This is Part 5 covering the Scriptural background for the lyrics of the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. You can read the earlier posts at these links: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.
The fifth verse of the song goes like this:
“O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer, Our spirits by Thy advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight.”
Thou Dayspring
“Thou Dayspring” refers to the morning dawn. This verse is calling for the rising sun/Son to bring cheer to our hearts and to remove the darkness of night and death.
This idea of a “rising star” starts back in Numbers 24:17:
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”
Numbers 24:17
God promised to bring light where there was once darkness from the light of Himself.
In fact, Jesus gives Himself later in Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Revelation 22:16
Jesus is this “dayspring,” this “dawn,” this “morning star” Who brings light into our darkness as we see in the book of John:
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4–5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Paul continues this analogy of God bringing light into the darkness of our hearts and lives in 2 Corinthians 4:6:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6
All this to day:
Jesus is our light,
Jesus is Who breaks the darkness of night,
Jesus dispersease the gloomy cloudy in our lives,
Jesus removes the dark shadows of death,
Because Jesus brings light and life to all who receive Him.
I pray that if you don’t know Jesus, that you receieve His light into your life today,
And if you already know Him, that you allow Him to infiltrate your life even fuller this Christmas, allowing His light to penetrate every part of your heart and life more fully and ever before.
As you consider these truths, here are more verses you can read and be encouraged by:
Isaiah 9:2, Luke 1:79, 1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 5:8, John 8:12, Acts 26:18