Gabriel, from the Heaven Descending

Gabriel

from the Heav­en des­cend­ing

On the faith­ful Word at­tend­ing

Is in ho­ly con­verse blend­ing

With the vir­gin full of grace:

That good word and sweet he plight­eth

In the bo­som where it light­eth

And for Eva Ave writeth

Changing Eva’s name and race.

At the pro­mise that he send­eth

God the In­carnate Word des­cend­eth;

Yet no car­nal touch of­fend­eth

Her

the un­de­fil­èd one.

She

with­out a fa­ther

bear­eth

She no brid­al un­ion shar­eth

And a pain­less birth de­clar­eth

That she bare the roy­al Son.

Tale that won­dering search en­tic­es!

But be­lieve—and that suf­fic­es;

It is not for man’s de­vic­es

Here to pry with gaze un­meet:

High the sign

its place as­sum­ing

In the bush

the un­co­nsum­ing:

Mortal

veil thine eyes pre­sum­ing

Loose thy shoes from off thy feet.

As the rod

by won­drous pow­er

Moistened not by dew or show­er

Bare the al­mond and the flow­er

Thus He came

the vir­gin’s fruit:

Hail the Fruit

O world

with glad­ness!

Fruit of joy and not of sad­ness:

Adam had not lapsed to mad­ness

Had he tast­ed of its shoot.

Jesus

kind ab­ove all oth­er

Gentle Child of gen­tle mo­ther

In the sta­ble born our bro­ther

Whom the an­gel­ic hosts ad­ore:

He

once cra­dled in a man­ger

Heal our sin and calm our dan­ger;

For our life

to this world strang­er

Is in per­il ev­er­more.