As with Gladness Men of Old is an Epiphany hymn by William Chatterton Dix, written about 1859 and printed in 1861. Each of its first three stanzas looks at the wise men of Matthew 2, their gladness at the star, their journey to worship and their costly gifts, and turns it into a prayer: so may we be led to Christ, seek Him and give Him our best. The last two stanzas look ahead to heaven, where no star is needed because Christ is the light. Its key verse is Matthew 2:10: "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
Epiphany, January 6, remembers the visit of the wise men, the moment the light of Christ reached the Gentile world. For more than 150 years churches have opened the season with this hymn. Its author, William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898), was a Glasgow insurance manager who also wrote What Child Is This? He wrote As with Gladness on the feast of Epiphany around 1859 while ill in bed, reading the Gospel for the day. The hymn has a beautifully simple design. Every stanza opens with As, describing what the wise men did, and turns on So, asking God to make us do the same. It is a hymn about following: the star led them, and Dix prays that Christ will lead us all the way home. The first music edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861) printed it with the German tune now called Dix, and the pairing has lasted. For the full background of the day, see what is Epiphany. Below are Dix's words and the 12 KJV verses behind them.
As with Gladness Men of Old: the words
Verse 1
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright;
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led to Thee.
Verse 2
As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly manger-bed;
There to bend the knee before
Him Whom heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek the mercy-seat.
Verse 3
As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ! to Thee our heavenly King.
Verse 4
Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.
Verse 5
In the heavenly country bright
Need they no created light;
Thou, its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There for ever may we sing
Alleluias to our King.
Words: William Chatterton Dix, written about 1859 and first printed in Hymns of Love and Joy (1861). Text copied from the first music edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (London: Novello, 1861), Epiphany section (Internet Archive scan, Princeton Theological Seminary copy), where it appears under the text Matthew 2:10. Tune: Dix, adapted by W. H. Monk from a chorale by Conrad Kocher (1838). Public domain.
As with gladness men of old did the guiding star behold
1. Matthew 2:2
"Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."
The wise men arrive in Jerusalem with a question and a reason: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. They were Gentiles, probably astrologer-scholars from Persia or Babylon, far outside the covenant people. Yet they were the ones searching, while the scholars in Jerusalem, who knew where the Messiah would be born, stayed home. Dix calls them simply men of old. What made them worth remembering was not their learning but their willingness to follow the light God gave them. For more about who they were, see the three wise men.
2. Matthew 2:9
"When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was."
Leading onward, beaming bright. After their meeting with Herod, the wise men set out again, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. The star did not only point; it went before them and stopped at the right house. Christians have debated what the star was, a comet, a conjunction of planets or a miraculous light, but Matthew's interest is in what it did. God guided seekers to His Son. Dix's first prayer is exactly that: So, most gracious Lord, may we evermore be led to Thee.
3. Matthew 2:10
"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
This verse stands over the hymn in the 1861 hymnbook, and it gives the hymn its first word. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Matthew piles up the words, rejoiced, exceeding, great, joy, as if one would not be enough. The wise men had travelled for months, faced a jealous king and had no idea where to go next, and then the star reappeared. Their gladness was the gladness of being guided again after a time of uncertainty. Many believers know that feeling, and Dix wants us to feel it about Christ Himself.
4. Psalms 43:3
"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles."
O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill. The psalmist asks for the same thing Dix asks for: light that leads somewhere, all the way to God's presence. The wise men had a star; we have the light of God's word and the Spirit. Psalm 119:105 says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The hymn's first stanza could be sung as a prayer before reading the Bible each morning: may this light lead me to You today.
To that lowly manger-bed: bending the knee and bringing gifts
5. Matthew 2:11
"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."
To that lowly manger-bed. Dix pictures the wise men at the manger, as many carols and nativity scenes do, though Matthew actually says when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him. By then the family had moved from the stable into a house, perhaps months later. Dix's real point holds either way: the wise men, rich and learned, bent the knee before a child. Then they opened their treasures, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, gifts traditionally read as honoring a king, God and a Saviour who would die.
6. Psalms 72:10
"The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts."
Christians have long linked the wise men's gifts to this royal psalm: The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Psalm 72 is a prayer for the king of Israel that reaches beyond any human king, all nations shall serve him (Psalm 72:11). The wise men were the first of those nations to arrive. That is why paintings show them as kings, and why Isaiah 60:3 is read on Epiphany too. Dix's third stanza asks us to join the line of givers: all our costliest treasures bring.
