GraceWorks Global

O Come O Come Emmanuel (Veni 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 Dayspring come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight

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 her 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

CCLI Song # 31982 John Mason Neale | Thomas Helmore — © Words: Public Domain — Music: Public Domain 

I have always enjoyed this song. The tune, the minor key; it has a Semitic bent that makes it feel as though an historic Jewish worship service was chanting to God to bring His Messiah to them.

The words of the song are also appealing to me because God has fulfilled this promise in the birth of Jesus, the Christ. The request to come was physically fulfilled when Christ was born in Bethlehem in the City of David.

Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 8:8-10 – “Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. “Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered. “Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”

Matthew 1:23 – “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

Emmanuel means “God with us.” This is not “another god” or “a really good man” or just “another prophet”; this means GOD with us, in flesh. The Gospel of John records that Jesus was God, not a god, in Chapter 1:1-3. The Apostle John then records that God became flesh (Jesus) and lived among men (verse 14). While His creation received Him, His own special creation (humanity) did not (vs. 11).

But this did not deter God from accomplishing what He had come to do – to save mankind from sin. John says in verse 12: “…But as many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name.” Isn’t that a great verse of hope?!

The coming of Emmanuel was not only the hope for those alive over 2000 years ago, but He is still the hope that we cling to today. This is not the idea of “I hope so” that implies it may not be real. No, this is a “certain expectation” that arrived and lived among us.

Today, this certain expectation continues. Why? Because when He ascended back into heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection, He promised He would return. I don’t know about you, but I feel ready, especially after the year 2020! But there are so many who have not heard about Emmanuel – God with us! And because they have not heard, I want to be around as long as possible to tell as many as possible and to help others be ready for His return. That’s the mission of GraceWorks Global and that’s my ultimate goal in life.

So as we celebrate Christmas 2020, GraceWorks Global wishes you the joy of Emmanuel. God is with you!