Thou art gone up on high, Thou hast led captivity captive and received gifts for men; yea, even for Thine enemies rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. (Psalm 68:18)

The Sixty-eighth Psalm is written to suggest God coming in triumph, as a king or general might come in victorious procession through his capital. Jennens portrays Christ returning in triumph to heaven.

To further emphasize the paradox of the Prince of Peace coming in triumph, the solo is sung by a countertenor. In Handel's and Jennens' time it was often sung by castrati. We know that in 1750 Handel specifically adapted the Messiah for a star castrato.

It may have simply been a commercial or artistic choice. These alto and soprano males were big draws. The divas of their day. But to Jennens, at least, it might also have symbolized Christ gathering up all those otherwise excluded, eccentric, despised, and abused.

You may hear Thou art Gone Up on High performed by the Academy of St. Martin's in the Field.