Isaiah 40 may be one of the best-known passage among all the Old Testament prophets. Anyone who knows Handel’s Messiah will immediately recognize the text for some of the familiar pieces. “Comfort ye my people” and “Every valley shall be exalted” (the first tenor recitative and aria), “And the glory of the Lord,” (the first chorus), “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion” (the first alto aria, (with chorus), and “He shall feed his flock” (the second alto aria) all come from first eleven verses of the chapter:

We associate these verses with the Christmas story at least because John the Baptist claimed to be the “voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,” words quoted in the tenor recitative.… Read the rest