So should thy goodness and thy greatness both my eternal purpose hath decreed. Man shall not quite be lost, but saved who will, 165 170 175 Upheld by me, yet once more he shall stand By me upheld, that he may know how frail 180 His fall'n condition is, and to me owe All his deliv'rance, and to none but me Elect above the rest; so is my will: The rest shall hear me call, and oft be warn'd 185 190 My umpire Conscience; whom if they will hear, 195 Against the High Supremacy of Heav'n, 168. The reader will find Jesus Christ addressed by these 200 205 E Affecting Godhead, and so losing all, 210 Say, heav'nly Pow'rs, where shall we find such love? Which of ye will be mortal to redeem Man's mortal crime, and just th' unjust to save? 215 Dwells in all Heaven charity so dear? He ask'd; but all the heav'nly choir stood mute, And silence was in Heav'n: on Man's behalf Patron or intercessor none appear'd, Much less that durst upon his own head draw 220 The deadly forfeiture, and ransom set. And now without redemption all mankind Must have been lost, adjudged to Death and Hell By doom severe, had not the Son of God, In whom the fulness dwells of love divine, Father, thy word is past, Man shall find grace; 225 And shall grace not find means, that finds her way, The speediest of thy winged messengers, To visit all thy creatures, and to all 230 Comes unprevented, unimplored, unsought? Can never seek, once dead in sins and lost: Atonement for himself or off'ring meet, 235 Behold me then; me for him, life for life I offer: on me let thine anger fall; Account me Man: I for his sake will leave Thy bosom, and this glory next to thee Freely put off, and for him lastly die 240 Well pleased on me let Death wreck all his rage: Under his gloomy pow'r I shall not long Lie vanquish'd: thou hast given me to possess 215. See Peter iii. 18. 217. See Rev. viii. 1. 231 Unprevented; prevent is here used according to its sense In the Latin prævenire, to come before; not preceded by any thing else, It is used in this manner in one of the prayers of our Liturgy, Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings,' &c. that is, Let thy grace I ticipate us in our designs, and so make them just and holy. Life in myself for ever; by thee I live, Though now to Death I yield, and am his due 245 250 My Vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil; I through the ample air in triumph high 260 Shall lead Hell captive maugre Hell, and shew 255 His words here ended, but his meek aspéct Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will 265 270 All Heav'n, what this might mean, and whither tend, Wond'ring; but soon th' Almighty thus reply'd: 275 O thou in Heav'n and Earth the only peace Found out for mankind under wrath! O thou My sole complacence! well thou know'st how dear To me are all my works, nor Man the least, Though last created; that for him I spare Thee from my bosom and right hand, to save, By losing thee a while, the whole race lost. 244. See John v. 26. 249. See Ps. xvi. 10. and Acts ii. 20, 21. 280 252. The punning character of this line has been justly repro bated as unworthy of the subject. 254. Ps. Ixviii. 18. and Col. ii. 15. 259. 1 Cor. xv. 26. 206. If the reader compare this picture of the Son of God with that in the sixth book, he will be awed and delighted with the grandeur of Milton's conception of the Messiah's character Thou therefore whom thou only canst redeem, As from a second root, shall be restored 285 His crime makes guilty all his sons; thy merit 290 Imputed shall absolve them who renounce Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds, Shall satisfy for man, be judged and die, 295 In those who, when they may, accept not grace. Nor shalt thou, by descending to assume Man's nature, lessen or degrade thine own. Because thou hast, though throned in highest bliss 305 Equal to God, and equally enjoying God-like fruition, quitted all to save A world from utter loss, and hast been found By merit more than birthright, Son of God, 310 315 Both God and Man, Son both of God and Man, I give thee; reign for ever, and assume Thy merits; under thee as Head Supreme 287. See 1 Cor. xv. 22. 301. The language is here accommodated to the eternity of the speaker, to whom past, present, and future, are one. 317. Matt. xxviii. 8. 321 Thrones, Princedoms, Pow'rs, Dominions I reduce : 325 Shall hasten; such a peal shall rouse their sleep. Then all thy saints assembled, thou shalt judge 330 Bad men and Angels; they arraign'd shall sink Beneath thy sentence: Hell, her numbers full, Thenceforth shall be for ever shut. Mean while The world shall burn, and from her ashes spring New Heav'n and Earth, wherein the just shall dwell, And after all their tribulations long See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds, With joy and love triumphing, and fair truth. 336 340 No sooner had th' Almighty ceased, but all The multitude of Angels, with a shout 345 Loud as from numbers without number, sweet As from blest voices, utt'ring joy, Heav'n rung Th' eternal regions: lowly reverent Tow'rds either throne they bow, and to the ground With solemn adoration down they cast 351 Their crowns, inwove with amarant and gold; In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom; but soon, for man's offence, 355 321. Philip. ii. 10. 334. 2 Pet. iii. 12, 13. 335. I cannot do better than here recommend to the reader, the perusal of Dr. Chalmers' powerfully interesting sermon on the subject of a new Heaven and a new Earth. 341. 1 Cor. xv. 28. and Ps. xcvii. 7. and Heb. 1. 6. 343. John v. 23. 351. Rev. iv. 10. 353. Amarant, a flower whose beauty never fades. Allusion 14 made here to 1 Pet. i. 4. and 1 Pet. v. 4. |