Philip Nicholls

’… the Subject excels every other Subject’: Isaiahan and

Johannine Christology in Charles Jennens’ Messiah.

15 June 2010

Nicholls 2

’… the Subject excels every other Subject’: Isaiahan and

Johannine Christology in Charles Jennens’ Messiah.

Charles Jennens completed the compilation of the scripture

collection which he entitled Messiah before 10 July 1741, by

which time he had presented it to George Frideric Handel, who

Jennens had chosen to set the collection to music. The work

which resulted – the combined efforts of both men – is

considered a masterpiece, and whilst much has been written

about its music, this study seeks to consider aspects of

Christology in Jennens’ scripture collection. The significant

question here is what does the collection of scriptural passages

Jennens chose reveal about Jesus Christ? The answer lies in

Jennens’ inclusion of a tiny quotation from the first chapter of the

Gospel according to John, which helps Jennens’ audience

interpret the messiah as a narratological figure of Old Testament

prophecy, the theological saviour of New Testament witness, and

the sacramental and eschatological hope of humankind.

Jennens’ Scripture Collection

The sung and spoken text of a large musical work is usually

referred to as its libretto. In the case of Messiah, it is not strictly

correct to use this terminology, as Jennens constructed the text

exclusively from the Authorised Version of the bible. For this

reason, Messiah’s text is often referred to as a ‘scripture

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collection’, a term Jennens used himself. In its construction,

Jennens avoids overt narrative for the most part, preferring to

include texts which reflect upon the salvific act of God in Jesus

Christ, rather than specifically retelling it. Jennens was aware

that he was preparing the work for an audience for whom the

most enduring (1662) version of The Book of Common Prayer

was but 80 years old, and amongst whom church attendance

was commonplace. This Enlightened audience knew the Old

Testament songs and prophecies, the Epistles’ appeals and

commissions, the apocalyptic visions and the Gospel stories;

Jennens’ mission was to encourage them in the faith:

Two deep loyalties underpinned Jennens’ life: to Protestant Christianity and to the deposed royal house of Stuart. A staunch Nonjuror (refusing to abjure allegiance to the Stuarts) … his librettos, outstandingly Messiah, are also eloquent statements of his evangelizing commitment to Christian doctrine … 1

In his Handel’s Messiah: Origins, Composition, Sources,

Jens Larsen makes it clear that Messiah ‘is not church music; it

is, like the opera of the time, music for entertainment’.2 Messiah

was composed to be performed in the music hall; to be a

moneymaking venture (whether for charity or otherwise); to be

entertaining; and (for Jennens at least) to be an opportunity to

encourage its audience to grow in the faith. In order to ensure

that Messiah would at once extract money from, and entertain 1 Ruth Smith, ‘Jennens, Charles,’ Grove Music Online (Oxford Music Online), http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/subscriber/article/grove/music/14259?q=jennens&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed 2 June 2010)2 Jens Larsen, Handel’s Messiah: Origins, Composition, Sources (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1957) 95.

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and enliven its audience, Jennens needed to select texts that

would reveal the messiah, rather than simply retell his story. But

which messiah did Jennens wish to reveal?

Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope I shall perswade him to set another Scripture Collection I have made for him … I hope he will lay out his whole genius & Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah.3

So wrote Jennens to his friend Edward Holdsworth on 10 July

1741.4 This correspondence makes clear the fact that even if

Jennens had not by this stage entitled his scripture collection

Messiah, the title was certainly in his mind. Taken in conjunction

with the work as he eventually completed it,5 Jennens’ intended

subject was the saviour foretold by the prophet Isaiah, whom

Christians believe to be Jesus of Nazareth, and profess

(according to the Apostles’ Creed) as:

[God’s] only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.6

3 Letter from Charles Jennens to Edward Holdsworth, quoted in Richard Luckett, Handel’s Messiah: A Celebration (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1992) 69. (All sic.)4 In the event, Handel began composition on 22 August and finished on 14 September, the beginning of autumn. See Luckett, Handel’s Messiah, 86.5 As no sources exist of Jennens’ scripture collection as presented to Handel, and a number of sources point to conflict between Jennens and Handel over incidental matters not affecting the theology of the collection, the compiling of an accurate text of Messiah, as intended by Jennens, is no easy task. Considered together, Watkins Shaw’s, ‘Handel’s Messiah: A Study of Selected Contemporary Word-Books,’ The Musical Quarterly 45.2 (Apr. 1959): 208-222, and John Tobin’s edition of the full musical score (Georg Friedrich Händel, Der Messias, ed. John Tobin (Basel: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1965)) provide the text of Messiah as sung in the first performances in Dublin in April 1742, which this study will consider, and which is appended herewith.6 The Book of Common Prayer (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, n.d.), 52.

