Moses Facing Jordan:
At the end of his long and eventful life, Moses is told by God that he may not cross the Jordan River. He is to go up the mountain, look over the river, and see the good land that is to be his people’s land. And when he has seen it, he is to be no more. He is to be gathered to his ancestors.
The oratorio, in seven parts and 36 numbers, tells a retrospective, a looking-back, story of the life of Moses.
2. Scene
DEUTERONOMY 3:23-25
MOSES: And I besought the Lord at that time,
saying, “Oh, Lord God,
You have begun to show
Thy servant thy greatness,
And thy mighty hand.
“For what God is there in heaven or in earth,
That can do according to thy works
And according to thy might?
“I pray thee, let me go over
And see the good land,
The good land that is beyond Jordan.”
8. Scene
EXODUS 3:11-13
MOS Who am I, that I should lead the sons of Israel
Out of Egypt?
CHOR I will surely be with you.
For this shall be a token to you:
You shall serve God on this mountain.
MOS If I come to Israel and say, the God of your fathers
Has sent me to you?
And if they ask me, what is his name?
What should I tell them?
What should I say to them?
13. Scene
NUMBERS 23: 21-24, 9-10
ECST/CHOR He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
Nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
And the shout of a king is among them.
For from the top of the mountain I see him,
From the hills I behold him.
Lo, a people dwelling alone,
Not reckoning itself among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob?
Like a lioness it rises up.
And like a lion it lifts itself,
It does not lie down, till it devours the prey
And drinks the blood of the slain.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob.
Nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
And the shout of a king is among them.
15. Chorus
DEUTERONOMY 2:33-35
CHOR And the Lord our God delivered him before us.
And we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
And we took all his cities at that time.
And we utterly destroyed the men,
Utterly destroyed the women,
Utterly destroyed the little children,
We left none to remain.
And the Lord our God delivered him before us.
And we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
19. Canon
EXODUS 20 3-17 (KJV)
CHOR Thou shalt have no other god before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image
or any likeness of any living thing in heaven
or on earth or in the water; thou shalt not
bow down to them and serve them.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor’s.
21. Chorus
DUETERONOMY 4:6-9
CHOR Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For what nation is there so great
Who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord.
Teach your children, teach this law to your children.
Teach it to your children’s children.
Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules
so righteous as all this law?
Take heed to yourself and keep your soul closely
Lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen,
And lest they depart from your heart,
But teach this law to your children,
Teach it to your children’s children.
22. Rondo
EXODUS 14, NUMBERS 11, EXODUS 5
CHOR The Lord look upon you and judge.
What have you done to us now?
You made of us an offense in the eye of the Pharaoh.
What shall we eat? What shall we drink?
Would we had died by the hand of the Lord
In the land of Egypt. Would we had died!
The Lord look upon you and judge.
What have you done to us now?
You made of us an offense in the eye of the Pharaoh.
Would we had died by the side of the fleshpots
We sat there and ate to the full. Would we had died!
The Lord look upon you and judge.
What have you done to us now?
Now our strength is gone,
There is nothing at all
But this manna.
23. Plaint
NUMBERS 11
MOS Why hast thou dealt ill with thy servant?
Why have I not found favour in thy sight?
That thou dost lay, lay, lay
The burden of all this people upon me.
Did I conceive all this people?
Did I bring them forth, all this people?
Did I carry them on my bosom?
Did I nurse them?
They weep unto me, your people.
Whence should I have flesh for all this people?
I can not carry them on my shoulders,
Lord the burden is too heavy.
If thou wilt thus deal with thy servant,
If I have found favour in thy sight,
Then thou shouldst kill, kill, kill me
And end this wretchedness.
Why hast thou dealt ill with thy servant?
26. Chorus
Numbers 14 and Numbers 16
SEMI-CHOR Would we had died.
Would that we had died there in the land of Egypt.
Or that we had died here, here in this wilderness.
CHOR Would we had died there, the land of Egypt,
Or would we’d died here, here in this wilderness.
Why does the Lord bring us into this desert?
Why bring us all here to fall and die by the sword.
Take us from milk and honey, land of the Pharaoh,
And kill us in the wilderness, our little ones will fall a prey.
And for this, you would exalt yourself? You’d be a prince?
Num. 16:3
They assembled against Moses and said,
You, Moses, have gone too far.
All the congregation are holy, every one of them,
And the Lord is among them.
Why then do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord?
The congregation is holy, every one of them,
The Lord is with them. Why then exalt yourself?
Why did you bring us from the land of Egypt?
Why must we die here, here in this wilderness?
Take us from milk and honey, land of the Pharaoh,
And kill us in the wilderness, our little ones will fall a prey.
And for this, you would exalt yourself. You’d be a prince.
Take us back to Egypt or we’ll die.
Let us go back to Egypt.
You, Moses, have gone too far.
Take us back, take us back.
Would we had died.
28. Chorale
CHOR Eagles, on eagles,
On eagles’ strong wings I brought you.
You shall be my people of all the nations,
You shall be my people of all.
You have seen
What I did to the Egyptians for you.
I have called you my people of all the nations,
I have carried you on eagles’ wings to me.
Eagles, on eagles,
On eagles’ strong wings I brought you.
You shall be my people of all the nations,
You shall be my people of all.
29. Chorus
Deuteronomy 32
ECST. Give ear, o ye heavens, and I will speak,
Hear, o God, the words of my mouth,
My doctrine shall drop as the rain,
My spirit shall distill as the dew,
Like small rain on the tender herb,
As showers on the grass.
CHOR Ascribe ye greatness unto our God,
Who is the rock, whose work is perfect;
For all God’s ways are judgement.
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God,
A God of truth and without iniquity.
30. Recitative
ECST: For ask now,
Ask of the days that are past
Since the days that God created man;
Ask from one side of the heavens to the other
Whether there hath been any such thing
As is this great thing.
There arose not a prophet like unto Moses
Whom the Lord knew face to face.
CHOR My servant Moses,
Whom I knew face to face,
He is entrusted with all my house.
And there arose not a prophet like unto Moses
Whom the Lord knew face to face.
32. Scene
MOS Behold I will strike the waters that are in the Nile.
And all the waters turned into blood,
All the waters which were in the Nile.
Sing to the Lord.
And the frogs came up and covered the land,
And the frogs came up and the frogs came over the land.
Stretch out your rod and strike dust from the earth,
that it may become lice.
Then there came a grievous swarm of flies.
Sing to the Lord.
Behold the hand of the Lord then sent a very severe plague
On all the cattle which were in the fields.
CHOR All the cattle died.
Take handsful of dust
And it shall become boils.
CHOR And the Lord sent thunder and lightning,
and great hail and fire.
33. Scene
MOS, CHOR How long refuse us?
How long refuse to let us go?
Thus say’th the Lord, how long?
How long refuse my people,
How long refuse to let them go?
CHOR How long refuse us?
How long refuse to let us go?
Thus say’th the Lord, how long?
M,CH I will bring locusts
Into the country,
And they will cover over,
For them no one will see the land.
Locusts! Locusts! Locusts!
They will cover over,
For them no one will see the land.
MOS How long?
CHOR How long refuse us?
How long refuse to let us go?
Locusts!
MOS And they will eat what is left
After the hail.