Christmas Song #5: Who Are We Waiting For?

As I explained last time, O Come O Come Emmanuel began as a single word. But as time went on, the cry of longing became a prayer to the Messiah – an acknowledgment of just who it is that we wait for.

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To the “O” was added names or titles of the Messiah in Latin. In their final form (as still used today), we have:

• O Sapienta (Wisdom)
• O Adonai (Lord)
• O Radix Jesse (Stem of Jesse)
• O Clavis David (Key of David)
• O Oriens (Dayspring)
• O Rex Gentium (King of the world)
• O Emmanuel (God with Us)

The series originated possibly over 1500 years ago.

As we’ll see, these themes eventually developed into the song we know today. We’ve already talked about the last one – Emmanuel, and the first, Wisdom. Let’s take a look at the next two verses, one at a time:

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

“Rod” is from the Authorized Version (KJV) translation of Isaiah 11:1 – here in the ESV translated as “shoot”.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Isaiah 11:1

Jesse was, of course, the father of King David. Long after David’s death, Isaiah prophesied that a “shoot” would grow out of the “stump” of Jesse – that is, a descendant of Jesse’s – a “Son of David”. In Isaiah 11:1-10, the “shoot” is depicted as someone on whom God’s Spirit rests, a righteous ruler that would destroy the wicked, and care for the poor and meek. This great Ruler would bring peace to the earth.

There are actually various enemies in this verse that the Rod must destroy. Satan, of course, the false and tyrannical ruler. Hell, the righteous judgement of God on sinners – in other words, the enemy of sin itself. And death – another judgement from God on sin.

Perhaps Paul was thinking of Isaiah 11 when he wrote these words:

Then comes the end, when [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

1 Corinthians 15:24-26

The author of Hebrews also takes up this theme, including the tyranny of the devil in his explanation of Christ’s victory:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, [Jesus] himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Hebrews 2:14-15

From exile, tyranny and death to faithfulness and peace – that is the result of the rule of the Rod of Jesse.

Verse four…

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

What in the world is a “Day-spring”? Once again it comes from the Authorized Version, this time in Luke 1:78 – “the dayspring from on high hath visited us”. It’s actually a beautiful word, translated into modern English in the ESV. Here’s the text, speaking to baby John the Baptist:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Luke 1:76-79

Translated here as “sunrise”, dayspring is the first light of the new day – referring to the sun, or the morning star. The same theme is picked up in the hymn “The Sands of Time Are Sinking”:

The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks;
The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.

Anne R. Cousin

But there’s a curious detail here in Luke. The word is translated “sunrise” or “dawn” or “dayspring” because of the context, which, of course, speaks of light. But it could also be translated “sprout” or “shoot”. That’s right – it could also refer back, again, to the Shoot of Jesse.

Either way, once again we have the image of light coming to those who are in the darkness – the darkness of the fear of death. The Dayspring delivers us from the fear of death. At long last, the first light shoots over the horizon – the long night is over.

Interestingly enough, at the very end of Revelation, these themes are connected together – using the “morning star”:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.

Revelation 22:16

And so we wait for Jesus, our Deliverer from death and the devil. At the moment, we see the first streaks of dawn in the sky as we remember the first coming of Christ – as we read the wonderful story in His Word. And we wait for the light of His coming again…

…we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…

2 Peter 1:19