O Come, Emmanuel 1: Captivity

This Christmastide, I thought I might dissect and analyse one of my favourite carols, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. It begins with an invitation- or is it a plea? – ‘O come, Emmanuel’, that the promised Rescuer would finally appear. The hymn is written from an Old Testament perspective, looking forward to Messiah’s arrival, rather than the more usual Christian viewpoint of looking back on it. 'Emmanuel' (which may also begin with an 'I') means ‘God with us’ and comes from Isaiah’s prophecy in 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Here, the singers are asking the Lord to fulfil His word and honour His promise, something He delights to do and never takes offence when urged or reminded, for it is His nature to execute that which He has spoken. The double nature of the invitation emphasises the urgency of the request and the earnestness of those petitioning.

The second line outlines the reason why: the captivity of Israel. In scripture, the term 'Israel' might refer to Jacob, whose name was changed to that word, to his physical descendants, to the northern tribes during the times of the kings, and to those of true, believing faith. Captivity in the Hebrew canon generally refers to Egyptian slavery or the exile in Assyria and Babylon, as well as the spiritual captivity of sin and estrangement from God:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. (Isaiah 61:1)

Those captives are freed by the payment of a ransom, not of gold or silver, but Emmanuel’s life, which He gave as a ransom for many. He came to set free all those who seek Him. 

This is the real meaning of Christmas.

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.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

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.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

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.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, thou Lord of Might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

From the text of the 1851 translation by John Mason Neale of from the twelfth-century hymn Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861)