Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XIII/Ephraim the Syrian and Aphrahat/Hymns on the Nativity/Hymn XIV

(.&#8212;Blessed be he who became beyond measure low, that he might make us beyond measure great)

1.&#160; Of the Birth of the Firstborn, let us tell on His Feast-day. &#8212;He gives on His day, secret comforts.&#8212;If the unclean King at his feast, in memory of his day,&#8212;gave the gift of wrath, the head in a charger,&#8212;how much more shall the Blessed, give blessings to him&#8212;who sings praise at His Feast!

2.&#160; Let us not count our vigil like vigils of every day.&#8212;His feast, its reward, exceeds an hundredfold.&#8212;For this feast makes war, on sleep by its vigil;&#8212;speaking it makes war, on silence by its voice;&#8212;clad with all blessings, it is chief of feasts,&#8212;and of every joy.

3.&#160; To-day the angels, and the archangels,&#8212;descended to sing&#8212;a new song on earth.&#8212;In this mystery they descend, and rejoice with the vigil-keepers.&#8212;At the time when they gave praise, blasphemy abounded.&#8212;Blessed be the Birth by which, lo! the world resounds&#8212;with anthems of praise.

4.&#160; For this is the night that joined, the Watchers on high with the vigil-keepers.&#8212;The Watcher came to make watchers in the midst of creation.&#8212;Lo! the vigil-keepers are made comrades with the Watchers:&#8212;the singers of praise are made, companions of the Seraphs.&#8212;Blessed be he who becomes, the harp of Thy praise!&#8212;and Thy grace becomes his reward.

5.&#160; The Birth then of the Firstborn, I will sing and tell how&#8212;the Godhead in the womb wove itself a vesture.&#8212;He put it on and came forth in birth, in death again put it off;&#8212;once he put it off, twice He put it on.&#8212;On the left He wore it, then took it off thence,&#8212;and laid it at the right.

6.&#160; He dwelt in a narrow bosom, the Might that rules all.&#8212;While He was dwelling there, He held the reins of the whole:&#8212;to His Father He made offering, that He might fulfil His Will:&#8212;Heaven was filled by Him, and every creature.&#8212;The Sun entered the womb, and in the height and the depth&#8212;his splendour abode.

7.&#160; He dwelt in the wide bosoms, of all the creatures;&#8212;too narrow to hold, the greatness of the Firstborn.&#8212;How then sufficed for it, that bosom of Mary?&#8212;Marvellous if it sufficed, bewilderment if it sufficed not.&#8212;Of all bosoms that held Him, one bosom sufficed for Him,&#8212;His, the Supreme Who begat Him.

8.&#160; The bosom that held Him, if it held Him Wholly,&#8212;equals the wondrous bosom, of the Supreme Who begat Him.&#8212;But who dare say the bosom, that is narrow weak and lowly,&#8212;is equal to His, Who is the Supreme Being?&#8212;He dwelt there of His mercy, though so great is His Nature:&#8212;it is without bound.

9.&#160; Reconciling Peace, sent to the nations!&#8212;gladdening Brightness, that camest to the sad!&#8212;Mighty Leaven in silence, overcoming all!&#8212;Patient One that hast taken, man after man in Thy net!&#8212;Happy he who has welcomed, thy joy in his heart,&#8212;and forgot his groans in Thee!

10.&#160; They sounded forth peace, the Watchers to the vigil-keepers.&#8212;Among the vigil-keepers the good tidings, were announced by the Watchers.&#8212;Who would sleep on that night, which has waked all creatures?&#8212;For they bear good tidings of peace, where warfare had been.&#8212;Blessed is he who has pleased, the Divine Majesty by his silence,&#8212;when speaking moved His wrath!

11.&#160; Watchers mixed with watchers, they rejoiced that the world came to life.&#8212;The Evil One was shamed who was king, and had woven a crown of lies;&#8212;and set up his throne, as God in the world.&#8212;The Babe laid in the manger, cast him from his dominion.&#8212;The Sun rendered worship, doing Him homage by his Magi;&#8212;in his worshippers he worshipped Him.

12.&#160; God saw that mankind, worship things created:&#8212;He put on a created body, that in our custom He might capture us.&#8212;Lo! in this our form, He that formed us healed us;&#8212;and in this created shape, our Creator gave us life.&#8212;He drew us not by force:&#160; blessed be He Who came in ours,&#8212;and joined us in His!

13.&#160; Who would not marvel, at Mary, David&#8217;s daughter,&#8212;bearing an infant, and her virginity kept!&#8212;She lays Him on her breast, and lulls Him with song and He rejoices.&#8212;The Angels raise hymns, the Seraphs cry &#8220;Holy,&#8221;&#8212;the Magi offer, acceptable gifts,&#8212;to the Son Who is born.

