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The Holy Land
c. 870 BCE
Israel is ruled by King
Ahab and the wicked Queen Jezebel, a foreign princess who has introduced
worship of pagan deities and led the people away from the one true God. Elijah, a prophet from the North, brings
retribution by cursing the fallen land to three years of drought.
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Introduction
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Elijah
As God the Lord of Israel
liveth, before whom I stand: There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word.
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Overture
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Orchestra
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Part One
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Famine and crisis spread across the country. The people implore God to relieve their
suffering with prayer and protest, but to no avail. Obadiah, a loyal follower, exhorts the people to look within for
salvation.
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1.
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The People
Help, Lord! Wilt Thou quite destroy us? The harvest now is over, the summer days
are gone, and yet no power cometh to help us! Will then the Lord be no more God in Zion? The deeps afford no water, and the rivers
are exhausted. The suckling’s tongue
now cleaveth for thirst to his mouth.
The infant children ask for bread, and there is no one breaketh it to
feed them
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2.
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The People
Lord, bow Thine ear to our prayer . . .
Two Women
Zion spreadeth her hands for aid, and there is neither help nor comfort.
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3.
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Obadiah
Ye people, rend your hearts and not your garments. For your transgressions, the prophet Elijah hath sealed the
heavens through the word of God. I
therefore say to ye: forsake your idols, return to God; for He is slow to
anger, and merciful, and kind, and gracious, and repenteth Him of the evil.
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4.
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Obadiah
‘If with all your hearts ye truly seek Me, ye shall ever surely find Me.’
Thus saith our God. Oh! that I knew where I might find Him, that
I might even come before His presence!
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5.
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The People
Yet doth the Lord see it not, He mocketh at us; His curse hath fallen down
upon us, His wrath will pursue us till He destroy us.
For He, the Lord our God, He is a jealous God, and
He visiteth all the fathers’ sins on the children to the third and the fourth
generation of them that hate Him.
His mercies on thousands fall on all them that love
him and keep his commandments.
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Elijah is commanded by an angel to attend a widow in
distress. In the midst of her
suffering, he miraculously raises her son from the dead, turning her heart
back to God in the process.
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6.
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An Angel
Elijah! Get thee hence, Elijah! Depart and turn thee eastward: thither
hide thee by Cherith’s brook. There
shalt thou drink its waters; and the Lord thy God hath commanded the ravens
to feed thee there: so do according unto His word.
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7.
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Angels
For He shall give His angels charge over thee; that
they shall protect thee in all ways thou goest; that their hands shall uphold
and guide thee, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
An Angel
Now Cherith’s brook is dried up, Elijah, rise and
depart, and get thee to Zarepath; thither abide: for the Lord hath commanded a widow woman there to sustain
thee. And the barrel of meal shall not
waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth
rain upon the earth.
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8.
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A Widow
What have I to do with thee, O man of God? Art thou come to me to call my sin unto
remembrance? To slay my son art thou
come thither? Help me, man of
God! My son is sick! And his sickness is so sore, that there is
no breath left in him! I go mourning
all the day long; I lie down and weep at night. See mine affliction. Be
thou the orphan’s helper. Help my
son! There is no breath left in him.
Elijah
Give me thy son.
Turn unto her, O Lord my God, O turn in mercy; in mercy help this
widow’s son. For Thou art gracious,
and full of compassion, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Lord, my God, let the spirit of this child
return, that he again may live!
Widow
Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? There is no breath in him!
Elijah
Lord, my God, let the spirit of this child return,
that he again may live!
Widow
Shall the dead arise and praise thee?
Elijah
Lord, my God, O let the spirit of this child return,
that he again may live!
Widow
The Lord hath heard thy prayer, the soul of my son reviveth!
Elijah
Now behold, thy son liveth.
Widow
Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and
that His word in thy mouth is the truth.
What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?
Both
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, love Him with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. O blessed are they who fear Him!
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9.
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Chorus
Blessed are the men who fear Him, they ever walk in
the ways of peace. Through darkness
riseth light to the upright. He is
gracious, compassionate; He is righteous.
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Three years having passed, Elijah resurfaces at
Ahab’s court to challenge the priests of Baal. The whole kingdom gathers before the high altar to witness the
showdown: Baal’s followers mount an impressive spectacle, calling
three times upon their gods to appear and consume the sacrifice - each time
without success. Elijah steps into
the silence and calls on his Lord, who rains down fire on the altar. The awestruck people, spurred on by
Elijah, set upon the idolaters and slaughter them at a brook by the foot of
the mountain.
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10.
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Elijah
As God the Lord of Sabaoth liveth, before whom I stand, three years this day
fulfilled, I will show myself unto Ahab; and the Lord will then send rain
again upon the earth.
Ahab
Art thou Elijah? Art thou he that
troubleth Israel?
