It's that time of year!

I continue to be amazed that it is already October - the rest of the year went by so quickly! It's really strange to think that we are past Reformation Day and looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Of course, there is one thing that I look forward to that comes before Thanksgiving. It starts with an M, and ends with "essiah". I'll let you try to figure out what it is.

Recently, I've started to hum, sing, and play the Messiah. It is such a masterpiece! The music is fantastic, and the words, of course, are great since they are straight from Scripture. Of course, the selections of the passages is perfect - it gives you a great summary of the Gospel. Here are all 43 passages in order (complete passages, not just the parts that are in the Messiah):

This first section is more the advent section, with passages that foreshadow Christ.

Isaiah 40: 1 - 3

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: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 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!

Every Valley Shall be Exalted

Isaiah 40:4

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.

And the Glory of the Lord
Isaiah 40: 5

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Thus saith the Lord

Haggai 2: 6,7

For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, it is a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Malachi 3: 1

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and 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.

But who may abide the Day of His Coming?

Malachi 3: 2

But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

And He shall Purify

Malachi 3: 3

And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Behold, a Virgin shall Conceive

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion

Isaiah 40: 9

O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion, get thee up upon the high mountain; O thou that bringest 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!

Isaiah 60: 1

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth

Isaiah 60: 2,3

For, behold, the 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.

The people that walked in darkness

Isaiah 9: 2

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 

This next section is the Christmas section; detailing Christ's birth.

For unto Us a Child is born

Isaiah 9: 6

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.

There were shepherds abiding in the field

Luke 2: 8

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

And , lo, the Angel of the Lord came

Luke 2: 9

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.

And the Angel said unto them

Luke 2: 10,11

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.

And suddenly there was with the Angel

Luke 2: 13

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God

Luke 2: 14

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

After the Christmas section, comes the section on Jesus' life.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion

Zechariah 9: 9,10

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

Then shall the eyes of the blind

Isaiah 35: 5,6

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd

Isaiah 40: 11

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Matthew 11: 28, 29

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

His yoke is easy

Matthew 11: 30

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Behold the lamb of God

John 1: 29

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Then comes Christ's death and related passages

He was despised

Isaiah 53: 3

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 50: 6

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Surely He hath borne our griefs

Isaiah 53: 4,5

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.


And with His stripes we are healed

Isaiah 53: 5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray

Isaiah 53: 6

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.

All they that see him laugh him to scorn

Psalm 22: 7

All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

He trusted in God

Psalm 22: 8

He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Thy rebuke has broken His heart

Psalm 69: 20

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Behold, and see if there be any sorrow

Lamentations 1: 12

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

He was cut off out of the land of the living

Isaiah 53: 8

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell

Psalm 16: 10

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates

Psalm 24: 7 - 10

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; even lift them 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.

Unto which of the angels said He at any time

Hebrews 1: 5

For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Let all the angels of God worship Him

Hebrews 1: 6

And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world, He saith, "And let all the angels of God worship Him."

Thou art gone up on high

Psalm 68: 18

Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.

The Lord gave the word

Psalm 68: 11

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

How beautiful are the feet

Romans 10: 15

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Their sound is gone out

Romans 10: 18

But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Why do the nations so furiously rage together?

Psalm 2: 1,2

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, (saying,)

Let us break their bonds asunder

Psalm 2: 3

Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that dwelleth in heaven

Psalm 2: 4

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision

Thou shalt break them

Psalm 2: 99.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel

Hallelujah

Revelation 19: 6

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Revelation 11: 15

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 19: 16

And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS.

And finally comes Easter and the Gospel!

I know that my redeemer liveth

Job 19: 25, 26

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.

1Corinthians 15: 20

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Since by man came death

1Corinthians 15: 21, 22

For 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.

Behold I tell you a mystery

1Corinthians 15: 51, 52

Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The trumpet shall sound

1Corinthians 15: 52 - 54

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for 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. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Then shall be brought to pass

1Corinthians 15: 54

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death where is thy sting?

1Corinthians 15: 55 ,56

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.

But Thanks be to God

I Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If God be for us

Romans 8: 31, 33, 34

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay any thing 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 even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Worthy is the Lamb

Revelation 5: 12, 13

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Amen

 All powerful passages! I can't wait to start singing the Messiah again. We are incredibly blessed to have talented people like Handel who can so well supplement Scripture with music!

For now,

Casey