We see echoes of Isaiah 9 in the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. The people of Israel, at the time Isaiah is writing, are enslaved and waiting, sitting in a place of gloom and hoping for God to show up, to prove to them that they were for him. Even though Jesus’ coming has shown us that God did indeed prove that he is for us and is greater than the gloom and doom of the world, there is still gloom and doom around us. This is where reflection of just the word “Emmanuel”, meaning “God with us” is so crucial and is able to satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts while we wait.