Day 25: Hallelujah to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! - Scene 8 (44)

Merry Christmas!

HEART HEARING

Movement 44

(1:44:33-1:48:11)

Scene 8 - "God's Triumph" 

44. Chorus

Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

The kingdom of this world is become 

the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; 

and He shall reign for ever and ever. 

KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS. 

Hallelujah!

(Revelation 19:6; 11:15; 19:16)

MIND MEDITATION

Revelation 19 & 11

Revelation, 19:6, 16 and 11:15 are all surrounded by one thing: Worship of Christ as King!

In His first coming, Jesus came as a Lamb sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29); but when He reigns today and will come a second time, He will come as a Conqueror and King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16; 1 Timothy 6:15) and will execute judgment (2 Thessalonians. 1:7-10).

In context, Revelation 11 occurs at the sound of the seventh trumpet where Christ's reign is foreseen. Revelation 19 is that actual reign and comes on the heels of the whole world having worshiped the beast and the Antichrist. It is a definitive statement about Who is in charge with a fourfold hallelujah, worship, and the marriage supper of the Lamb with His Bride, the Church. 

Following this, Christ comes on a white horse with a heavenly army. His robe is dipped in blood (Isaiah 63:2-3; Revelation 14:20), and He judges and wages war with the nations who gather to oppose Him ruling them with a "rod of iron" (see how Revelation 19:15 ties with Psalm 2:9 from the last scene). He comes with His heavenly army and "treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." The earthly army is no match for God, and they are destroyed (rather gruesomely, I might add). The beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire, and Christ reigns forever. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. 

SOUL SEARCHING

Calvin Stapert in Handel's Messiah: Comfort for God's People labels the "Hallelujah Chorus" as Scene 8, while most other references have it at the end of Scene 7. I asked Stapert about this, and here is his response:

I followed Jennens in labeling it Scene 8.  His wordbook of 1743 divides the Parts into Scenes by Roman numerals.  There's an [sic] VIII before the "Hallelujah Chorus."  Granted, it is unusual to call one chorus a scene by itself.  The normal pattern is to end a scene with a chorus.  But here Jennens clearly specified a chorus as a scene by itself.  (He also did it for the chorus, "Lift up your heads.")  I explain why I think he did so on p. 135:  "In the plan of Messiah, the 'Hallelujah Chorus' is not merely the culmination of a scene; it is a scene unto itself, the culmination of the entire Part II, indeed of the whole oratorio to this point." 

So true! It is the culmination! This is probably why it is the most familiar song in the whole oratorio (and makes me sob every time I hear it!

There is an anecdote that the King of England, George II, stood when this chorus was sung at the London performance in March of 1743, but it is based on a letter written many years later. So, we cannot be sure. 

Regardless of how it started, it is tradition for people to stand during this chorus, but former Boston Globe music critic, Michael Steinberg, commented that there is "a silent showdown between secularists who resolutely refuse to stand . . . and the traditionalists who rebuke them with looks of poison" (This article is no longer available online, but here is another article about whether the king actually stood or not.) 

Regardless, how could anyone sit during this movement?

You can bet your boots that when I go to my first performance (yes, I have never been to one), I will STAND! 

December 2013 update: I went last Sunday night to a performance by the Portland Baroque Orchestra. I stood with tears in my eyes! I did not see anyone sitting either. 

How can you not stand? I have never been able to put into words what this part of the oratorio does to my soul, but I think Joseph E. McCabe has captured much of what is in my heart:

Through an everlasting mercy, the trumpets do sound in the soul. The goodness and the kindness and the love which once we knew arouse as if from long sleep. Our finest nature comes forward, and we behold the true self like a long-lost friend. If not seized and cherished, the moment passes, and the soul returns to sleep again, to a long sleep. Your spiritual chance is in the finest moment. Lengthen it, nourish it, say to that nobility within you: “This is the person I can become.” For if you don’t, life will lull you to sleep again, smother you in convention again, choke you with success again, choke you to death, spiritually.

The burning desire to have the buried self be more and more your true self is the finest gift we can bring to Christ at Christmas. Let Messiah do its good work in the soul’s deep places, then rise in faith to that height you know as fact when the chorus calls you to worship him who is “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” (Handel’s Messiah: A Devotional Commentary, p. 87)

STRENGTH STRETCHING

Stand and worship God this Christmas morning as you listen to the "Hallelujah Chorus"! 

