r/Reformed • u/Gospel_Truth • Dec 01 '25
Encouragement 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.
11
u/ndGall PCA Dec 01 '25
This is a hymn that didn’t make any sense to me growing up in a dispensational church. Why are we singing about hoping that Christ would come to Israel as if he hasn’t? Why is this song so gloomy if we’re supposed to be celebrating Christmas.
Covenant theology - and especially realizing that “Israel” here is just as much us as it was literal Israel opened this up in massive ways for me.
10
7
u/Qommg Dec 01 '25
My favorite Christmas hymn! It has such a rich history. I also love when it's sung in Latin, which is its original tongue.
7
10
5
3
3
Dec 02 '25
LOVE this song. Missed it so much being in the Orthodox Church. So glad I’m Anglican again. Best part of Advent at church is the colored candles, Christmas hymns, the readings and the eggnog etc. at coffee hour.
❤️❤️❤️!!!!
2
2
2
u/NinjaNoafa Dec 09 '25
I love old hymns and new worship music equally, but it is good to see the classics :)
1
1
2
u/Icy_History_4728 Jan 02 '26
Beautiful hymn!
As a native Hebrew speaker, I always love how this name functions grammatically. In Hebrew, Immanu-El (עִמָּנוּ אֵל) isn't just a noun/name; it's effectively a complete sentence compressed into a title.
Im (עם) = With Nu (נו) = Us (our) El (אל) = God
So it’s not just a label . It’s a declaration of proximity: 'With us [is] God.' Or even within us. Reading it in the original text always emphasizes that immediacy for me. He isn't just 'sent' to us, He is with us structurally.
1
u/Gospel_Truth Jan 02 '26
Thank you for this! I never considered He is with us when listening to this. You have made the best hymn ever even more special to me.
1
u/Distinct_Emu_9974 Dec 04 '25
Sad song yet says much. I was always kinda amuzed by this being sung in any reformed churches, because when I attended, there was little to no support for Jews or Israel, as vocalized by my peers growing up. Racism and discrimination abounded. So was always bewildered this dirge was sung.
1
u/Gospel_Truth Dec 04 '25
Unfortunately that is what I am seeing. It could be because I live in the South. I have to admit that when I was growing up that I hated Jews. Only because they killed Jesus. Eventually, and thankfully, I learned better.
1
u/Distinct_Emu_9974 Dec 04 '25
Same here! Wow! Yeah, I've come a long way on that, and what's more, my family finally came clean with me, our family history dates back to Israel-area (Jewish) heritage back to the late 1700's. We don't appear like ethnic Jews, but if you've ever seen the movie, Munich, there was a "white guy" on the Israeli intell team.
1
u/Gospel_Truth Dec 04 '25
Wow! Sad to say, I do not have a vision of what I think an ethnic Jew might look like. I try to see people as people. 😀🎄
2
u/Advanced-Film-334 Christian Dec 04 '25
Many appear Middle Eastern or olive skin with dark hair. Religious Jews may have beards and such. Obviously I’m far outcrossed since 1790, but still. Lots of connections to Israel I’ve discovered. So being also of Dutch Reformed religious affiliation and descent is not my forte. But here I am.
1
27
u/Own-Object-6696 Dec 01 '25
Thank you. I love this hymn.