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In order to consider the nature and identity of the messiah,

Jennens chose texts which were familiar to churchgoers in his

audience; the great majority of the texts appear as set readings

in The Book of Common Prayer for the major festivals of the

Christian calendar.7 Geoffrey Cumming’s ‘The Text of Messiah’

shows this:

‘ … the liturgical use of the Scriptures in the Prayer Book services was a predominating influence in the compilation of the text of Messiah, though the author has used his own judgment in the choice, arrangement and adaptation of the words, and has not hesitated to add others of his own selection.8

Apart from a few exceptions when Jennens alters the biblical

texts better to reflect the tenses in which the collection is written

(for example, Matthew 11:28ff., ‘Come unto me all ye that labour

…’,9 as opposed to ‘Come unto him … ‘ in Messiah) and some

minor changes in word order, Jennens employs sections of the

biblical verses verbatim, ‘omitting phrases and sentences that

would have been unsuitable for music or would have unduly

prolonged the composition’.10

7 Those portions included in Messiah which were not proper to a festival would have been read at least once annually, according to the custom that ‘the most part … [of the Old Testament] will be read every year once, as in the Calendar is appointed’, and that the New Testament ‘will be read over orderly every year twice … except the Apocalypse, out of which there are only certain Lessons appointed … ’ (see The Book of Common Prayer 14). The three portions of text from Revelation included in Messiah are included in these ‘certain Lessons’.8 Geoffrey Cummings, ‘The Text of Messiah,’ Music and Letters 31.3 (Jul. 1950): 230.9 In order to maintain consistency when quoting from Messiah, all biblical quotations are taken from the Authorised Version.10 Cummings, ‘The Text of Messiah’, 227.

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Given the title of the work and the slight reworking of fairly

well-known biblical texts, the audience of Messiah is compelled

to consider each text afresh, firstly through a christological lens

(in light of the work’s title, and much as they would when the

texts were read as part of Christian liturgy), and then in light of

each text’s positioning within the context of Messiah as a whole.

What each text communicates about the messiah forms a

cumulative knowledge of the person and work of the incarnate

Son, and the order in which this is built up reminds the listener of

the narrative, which Jennens assumed was already known to

them. Whether knowingly or not, Jennens employs a technique

of unfolding his narrative and its meaning similar to that which

the Church understands God to have employed in his self-

revelation to his creation: the systematic communication of a

series of facts and events which lead to the building up of faith.

The Parts of Messiah and the Natures of the Messiah

Messiah is divided into three parts, and each of these three

is divided into five sections, mostly comprising a mixture of

musical genres. Similar to chapters and subheadings in a book,

the three parts provide the overall structure, whilst the sections

subdivide the material into more concise fragments. Consider,

for example, the opening section, comprising four items (or

movements): the orchestral Symphony; the tenor recitative

‘Comfort ye’ and aria ‘Every valley’; and the chorus ‘And the

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glory of the Lord shall be revealed’. The fifteen sections were

evident to Jennens and Handel, Larsen noting that ‘this

subdivision is clear when reading the verbal text alone, but it is

strongly emphasized by the musical treatment’.11 Audiences are

aware of the change from one section to another, as the keys of

the movements of each section are closely related, and even the

least musically literate will notice a change in mood or

atmosphere. These section breaks provide a pause in the action

for the audience, and alert them to distinct narratological,

musical and theological episodes.

The parts (or chapters) of the work are comprised as follows.

