第 35 页

And shadows, of that destined Seed to bruise

The Serpent, by what means he shall achieve

Mankind’s deliverance. But the voice of God

To mortal ear is dreadful: They beseech

That Moses might report to them his will,

And terrour cease; he grants what they besought,

Instructed that to God is no access

Without Mediator, whose high office now

Moses in figure bears; to introduce

One greater, of whose day he shall foretel,

And all the Prophets in their age the times

Of great Messiah shall sing. Thus, laws and rites

Established, such delight hath God in Men

Obedient to his will, that he vouchsafes

Among them to set up his tabernacle;

The Holy One with mortal Men to dwell:

By his prescript a sanctuary is framed

Of cedar, overlaid with gold; therein

An ark, and in the ark his testimony,

The records of his covenant; over these

A mercy-seat of gold, between the wings

Of two bright Cherubim; before him burn

Seven lamps as in a zodiack representing

The heavenly fires; over the tent a cloud

Shall rest by day, a fiery gleam by night;

Save when they journey, and at length they come,

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Conducted by his Angel, to the land

Promised to Abraham and his seed:—The rest

Were long to tell; how many battles fought

How many kings destroyed; and kingdoms won;

Or how the sun shall in mid Heaven stand still

A day entire, and night’s due course adjourn,

Man’s voice commanding, ‘Sun, in Gibeon stand,

‘And thou moon in the vale of Aialon,

‘Till Israel overcome! so call the third

From Abraham, son of Isaac; and from him

His whole descent, who thus shall Canaan win.

Here Adam interposed. O sent from Heaven,

Enlightener of my darkness, gracious things

Thou hast revealed; those chiefly, which concern

Just Abraham and his seed: now first I find

Mine eyes true-opening, and my heart much eased;

Erewhile perplexed with thoughts, what would become

Of me and all mankind: But now I see

His day, in whom all nations shall be blest;

Favour unmerited by me, who sought

Forbidden knowledge by forbidden means.

This yet I apprehend not, why to those

Among whom God will deign to dwell on earth

So many and so various laws are given;

So many laws argue so many sins

Among them; how can God with such reside?

To whom thus Michael. Doubt not but that sin

Will reign among them, as of thee begot;

And therefore was law given them, to evince

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Their natural pravity, by stirring up

Sin against law to fight: that when they see

Law can discover sin, but not remove,

Save by those shadowy expiations weak,

The blood of bulls and goats, they may conclude

Some blood more precious must be paid for Man;

Just for unjust; that, in such righteousness

To them by faith imputed, they may find

Justification towards God, and peace

Of conscience; which the law by ceremonies

Cannot appease; nor Man the mortal part

Perform; and, not performing, cannot live.

So law appears imperfect; and but given

With purpose to resign them, in full time,

Up to a better covenant; disciplined

From shadowy types to truth; from flesh to spirit;

From imposition of strict laws to free

Acceptance of large grace; from servile fear

To filial; works of law to works of faith.

And therefore shall not Moses, though of God

Highly beloved, being but the minister

Of law, his people into Canaan lead;

But Joshua, whom the Gentiles Jesus call,

His name and office bearing, who shall quell

The adversary-Serpent, and bring back

Through the world’s wilderness long-wandered Man

Safe to eternal Paradise of rest.

Mean while they, in their earthly Canaan placed,

Long time shall dwell and prosper, but when sins

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National interrupt their publick peace,

Provoking God to raise them enemies;

From whom as oft he saves them penitent

By Judges first, then under Kings; of whom

The second, both for piety renowned

And puissant deeds, a promise shall receive

Irrevocable, that his regal throne

For ever shall endure; the like shall sing

All Prophecy, that of the royal stock

Of David (so I name this king) shall rise

A Son, the Woman’s seed to thee foretold,

Foretold to Abraham, as in whom shall trust

All nations; and to kings foretold, of kings

The last; for of his reign shall be no end.

