*PART
I*
OVERTURE
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Tenor) 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.
AIR (Tenor)
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low,
the crooked straight and the rough places plain.
CHORUS 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.
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Bass)
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts:-Yet once a little while and I will
shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; and
I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come.
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.
AIR (Bass) But who may abide the day of His
coming? and who shall stand when He
appeareth? For He is like a refinerÕs fire.
CHORUS
And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the
Lord an offering in righteousness.
RECITATIVE. (Alto)
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his
name Emmanuel, God with us.
AIR (Alto)
and CHORUS 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, be not afraid; say unto
the cities of Judah, Behold you God! Arise, shine, for thy light
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Bass)
For Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people; but the Lord shall rise 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.
AIR (Bass) 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.
CHORUS
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
RECITATIVE. (Soprano) There were shepherds abiding
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Soprano) And lo!
the angel of the Lord cam upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
RECITATIVE. (Soprano)
And the angel said unto the, 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.
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Soprano) And suddenly
there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:-
CHORUS
Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill towards
men.
AIR. (Soprano)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is the righteous Saviour, and
He shall speak peace unto the heathen.
RECITATIVE. (Alto)
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf
unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue
of the dumb shall sing.
AIR (Alto)
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: and He shall gather the
lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead
those that are with young.
AIR (Alto)
Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He will
give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is
meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
CHORUS
His yoke is easy and His burthen is light.
*PART
II*
CHORUS
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
AIR (Alto)
He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. 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.
CHORUS
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.
CHORUS
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.
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Tenor)
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full
of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was
no man, neither found He any to comfort Him.
AIR. (Tenor)
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow.
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Soprano)
He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression
of Thy people was He stricken.
AIR (Soprano)
But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer
Thy Holy One to see corruption.
CHORUS
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.
RECITATIVE. (Tenor)
Unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this
day have I begotten Thee?
CHORUS
Let all the angels of God worship Him.
AIR. (Bass)
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.
CHORUS
The Lord gave the word, great was the company of the preachers.
AIR. (Soprano)
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things.
CHORUS
Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the
ends of the world.
AIR (Bass)
Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and who 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.
CHORUS
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from
us.
RECITATIVE (Tenor)
He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall
have them in derision.
AIR (Tenor)
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel.
CHORUS
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of
this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ;
and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords. Hallelujah!
*Part
III*
AIR (Soprano)
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. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the
first-fruits of them that sleep.
CHORUS
Since by man came death,
CHORUS
By man came also the resurrection of the dead.
CHORUS
For as in Adam all die,
CHORUS
Even so in Christ shall all be made alive
RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Bass)
Behold, I tell 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 trumpet.
AIR. (Bass)
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.
RECITATIVE (Alto)
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written; Beats is
swallowed up in victory!
DUET (Alto and Tenor)
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.
CHORUS
But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
AIR (Soprano)
If God be for us, who can be against us? who shall lay anything 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.
CHORUS
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by
His blood, 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.
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