Messiah. : Fifty expository discourses, on the series of scriptural passages, which form the subject of the celebrated oratorio of Handel. Preached in the years 1784 and 1785, in the parish church of St Mary Woolnoth, Lombard-Street. /
Newton, John,1725-1807.
Edinburgh: : Printed and sold by Murray & Cochrane.,
1798..
First published in London in 1786. During the commemoration of the centenary of Handel's birth, John Newton, the clergyman and hymn-writer, preached 50 sermons using as his basis the libretto of the Messiah. His aim was to elevate the text of the work above that of the music, which Newton believed might cloud the listener's reasoning, "I apprehend that true Christians, without the assistance of either vocal or instrumental music, may find greater contemplation of the words of the Messiah than they can from the utmost efforts of musical genius".
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ESTC
Manuscript signature at the head of the title page of volume 1 "Mossfennan". Manuscript signature on the front free endpaper of volume 2 "Mossfennan October 8. / 1809".
Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759.
Scotland Edinburgh.