Religion
The wonderful Messias
From Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord (1745) · Osborn ed., vol. 4 (1869)
The wonderful Messias,
The Joy of every nation,
Jesus His name,
With God the same,
The Lord of all creation:
The -Counsellor of sinners,
Almighty to deliver,
The Prince of Peace
Whose love's increase
Shall reign in man for ever.
Go see the King of Glory,
Discern the heavenly Stranger,
So poor and mean,
His court an inn,
His cradle is a manger:
Who from His Father's bosom,
But now for us descended,
Who built the skies,
On earth He lies,
With only beasts attended.
Whom all the angels worship
Lies hid in human nature;
Incarnate see
The Deity,
The infinite Creator:
See the stupendous blessing
Which God to us hath given,
A child of man,
In length a span,
Who fills both earth and heaven.
Gaze on that helpless Object
Of endless adoration!
Those infant hands
Shall burst our bands,
And work out our salvation:
Strangle the crooked serpent,
Destroy his works for ever,
And open set
The heavenly gate
To every true believer.
Till then, Thou holy Jesus,
We humbly bow before Thee,
Our treasures bring
To serve our King,
And joyfully adore Thee:
To Thee we gladly render
Whate'er Thy grace hath given,
Till Thou appear
In glory here,
And take us up to heaven.
Codex Note
Attributed to Charles Wesley; Osborn's edition does not distinguish the brothers
Cite this poem
MLA
Wesley, Charles. “The wonderful Messias.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wesley_c/691/.
Chicago
Wesley, Charles. “The wonderful Messias.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wesley_c/691/.
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