Biblical prophesies in Handel's Messiah

Soprano soloist Carolyne DalMonte and conductor Ruben Valenzuela
at La Jolla Symphony performance of Handel’s Messiah, Dec 15, 2019.

Last weekend, I joined a community sing-along for the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, sponsored and accompanied by the La Jolla Symphony in Carlsbad.

Since my youth, much of what I know the prophesies of the coming Messiah came from singing and listening to the Messiah over these decades. After Sunday’s performance, I thought I would look up the Scriptural references to the KJV (Authorized Version) that was in use at the date of the 1742 premier.

The score we used is the 1912 edition edited by T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953), available in the public domain at Archive.org. In looking through the score — and the words posted in 1999 on the Stanford libretto archive, one thing grabbed me. In many cases, the text by Charles Jennens takes a Scripture passage and spans several movements; this may be a trivial insight, but it is not one that I realized either by listening, or by singing the choruses.

Below is my cross-reference of the arias, recitatives and choruses, the latter indicated by †.

Part I

1. Overture

Isaiah 40:1-5:
2. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people
3. Every valley shall be exalted
4. And the glory of the Lord†

5. Haggai 2:6-7: For thus saith the Lord of hosts

Malachi 3:1-3:
The Lord, whom ye seek
6. But who may abide the day of his coming?
7. And he shall purify†

8. Isaiah 7:14;Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall conceive
9. Isaiah 40:9,60:1: O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion†
10. Isaiah 60:2-3: For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
11. Isaiah 9:2: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
12. Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born†
13. Pastoral Symphony

Luke 2:8-11:
14. There were shepherds abiding in the field
15. And the angel said unto them

Luke 2:13-14:
16. And suddenly there was with the angel
17. Glory to God†

18. Zechariah 9:9-10: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
19. Isaiah 35:5-6: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened
20. Isaiah 40:11;Matthew 11:28-29: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd
21. Matthew 11:30: His yoke is easy, and his burden is light†

Part II

22. John 1:29: Behold the lamb of God†

Isaiah 53:3-6:
23. He was despised
24. Surely he hath borne our griefs†
25. And with his stripes we are healed†
26. All we like sheep have gone astray†

Psalm 22:7-8:
27. All they that see Him, laugh Him to scorn
28. He trusted in God that he would deliver him:

29. Psalm 69:20: Thy rebuke hath broken His heart:
30. Lamentations 1:12: Behold, and see if there be any sorrow
31. Isaiah 53:8: He was cut off out of the land of the living
32. Psalm 16:10: But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell
33. Psalm 24:7-10: Life up your heads, O ye gates†

Hebrews 1:5-6:
34. Unto which of the angels said He at any time
35. Let all the angels of God worship Him†

36. Psalm 68:18: Thou art gone up on high
37. Psalm 68:11: The Lord gave the word†
38. Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15: How beautiful are the feet
39. Romans 10:18; Psalm 19:4: Their sound is gone out into all lands†

Psalm 2:1-4:
40. Why do the nations so furiously rage
41. Let us break their bonds asunder†
42. He that dwelleth in Heav'n

43. Psalm 2:9: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron
44. Revelation 19:6,11:15,19:16: Hallelujah