Day 24: God Responds - Scene 7 (42-43)

HEART HEARING

Movements 42-43

(1:42:12-1:44:33)

Scene 7 - "God's Triumph"  

42. Secco recitative (Tenor)

He that dwelleth in the heaven shall laugh them to scorn: the Lord shall have them in derision. (Psalm 2:4, Book of Common Prayer)

Note: This is God's quick and strong response to the arrogance of the nations. 

43. Aria (Tenor)

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. (Psalm 2:9)

Note: There is an emphasis on "break" and "dash" as the Lord responds in righteous anger and tells Jesus what He, as His anointed, will do to the nations.  

MIND MEDITATION

Yesterday David asked why the nations rebelled against God, and we heard that the nations wanted to cast God's yoke away and be free, but they really could never be free. God was still in control no matter how much they thought they were in control. 

In Scene 7, we hear God's response to that desire. God is big and the nations are small (Isaiah 40:6-8; 12-17). He laughs in contempt at their bravado. What were the nations thinking? God asserts that He is in control over all things. 

Not many people like to look at this side of God who can "break" and "dash"! The immediate context is pagan nations who oppose Israel in the Old Testament, but "them" could be anyone who does not listen and respond to the "company of preachers" (Psalm 68:18) bringing the "gospel of peace" (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7) to "the ends of the world" (Romans 10:18; Psalm 19:4) portrayed in Scene 5. 

The image of the breaking of pottery is probably an allusion to when Egyptian Pharaohs used their royal scepters to smash pottery that represented cities and nations that had rebelled against their authority, guaranteeing the help of their gods to defeat their enemies. 

God is referred to as the potter and His people as the clay throughout Scripture (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9; 64:8; Jeremiah 18; 19:1, 11; Lamentations 4:2; Romans 9:21; Revelation 2:27). There is a time when we can be remolded into something new by the hand of the Master Potter. God is patient and wants no one to perish and all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but there will come a time when this can no longer be possible and the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10), and it will be a terrible thing for those who do not know Him.

If we are tempted to think that the idea of God himself actually "hardening" anyone's heart contradicts his stated purpose of bringing everyone to redemption, it might help to reflect on a curious natural phenomenon. If you put a lump of butter and a lump of clay out under a hot sun, you will see that one melts and the other hardens. But it is the same sun in both cases. The difference lies in the material it works on. Cold, unbelieving hearts are hardened, even by God's love. Warm, trusting hearts are melted by it. (Winter, David; Forty Days with the Messiah, p. 104. I corresponded with the author to get permission to quote him. He is an Oxford Anglican priest who was flattered that I would want to quote him!)

We all have a choice. Jesus will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords in the end, and all who oppose Him will be crushed (Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15), but there is a choice. The final verse in Psalm 2 sums up that choice perfectly:

Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,  

For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 2:12) 

SOUL SEARCHING

"There is a way which seems right to a man, 

But its end is the way of death." 

(Proverbs 14:12)

Jennens wrote Messiah at a time when Deism was prevalent in England. Deism is defined as:

A movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe. (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed.)

Portraying the reality of God's wrath in Messiah was probably intended to address the spiritual condition of England at the time:

But Jennens and Handel believed in the reality of the God they portrayed, and they hoped to convince the Deists, atheists, and complacent Christians in their audience that this angry God is "dreadfully provoked," and that "his wrath ... burns like fire."

Those last words come from Jonathan Edwards's most famous, or notorious, sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." (Coincidentally, he preached it on 8 July 1741, just two days before Jennens wrote to Holdsworth saying that he hoped to persuade Handel "to set another.... The Subject is Messiah.") "Thou shalt break them" is in some ways a Jennens/Handel version of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Both depict an angry God "who must condemn sinners because they are in rebellion against God and hence hate what is truly good." (Calvin R. Stapert. Handel's Messiah: Comfort for God's People (Kindle Locations 1357-1361). The quote within this quote is from Jennens' letter to Holdsworth published in Handel: Messiah by Donald Burrows, p. 11.)

As I said before, Psalm 2 is a Messianic psalm that points to a future time when, because of God's great love for us, He would send His only begotten Son to be the atoning blood sacrifice that averts His wrath. God gives us the free choice to believe it or chose to rebel in unbelief (Hebrews 3:7-19; Psalm 95:6-11).

It is so hard to tackle the wrath of God, and most of Messiah is so much about God's love and His free offer of grace, but we must convey both His love and His holy wrath because that is part of who He is. 

STRENGTH STRETCHING

(Reminder: Transformation occurs when we put elbow grease to our soul searching through “strength stretching” application of what God has spoken to us through His word. What is your “I will” statement for today?)

