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Hymns and Homilies
St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853
35. Hymn 35: The Praises of Noah
Oh how illustrious was Noah,
Who excelled in comparison
All the men of his age:
For they were wanting in the scale
When weighed by impartial justice;
And one soul alone descended in the balance,
By the armour of innocence.
They were drowned in the flood
Who were deficient in weight,
And he was lifted up in the ark,
The innocent and honourable one!—
Glory to Him who took pleasure in him!
Noah extended his ministration
Between two boundaries,
And described two types;
He sealed up the time past,
And entered upon the present:
And between two generations
He administered two mysteries.
He dismissed the men who were before him,
And invited those who should come after;
He buried the old race,
And educated the rising one:—
Praises be to Him who chose him!
Then wandered through the flood
The ship of him who was lord of all;
It proceeded from the east,
And touched upon the west,—
It flew to the south,
And reached unto the north;
Its flying upon the waters
Prophecied to the dry land,
And proclaimed that its progeny
Would be fruitful on every side,
And become great in every clime:—
Praises be to its Redeemer!
In its course it described
The standard of its preserver,
The cross of its shipmaster,
The helm of its helmsman;
Who should come and appoint
A Church in the waters,
And by the threefold Name
Should redeem her inhabitants.
And the Spirit in the form of the dove
Administered her anointing,
And the mystery of her redemption:—
Praises be to her Redeemer!
His mysteries in the old covenant,
And His types in the ark,
Bear witness one to the other;
For as were emptied out
The chambers of the ark,
So were made empty
The types of the Scriptures.
He who terminated by His coming
The mysteries of the Law,
Accomplished in the churches
The types of the ark:—
Glory be to Thy Advent!
Behold, my mind wanders,
Having embarked upon the flood
Of our Redeemer—which is terrible!
Blessed be Noah,
Who although his ship,
Even the ark, floated on the flood,
Was yet firm in mind.
Oh Lord, let my faith be
A ship to my infirmity;
For behold the daring are sunk
In the abyss of Thy investigation:—
Praises be to Him who begat Thee!