The Easter Gift/Infant St. John the Baptist
INFANT ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.
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THE INFANT ST. JOHN.
"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
"And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
" For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."Matthew iii. 1—3.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
"All these are the beginning of sorrows.
"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory."
Matthew xxiv. 7, 8, 27, 29, 30.
Lo, on the midnight winds a young child's voice
With lofty hymn,
Calling on earth and heaven to rejoice
Along with him.
Those infant lips are given from above
A spirit tone,
And he speaks out those words of hope and love
To prophets known.
He is a herald, as the morning star
Brings daylight in,
For he doth bring glad tidings from afar
To man and sin.
Now let the desolate earth lift up her head,
And at the word
Wait till the mountains kindle with the tread
Of Christ the Lord.
And earth was conscious of her God, he came
Meek and decried,
Bearing the weight of sorrow, sin, and shame,
And for us died.
Twice shall he come—e'en now the appointed hour
Is in its birth,
When he shall come in glory, and in power
To judge the earth.
Not as before, to win mankind and save,
But in his ire,
When earth shall be but as a mighty grave
In that red fire.
Do we not live now in those evil days
Which were foretold,
In holy writings and inspired lays,
Of prophets old?
There is a wild confusion in the world,
Like the vexed sea,
And ancient thrones are from high places hurled,
Yet man not free.
And vain opinions seek to change all life,
Yet yield no aid
To all the sickness, want, the grief and strife
Which now pervade.
Are not these signs of that approaching time
Of blood and tears,
When thou shalt call to dread account the crime
Of many years?
Then who shall hide before thee, only he
Who is all thine,
Who hath stood fast, amid iniquity,
In faith divine.
Oh, Lord, awaken us; let us not cease
To look afar.
Let us not, like the foolish, call it peace
When there is war.
Oh, teach us to believe what thy blest word
Has long declared,
And let thy second advent, gracious Lord,
Find us prepared.