If you are reading this according to the December schedule, this was not a very cheery subject to tackle on Christmas Eve, of all days; but maybe you are going to be around relatives who do not believe, and this might encourage you to keep pressing on in prayer and proclamation for them. 

I came from a non-believing home, and holidays were hard once I surrendered my whole life to God. In the middle of my sophomore year in college and a great time of growth in the Lord, I came back to the reality of my family with the drinking, dirty jokes, and foul language around the holiday table. Jesus was nowhere in our celebration. On top of all of this, my grandmother was openly hostile toward my growing faith, and we usually spent Christmas Eve at her house. It made me feel very sad and alone. 

I remember going into my grandmother's bathroom crying. I felt so overwhelmed and defeated in this group of strong non-believers. When my mother came in, I told her how much I struggled with how this family does not honor Christ at Christmas.  

My mother said the most profound thing she ever said to me: "Carol, don't you think God put you in this family for a reason?" 

That shocked me coming from my mother, but it was from the Lord and jolted me out of my pity party, causing me to face my family with a new attitude and purpose. I prayed tirelessly for their salvation for years, but left it in God's hands to sort out whose heart was "like butter" and whose was "like clay." Over the next ten years, all but my grandmother and oldest brother came to faith in Jesus Christ.

I only say that to encourage you to consider that God's wrath is real and that God has placed you in your family for a reason.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Day 23: The Nations Rebel - Scene 6 (40-41)

HEART HEARING

Movements 40-41

(1:38:53-1:42:12) 

Scene 6 - "The world and its rulers reject the Gospel" 

40. Aria (Bass) or Aria and Recitative

Why do the nations so furiously rage together: and why do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed. (Psalm 2:1, 2, Acts 4:25-26, Book of Common Prayer)

Note: This is a "rage" aria with fast notes on the strings in the introduction that mimic agitation. Notice the emphasis on RAGE when the bass sings! 

41. Chorus

Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us. (Psalm 2:3)

Note: Verse 3 is the voice of the nations. There is a voice of daring arrogance in the music of the chorus. They really think they can get away with their rebellion!

MIND MEDITATION

Psalm 2

In the last scene, the Gospel was going out to the whole world; but in this scene, the whole world does not accept the message.

Psalm 2 is a royal psalm along with Psalms 18, 20-21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, and 144. It celebrates the coronation of a Jewish king and the rebellion of vassal nations that hoped to gain freedom. A vassal nation is subservient to the ruling nation. Often nations became vassals through conquest, becoming servants, and paying tribute. 

This royal psalm is written by David (Acts 4:25) and might have been written as a result of the defeat of the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-25), Moabites (8:1-14), Ammonites, and Arameans (10:1-19). Those nations who rose up against David, God's anointed, were defeated.

Psalm 2 is also a Messianic psalm along with Psalms 8, 16, 22, 40, 41, 45, 68, 69, 102, 110, and 118. (Only Psalms 2 and 45 are both royal and Messianic.) It is considered a Messianic psalm if it is quoted in the New Testament and refers to Jesus. 

Psalm 2 is the most quoted (or alluded to) Psalm in the New Testament (Matthew 3:17; 7:23; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35; John 1:49; Acts 5:25-26; 13:33; Philippians 2:12; Hebrews 1:2,5, 5:5; Revelation 2:26-27; 11:18; 12:5; 19:15).  That is why it is so appropriate for the libretto of Messiah.

The Message paraphrase puts Psalm 2:1-3 this way:

           Why the big noise, nations?
                 Why the mean plots, peoples?
                 Earth-leaders push for position,

                 Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks,

                 The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers:
                 “Let’s get free of God!
                 Cast loose from Messiah!”

Why do people rebel against God? Warren Wiersbe says it so well:

David didn’t expect a reply when he asked this question, because there really is no reply. It was an expression of astonishment: “When you consider all that the Lord has done for the nations, how can they rebel against Him!” God has provided for their basic needs (Acts 14:15–17), guided them, kept them alive, and sent a Savior to bring forgiveness and eternal life (Acts 17:24–31; see Dan. 4:32). Yet, from the tower of Babel (Gen. 11) to the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 4:21–31) to the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:11ff), the Bible records humanity’s foolish and futile rebellions against the will of the Creator.  (Be Worshipful, p. 17)

SOUL SEARCHING 

"The first duty of every soul is to 

find not its freedom but its Master."