The first part includes some of the Old Testament prophecies,

which Christians believe heralded the appearance of the

messiah;12 the Annunciation to Mary; the Incarnation; and

Christ’s miracles and ministry on Earth. The second part

continues with the passion, crucifixion, death, burial and descent

of Christ into hell, followed by his resurrection and ascension. It

goes on to allude to Pentecost, the Great Commission, the

evangelism and persecution of the Church, and the beginning of

the new reign of God through the general resurrection, the Last

Judgement, and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth.

11 Larsen, Handel’s Messiah, 97.12 It is interesting to note here that in his quest to build up an image of the messianic figure, Jennens chooses many of the same texts as Jürgen Moltmann in his The Way of Jesus Christ (London: SCM, 1990). Moltmann considers Isaiah 7:10ff, 9:2ff and 11.1ff, as well as Micah 4 and Zechariah 9 in order to show how the ‘coming of the messiah heralds the coming of God himself … to the defeated and ground down. The hope of the poor is nothing other than the messianic hope’. See Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 12f.

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The third part is a reflection on the impact that all that has

preceded will have upon the Church, individually and collectively,

as Larsen puts it, ‘a hymn of thanksgiving for the final overthrow

of Death’.13 This brief synopsis of the work displays its well-

developed narratological christology, revealing the Christ of the

Apostles’ Creed (quoted above). The position of certain texts

within Messiah, however, reveals more about Christ than is

immediately evident.

At the beginning of the second part of Messiah, Jennens

quotes the only overt reference in his whole work from the

Gospel according to John: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh

away the sin of the world’ (1:29b). Why would he choose to

include this text and, if so, why here, as opposed to where one

might expect it to occur in the narrative? Handel sets the text as

a somber chorus (marked ‘Largo’, meaning ‘very slow’) which,

like only one other movement of Messiah, is the entire content of

one of its fifteen sections. Although obviously significant, the

text included in this context does not add anything of substance

to the story which Jennens is outlining, rather it serves four other

primarily important purposes: narratological, sacramental,

theological, and eschatological.

The Narratological and Sacramental Importance of the

‘Lamb of God’

13 Larsen, Handel’s Messiah, 97.

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First, the declaration that the audience should ‘Behold the

Lamb of God’ in such sombre tones provides a narratological

signpost: here Jennens and Handel require their audience to turn

their minds from the joy of the creation at the incarnation of God

and Christ’s miraculous ministry on Earth, to his passion and

crucifixion. The first part has considered the prophecies, the

coming of the messiah and his earthly work, and now, at the

beginning of this second part, Jennens and Handel provide a

stern call to attention both musically and textually. Handel

achieves this musically by the nature of his musical setting of the

text; Jennens’ achieves this focusing of attention by his choice of

this text, as well as those before and after. This leads to the

second reason that the inclusion of this text is so important: the

sacramental.

At this point in the narrative, an audience should expect

some reference to the Eucharist, given that its institution occurs

in the synoptic Gospels immediately prior to the Agony in the

Garden and the arrest of Jesus. What Jennens does include is a

particularly Johannine reference to the Eucharist: in much the

same way as the writer of the fourth Gospel provides only

parallel references to the institution of the Eucharist, Jennens

also avoids including it, preferring instead to include a reference

to the Lamb of God – the Agnus dei – to whom penitential

prayers were offered immediately prior to the reception of the

Eucharist according to ancient rites. Whilst this devotion has

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never been included in The Book of Common Prayer, the

association between the Lamb of God and the Eucharist is

liturgically clear; Luckett agrees, stating that ‘Part II begins with

the Eucharistic invitation, “Behold the Lamb of God …”’.14

The Theological and Eschatalogical Importance of the

Lamb of God

The theological importance of the text is made evident by

noting that in this affirmation, John the Baptist recognises Jesus,

in Francis Moloney’s words, as ‘the preexistent one’. 15 This

occurs right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and John’s Gospel

during a discourse on the authority of the baptism offered by

John the Baptist. As with the Eucharist, in the fourth Gospel, John

the Baptist never baptizes Jesus, rather the Gospel writer prefers

to allude to Jesus’ ‘baptism’:

I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (1:32b-33)

John the Baptist thus reveals Jesus as the Word, who was in the

beginning, was ‘with God’, and ‘was God’ (John 1:1).

