O Come, 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, O come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,

In ancient times did'st give the Law,

In cloud, and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

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

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

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.

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.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

(Here is the Mannheim Steamroller version.  You'll notice its not in English, which is why I posted the other one, too.)

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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is definitely one of my top favorites. I particularly like Mannheim Steamroller's version on the A Fresh Aire Christmas album. To me, one of the things that sets Christmas carols apart from worship songs sung the rest of the year, is the comparison between the state of the world or our lives before Christ's birth and, the promised ransom that the baby Savior brought when he was born.  O come, O come, Emmanuel puts into song the reason's why Christ came--to rescue his people, to free them from Satan's rule, and to open the doors to Heaven for those who follow Him.  Its a reminder of why we celebrate the birth of this baby over all others.