"O come, o come Immanuel", verses 2-6

O 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.

O come, thou Dayspring,
come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here.
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death's dark shadow put to flight.

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.

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 thy ways to go.

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!
Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.


 This song has been playing in my mind and heart and mouth for two weeks. Each time I hear of something that breaks my heart, the song erupts again: Mourning and Rejoicing.

After the first verse (which I covered in the previous post), the song continues the pattern of addressing God through a particular title, then petitioning, still longing, for God to come and fulfill our human needs.

Verse 2 is my salvation-song. I am reminded of the glorious deeds of Jesus overcoming sin, evil, and death through cross and tomb. The cry is for all people, not just me, to be free from Satan, saved from hell, and victorious over the grave. The cry is for resurrection, for hope, for a new world of possibility. Perhaps even beginning now?

These words can be "safely" reserved for the life beyond physical death, or for the world to come at the end of time as we know it, but might it be okay and in fact good to long for this salvation-reality NOW? The world seems to be falling apart. I am not sure whether that is true or false, or whether that is simply my perception, or whether it has been steadily falling apart forever, or whether these are truly "birth pains" for a new creation coming... (Mark 13:8, Matthew 24:8)

...Yet again, I am greeted with the twisted smile of a few more mass shootings, some suspicious slayings of black folks by police officers, the now normal protests of various natures and the deep struggle I feel to both get involved and remain apart, war, terrorism, racism, sexism, and on and on...and of course the accompanying media outrage from every perspective that simply exacerbates suffering...

It is appropriate that after each cry for Immanuel to come, I am met with "Rejoice!" We fill the symbolic shoes of Israel in exile... for I remain, now and always, a stranger in this world, struggling to walk the line and follow the leader.

Verse 3 is the meteorological verse. God is the Dayspring, the source of light and hope and clarity that rises in our lives and in the life of the world. What a great title for God! So full of life and possibility! It minimizes the power of the nighttime terrors, as if they are just dark clouds that the sunshine drives away. I hate the fact that the weather affects my mood so much. Perhaps it is part of why my wife calls me "grumpus" on certain days. And yet the sun brings the opposite effect.

Verse 4 looks toward the way I live my life. God is the Key of David. Keys open doors or gates, which lead to something new and different. The way to heaven is unlocked by Immanuel, Jesus, our true Way home... As I long for my own personal entry into the kingdom of heaven, I also long for the kingdom of heaven to come here and make itself known in the reality of the world we live in.

Verse 5 seeks Wisdom. Wisdom orders, and divine order puts all things in their proper place, defeating chaos through understanding. I am lost so often day-by-day. I am well aware of how much I do not understand, and at the same time bewildered that some other people seem to think they understand so much...

Which brings us to... verse 6... Desire of nations... I am sure there are many nations which would take offense to hearing that they desire Jesus. I see Jesus as the fulfillment of the point of nations in general. The Kingdom of God, with Jesus as High King is the best, greatest possible government there could ever be. All human governments are pale imitations of that Kingdom. Thus, all nations long for the kind of divine order that Jesus brings, yet are bound to fail in making it so. The Kingdom of God for which we long in characterized by unity in understanding, the elimination of petty arguments, and the overwhelming presence of peace.

Peace is not the absence of war and conflict, but the presence of Immanuel, God-with-us.

It is for this Kingdom, this world, this reality that I long. Come, Lord Jesus...

#172- "O come, O come Immanuel", verse 1

This is the first post in a new series. I have grown up in congregations that utilize the "Hymnal: A Worship Book" resource. I know it and have used it more than any other religious resource except scripture itself. And yet, I know there are pieces of music and devotion that I have never read nor explored. There are songs and hymns I have sung many times, which contain lyrics and melodies I consistently overlook, ignore, or neglect. Starting this Advent season, I have decided to start a devotional journey through that beloved hymnal... praying the songs, meditating, reading and re-reading... Will you join me?

I have chosen to begin with the Christian calendar season now beginning: Advent. I plan to jump around with the Christian year to Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter hymns. Otherwise, the pray-through order will begin at the beginning of the hymnal and work straight through, skipping only those hymns I have already completed.



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

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.



One of my favorites! The first hymn in the "Proclaiming: Jesus' Advent" section, this hymn has always been the most mysterious, longing selection of the season, and most of the Christian year as well. It has a medieval, even ancient resonance to it, which adds to its power...

As I read and pray the first verse and the repeated melody, I am most struck by the call and response nature of the song. Each verse pleads for the coming (advent) of One who will rescue the singer. Each refrain repeats the assurance that Immanuel WILL come! Immanuel means "God with us", a prophesied name for the Messiah in Isaiah 7-8. Followers of Christ recognize that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promised coming of Immanuel. Jesus is God with us; as close as God gets.

It feels sad... I hear the voices of ancient Israelites in exile in Babylon, separated from their homeland, from their normal routines of life and work and worship, from everything that made their lives secure. It's the context that Isaiah spoke to when he speaks of Immanuel... hope for those in exile.

 Why does it feel good and right for me to feel sad? Especially in the season of anticipation for Christmas and all the joy and gladness that is supposed to come with it? Perhaps because I know that even though the holiday comes and goes, the world remains in a suffering state: violent extremism rages across continents, cries of racial and economic justice are met with hostile rejection or confused silence, death runs rampant in disease, and malnutrition, and war. When will Immanuel come?!

When will God be With Us!? Could he be with us now? If so, then why aren't things different? Like Israel in exile, we are captives of the world, mourning over our lost condition, longing for a Son of God, a representative of Goodness to ransom us, to buy us back. The language of ransom is interesting... It reminds me that I am a slave to the world's systems of sin and selfishness... and I long for someone good to buy me, to purchase me back from my captivity. Most of what I do and think and say is self-serving. Won't someone rescue me?

God has rescued me... she rescues me every day. The cross and empty tomb illustrate just how far God was willing to go to rescue me! But that doesn't mean everything is fixed in an instant... The world and my faith linger on the edge between promise given and promise fulfilled. God is With me... but I don't always choose to Be With God... The difference between when I am with God and when I am not is painfully clear. That is something I mourn...

And yet in the refrain... my mourning is met with "Rejoice! Rejoice!" How can I rejoice when the world is such as it is? When I am such as I am? Because, promises the voice, "Immanuel shall come to thee..." The future is in the present. Though I LONG for the day of fulfillment, when Jesus shall make all things brand new... I also REJOICE that the renewal process is already underway.

Is it possible to mourn AND rejoice at the same time? To mourn all that is wrong, but rejoice in the transformation that comes with Immanuel?

Oh yeah... and I'm Israel. Yes, in the context of the actual, historical exile in Babylon I am NOT Israel, but in the context of the Christian hymn... I am Israel. Not the nation, not the people, but "one who struggles with God." God knows... I struggle with him... And I find comfort that that fact puts me in the company of SO many who came before me.

Israel, the term for the people of God, applies today to all who enter into the struggle of faith. It's a struggle between mourning and rejoicing. Between lament and promise. Between mystery and knowledge.

Come, Immanuel... Immanuel will come...