A journey through Handel’s “Messiah” – George Frederic Handel (1695-1759)

Messiah, G. F. Handel

Welcome to my happy place: Handel’s “Messiah”.

There is lots I could say about this. I could talk about the art, the theology, the subtle interpretive cues that make this a sort of “Gospel according to Handel”…

But I won’t. I’ll just stand aside and put this here for you to enjoy, just as Handel intended.

God bless you in this. Amen.

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I have tried to find ad-free, good quality recordings of each item in Messiah. If any of the links stop working, please comment so that I can find another.

Part I

(1) Overture

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaGgwQz-otw

(2) Comfort Ye

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zy6_H5SNJw

Isaiah 40:1-3

1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. . . .
3. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

(3) Every Valley

Isaiah 40:4

4.Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.

(4) And the Glory of the Lord

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z_tFJosT3k

Isaiah 40:5

5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

(5) Thus saith the Lord

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtV66X3S_2Q

Haggai 2:6,7

6. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come

Malachi 3:1

1. The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: Behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

(6) But who may abide the Day of His Coming?

Malachi 3:2

2. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire.

(7) And He shall Purify

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2vJJVtiUo

Malachi 3:3

3. And He shall purify the sons of Levi. . . that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

(8) Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlYKGYuMy_A

Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23)

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name EMMANUEL, God with us.

(9) O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion

Isaiah 40:9

9. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, and be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

Isaiah 60:1

1. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

(10) For behold, darkness shall cover the earth

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmX52fHLFC4

Isaiah 60:2,3

2. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. 3. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

(11) The people that walked in darkness

Isaiah 9:2 (Matthew 3:16)

2. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

(12) For unto Us a Child is born

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f7jhk-IjDo

Isaiah 9:6

6. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

(13) Pastoral Symphony

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urMLKKKNDe4

(14) There were shepherds abiding in the field

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrx0edcF9Uk

Luke 2:8,9

8. There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. 9. And lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

(15) And the Angel said unto them

Luke 2:10,11

10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

(16) And suddenly there was with the Angel

Luke 2:13

13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

(17) Glory to God

Luke 2:14

14. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

(18) Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJ392zs4zU

Zechariah 9:9,10 (Matthew 21:5)

9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Savior. 10. And he shall speak peace unto the heathen.

(19) Then shall the eyes of the blind

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-eCWcnGQRs

Isaiah 35:5,6

5. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

(20) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd

Isaiah 40:11

11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; and he shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Matthew 11:28, 29

28. Come unto him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and he will give you rest. 29. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him; for he is meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

(21) His yoke is easy

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQPkM61r2k

Matthew 11:30

30. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

Part II

(22) Behold the lamb of God

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyvqas2Nv9g

John 1:29

29.Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.

(23) He was despised

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tC23A55eSU

Isaiah 53:3

3. He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.

Isaiah 50:6

He gave his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: He hid not his face from shame and spitting.

(24) Surely He hath borne our griefs

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX7LZkgoDXA

Isaiah 53:4,5

4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. 5. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him

(25) And with His stripes we are healed

Isaiah 53:5b

5. and with His stripes we are healed

(26) All we like sheep have gone astray

Isaiah 53:6

6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(27) All they that see him laugh him to scorn

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNejszIGTpo

Psalm 22:7

7. All they that see him laugh him to scorn: they shoot out their lips, they shake their heads, saying:

(28) He trusted in God

Psalm 22:8 (Matthew 27:43)

8. He trusted in God that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, if he delight in him.

(29) Thy rebuke hath broken His heart

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSvbycRDeWE

Psalm 69:20

20. Thy rebuke hath broken his heart; He is full of heaviness.  He looked for some to have pity on Him , but there was none; neither found He any to comfort Him.

(30) Behold, and see if there be any sorrow

Lamentations 1:12

12. Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow.

(31) He was cut off out of the land of the living

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg8XT0cPGvg

Isaiah 53:8b

8. he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of thy people was He stricken

(32) But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell

Psalm 16:10 (Acts 2:27)

10. But thou didst not leave his soul in hell; neither didst thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

(33) Lift up your heads, O ye gates

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbWOZPEBbkU

Psalm 24:7-10

7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. 8. Who is the King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. 10. Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.

(34) Unto which of the angels said He at any time

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVJj3dta7_E

Hebrews 1:5 (Psalm 2:7)

5. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?

(35) Let all the angels of God worship Him

Hebrews 1:6b

6. “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

(36) Thou art gone up on high

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHrRvbgcRjg

Psalm 68:18 (Ephesians 4:8)

18. Thou art gone up on high, Thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men; yea, even for Thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.

(37) The Lord gave the word

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVEhlS2VAwM

Psalm 68:11

11. The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.

(38) How beautiful are the feet

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n702iiopDeU

Romans 10:15 (Isaiah 52:7)

15. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

(39) Their sound is gone out

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZaLlOGNp6g

Romans 10:18 (Psalm 19:4)

18. their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world.

(40) Why do the nations so furiously rage together?

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs_sdWaqpZw

Psalm 2:1,2 (Acts 4:25-26)

1. Why do the nations rage so furiously together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing? 2. The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed,

(41) Let us break their bonds asunder

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbFRhnVtSYs

Psalm 2:3

3. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.

(42) He that dwelleth in heaven

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aFywMc7p6A

Psalm 2:4

4. He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.

(43) Thou shalt break them

Psalm 2:9

9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

(44) Hallelujah

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU

Revelation 19:6

6. Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Revelation 11:15

15 the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 19:16

16. . . . KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS.

Part III

(45) I know that my redeemer liveth

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyHeUdBQDxQ

Job 19:25, 26

25. I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26. And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

1 Corinthians 15:20

20. For now is Christ risen from the dead. . . the firstfruits of them that sleep.

(46) Since by man came death

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYA4ZG0jnU

1 Corinthians 15:21,22

21. Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

(47) Behold I tell you a mystery

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsQmeJ7NW6I

1 Corinthians 15:51,52

51. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed, 52. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet;

(48) The trumpet shall sound

1 Corinthians 15:52b-53

52. the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

(49) Then shall be brought to pass

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23s5ZOS_MAo

1 Corinthians 15:54b (Isaiah 25:8)

54. then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
(50) O death where is thy sting?

1 Corinthians 15:55-56 (Hosea 13:14)

55. O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? 56. The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

(51) But thanks be to God

1 Corinthians 15:57 57.

But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(52) If God be for us

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AIiiT1GyLo

Romans 8:31, 33, 34

31. If God be for us, who can be against us? 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.

(53) Worthy is the Lamb

httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq4W9Qdhc6M

Revelation 5:12, 13

12. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13. Blessing, and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.

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