Advent Through the Lens of Four Christmas Songs

First Sunday of Advent 2010 AD

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Matthew 1.23

History.

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is probably the oldest Christmas carol still sung today. The original version was in Latin and dates back to at least the ninth century.  It was originally known as the song of the “Great Antiphons”.  The Great Antiphons were seven short verses which provided seven biblical windows onto the Messiah.  Each verse would be sung and then answered, likely by two different choirs.  The author and arranger of the Antiphons is unknown, but it appears to have been a scholarly monk or priest, for the content reflects a rich knowledge of the Scriptures. Subsequently (most scholars think in the twelfth or thirteenth century), the key words of the Antiphons were woven into a hymn with a refrain added.  Then, in the nineteenth century, the Latin hymn was translated into English by an Anglican priest named John Mason Neale, whose story is as interesting as the hymn’s.

Neale, a brilliant student, was educated at Cambridge.  He could write and speak more than twenty languages.  He appeared to be destined for greatness within Anglican circles.  For whatever reason (some think because of his brilliance and his evangelical views), Neale was sent as far from the spotlight as possible.  He was sent to be a warden in the Madiera Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. In these poverty stricken islands, and on a salary of only 27 pounds a year, the sickly Neale founded an orphanage, a school for girls, and a house of refuge for prostitutes.  Neale also kept up his scholarly work, and it was in that vein that he came across “Veni Emmanuel” in a Latin psalter and hymnal.  Neale translated it into English in what he originally entitled “Draw Nigh, Emmanuel.”  Neale kept the tune, which was a processional dating back at least to the fifteenth century.  [*]

Importance.

During the Middle Ages when few could read or had access to the Scriptures, O Come Emmanuel was a great teaching tool, for it provided a full story of how Old Testament and New Testament teaching regarding the Messiah came together in the birth and life of Jesus.  After Neale translated it into English, O Come Emmanuel has been translated into scores of languages and is still sung today in every branch of the Church.  [*]

Verse 1 – Emmanuel – Isaiah 7.14; Mat 1.23.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

(Refrain) Rejoice! Re joice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

This was originally the last Antiphon.  When the Antiphons were recaste into a hymn, this verse was moved to the front, apparently to set the theme for the song. When we sing this verse, we are placed in the position of an Old Testament saint during the period of the Babylonian Captivity, looking forward to God’s deliverance through the promised Messiah.  This was the position of Israel when Jesus was born. There was a widespread feeling that Israel was still in captivity, and a growing feeling the problem extended into Israel herself.  This view was skillfully set forth at the very beginning of the New Testament by Matthew, who opens with a genealogy that four times mentions exile but never a return (Mat 1.11, 12, 17).  But here is the real problem Matthew was pointing at – it was Israel’s own treachery that had landed her in exile, and like the leopard that couldn’t change its spots, Israel couldn’t change her heart.  If Israel’s rescue depended in any degree on Israel herself, it was doomed from the start.  Israel needed God to come near in a new way.  That new way will be Emmanuel – “God with Us”.  That is what the song promises in the refrain: “Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel will come to you, O Israel!”

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* Sources: (1) Albert Edward Bailey, The Gospel in Hymns; (2) Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas.

1. 

   HTTP://zuisg.com says:

   April 22, 2013 at 9:01 am

   I personally want to know why you labeled this specific posting,
   “O Come Emmanuel | FaithWorking”. In any case I personally enjoyed the blog!
   Thank you,Bridgette