Strange Weather We're Having

I awoke last night this morning to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat lay in bed like a slug and wondered

Yesterday some very strong thunderstorms swept through our neighborhood. Well, if you looked at the radar, you would have been heading for the hills. Somehow, though, the storms that crossed much of the Mid West yesterday, swept right over our town, windy and blustery and threatening, with little more than a sprinkle. Early this morning, I awoke to a constant, low rumble of thunder. Like Bob Seger, I wondered how far off it was, but the rumble was so constant and there was no lightening that I could see, so I couldn't count it out. The dawn was yellow. That creepy scary movie yellow. But it's brightening up, at least for now. The deep rumbling thunder has past with nary a drop. Which reminds me of another song, this time by Sting.

Loved it!!

I've liked David Cook more and more as the season has progressed, so this was not a total surprise. We sat with our mouths open. I was blown away. A new favorite version of an old favorite song.

Project Looking Through

I stumbled upon this photography project yesterday at a new (to me) blog: Regular Life.

Project Looking Through The only requirement is the sensation of looking through something. That keeps it specific enough to keep us focused, but vague enough to free up everybody’s creativity. I figured Project Looking Through — PLT for short — is a good name.

I've been thinking I'd like to participate in a photo project/challenge again and this one fits the bill! Yesterday, I quickly added a link to one of my favorite pictures to Mr. Linky and today I'll be linking to a more recent photo in today's post:

Tomorrow--who knows? Whether you decide to play along or not, do take time to visit Mark's post and check out the rest of the photos!

Since I'm being chatty today

Here's my (current) favorite treadmill tune: It's a really fun video, too!

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

Why do the nations so furiously rage together?
Psalm 2:1,2 (Acts 4:25-26)

Why do the heathen rage, and why do the people imagine a vain thing?

The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed,

Let us break their bonds asunder
Psalm 2:3

Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.

He that dwelleth in heaven
Psalm 2:4

He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.

Thou shalt break them
Psalm 2:9

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

Hallelujah
Revelation 19:6

Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Revelation 11:15

. . . 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
 . . . KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS.

Related Tags: Messiah, Handel, Hallelujah Chorus, scripture, Easter, meditations

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

Part III

I know that my Redeemer liveth
Job 19:25, 26

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

1Corinthians 15:20

For now is Christ risen from the dead. . . the first fruits of them that [sleep].

Since by man came death
1Corinthians 15:21,22

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 tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet;

The trumpet shall sound
1Corinthians 15:52b-53

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.

Then shall be brought to pass
1Corinthians 15:54b (Isaiah 25:8)

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 (Hosea 13:14)

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
1 Corinthians 15:57

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

If God be for us
Romans 8:31, 33, 34

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 at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.

Worthy is the Lamb
Revelation 5:12, 13

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
 . . . . Blessing, and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Amen.

Related Tags: Messiah, Handel, Hallelujah Chorus, scripture, Easter, meditations

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

Unto which of the angels said He at any time
Hebrews 1:5 (Psalm 2:7)

For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?

Let all the angels of God worship Him
Hebrews 1:6b

"Let all the angels of God worship Him."

Thou art gone up on high
Psalm 68:18 (Ephesians 4:8)

Thou art gone up on high, Thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men; yea, even for Thine enemies, 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 the preachers.

How beautiful are the feet
Romans 10:15 (Isaiah 52:7)

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 (Psalm 19:4)

Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world.

Related Tags: Messiah, Handel, scripture, Easter

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

Thy rebuke hath broken His heart
Psalm 69:20

Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was none; neither found He any to comfort Him.

Behold, and see if there be any sorrow
Lamentations 1:12

Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow. . .

He was cut off out of the land of the living
Isaiah 53:8b

He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of [Thy] people was He stricken.

But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell
Psalm 16:10 (Acts 2:27)

But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; neither didst Thou suffer Thy 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 the King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
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 the King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.

This is a picture of the Golden (Mercy) Gate. It lies on the Eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem and faces the Mount of Olives. According to the Jews, this is the gate spoken of in Psalm 24, through which Christ will return.

Related Tags: Messiah, Handel, Easter, scripture, The Mercy Gate, The Old City of Jerusalem, Mount of Olives

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

Part II

Behold the lamb of God
John 1:29

Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.

