Christ in the Carols Series Episode 4

Hello, my walking friend! Today is the 4th episode in the Christ in the Carols series. In each podcast during this series we will listen to the lyrics of different Christmas carols and learn a little about the history of the song.

Today’s Christmas carol is O Come, O Come Emmanuel and the Bible verse we will be meditating on is Matthew 1:23:

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Let’s listen to the lyrics of 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 o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
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.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

The origins of this carol date way back to the late 8th and early 9th century, yes, that was 8th and 9th, not 18th and 19th century! That was a very long time ago! The carol originates from Benedictine Gregorian chants and was sung in Latin but in the early 19th century, John Mason Neale translated it into English.

The original chant had 7 stanzas and each stanza began with a name for Jesus:
Come, O Wisdom
Come, O God
Come, O Root of Jesse
Come, O Key of David
Come, O Dayspring
Come, O King of the Gentiles
Come, O Emmanuel

It wasn’t until the chant was translated and became a hymn that the last stanza became the first.
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.

Even though we sing about captive Israel, scripture tells us that we are ALL held captive because without Jesus, we are held captive to sin. And we are all in lonely exile here because, in the Bible, we are called sojourners and told that this world is not our home. This hymn, often used during advent, points not only to the first coming of Jesus, but to his second coming. It is a reminder that Jesus is the Dayspring, bringing light to darkness, and he will come again in glory.

Jesus, Emmanuel, was God with us over 2,000 years ago, he is God with us now, walking with us now. And he will be God with us again.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.

Take some time now to let the words and meaning of this song, and the words of Matthew 1:23 sink deep into your heart and soul.

You are now at the halfway point of your walk. If you need to be back in 10 minutes, this would be the time to turn around and head back.

The second half of our walk is an opportunity for reflection, meditation, and prayer. For many of us, myself included, this might feel challenging. But the spiritual rewards of developing this discipline are great and so is the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. So let’s start with some questions to guide you followed by a short interlude for reflection.

Today’s verse from the gospel of Matthew is taken from the prophet Isaiah but Matthew clarifies by adding, Immanuel, which means God with us. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus, who is fully man and fully God, is with you? Take some time to reflect on this now.

Are you waiting anxiously, excitedly, for Jesus to return? Reflect on your answer.

If you are holding onto any guilt or shame associated with sin, give that to Jesus now. If you have any unrepentant sin, talk to Jesus about it now. Ask him for forgiveness. Remember, he wants to offer his forgiveness when we come to him with a contrite heart. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus has paid the ransom to set you free from sin?

Now let’s listen again to today’s verse one more time:
Matthew 1:23:

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Is there anything else you would like to talk to Jesus about? Remember, he is right there with you, walking with you, and he is eager for you to share all that is on your heart and mind with him. Take some time to talk to and to thank Jesus now.

Now I am going to pray for us:

Dear Jesus,
How can we ever thank you enough for being our ransom over sin? You came to set us free – truly free – to free us from sin and death. And at this time of year when we are busy buying gifts for those we love, help us to remember the free gift of salvation you offer us. Thank you, Jesus, Emmanuel, wisdom, light to darkness, the King of the Jews and the King of Gentiles, born to set us all free. Every time the carol, O Come, O Come Emmanuel is played, please soften the heart of the unbeliever. We know that your heart is for all your image bearers to accept you as their Lord and Savior. Thank you, Jesus, my Savior. Amen.

Well, you did it! Another 10 minutes of walking and another opportunity to build the spiritual discipline of prayer and quiet time with the Lord. I’m grateful for you and I’m grateful you took the time to walk with me today. But more importantly, you walked with Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

For more Walk with Jesus resources, including the Walk with Jesus 21 day scripture, devotional, and guided prayer journal book for walkers, go to WalkwithJesusDevotional.com. You will find the URL for the show notes for this podcast in the episode description. The show notes will include a video of the carol, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

I hope we can walk together again tomorrow, friend. We will be learning about the carol, Joy to the World. Until then, God bless you as you walk with Jesus.