P.T. Forsyth 

Scottish Theologian, 1848-1921

(Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind, p. 28)

I have to continue quoting Warren Wiersbe because it is so good:

The kings and minor rulers form a conspiracy to break the bonds that the Lord has established for their own good. The picture is that of a stubborn and raging animal, trying to break the cords that bind the yoke to its body (Jer. 5:5; 27:2). But the attempt is futile (vain) because the only true freedom comes from submitting to God and doing His will [emphasis mine]. Freedom without authority is anarchy, and anarchy destroys. I once saw a bit of graffiti that said, “All authority destroys creativity.” What folly! Authority is what releases and develops creativity, whether it’s a musician, an athlete, or a surgeon. Apart from submitting to the authority of truth and law, there can be no true creativity. The British theologian P. T. Forsyth wrote, “The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master.” (Be Worshipful, p. 17)

Submitting to God frees us. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). There is no need to cast off His yoke!

STRENGTH STRETCHING

Search your heart and ask God to reveal any areas of rebellion. Do you truly believe God's way is the best? Do you try to do things your own way? How is that working for you? 

Maybe you have expectations about how your holiday should go. Can you let go of those expectations and let God be God no matter what happens? 

Take on His easy yoke today. 

Day 21-22: Bring Glad Tidings of Good Things! - Scene 5 (36-39)

HEART HEARING
(Take two days for Scene 5.)

Movements 36-39

(1:36:49-1:38:53)

Scene 5 - "Whitsun, the gift of tongues, the beginning of evangelism" 

Note: "Whitsun" is the British word for Pentecost. It is a contraction of "Whit" and "Sunday". There are different theories as to what "whit" means. Some believe it refers to the "white" garments worn by young Christians under instruction who were to be baptized on the Sunday of Pentecost. "Whit" could also be the wisdom of the Holy Ghost poured out at Pentecost. According to a quote by John Mirk (c1382-1414), the Holy Spirit "brought wytte and wisdom into Crists dyscypes" at Pentecost.

36. Aria (Alto or Soprano but earliest editions were for bass)

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. (Psalm 68:18, Ephesians 4:8, Book of Common Prayer)

Note: Psalm 68 was read during morning prayer on Whitsunday.

37. Chorus

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers. (Psalm 68:11, Book of Common Prayer)

38. Aria (Soprano) or Duet and Chorus

How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:15, Isaiah 52:7)

39. Chorus

Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans 10:18; Psalm 19:4)

MIND MEDITATION

Psalm 68

This psalm of David probably celebrated the triumphal ascent to Mount Zion. It is a song that may have been written when David captured the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites in 2 Samuel 5:6-8 or when he brought the ark of the covenant to Zion in 2 Samuel 6. 

The psalmist reviews the Lord's movement of Israel from the wilderness wanderings to His occupation and conquest of the land. The psalm ends with a triumphal praise to God for His power and strength! 

Psalm 68:18 in this movement helps us to visualize the King-Messiah's ascent up to heaven followed by the descent down to earth at Pentecost with the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings spiritual gifts to men.

The first part of this verse "thou hast led the captivity captive" in the King James Version is confusing. The Amplified version makes it clearer: "You have led away captive a train of vanquished foes." The King-Messiah has become victor over the forces of evil and is now granting spiritual gifts to those in His Kingdom. 

Paul paraphrases this verse and applies it to Jesus in Ephesians 4:8. He ascended to heaven, carrying away with Him our sin and the sting of death, received gifts, and then passed them on to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives gifts to us that glorifies God.

This leads beautifully into the next three movements which have to do with using those gifts for the spread of the gospel! The first chorus is from Psalm 68:11 and follows on the heels of Ephesians 4:8 in looking at the gifts that Paul mentions later on in Ephesians 4:11 that lay the foundation for the church: apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, and pastor-teacher (shepherd). The Message says, "The Lord gave the word; thousands called out the good news." It took one man to take away our sin, but it would take a "great company" to proclaim it to the whole wide world!

Romans 10: 15, 18

Paul quoted Isaiah 52:7 (and Nahum 1:15) when describing the work of those who would carry that Gospel message to the whole world.  It was and still is beautiful. The Gospel is indeed GOOD NEWS. We have been liberated from the power of death! Let's pray it goes out into the ends of the world (Romans 10:18; Psalm 19:4). Notice how the scales running up and down in that last movement give you the feeling that the Gospel is running all over!

SOUL SEARCHING

I am writing this devotional in the middle of another upheaval in Egypt (June 2013). Tahrir Square in Cairo has been filled with protesters who are blazing green laser light images on the side of one of the buildings. I had to do a double-take when I saw the Crescent of Islam and the Cross of Christ right next to one another on the side of the building. I am convinced that only the Prince of Peace can bring peace to the Middle East so I pray that the GOOD NEWS of Christ would have the freedom to be proclaimed there without hindrance very soon.

