Be Freed By His Captivating Presence

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (8th or 9th century)
Latin: Germany (1710)

Listen to this modern version of this popular hymn/carol as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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Everyone, enjoy this video, and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

We begin our journey through Advent with this ancient text that invokes several powerful images of Emmanuel and invites Him to come even as we rejoice. Let’s tune our hearts.

Coming

The key is His presence.

This entire text is a two-fold invitation. The first invitation is to God, to come and reveal Himself as all we need for every malady that besets us. The second invitation is to the listener, in this opening stanza the captive, to come and rejoice since God is coming into each of those maladies as the solution. It has both the vertical and horizontal dimension of worship in each stanza and refrain and so encourages us to embrace the tension of a people between two realities, wanting to be with God while waiting for His appearing.

It is a perfect Advent text. Advent means coming. He is coming. This text welcomes Him and encourages the listener to rejoice even as we wait.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23 ESV

Foretold in Isaiah and fulfilled in Matthew, Israel was waiting for the appearing of the anointed One, the Messiah, who would deliver them. We long for His second coming while we wait for deliverance as well. There was an obvious tension in their waiting.  There is a similar tension in ours.

As Israel longed for the first coming of Emmanuel, so do we for His second. This opening line is the invitation to Him to be “God with us” and the other stanzas will offer different names which reveal different realities of who He is and the needs each fulfills. As you sing this and other Christmas carols, allow the undercurrent to be your asking Jesus to come to you again in this season when we celebrate His first coming.

RESONATE!
What are you really longing for? Jesus’ return, or something else. This plaintive cry simplifies all our smaller longings into one great one: the presence of God.  Ask Emmanuel to reveal what you are really longing for. Then place that longing within the context of this overarching one. O come Emmanuel.

Freeing

The bars are formed by a lack of awareness of His presence. It asks the question, “Is God with us?”

We begin to understand the ancient cry for Emmanuel as we look deeper into this stanza and the reality it portrays. Israel is crying out for a redeemer, a deliverer, a rescuer. Emmanuel is all that and more.

But it is not only Israel who needs a redeemer, is it? Much of this text has double meaning. One that resonates with the soul of those who are waiting for the coming of the Messiah, and another with those who await His return. Both are equally correct. Israel was captive by oppressors and we by the oppression of sin.

And ransom captive Israel

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:10 ESV

Having been exiled from the city of God for their sins, the people of Israel felt the distance which separated them from Him. As God’s people in this age, we often fail to acknowledge the spiritual distance caused by our disobedience. We need to be honest with God. Such honesty opens the possibility of that we will join the rejoicing of those who have been set free from captivity.

As Israel was captive by their own rebellious choices, so were we. Having surrendered our lives to God we have been set free from the consequences of our sin, yet sometimes we choose to return to them. It seems silly to think we would, but each of us knows how true that is. Acknowledging our captivity is the first step toward being set free.

RESONATE!
Are you aware of any captivity in your heart? Are there things which tempt you back to old patterns of living where new ones should have been cultivated? Ask the Spirit to reveal any thoughts or behaviors which have captivated you. Confess them to Him and prepare to join the rejoicing that marks the lives of those who know they have been set free.

Jesus, come to me anew. Spirit, reveal any captivating thoughts.

Jesus, thank You for being Emmanuel, God with us. Your presence in our midst changes everything. Yet sometimes we are tempted to return to old patterns, or fail to truly believe we have actually been set free. Give us reasons to rejoice again today as we embrace the freedom. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Liberated Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

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Video 24.1 Transcript

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

As Israel longed for the first coming of Emmanuel, so do we for His second. This opening line is the invitation to Him to be “God with us” and the other stanzas will offer different ones. Ask Jesus to come to you again in this season when we celebrate His first coming.

Jesus, come to me anew.

As Israel was captive by their own rebellious choices, so were we. Having surrendered our lives to God we have been set free from the consequences of our sin, yet sometimes we choose to return to them. Ask the Spirit to reveal any thoughts or actions that are captivating you.

Spirit, reveal any captivating thoughts.

The separation caused by sin is real and agonizing. We must accept that, confess it and plead with the Father to deliver us from its debilitating effects. Mourn any separation from Him, and allow that grief to motivate you to repentance as you turn back to God.

Father, I turn away from sin and to you today.

Trust that just as Jesus came to His people as a helpless baby, He will come to you as a faithful savior. He will come, and He will appear or make Himself known to you. Prepare yourself in this season to respond to His coming to you, and ready yourself to rejoice.

Jesus, help me prepare to rejoice at Your coming.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

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

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, Be Resonant.

The post Be Freed By His Captivating Presence appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
O Come, O Come Emmanuel – https://pixabay.com/vectors/key-vintage-key-lock-old-antique-2824086/
And Ransom Captive Israel – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/fence-prison-deprivation-of-liberty-1986479/