Basileus: Book One

Book I – The Coming of the King

The Argument

The covenant made with David – the decline of the Kingdom – the promise of the prophets – the rise of Rome and the Idumean king – 1st portent: the Star of the East – 2nd portent: Gabriel’s message to Mary and Joseph – 3rd portent: the conception of John – 4th portent: Gabriel’s appearance to the shepherds – the birth of the King – his humility considered – his greatness considered – the conjunction of greatness and humility evidenced by his first visitors – the testimony of Simeon and Anna – the wrath of the Idumean – the flight to Egypt – the rage of the Dragon

King David meant to build the Lord a house [i],
And this is how it happened: after that
The Lord had given rest on every side,
And made secure the kingdom in his hand,
And so confirmed the promises he made
By Samuel the prophet (this is he
Who by divine decree made David king,
Anointing him with oil when a boy [ii]) –
After all this, enriched by victory,
And pleased that God should dwell in Israel
As he had told their father Abraham [iii],
He set aside a vast and plenteous store
To make the temple where might ever dwell
God’s presence. So he purposed, but that night
The Lord appeared to Nathan in a dream,
Commanding thus: Tell David now, your king
And my servant, that what he purposes
He shall not do. Have I commanded this,
Or do I need a house in which to dwell,
When all the earth is mine, and all the heavens
Cannot contain me [iv]? Tell him this instead:
I took him from the pasture, for I planned
To give to him a kingdom that should be
Eternal as the heavens; I decreed,
And will not take it back, that I should have
A people and a kingdom, priests to me,
And I will be their God forever; when
The first man, Adam, turned away from me
And cleaved unto the Serpent, then I spoke,
And will fulfill it, that of Adam’s race
I still will have my people – from his seed
Will rise One who shall crush the Serpent’s head,
And win redemption [v]. Now, will David build
A house for me? No, I will build for him
A house that cannot fall, for of his seed
I will raise up the King of whom I spoke,
The everlasting King, who shall destroy
The Serpent’s work, and win a glorious name
And people as the stars of heaven. He
Will sit upon the throne that I have given
To David, my beloved servant; of
His kingdom and increase shall be no end [vi].
So Nathan spoke, and David was content,
And Solomon, his son, then built the house.
Many long years then passed, after this oath,
And many kings arose from David’s line,
And sat upon his throne; but nevermore
Was found a king as fit to rule as he,
Nor was the kingdom ever as it was
In David’s reign. For after Solomon
Had turned away his heart to other gods,
God took from him ten tribes [vii], and many times
The two tribes, Benjamin and Judah, were
Hard-pressed by enemies, and plague and drought
Oppressed the land, for they had turned aside
To wickedness, until there finally came
Proud Babylon, which toppled David’s throne,
Broke down his city walls, and carried off
The people captive, and took the temple gold [viii]:
The nation was in exile, and the King
For which they waited almost was forgot.

In the beginning, Darkness covered all
The vast and trackless earth, and o’er its deep
And turbid waters, Chaos reigned supreme;
But hovering above its swirling depths,
As broods a mother hen above her chicks,
The Spirit of God was working out his will,
And drawing out of grim Confusion’s lair
His wise, well-ordered principles and plans:
Darkness gave birth to Light, and sterile waves
Soon teemed with life by a creative grace [ix];
But in the vaster, wilder waste of sin,
What greater grace will bring forth life again?
Spirit of prophecy! come brood once more
Upon this waste and trackless land, where now
Confusion reigns again. For light is lost:
It is become a region of deep gloom,
And all its people dwell in shades of death [x].

How paltry are man’s purposes, how weak
His will, how short his memory! But so
It is not with the Lord. The promised King
He still had not forgotten, nor would let
His scattered people yet forget; and so,
Through many dark years, his prophets raised a voice
In witness to the King that still should come [xi],
A King and more, for he should be the Son
Of God and Man, the Lord of heaven and earth,
And David’s God, although his Son [xii]; for this
The prophets call his name – Immanuel
(For he shall be God with us) [xiii]; and, though God,
As man should suffer more than any man,
And, being numbered with transgressors, smite
That old Serpent a mighty blow, from which
He never should recover; but his own,
The people God had given him, ah, them
In triumph he should lead beyond the world,
And give them an eternal kingdom [xiv]. Yet,
For all their labors, they were only mocked,
And some put into stocks, and some in pits
Cast down, and some were beaten, stoned, and killed [xv].

Long have your people lain in darkness deep;
When will the darkness give way to the Sun,
And Morning dry the eyes of them who weep?

O Sun of Righteousness, make haste to dawn,
That we may go out as the calves and leap,
That we may see your light, and rise, and run [xvi]!