From: http://snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-victory-hour-max-egeria-with-dr.html June 3, 2013

STRENGTH STRETCHING

Jesus is our peace who has broken down every wall. His death gave us peace with God and the ability to bring peace between people. May we proclaim that peace to people near and far this Christmas season. 

Another way to apply this passage might be to learn what your gifts are and start exercising them. Here are some resources:

SPIRITUAL GIFTS AT A GLANCE 

This sheet is the result of 60 hours of study based on the four primary chapters on the gifts: 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4.

Here is an online version of the test that I use in my workshops:

SPIRITUAL GIFTS ASSESSMENT

After you take the test, take the "Spiritual Gifts at a Glance" sheet to some of your closest friends and ministry partners to confirm your gifts. 

Day 20: Let All the Angels of God Worship Him - Scene 4 (34-35)

HEART HEARING

Movements 34-35

(1:28:56-1:29:13)

Scene 4 - "God discloses his identity in Heaven"

34. Secco recitative (Tenor)

Unto which of the angels said He at any time, "Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee?" (Hebrews 1:5a, Psalm 2:7)

35. Chorus

Let all the angels of God worship Him. (Hebrews 1:6b)

Throughout the chorus, there are different pairs of voices stating Hebrews 1:6b over and over and over again. God has disclosed the identity of Jesus as the Son of God, and the angelic choir responds in full-out worship of the Son!

MIND MEDITATION

Hebrews 1

The book of Hebrews was written to encourage Jewish believers who wanted to slip back into Judaism because the persecution was getting tough. The author wanted to show them that Jesus was superior to prophets, angels, and priests. Chapter 1 focuses on His deity as the Son of God that even the angels worship.

God had spoken through the prophets in the past, but that Old Testament prophetic revelation has now reached a climax in His Son! This is it! The Scarlet Thread of Redemption comes to its zenith in Jesus. WOOHOO! It was a long time getting here, but aren't you glad you came? He is the heir of all things and Creator of the universe (1:2). On top of all that . . . 

. . . He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. . . (1:3)

WOOOHOOO!

Christ is not only superior to the prophets but also superior to the angels, and the writer demonstrates this by comparing Christ's greatness to that of the angels using Old Testament Psalms:

1:5, 6 - Psalm 2:7; 97:7
1:7, 14 - Psalm 104:4
1:8, 9 - Psalm 45:6
1:10 - Psalm 102:25
1:13 - Psalm 110:1

In Hebrews 1:5-6, God speaks to the new King. This affirms the Kingly Sonship of Jesus that falls in line with the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7). Paul also quotes it in Acts 13:33 in reference to the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus.  In quoting Psalm 2:7 and 97:7, the writer of Hebrews is exhorting all his servant angels (Hebrews 1:7, 14) to worship this newly enthroned King of all kings, superior in every way. 

But of the Son He says,  

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, 

And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; 

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You 

With the oil of gladness above Your companions.” 

(Hebrews 1:8,9 quoting Psalm 45:6, 7)

SOUL SEARCHING

Jesus is enthroned at the right hand of the Father in heaven now (Hebrews 1:3). Are you worshiping at the throne during this busy and hectic time or are you just barely keeping your head above water with all the shopping, baking, and partying that comes along with the season?

Is it the season to be shopping and stressing
or
seeing the King in all His glory? 

The choice you make between these two options will probably make the difference in your enjoyment of this holy time of year.

STRENGTH STRETCHING

In these final days before Christmas, commit yourself to daily worship at His throne. Imagine Him seated at the Father's right hand. Sing those Christmas Carols and WORSHIP!

Come let us adore Him
Christ, the King!

Day 19: The King of Glory Shall Come In - Scene 3 (33)

HEART HEARING

Movement 33

(1:25:59-1:28:56)

Scene 3 - "His ascension"

33. Chorus

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. 
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. 
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, 
He is the King of Glory. (Psalm 24:7-10)

About the music and lyrics:

As you can see from the title Jennens gave this scene, he intended this to be connected with Jesus' ascension rather than His resurrection because Psalm 24 is placed during evening prayer on Ascension Day in The Book of Common Prayer. Ascension Day is 39 days after Easter and commemorates when Jesus gathered all His disciples, gave them the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), and ascended to heaven (Acts 1:1-11). 

