Hard are the ways of truth, and rough to walk,
Smooth on the tongue discours'd, pleafing to the
And tuneable as fylvan pipe or fong;
What wonder then if I delight to hear
Her dictates from thy mouth? most men admire
Virtue, who follow not her lore; permit me
To hear thee when I come (fince no man comes,)
And talk at least, though I despair to' attain.
Thy Father, who is holy, wife, and pure,
Suffers the hypocrite or atheous priest
To tread his facred courts, and minifter
About his altar, handling holy things,
Praying or vowing, and vouchfaf'd his voice
To Balaam reprobate, a prophet yet
Inspir'd; difdain nót such access to me.
- To whom our Saviour with unalter'd brow:
Thy coming hither, though I know thy scope,
I bid not or forbid; do as thou find'st
Permiffion from above; thou can't not more.
He added not; and Satan bowing low
The defart; fowls in their clay nefts were couch'd;
And now wild beafts came forth the woods to roam...
Eanwhile the new-babtiz'd, who yet remain'a
At Jordan with the Baptift, and had feen
Him whom they heard fo late expressly call'd
Jefus Meffiah Son of God declar'd,
And on that high' authority had believ'd,
And with him talk'd, and with him lodg'd, I mean
Andrew and Simon, famous after known,
With others though in holy writ not nam❜d,
Now miffing him their joy fo lately found,
So lately found, and fo abruptly gone,
Began to doubt, and doubted many days,
And as the days increas'd, increas'd their doubt :
Sometimes they thought he might be only shown,
And for a time caught up to God; as once
Mofes was in the mount, and miffing long;
And the great Thisbite who on fiery wheels
Rode up to heav'n, yet once again to come.
Therefore as those young prophets then with care
Sought loft Elijah, so in each place these
Nigh to Bethabara; in Jericho,
The city' of palms, Enon, and Salem old,
Macharus, and each town or city wall'd
On this fide the broad lake Genezaret,
Or in Perea; but return'd in vain.
Then on the bank of Jordan, by a creek,
Where winds with reeds and ofiers whifp'ring play,
Plain fishermen, no greater men them call,
Clofe in a cottage low together got,
Their unexpected lofs and plaints outbreath'd:
Alas! from what high hope to what relapse
Unlook'd for are we fall'n! our eyes beheld
Meffiah certainly now come, fo long
Expected of our fathers; we have heard
His words, his wifdom full of grace and truth;
Now, now, for fure deliverance is at hand,
The kingdom fhall to Ifrael be restor❜d:
Thus we rejoic'd, but foon our joy is turn'd
Into perplexity and new amaze.
For whither is he gone, what accident
Hath rapt him from us? will he now retire
After appearance, and again prolong
Our expectation? God of Ifrael,
Send thy Meffiah forth, the time is come;
Behold the kings of the earth how they opprefs
Thy chofen, to what height their pow'r unjust
They have exalted, and behind them caft
All fear of thee; arife and vindicate
Thy glory, free thy people from their yoke.
But let us wait; thus far he hath perform'd,
Sent his Anointed, and to us reveal'd him
By his great prophet, pointed at and shown
In publick, and with him we have convers'd;
Let us be glad of this, and all our fears
Lay on his providence; he will not fail,
Nor will withdraw him now, nor will recal,
Mock us with his blefs'd fight, then fnatch him hence:
Soon we shall fee our hope, our joy return.
Thus they out of their plaints new hope refume
To find whom at the firft they found unfought :
But to his mother Mary, when she saw
Others return'd from baptifm, not her fon,
Nor left at Jordan, tidings of him none,
Within her breast though calm, her breast though pure, Motherly cares and fears got head and rais'd
Some troubled thoughts, which she in fighs thus clad :
O what avails me now that honour high
To have conceiv'd of God, or that falute,
Hail highly favour'd, among women bless'd !
While I to forrows am no lefs advanc'd,
And fears as eminent, above the lot
Of other women, by the birth I bore,
In fuch a feafon born when fcarce a fhed
Could be obtain'd to fhelter him or me
From the bleak air; a ftable was our warmth,
Α manger his; yet foon enforc❜d to fly
Thence into Egypt, till the murd❜rous king
Were dead, who fought his life, and miffing fill'd
With infant-blood the streets of Bethlehem ;
From Egypt home return'd, in Nazareth
Hath been our dwelling many years; his life
Private, unactive, calm, contemplative,
Little fufpicious to any king; but now
Full grown to man, acknowledg'd, as I hear,
By John the Baptift, and in publick_shown,
Son own'd from heaven by his Father's voice;
I look'd for fome great change; to honour? no,
But trouble, as old Simeon plain foretold,
That to the fall and rifing he should be
Of many in Ifrael, and to a fign
Spoken against, that through my very foul
A sword shall pierce; this is my favour'd lot,
My exaltation to afflictions high ; .
Afflicted I may be, it seems, and bless'd;
I will not argue that, nor will repine.
But where delays he now? fome great intent
Conceals him when twelve years he fcarce had seen,
I lost him, but fo found, as well I faw
He could not lofe himself; but went about
His Father's bufinefs; what he meant I mus'd,
Since understand: much more his abfence now
Thus long to fome great purpose he obscures.
But 1 to wait with patience am inur'd;
My heart hath been a ftore-house long of things
And fay'ings laid up, portending ftrange events.
Thus Mary pond'ring oft, and oft to mind
Recalling what remarkably had pass'd
Since firft her falutation heard, with thoughts.
Meekly compos'd awaited the fulfilling :
The while her Son tracing the defart wild,
Sole but with holiest meditations fed,
Into himself defcended, and at once
All his great work to come before him set :
How to begin, how to accomplish best
His end of being on earth, and miffion high:
For Satan with fly preface to return
Had left him vacant, and with speed was gone
Up to the middle region of thick air,
Where all his potentates in council fat;
There without fign of boaft, or fign of joy,
Solicitous and blank he thus began:
Princes, heav'n's ancient fons, ethereal thrones,
Demonian fpirits now, from th' element
Each of his reign allotted, rightlier call'd
Pow'rs of fire, air, water, and earth beneath,
So
may we hold our place and these mild feats
Without new trouble; fuch an enemy
Is rifen to invade us, who no lefs
Threatens than our expulfion down to hell :
1, as I undertook, and with the vote
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