The People
Thou art Elijah, thou he that troubleth Israel!
Elijah
I never troubled Israel’s peace: it is thou, Ahab, and all thy father’s house
Ye have forsaken God’s commands, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now send, and gather to me the whole of
Israel unto Mount Carmel; there summon the prophets of Baal, and also the
prophets of Baal, and also the prophets of the groves who are house feasted
at Jezebel’s table. Then we shall see
whose God is the Lord.
The People
And then we shall see whose God is the Lord.
Elijah
Rise then, ye priests of Baal; select and slay a bullock, and put no fire
under it; uplift your voices and call the god ye worship, and I will call
upon the Lord Jehovah; and the god who by fire shall answer, let him be God.
Elijah
Call first upon your god, your numbers are many. I, even I only, remain one prophet of the Lord. Invoke your forest gods, and mountain
deities.
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11.
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Priests of Baal
Baal, we cry to thee, hear and answer us!
Heed the sacrifice we offer!
Hear us, Baal! Hear, mighty
god! Baal, oh answer us! Baal, let thy flames fall and extirpate
the foe!
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12.
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Elijah
Call him louder, for he is a god! He
talketh, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey; or, peradventure, he
sleepeth: so awaken him! Call him
louder, call him louder!
Priests of Baal
Hear our cry, O Baal! Now arise! Wherefore slumber?
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13.
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Elijah
Call him louder! He heareth not. With knives and lancets cut yourselves
after your manner. Leap upon the
altar ye have made, call him and prophesy!
Not a voice will answer you: none will listen, none heed you.
Priests of Baal
Baal! Baal! Hear and answer, Baal!
Mark how the scorner derideth us!
Hear and answer!
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14.
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Elijah
Draw near, all ye people, come to me . . .
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, this day let
it be known that Thou art God, and that I am Thy servant! Lord God of Abraham! Oh show to all this people that I have
done these things according to Thy word.
Oh hear me, Lord, and answer me!
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, oh hear me and answer me, and
show this people that Thou art Lord God.
And let their hearts again be turned!
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15.
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Angels
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. He never will suffer the righteous to
fall: He is at thy right hand. Thy
mercy, Lord, is great, and far above the heavens. Let none be made ashamed, that wait upon Thee!
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16.
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Elijah
O Thou, who makest Thine angels spirits; Thou, whose ministers are flaming
fires: let them now descend!
The People
The fire descends from heaven! The
flames consume his offering! Before
Him upon your faces fall! The Lord is
God, the Lord is God! O Israel
hear! Our God is one Lord, and we
will have no other gods before the Lord.
Elijah
Take all the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape you. Bring them down to Kishon’s brook, and
there let them be slain.
The People
Take all the prophets of Baal and let not one of them escape us: bring all
and slay them!
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17.
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Elijah
Is not His word like a fire, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock into
pieces? For God is angry with the
wicked every day. And if the wicked turn
not, the Lord will whet His sword; and He hath bent His bow, and made it
ready.
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18.
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A Woman
Woe unto them who forsake Him! Destruction shall fall upon them, for they
have transgressed against Him. Though
they are by Him redeemed, yet have they spoken falsely against Him, from Him
have they fled.
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With Baal’s followers in full retreat, Obadiah reminds Elijah to make good on
his promise to lift the curse. Elijah
calls three times on the Almighty to bring relief. A boy sent up to keep watch finally spots storm clouds on the
horizon. The heavens burst forth with
rain and the people rejoice.
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19.
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Obadiah
O man of God, help thy people! Among
the idols of the Gentiles, are there any that can command the rain, or cause
the heavens to give their showers?
The Lord our God alone can do these things.
Elijah
O Lord, Thou hast overthrown Thine enemies and
destroyed them. Look down on us from
heaven, O Lord; regard the distress of Thy people: open the heavens and send us relief: help, help Thy servant now, O God!
The People
Open the heavens and send us relief: help, help Thy servant now, O God!
Elijah
Go up now, child, and look toward the sea. Hath my prayer been heard by the Lord?
The Boy
There is nothing.
The heavens are as brass, they are as brass above me.
Elijah
When the heavens are closed up because they have
sinned against Thee, yet if they pray and confess Thy Name, and turn from
their sin when Thou didst afflict them:
then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin! Help! send Thy servant help, O God!
The People
Then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin! Help! send Thy servant help, O God!
Elijah
Go up again, and still look toward the sea.
The Boy
There is nothing.
The earth is as iron under me!
Elijah
Hearest thou no sound of rain? Seest thou nothing arise from the deep?
The Boy
No, there is nothing.
Elijah
Have respect to the prayer of Thy servant, O Lord my
God! Unto Thee will I cry, Lord, my
rock; be not silent to me; and Thy great mercies remember, Lord!