7. Hebrews 4:16
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
So may we with willing feet ever seek the mercy-seat. In the tabernacle the mercy seat was the gold cover of the ark, where the blood of atonement was sprinkled and where God met His people (Exodus 25:22). For Christians, Christ is the true mercy seat. Hebrews invites us: Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The wise men's willing journey becomes a picture of prayer. They travelled far to kneel before Jesus; we can come to Him every day, boldly, because He welcomes us.
8. 2 Corinthians 8:5
"And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God."
The third stanza asks for gifts offered with holy joy, pure and free from sin's alloy. Alloy is a cheaper metal mixed into gold. Dix prays that our offerings to Christ will be the real thing. Paul describes the churches of Macedonia, who gave generously out of deep poverty, and explains the secret: they first gave their own selves to the Lord. The costliest treasure we have is ourselves. The wise men gave gold; God asks first for our whole lives, and then the gifts follow. On Epiphany many churches invite worshippers to make a new offering of themselves for the year ahead, which is one reason our Epiphany house blessing is a family dedication too.
Keep us in the narrow way: where they need no star to guide
9. Matthew 7:14
"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way. Jesus said, strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. The wise men's journey was a long road with a single destination, and they had to resist Herod's attempt to use them (Matthew 2:12). The Christian life is like that: a daily walk on a path that does not wander. Dix does not pray for the strength to stay on it by our own effort. He asks Jesus to keep us there, every day.
10. Hebrews 11:16
"But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."
In the heavenly country bright. Hebrews describes the people of faith as travellers looking for home: But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. The wise men went home by another way. Believers, too, are on a journey home, and the home is God's prepared city. Dix's fourth stanza moves from Bethlehem to that city, asking Christ to bring our ransomed souls at last to the place where the journey ends.
11. Revelation 21:23
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
Where they need no star to guide. In John's vision of the new Jerusalem, the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. The star of Bethlehem was a created light, pointing to Christ. In heaven there will be no need for pointers. Dix's last stanza says it beautifully: Need they no created light; Thou, its Light, its Joy, its Crown. The child the wise men found by starlight is Himself the light of the eternal city.
12. Revelation 22:5
"And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. Thou its Sun which goes not down. Epiphany comes in the darkest weeks of the year in the northern hemisphere, and its theme is light. This verse is where that light finally leads: a day without night, and a song that never ends. Dix closes the hymn there, with Alleluias to our King. The wise men began with gladness; the redeemed will end with it, for ever.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, as the wise men followed the star with gladness, lead me to You every day. Give me willing feet to seek You in prayer and a glad heart to bend the knee before You. Take my costliest treasures, my time, my plans and my whole life, and make my offering pure. Keep me in the narrow way this year, and when earthly things are past, bring me home to the city where You are the light and where I will sing Your praise for ever. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
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Frequently asked questions
When is As with Gladness Men of Old sung?
It is sung on Epiphany, January 6, and on the Sundays after Epiphany, because it is about the wise men who followed the star (Matthew 2:1-12). In 2027 Epiphany falls on Wednesday, January 6; many US churches keep it on Sunday, January 3. Some churches also sing it at Christmas. See what is Epiphany for the dates and meaning of the season.
Who wrote As with Gladness Men of Old?
William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898), a British insurance manager and hymn writer who also wrote What Child Is This? He wrote it about 1859 during an illness, on the feast of Epiphany. It was printed in 1861 and taken into the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern that year, set to a tune adapted by William Henry Monk from Conrad Kocher (1838), now named Dix after the author.
What is the mercy-seat in As with Gladness?
The mercy seat was the gold lid of the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle, where the high priest sprinkled blood on the Day of Atonement and where God promised to meet His people (Exodus 25:22). In the hymn, to seek the mercy-seat means to come to God in prayer through Christ, who is our atonement; Hebrews 4:16 calls it coming boldly to the throne of grace.
Did the wise men really visit the manger?
Dix follows the popular picture of the wise men at the manger, but Matthew 2:11 says they found Jesus with Mary in a house. Their visit probably came some time after the birth, which is why Herod later targeted boys up to two years old (Matthew 2:16). Most nativity scenes include them at the stable anyway, and the hymn's point, kneeling before Christ, stands either way.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: What Is Epiphany? · The Three Wise Men · We Three Kings · What Child Is This? · The First Noel · Free Epiphany House Blessing · Stars · Light
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