The eschatological importance of Jennens’ inclusion of

‘Behold the Lamb of God’ in this context in Messiah is related to

the text’s making evident to the audience that this messiah is, in

14 Luckett, Handel’s Messiah, 95.15 Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1998) 53.

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addition to the Son of God, also the Son of man. The prophet

Daniel ‘beheld one like the Son of man [come near before] the

Ancient of days’, to whom ‘was given … dominion, and glory, and

a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve

him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not

pass away, and his kingdom which shall never be destroyed’

(Dan. 7:13b-14).

Whilst the first part of Messiah includes references to the

Davidic Saviour as ‘the desire of all nations’ (Hag. 2:7b);

‘Emmanuel, “God with us”’ (Isa. 7:14b); ‘Behold, your God!’ (Isa.

40:9b); ‘thy Light is come’ (Isa. 60:1a); and, most conclusively,

‘his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God,

The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!’ (Isa 9:6b), all

names referring to the Son of God, the second part enthrones

him ‘Lamb of God’ (John 1:29b), ‘man of sorrows’ (Isa. 53:3a),

and the one upon whom ‘the Lord hath laid … the iniquity of us

all’ (Isa. 53:6b), names relating to the Son of man. In reference

to Christ’s suffering on the Cross, Jennens quotes images of the

Suffering Servant from Deutero-Isaiah. Many scholars relate the

‘lamb to the slaughter’ (Isa. 53:7b) with the God-like lamb of the

Revelation to John. Richard Bauckham notes that ‘it is likely that

in Revelation 5:6, 9 John alludes not only to the Passover lamb,

but also to Isaiah 53:7, where the Suffering Servant is portrayed

as a sacrificial lamb’.16 The first part of Jennens’ Messiah makes 16 Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge: CUP, 1993) 71.

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clear that Jesus is the Son of God. From the beginning of the

second part, the audience becomes aware that Jesus is also the

Son of man, ‘the universal figure of hope’ which had grown out of

the fusing of Israel’s ‘hope for the messiah and the expectation

of the Son of man’.17 Jennens’ inclusion of John the Baptist’s

profession of Jesus as ‘Lamb of God’ relates Jesus to the

apocalyptic lamb, who, according to the final chorus of Messiah,

is worthy, ‘and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive

power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and

glory, and blessing’ (Rev. 5:12b). Moltmann takes this

recognition of the Son of God and Son of man one step further,

noting that ‘Jesus’ relation to the messiah and the Son of man

during his lifetime is seen as a relationship that is open and

incomplete’, and that it is only in Jesus’ resurrection that the

early Christian community was able to declare Jesus as messiah,

Son of God. The church believes that the eschaton will enable

the whole of humankind to declare Jesus emphatically as the Son

of man, to see the Lamb on the throne as Daniel saw ‘one like a

Son of man near to the Ancient of Days’.

Further Study

Messiah is indeed a work requiring further study, both

theological and musicological. Whilst this study has focused only

on the evident christology of the sections of Jennens’ Messiah

17 Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 13.

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drawn from Isaiah, John’s Gospel and the Revelation, further

theological study would consider the relation between Pauline

christology and the book of Job (‘And though worms destroy this

body, yet in my flesh shall I see God’, Job 19:26). Further study

could also consider the reliance of the texts quoted from the

Revelation on those included from the Psalms, and the claim of

Claus Westermann ‘that Isa. 9:5-6 is behind Luke 2:9-12’,

discussed in Darrell L. Bock’s Proclamation from Prophecy and

Pattern: Lucan Old Testament Christology.18 Significant also is

the music of Messiah, which has been only briefly considered in

the present study. Any complete examination of the theology of

Messiah must consider Handel’s music alongside Jennens’ choice

of texts, as Handel utilised many compositional techniques which

highlight theological aspects of Messiah not presented here.

Conclusion

Legend has it that Handel, a pious and God fearing man,

was so inspired during the composition of Messiah that he

refused food and saw visions.19 Jennens believed that Handel

had set the work too hurriedly, stating that ‘[Handel’s] Messiah

has disappointed me; being set in great haste, tho’ he said he

would be a year about it, & make the best of all his

Compositions’.20 Contemporary and modern critics recognise the 18 Darrell L. Bock, Proclamation from Prophecy and Pattern (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1987), 77.19 This legend is immortalised in the movie, The Great Mr Handel, dir. Norman Walker (dist. unknown, 1942).20 Luckett, Handel’s Messiah, 139. (All sic.)

