Psalms for All Seasons ‎#74A

74A. Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

2 O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its way to go.

3 O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto thine own and rescue them!
From depths of hell thy people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave.

4 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.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Text Information

• First Line: O come, O come, Emmanuel
• Title: Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
• Refrain First Line: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
• Meter: 8.8.8.8 D
• Publication Date: 2012
• Scripture:
  Psalm 74
• Topic: Biblical Names and Places: Zion; Church Year: Advent; Enemies; Lament: Community; Lament: General; Questioning; The Creation; The Needy; Gregorian Chant
• Source: Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, Köln, 1710; Tr. composite
• Notes: Suggested passages of Psalm 74 to be read or chanted between the verses and the refrain. The combination of this quintessential Advent hymn and Ps. 74 can transform our understanding of both the psalm and the hymn. The psalm offers jolting imagery of what we often glibly sing in the hymn: “mourning in exile,” “depths of hell,” and “shadows of night.” The hymn helps us to imagine the pathos with which the psalmist’s community longed for the coming of the Messiah. It also opens us up to the pain that persecuted Christian communities feel today as they desperately cry out for liberation. The congregation or an ensemble can softly hum a drone on the pitches E and B under the reading. The scripture can also be chanted on an unadorned E tone.

Tune Information

• Name: VENI EMMANUEL
• Meter: 8.8.8.8 D
• Key: e minor
• Source: French processional, 15th c.
• Copyright: Arr. © 2006 Augsburg Fortress Publishers