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 Wisdom from on high,

Who orderest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory over the grave.

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.

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.

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,

An ensign of Thy people be;

Before Thee rulers silent fall;

All peoples on Thy mercy call.

This is one of my favorite Christmas carols, because the first stanza reminds me of the gospel. I love that word *"ransom". We were all captive slaves to sin until Christ died in our place to set us free. What cause for rejoicing!

*ran·som –n
1.the redemption of a prisoner, slave, or kidnapped person, of captured goods, etc., for a price.
2.the sum or price paid or demanded.
3.a means of deliverance or rescue from punishment for sin, esp. the payment of a redemptive fine. –verb (used with object)
4.to redeem from captivity, bondage, detention, etc., by paying a demanded price.
5.to release or restore on receipt of a ransom.
6.to deliver or redeem from punishment for sin.

{ps. who are the 2007 North NFC champs? oh yeah, green bay...}