THE MESSIAH AND SOUL MUSIC

     

    

    Earlier this December, I went to a free community concert of Handel’s Messiah, which was condensed from the original 3 hours to only 45 minutes. My husband was very glad about that because after about ten minutes, he was ready to leave. Classical music isn’t for everyone, but the Messiah is unique because it’s an annual tradition for many choirs around the world at Christmas. I grew up listening to it on tape, and then on CD, and I was excited to hear it live for the first time.

    The original Messiah was an oratorio written by two men. Charles Jennens (1700-1773) used Scripture as his inspiration for the text. He wrote the Messiah in response to the rising impact of Deism, a belief that accepts the existence of a creator based on human reason and philosophy but rejects the sufficiency of Scripture which upholds that God is supernaturally involved in human affairs, including salvation. George Frediric Handel (1685-1759) was the composer who wrote all the music for the Messiah in only 24 days. He, too, believed in the sufficiency of Scripture and sovereignty of God in salvation. At the end of the Messiah, Handel wrote the letters "SDG"—Soli Deo Gloria, "To God alone be the glory".

    The Messiah was originally written in 1741 as a gospel presentation and fundraiser for orphans at the Foundling Hospital in London (now a museum which opened in 2004). The oratorio was intended to be played every Easter and later played at Christmas, too. The Messiah is 53 songs of choir and orchestra in three parts: PART 1 describes God’s plan to redeem mankind through a Savior who was prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the coming of Jesus; PART 2 tells of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; PART 3 is about the hope of resurrection and glorification for those who believe in Him.

    My favorite song in the Messiah is called, “For Unto Us.” (To listen to the song, click HERE) It captures the joy we have at Christmas for the birth of Jesus and directly quotes Isaiah 9:6,

“For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulders.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The community concert wasn’t the first time I listened to a large orchestra. When I was about 13, all the local school districts were invited to a free concert by the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I never forgot that experience. Hearing music is one thing; seeing music played by musicians who feel the music they’re playing is unforgettable, which is what makes live concerts so attractive. As I walked through the front door of the small-town church recently, I anticipated something like my 13-year-old experience because the Messiah is one of the most famous music pieces in the world.

But as the lights dimmed and the music started, I had to rearrange my expectations completely. The music was prerecorded with only a few stringed and percussion instruments like what you’d hear from a cheap recording studio. The choir was average men, women, and teenagers, the best that our community had, yet all unprofessional. Several solos were flat and painful to listen to. Sometimes the timing was off. This was THE Messiah! How could such a Scripturally meaningful concert be sung so poorly? Toward the end of the concert, I was ready to find the nearest exit, too.

But then I realized that I was listening to the Messiah all wrong. I was listening for skill, precision, pitch, timing, sound projection, harmony – things largely dependent on professional talent. Things that separated those who “had” from the nobodies who “had not.” The rejects should be sitting in the audience, not attempting to sing such beautiful music in a choir. Yet, these broken, imperfect vocalists were a beautiful picture of the gospel, exactly what the songs of the Messiah represented. The problem wasn’t the choir; the problem was me.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 says it beautifully, “For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no human may boast before God.”

The Messiah was originally intended to raise money to help orphans, to remind people that the outcasts of society, the nobodies like you and I, have a God who remembers their deepest needs and answered it through the coming of Jesus Christ. The songs of our Messiah aren’t limited to the songs of the Messiah. Many Christian songs, including many carols, contain the gospel story that still changes lives.

Listen to a few phrases from these Christmas songs*:

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.

Joy to the world; the Lord is come; let Earth receive her King; Let ev'ry heart prepare him room, And heav'n and nature sing.

Go, tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere. Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.

Mild He lays his glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King."

            And you, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow: Look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing, O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing.

            Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping vigil til the morning new; saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel true. Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow; Christ the child was born for you! Christ the child was born for you!

On that frosty December evening as I listened to the community choir, I realized that the body of Christ is just like them: imperfect, poor timing, off key, easily distracted. But unlike them, the body of Christ has the advantage. We sing with soul. Power. Passion. Conviction that these songs belong to us. And we don’t sing about the Messiah once a year “because it’s tradition.” We sing about the Messiah every Sunday because He’s alive!

God continues to save people despite their abilities and gives an outlet for praise through singing. He wants to hear us sing as shown by a heavy emphasis in the Bible with more than 400 references to singing and nearly 50 direct commands. For those of us who know our musical talents (or lack thereof), it can be intimidating to sing. Many new believers have never formally sung with other believers until they enter a church service. A hymnal might be the first sheet music they’ve ever seen. Learning psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs after years of singing whatever was on the radio or Spotify is like learning a whole new language with unfamiliar words like “Potentate” and “Ebenezer” and “archangel” and “cherubim” and “forevermore.” But singing songs based on Jesus our Messiah, on God’s word, and other Scriptural truth, is exactly what our souls need. And God wants to hear our souls sing!

Every time you sing with other Christians in your local church each Sunday, you produce the most beautiful sound in the world – voices united under the banner of the Messiah. You share the joy of Jesus Christ with others as you are “filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” (Ephesians 5:18b-20)

Arguably, the most well-known song in the Messiah is the “Hallelujah Chorus” where “hallelujah” is sung 23 times! “Hallelujah” means “God be praised,” and “omnipotent” means “all-powerful.” As you listen, notice the enthusiasm of this song. Click HERE

Whether you enjoy classical music like the Messiah or carols or other music this season, God is worthy to be praised by His people. It doesn’t matter if you sing on key or have perfect timing. It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional in a philharmonic choir or a nobody from a small town. Psalm 68:4-5 says: Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the Lord, and exult before Him. A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.

Recently, Crossway published a new hymnal called The Sing! Hymnal. It contains a wide variety of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, both old and new. This blog post is not affiliated with Crossway or Keith and Kristyn Getty who produced it, but I wanted to share the joy of this new hymnal for congregational singing everywhere. I bought the hymnal recently, and it was neat to see many favorites that I’ve sung with my church – and many new songs that I look forward to trying soon! Each local church has its favorite songs, and the hymnal was missing a few of ours, but that’s just a reminder that no hymnal can fully contain all the songs of the Redeemed. That’s what heaven is for, and what a glorious sound that will be!

Even as out-of-tune unprofessional “choir” members, we have the privilege of being God’s choir, and we will sing the praises of the Messiah for all eternity:

“Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty;

Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You,

For Your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:3-4)

 

 

 

 

 

*Christmas carols (all public domain):

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Joy to the World!

Go, Tell It on the Mountain

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly