“Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel” (or “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”) is the first Christmas song we sang at the Chapel this Christmas season.
“Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel”
Text: Latin him from the 1300s; tr. John Mason Neale
1. Oh, come, Oh, 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 thee, O Israel!
2. Oh, come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
3. Oh, come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light!
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
4. Oh, 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
Refrain: Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
This version has four stanzas each followed by a refrain. There are 4 feet per line and feet are iambic (de-dum, de-dum). The first two lines of each stanza rhyme with each other, and the last two lines of each stanza rhyme with each other, too. Also, the two line of the refrain rhyme with each other.
There is so much biblical imagery in this poem. For example, Emmanuel is from the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew meaning “God with us.” “Rod of Jesse” is another messianic title (Isaiah 11:1-2). “Key of David“ is also from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 22:22).
Ceil Rosen, the wife of Moshe Rosen (The founder of Jews for Jesus) has a connection with this song, too – “The winter I was sixteen, my high school chorus had a major role in our school’s Christmas program…Dressed in long skirts and head scarves to approximate biblical garb, we moved across the stage in a kind of slow dance, singing, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.’ Though we had rehearsed those words many times, I suddenly found myself pondering their meaning. Was there something true about Jesus being for us Jews?”
You can read the rest of her testimony and how she helped lead her husband to Jesus the Messiah at Jews For Jesus
Music and singing is not only very enjoyable but a powerful influence, too.