14.&#160; O great above measure, immeasurably made low,&#8212;praised beyond praises, debased to humiliation!&#8212;the tender mercies laid on Thee, bowed Thee down to all this;&#8212;let Thy grace bow me down, though evil to give praise!&#8212;Happy he who becomes, a fountain of voices,&#8212;all praising Thee in all!

15.&#160; He was servant on earth; He is Lord in Heaven.&#8212;Heir of height and depth, He became a stranger:&#8212;Whom men judged in guile, He is judge in truth:&#8212;He Whose face they spat on, breathes His Spirit on theirs:&#8212;He Who held the frail reed, is become the staff of the world,&#8212;which grows old and leans on Him.

16.&#160; He Who rose to wait on His servants, now sits to be worshipped.&#8212;Whom the scribes despised, before Him Seraphs cry &#8220;Holy.&#8221;&#8212;This praise Adam desired, to steal privily.&#8212;The serpent which made him fall, saw to what height he was raised:&#8212;he crushed it because it deceived him; the feet of Eve trod it down,&#8212;which had sent venom into her ears.

17.&#160; The wife proved barren, and withheld her fruit;&#8212;but the bosom of Mary, holily conceived.&#8212;To wonder at fields, and to admire plants&#8212;she needed not who received, and rendered what she borrowed not.&#8212;Nature confessed its defeat; the womb was aware of it,&#8212;and restored what Nature gave not.

18.&#160; Mary was defeated, in the judgment by Elizabeth.&#8212;She that was barren pleaded, that the Will which prevailed&#8212;to close the open door, has opened the closed.&#8212;He has made childless the married womb; He has made fruitful the virgin womb.&#8212;Because the People were accurst faithless, He made her that was married,&#8212;held from bearing before the face of the maiden.

19.&#160; He Who could give moisture, to breasts barren and dead,&#8212;caused them to fail in youth, made them to flow in age;&#8212;forced and changed nature, in its season and out of its season.&#8212;The Lord of natures changed, the Virgin&#8217;s nature.&#8212;Because the People were barren, He made her that was aged,&#8212;a mouth on behalf of the damsel.

20.&#160; And as He began at birth, He went on and fulfilled in death.&#8212;His Birth received worship; His Death paid the debt.&#8212;As He came to His Birth, the Magi worshipped Him;&#8212;again He came to His Passion, and the thief sought refuge in Him&#8212;Between His Birth and Death, midway He set the world:&#8212;in birth and Death he gave it life.

21.&#160; Thousand thousands stand, and ten thousand thousands haste.&#8212;The thousands and ten thousands, cannot search out the One:&#8212;for all of them stand, in silence to serve.&#8212;He has no heir of His Throne, save the Son Who is of Him.&#8212;In the midst of silence is the enquiry into Him, when the watchers come to search Him out,&#8212;they attain to silence and are stayed.

22.&#160; The Firstborn entered the womb, and the pure Virgin was not harmed.&#8212;He stirred and came forth in her travail, and the fair Mother was troubled by Him.&#8212;Glorious and unseen in entering, humble and manifest in issuing;&#8212;for He was God in entering, and He was man in issuing.&#8212;A marvel and bewilderment to hear:&#160; fire entered the womb; put on a body and came forth!

23.&#160; Gabriel chief of Angels, called Him &#8220;My Lord&#8221;:&#8212;he called Him &#8220;My Lord,&#8221; to teach that He was his Lord, not his fellow.&#8212;Gabriel had with him, Michael as fellow:&#8212;the Son is Lord of the servants; exalted is His Nature as His Name.&#8212;No servant can search Him out; for the greater the servant,&#8212;He is great above His servant.

24.&#160; When they stand before Thee, the watchers with songs of praise,&#8212;they know not in what part, they shall discern Thee.&#8212;They have sought Thee above in the height; they have seen Thee below in the depth:&#8212;they have searched for Thee in the midst of heaven; they have seen Thee in the midst of the abyss:&#8212;they have discerned Thee beside Him that is worshipped; they have found Thee in the midst of the creatures:&#8212;they have come down to Thee and sung Glory to Thee.

25.&#160; Thou art all wonderful, in all parts where we seek Thee.&#8212;Near art Thou,&#8212;and far, and who may attain to Thee?&#8212;No seeking avails, that its stretch should reach unto Thee.&#8212;Whereon it stretches to reach Thee, it is checked and stops,&#8212;it falls short of Thy mountain; Faith reaches thither,&#8212;and Love with prayer.

26.&#160; The Magi also sought Him, and in the manger when they found Him,&#8212;instead of scrutiny worship, they offered Him in silence;&#8212;for empty strivings, oblations gave they Him.&#8212;Seek thou too the Firstborn, and if thou find Him in the height,&#8212;instead of troubled questionings, open thy treasures before Him,&#8212;and offer Him thy works.