Ascension in Messiah: Four Glorious Effects of Christ’s Heavenly Enthronement

When I teach eschatology, I spend most of my time outlining the ascension—its Old Testament expectation, its New Testament fulfillment, and its eschatological implications. Along the way, this biblical theological entry into the ascension leads me to consider passages like Psalm 2, Psalm 68, Psalm 110, and Daniel 7, all of which play a crucial role in developing a doctrine of the ascension in places like Ephesians 4, Hebrews 1, and the whole book of Revelation.

In studying Handel’s Messiah, I have been pleasantly surprised and encouraged that this biblical-theological reflection on Jesus Christ does much of the same. In fact, what I argue in class is that if twenty-first century evangelicals built their eschatology on the ascension, it would resolve—or begin to resolve—a host of eschatological errors. Or at least, it would put them on the right path to understanding the inauguration of Christ’s kingdom. Such is the polemical argument that I make in class with respect to the ascension and eschatology.

Yet, polemics aside, the ascension is a doctrine that should make our hearts sing and our souls pray. Because Christ ascended to heaven, the believer has confidence to enter the spiritual battlefields of earth. Indeed, as Psalm 110 suggests, with Christ enthroned in glory, he now sends forth his Spirit to save and his armies to march. Jesus is bringing salvation and judgment upon the world, and ardent Christians should not only argue this point theologically, we should sing about it doxologically. And singing about the ascension of Christ is what we have in Handel’s Messiah, as we come to Sections 34–43. In what follows, I want to meditate on these sections and the biblical texts they recite.

While other contributors to this month’s theme have engaged the music of Handel, and the way Handel connected Jennens’ lyrics to song, my contribution will be more canonical. I will attempt to stay in my lane and focus on the biblical theological connections I see in the given texts, and how their arrangement produces a theological message. And specifically, as it comes to the ascension of Christ, we will consider four results from Christ’s exaltation:

1. The angels worship the Messiah (Sections 34–35)
2. The church is being built by the Messiah (Sections 36–37)
3. The message of salvation in the Messiah is going throughout the earth (Sections 38–39)
4. The judgment of nations by the Messiah has commenced (Sections 40–43)

Following the ascension of Christ in Section 33, which cites Psalm 24:7–10, these sections outline the effect of Christ’s exaltation to heaven. This impact begins in heaven, but flows downhill, if you will, to impact all creation. On earth, the Messiah is bringing his kingdom by way of his Spirit and his Word through the instrumentality of his body, the Church. And thus, we who are the body of Christ should give praise to our head for the work he is doing. And wonderfully, Handel’s Messiah gives us a soundtrack to do that.[1] Still, that soundtrack is only as good as our understanding of the verses in view (cf. 1 Cor. 14:15). And so as we come to the highpoint of Handel’s Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus, in Section 44, we need to understand the effect of the ascension that leads to that glorious doxology.[2]

The Worship of Angels (Sections 34–35)

In Hebrews 1:5–6 we have the exaltation of Christ over and above the angels starting off section 34. Citing Psalm 2:7 and Deuteronomy 32:43 (LXX),[3] respectively, the author of Hebrews begins his exaltation of the Son with a comparison between the Son and the angels, who are called “sons of God” in places like Genesis 6:2, 4; Deuteronomy 32:8, and Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7, as well as the aforementioned Deuteronomy 32:43.[4] While debate exists over the term “sons of God,” there is no debate as to what “angels” mean in Hebrews or Handel’s Messiah. It is plain: the risen and exalted Christ receives the worship of angels, when he enters into realms of glory.  

A George Guthrie frames it, “The chain quotation at [Hebrews] 1:5–14 builds overwhelming biblical support for the superiority of the Son of God to the angels.”^[5] In Messiah, we find the something similar. With the preceding choral arrangement of Psalm 24:7–10, a text which the early church regularly interpreted with respect to the ascension, we are ready to see the effect of Christ’s ascension.[6] And the first effect of Christ’s ascension is that the angel’s worship the exalted Son.

