O Come, Key of David

Tomorrow, Monday, December 24 we continue our Advent-Christmas Series "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" based on the hymn of the same title with "O Come, Key of David."  This Christmas Eve Candlelight Service starts at 11:00PM (also there will be a service earlier in the evening 7:30PM at Trinity Lutheran in Elgin).



O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

The theme of this Advent–Christmas season is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” derived from both the popular hymn.  The popular version, translated by the Rev. John Mason Neale in rhymed poetry, often departs from the original Latin.  Traditionally, one antiphon was chanted on each of the seven days before Christmas.  The antiphons generally derive from the prophecies of Isaiah and follow a rough chronology through history until the coming of Emmanuel, Hebrew for "God [is] with Us" (see Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)