December 10, 2013

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

Buy it HERE on Amazon




18 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the history behind this beautiful Christmas carol! I love The Piano Guys. Merry Christmas, Cathy!

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  2. This has become one of my favorite hymns - not just at Christmastime! The second verse is the one that makes me tear up, each time I hear it. It's so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this, what a sweet blessing.

    I'm your neighbor this week at the Deep Roots at Home link-up :)
    ~Lisha

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  3. I love this song. My husband and I always talk about how it shouldn't be JUST a Christmas song, because we are looking for Christ to come all year round!

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  4. Thanks so much for sharing. I love this Hymn, and your post gave me a chance to share it with my little daughter : )

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  5. This is one of my favorite Christmas hymns. Thanks for sharing all the neat info.

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  6. We sing this every year as we light the candles on our Advent Wreath. It takes away the stress of the holidays as our hearts are unburdened in the true meaning of Christmas.
    Love this post. Everything is beautiful about it. From the song to its history, from the painting to your layout. Thank you for this refreshing spiritual moment of Christmas.
    Christmas Blessings,
    Janis

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  7. Love it!!

    Thanks for linking with Woman to Woman's Word Filled Wednesday. God bless!

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  8. Very beautiful! I love O Come Emmanuel! I also LOVE your wallpaper!! Very pretty! :) Blessings to you!

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  9. I agree with Lisha -- verse 2 is powerful. Christ conquered the grave. May my heart always rejoice in this truth.

    Thanks for linking up with Thought-Provoking Thursday! :)

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  10. Thanks for sharing about such and important song! I'm visiting from the Faith Filled Friday hop. Here's my link with my own blog hop on the go:
    http://abooksandmore.blogspot.com/2013/12/make-my-saturday-sweet-blog-hop-62.html

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  11. A really great and holy song and a beautiful picture! Thanks for sharing,
    have a blessed time

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  12. This is my favorite Christmas song. Last year, Call the Midwife did a stirring Christmas special when the young nurse Jenny, bathed a women who was dirty and neglected,the music was this song. It so moved me....

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  13. Thank-you all for your thoughtful comments! Glad so many others love this song too. : )

    Be sure to come by this Tuesday for another great carol and it's history.

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  14. I love to hear the stories of hymns and carols so this book sounds like a winner! Thanks for sharing it at Booknificent Thursday!
    Tina

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  15. Thanks for sharing about this beautiful hymn. Love the Piano Guys rendition. Peaceful.

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  16. My husband, an amazing pianist, truly loves to watch the youtubes of the PianoGuys. Made me grin to see this. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. We wrote about this hymn recently too. The way it explains the names of Jesus and why we should rejoice over each aspect of our Savior is really encouraging! Thanks for highlighting one of my favorites!
    http://www.maidservantsofchrist.com/detail.asp?DetailID=329&Return=bymonth.asp?Start=11/1/2013

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Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )