Orthodox Christmas Carols

Since I recently wrote a post complaining about Christmas carols, I thought I would talk about Christmas carols that struck me in a positive manner today.

 Joy to the World

 No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

I was intruiged with this verse today because of the link with the the OT and the curse in Genesis 3. Jesus came as part of the meta-narrative, the large story of the Bible, and this verse of Joy to the World shows how Jesus came not just for the sake of humans, but to make all things right. It is not just for personal salvation (although that clearly is a large part of it) but also for the sake of all creation and all the world.

 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.

Refrain:

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 over the grave.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

And drive away the shades of night

And pierce the clouds and bring us light!

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, O come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height

In ancient times once gave the law

In cloud, and majesty, and awe.

 I was struck by the OT connections in this hymn: Jesus did not just fulfill individual prophecies, but he came as the one hoped for by Israel. If we do not have the OT, we miss a large part of the story.

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