Caroling, Caroling: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Here's the thing: in his commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther makes the case that one of the reason the law was so burdensome is that it was meant to make the Israelites cry out for relief, for rescue, in short, for the Savior. In other words, God intentionally made the law impossible to follow and therefore mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually taxing, so that his people would run and cling to the gospel of grace and rescue his Son provided when he came to earth. There's a lot in this song that applies to us, the church, living in this world that at times is mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually taxing as well. As believers we don't have the burden of the law anymore, but I wonder if God has ordained and designed this life to be difficult in its own right to make us long for, cry out for rescue, for our Savior who is coming again.

My advice on this song is to download Jim Brickman's version from his CD Grace. While the long intro. is playing, let your mind and emotions be flooded by the difficulties of this life. Read Ephesians 2:1-3 and be reiminded of what you were, and then let yourself cry out with the chorus, "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to Thee O Israel." Rejoice. He is coming.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
(A reminder that, just like Israel, we are exiles. This is enemy territory we live in. This is not our home. This teaches me not to fight so hard against those feelings of loneliness, because those very feelings are evidence of my salvation.)
Until the Son of God appears.

Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
(Just spend a couple of hours repeating the word "shall" over and over again to yourself, and see if you can somehow get the certainty of it.)

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
(The name "Rod of Jesse" reminds us that Christ is in the lineage of King David, and that he is our king who goes out to fight our enemies for us. The hardness of this life should not leave us hopeless, because we have a king who is fighting on our behalf, and he is fighting Satan, our greatest enemy.)
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
(A reminder that Christ came not primarily to be born but to die. This is one of the great hopes of the Incarnation. We can have victory over death.)
Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
(Again, a joyless Christian is one who doesn't understand their Savior. Christ's first coming gave us joy. The facts, the reality of all his life, death, and resurrection accomplished, should give us much to rejoice about, even in the midst of our exile.)
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
(A reminder that our getting to Heaven is all the result of our Shepherd's leading. He makes the path wide and safe, and through his intercession, assures that we'll make it.)
And close the path to misery.
Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
(This is a reminder that, whether they act like it or not, the desire of every person on planet earth is for Christ. He is the ultimate object their hearts were made to ache for. No matter what their cultural norms, history, etc., the nations do desire Christ.)
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
(Peace. Ultimate peace. Our souls at rest, so that our bodies and emotions would be at rest as well.)
Refrain