In a style that would impress (or inspire) Charles Jennens, the author of Hebrews arranges seven Old Testament citations that serve to identify the glory of the ascended Christ. Indeed, while Hebrews 1–2 stress Christ’s humanity, it is not Christ’s state of humiliation that is in view. Rather, it is the enthroned Son who is on display. In Hebrews 1:3–4, the text alludes to Psalm 2:8 in verse 3 (“whom he appointed the heir of all things^”) and Psalm 110:1 in verse 4 (“he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high^”). And with Christological skill, the next ten verses (Heb. 1:5–14) proceed from Psalm 2:7 to Psalm 110:1.[7]

In context, the chiastic argument looks something like this:[8]

[A] The Son is greater than angels (Heb. 1:5) – Ps. 2:7 and 2 Sam. 7:14

[B] The Son receives praise from angels (Heb. 1:6) – Deut. 32:43 or Ps. 97:7

[C] The Son is served by heavenly angels (Heb. 1:7) – Ps. 104:4

[C1] The Son receives his earthly throne (Heb. 1:8­–9) – Ps. 45:6–7

[B1] The Son renews creation (Heb. 1:10–12) – Ps. 102:25–27

[A1] The Son is greater than angels (Heb. 1:13–14) – Ps. 110:1

In reading these verses, we don’t know if Hebrews 1:5–14 was sung by the speaker, but we have good reason to believe it was preached.[9] And drawn from the Psalms, there is a rich lyrical quality to these selected verses. Together, they make a simple point: The Son who was made a little lower than the angels (Ps. 8:5 cited in Heb. 2:7), has now been exalted to the right hand of God (Heb. 1:3, 7). Accordingly, all creation, angels included, have been put under his feet (cf. Eph. 1:22–23). And for those elect angels who abide in God’s heavenly temple, they offer the Son ceaseless praise. As Athanasius puts it in a sermon on Psalm 24.

9. Dennis Johnson, Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures (Phillipsburg, NJ: 2007), 171–78.

The angels of the Lord who followed Him upon earth, seeing Him arise, announced His coming to the Virtues of heaven, so that they might open their gates. The Powers were filled with amazement at seeing Him in the flesh. That is why they cried, ‘Who is this?’ astounded by this mysterious order of salvation. And the Angels rising with Christ answered them, ‘The Lord of Powers, He is the King of Glory who teaches the great mystery to those who are in heaven: that the King of Glory has won the victory over the spiritual enemy?[10]

10. Quoted in Danielou, The Angels, 39–40.

Glory, hallelujah! The ascension is truly worth singing loud for all to hear, as Messiah does. Yet, if there is occasional singing on earth—in the church or the choral halls where Messiah is performed—there is ceaseless praise in heaven. And that praise changed key with the ascension of Christ.

Indeed, before Christ came into the world, the heavenly host gave praise to God in the precincts of heaven (see Isa. 6:2–3), but now such praise is magnified. It is magnified because the incarnate Son is seated on the throne, a mystery which the angels could not previously foresee.[11] Such praise is also is amplified, however, because the angels are joined by the saints made perfect. This is confirmed when we read Hebrews 12:22–24, where the angels are joined by the assembly of the firstborn surrounding the throne of God.

11. Danielou, The Angels, 24–33.

Wonderfully, in Hebrews 1:5–6 we find an introduction to angelology that leads us to the ascended Christ. Yet, that is only one aspect of the ascension. As Hebrews 2:16 clarifies, “It is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.” Indeed, in Hebrews the message about angels is not for angels, but for the people of faith (Abraham’s seed). And the same is true in Messiah. While the first effect of the ascension is the praise of angels, the second effect is the redemption of the saints and the formation church.

The Formation of the Church (Sections 36–37)

Next, Messiah moves from heaven to earth. Or, more precisely, the ascension of Christ to heaven results in the blessing of God’s people on earth. As Jennens cites Psalm 68, he takes up two verses. The first is Psalm 68:18, which is partly cited in 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 second is Psalm 68:11, which seems to apply to Ephesians 4:11, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.”  

