God Is With Us

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.

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 did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

I only recently paid close attention to the words of this song. They are just as hauntingly beautiful as the melody is. You only have to read through them once to catch the longing of God's people for deliverance. A longing that had built up for thousands of years. And yet, in some ways, a longing that was somewhat dimly understood. They were looking for a physical deliverer, and Jesus is so much, much more.

As I thought of the words of the song one question kept coming to mind: "Do I even appreciate the fulfilled prophecy in my life?" Emmanuel has come! And He has perfectly filled that longing - God is with us. We are ransomed! He has freed us from the devil's tyranny. We are saved from hell. The Day-Spring is here and we do have His joy to disperse the clouds from our lives. He has defeated death! The way to Heaven is wide open to us! He has freed us from the law.

How do I let myself become so used to God's blessing? Why do I allow myself to take His wonderful presence for granted?

Emmanuel - God is with us. Rejoice!