Handel wrote this to be "antiphonal" and is the only chorus of its kind in Messiah. Antiphonal means when two choirs sing in alternation. There is really only one choir with soprano, second soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts, but the altos sing the low part with the sopranos and seconds in addition to the high part with the tenors and basses on the second set of "Lift up your heads . . ." The dotted rhythms are majestic and remind you of the overture and "Behold the Lamb of God," but they are in a major key and very lively! When you get to "the King of Glory shall come in," it is almost the same as "get thee up into the high mountain" and "say unto the cities of Judah" in Part I because all flesh has now seen Him together! 

"Behold your God" people! Hallelujah! So fun! 

MIND MEDITATION

Psalm 24:7-10

If this psalm was written around the time of the ark coming to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6 (we are making an educated guess here because we do not know for sure), then the "ancient doors" were probably to the old fortress that received the ark.  The psalm acknowledges the Lord's sovereignty over all things and who is worthy to enter the Tabernacle and worship. Tradition says that it was sung on the first day of each week in the temple services. 

The people outside would call to the temple gates to open up and let the King of glory in. From inside, the priests or another group would ask, "Who is this King of glory?" Outside, the people would respond in unison, "The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle," proclaiming his great power and strength. The exchange was then repeated (24:9, 10), and the temple gates would swing open, symbolizing the people's desire to have God's presence among them. (The Life Application Bible, p. 926)

And God's presence is definitely with all of us in Jesus! 

This psalm could also be a reference to the return to Jerusalem after a battle victory. Either apply to Jesus as He has won the victory over sin, darkness, and death through His resurrection from the dead! The suffering, silent Servant has become the Warrior King. WOOHOOO! 

Notice the word glory again. We hear it so much during the Messiah, but it was absent during the events leading up to the crucifixion. 

SOUL SEARCHING

I had a "movement of the soul" this morning as I wrote this post. (How can you not when you listen to this chorus?) So, I went to my personal blog and did a "freewrite" (writing continuously for a set amount of time without thought of grammar, punctuation, spelling, approval, or disapproval). I will share it here. It is my inner heart and hope it makes sense:

I am sitting on my exercise ball in my dining room typing Messiah Meditations. I look out at the beginnings of a gorgeous Saturday in my backyard. I love these quiet moments before the beginning of the background noise of men (young and old) that murmurs low but is usually present during the rest of the day. I have this moment right now where I know You are here. You smile. 

I cannot help but smile back with the inexpressible joy that comes from being in Your presence (Psalm 16:11 comes to mind). Meditating on Psalm 24 does so send me into orbs. Listening to Handel's rendition sends me further beyond. There is a life in the Spirit that is unexplainable, and so beyond all earthly joy. You cannot bottle it or bring it to someone to savor for they must go to that place all on their own, in the way that You deem it to be so. Yet, will they go there? Are they willing? "Is the reason we're not still to hear You speak because we don't believe you will?" (Michael Card, "In Stillness and Simplicity"). 

I am concerned but am powerless to make it happen for anyone but myself. (Really, You make it happen anyway, but there is a choice involved somewhere in the process.) Yet, I have those in my inner sphere who have tasted that heavenly gift. I want more to come to that deep place, but must only lead by example.  

Well, I must leave now, but will walk to my book club with Psalm 24 in mind: 

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

STRENGTH STRETCHING

Do you know this King of Glory? Do you believe that He speaks today? Can You take the time to be still before Him in the hubbub of Christmas activity to hear His voice today? Can You open the gates of your heart to allow Him to come in? 

This is a simple application but profound. As I said in my freewrite, I want EVERYONE to taste this, but somewhere in the process, there is a choice that is between you and God.

I pray you make that choice today. 

Day 18: Death to Resurrection Life - Scene 2 (31-32)

HEART HEARING

Movements 31-32

(1:22:51-1:25:59)

Scene 2 - "His sacrificial death, His passage through Hell and Resurrection" 

31. Accompanied recitative (Soprano or Tenor)

He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgressions of Thy people was He stricken. (Isaiah 53:8b)

32. Aria (Soprano or Tenor)

But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27)

This is a short scene that makes the quick transition from death to resurrection life!

MIND MEDITATION

Isaiah 53:8

I refer you to the "Behold the Lamb of God" post on Day 15 HERE for the historical background on Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:7 compares the Servant to a lamb. Just as the Passover lamb died for each Jewish household so that the angel of death could "pass over" their house when its blood was applied to the doorpost and lintels (Exodus 12:1-13), Isaiah 53:8 is that Servant dying for the nation of Israel. The first half of Isaiah 53:8 says, "By oppression and judgment, He was taken away." This is a prophecy of Jesus being arrested, sentenced, and taken to the crucifixion (John 18:12, 24; John 19:16). He was "cut off from the land of the living" (died) for the sins/transgression of His people (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Psalm 16:10 

This is another psalm of David. It is quoted in Acts 2:27 by Peter to the Jews on the day of Pentecost explaining that Jesus' soul was not left in hell. This is called "Sheol" with the meaning being "between the ideas of the grave, the underworld and the state of death" (The New Bible Dictionary, p. 1092). It is a place for the righteous and the wicked. Obviously, His "Holy One" would not be destined to an eternity with the wicked! 

