And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, (John 14:16 ESV)
Comfort
I wonder if the original composers of The Twelve Days of Christmas snickered a little bit when they wrote of this gift. The swans, while not quite doves, are with some poetic license, referring to the Holy Spirit, and the seven swans refer to the seven gifts of the Spirit. So this gift is a bunch of gifts.
The incarnation, the birth of Christ, happened because mankind was in dire straights. We needed saving. Isaiah foretells the coming messiah in terms of the intense human need for comfort. In Isaiah 40:1 he set the stage: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” Isaiah goes on to describe how the gospel is entrenched in comfort, not mild comfort after a bad day, but internal, eternal, and un-devastating comfort. (Isaiah 51:19; 57:18; 61:2; 66:13; et. al.)
But because the full effects of our salvation are not manifested until we reach heaven, Christ lovingly and thoughtfully offers the Holy Spirit as a continued comfort. The way that comfort is found is the point of this part of the song.
Do you need comfort? The full continuum of comfort, from the physical pain of a stubbed toe, all the way to the mind-numbing sorrow that follows awareness of sin, loss of a loved one, or societal collapse, are all offered through the seven gifts of the Spirit.
The seven comforting gifts are: Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, and the Fear of the Lord.
We can not reliably comfort. But Jesus can.