Tuesday, December 11, 2012

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

One of my favorite Christmas songs is, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."  I love the beautiful, haunting melody. I love the way it expresses Israel's longing for her Messiah. It is a reminder to me that God fulfilled His promise to send His Son, and that He will fulfill His promise to return.

Emmanuel means "God with us." God came to dwell among people! It never ceases to amaze me that the God of the universe chose to come to earth as a baby, live among fallen people, and save us from our sins.


Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (NIV 1984)
  
Matthew 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” - which means, “God with us." 
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (NIV 1984)


Last week at church my husband, Will, and I sang "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" in church. The special music was video taped, and I am sharing it with you today. It isn't perfect, but we pray that the King will be glorified. (If you are reading this in an email you will need to click over to my blog to see the video).


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 Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
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 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.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
 All peoples in one heart and mind;
 Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease,
 Fill all the world with Heaven's peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.


Emmanuel has come, and He will come again!  Are you ready for His return?

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