Handel's Messiah

George Frederic Handel (1695-1759)

Part I

(1) Overture
(2) Comfort Ye
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

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

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

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

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
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.

For unto Us a Child is born

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

(14) There were shepherds abiding in the

field
Luke 2:8

8. There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
Luke 2:9
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

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

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 shall]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

Matthew 11:30

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

Part II

(22) Behold the lamb of God

John 1:29

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

(23) He was despised

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
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
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
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
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

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
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

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

Psalm 68:11

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

(38) How beautiful are the feet

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

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

1. Why do the heathen rage, 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
Psalm 2:3

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

(42) He that dwelleth in heaven

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
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
Job 19:25, 26

25. I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand on the
latter day upon the earth: 26. And though worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God. 1Corinthians 15:20
20. [For] now is Christ risen from the dead. . . the firstfruits of them
that [sleep].

(46) Since by man came

death
1Corinthians 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
1Corinthians 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
1Corinthians 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
1Corinthians 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?

1Corinthians 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

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

Revelation 5:12, 13

12. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 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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1998 Bruce L. Johnson