But first, a long succession must ensue;

And his next son, for wealth and wisdom famed,

The clouded ark of God, till then in tents

Wandering, shall in a glorious temple enshrine.

Such follow him, as shall be registered

Part good, part bad; of bad the longer scroll;

Whose foul idolatries, and other faults

Heaped to the popular sum, will so incense

God, as to leave them, and expose their land,

Their city, his temple, and his holy ark,

With all his sacred things, a scorn and prey

To that proud city, whose high walls thou sawest

Left in confusion; Babylon thence called.

There in captivity he lets them dwell

The space of seventy years; then brings them back,

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Remembering mercy, and his covenant sworn

To David, stablished as the days of Heaven.

Returned from Babylon by leave of kings

Their lords, whom God disposed, the house of God

They first re-edify; and for a while

In mean estate live moderate; till, grown

In wealth and multitude, factious they grow;

But first among the priests dissention springs,

Men who attend the altar, and should most

Endeavour peace: their strife pollution brings

Upon the temple itself: at last they seise

The scepter, and regard not David’s sons;

Then lose it to a stranger, that the true

Anointed King Messiah might be born

Barred of his right; yet at his birth a star,

Unseen before in Heaven, proclaims him come;

And guides the eastern sages, who inquire

His place, to offer incense, myrrh, and gold:

His place of birth a solemn Angel tells

To simple shepherds, keeping watch by night;

They gladly thither haste, and by a quire

Of squadroned Angels hear his carol sung.

A virgin is his mother, but his sire

The power of the Most High: He shall ascend

The throne hereditary, and bound his reign

With Earth’s wide bounds, his glory with the Heavens.

He ceased, discerning Adam with such joy

Surcharged, as had like grief been dewed in tears,

Without the vent of words; which these he breathed.

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O prophet of glad tidings, finisher

Of utmost hope! now clear I understand

What oft my steadiest thoughts have searched in vain;

Why our great Expectation should be called

The seed of Woman: Virgin Mother, hail,

High in the love of Heaven; yet from my loins

Thou shalt proceed, and from thy womb the Son

Of God Most High: so God with Man unites!

Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise

Expect with mortal pain: Say where and when

Their fight, what stroke shall bruise the victor’s heel.

To whom thus Michael. Dream not of their fight,

As of a duel, or the local wounds

Of head or heel: Not therefore joins the Son

Manhood to Godhead, with more strength to foil

Thy enemy; nor so is overcome

Satan, whose fall from Heaven, a deadlier bruise,

Disabled, not to give thee thy death’s wound:

Which he, who comes thy Saviour, shall recure,

Not by destroying Satan, but his works

In thee, and in thy seed: Nor can this be,

But by fulfilling that which thou didst want,

Obedience to the law of God, imposed

On penalty of death, and suffering death;

The penalty to thy transgression due,

And due to theirs which out of thine will grow:

So only can high Justice rest appaid.

The law of God exact he shall fulfil

Both by obedience and by love, though love

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Alone fulfil the law; thy punishment

He shall endure, by coming in the flesh

To a reproachful life, and cursed death;

Proclaiming life to all who shall believe

In his redemption; and that his obedience,

Imputed, becomes theirs by faith; his merits

To save them, not their own, though legal, works.

For this he shall live hated, be blasphemed,

Seised on by force, judged, and to death condemned

A shameful and accursed, nailed to the cross

By his own nation; slain for bringing life:

But to the cross he nails thy enemies,

The law that is against thee, and the sins

Of all mankind, with him there crucified,

Never to hurt them more who rightly trust

In this his satisfaction; so he dies,

But soon revives; Death over him no power

Shall long usurp; ere the third dawning light

Return, the stars of morn shall see him rise

Out of his grave, fresh as the dawning light,

Thy ransom paid, which Man from death redeems,

His death for Man, as many as offered life

Neglect not, and the benefit embrace

By faith not void of works: This God-like act

Annuls thy doom, the death thou shouldest have died,

In sin for ever lost from life; this act

Shall bruise the head of Satan, crush his strength,

Defeating Sin and Death, his two main arms;

And fix far deeper in his head their stings

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Than temporal death shall bruise the victor’s heel,

Or theirs whom he redeems; a death, like sleep,

A gentle wafting to immortal life.