O iron feet, O cruel iron feet!
How have you trodden down the world of men,
How have you crushed all kingdoms that opposed,
And wrought your iron will upon them all!
Cold iron feet! beware, lest, mixed with clay,
You lose your strength, and, while you are at ease,
The Stone unmade with hands come hurling down,
And grind to powder you and all your hosts [xvii]!
So arose Rome, a monstrous, ten-horned beast [xviii],
Whose kingdom spread o’er all the earth. Judah,
Who these six hundred years have had no throne,
Who will arise to take up David’s crown?
Who will be set up, once again to rule
Your nation with a firm and gentle rod?
Will David’s Branch [xix] now come? But no, the throne
Is given to your older brother; he,
The Idumean [xx], Rome’s puppet of blood,
Will rise to spill the blood of many sons,
And sate his cruelty with your daughters’ bones.

O Sun of Righteousness, make haste to dawn!
Oh, how we languish in this darkness deep,
Oh, how we stumble, and there is no Sun.

‘What star is this that lights the midnight sky?’
So did they wonder, they who heard of old
The Jewish prophecies, that there should rise
A King that evermore should rule the earth –
‘What star is this? in truth it is a star
That shines with glory, shines as it had been
In God’s own counsel.’ Then they understood,
And said, ‘It is a portent.’ So they came
With gifts fit for a king, and sought its source,
The child for whom the star did shine, as this
Should be the King of kings. And thus they made
Their journey westward, following ever on,
Till they should know this portent’s fiery tale [xxi].
And who is this, that, brighter than the star,
Shines brilliantly before a humble maid,
The Lord’s young servant? It is Gabriel,
God’s mighty warrior [xxii]; hear his thundering voice:

‘Hail, highly favored, you that have been graced
Above all women, hail! for you shall bear
A Son to whom the Lord shall give the throne
Of David; he shall reign forevermore,
And never shall his kingdom end. His name
Shall be called “Jesus,” because he shall save
His people from their sins [xxiii]. He shall be high,
For he shall be the Son of the Most High.
Think not, “How shall this be? I am a maid
That have not known a man.” – the Holy Ghost
Will come upon you, so the Son you bear,
Your seed, shall have no father, but the Lord,
The God of heaven shall be his Father; thus,
He will be holy, God and man, and he
Alone will reign exalted [xxiv].’

He was gone,
And Mary, left alone then, treasured up
These sayings in her heart. To her betrothed,
Joseph (with whom she had not come together),
The angel likewise in a dream appeared [xxv],
And this too was a portent, as the star.
The highest angel and the highest star
In all the heavens thus their task fulfilled
To go before the King of kings, presage
His soon arrival, and make straight his way.
Nor were they all, these glorious presages,
For soon there came out from a barren womb
One who should be the greatest among men [xxvi],
A prophet such as never had been known,
The Forerunner; now, this was John, who came
Into the world to baptize, and prepare
A people for the King. Of his glad task,
Hear now Isaiah, God’s great prophet, speak:

‘The voice of one in desert places cries!
What cries he? Make the highest mountains plains,
Fill up the lowest valleys, and prepare
The way by which the King of kings shall come.’

So John the Baptist came, as Gabriel
Had told his father, Zechariah, who,
While disbelieving, was struck dumb, until
The child was born to her who was called barren,
And that in old age [xxvii]. This miracle of birth,
And John, the child who made straight the way,
Was a third portent, great and terrible.
Such portents, various and wonderful,
What could they mean, but that the One of whom
They told should be the greatest King of all,
The Ruler of the universe, the sum
Of history, the Reason for the world! –
So great, so terrible, that mankind’s great
And noble kings, creation’s highest stars,
Bear witness to him, he must surely be
Too great to condescend to lowly men!
But Gabriel’s work is not yet done: to men
Poor and despised, who watch their little flock
In the cold hills of Judah he is sent
To bring the message. Look! how flashes round
His brilliance, so that all at once fall down,
As if dead; so to reassure their hearts
He tells them,

‘Fear not, shepherds, for behold,
I bring to you good tidings of great joy,
And peace to men of God’s goodwill; take heart,
For unto you is born in Bethlehem,
In David’s city, David’s Son and Heir,
The Savior, the Messiah, God and King!
This is how you shall know him: wrapped about
In swaddling clothes, he shall be laid to rest
In a coarse feeding-trough for beasts.’