The Boy
Behold, a little cloud ariseth now from the waters;
it is like a man’s hand! The heavens
are black with clouds and wind: the
storm rusheth louder and louder!
The People
Thanks be to God for all his mercies!
Elijah
Thanks be to God, for He is gracious, and His mercy
endureth forevermore!
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20.
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The People
Thanks be to God, He laveth the thirsty land! The waters gather, they rush along; they
are lifting their voices! The stormy
billows are high; their fury is mighty.
But the Lord is above them, and Almighty!
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Part Two
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A rousing aria and chorus set up Part Two with a
powerful statement of God’s ability to help all loyal followers in the face
of adversity.
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21.
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Soprano
Hear ye, Israel; hear what the Lord speaketh: ‘Oh, hadst thou heeded my
commandments!’ Who hath believed our
report: to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? Thus saith the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to him oppressed by Tyrants: thus saith the Lord: ‘I am he that comforteth; be not afraid,
for I am thy God, I will strengthen thee.
Say, who art thou, that thou art afraid of a man that shall die; and
forgettest the Lord thy Maker, who hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid
the earth’s foundations? Be not
afraid, for I, thy God, will strengthen thee.’
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22.
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Chorus
‘Be not afraid,’ saith God the Lord, ‘be not afraid,
thy help is near.’ God, the Lord thy
God, sayeth unto thee, ‘be not afraid!’
Though thousands languish and fall beside thee, and tens of thousands
around thee perish, yet still it shall not come nigh thee.
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Elijah returns to confront Ahab and his queen,
reminding that their temporal rule depends on legitimacy conferred by a
higher power. Jezebel seeks to turn
the tables on the prophet, portraying him as a renegade, a traitor, a
magician who must be blamed for the suffering brought by the famine. A mob poisoned by the queen’s accusations
turns on Elijah and his followers, and Elijah barely escapes. Hidden by Obadiah, Elijah flees to the
wilderness, where a band of angels watch over the prophet in his darkest
hour. The angels urge patience and
endurance as Elijah rages against the injustice of his plight and encounters
his own feelings of self-doubt.
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23.
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Elijah
The Lord hath exalted thee from among the people,
and o’er His people Israel hath made thee king. But thou, Ahab, hast done evil to provoke Him to anger above
all that were before thee; as if it had been a light thing for thee to walk
in the sins of Jeroboam. Thou hast
made a grove and an altar to Baal, and served him and worshipped him. Thou hast killed the righteous, and also
taken possession. And the Lord shall
smite all Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He shall give Israel
up, and thou shalt know He is the Lord.
Jezebel
Have ye not heard he hath prophesied against all Israel?
Courtiers
We heard it with our ears.
Jezebel
Hath he not prophesied also against the king?
Courtiers
We heard it with our ears.
Jezebel
And why hath he spoken in the name of the Lord? Doth Ahab govern the kingdom of Israel
while Elijah’s power is greater than the king’s? The gods do so to me, and more; if by tomorrow about this time,
I make not his life as the life of one of them whom he hath sacrificed at the
brook of Kishon!
Courtiers
He shall perish!
Jezebel
Hath he not destroyed Baal’s prophets?
Courtiers
He shall perish!
Jezebel
Yea, by the sword he destroyed them all!
Courtiers
He destroyed them all!
Jezebel
He also closed the heavens . . .
Courtiers
He also closed the heavens . . .
Jezebel
. . . and called down a famine upon the land!
Courtiers
. . . and called down a famine upon the land!
Jezebel
So go ye forth and seize Elijah, for he is worthy to
die; slaughter him! do unto him as he
hath done!
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24.
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The People
Woe to him!
He shall perish; for he closed the heavens! And why hath he spoken in the Name of the Lord? Let the guilty prophet perish! He hath spoken falsely against our land
and us, as we have heard with our ears.
So go ye forth; seize on him!
he shall die!
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25.
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Obadiah
Man of God, now let my words be precious in thy sight. Thus saith Jezebel; ‘Elijah is worthy to
die’. So the mighty gather against
thee, and they have prepared a net for thy steps; that they may seize thee,
that they say slay thee. Arise then,
and hasten for thy life; to the wilderness journey. The Lord thy God doth go with thee: He will
not fail thee, He will not forsake thee.
Now begone, and bless me also.
Elijah
Though stricken, they have not grieved.
Tarry here my servant: the Lord be with thee. I journey hence to the wilderness.
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26.
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Elijah
It is enough! O Lord, now take away
my life, for I am not better than my fathers! I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but
vanity.
I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts,
for the children of Israel have broken Thy covenant, and thrown down Thine
altars, and slain all Thy prophets, slain them with the sword. And I, even I only am left: and they seek
my life to take it away! It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am
not better than my fathers. Now let
me die, Lord, take away my life.
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27.
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Tenor
See, now he sleepeth beneath a juniper tree in the wilderness, but the angels
of the Lord encamp round about all them that fear Him.
