Hallelujah!
Liesa Nichols
Music has always had a great presence in my Christmas celebrations. Music was ever present in my childhood home, as my mother was an active soloist in our church choir, and on Christmas morning, we always opened presents to the music of Handel’s Messiah playing on the record player. It was my mother’s favorite, and now it has become a favorite of mine. I always play it from start to finish, with the volume up, at least once during the Christmas season.
Handle wrote the Messiah in only 3- 4 weeks in July 1741! It was actually intended for an Easter performance the following year. The first part prophesied the birth of Jesus Christ; the second lifts up His sacrifice for the human race; and the last section celebrates His Resurrection.
My favorite song in the Messiah is the popular Hallelujah chorus at the very end. It is uplifting, reassuring, and joyful, beginning and ending with a “Hallelujah”! And it celebrates the magnificence of our Lord, reminding us that he is the “King of kings, the Lord of lords”, the ultimate ruler of our world that can overcome anything. So, if the news stories of the day or troubles of this earthly world bring you down, listen to Handel’s Messiah and be reassured that God is in control and will overcome evil in the end, as conveyed in the final lines of the Hallelujah chorus:
King of kings! and Lord of lords! And He shall reign forever and ever Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.
Revelation 17:14