Together, these two verses present the formation of the church by way of Christ’s victory and the preaching of that good news. In the first place, Psalm 68:18 describes the people whom the Lord receives in his ascension. In the context of the Psalm, David looks to a day when God, as victorious king, will defeat his enemies (Ps. 68:1–2), such that the righteous (Ps. 68:3) and all those who have been saved by God (Ps. 68:4–6) can sing his praises. In this setting, Psalm 68:7–35 recount God’s procession, coming from the battlefield (Ps. 68:7–14, 19–23), up the mountain (Ps. 68:15–18), to the place where he will sit in his sanctuary (Ps. 68:24–35).

Rightly, Messiah interprets Psalm 68 as taking place when Christ, after winning victory on the cross, ascends to the right hand of the Father, leading a train of captives in his wake. And we know this fulfillment of Psalm 68 brings us to the ascension, because of the way Paul cites Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8. In that Prison Epistle, Paul alludes to Psalm 110:1 in Ephesians 1:22–23, as he prays for the saints to receive the help of Christ under whom all things in creation were placed. This prayer is based upon the ascension. Next, Paul highlights Christ’s work of salvation (Eph. 2:1–10), which results in the construction of a new temple (Eph. 2:19–22), wherein believing Jews and Gentiles can enter into the sanctuary offering praise to God. Importantly, this temple access continues in Ephesians 3:12, where Paul explains the mystery of the Gentiles approach to God (Eph. 3:1–13), which results in another prayer (Eph. 3:14–21). And all of this is to set up the life saints have as the temple of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:1–16).

It is in this temple context, with priestly overtones, that the saints—who have been placed in God’s temple—are called to build up the body of Christ in love. While Paul mixes metaphors—in the same way that Jesus mixes metaphors between body and temple (John 2:19–21)—he helps us to see that Christ who has received all the people for whom he died (see Isa. 53:10–12) has given them to the church, in order to see the temple grow throughout the earth. Accordingly, Paul takes Psalm 68:18 and changes the word “receive” to “give,” because the ascension is no longer in the future. Rather, the victorious procession has come, Christ has received his redeemed people, so that now he can give them to his church for their upbuilding. Still, there’s something else to see—namely, that the church will not be built by gifting alone. It must be built by preaching.

In Ephesians 4:11, the need for a preacher is observed in what Paul says with respect to apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. These four servants of the Lord are necessary for bringing the life-giving message of Christ to those dead in sin (see Eph. 2:1–3). And they are equally necessary to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12) in the temple-body that is being built up in Christ (Eph. 4:13–16).[12]  

This is how the church is formed in the New Testament. And in Messiah, the same logic applies. For after citing Psalm 68:18, Jennens adds Psalm 68:11, with language that approximates the KJV, but not modern English versions. The chorus in Messiah sings, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.” In this arrangement, the church comes by way of the word proclaimed by a great company of preachers.[13]

Indeed, in his ascension, the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4) could now send shepherds after his own heart (Jer. 3:15) to call forth the sheep for whom the Good Shepherd saved with his death and resurrection (John 10:11–14, 17–18). Indeed, before the ascension the gospel was constrained to Israel, but now it could go to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This is what makes the good news of Christ better than the gospel preached beforehand (Gal. 3:8). In his ascension, all authority was given to him (Dan. 7:13–14; Matt. 28:18), so that now the gospel could go to the nations. In Messiah, this gospel proclamation is connected to Christ’s ascension by way of Psalm 68, and it sets up the next result of Christ’s ascension, the universal scope of the proclamation.  

The Message of Salvation (Sections 38–39)

Following the exaltation of Christ in Psalm 68, Messiah turns to Romans 10:15 and Romans 10:18. As with so many other citations, Jennens takes verses that are obviously quotations from other parts of Scripture. Showing the unity of Scripture and the promise-fulfillment structure of the whole Bible, Messiah praises the beauty of the feet that preach the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15 citing Isaiah 52:7). And immediately, he follows with a chorus declaring the universal scope of the gospel (Romans 10:18 citing Psalm 19:4). Lyrically, it sounds like this, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” and “Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world.”

By themselves these verses do not have anything to say about the ascension, but following Psalm 24:7–10, Hebrews 1:5–6, and Psalm 68:18 and Psalm 68:11, they absolutely do. The universal scope of the gospel, brought by the company of preachers could only go to the ends of the earth, if the exalted Jesus was sovereign over all creation. Yet, this is the point of ascension, as told by these verses. Jesus is the king of glory, and all gates open for him (Psalm 24). Jesus is also the exalted of Son of Man, and all angels must bow before him (Hebrews 1). And finally, Jesus is the victorious warrior, who has been given a people that are now being gathered from all nations, by way of the gospel (Psalm 68).

