Charles Jennens correctly understood what the human authors of the Old Testament intended to communication, and in the selection and juxtaposition of key texts from Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, he joined passages that were themselves already in conversation with one another. With the music of Handel, that conversation sprang to song in celebration of the long-awaited Savior, the one who came to fulfill all things, for whose return we wait with eager expectation.
Handel’s Messiah sings what Jesus asserted in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” Charles Jennens composed the libretti for Handel’s oratorio, and he mainly used the Old Testament, interpreting it in accordance with the New Testament’s claims that all was fulfilled in Christ. In this short article, we will consider the treatment of Psalm 22 in Part 2 of Handel’s Messiah, numbers 22–31.
Our main question is this: Does Jennens get it right? That is, did David, author of Psalm 22, intend his words to be interpreted the way Jennens reads them?
To answer this question, we will first summarize the biblical texts Jennens employs in this section, then consider what David intended in Psalm 22, to set up consideration of the success of Jennens’ interpretation.
The Biblical Texts in Part Two, Numbers 22–31
Jennens opens this section with number 22 singing John 1:29, before numbers 23–26 turn to Isaiah 53:3–6. Jennens then introduces Psalm 22:7–8 in numbers 27–28 before giving numbers 29–31 to Psalm 69:20, Lamentations 1:12, and Isaiah 53:8 respectively.
From this we can see that the main Scriptural engagement is between Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, with a dash of Psalm 69 and Lamentations 1, the opening identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God in John 1:29 establishing the framework in which all these texts are presented. How does this comport with what David sang in Psalm 22?
What David Intended in Psalm 22
The Lord Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 from the cross in Matthew 27:46, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But in Psalm 22, David speaks those words about his own experience. We can say similar things about Psalm 22:7–8, which Matthew also engages (Matt. 27:39–43): David seems to be speaking of himself and his own experience in Psalm 22.
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.