O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

The second song I'm sharing the history of this season is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. This has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols. The music is so hauntingly beautiful. And the lyrics are a cry of the human heart for the need of a Savior to set it free.

 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel." Matthew 1:23

I choose this beautiful painting above because of the old shepard kneeling with his hands folded. He seems to be looking at Jesus with such awe. With such an expression of the heart, no words can express.

This Christmas carol is actually quite old. It is thought to have originated from medieval times around the 800's when "Latin hymns were sung each day during Christmas Vespers, from December 17 to 23."

"These hymns were apparently restructured into verse form in the 1100's, and finally published in Latin in 1710."

"In the mid-1800's, they were discovered by an English minister named John Mason Neale, who wove together segments of them to produce the first draft of 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,' which was published in 1851. Neale's original version said, 'Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel."

I thought this was really cool. Such an ancient song that has survived all these years. A song with a powerful Biblical message that is still powerful today.

I looked up the meaning of Immanuel and it said:  

-the name of the Messiah as prophesied by Isaiah, often represented in Christian exegesis as being Jesus Christ.
 
-literally, God is with us


"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel"                                                                                     Isaiah 7:14 
 

I love this version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel, it is by The Piano Guys:

          
       O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

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 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;
And drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly 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, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

*All quotes from Robert J. Morgan's book "Then Sings My Soul: Book 2" a collection of great hymn stories.

Song #1 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

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