In context, Isaiah 52:1–12 describes a new exodus that the servant of the Lord will accomplish when he comes (Luke 9:31). Wonderfully, Jesus is that suffering servant, who dies for the sins of his people (Isa. 52:13–53:9), just as Messiah sings (Sections 23–26). Yet, the servant who suffers does not remain in the grave. Instead, when he is exalted to the right hand of God, he sends forth his servants to bring good news to the nations (Isa. 49:1–7). And more, he successful brings all of his people from all nations to himself by way of the preaching. This is the point of Isaiah 52:7, and it is further developed by Romans 10.

After answering questions about God’s faithfulness to Israel in Romans 9, Paul explains how God is faithful to his purposes of election (Rom. 9:6–29) and equally faithful to bring the good news of salvation to Jew and Gentile alike (Romans 10). While the details of Romans 9–11 require a verse-by-verse analysis, as these three chapters are bursting with biblical citations and allusions, the use of Isaiah 52:7 and Psalm 19:4 accomplish the same purpose, they confirm the fact that the good news that is as high as heaven is as wide as creation itself.

No longer do the nations have to grope in the dark for salvation (Acts 17:27). Now, salvation has come to them. With Christ on high, special revelation, which was bound to Israel under the old covenant, was now going to extend as far as general revelation itself. No longer would God only speak through creation to the Gentile nations; now in Christ, the message of salvation would go to the nations. Yet, in the same moment the message of salvation would also be accompanied by judgment (cf. Rom. 2:16), which brings us to the fourth effect of the ascension, the judgment.

The Judgment of Nations (Sections 40–43)

Typically, when we think about judgment in the Bible, our minds move to the end of the age. After all, there are plenty of passages that speak of a final day of judgment (2 Pet. 3:7), where the every person is brought before God’s throne and every word is given due consideration (Rev. 20:11–15). Indeed, since Adam disobeyed God, the world have been moving toward a final judgment. As God made the world moral, writing his law on human hearts and commanding Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit, man’s first sin has required a judicial response.

In truth, that judicial response came immediately in Genesis 3:14–19, when God pronounced a curse on all creation (Rom. 8:19–22). As history progressed, judgments continued as God sovereignly ruled over creation. As man continued to sin, there were judgments immediate (e.g., 2 Sam. 6:5–15; 2 Chron. 26:19) and delayed (Rom 3:25). In particular, the flood demonstrated God’s power to judge all creation, and ever since, the flood has been a symbol of God’s final end-times judgment (2 Pet. 2:4–5).

Still, between the flood and the fullness of time when Christ came (Gal. 4:4), the rising and falling of nations corresponded to God’s active presence in the world (see 1 Sam. 2:1–10; Luke 1:46–56); and notably, this presence brought salvation and judgment, kindness and severity (Rom. 11:22). In this story of salvation and judgment, the drama centered on Israel, and it coming Messiah. Thus far, in Messiah we have only seen the development of salvation, but now in Sections 40–43 we consider the other side of the coin—the judgment of the nations. And in particular, we can see three aspects to this judgment: (1) the hatred of the nations (in Psalms 2:1–3), (2) the vanity of the nations (Psalm 2:4), and (3) the judgment of nations and destruction of the wicked (Psalm 2:9).[14]

14. This threefold division of Sections 40–43 is the same way John Newton preached Sermons 33­–35, which I will reference below.

First, the hatred of nations.

When Messiah sings Psalm 2:1–2 and then Psalm 3, it does so as another response to the ascension of the Lord. As we have observed thus far, the ascension results in angelic worship and church building by way of gospel proclamation. Yet, Christ’s exaltation did not merely have positive effects. Now, in Psalm 2, we find the negative effect of the nations opposing Christ. Psalm 2:1–3 sings,

Why do the nations so furiously rage together: 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, and cast away their yokes from us.

