I've been reading a German/English edition of Luther's Small Catechism, and recently, I found a text that's used in Handel's Messiah. Among the Biblical citations under "What do the Scriptures testify concerning Christ's ascension into heaven?" in the explanation to the second article of the creed is Psalm 68:18: "Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also." In Handel's Messiah, this appears in Part II, No. 36 as "Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them."
Previously, I'd noted that the Messiah text resembles Ephesians 4:8, but that verse is actually quoting Psalm 68:18.
In thinking about the movement, I realized that the music matches the text in that the repeated "Thou art gone up" is sung to phrases that generally ascend:
In some instances, particularly the third, "high" is sung to the highest pitch in the phrase, and this also illustrates the meaning.