He was despised
Isaiah 53:3

He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. . .

Isaiah 50:6

He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: He hid not His 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. . . .

. . . 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
Isaiah 53:5b

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 Him laugh Him to scorn: they shoot out their lips, they shake their heads, saying:   He trusted in God

Psalm 22:8 (Matthew 27:43)

He trusted in God that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver him, if He delight in Him.

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive
Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23)

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name EMMANUEL, God with us.

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion
Isaiah 40:9

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, and 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, 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 (Matthew 3:16)

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

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.

Pastoral Symphony

There were shepherds abiding in the field
Luke 2:8

There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

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.

Related Tags: Messiah, Handel, Easter, meditation, devotional, scripture

Meditations for Holy Week from Handel's Messiah

 

detail from "The Lamentation of Christ"by Albrecht DÜRER
1500

Part I
Overture

Comfort Ye
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. . . .
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
Isaiah 40:4

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked 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

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once, 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.

Malachi 3:1

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 He shall Purify
Malachi 3:3

And He shall purify the sons of Levi. . . that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Related Tags: Handel's Messiah, scriptures, devotional, Holy Week, meditations, Albrecht Durer

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a German Baroque composer and a contemporary of Bach and Scarlatti. He was born Halle in Saxony but became a naturalized citizen of Great Britain and lived most of his life in England. He was a child prodigy, performing on the harpsichord, violin, oboe, and organ by the age of seven.

At nine he began composing music. His father wanted him to be a lawyer, but allowed him to have musical training from Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau, the organist of Liebfrauenkirche, Halle. He studied law at the University of Halle to please his father, but quickly left the University when his father died in 1703. Handel became the organist at Calvinist Chapel and over the next few years he traveled Germany and Italy.

In 1710 he visited London and took up residence there in 1712. He was commissioned to write four anthems for King George II's coronation, one of which has been played at every coronation since. Handel never married. He was said to be tempermental at times, and yet he had a pleasing sense of humor and was generous with others. He was a deeply religious man.

He was in poor health and blind for the last eight years of his life. He collapsed during a performance of Messiah and died three days later. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. His most famous works include Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks.

His monument in Westminster Abbey

On the wall above his grave is a fine monument by the sculptor Louis Francois Roubiliac (with the same inscription as on the stone but with the dates in Roman numerals). The life-size statue, unveiled in 1762, is said to be an exact likeness as the face was modelled from a death mask. Behind the figure, among clouds, is an organ with an angel playing a harp. On the left of the statue is a group of musical instruments and an open score of his most well-known oratorio Messiah, composed in 1741. Directly in front of him is the musical score I know that my Redeemer liveth.

Above the monument a small additional tablet records the Handel festival or ‘Commemoration’ of 1784. This series of concerts of Handel’s music was given in the Abbey by vast numbers of singers and instrumentalists and established a fashion for large-scale performances of Handel’s choral works throughout the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth.

Related Tags: Handel's Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus, George Frideric Handel, Easter, Advent

ORIGINALLY POSTED IN 2006 

Revisiting an Old Series

I'm going to be taking a week long break from blogging during Holy Week. 

Thanks to Squarespace's wonderful feature of timed publishing, I've decided to republish a series of meditations I posted on Blogger way back in 2006, based on Handel's Messiah and the scriptures that inspired it.  This was one of my favorite series and it'll be good to have it over here on Squarespace.

To those of you who remember it from before, thank you for indulging me.  

Blasts from the Past

For John From Mom

For Naomi

Naomi asked if I knew the name of piano selection played at Kyle's blog, Covenant in Blood.  I followed the link he provided and learned that it is from Psalm 40.

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear. [1]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance [2]
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!

Dan Fogelberg

It was sad to hear that Dan Fogelberg had died yesterday. Tom and I went to one of his concerts before we were married. It was at Blossom Music Center and I'll always remember sitting on a blanket, under the stars, singing along. So many good songs. So many good memories. So long, Dan.

Fragile

Can She Excuse My Wrongs?

Sting, Songs from the Labyrinth

A rather lengthy interview about the background of "Songs from the Labyrinth"

Ain't No Sunshine

Sting

The Water is Wide

James Taylor