This is my Son beloved, in him am pleased. - His mother then is mortal, but his sire, He who obtains the monarchy of heaven; And what will he not do to advance his Son? His first-begot we know, and sore have felt, When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep; Who this is we must learn, for man he seems In all his lineaments, though in his face The glimpses of his Father's glory shine. Ye see our danger on the utmost edge Of hazard, which admits no long debate, But must with something sudden be opposed,
Not force, but well-couch'd fraud, well-woven snares, Ere in the head of nations he appear,
Their King, their Leader, and Supreme on earth. I, when no other durst, sole undertook
The dismal expedition to find out
And ruin Adam, and the exploit perform'd Successfully; a calmer voyage now
Will waft me; and the way, found prosperous once, Induces best to hope of like success.
He ended, and his words impression left Of much amazement to the infernal crew, Distracted and surprised with deep dismay At these sad tidings; but no time was then For long indulgence to their fears or grief. Unanimous they all commit the care And management of this main enterprise To him their great dictator, whose attempt At first against mankind so well had thrived In Adam's overthrow, and led their march From hell's deep-vaulted den to dwell in light, Regents, and potentates, and kings, yea, gods, Of many a pleasant realm and province wide. So to the coast of Jordan he directs His easy steps, girded with snaky wiles, Where he might likeliest find this new-declared, This man of men, attested Son of God, Temptation and all guile on him to try; So to subvert whom he suspected raised To end his reign on earth so long enjoy'd: But contrary unweeting he fulfill'd
The purposed counsel, pre-ordain'd and fix'd, Of the Most High, who, in full frequence bright Of angels, thus to Gabriel smiling spake :
Gabriel, this day by proof thou shalt behold, Thou and all angels conversant on earth With man or men's affairs, how I begin To verify that solemn message late, On which I sent thee to the virgin pure In Galilee, that she should bear a son, Great in renown, and call'd the Son of God;
Then told'st her, doubting how these things could be To her a virgin, that on her should come
The Holy Ghost, and the Power of the Highest O'ershadow her. This man born, and now upgrown, To show him worthy of his birth divine And high prediction, henceforth I expose To Satan; let him tempt and now essay His utmost subtlety, because he boasts And vaunts of his great cunning to the throng Of his apostasy; he might have learnt Less overweening, since he fail'd in Job, Whose constant perseverance overcame Whate'er his cruel malice could invent. He now shall know I can produce a man Of female seed, far abler to resist All his solicitations, and at length
All his vast force, and drive him back to hell, Winning by conquest what the first man lost By fallacy surprised. But first I mean To exercise him in the wilderness;
There he shall first lay down the rudiments Of his great warfare, ere I send him forth To conquer Sin and Death, the two grand foes, By humiliation and strong sufferance. His weakness shall o'ercome Satanic strength, And all the world, and mass of sinful flesh; That all the angels and ethereal powers, They now, and men hereafter, may discern, From what consummate virtue I have chose This perfect man, by merit call'd my Son, To earn salvation for the sons of men.
So spake the eternal Father, and all heaven Admiring stood a space, then into hymns Burst forth, and in celestial measures moved, Circling the throne and singing, while the hand Sung with the voice, and this the argument: Victory and triumph to the Son of God, Now entering his great duel, not of arms, But to vanquish by wisdom hellish wiles. The Father knows the Son; therefore secure Ventures his filial virtue, though untried, Against whate'er may tempt, whate'er seduce, Allure, or terrify, or undermine.
Be frustrate, all ye stratagems of hell, And, devilish machinations, come to rought!
So they in heaven their odes and vigils tuned : Meanwhile, the Son of God, who yet some days Lodged in Bethabara, where John baptized, Musing and much revolving in his breast, How best the mighty work he might begin Of Saviour to mankind, and which way first Publish his god-like office, now mature,
One day forth walk'd alone, the Spirit leading, And his deep thoughts, the better to converse With solitude, till, far from track of men,
Thought following thought, and step by step led on, He enter'd now the bordering desert wild,
And, with dark shades and rocks environ'd round, His holy meditations thus pursued:
Oh, what a multitude of thoughts at once Awaken'd in me swarm, while I consider What from within I feel myself, and hear What from without comes often to my ears, Ill sorting with my present state compared ! When I was yet a child, no childish play To me was pleasing, all my mind was set Serious to learn and know, and thence to do What might be public good; myself I thought Born to that end, born to promote all truth, All righteous things; therefore, above my years, The law of God I read, and found it sweet, Made it my whole delight, and in it grew To such perfection, that, ere yet my age Had measured twice six years, at our great feast I went into the temple, there to hear The teachers of our law, and to propose What might improve my knowledge or their own, And was admired by all; yet this not all To which my spirit aspired, victorious deeds Flamed in my heart, heroic acts, one while To rescue Israel from the Roman yoke, Then to subdue and quell o'er all the earth Brute violence and proud tyrannic power, Till truth were freed, and equity restored: Yet held it more humane, more heavenly, first By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear; At least to try, and teach the erring soul, Not wilfully misdoing, but unaware Misled; the stubborn only to subdue,
These growing thoughts my mother soon perceiving, By words at times cast forth, inly rejoiced, And said to me apart, High are thy thoughts, O Son, but nourish them, and let them soar To what height sacred virtue and true worth Can raise them, though above example high; By matchless deeds express thy matchless Sire, For know, thou art no Son of mortal man, Though men esteem thee low of parentage, Thy Father is the eternal King, who rules All heaven and earth, angels and sons of men; A messenger from God foretold thy birth Conceived in me a virgin; he foretold
Thou shouldst be great, and sit on David's throne,
And of thy kingdom there should be no end. At thy nativity, a glorious choir
Of angels in the fields of Bethlehem sung To shepherds, watching at their folds by night, And told them the Messiah now was born, Where they might see him, and to thee they came, Directed to the manger where thou layest, For in the inn was left no better room.
