Ransom Captive Israel

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel
Translated: John Neal, 1818-66

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'r to save;
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

In our worship on Sunday we sang this great hymn. I find this particular hymn more profound each time I sing it, especially when I sing it in the midst of a worshiping community. The song is a kink of pilgrimage from exile to hope and into a renewed identity as the new Israel (or at least a sense of being "grafted in"). In this song we see Christ as the Wisdom of God, ordering all things and showing the path of knowledge; the Lord of might, passing holy law; the Key of David, openning wide the gates of heaven; the Dayspring to disperse gloom and night; and the Desire of nations (a timely hope for this world in which war is just about everywhere), to be our King of Peace. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And the God who is with us in Christ is the God who had been with us since creation. In Christ Israel is ransomed and the world is retored.

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