Hopefully everyone got a message guide for tonight because we're going to need it as we sing the hymn, the Christmas carol that is on that sheet a little bit later. But we're actually going to continue our series on Sunday nights about some of the truly great hymns of our faith. But as I mentioned earlier, this time we're going to kind of shift gears and learn more about the background and the doctrine of some of the favorite Christmas hymns of the church. And the first one that we're going to look at is based on one of the oldest hymns that the church has sung since around the 8th century. So that is before the turn of the first millennium. So that's the 8th century. And that is, O come, O come, Emmanuel. And like many of those hymns back in that day, it was originally written in Latin, and the Latin title is similar to our English title, which was simply, Veni, Emmanuel. And Veni simply means to come. Or even a better translation is to draw near. To draw near. And you could even use that in our title, Draw Near, Draw Near, Emmanuel. Of course, hymns were sung quite differently in the 8th century than they are today. Most hymns were not written in poetic verse, as we know them today. And most of the tunes were written for singing than for instruments, and it was for singing even the words of Scripture. And so it wasn't the way we're used to in our hymn books. Rather, it was in more of a chanting form. And of course, when I mean chanting, it is still melodic. There's still some tune to it. It's just a lot different than what we're used to. And we're gonna see why that perhaps even was a little bit later. And so it was for what may be this earliest Christmas hymn that has been preserved for us for over a thousand years. And even when it was first composed, it was seen as a significant hymn to celebrate and commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. And it was used for that purpose. And so, originally, there were seven stanzas, seven verses written, and each one started with the word, O, just like ours, O come, O come, Emmanuel. And these seven stanzas simply became known as the Great O's, the Great O's. They were and still are also known as the Great Antiphons because of the kind of a song it was. An antiphon is simply a short devotional song or chant that was sung responsibly. I'm not sure exactly how that was done. I don't think most Um, hymnologists understand exactly how it was done, but it was sung responsibly. So so one side would sing it one part of it, and the other side was saying another part of it, and they would do this before or after a psalm or a canticle. A canticle is simply a song that comes from the words of Scripture, and especially the words of Scripture that revolve around the birth of Christ. And so these seven great O's, these seven great antiphons, would be sung for the seven days leading up to Christmas Day. So there would be one per day. One per day. And they would sing it just before the canticle known as Mary's Magnificat. And that is the song version of Mary's praise to the Lord. And you might know it from Luke chapter 1, verse 46 through 55, when Mary was blessed by her cousin, Elizabeth, who was going to have John the Baptist. And she begins her praise of the Lord with those unforgettable words, my soul doth magnify. And that's where we get the Latin word magnificat. my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." And so, the choirs of those ancient churches would sing Mary's Magnificat. But just before, they would also sing one stanza of the Antiphons, or these Great Oaths. And they would continue to do that seven days, leading up to Christmas Day. And so for each stanza of this old hymn, after the word O, would come a name or a title from the Old Testament that applied to the Messiah. And I actually have those names listed for you there in Latin. The first verse would be Sapentia, which is translated wisdom, or Adonai. We know perhaps that one, Lord. Radix, Jesse, which is the root of Jesse, and I'm sure I'm not pronouncing these right. Clavis, David, is the key of David in Latin. Oriens, which is from where we get the word orient, which has the idea of the far east, or even the day spring, is how it's often translated. Rex Gentium. Rex Gentium has the idea of the king of the nations, and then we have the last, Immanuel. And hopefully we all know what that means. God with us. And so when we come to this original form of the hymn that now we know is O Come, Immanuel, Immanuel actually comes at the beginning of our hymn, even though it started at the very end of that hymn. And of course, with each messianic name would lead to the next. And this seems to be what the original composers intended because of a feature that can be seen in the original text that we cannot see in English. Some have noted that there is an acrostic, and if you know what an acrostic is, it's usually taking the first letter of different words and spelling that out in a different way. You know who's a master at acrostics that you and I know? And that was Barbara Summers. How many times we should come up with a poem and she would use that poem in an acrostic form where the first letter of each line or the first letter of each word would then form some other word. Well, that is something that they were masters at also in the Middle Ages and even before the Middle Ages. And so there is an acrostic hidden in the first letters of all seven of these Latin names for Christ. But it's not in order from first to last, but rather in order from last to first. And if you look at all those letters