Peter, full of the Holy Ghost, sees in this sixteenth Psalm, one Holy Man, whose life of high devotedness and lofty spirituality is crowned with the assurance, that though He taste of death, He shall rise again without seeing corruption, and be admitted to the bliss of God’s immediate presence. Now as this was palpably untrue of David, it could be meant only of One other, even of Him whom David was taught to expect as the final Occupant of the throne of Israel . . . The Psalm is then affirmed to have had its only proper fulfilment in JESUS, of whose resurrection and ascension they were witnesses, while the glorious effusion of the Spirit by the hand of the ascended One, setting an infallible seal upon all, was even then witnessed by the thousands who stood listening to Him.  (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Ac 2:29) 

SOUL SEARCHING

Isn't it interesting that there were so many movements leading up to His death but only one movement devoted to His actual death? This is true in the Gospel according to Matthew also, one hundred twenty-four verses are of the last week of His life with only one verse devoted to the actual crucifixion (Matthew 27:50)!

The events leading up to His death were all in minor keys, but the music transitions at "He was cut off" into major and a joyous A major when the tenor sings, "But thou didst not leave." It is the transition from darkness to light! He is risen!!!

The good news is that we have made it through the agony of the crucifixion to the ecstasy of Jesus' resurrection from the dead! It is hard to think about His death if you are reading this during this joyous Christmas season, but His death leads to our life! That is truly something to be joyous about!

STRENGTH STRETCHING

Recall your own story out of darkness into light. Say it out loud as you talk to God and thank Him for those points where you knew He was there leading you out of the darkness. You might want to write it down. Then tell your story to someone else!

Day 16-17 : The Agony of the Cross - Scene 1b (27-30)

HEART HEARING

Movements 27-30 

(1:16:31-1:22:51)

Scene 1 continued - "The redemptive sacrifice, the scourging and the agony on the cross"

27. Accompanied recitative (Tenor)

All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn: they shoot out their lips, they shake their heads, saying, (Psalm 22:7, Book of Common Prayer)

28. Turba chorus

He trusted in God that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, if He delights in Him. (Psalm 22:8; Matthew 27:43)

29. Accompanied recitative (Tenor)

Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man; neither found He any to comfort Him. (Psalm 69:20, Book of Common Prayer)

30. Arioso (Tenor)

Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow. (Lamentations 1:12)

(Note: Jennens changed from the first person in the Scriptures to the third person for purposes of continuity in Messiah.) 

MIND MEDITATION

Psalm 22:7-8; Matthew 27:43

This is a psalm of David. We do not know what event in his lie it is linked to, but David felt forsaken by God as he was surrounded by enemies who persecuted him. David was never near execution, but this is what this psalm describes. 

Most commentators agree that it is a prophetic psalm about the crucifixion of Jesus. David described the suffering of the Messiah that would occur almost 1,000 years later!

Note the similarities between this psalm and events in Jesus' life:

22:6-8/Matthew 27:39,42-44 - People mocked and scorned Jesus at the cross 

22:15/John 19:28 - Jesus thirsted on the cross 

22:16/Luke 24:39-40 - Jesus' hands and feet were nailed to the cross 

22:17-18/Matthew 27:35 - They divided up Jesus' garments by casting lots 

22:22/Hebrews 2:12 - Jesus will declare God's name  

22:27 All the earth will remember, turn, and bow down to the LORD, and he will rule the nations through Jesus!

Psalm 69:20 

Psalm 69 is also a psalm of David and is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament behind Psalms 22 and 110. Many verses are applied to the ministry and suffering of Jesus:

69:4/John 15:25 - Jesus' enemies 

69:8/John 7:5 - Jesus scorned by his brothers 

69:9/John 2:14-17 - Christ's zeal when he threw out the money changers at the temple 

69:20/John 19:28-30 - Christ's suffering 

69:25/Acts 1:20 - Judas

Jesus was the perfect example of a righteous person who was persecuted for being zealous for the will of God. For clarification, the "rebuke" in 69:20 is the rebuke of the people taunting Him on the cross and not the rebuke of the Lord. 