This opening question (Ps 2:1), followed by the schemes (Ps. 2:2) and words (Ps. 2:3) of the wicked, illustrates the opposition that the rulers of the earth have towards God and his anointed king. In Psalm 2, the solution to this problem of the nations’ rage is found in verses that are not included in Messiah. The Lord looks to put his son of Mount Zion (Ps. 2:6–7), and—as I have argued elsewhere—the entirety of the Psalter goes in search of this son, the righteous king (a Melchizedek) who will defeat his enemies (Psalm 110).[15]

15. David Schrock, “Reading Psalms 2 and 110 with the Grain of Scripture: A Proposal for Reading the Psalter Canonically,” SBJT 25.3 (2021): 97–120.

In Messiah, however, this promised Son has already been identified. So, the messianic verses of Psalm 2 are not in focus. Rather, it is the hatred of the nations for God and his Son that receive attention. And this hatred of Christ is important for understanding the righteousness of Christ’s judgment. In his compassion for sinners, Christ does not seek first to destroy the nations. He begins by dying on the cross to save them. Yet, when his enemies persist in their unrepentant malice, then Christ is right to put them to flight in this age and to destroy them in the final judgment. This judgment will come in Psalm 2:9, but first there is the additional consideration that the rage of the nations is foolish and futile.

Second, the vanity of the nations.

In his sermon series on the texts of Messiah, John Newton called the opposition of the nations in Psalm 2:1–3 “unreasonable and groundless,” as well as “vain and ineffectual.”[16] When he turned to consider Psalm 2:4, he focused in on the “vanity of the nations,” as he followed David’s meditation to the Lord’s response to the nations. Psalm 2:4 says, “He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: the Lord shall have them in derision,” and it reflects the sovereign freedom of God to withstand the assaults of his creation.

16. Newton, “Sermon 33: Opposition to Messiah Unreasonable,” Messiah, 287.

More than withstanding humanity’s assaults, God Most High is wholly unfazed by their threats. While God’s children must suffer many tribulations before entering the kingdom (Acts 14:22), the exalted Lord now shares in his Father’s laughter. Though the nations rage, the Lord rejoices, for he knows that every hostile effort is in vain.[17] While the context of Psalm 2:4 anticipates the exaltation of Christ to the throne of God, in Messiah that exaltation has already come. And now, with all things in creation put under his feet, every evil attempt to halt the gospel and prevent the expansion of the kingdom is vain. As John Newton puts it,

17. Newton, “Sermon 34: Opposition to Messiah in Vain,” Messiah, 289, “The text therefore principally respects the opposition made to his gospel and his kingdom after his ascension, which is still carrying on, but which always was, and always will be, in vain.” Interestingly, Newton identifies the Messiah as the one laughing in Psalm 2:4, but it seems better to identify God the Father, without respect to persons, laughing in Psalm 2:4. Newton’s identification of the Son in Psalm 2:4 is premature.

By his providence, which ruleth over all, he manages [his people’s] concerns upon earth, supplies their wants, and gives them present and effectual help and support in their time of trouble. . . . He permits their enemies for a season to try if they can prevent his designs. For a season, things take such a course that their attempts seem to prosper; they threaten, they boast, and confidently expect to carry their point. But the contest always issues in their shame and confusion. He not only disconcerts their schemes, but makes them instrumental to the promoting of his own designs.[18]

18. Newton, “Sermon 34: Opposition to Messiah in Vain,” Messiah, 290–91.

Truly, the laughter of God over the wickedness of the nations is not malevolent or unmerciful. In light of the biblical canon, it is both good and true. The Lord knows what he has in store for the world—salvation for his elect and judgment for those who seek to harm his elect (2 Thess. 1:5–12). And thus, the laughter of God reinforces the point, that nothing in creation can separate God’s elect from his love in Christ (Rom. 8:28–39) or overturn his judgment.

Third, the judgment of the nations.

