O come O Come Emmanuel
And Ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel will come to you O Israel

Black plague, Islamic invasions into Spain, marauding bands of Viking raiders hitting the northern parts of the land. Insecurity and fear.
8th century Europe was locked in what we now refer to the Dark ages. Disease, war and death were on everyone’s horizon. Economic systems kept most people in squalid conditions in cities and towns.

In the midst of all this fear, an unknown Christian sat somewhere with a candle and pen and scribbled the well- known carol: “O Come”. Written in Latin with seven stanzas and a repeated refrain; the carol takes the worshiper through the Old Testament and all the prophecies about the coming Messiah and reassures the weary: Emmanuel will come to you O Israel!

We’ve lived through some interesting days in the past few years. Undoubtedly we have some difficult times to come.
Impotent leadership in our nation has led to international insecurity. Massive Russian armies poised on the Ukrainian frontier, Chinese expansionism lurking towards Taiwan; continuing hype about COVID, anarchy and unrest in our cities and a southern border out of control.

Things are looking pretty dark. Not to mention individual tragedies or natural disasters like what happened in Kentucky.
In the midst of all the darkness is there any hope?
It is just then that we are reminded: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel will come to you O Israel.

No matter what difficulty or darkness may sit on your horizon today, be encouraged. Light has come!
Jesus said: “I am the light of the world”. Rest in Him and look to Him for the grace to persevere and triumph.
He will come and Ransom captive Israel. Jesus has come to save His people from their sins.

Tim Moyer
Emmanuel Bible church

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