57. TO JESUS CHRIST, GOD'S SON. [(notes)]
O, blessed, first-born Son of God most high,
By whom the sun and all the worlds of light
Were summon'd from the gloom of deepest night,
While this low earth was shap'd before thine eye,—
Didst Thou earth's ills in human form defy,
Leaving thy glorious, heav'nly mansion bright,
To save lost man, and vindicate God's right,
And on the cross, nail'd hands and feet, didst die?—