In Section 43, we come to the final step of judgment. And here we have a verse that could be held up as a testimony to God’s final judgment when all things are consummated at the end of the age. Or, in the case of Messiah, the exalted Lord’s judgment has commenced, and is even now executing judgment on the wicked.[19] As John Newton reads it, he makes a distinction between the current judgment “in the present life” in the first part of the verse (“Thou shall break them with a rod of iron”), with the final judgment in the second part of the verse (“thou shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel”).[20]

Without getting into all the eschatological questions that this verse entails, I believe Newton’s reading of this passage points us in the right direction. In between Christ’s ascension and his glorious return, the nations are being put under the feet of Christ. By way of (1) the miserable experience of sin, (2) the bitterness of conscience, and (3) the handing over of sinners to their vices, Newton outlines the effects of judgment today.[21] Still, there are larger illustrations of Christ’s judgment too.

As Psalm 2 focuses on the nations and the rage of their rulers—something Luke applies to the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:25–26—so it is fitting to affirm Christ’s ongoing judgment of the nations. While Revelation 2–3 identifies the judgment by which Christ can remove his lampstand from individual churches, the result of that judgment would have an effect on nations too. Where peoples are given to idolatry and all forms of wickedness, Christ is free to bring repentance and salvation. But he is equally within his kingly authority to bring judgment. And though we do not have an inspired interpretation of history (post-ascension), the rising and falling of nations does suggest Christ’s power to judge.

And so, as Messiah puts Christ’s judgment of the earth after the ascension and before his glorious return, it leads us to see that Christ is wielding his sword, as his Spirit and Word proceed throughout the earth. To be certain, judgment of the regional or generational kind are not the same as the final day of judgment. But they do bear testimony to the fact that God is true and his Son is not a liar. The wages of sin is death, but the way of eternal life comes by way of bowing the knee and kissing the Son (Ps. 2:12). Again, this is the part of Psalm 2 that is not found in Messiah. But it is the stated desire of Charles Jennens, who arranged these texts. And while this fourth effect of Christ’s ascension ends on a dark note, it is not the most prominent nor the final note. For as this word of judgment issues a sober warning to sinners, it follows the offer of salvation in Sections 34–39 and precedes the great note of praise in Section 44—namely, the Hallelujah Chorus for all who would turn from their wicked ways and find salvation in Christ.

The Desire of Charles Jennens (and Ourselves)

As I noted earlier, the man who arranged the Scripture of Messiah is someone who longed for others to know him too. Indeed, we might say that the desire of Charles Jennens was that the nations would desire Christ. Certainly, this was Jennens baleful longing for those like his brother, who had been led astray by the Deism of his day. As Calvin Stapert observes, Jennens wrote with a great desire to undo that philosophy, and he did so because of the effect it had on his own brother.

For in fact, when he sent Handel the manuscript, he sent along a word of introduction that included his thoughts on the text and on his own brother’s suicide.[22] In that context, Jennens wrote that, “Human beings, it seems, since time immemorial, have been plagued by a powerful need to know the answer to this question: Does God act in the world, or are we left to our own devices?”[23] And in answer to that question, Jennens composed his libretto, in order to show Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and as we have seen here the activity of Christ in his ascension.

To those familiar with Deism, this question of God’s activity in the world is plainly related. And to put it in terms of Psalm 2, the philosophers of Deism raged against God when they declared that he is not present, active, or able to intervene. In answer to such Christ-denying erudition, Jennens penned his libretto, with hopes to give the world what was taken from his brother—namely, faith that Jesus Christ was alive and active in the world.

In this way, Jennens reflections on Christ’s ascension bear direct testimony to Christ’s actions in the world. These actions include judgment on the nations, but only as the message of salvation that precedes judgment. Indeed, the risen and exalted Messiah, is not simply a god who will come to judge at the end of time. He is also active to save and judge here and now. And so Jennens adds Psalm 2 at the end of his section on the ascension and in preparation for the Hallelujah Chorus.

For us, we too should take note of Christ’s saving and judging in this age. For in fact, eschatology is not simply a doctrine to debate. It is also a view of the world to embrace and a message to sing. Wonderfully, in Messiah we are introduced to this message and in the sections on the ascension we are given a full theology of what God is now doing in Christ in the world that has been given to him. In this way, we have great reason to believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek him. As we sing Messiah, may our desires match that of Charles Jennens and George Frideric Handel.

May we long to see the nations come to Christ, and may all that we say and do render Christ the glory he deserves. S.D.G.