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work of both men to have resulted in a masterpiece of musical

composition and theological inquiry. By combining snippets of

biblical text, Jennens constructed a concise but well-rounded

christology, comprising quotations from the Psalms, Isaiah,

Lamentations, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Luke, John,

Paul’s letters to the Romans and first Corinthians (combined with

two verses of the book of Job), the letter to the Hebrews, and

Revelation. This study has shown the importance of Jennens’

inclusion of the profession of Jesus by John the Baptist, ‘Behold

the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John

1:29b). In relation to the Isaiahan prophecies, ancient liturgical

practices and the quotations included from Revelation, Jennens’

inclusion of this half verse from the Gospel according to John

portrays and defines narratological, sacramental, theological,

and eschatological aspects of Christ, which would otherwise not

be evident. It relates Jesus of Nazareth specifically with the

messianic figure of the Son of God, but also the apocalyptic

figure of the Son of man, and reminds the faithful of God’s

sacramental presence amongst them until the parousia.

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Appendix: Charles Jennens’ Libretto for Messiah, According

to the Dublin Performances’ Word Books 21

Part the First

[Texts in square brackets are added. Centred asterisks are also

added, to denote section breaks.]

[Here Handel adds the Symphony, an introductory movement for

orchestra alone.]

[Old Testament prophecies and Annunciation.]

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye

comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is

accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. 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. (Isa. 40:1-2a,

3)

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made

low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain. (Isa. 40:4)

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall

see together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isa.

40:5)21 See footnote 5 and its references to Watkins Shaw, ‘Handel’s Messiah’ and Georg Friedrich Händel, Der Messias.

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*

Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, a little while,

and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry

land; and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations

shall come. (Hag. 2:6-7)

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. (Mal. 3:1b)

But who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand

when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire. (Mal. 3:2a)

And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the

Lord an offering in righteousness. (Mal. 3:3b & d)

*

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his

name Emmanuel, ‘God with us’. (Matt. 1:23; cf. Isa. 7:14b)

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, be not afraid; say unto the

cities of Judah, Behold your God! (Isa. 40:9)

Arise, shine, for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is

risen upon thee. (Isa. 60:1)

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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. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and

kings to the brightness of thy rising. (Isa. 60:2-3)

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. (Isa. 9:2)

[Incarnation]

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! (Isa. 9:6)

*

[Here Handel adds the Pifa, a pastoral movement for orchestra

alone.]

There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over

their flocks by night. (Luke 2:8)

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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.

(Luke 2:9)

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you

good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto

you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ

the Lord.

(Luke 2:10-11)

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the

heavenly host, praising God, and saying: (Luke 2:l3)

Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will

towards men. (Luke 2:14)

*

[Christ’s miracles and ministry on Earth.]

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of

Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is the

righteous Saviour, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen.

(Zech. 9:9a, 10b)

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the

deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and

the tongue of the dumb shall sing. (Isa. 35:5-6a)

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He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather the

lambs with his arm; and carry them in his bosom, and gently

lead those that are with young. (Isa. 40:11)

Come unto him, all ye that labour, come unto him that are heavy

laden, and he will give you rest. 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. (Matt. 11:28-29)

His yoke is easy, and his burthen is light. (Matt. 11:30)

*

Part the Second

Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.

(John 1:29b)

*

[Passion and crucifixion.]

He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and

acquainted with grief. (Isa. 53:3a)

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. (Isa. 50:6)

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Surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; he was

wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;

the chastisement of our peace was upon him. (Isa. 53:4a, 5a-b)

And with his stripes we are healed. (Isa. 53:5c)

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.22

(Isa. 53:6)

*

All they that see him, laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their

lips, and shake their heads, saying: (Ps. 22:7)

He trusted in God that he would deliver him, let him deliver him,

if he delight in Him. (Ps. 22:8)

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. (Ps. 69:21)

Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow!

