10. Blessed art thou, O Church, in ten blessings,--which our Lord has given as a mystery complete:--for on ten all the numbers hang, therefore art thou perfect by ten blessings.--Blessed thy crowns that are twined--with all blessings mixed in every crown!--O blessed one,--with every blessing crowned, on me too send thy blessing!
11. Blessed art thou, Ephrata, mother of Kings, that from thee sprang the Lord of diadems!--Micah gave thee tidings that He is from everlasting, and the span of His times is not comprehended.--Blessed thine eyes which first of all discerned Him!--thee He deemed worthy to see Him when He appeared,--Chief of benediction,--and Beginning of gladness, thou didst receive first of all.
12. Blessed art thou, Bethlehem, that the towns envy thee,--and the fortified cities!--As they envy thee, so the women envy Mary,--and the virgins daughters of princes.--Blessed the maiden in whom He deigned to abide,--and the city wherein He deigned to sojourn;--a poor maiden,--and a small city, He chose Him to humble Himself.
13. Blessed art thou, Bethlehem, that in thee was the beginning,--for Him the Son Who from everlasting is in the Father!--It is hard to comprehend, that before Time He is,--Who in thee made Himself subject to Time.--Blessed thine ears, for in thee first was heard the cry--of the Lamb of God who exulted in thee!--Narrow though thy manger,--He spread Himself on all sides, and was worshipped of every creature.
14. Blessed art thou too, Mary, that thy name--is great and exalted because of thy child!--Thou canst tell then how and how long--and where He dwelt in thee, the great One in small room.--Blessed thy mouth that praised and enquired not,--and thy tongue that glorified and questioned not!--For His Mother was uncertain concerning Him,--even while she carried Him in the womb; who then shall suffice to comprehend Him?
15. O Woman, thou whom no man knew,--how can we behold the Son thou hast borne?--For no eyes suffice to stand--before the transfigurations of the glory, that is on Him.--For tongues of fire abide in Him--Who sent tongues by His Ascension.--Be every tongue warned,--that our questioning is as stubble, and as fire our scrutiny.
16. Blessed is he the priest who in the sanctuary,--offers to the Father the Son of the Father,--the fruit that is plucked from our tree, though it be wholly of the Divine Majesty!--Blessed the hands that are hallowed and offer Him!--and the lips that are spent in kissing Him!--The Spirit in the Temple--longed for His embrace; and at His Crucifixion rent the veil and went forth.
17. The Archangel gave thee greeting,--as the earnest of holiness--Earth became to him new Heavens,--when the Watcher came down and sang glory on it.--The sons of the Highest encompassed thy habitation--because of the Son of the King that dwelt in thee.--Thy abode below,--to the Heaven above was made like by the host of Watchers.
[507] Bethlehem=House of Bread.
Hymn XIX.
(Resp.--Blessed be thy Birth that gladdens all creatures!)
1. The first year wherein, our Saviour was born,--is source of blessing, and ground of life;--for by it are borne,--manifold triumphs, the sum of all help:--as the first day of "the beginning,"--the great pillar of all creatures,--bears the building of Creation;--so the year of the Firstborn bears help for man.
2. In the second year, of our Saviour's Birth,--the Magi exult, the Pharisees mourn:--treasures are opened,--kings are hastening, and infants are slain.--For in it are offered in Bethlehem,--oblations precious and terrible;--for while love made offering of gold,--hatred offered infants by the sword.
3. The day of the All-Lightening, exults in His birth;--a pillar of radiance, which drives away, by its beams--the works of darkness. After the type of that day, wherein light was created,--and sundered the darkness that spread--over the fair beauty of Creation;--the radiance of our Saviour's birth--came in to sunder the darkness that was on the heart.
4. The first day the source and the beginning,--orders the roots, to make all things grow.--Our Saviour's day--is praised far above it, a tree planted in the world.--For His Death is as the root in the earth; His Resurrection as the head in heaven; on all sides His words reach as boughs; likewise His Body as fruit for the eaters.