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28.
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Angels
Lift thine eyes to the mountains, whence cometh help. Thy help cometh from the Lord, the maker
of heaven and earth. He hath said,
thy foot shall not be moved, thy keeper will never slumber.
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29.
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Angels
He, watching over Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps. Shouldst thou, walking in grief, languish, He will quicken
thee.
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30.
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An Angel
Arise, Elijah, for thou hast a long journey before
thee. Forty days and forty nights
shalt thou go to Horeb, the mount of God.
Elijah
O Lord, I have labored in vain; yea, I have spent my
strength for nought! O that Thou
wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down; that the mountains
would flow down at Thy presence, to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries,
through the wonders of Thy works! O
Lord, why hast Thou mad them to err from Thy ways and hardened their hearts
that they do not fear Thee? O that I
now might die!
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31.
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An Angel
Oh rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, and He shall give thee thy
heart’s desires. Commit thy way unto
Him, and trust in Him, and fret not thyself because of evildoers.
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32.
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Chorus
He that shall endure to the end, shall be saved.
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Elijah’s guardian angel readies the prophet to
witness the sign of hope he has been yearning for. A great commotion precedes the appearance of the Almighty -
storms, tidal waves, earthquakes and fire give way to the “still small voice”
of God himself. Seraphim and lesser
angels surround the area and command Elijah to return to lead his loyal
followers from hiding and restore the Kingdom of Israel to its rightful
path. Bolstered by the encounter, Elijah
bids farewell to the wilderness and resumes his mission.
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33.
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Elijah
Night falleth round me, o Lord! Be
Thou not far from me! Hide not Thy
face, o Lord, from me, my soul is thirsting for Thee, as a thirsty land.
An Angel
Arise now, get thee without, stand on the mount before the Lord: for there
His glory will appear, and shine on thee!
Thy face must be veiled, for He draweth near.
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34.
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Chorus
Behold, God the Lord passed by! And a
mighty wind rent the mountains around, brake in pieces the rocks, brake them
before the Lord. But yet the Lord was
not in the tempest.
Behold, God the Lord passed by! And the sea was upheaved, and the earth
was shaken. But yet the Lord was not
in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake there came a fire. But yet the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire there came a still small
voice. And in that still voice onward
came the Lord.
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35.
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Angel
Above Him stood the Seraphim, and one cried to
another:
Seraphim
Holy, holy, holy is God the Lord, the Lord Sabaoth! Now His glory hath filled all the earth.
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36.
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Angels
Go, return upon thy way! For the Lord
yet hath left Him seven thousand in Israel, knees which have not bowed to
Baal. Go, return upon thy way! Thus the Lord commandeth.
Elijah
I go on my way in the strength of the Lord For Thou art my Lord; and I will
suffer for Thy sake. My heart is
therefore glad, my glory rejoiceth; and my flesh shall also rest in hope.
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37.
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Elijah
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but Thy kindness
shall not depart from me; neither shall the covenant of Thy peace be removed.
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Elijah’s mighty exploits and successes are
chronicled, as are his transfiguration and ascension into heaven in a chariot
of fire. The soprano soloist declares
the prophecy of Elijah’s return before the Last Judgment, and the chorus
foretells the promised reign of wisdom and understanding that is to
follow. The solo quartet beckons the
audience to drink from the waters of the Lord’s mercies and the oratorio draws
to a close in a mood of victory and celebration.
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38.
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Chorus
Then did Elijah the prophet break forth like a fire; his words appeared like
burning torches. Mighty kings by him
were overthrown. He stood on the
mount of Sinai and heard the judgments of the future, and in Horeb its
vengeance. And when the Lord would
take him away to heaven, lo! there came a fiery chariot with fiery horses;
and he went by a whirlwind to heaven.
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39.
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Tenor
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in their heavenly Father’s
realm. Joy on their heads shall be
for everlasting, and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away for ever.
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40.
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Soprano
Behold, God hath sent Elijah the prophet, before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children unto their fathers; lest the Lord shall come and
smite the earth with a curse.
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41.
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Chorus
But the Lord from the North hath raised one, who
from the rising of the sun shall call upon His Name and come on princes. Behold, my servant and mine elect, in whom
my soul delighteth! On him the spirit
of God shall rest: the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of might and of counsel, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord: ‘I have
raised one from the North, who from the rising, on My Name shall call.’
Quartet
O come everyone that thirsteth, O come to the
waters: O come unto Him. O hear, and your souls shall live for
ever.
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42.
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Chorus
And then shall your light break forth as the light
of morning breaketh: and your health shall speedily spring forth then: and
the glory of the Lord ever shall reward you.
Lord, our Creator. how
excellent Thy Name is in all the nations!
Thou fillest heaven with Thy glory.
Amen.
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