Handel with a Twist

Handel With A Twist: Isaiah 40

¹Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ²Speak 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.

Mon. 4/7/08 Background: Isaiah prophecies about the Messiah four hundred years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is the war against the Jews that is finished?

(The battle against sin. It is forgiven by an act unknown to the Jews and in need of prophetic declaration.)

Who has received double the punishment for sins?

(She refers to one of the Jews: the Lord Jesus himself.)

³The 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. ⁴Every 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:

Tue. 4/8/08 Who is the voice crying in the wilderness?

(John the Baptist. Refer to Matthew 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.)

⁵And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Wed. 4/9/08 How was the glory of the Lord revealed?

(God became flesh and dwelt amongst us. Refer to John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, [and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,] full of grace and truth.)

⁶The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: ⁷The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. ⁸The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Thu. 4/10/08 What happens to youth?

(Youth is for a short while only.)

Does anyone last?

(The word of God who was made flesh. This is the twist not sung in Handel's Messiah.)

⁹O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

Fri. 4/11/08 What is the good news?

(Just look at your God! He is in Jesus Christ the Lord. Look and live: you don't do a thing.)