5. Let the second day, sing praise to the Birth--of the second Son, and His voice which first--commanded the firmament and it was made,--divided the waters that were above, and gathered the seas that were under.--He Who divided waters from waters, divided Himself from the Watchers and came down to man.--For the waters which at His command were gathered.--He cleft the fountain of life and gave drink.
6. Let the third day weave with divers hymns--the crown of psalms and with one voice present it--for His Birth who gave growth--of buds and flowers, on the third day.--But now He the All-giver of growth,--has come down and become the All-holy Flower; from the thirsting earth has sprang forth and gone up,--that he may decorate and crown the conquerors.
7. Let the fourth day praise, first among the four,--His Birth Who created as the fourth day--the two lightgivers,--which fools worship, and are sightless and blind.--The Lord of Lightgivers has come down,--and from the womb has shone on us as the Sun.--His splendours have opened the eyes of the blind:--His rays have given light to the wandering.
8. Let the fifth day laud Him Who created--on the fifth day creeping things and Dragons--of whose kind is the serpent.--He deceived with guile our mother, a maid void of counsel.--The deceiver who had mocked the maid,--by the Dove was exposed as false,--which from a virgin bosom sprang, and came forth--the Wise that trod down the crafty.
9. Let the sixth day laud Him who created--on Vesper-day Adam, whom Satan envied; as a feigned friend--cheered him in offering poison in his food.--The medicine of life reached them both,--put on a body and came near to both.--The mortal tasted Him and lived through Him;--the devourer who ate Him was left void.
10. Let the seventh day hallow the Holy One,--Who halloweth the Sabbath, and gave rest to all that live.--The Blessed One Who wearied not--has care for mankind, and has care for the beasts.--When Freedom fell under the yoke,--He came to the Birth and became bond to make it free:--He was smitten on the face by servants in the judgment hall;--He broke the yoke that was on the free, as Lord.
11. Let the eighth day, which circumcised the Hebrews,--praise Him Who commanded his namesake Joshua--to circumcise with a flint--the people circumcised in body, while the heart was profane within.--Lo! as the eighth day, as a Babe,--to circumcision He came Who circumcises all.--Though the sign of Abraham is on His Flesh,--the blind daughter of Sion had defiled it.
12. Let the tenth day sing, praises in its turn.--For God the first letter of Jesus (goodly name!), is ten in numbering.--He Who is as a lamb, turns back the numbers.--For when the number goes up to ten, it is turned back to begin again from one. O great mystery of that which is in Jesus, Whose might turns all creation back again!
13. The All-Purifier Firstborn in the day of His purifying,--purified the purification of the firstborn and was offered [508] in the Temple:--the Lord of offering needed offerings,--to make offering of birds.--In His Birth were fulfilled the types,--in His purification and circumcision the allegories.--He came and paid over debts in His coming down;--in His Resurrection He went up and sent down treasures.
[508] Sc., in the Presentation, St. Luke ii. 22.
Fifteen Hymns
For the Feast of the Epiphany.
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Translated by
REV. A. Edward Johnston, B.A.
Hymns for the Feast of the Epiphany.
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Hymn I.
Resp.--To Thee be praise from Thy flock in the day of Thy Epiphany!
1. The heavens He has renewed, for that fools worshipped all the luminaries:--He has renewed the earth, for that in Adam it was wasted. [509] --That which He fashioned has become new by His spittle:--and the All-Sufficing has restored bodies with souls.
2. Gather yourselves again ye--sheep and without labour receive cleansing!--for one needs not as Elisha--to bathe seven times in the river, nor again to be wearied as the priests are wearied with sprinklings.
3. Seven times Elisha purified himself in a mystery of the seven spirits;--and the hyssop and blood are a mighty symbol.--There is no room for division;--He is not divided from the Lord of all Who is Son of the Lord of all.
4. Moses sweetened in Marah the waters that were bitter,--because the People complained and murmured:--Thus he gave a sign of baptism,--wherein the Lord of life makes sweet them that were bitter.
