Wesley Corpus

On Jesus's face, With eager amaze, And pleasure52 extatic the cherubim53 gaze. Their newly-born King, Transported they sing, And heav'n and earth with the triumph doth ring. The shepherds behold Him promis'd of old, By angels attended, by prophets foretold. The wise men adore, And bring him their store, The rich are permitted to follow the poor. To the inn they repair, To see the young heir: The inn is a palace; for Jesus is there! Who now would be great, And not rather wait On Jesus their Lord in his humble estate? Page 22 55"See" changed to "seek" in 1777 edn. and following. 56"Their" changed to "the" in 5th edn. (1756) and following. 57"Sacred" changed to "secret" in 1770-72 edns.; a misprint. Like him would I be, My Master I see In a stable; a stable shall satisfy me. With him I reside: The manger shall hide Mine honour; the manger shall bury my pride. And here will I lie, Till rais'd up on high With him on the cross I recover the sky. Hymn XVII. Where is the holy heav'n-born child, Heir of the everlasting throne, Who heav'n and earth hath reconcil'd, And God and man rejoin'd in one? Shall we of earthly kings enquire, To courts or palaces repair? The nation's hope, the world's desire, Alas! We cannot find him there. Shall learning shew the sinner's friend, Or scribes a sight of Christ afford? Us to his natal place they send, But never go to see55 their56 Lord. We search the outward church in vain, They cannot him we seek declare, They have not found the Son of man, Or known the sacred57 name they bear. Then let us turn no more aside, But use the light himself imparts, His Spirit is our surest guide, His Spirit glimmering in our hearts. Page 23 58Changed to "thy grace, and thee," in 1772 edn. and following. 59This hymn was omitted, perhaps by accident, from 2nd edn (1745), 3rd edn. (1747), 4th edn (1751), 5th edn. (1756), and 6th edn. (1760-61). John protested in a letter to Charles (26 Dec. 1761), calling it "the very best hymn of the collection." It was restored to the 1762 edn. and following. 60"Creature" changed to "creatures" in 1764 edn. and following.