together, I put it on there for you, we find two additional Latin words, and they are arrow, cross, which means I will be tomorrow. And so if you think about the prayer, and if you think about the longing, you think about the desire that is there in this hymn, oh come, oh come, oh come, even in the acrostic, we have the answer. I will be, I will come yet tomorrow. So after all seven of these stanzas are sung, leading all the way up to Christmas Eve, remember there are seven of them, and they sing them the seven days before Christmas, on Christmas Eve, they sing the last one. And the longing cry, come, draw near, is celebrated the very next day on Christmas, which means that he did draw near. He did come. I will be tomorrow. This is the way the song stood for something like 700 years. Seven verses in Latin, even with that reverse acrostic. But then in the 1500s, when some of the reforms of Martin Luther started to take effect, and that included singing for the church as a whole, because before it was just trained singers within the church that would sing these types of hymns, Well, one of the reforms that Martin Luther really promoted was singing for the church and in the common language of the people, so it would be more familiar to God's people in whatever church they belong to. So this old but great hymn of the seven O's was modified in Germany in a few different ways. So about 700 years later, instead of using seven verses, they shortened it to five verses. Not totally sure why, but in those five verses, they each had four lines each. Also, another change was the last verse about Jesus as Emmanuel then became the first verse, so that's how we came to sing it. And then, these were made into poetic lines that didn't always match the original words, and we're gonna see that as we move forward. But they were also written in rhyme to help the common people to learn it even better, even though the hymn was still sung in Latin. Another change was that a chorus was added, a refrain, something that we're familiar with, and that is, rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. It's this German version, or these different German versions in the 1500s that were later translated into the English hymn that we are familiar with. Especially the translation by a man named J.M. Neale, who was an Englishman. In 1851, he translated a number of those Latin hymns into English, including this one. And so ever since, we've been singing it this way. But what was the original hymn like? Well, that is what we will look at in the time that we have left, as well as what it means. In the first verse, which I mentioned before, begins with, in Latin, o sapentia, which means, oh, wisdom. This is the way the hymn verse was. And of course, this is obviously an English translation of the Latin. And notice, it doesn't rhyme. Notice, some of these verses are shorter, and some of them are longer. But remember, they also sing it differently than we do. But this was the first verse of this great hymn. O wisdom, which camest forth out of the mouth of the Most High, and reachest from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things, come and teach us the way of prudence. Now even though that is a much different hymn verse than we're familiar with, there are some things that you'll find that are common in every single one of those verses. They all start with O, and that's why they call them the seven great O's, because they all started with that O, that prayer. Then you have that word, that title, that name that applies to Jesus. In this case, it's wisdom. And then there's some explanation about who this wisdom is and what this wisdom means. And then there's usually this prayer of come. Again, come, venti, come O Emmanuel, come O wisdom. This comes from a translation by A.J. Beresford Hope in 1846. But these words from this first stanza reflect what we find in the book of Proverbs. Turn there first with me, Proverbs chapter 8. Proverbs chapter 8. Because there in Proverbs 8 verse 12, we find this idea of wisdom actually personified. And then in the hymn that we just read, it is attributed to Jesus Christ himself, who is called the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1.24. So when we come to Proverbs 8, verse 12, let me get there as well. But in Proverbs 8, verse 12, we learn a lot about wisdom, not just in that one verse, but also in the entire chapter. But look at verse 12. It says, I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions, and it goes on. And overall, when we look at that proverb, we often think in terms of the principle of wisdom. What is wisdom? What is this idea? What is this concept of wisdom? What this hymn, this first stanza teaches us, that it's not just about the principle of wisdom, it's talking about the person of wisdom. Jesus Christ is God's wisdom come to us. And so that's one of the names and titles that is actually given to the Lord Jesus that we often don't even think of. when it comes to Christ in the Old Testament. So it's not just the principle of wisdom, it is the person of wisdom found in Proverbs 8 and the rest of Proverbs. However, this is one of the verses that was skipped in most of our English versions, and yet it still is a truth about Jesus worth remembering. And so, from another translation, we can find and sing these words. O come, thou wisdom whose decree doth govern all things peacefully, the way of prudence here below, and life hereafter deign to show. Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel, is born to save thee, Israel." Ronald Knox actually translated and made this rendition of the English hymn based on that Latin verse that we saw there. But then we come to the second original verse, and that began with, again, that Latin word that we're familiar with, which is actually a Hebrew word, and that is o adonai. And adonai is simply a word that we translate Lord. And then, of course, that verse continues. This is a translation of that old Latin. Oh, Lord and ruler of the house of Israel. So there's the O and there are his names and titles. And here's a description of him who appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire in the bush and gave us unto him the law in Sinai. And here's that desire. Come, come and redeem us with a stretched out arm. Now, there are several verses in Scripture that are referred to in this verse, including what you find there from Chronicles and Exodus, but in all of these verses, we learn that the God whose name is I Am, who appeared to Moses in that burning bush, is the Lord, is the Adonai, which means that He is supreme. That's simply what Adonai means. That's simply what Lord means. Someone who is the sovereign, supreme master, And that's who Jesus is. He is the supreme ruler of this world, and he is the supreme redeemer of his people. Isn't that what God was showing to Moses and the children of Israel there in the book of Exodus? He's saying, I am the one who is the supreme ruler of the world, even over and above this Pharaoh, who thinks he has everything under control. And yet, God was going to overrule Pharaoh so that he might be the Lord and sovereign redeemer of his people Israel, as he says through Moses, let my people go. And so from Neil's original English translation, we can sing the second stanza of this hymn as well. Ruler and Lord, draw nigh, draw nigh. Who to thy flock in Sinai didst give of ancient times thy law in cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel. Obviously these are a little bit of a difference than what we would normally sing. Also a little difference between Neil's translation and Knox's translation, but together they show us what the original hymn was all about. Then we come to that third verse. That third verse begins with the Latin, O radix jessi, which means O root of jessi. to which is added in the original antiphon, O Root of Jesse, who standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall shut their mouths, unto whom the Gentiles shall pray, Come and deliver us, and tarry not. Again, do you see the four different parts of each one of these verses? You've got, oh, you've got the name and the title. You've got the description of what it means. Then you've got that come. And this time it's added to, it's added is deliver us and tarry not. This title, root of Jesse comes straight out of the book of Isaiah. So go there with me now, Isaiah chapter 11, because especially in these two verses, do we find the idea of the Messiah being both a rod and a root of Jesse, which of course, Jesse is the father of King David, right? And so there, look at Isaiah 11.1. The prophet says, There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And then in verse 10, And in that day shall there be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an end sign of the people. To it, or to him, shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. So from these verses, and even other verses like it, we learn that Jesus is both the root and the rod of Jesse, which is, again, the father of King David. What does that mean? Well, when you think about a root, a root is something that comes before the plant. It's sort of underneath the plant. It's sort of there supporting the plant. But as the root, this one that is to come is before Jesse in his deity, and isn't that who Jesus is? Jesus is before David. Jesus is before Jesse. Jesus is before Abraham. Jesus is before Adam. Jesus is before all things because Jesus is himself God. He's deity, but he's also a rod. He's also the thing that comes out of the root. He's also the things that comes forth from the plant. And so he comes after Jesse as well in his humanity, because he is born of the line of Jesse, born of the line of David, born of the line of Mary and Joseph. We find all of these going on. And so because of his unique nature as both God and man, deity in humanity, both the root of Jesse and the rod of Jesse, he is the ensign. What is an ensign? It's simply a standard. A standard, or kind of like the flags that sometimes we have back here, a flag that represents someone or something. And this standard is lifted up for the world. It's lifted up for the world so that when you look on Jesus in faith, you might be saved and delivered. And of course, this desire and this prayer for deliverance is the main focus of the original Latin hymn that we looked at. But, it's interesting, in the German hymn, the focus shifted to what we need to be delivered from. And so it's a little different than the original because it talks about being delivered from the devil and death and destruction. So look at how Neil translated it. As we sing these words in the third stanza, O rod of Jesse's stem, arise and free us from our enemies. Set us loose from Satan's chains and from the pit with all its pains. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel. But then we come to that fourth verse, and that begins with, O clavis David, which means, O key of David. This verse was also translated into English in this way. all key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel. Thou that openest, and no man shuttest, and shuttest, and no man openeth, come and loose the prisoner from the prison house, and him that sitteth in darkness from the shadow of death." So just a few days before Christmas time. If you were to go to some of these churches, you would hear this particular verse being sung in anticipation of the coming Messiah that they would celebrate on Christmas Day. Of course, this verse also refers back to several passages in the Old Testament, including Isaiah 22. Why don't we turn there since we're already in Isaiah? But Isaiah chapter 22. we find that when it is applied to Jesus, He alone has both the authority and the ability to loose us and release us from our prison of darkness and death. Isaiah chapter 22, verse 22, And the key of the house of David, we're told, will I lay upon his shoulder, that is, the shoulder of this man who really has no business of having the key of David. But he will receive it, so he shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open. So this key of David was given to a servant named Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. Again, not a king, had no business of having this key. And yet, when we find in the New Testament, this key of the house of David is applied to the Lord Jesus, and it shows us that He is the one, the only one, who can loose us and release us from our prison of darkness and death. He has both the authority and the ability to do so. That's why Jesus came. That's the gospel in a nutshell, right? And that's why we can believe in Him. And that, too, comes across in our own English version of this hymn. Again, as was written back in the 1800s, Key of the House of David, come. Reopen thou our heavenly home. Make safe the way that we must go and close the path that leads below. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel. When we come to that fifth original verse in Latin, it begins with, O Oriens. And again, that's where we get that word orient from, which simply means the east, the far east. But we know that as the sun rises from the east, it came actually to refer to the sun. Sometimes you'll see it translated the day spring or the day star. And so the original verse was translated as this, O Orient, brightness of the eternal light and son of righteousness, come and lighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Again, names and titles that point to the Lord Jesus, even the Old Testament, with that longing desire for him to come. In fact, in Luke chapter 1, go there with me now in your Bibles, Luke chapter 1. In Luke 1, 76 through 79, this is how John the Baptist's own father, Zacharias, describes the Messiah to come. Luke 1, 76 through 79. He's talking now about his own son, John the Baptist, and he says, And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. We already saw that Jesus is Lord, he is Adonai, but why else is he going to come? John is going to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day spring from on high hath visited us to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. Do you hear the echo of those scriptural words even in the original verse of this hymn? Other verses that are referred to in this fifth verse are Malachi 4, verse 2, and Hebrews 3, verse 20. But it's here in Luke, even in what Zacharias says, we learn that Jesus is like the sun, the bright sun that rises in the morning from the east. And since he is both the source and the stream of spiritual light and life, he is the one that we come to believe in and worship. just like the sun. The sun is the very source of light and life in this world. Obviously, God created it for us in that way, but it's not just the sun itself, but the rays that come from that sun. If we didn't have light, if we didn't have rays, if we didn't have the stream of light coming from the sun, there would be no life. There'd be no heat. There'd be no light. And that's why Jesus is the day star, the day spring, that provides both the source and the stream of the light and life we need from him. And so as Neil translated it for us in English there, the fifth verse, thou, the true east, draw nigh, draw nigh to give us comfort from on high and drive away the shades of night and pierce the clouds and bring us light. Rejoice, rejoice. Immanuel is born for thee, O Israel. Then we come to that sixth verse. It begins with, O rex gentium, and that simply means, O king of nations. Now, for some reason, this verse, along with that first verse, was omitted in many of the hymns that were based on the seven great O's. Again, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just to shorten it. That's something that they do in our own hymn books. But there are some powerful truths in the original that are translated this way. Oh, King of the Gentiles and their desire, that is the desire of nations, the cornerstone who made us both one, come and save man, whom now has made out of the dust of the earth. If we go to Haggai in our Old Testament, Haggai chapter two, we find some of the very words that this verse is based off of. Haggai chapter two, it's one of the minor prophets toward the back there. Zechariah, Haggai, right? It's right in that area. Haggai chapter two, verses six and seven, we find these words. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, yet once It is for a little while. And I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations. And the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." Again, pointing to Jesus, pointing to the coming of Christ, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is where we get the idea that Jesus is the desire of nations. But this is not so much because the world is looking for Jesus. It's not so much because the world is longing for Jesus, because we know that Jesus is not the desire of nations when it's put subjectively, but rather This is an objective way of looking at Jesus. The world needs Jesus because He is desirable, whether you desire Him or not. He is precious, whether you think of Him that way or not. He is good, whether you know Him to be or not. He is the desire of nations, whether the nations desire Him or not. And so as the King of nations, He is both a universal King, even a uniting king providing salvation for all who believe in him a Universal and a uniting king that is he's the king of the world But he's especially the king of those who believe in him and follow him and then he joins those together to be that one man made us both one it says there and Of course, there are other verses referred to in this stanza. Jeremiah 10, 7, Isaiah 28, 16, Ephesians 2, 14, Genesis 2, 7 were made out of dust. But then the English version of this hymn by Ronald Knox, he gives us these words. Oh, come of Gentile hearts, the king, a world that needs thee ransoming and save thy servants who confess with humbled hearts their faithlessness. Rejoice, rejoice. Immanuel is born to save thee, Israel. And then we come to that last and final verse. And of course, we've come to know this as the first verse of, O come, Immanuel. And it starts with that word, O Immanuel, O God with us. And so from the Latin original, we have these words in this last verse. O Immanuel, our king and lawgiver, the desire of all nations and their savior, and save us, O Lord our God. One last verse to look at, and that is Isaiah 7. Isaiah 7, 14. Of course, this is where Immanuel primarily comes from, because in Isaiah 7, verse 14, we're given this prophecy About the coming messiah, you probably know it by heart isaiah 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 emmanuel And that prophecy was fulfilled specifically and explicitly when jesus was born to a virgin named mary There are even more truths referred to in this stanza, including there in Isaiah and Genesis and 1 Timothy even, but no matter where it appears in the hymn, whether it's the first or the last, the longing remains the same. Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel, and loose thy captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. And guess what? We can rejoice. Rejoice, because Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel. So as we sing this song tonight, that we have come to know as, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, we're gonna sing it in as close a way that we can as other Christians have done for 1,200 years. And so we're gonna try to sing it according to the words that we have there. the poetic words, not the Latin translations of them. But as we do, let's remember that the one who was to come has come and he will yet come again. And so the message of this ancient hymn continues. Let's pray together. O Father, I pray that as we sing this psalm, as we sing these words, as we sing this ancient hymn, Lord, that it will remind us of all that Jesus is and all that Jesus came to do. And so even as we sing, O come, Lord, we know that He has come in all of His nature, in all of those characteristics, with all of those attributes, and now we can rejoice, rejoice, because Emmanuel has been born and has come for us. And now we can praise Him and worship Him and live for Him and tell others about Him and invite them, even as Jesus invited us, to come and see. So Father, we pray that you'll help us to remember the truths of this hymn. Truths that have been around, not even since the beginning of the hymn, but Lord, from the very beginning of Scripture. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Why don't we sing it together? And we're gonna try to sing all seven of these stanzas to that same tune that we're familiar with. There's an interesting story about that too. But we're gonna sing it together the way it might have originally been, O Come. O come, thou Wisdom, whose decree doth govern all things peacefully, The way of prudence here below And life hereafter deign to show Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel! Israel is born to save thee, Israel. Ruler and Lord, draw nigh, draw nigh. Who to thy flock in Sinai didst give of ancient times thy law? ♪ In cloud and majesty and awe ♪ ♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪ ♪ Is born for thee, O Israel ♪ ♪ O rod of Jesse's stem ♪ ♪ Memorize and free us from our enemies ♪ ♪ And set us loose from Satan's chains ♪ ♪ And from the pit with all its pains ♪ ♪ Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel. Key of the house of David, come, Reopen thou our heavenly home, make safe the way that we must go, and close the path that leads below. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel. Israel is born for thee, O Israel. Thou the true East, draw nigh, draw nigh, to give us comfort from on high, and drive away the shades of night, and pierce the clouds and bring us light, Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel. O come of Gentile heart, the King, a world that needs thee ransoming. and save thy servants who confess with humbled hearts their faithlessness. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel is born to save thee, Israel. Draw nigh, draw nigh, Emmanuel, And loose nigh captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here. until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel is born for thee, O Israel.