The Poems of John Byrom | ||
ON THE EPIPHANY.
23
I
Led by the Guidance of a living Star,The Eastern Sages travell'd from afar
To seek the Saviour, by prophetic Fame
Describ'd to them as “King of Jews” by Name;
Whose Birth to Gentiles worthy of His Sight
Was now declar'd by this angelic Light.
24
II
To its full Height th' Expectancy had grownOf what the learnèd Foreigners made known,
When at Jerusalem the sacred News
Was spread by them to Herod and the Jews.
“Where is He born? For by His Star,” they said,
“Thus far to worship Him have we been led.”
III
Herod, who had in his tyrannic MindNo Thought of Empire but of earthy Kind,
Jealous of this new King of Jewish Tribes,
In Haste assembl'd all the Priests and Scribes;
Where Christ was to be born, was his Demand.
“In Bethlehem,” they said, “in Judah's Land.”
IV
He call'd the Magi privately again,To learn from them the Time precisely, when
The Star which had conducted them appear'd;
And, having all his wily Questions clear'd,
Bade them to seek the Child, and from the View
Come, and tell him, that he might worship too.
V
They journey'd on to the appointed Place,Which Jewish Priests from Prophecy could trace,
Cheer'd by the Star's Appearance on the Way,
That pointed where the Infant Saviour lay.
25
And fell to worshipping the Babe Divine.
VI
The Virgin Mother saw them all preferTheir Off'rings, Gold, and Frankincense, and Myrrh;
But warn'd of God, His Father, in a Dream,
They disappointed Herod's murd'rous Scheme;
And, having seen the Object of their Faith,
Sought their own Country by another Path.
VII
Does not Reflexion justly hence arise,That in the East, so famous for the Wise,
The truest Learning, Sapience and Skill
Was theirs, who sought amidst the various Ill
Which they beheld for that predicted Scene,
That should on Earth commence an heav'nly Reign?
VIII
These true Enquirers into Nature sawThat Nature must have some superior Law,
Some righteous Monarch, for the Good of all,
To rule with Justice this disorder'd Ball;
Their humble Sense of Wants, o'erlook'd by Pride,
Made them so worthy of the Starlike Guide.
IX
We read how, then, the very Pagan SchoolWas fill'd with Rumours of a Jewish Rule.
26
Dreamt of a worldly domineering Sway,
The truly wise, or Jew or Gentile, sought
A Christ, the Object of an happier Thought.
X
They best could understand prophetic Page,Simple or learn'd, the Shepherd or the Sage;
Their Eyes could see, and follow a true Light,
That led them on from Prophecy to Sight;
Could own the Son, Who by the Father's Will
Should reign a King on Sion's holy Hill.
XI
Of Treasures which the Wise were mov'd to bring,If Gold presented might confess the King,
Incense to his Divinity relate,
And Myrrh denote his bitter, suff'ring State,—
They offer'd Types of the Theandric Plan
Of our Salvation, God's becoming Man.
XII
In this redeeming Process all concurr'dTo give sure Proof of the prophetic Word;
27
Of all Mankind who seek the Truth aright,
Forms in the Heart of all the Wise on Earth
The true Day-Star, the Token of His Birth.
The Poems of John Byrom | ||