Bible Quizzes for Smart People XXXII

Bill Long 1/17/07

Handel's Messiah IV

Let's conclude our consideration of this classic with the following verses.

8. "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, and Lord of Lords./ Hallelujah!"

What can we say to all this? Since the kings of the earth will be smashed to pieces like a potter smashes a vessel he no longer wants? Well, in that case, there is no opposition to God at all. The Kingdom of this world no longer belongs to the grasping hands of human dictators. No longer will they oppress. No longer will they satiate their lust for power; no longer kill their opponents brutally; no longer subjugate innocent and helpless people. Now there will be a new King who will reign for ever and ever. This is the Lord, who shall justly reign for ever. No one can bring a reproach against His rulership. Thus the music is so triumphant. It sings over and over again, "Hallelujah!" That, indeed is the only appropriate response to such great good news. Where do you find this verse, friends? Actually, this "verse" is really parts of three New Testament verses. Where are they?

9. "I know that my redemer liveth,/ and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth./ And tho' worms destroy this body,/ yet in my flesh shall I see God./ For now is Christ risen from the dead,/ the first fruits of them that sleep.."

Now we are in Part III of Messiah, where the action will quickly hasten to the consummation of the ages. Once God has conquered all the foes, as He has done at the end of Part II, and once we have sung the glorious Hallelujah Chorus, celebrating the unique and sole Kingdom of God, what is left to sing about? What remains to be done? One big thing. God may have cleaned up in the universe, but we are still left here. We might see and understand prospectively the victory that God will bring over the kings of the earth, but we still have our mortal bodies to contend with. Thus, Part III deals with the putting off of our mortality and our inheriting of immortality. It begins with this hauntingly beautiful Soprano Air, taken from which biblical book? Oh, the last sentence of the bolded quotation above comes from I Cor 15, which will form the basis of most of the rest of the work. But, where do the first three lines come from?

Then we have several memorable Choruses, Accompagnatos or Airs reflecting on I Cor 15, Paul's great peroration on the resurrection of the body. After the several I Cor passages, culminating in the one that never fails to bring tears from my eyes ("The trumpet shall sound"), Handel concludes with some more pieces from I Cor 15 and Romans 8 ("If God is for us, who can be against us?"). The thought is that with all these good things on our side, we are not only blessed indeed, but no one in earth or heaven can rightly reproach us. When this is the case, we just have to move on to the concluding Chorus:

10. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,/ and hath redeemed us to God by His blood,/ to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,/ and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing./ Blessing and honor, glory and pow'r/ be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne,/ and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen."

So, once we realize that God is for us, that no reproach remains for the saints, that Christ is in heaven reigning with God, that all God's angels are worshipping him, we recognize the worthiness of the Lamb who was slain to receive every measure of glory we can accord him. But, the final word of praise is directed to God. Glory is to the Lamb, but also to the one that sits on the throne, the one who designed this entire cosmic drama, the one who changes our mortal frames to somethiing more durable, more attractive, more permanent, more reflective of the glory of God Himself. And then the last word is the little word "Amen." Amen means "so be it," or "it is so." The Chorus sings this this little word several times. It is more than a seven-fold Amen that closes some worship services. This is a twice seven-fold Amen, and it serves to seal our hearts to the one who designed and brought to pass this most gripping human and divine drama.

Handel has done in music here more than Milton in the previous century had done with epic. Milton could tell us in unforgettable poetry how we "lost" it all, but Handel skillfully weaves Scripture and music to tell us how it is gained once again. Thanks be to God! And, for the last time (for Messiah), where do you find this verse?

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