This Advent song incorporates five of the seven O Antiphons, prayers that have been prayed for over a thousand years as part of the Vespers service during the fourth week of Advent. These are appropriate for that season and any time services focus on longing for God. The composer says "The contrast between the minor and major keys is meant to express the tension between yearning and waiting for God's promised reign in Jesus, and our hope that God is with us."