Nor after resurrection shall he stay

Longer on earth, than certain times to appear

To his disciples, men who in his life

Still followed him; to them shall leave in charge

To teach all nations what of him they learned

And his salvation; them who shall believe

Baptizing in the profluent stream, the sign

Of washing them from guilt of sin to life

Pure, and in mind prepared, if so befall,

For death, like that which the Redeemer died.

All nations they shall teach; for, from that day,

Not only to the sons of Abraham’s loins

Salvation shall be preached, but to the sons

Of Abraham’s faith wherever through the world;

So in his seed all nations shall be blest.

Then to the Heaven of Heavens he shall ascend

With victory, triumphing through the air

Over his foes and thine; there shall surprise

The Serpent, prince of air, and drag in chains

Through all his realm, and there confounded leave;

Then enter into glory, and resume

His seat at God’s right hand, exalted high

Above all names in Heaven; and thence shall come,

When this world’s dissolution shall be ripe,

With glory and power to judge both quick and dead;

To judge the unfaithful dead, but to reward

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His faithful, and receive them into bliss,

Whether in Heaven or Earth; for then the Earth

Shall all be Paradise, far happier place

Than this of Eden, and far happier days.

So spake the Arch-Angel Michael; then paused,

As at the world’s great period; and our sire,

Replete with joy and wonder, thus replied.

O Goodness infinite, Goodness immense!

That all this good of evil shall produce,

And evil turn to good; more wonderful

Than that which by creation first brought forth

Light out of darkness! Full of doubt I stand,

Whether I should repent me now of sin

By me done, and occasioned; or rejoice

Much more, that much more good thereof shall spring;

To God more glory, more good-will to Men

From God, and over wrath grace shall abound.

But say, if our Deliverer up to Heaven

Must re-ascend, what will betide the few

His faithful, left among the unfaithful herd,

The enemies of truth? Who then shall guide

His people, who defend? Will they not deal

Worse with his followers than with him they dealt?

Be sure they will, said the Angel; but from Heaven

He to his own a Comforter will send,

The promise of the Father, who shall dwell

His Spirit within them; and the law of faith,

Working through love, upon their hearts shall write,

To guide them in all truth; and also arm

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With spiritual armour, able to resist

Satan’s assaults, and quench his fiery darts;

What man can do against them, not afraid,

Though to the death; against such cruelties

With inward consolations recompensed,

And oft supported so as shall amaze

Their proudest persecutors: For the Spirit,

Poured first on his Apostles, whom he sends

To evangelize the nations, then on all

Baptized, shall them with wonderous gifts endue

To speak all tongues, and do all miracles,

As did their Lord before them. Thus they win

Great numbers of each nation to receive

With joy the tidings brought from Heaven: At length

Their ministry performed, and race well run,

Their doctrine and their story written left,

They die; but in their room, as they forewarn,

Wolves shall succeed for teachers, grievous wolves,

Who all the sacred mysteries of Heaven

To their own vile advantages shall turn

Of lucre and ambition; and the truth

With superstitions and traditions taint,

Left only in those written records pure,

Though not but by the Spirit understood.

Then shall they seek to avail themselves of names,

Places, and titles, and with these to join

Secular power; though feigning still to act

By spiritual, to themselves appropriating

The Spirit of God, promised alike and given

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To all believers; and, from that pretence,

Spiritual laws by carnal power shall force

On every conscience; laws which none shall find

Left them inrolled, or what the Spirit within

Shall on the heart engrave. What will they then

But force the Spirit of Grace itself, and bind

His consort Liberty? what, but unbuild

His living temples, built by faith to stand,

Their own faith, not another’s? for, on earth,

Who against faith and conscience can be heard

Infallible? yet many will presume:

Whence heavy persecution shall arise