PART ONE : The prophesy and realization of God’s plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah
George Frideric Handel wrote his beloved Messiah in about three weeks in 1741. The libretto for Messiah was compiled from the King James version of the Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens, a man who believed in the primacy of scripture and created the wordbook of Messiah as a statement of faith.
Messiah is an oratorio. Oratorios were originally intended as unstaged, religious dramas, written for performances in an oratory – a sort of communal gathering space for church matters, much like today’s Fellowship Hall – during Lent when the theaters were closed.
Messiah differs from Handel’s other oratorios in that it does not tell a story. Rather, it is about the idea of a messiah, a series of texts that point to Jesus Christ as both God and man, savior and redeemer.
Much like Handel’s operas, Messiah is constructed of three parts, or acts. These three parts are divided into sixteen scenes.
Part One focuses primarily on prophecies by Isaiah, with a few other minor prophets thrown in. It deals with the advent, nativity and life of Jesus. Jennens’ compilation of texts paired with Handel’s music creates a rich backdrop for an Advent meditation. I’m going to use these texts and music for my quiet time this year as I prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, and his second coming.
Jennens was obviously a deep thinker and a man of God. In the frontispiece of his wordbook, he includes the following scripture:
And without controversy, great is the Mystery of Godliness: God was manifested in the Flesh, justified by the Spirit, seen of Angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the World, received up in Glory (1 Timothy 3:16)
In whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge (Colossians 2:3)
My prayer is that I (and perhaps you) can spend Advent contemplating the Mystery of Godliness, using Messiah as a catalyst.
