Forty days with the Messiah (PDF Download)

'For unto us a child is born'. 'I know that my redeemer liveth'. There's only one way most of us can 'hear' these words, and that's set to the memorable music of George Frederick Handel. All the words of his oratorio Messiah are taken straight from the Bible, mostly in the majestic language of the King James Version. In this book David Winter provides a devotional reflection on its text, section by section, making Forty Days with the Messiah ideal for use during Lent..

Most of us simply take it for granted that we know what these familiar words are meant to say to us. But Handel and his librettist, Jennens, had set out to tell nothing less than the vast story of God and the human race and of the triumph of divine love over the power of evil. It is a great theme for a great work, surely one of the most enduring treasures of Christendom. This book helps the modern reader to enjoy it to the full.

David Winter is well known as a writer and broadcaster. Former Head of Religious Broadcasting at the BBC, he is a regular contributor to Radio Four's 'Thought for the Day'. He is now an anglican minister in the diocese of Oxford.

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