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The Forgotten Books of Eden · 199 of 293

Odes of Solomon: Ode 7

A wonderfully, simple and joyful psalm on the Incarnation.

1.As the impulse of anger against evil, so is the impulse of joy over what is lovely, and brings in of its fruits without restraint: 2 My joy is the Lord and my impulse is toward Him: this path of mine is excellent: 3 For I have a helper, the Lord. 4 He hath caused me to know Himself, without grudging, by His simplicity: His kindness has humbled His greatness. 5 He became like me, in order that I might receive Him: 6 He was reckoned like myself in order that I might put Him on; 7 And I trembled not when I saw Him: because He was gracious to me: 8 Like my nature He became that I might learn Him and like my form, that I might not turn back from Him: 9 The Father of knowledge is the word of knowledge: 10 He who created wisdom is wiser than His works: 11 And He who created me when yet I was not knew what I should do when I came into being: 12 Wherefore He pitied me in His abundant grace: and granted me to ask from Him and to receive from His sacrifice: 13 Because He it is that is incorrupt, the fulness of the ages and the Father of them. 14 He hath given Him to be seen of them that are His, in order that they may recognize Him that made them: and that they might not suppose that they came of themselves: 15 For knowledge He hath appointed as its way, He hath widened it and extended it; and brought to all perfection; 16 And set over it the traces of His light, and I walked therein from the beginning even to the end. 17 For by Him it was wrought, and He was resting in the Son, and for its salvation He will take hold of everything; 18 And the Most High shall be known in His Saints, to announce to those that have songs of the coming of the Lord; 19 That they may go forth to meet Him, and may sing to Him with joy and with the harp of many tones: 20 The seers shall come before Him and they shall be seen before Him, 21 And they shall praise the Lord for His love: because He is near and beholdeth. 22 And hatred shall be taken from the earth, and along with jealousy it shall be drowned: 23 For ignorance hath been destroyed, because the knowledge of the Lord hath arrived. 24 They who make songs shall sing the grace of the Lord Most High; 25 And they shall bring their songs, and their heart shall be like the day: and like the excellent beauty of the Lord their pleasant song: 26 And there shall neither be anything that breathes without knowledge, nor any that is dumb: 27 For He hath given a mouth to His creation, to open the voice of the mouth towards Him, to praise Him: 28 Confess ye His power, and show forth His grace. Hallelujah.

Asked of Guide

Why does the poet say God “became like me” and was “reckoned like myself”?

The poet describes God’s coming as real, intimate enfleshment: “He became like me, in order that I might receive Him” and “He was reckoned like myself in order that I might put Him on.” The language insists that God assumed human likeness so humans could recognize, take on, and be transformed by Him without fear, because His humility makes His greatness approachable.

That Incarnation is proof and pedagogy: through likeness the Father’s knowledge and wisdom are made known (“The Father of knowledge is the word of knowledge”) so ignorance is healed and praise arises. This echoes themes in John’s Gospel, where the Word becomes flesh to dwell among us and reveal the Father.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.