(Lam. 1:12b)

22 A sudden and particular change in Handel’s compositional style at the text ‘and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all’, and the quotation of Psalm 22 which follows (c.f. Luke 23:35ff) suggests the exact locus of the crucifixion in Messiah.

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[Death and burial.]

He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions

of thy people was he stricken. (Isa. 53:8b)

[Resurrection (with allusion to descent into hell).]

But thou didst not leave his soul in hell; nor didst thou suffer thy

Holy One to see corruption. (Ps. 16:11)

[Ascension]

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. (Ps. 24:7-10)

*

Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son,

this day have I begotten thee. (Heb. 1:5a)

Let all the angels of God worship him. (Heb. 1:6b)

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[Allusions to Pentecost; the Great Commission; the evangelism

and persecution of the Church; the general resurrection.]

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.23 (Ps. 68:18)

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the

preachers.24

(Ps. 68:11)

How beautiful are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings of

salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Break forth

into joy, glad tidings. (Isa. 52:7 & 9a)

*

Why do the nations so furiously rage together: why do the people

imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the

23 This text ‘completes’ the section reflecting upon the Ascension and alludes to the receiving of gifts on behalf of all humankind – a reference to the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit – in order that ‘God might dwell among them’, as made evident in John 14:16: ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever’. Hence it is argued that this verse alludes to Pentecost.24 This text is an allusion to the Great Commission, as well as to the evangelism of the Church. Unhelpfully to this study, it is placed after the reference to Pentecost. The combining of all these verses (from ‘Thou art gone up on high’ to ‘Why do the nations’) outline the role of humankind in God’s salvific plan in the period between Christ’s ascension and second coming, and so some liberties have been taken with Gospel chronology in order to strengthen the theological point.

Nicholls 23

rulers take counsel together: against the Lord, and his anointed.

(Ps. 2:1-2)

Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes

from us.

(Ps. 2:3)

[The Last Judgement]

He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn, the Lord

shall have them in derision. Thou shalt break them with a rod of

iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Ps.

2:4 & 9)

[The establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth.]

Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. (Rev. 19:6b)

The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord,

and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev.

11:15b)

King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.25 (Rev. 19:16b)25 For a recent, sensationalist reading of this succession of texts, see Michael Marissen, ‘Rejoicing Against Judaism in Handel’s Messiah,’ The Journal of Musicology 24.2 (2007): 167-194. Marissen’s thesis, based on a number of questionable musical and theological suppositions, is that Jennens’ motives in compiling Messiah were almost purely anti-Semitic: ‘In 18th-century England most Christians fervently believed that a choice between Judaism and Christianity was a choice between eternal damnation and eternal salvation. This would have represented motivation indeed for Messiah to project Christian theological contempt for its sibling religion’ (194). The argument against this kind of triumphalism being levelled at Messiah in particular and

Nicholls 24

*

Christianity in general is aptly fuelled by Moltmann’s claim, quoted above, that ‘the messianic hope was never the hope of the victors and the rulers … the hope of the poor is nothing other than the messianic hope’. See Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 13. It is never the powerful who seek the redeeming grace of God’s Saviour, only the meek and/or oppressed.

Nicholls 25

Part the Third

[The third part comprises a series of doctrinal statements

considering the relation of the person and work of Jesus Christ

with the whole of humankind, redeemed and made whole with

him.]

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the

latter day upon the earth. And though worms destroy this body,

yet in my flesh shall I see God. (Job 19:25-26)

For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that

sleep.

(1 Cor. 15:20)

Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of

the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be

made alive.

(1 Cor. 15:21-22)

*

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall

all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the

last trumpet.

(1 Cor. 15:51-52a)

Nicholls 26

The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must

put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1

Cor. 15:52b-53)

*

Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is

swallowed up in victory. (1 Cor. 15:54b)

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The

sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. (1 Cor.

15:55-56)

But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord

Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57)

*

If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31b)

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God

that justifieth. 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. (Rom. 8:33-34)

*

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 honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and

Nicholls 27

honour, glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the

throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. (Rev. 5:12b, 13b)

Amen.

*

Nicholls 28

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Nicholls 29

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Nicholls 30

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