A star, not seen before, in heaven appearing, Guided the wise men thither from the east, To honour thee with incense, myrrh, and gold, By whose bright course led on they found the place,
Affirming it thy star, new-graven in heaven, By which they knew the King of Israel born. Just Simeon and prophetic Anna, warn'd By vision, found thee in the temple, and spake, Before the altar and the vested priest,
Like things of thee to all that present stood. This having heard, straight I again revolved The law and prophets, searching what was writ Concerning the Messiah, to our scribes
Known partly, and soon found of whom they spake I am; this chiefly, that my way must lie Through many a hard essay, even to the death, Ere I the promised kingdom can attain, Or work redemption for mankind, whose sins' Full weight must be transferr'd upon my head. Yet, neither thus dishearten'd nor dismay'd, The time prefix'd I waited, when, behold, The Baptist, of whose birth I oft had heard, Not knew by sight, now come, who was to come Before Messiah, and his way prepare!
I, as all others, to his baptism came,
Which I believed was from above; but he
Straight knew me, and with loudest voice proclaim'd
Me him, for it was shown him so from heaven,
Me him whose harbinger he was; and first
Refused on me his baptism to confer,
As much his greater, and was hardly won : But, as I rose out of the laving stream, Heaven open'd her eternal doors, from whence The Spirit descended on me like a dove; And last, the sum of all, my Father's voice, Audibly heard from heaven, pronounced me his, Me his beloved Son, in whom alone
He was well pleased; by which I knew the time Now full, that I no more should live obscure, But openly begin, as best becomes
The authority which I derived from heaven.
And now by some strong motion I am led Into this wilderness, to what intent
I learn not yet; perhaps, I need not know, For what concerns my knowledge God reveals. So spake our Morning Star, then in his rise, And looking round on every side beheld A pathless desert, dusk with horrid shades; The way he came not having mark'd, return Was difficult, by human steps untrod;
And he still on was led, but with such thoughts Accompanied of things past and to come Lodged in his breast, as well might recommend Such solitude before choicest society.
Full forty days he pass'd, whether on hill Sometimes, anon in shady vale, each night Under the covert of some ancient oak Or cedar, to defend him from the dew, Or harbour'd in one cave, is not reveal'd; Nor tasted human food, nor hunger felt Till those days ended, hunger'd then at last Among wild beasts: they at his sight grew mild, Nor sleeping him nor waking harm'd; his walk The fiery serpent fled, and noxious worm, The lion and fierce tiger glared aloof. But now an aged man, in rural weeds,
Following, as seem'd, the quest of some stray ewe, Or wither'd sticks to gather, which might serve Against a winter's day, when winds blow keen, To warm him wet return'd from field at eve, He saw approach, who first with curious eye Perused him, then with words thus utter'd spake :
Sir, what ill chance hath brought thee to this place, So far from path or road of men, who pass
In troop or caravan? for single none
Durst ever, who return'd, and dropt not here
His carcase, pined with hunger and with drought.
I ask the rather, and the more admire,
For that to me thou seem'st the man, whom late
Our new baptizing prophet at the ford
Of Jordan honour'd so, and call'd thee Son
Of God; I saw and heard, for we sometimes,
Who dwell this wild, constrain'd by want, come forth To town or village nigh, nighest is far,
Where aught we hear, and curious are to hear, What happens new; fame also finds us out.
To whom the Son of God: Who brought me hither Will bring me hence; no other guide I seek. By miracle he may, replied the swain,
What other way I see not, for we here Live on tough roots and stubs, to thirst inured More than the camel, and to drink go far,
Men to much misery and hardship born. But, if thou be the Son of God, command
That out of these hard stones be made thee bread,
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