Handel's Messiah lyrics

Faith MattersFeaturesMusic Appreciation
Written By Edward Wolfe

No choral work is probably more justly famous than Handel’s Messiah. Since it is a work for choir, it is a setting of a set of lyrics. While the music is, or course, transcendently beautiful, the lyrics themselves are a masterpiece, worthy of contemplation and study.

Written during a time of “rising secularism and humanism,” the lyrics (the libretto) show the beauty of the entire story of Christian redemption through Jesus, the Messiah.

They are arranged entirely from the Bible by wealthy country squire and friend to Handel Charles Jennens (1700-1773). References in the libretto often combine in beautiful and unusual ways. For example, this reference from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:

He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)

Is combined with these words from the New Testament in a single song:

Come unto Him, all ye that labour, come unto Him that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. 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. (Matthew 11:28-29)

What a lovely demonstration that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in the person of Jesus, the Messiah!

Hear how Handel combined these beautiful lyrics musically here.

The lyrics for the entire work are here. My wife and I often like to spend time during the Christmas season reading together these lyrics, discussing, and praying over them.

Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Edward Wolfe

Edward Wolfe has been a fan of Christian apologetics since his teenage years, when he began seriously to question the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. About twenty years ago, he started noticing that Christian evidences roughly fell into five categories, the five featured on this website.
Although much of his professional life has been in Christian circles (12 years on the faculties of Pacific Christian College, now a part of Hope International University, and Manhattan Christian College and also 12 years at First Christian Church of Tempe), much of his professional life has been in public institutions (4 years at the University of Colorado and 19 years at Tempe Preparatory Academy).
His formal academic preparation has been in the field of music. His bachelor degree was in Church Music with a minor in Bible where he studied with Roger Koerner, Sue Magnusson, Russel Squire, and John Rowe; his master’s was in Choral Conducting where he studied with Howard Swan, Gordon Paine, and Roger Ardrey; and his doctorate was in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature, where he also studied group dynamics, humanistic psychology, and Gestalt theory with Guy Duckworth.
He and his wife Louise have four grown children and six grandchildren.

https://WolfeMusicEd.com
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