“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.”
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Words: Unknown; based on the “O Antiphons,” 8th c.
Translation: John Mason Neale, 1851
Music: “Veni Emmanuel,” 15th c.
One of the disappointments of researching Christmas Carols is that so often it comes down to “first recorded in the 19th century, most likely drawing on older traditions, the details of which we have no clue whatsoever.” Happily that is not so in the case of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” which has clear roots back to at least the 8th century. It is based on the “O Antiphons,” a series of 7 prayers, each addressed to the Messiah by a different title, along with a praise and petition associated with said title. A lot more could be said of this prayer, and if you’re curious I highly recommend checking out the analysis at The Hymns and Carols of Christmas.
But for our purpose, I want to focus on the imagery of conquest and victory. Two stanzas in particular look to the Lord’s coming as a conqueror to disperse the hells and lead on to eternal victory:
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.
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Joyful songs of conquest and victory like this go back to ancient times. We find an example in the Exodus, after the Children of Israel were led safely through the Red Sea and the armies of Egypt were vanquished in the floods:
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Jehovah, and spoke, saying:
Exodus 15:1-2
I will sing to Jehovah,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
Jehovah is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
Although at the time the Children of Israel sang in celebration of a victory already accomplished, their song prefigured the eternal victory of the Lord’s coming.
Before the Lord was born the people of earth were likewise facing destruction. At that time people were so hellish that it was like an army of hell pursued them, or like a flood of hell threatened to overwhelm them. People had no hope; except for one. Their hope was that the Lord would be born, and fight the hells, and conquer them, and show them the path to love. This hope was so powerful that they put it into songs, like the Song of Moses, and sang with joy about His power and His ability to come to save them from hell and evil, even when it seemed impossible.
The Teachings of the New Church tell us that these songs brought gladness to the people who sang them. This passage speaks to the power of singing, especially singing about the Lord’s Coming. We read,
…At the same time the angels too who resided with people ascribed glory to the Lord. Therefore those who sang and those who listened to songs experienced heavenly gladness as a result of the holy and blissful influence from heaven, gladness in which it seemed to them as though they were transported into heaven. Such was the effect the songs of the Church had among the ancients. Such also is the effect they have at the present day, for the affections of spiritual angels are especially stirred by songs which refer to the Lord, His kingdom, and His Church…. So it was that when the ancients who belonged to the Church ascribed glory to the Lord they did so through songs, psalms, and various kinds of musical instruments. For the ancients who belonged to the Church experienced a joy surpassing all other joys when they called to mind the Lord’s Coming and the salvation of the human race by Him.
Secrets of Heaven §8261
That joy has not ended. In part it is the joy of knowing that the Lord has come into the world and He has conquered hell. But we can also find joy in the hope that He will continue to come into our world and that He will continue to conquer our hells. When we joyfully sing Christmas hymns we establish this hope within ourselves. Our modern hymns are not so different from the ancient Song of Moses, in which they praised the Lord’s power and thanked Him for saving them from destruction; but now we can take joy in knowing that it is a spiritual conquest and a spiritual victory. As Jesus said,
In the world you will have tribulation; but take courage, I have conquered the world.
John 16:33
New Church Christmas Carols 