Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79.
Christ’s Birth in an Inn
By Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667)T
And lodgéd in an inn,
A glorious star the sign,
But of a greater guest than ever came that way,
For there he lay
That is the God of night and day,
And over all the powers of heaven doth reign.
And then He comes
That pays all sums,
Even the whole price of lost humanity;
And sets us free
From the ungodly emperie
Of sin, of Satan, and of death.
And in our breast
Be pleased to rest,
For thou lov’st temples better than an inn,
And cause that sin
May not profane the Deity within,
And sully o’er the ornaments of grace.—Amen.