Lamentations 1

Jeremiah turned his feelings about the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) into poetic form. The book is written in the style of ancient Jewish funeral songs or chants. Lamentation 1 is the first of five poems (or dirges) that correspond to the five chapters. 

In its historical context, Lamentation 1:12 is Jerusalem calling out to people passing by to notice her terrible condition, but it is also a prophecy of Christ. Those passing by were hurling abuse at Christ (Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:29). 

SOUL SEARCHING

The oratorio leaves the first line of Lamentations 1:12 out, but it is a question we can all ask ourselves:

Is it nothing to all you who pass this way?

And I ask you today, what is the Cross to you? Lamentation 1:12 is a plea for us today to not merely "pass by" but to stop and ponder the power of the Cross.  The Hebrew words "behold and see" mean "to look, to watch, to regard. It has the sense of looking somewhat intensely in a focused way at something" and "requires the individual to see physically outside of himself or herself: to see so that one can learn" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament, p. 700, 1023). 

Is it nothing to you? What can you learn from the Cross today?

I realize that this is not the cheeriest of sections of Messiah. It is often hard to get through this dark time in the Messiah oratorio. Think about the words in the verses: scourging, scorn, shoot (lips), shake (heads), and sorrow.

The Cross was not a pretty picture. Have you found yourself restless to get out of the darkness? I encourage you to stay there just a bit longer. There is something very powerful about truly facing the Cross directly. So I encourage you to go there, and I am confident that Jesus will meet you in the midst of it.

Do not despair. Hold on for the "Hallelujah Chorus"! It is right around the corner. It is always darkest before the dawn. 

STRENGTH STRETCHING

Psalm 22 is perfect for practicing Ignatian Contemplation (or what I used to call, "The Loyola Method"). Place yourself as a witness to the crucifixion using both Psalm 22 and the passages in the Gospel accounts.

There is also an entire handout on many methods of meditation for download HERE.

It is also in this post. Below gives you an example of how to do it from the birth of Jesus. So, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to adapt it for the passages above. 

Get Totally Involved -The Loyola Method (Ignatian Contemplation)

(This is an approach to meditation adapted from the “Spiritual Exercises” [scroll down to "About the Exercises"] of Ignatius Loyola. He was a spiritual director in the 16^th century. The Loyola Method works better when you have a passage that involves a narrative story.)

PART ONE (Preparation)

a. In prayer, ask God for grace to direct your thoughts, words, and actions to service and praise of his Divine Majesty.

b. Read the passage upon which you intend to meditate. Read unhurriedly, but without attempting yet to meditate on the passage. Your goal now is simply to familiarize yourself with the passage.

c. Determine an objective for your meditation time and ask God to help you accomplish it. If the passage you choose, for example, is the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1–7, your objective may be a sense of awe and humility as you contemplate the mystery of your Savior’s entry into the world.

Usually, this preliminary request is formulated in terms of some emotion you wish God to give you as a result of your meditation. Ignatius Loyola believed that the ultimate purpose of meditation is application (that is, an act of the will), and that the will is motivated primarily by emotion rather than reason.

PART TWO (Meditation)

a. Visualize the scene. In the case of Luke 2:1–7, see in your mind the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Is it level, or does it wind through valleys and around hillsides? See Mary, in her ninth month of pregnancy, riding on a donkey, accompanied by Joseph who is perhaps leading an ox. They are going to Bethlehem to pay a tax. What kind of people are they passing on the way? Soldiers? Peasants? Merchants? Other families?

Study in your imagination the place of the Nativity. Is it spacious or cramped? Clean or dirty? Warm or cold? How is it furnished?

b. Assume the role of one of the characters in the passage, or of someone else who might be present. In Luke 2, for example, you could be the hotel’s servant or maid.

c. Now apply your five senses to the scene. Look carefully, watching all the action. Use your ears as you listen in on conversations. Apply your senses of smell and touch. What odors are present? What quality of garments is being worn? Feel the woodwork of the manger. Smell and feel the straw. Apply your sense of taste—is there anything there to eat?

d. Analyze your own feelings as a member of the scene. How do you feel about what is happening? How do you feel about the persons involved? How do you feel about yourself?

PART THREE (Conversation)

Talk to Joseph, Mary, or someone else in the scene. Talk to them about the thoughts that have come to your mind as you have meditated on this passage. Talk to God or to the Lord Jesus.

          This conversation should in most cases lead to some form of action or personal application. 

Loyola Method exercise adapted From Discipleship Journal, Issue 6 (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress). Used by Permission.