Immanuel, To Thee We Sing
Immanuel, to Thee We Sing
Immanuel, to Thee we sing,
Thou Prince of life, almighty King;
That Thou, expected ages past,
Didst come to visit us at last.
For Thee, since first the world was made,
Men’s hearts have waited, watched and prayed;
Prophets and patriarchs, year by year,
Have longed to see Thy light appear.
All glory, worship, thanks and praise,
That Thou art come in these our days!
Thou heavenly Guest, expected long,
We hail Thee with a joyful song.
Translated by Ludolph Ernst Schlicht (1714–1769)
ISAIAH PROPHESIED that a virgin would bear a child and name him Immanuel. Skeptics look at the Christmas story and say, “Mary named her baby Jesus! What’s all this about Immanuel? Aren’t prophecies supposed to be fulfilled exactly?”
It helps to understand how names were used in Bible times and what the name Immanuel means. A name was not just what you were called, it was who you were. A name was an indication of your nature. Thus, in Acts, we find a man named Joseph taking on the name Barnabas, “Encourager.” In this case Immanuel means “God with us,” and that is probably the best description of Jesus that can be given. Jesus was indeed God, but “with us” in human flesh, facing our struggles.
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ”
Matthew 1:22-23
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