Christmas Carols: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Please see The Carols We Love: The "Story Behind the Story of Twenty-two Classic Christmas Carols, Daniel Partner, Barbour Publishing, Uhrichsville, OH, 2002.

The Piano Guys have a very nice version of this song.  This song was first written in Latin in about 1200.  It was sung in monasteries for vespers as part of advent.  It has five verses, but each verse calling the Lord by a different name, imploring him to come.  The names are: Emmanuel (God with us), our Wisdom from on high, Our Lord of might, Rod of Jesse's stem, Key of David, Dayspring from on high and Desire of nations.  In using these different names, it points to different aspects of the Savior, who is God, who gives wisdom and shows the way, who is the descendent of Jesse and David, and holds the key to the kingdom of God, he chases the darkness away, and we yearn to come onto Him.
  

The Carols We Love: We Three Kings

 

Please see The Carols We Love: The "Story Behind the Story of Twenty-two Classic Christmas Carols, Daniel Partner, Barbour Publishing, Uhrichsville, OH, 2002.
"We Three Kings" is the most memorable work of John Henry Hopkins Jr. who was a church man and music teacher for the most part.  He did publish a book of carols, another book of poems, and the biography of his father, a prominent Episcopalian priest.  "We Three Kings" is prominent for its message.  The story of the Three Kings is found in Matthew chapter 2.  The number of kings is not given, but they brought gold frankincense and myrrh.  There is a verse describing each of the gifts, and then a conclusionary statement: "King and God and sacrifice."  The gold represented Jesus as king, the frankincense as God (it was used in the temple) and the myrrh told of his final sacrifice.  Myrrh was used in embalming.  You can access my sons and I singing this for a ward party in Manteca through the link.