Dear Church Family,

Hope you had a chance to listen to Pastor Nicholas’ message Sunday. We all need to ask the LORD to give us relationships for discipleship. Well, the Christmas season is upon us and it is a great opportunity to share and invite. I read this history of one of my favorite Christmas carols and thought you might be encouraged by it.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Verse 1
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

Verse 2
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go.

Refrain

Verse 3

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

Verse 4
O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.

Refrain

Verse 5
O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death’s abode.

Refrain

Verse 6
O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light. Refrain

Verse 7
O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.

This carol reaches farther back than almost any we sing today. Its roots go to the 8th century, drawn from the ancient Advent prayers known as the O Antiphons. For centuries, believers chanted these prayers in the days leading up to Christmas, each one calling on a different title of the coming Messiah. Emmanuel. Wisdom. Root of Jesse. Dayspring. King of Nations. Every title was a reminder that God had promised to step into our darkness.

In the 1800s the Latin text was translated into English, and the melody we now know was paired with it. That combination created a carol that feels both haunting and warm, both heavy and full of hope. It carries the ache of a world waiting for rescue, but also the confidence that God keeps His promises.

The reason the song still resonates is simple. It lets us feel what Israel felt. Longing. Waiting. Crying out for deliverance that had not yet come. When we sing it, we join centuries of believers who looked toward the arrival of Christ and trusted that God would not leave His people captive.

It is a carol of yearning, but also a carol of victory. Emmanuel has come, and He will come again.

Press On!

Mark