Sunday, December 4, 2011

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Emmanuel. -- Isaiah 7:14

* * *

O Come, O Come Emmanuel
by anonymous

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

1 comment:

Frances said...

Kati, I love it that when you post words to old hymns, you include verses I have never heard before. There are two or three verses here that I am not familiar with. The first verse particularly speaks to me tonight ... "that mourns in lonely exile here. And the ending line in the last verse ... "And be Thyself our King of Peace." Amen.