Isaiah 40 – Page 2 – watercress words by Dr Aletha

Shouting good news at Christmas

We usually associate Messiah with Christmas, but Handel wrote it to be performed at Easter. He drew the words of the songs from Scripture, choosing passages that tell the story of God sending Jesus to earth to redeem His people.

Isaiah 40, NLT

“Comfort, comfort my people,”says your God.

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,

“Clear the way through the wilderness

for the Lord!

Make a straight highway through the wasteland

for our God!

Fill in the valleys,

and level the mountains and hills.

Straighten the curves,

and smooth out the rough places.

Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

The Lord has spoken!”

This Bible selection is one of several set to music in Handel’s famous musical, Messiah.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and everything is softer and more beautiful. Norman Vincent Peale quote — Lightstock.com, stock photos and graphics

THE HANDEL FAMILY

Georg Handel was a barber-surgeon in northern Germany in the 17th century. Barber-surgeons were physicians in medieval Europe who only performed surgery, often treating wounds from war injuries. Eventually, surgery and barbery became separate occupations.

I’m glad his son,George did not follow his father into medicine. Instead George Frideric Handel studied music and eventually composed his masterpiece , Messiah, first performed in 1742, and which millions of people have listened to or sang since then.

We usually associate Messiah with Christmas, but Handel wrote it to be performed at Easter. He drew the words of the songs from Scripture, choosing passages that tell the story of God sending Jesus to earth to redeem His people.

sharing the music of Christmas

Dr Aletha

Introducing the new Filament Bible. With Filament, you get a beautifully simple print Bible with access to a free digital app. Simply scan the page number using the Filament app, and you’re instantly connected to a world of study, devotional, and interactive visual content all centered around the page you are reading.

Remembering Dr. King’s dream

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah in his famous speech at the “March on Washington” in 1963.

Every valley shall be raised up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
    the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
Isaiah 40:4-5, NIV

“I have a dream.”

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted this scripture passag from Isaiah chapter 40 e in his famous speech at the “March on Washington” in 1963.

(Interestingly, this passage was also used as the lyrics for one of the songs in Handel’s Messiah.)

“even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. “
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On the third Monday of January every year , the United States observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as an official federal holiday.

Read the full text of “I Have A Dream” .

The Reverend Dr. King led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. His famous speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. is remembered, read, and recited by people all over the country on the anniversary of his birth each year.