5. The cloud overshadowed and kept off the burning heat from the camp;--it showed a symbol of the Holy Spirit, which overshadows you in baptism--tempering the flaming fire that it harm not your bodies.
6. Through the sea the People then passed, and showed a symbol--of the baptism wherein ye were washed. The People passed through that and believed not:--the Gentiles were baptized in this and believed and received the Holy Ghost.
7. The Word sent the Voice to proclaim before His Coming,--to prepare for Him the way by which He came,--and to betroth the Bride till He should come,--that she might be ready when He should come and take her from the water.
8. The voice of prophecy stirred the son of the barren woman,--and he went forth wandering in the desert and crying,--"Lo! the Son of the Kingdom comes!--prepare ye the way that He may enter and abide in your dwellings!"
9. John cried, "Who comes after me, He is before me:--I am the Voice but not the Word;--I am the torch but not the Light;--the Star that rises before the Sun of Righteousness."
10. In the wilderness this John had cried and had said,--"Repent ye sinners of your evils,--and offer the fruits of repentance;--for lo! He comes that winnows the wheat from the tares."
11. The Lightgiver has prevailed and marked a mystery, by the degrees he ascended:--Lo! there are twelve days since he ascended,--and to-day this is the thirteenth:--a perfect mystery of Him, the Son, and His twelve!
12. Darkness was overcome to make it manifest that Satan was overcome;--and the Light prevailed that he should proclaim--that the Firstborn triumphs: darkness was overcome--with the Dark Spirit, and our Light prevailed with the Lightgiver.
13. In the Height and the Depth the Son had two heralds.--The star of light proclaimed Him from above;--John likewise preached Him from beneath:--two heralds, the earthly and the heavenly.
14. The star of light, contrary to nature, shone forth of a sudden;--less than the sun yet greater than the sun.--Less was it than he in manifest light;--and greater than he in secret might because of its mystery.
15. The star of light shed its rays among them that were in darkness,--and guided them as though they were blind;--so that they came and met the great Light:--they gave offerings and received life and adored and departed.
16. The herald from above showed His Nature to be from the Most High;--likewise he that was from beneath showed His Body to be from humankind, mighty marvel!--that His Godhead and His Manhood by them were proclaimed!
17. Thus whoso reckons Him as of earth, the star of light--will convince him that He is of Heaven: and whoso reckons Him as of spirit,--this John will convince him that He is also bodily.
18. John drew near with his parents and worshipped the Sun,--and brightness rested on His Face.--He was not moved as when in the womb.--Mighty marvel! that here he worships and there he leaped!
19. The whole creation became for Him as one mouth and cried out concerning Him.--The Magi cry out in their gifts;--the barren cry out with their children;--the star of light, lo! it cries out in the air, "Behold the Son of the King!"
20. The heavens are opened, the waters break forth, the dove is in glory!--The voice of the Father is stronger than thunder,--as it utters the word, "This is My Beloved";--the Watchers brought the tidings, the children acclaimed Him in their Hosannas.
[509] See p. 177.
Hymn II.
(Nearly identical with Hymn XIII. On the Nativity.)
(Resp.--To Thee be praise Who in this feast makest all to exult!)
1. In the time of the King whom they called by the name Semha [510] --our Lord was manifested among the Hebrews.--Thus Semha and Denha [511] reigned together,--the King on earth and the Son on high--blessed be His power!
2. In the days of the King who wrote down men in the taxing,--our Saviour came down and wrote down men in the Book of Life; He wrote and was written;--on high He wrote us, on earth He was written; glory to His Name!
3. His Birth was in the days of the King whose name was Semha.--Symbol and truth met one another;--King and King, Semha and Denha.--That kingdom bore His Cross; blessed be He Who took it up!
4. Thirty years abode He on earth in poverty.--Voices of praise in all measures,--let us weave my brethren for our Lord's years;--thirty crowns for thirty years; Blessed be His number!
5. In the first year, mistress of treasure and filled with blessings,--let the Cherubin give thanks with us, they who bear--the Son in glory Who gave up His glorious state,--and toiled and found the sheep that was lost;--to Him be thanksgiving!