{"id":24007,"date":"2026-03-11T15:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/10-favorite-bible-passages-in-handels-messiah\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:17:26","slug":"10-favorite-bible-passages-in-handels-messiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/prayer\/how-to-pray\/10-favorite-bible-passages-in-handels-messiah\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Favorite Bible Passages in Handel\u2019s Messiah"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I figured I\u2019d go through and pick my favorite Bible passages in Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah.\u201d Problem is, it\u2019s <em>all <\/em>from the Bible, either the King James Version or the psalms from the Book of Common Prayer.<\/p>\n<p>At any rate, here are my selections. The real test: Can you read without humming along?<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.  I know that my redeemer liveth&#8230; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/job\/19-25.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Job 19:25<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe soprano sings this in the third movement and it breaks my heart every time because I\u2019m reminded of the many funerals where it has been sung.<\/p>\n<p>The middle section comes from the New Testament, \u201cBut now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept\u201d (<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/1-corinthians\/15-20.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I Cor. 15:20<\/a><\/strong>), but the core is Job.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people&#8230; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/isaiah\/40-1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 40:1<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe tenor gets to make this statement right up front at the beginning of the piece, the promise of the coming of the Lord. <\/p>\n<p>When he proclaims, \u201cThe voice of him that crieth in the wilderness&#8230;\u201d the listener is naturally reminded of John the Baptist, who did indeed prepare the way of the Lord. But the text is Isaiah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/isaiah\/9-6.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 9:6)<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nEvery chorister loves to sing this. You just let your voice bounce along. It\u2019s only when I come to the phrase \u201cWonderful, Counsellor&#8230;\u201d that I wonder why there\u2019s a comma and pause between \u201cwonderful\u201d and \u201ccounselor\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Shouldn\u2019t it be \u201cwonderful counselor?\u201d Maybe it was because Handel\u2019s first language was German. But actually, the text is exactly what\u2019s in the King James Version, with the comma (and \u201cCounsellor\u201d spelled with two l\u2019s).<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/zechariah\/9-9.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zechariah 9:9<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nAnother soprano solo with giddy-making melismas. \u201cWhat\u2019s a melisma?\u201d you wonder. It\u2019s when you sing one syllable on several notes, and in this one the soprano goes up and down breathlessly on the second syllable of rejoice. It give both listener and singer the feeling of joy. <\/p>\n<p><strong>5.  His yoke is easy and his burden is light. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/matthew\/11-30.htm\">Matthew 11:30<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nCharles Jennens, who wrote the libretto, made a slight change in the Biblical text here, from \u201cmy yoke\u201d and \u201cmy burden\u201d to the third person, reminding the chorus that indeed Jesus\u2019s yoke is easy.  But as anyone of faith knows, and any good chorister knows, singing with such ease takes commitment and practice.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>6.  Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/isaiah\/53-4.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 53:4<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/isaiah\/53-5.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">5<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nI don\u2019t know whether it was Jennens or Handel who decided the chorus should repeat the word \u201cSurely\u201d at the front, but it makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n<p>Some thoughts are so big, like the concept of atonement, that you need to underline their importance before the idea is even introduced.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.  All we like sheep have gone astray&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/isaiah\/53-6.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 53:6<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat chorister hasn\u2019t sung this, thinking, \u201cYes, I <em>do<\/em> like sheep?\u201d Of course, \u201clike\u201d is a simile here, not a verb, and Handel is an exquisite word painter because he takes the chorus astray on melisma after melisma, bringing them back to the painful thought \u201cand the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.  Lift up your heads, O ye gates&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/psalms\/24-7.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Psalm 24:7<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nMessiah wouldn\u2019t be such a popular choral work or have survived the test of time if it weren\u2019t so much fun to sing. In its balance of texts from the Hebrew Scriptures and from the New Testament, it reaffirms faith in the singers and the listeners. I always want to lift up my head when I sing this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.  And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/isaiah\/40-5.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 40:5<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nNot for nothing is Isaiah sometimes referred to as the \u201cfifth Gospel.\u201d With its prophecies of a savior and its theology of a suffering servant, it was often referenced in the New Testament as a reminder of the coming of the Lord. <\/p>\n<p>This chorus comes early in \u201cMessiah,\u201d promising musically what the text promises. \u201cFor the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it!\u201d as will the mouths of all the singers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.  Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth&#8230;(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/revelation\/19-6.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Revelation 19:6<\/a>)<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is it, the Hallelujah chorus. But look how the verses of Revelation were rearranged: \u201cThe kingdoms of this world&#8230;\u201d (<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/revelation\/11-15.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Revelation 11:15<\/a><\/strong>) comes in the middle and then you end with \u201cKing of kings and Lord of Lords\u201d (<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bibleverses.com\/revelation\/19-16.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Revelation 19:16<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p>Can\u2019t argue with that. Can\u2019t argue with any of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I figured I\u2019d go through and pick my favorite Bible passages in Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah.\u201d Problem is, it\u2019s all from the Bible, either the King James Version or the psalms from the Book of Common Prayer. At any rate, here are my selections. The real test: Can you read without humming along? 1. I know that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":30643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[396,251],"tags":[189,248,72],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-24007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deepen-your-faith","category-how-to-pray","tag-church","tag-scripture","tag-stories-of-faith"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>10 Favorite Bible Passages in Handel\u2019s Messiah - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Favorite Bible Passages in Handel\u2019s Messiah\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I figured I\u2019d go through and pick my favorite Bible passages in Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah.\u201d Problem is, it\u2019s all from the Bible, either the King James Version or the psalms from the Book of Common Prayer. 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