Of Saviour to mankind, and which way first
Publish his god-like office now mature,

One day forth walk'd alone, the Spirit leading,
And his deep thoughts, the better to converse
With solitude, till far from track of men,

Thought following thought, and step by step led on,
He enter'd now the bordering desert wild,
And, with dark shades and rocks environ'd round,
His holy meditations thus pursued.

O what a multitude of thoughts at once
Awaken'd in me swarm, while I consider
What from within I feel myself, and hear
What from without comes often to my ears,
Ill sorting with my present state compared.
When I was yet a child, no childish play
To me was pleasing, all my mind was set
Serious to learn and know, and thence to do
What might be public good; myself I thought
Born to that end, born to promote all truth,

All righteous things: therefore, above my years,
The law of GOD I read, and found it sweet,
Made it my whole delight, and in it grew
To such perfection, that, ere yet my age
Had measured twice six years, at our great feast
I went into the temple, there to hear
The teachers of our law, and to propose
What might improve my knowledge or their own,
And was admired by all; yet this not all
To which my spirit aspired, victorious deeds
Flamed in my heart, heroic acts; one while
To rescue Israel from the Roman yoke,
Then to subdue and quell o'er all the earth
Brute violence and proud tyrannic pow'r,
Till truth were freed, and equity restored:
Yet held it more humane, more heav'nly, first
By winning words to conquer willing hearts,
And make persuasion do the work of fear;
At least to try, and teach the erring soul,
Not wilfully misdoing, but unware
Misled; the stubborn only to subdue.

These growing thoughts my Mother soon perceiving
By words at times cast forth, inly rejoiced,

And said to me apart. High are thy thoughts
O son, but nourish them, and let them soar
To what highth sacred virtue and true worth
Can raise them, though above example high;
By matchless deeds express thy matchless Sire.
For know, thou art no son of mortal man,
Though men esteem thee low of parentage,
Thy father is the eternal King who rules

All heav'n and earth, angels and sons of men:
A messenger from GOD foretold thy birth

Conceived in me a virgin; he foretold

Thou should'st be great, and sit on David's throne, And of thy kingdom there should be no end.

At thy nativity a glorious quire

Of angels in the fields of Bethlehem sung

To shepherds watching at their folds by night,

And told them the Messiah now was born,

Where they might see him; and to thee they came,
Directed to the manger where thou lay'st,
For in the inn was left no better room.

A star, not seen before, in heav'n appearing
Guided the wise men thither from the east,
To honor thee with incense, myrrh, and gold,

By whose bright course led on they found the place,
Affirming it thy star new grav'n in heav'n,
By which they knew the king of Israel born.
Just Simeon and prophetic Anna, warn'd
By vision, found thee in the temple, and spake,
Before the altar and the vested Priest,

Like things of thee to all that present stood.
This having heard, straight I again revolved
The law and prophets, searching what was writ
Concerning the Messiah, to our scribes

Known partly, and soon found of whom they spake
I am; this chiefly, that my way must lie
Through many a hard assay, even to the death,
Ere I the promised kingdom can attain,

Or work redemption for mankind, whose sins
Full weight must be transferr'd upon my head.
Yet, neither thus dishearten'd or dismay'd,
The time prefixt I waited, when, behold!
The Baptist, of whose birth I oft had heard,

Not knew by sight, now come, who was to come
Before Messiah and his way prepare.

I, as all others, to his baptism came,

Which I believed was from above; but he

Straight knew me, and with loudest voice proclaim'd

Me Him, for it was shown him so from heav'n,

Me Him whose harbinger he was; and first

Refused on me his baptism to confer,

As much his greater, and was hardly won :

But as I rose out of the laving stream,

Heaven open'd her eternal doors, from whence

The Spirit descended on me like a dove;
And last, the sum of all, my Father's voice,
Audibly heard from heav'n, pronounced me His.
Me His belovèd Son, in whom alone

He was well pleased; by which I knew the time