By the eighth century the church had compiled seven short hymns or chants sung during the advent season. Each hymn, sung in Latin, referenced a name of the Messiah, a deed of the Messiah and a call to the Messiah to return and deliver his people. So as the church remembered the 1st coming they anticipated the 2nd coming of the Lord. The last chant was a cry to Emmanuel. The first letter of each chant formed an acrostic which when repeated backwards gave the Lord's answer to their cries, "Tomorrow I come."