Today (December 9, 2008) is John Milton’s 400th birthday! So, in honor (or, should I say, honour) of Milton, and in keeping with the spirit of the Advent season, let me quote Paradise Regained, Book 1, lines 234-254:
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 heaven and earth, angels and sons of men;
A messenger from God foretold thy birth
Conceived in me a virgin, he foretold
Thou shouldst be great and sit on David’s throne,
And of thy kingdom there should be no end.
At thy nativity a glorious choir
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 heaven appearing
Guided the wise men thither from the east,
To honour thee with incense, myrrh, and gold,
By whose bright course led on they found the place,
Affirming it thy star new graven in heaven,
By which they knew thee King of Israel born.
(and stay tuned—next year on July 10, 2009, is John Calvin’s 500th birthday!)
Have a blessed Christmas everyone, as you celebrate the most important birthday of them all, Jesus the Christ!