And then,
The world ignited with the matchless light
Of many angels, shouting with their might,
‘Glory to God in the highest!’ Thundering
Across the night, resounding through the hills,
It finally faded from the earth, and yet,
Within the shepherds’ hearts it echoes still.
At this last portent came the shepherds rude,
To bow before the long-awaited King [xxviii].
O world of men, the day has finally come,
That day for which the saints so long have yearned –
Oh, longed-for since that first great Fall had brought
Death and destruction, sickness, pain, and tears,
The venom of the Serpent’s bite – desired
And blessed day, how do we love your light!
For in your breast there lies the promised Seed,
The King of history, the Conqueror
Of that old Serpent, the Deliverer
Of those who bear his venom in their souls.
O blessed night, the King has now been born!
But what is this, what humble place is this,
To shelter him so highly testified
By angels, men, and creatures? what rough place
In which to hide the King above all kings?
How humble is this King surpassing great!
He made the world, and came a man despised
Among the men he made [xxix]; he came to rule,
And took up residence within a stall,
A shelter for the beasts of humble men:
How humble, yet how great! Oh, paradox
More sweetly strange than all the riddles dark
Of all the wisest men who ever lived!
And so this babe, more humble than the least
And lowliest of all that walked the earth,
Yet greater far than all the highest kings
Who ever ruled in puffed-up majesty –
Before this babe within his trough, there bow
Both kings and peasants, shepherds and magi.
Yes, he is great so we might bow in fear,
And he is meek, that we might dare to come [xxx].

‘He came unto his own, and was despised’:
Ah! wonder greater than all wonders yet
Conceived of Lust and brought to birth by Sin,
More monstrous than all that misshapen race
Of Guilt, the bastard children of the Snake:
Will men despise their Maker? will the pot
Deride the Potter [xxxi]? That were cause enough
For all the pangs of fieriest hell; –
But when the Potter breaks upon the wheel
His own self for his self-willed shards, and when
The Maker pours out to the bloody ground
His very soul, to bring back to himself
The men who had despised his royal word –
When thus such condescension meets such grace,
And even God’s dear Love is so despised,
What punishment awaits so gross a sin [xxxii]?
What grim fate lurks beyond that ringing cry
Of damning reprobation so severe?

‘He came unto his own, and was despised’…

But not by all, for in the Temple mount
There dwelt a faithful priest, old Simeon,
Who long had waited for Messiah’s birth,
And knew from God that he would not see death
Until he saw the King. This Simeon,
Beholding Jesus coming the eighth day
After his birth, took up the babe, and said,

‘O Master, you may now let go in peace
Your servant, for my eyes have seen the King,
The Savior of the world, Israel’s Hope
And Glory, and the Light of all the world!’

And so too Anna, that old prophetess,
A widow eighty years and four, who kept
Always within the Temple, to await
The promised Christ, when she saw Jesus come,
Praised God, and told all Judah she had seen
The Lord’s redemption [xxxiii].
Thus it was that Christ,
The long-awaited Kings of kings was born,
Surrounded by all great and glorious signs,
And wrapped in meekness, yet unrecognized
By all but just a few rough peasant men,
Some Eastern kings, a prophetess, and a priest.
So he came, and though the world knew not, yet knew
That Dragon dread, the ancient Serpent; he,
Inciting Herod, poured out all the blood
Of many innocents, and Rachel wept,
And got no comfort [xxxiv]. Fierce and furious
Was his mad onslaught, and the child’s father
Was forced to flee to Egypt with the babe.
And how they fared, and how the Father called
His Son from Egypt, and how, finally,
This long-awaited Seed took up his arms
And struck the death-blow to the Dragon fierce,
Requires another tale.

[i] The following is adapted from 2 Samuel 7.
[ii] Cf. 1 Samuel 16:1-13
[iii] Cf. Genesis 17:3-8
[iv] Cf. 2 Chronicles 6:18
[v] Cf. Genesis 3:15
[vi] Cf. Isaiah 9:6-7
[vii] Cf. 1 Kings 11:31-36
[viii] Cf. 2 Kings 25
[ix] Cf. Genesis 1:1-3, 20-21
[x] Cf. Isaiah 24:1-12; 8:21-9:2
[xi] E.g. Isaiah 16:5; Jeremiah 33:15-17; Ezekiel 37:24-27
[xii] Cf. Isaiah 9:6-7; Psalm 110
[xiii] Cf. Isaiah 7:14
[xiv] Cf. Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Isaiah 66:19-24
[xv] Cf. Hebrews 11:32-40
[xvi] Cf. Malachi 4:2
[xvii] Cf. Daniel 2:34-35
[xviii] Cf. Daniel 7:7-9
[xix] Cf. Isaiah 11:1
[xx] The Idumeans were descended from Esau, the older brother of Israel.
[xxi] Cf. Matthew 2:1-12
[xxii] “Gabriel” means “mighty warrior of God”.
[xxiii] Jesus” means “savior”.
[xxiv] Cf. Luke 1:26-35
[xxv] Cf. Matthew 1:18-25
[xxvi] Cf. Matthew 11:11
[xxvii] Cf. Luke 1:5-25
[xxviii] Cf. Luke 2:8-18
[xxix] Cf. John 1:10-11
[xxx] Cf. Psalm 2:11
[xxxi] Cf. Isaiah 45:9-11
[xxxii] Cf. Hebrews 10:28-29
[xxxiii] Cf. Luke 2:21-30
[xxxiv] Cf. Matthew 2:13-18

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