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An ancient song of faith with lyrics originating in the 9th century.
The first English translation was in 1851 by John Mason Neale.
The tune is my adaptation of Thomas Helmore’s 1854 adaptation of music from a 15th century French requiem mass.

There is much to love about this old song of the faith. If you look up all of the verses written for it, and there are several more than the 4 I have used here, it pulls on many stories across scripture that picture God’s people in need and the work God does to meet their needs.

Getting deep into the season of autumn and moving into winter, it can become easy to fall into depression, gloom and other melancholy states of being. Advent offers a chance to acknowledge that life is not always sunshine and happiness - there is darkness and hardship in our lives and in the world. Advent also reminds us that God has a habit of showing up during times of darkness and hardship, that God is with those who are suffering and that God brings deliverance, redemption, provision and life.

God is with us, always. We could not escape the presence of God if we tried (Psalm 139). We do not need to pray for God to arrive, but singing “O come, O come Emmanuel” helps us to reconnect to those times in scripture, in history, and in our own lives when God has delivered us, provided for us, and brought us out of darkness and into the light. So rejoice, for Emmanuel, God with us, is with us indeed!