One of the tweaks we made to the New Church Day Pageant last year was adding in two short selections from Handel’s Messiah: part of the “Hallelujah” chorus, and part of “Worthy is the Lamb” chorus. Last year, we listened to recordings; this year, we want to offer you an even more immersive experience.
The book of Revelation is an account of a gradual revelation of people’s states and of the meaning within the Word. In chapter 5 John sees a book sealed with seven seals and the question is, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose its seals?” Who has the wisdom and power to understand and reveal all people’s states? The apostle John weeps much because no one is found, but then He is told that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered and is able to open the book and loose its seals and He sees a Lamb. That Lamb symbolizes the Lord in His Divine Humanity and He has the wisdom and power to reveal all people’s states. “The Lord alone sees the state of each person's life from its inmost qualities to its outmost ones, including what the person was like from infancy to old age and what they will be like to eternity” (Apocalypse Revealed 262).
When the Lamb takes the book there is the cascade of grateful praise—the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song; then John hears “the voice of many angels around the throne… ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” all praising the Lord with a great voice; and then they are joined by “every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them” (Revelation 5:11-13). The words that they are all singing and saying are the words that are used in the “Worthy is the Lamb” chorus from Messiah.
We too can be grateful that the Lord has the wisdom, power, and love to reveal our states to us. We too can join the chorus of people singing His praise. And if you would like, you can sing “Worthy is the Lamb” during this year’s pageant, either as part of the cast or as part of the congregation. Our music director, Graham Bier, has put together learning tracks of the excerpts that we will be singing so that you can learn your part. You can find those below. We hope, whether you choose to join in the singing or not, that it will be a powerful part of our New Church Day pageant to have people all around you, singing to the Lord in grateful thanks for His revelation.