For the final sad song this week, I give you O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

This version is on the Casting Crowns Christmas album, which is my ‘go-to’ album from Christian artists at this time of year. I’ve already given you one from it.

The Casting Crown’s version of today’s song is an instrumental. I think it captures the words better than the lyrics do themselves.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel.

I love the bleak tone the violin and viola create (I’m a real happy camper at the moment, aren’t I?). I think it completely does justice to the way in which The Bible explains that we are all under the curse of sin.

Jesus’ birth into our world is actually the dawning of a new day. He’s the chosen one, leading us out of the spiritual dystopia. Think of any bleak setting in a movie of that genre and then multiply it by about a billion.

That’s captive Israel before Jesus. That’s all of us, without him. One of my favourite Bible verses says this: He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.

What does Jesus do? He takes captivity captive. That’s a concept I could meditate on for a while: takes captivity captive.

Why not think on it as you listen to the song? I recommend listening to the end… it’s worth it. The piano and strings arrangement is fab… 🙂

Yours in meditating,

Alison