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 Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
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 over the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
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, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O, come, Lord! Come and rule, come and heal, come and reign!
This is my favorite Christmas hymn. Its haunting melody and the slow cadence thrill me every time. My favorite recording of it is by Phillips, Craig, and Dean, off of their Repeat the Sounding Joy (1996) album: they start slowly and build to that earnest plea at the end of the song -
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Israel - religious Israel - still awaits her Messiah, not realizing that she has already seen and rejected Him. And therefore this song has an odd mix of mourning and triumph: mourning because Israel looks for her Savior even to this day, and triumph because He has come and conquered death for our sake.
There is a third aspect to this song, which is that of the Second Coming of the Christ. He has already been here as the Holy Servant, living among us, healing us, breaking bread with us. But there will come a Day when He will return. But that's a post for later...
For now, the song hearkens back to the 400 years of silence between the end of the Old Testament and the coming of John the Baptist. Those long years of silence from the Lord were hard on Israel; they'd been ruled by the Persians, Greeks, Egyptians (I think), and Syrians. They'd attempted a war for independence, but eventually were conquered by the Romans.
They were ruled by strangers, and yet kept their culture and heritage alive - barely. There they were: conquered, beaten down, captive. They were scattered throughout the known world, and there they mourned the loss of their kingdom, and looked forward to the Promise the Lord had given them of a Savior. They longed for the Day when He would come and smite their oppressors and take the reins of the kingdom. How odd, then, that He should come first as a Servant and not a King!
Yet, they ought to have known - the Prophecies were there all along. When the Wise Men inquired of Herod -
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
‘ But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
So they knew where the Messiah was to be born, and there were many, many more clues to tell them just how He would come. But, like you and like me, they saw through the glass but dimly, and couldn't see the true richness of God's Promise: He would send them not just a King, but a Savior! He would send them a true High Priest, who would serve His Father perfectly, and offer up the sacrifice of Himself to pay for the sins of His people.
He would ransom captive Israel. To this day, He still ransoms Israel: whenever a person comes to Christ, God grafts him in to the covenant family (see Romans 11 and Galatians 3). Therefore, gentiles become, in Spirit, Jews. And thus the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, the Savior, redeems us out of the kingdom of darkness and delivers His people into the Kingdom of His Father.
Oh, Lord, no plan of Yours may be thwarted, You Word cannot be defeated! Thank You for Your grace and the wonderful gift of Your Son. Thank You for fulfilling Your plan and Your Will. It is beyond our grasp that You do You will, no matter what we attempt in opposition. Thank You for how You make Your Word alive and vital in Your childrens' hearts: let us continue to follow Your commands and glorify Your Name!
Adam is searching for Christmas posts reflecting the spirit of the holy day. Please consider submitting something for him to include! He is also having a Christmas Open Trackback today, so swing on by and check it out.)
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