For God Alone: Jesus Paid It All
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5) George Frederic Handel (1685-1759) composed his oratorio, MESSIAH, in 1741. His librettist, Charles Jennens, compiled the text using the King James Bible, and the Coverdale Psalter, which was the version of the Psalms used in The Book of Common Prayer. The work was first performed in Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 1742, and was performed in London 1743. This sacred choral work remains to this day a worldwide artistic treasure. But for Christians, Handel’s majestic oratorio encapsulates the truth of the Gospel from Old Testament prophecy, to prophecy fulfilled in Christ, including His death by crucifixion, burial in a borrowed tomb, resurrection from the dead (Hallelujah), and the ...