HYMN OF THE MONTH
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Latin, 12th century; Tr. John Mason Neale, 1861
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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REFLECT
How has Jesus come and brought light into your own darkness? How will His second coming dispel darkness permanently?
HYMN BACKGROUND
Reflect a moment on the truth found in this hymn and learn more about its historical background.
MUSIC
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BEHIND THE HYMN
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John Mason Neale was born in London in 1818 to the son of an Anglican clergyman. He attended Cambridge University, was at the top of his class and became a prize-winning poet. Neale loved Latin, church liturgies, “high church” worship, beautiful church buildings and the beautiful thoughts found in ancient poetry, so it’s no surprise that he translated many ancient hymns into English. Some are still found in our hymnals today and include All Glory, Laud and Honor, The Day of Resurrection, Good Christian Men, Rejoice, Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid? and the thought-provoking Christmas favorite, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel takes us back to the 8th century when, 7 days before Christmas Eve, monks would begin singing the “O antiphons” –– one a day until Christmas Eve. Each antiphon begins with the article “O” and then an attribute or title of Jesus referenced in Scripture. The last antiphon was the basis for Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, a 12th century Latin hymn, which Neale translated into the hymn we know and sing today.
The O Antiphons are:
O Sapentia (Wisdom)
O Adonai (Hebrew word for God)
O Radix Jesse (root of Jesse)
O Clavis David (key of David)
O Oriens (Dayspring)
O Rex genitive (King of the Gentiles)
O Emmanuel ( God with us)
Interestingly, when put together, the first letter of the second word of each antiphon spells the word “Sarcore." Then when read backwards, it spells a two-word acrostic: Ero cras.” This means “I will be present tomorrow.”
“God with us” is a truth that’s sometimes hard to get our minds around, and yet the more we think of it, the more comforted and joyful we can be! God the Son, once in heavenly Glory, came down to earth to be one of us. Jesus well knows our human pain and struggles and was like us in all ways, except sin so He could take our place on the cross.
I love the quote, “He was born to die so we may live.” Jesus now lives in Heaven to personally intercede for us and has left God the Holy Spirit with us in our hearts until He comes again to take us home. God with us. Let this truth stay with you this Christmas season and all year long!
- Kristen Iaffaldano, Editor
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The Rest of the Story
Want to dig a little deeper into the story behind this month's hymn? Tune into the podcast throughout the month where we'll remember the HOM all month long.
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