the hope that one day the whole world will be ruled by a king who is truly wise (True Wisdom), and we will live alongside one another in peace (desire of nations). We have the hope that comes from God’s teaching in the Bible, showing us how to live well (Adonai: The Lord). We have the hope of restoration and rescue (out of what looks like a dead branch a new shoot appears, the Rod of Jesse).  We have the hope of being set free from the prisons we find ourselves in and able to enter a new heavenly home (the Key of David, a sign of Godly authority to open the way).  We have the hope of light coming into the darkness (Dayspring).  

This hope came alive when Jesus came to earth at Christmas, and we live with the hope that one day the world will be restored, all will be set free, light will shine, and the true king will be worshipped. 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  O come, God of Hope.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861)

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash