Join the angels in a ‘hallelujah’ for Christmas and the year to come
By Dean Collins
It is amazing what parents and grandparents seem to get done in the 24 days of December before Christmas. As Christmas Eve approaches, some of us are already feeling exhausted. I’m guessing the amount of work done in preparation for Christmas truly is unsustainable in other months. But I suspect you will agree that Handel’s accomplishments in 24 days of work always encourage your celebration of Christmas at some point each year.
Music historians have documented that Handel wrote the entire Messiah in just 24 days! Though he was born in Germany and later spent some time in Italy, it was in England where Handel wrote his most famous musical collection. Charles Jennens, an Anglican philanthropist, had suggested that Handel write an oratorio about the divinity of Christ. He sent Handel a letter with passages of scripture that should be used for the lyrics.
For 24 days Handel prayed, read, and wrote the glorious music we know as Messiah. Many of the selections from Messiah are always performed around the world each Christmas by professional and amateur choirs. But this music was not written to be performed at Christmas. It was first sung at Easter. It is only one section of the oratorio that uses mostly Old Testament texts to describe the incarnation or what we might consider the Christmas portion of the grander oratorio. We often hear these portions performed at Christmas.
Solely from scripture
The most familiar song we hear at Christmas is the “Hallelujah” chorus, written as a celebration of the resurrection rather than for the announcement of the birth of Christ. I haven’t counted the hallelujahs, though I have sung them hundreds of times in choir concerts. I read where someone insisted there were 47, and then I read another source saying there are 48 hallelujahs. You can count or sing through it and let me know. These hallelujahs express glory to God because of who he is and what has been accomplished.
The words of this grand chorus come solely from scripture. Most of the lines come straight from the book of Revelation. You can hear the magnificent melody as you read this line from Revelation 11:15: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
At the birth of Christ, we celebrate the initiation of this kingdom, and now as children of the King, we are called to live out the kingdom of God until he comes to restore all things and rule his kingdom forever and ever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
To God, the glory
When he had finished writing the “Hallelujah” chorus, Handel reportedly told a servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.” As you and I hear this song each year, it does overwhelm us with the reality of God’s glory. It is as if we hear and participate in a heavenly chorus. When Handel finished writing the last thing he wrote was SDG, representing soli Deo gloria, that is, “to God alone the glory.”
Handel’s intention was that this music be performed in concert halls rather than in churches. He wanted the world to hear and learn of the Messiah of God. As we celebrate Advent and anticipate Christmas, may we live in such a way that the world sees and experiences the kingdom of God. As we do his will and love others with his love, one by one others will come to know that he is King of kings and Lord of lords and experience his glorious salvation.
Your time with God’s Word
Revelation 11:15; Isaiah 9:7 ESV
Portrait of G. F. Handel, 1743, by Thomas Hudson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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