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For the first step in our Advent journey, we start with a hymn dating back hundreds of years, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Though obviously written after the birth of Christ, its minor key and the melancholy sound prevalent in the verses underscore the longing of the prophets from ages past for the Messiah to arrive on the scene. The melancholy gives way to jubilation in the chorus as it triumphantly announces that Immanuel has come.

In some ways, the trajectory of the hymn mirrors the trajectory of our walk with God. We walk through dark, melancholy times when we long for the palpable presence of Christ, Immanuel. We long for God to truly be with us in a way we can sense. Those dark times give way to times of rejoicing as we realize that Immanuel has come, is here and will always be.

The words of the hymn date back to 12th century antiphons which were sung in monasteries beginning a week before Christmas. Originally written in Latin, the lyrics were translated into English by John M. Neale in 1851.The music, known as Veni Emmanuel, comes from a 15th century processional. Trivia buffs … Neale also penned the Christmas song, Good King Wenceslas.

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 thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

The Cyberhymnal offers this analysis of the prophetic references within the lyrics:

The title comes from the well known Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel is Hebrew for “God with us.” The “Rod of Jesse” refers to Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse”; Jesse was the father of Da­vid, second king of Israel. “Day-Spring” comes from Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:78: “The day­spring from on high has visited us.” “Thou Key of David” is in Isaiah 22:22: “The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,” which in turn refers to Isaiah 9:6 “The government shall be upon His shoulder.”

Sources: Cyberhymal, and this otherwise unidentifiable link.