O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go.
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.
O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death’s abode.
O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light.
O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
John Mason Neale, 1851
Read Psalm 90
(This text has additional verses beyond the ones which typically appear in our hymnals. They are striking in the ways they address God and in the intense longing for Him. Only the last stanza remains unfulfilled. As surely as He came before, He will certainly come again. May our longing for the coming King of Peace grow as we celebrate this Christmas.)