Thy creature late so lov'd, thy youngest son,
Fall circumvented thus by fraud, though join'd
With his own folly that be from thee far;
That far be from thee, Father, who art judge
Of all things made, and judgest only right.
Or shall the adversary thus obtain

His end, and frustrate thine? shall he fulfil
His malice, and thy goodness bring to nought,
Or proud return, though to his heavier doom,
Yet with revenge accomplish'd, and to hell
Draw after him the whole race of mankind,
By him corrupted? or wilt thou thyself
Abolish thy creation, and unmake,

For him, what for thy glory thou hast made?
So should thy goodness and thy greatness both
Be question'd and blasphem'd without defence.
To whom the Great Creator thus reply'd:
O Son, in whom my soul hath chief delight,
Son of my bosom, Son who art alone
My word, my wisdom, and effectual might,
All hast thou spoken, as my thoughts are, all
As my eternal purpose hath decreed.
Man shall not quite be lost, but sav'd who will;
Yet not of will in him, but grace in me
Freely vouchsaf'd; once more I will renew
His lapsed pow'rs, though forfeit, and inthrall'd
By sin to foul exorbitant desires;

Upheld by me, yet once more he shall stand
On even ground against his mortal foe;
By me upheld, that he may know how frail
His fall'n condition is, and to me owe
All his deliv'rance, and to none but me.
Some I have chosen of peculiar grace,
Elect above the rest; so is my will:

The rest shall hear me call, and oft be warn'd
Their sinful state, and to appease betimes
Th' incensed Deity, while offer'd grace
Invites; for I will clear their senses dark,
What may suffice, and soften stony hearts
To pray, repent, and bring obedience due.

To pray❜r, repentance, and obedience due,
Though but endeavour'd with sincere intent,
Mine ear shall not be slow, mine eye not shut;
And I will place within them as a guide,
My umpire Conscience; whom if they will hear,
Light after light, well us?d, they shall attain,
And to the end persisting, safe arrive.

This my long suff'rance, and my day of grace,
They who neglect and scorn shall never taste;
But hard be harden'd; blind be blinded more,
That they may stumble on, and deeper fall:
And none but such from mercy I exclude.
But yet all is not done; man disobeying,
Disloyal breaks his fealty, and sins
Against the high supremacy of heav'n,
Affecting godhead, and so losing all,
To expiate his treason hath nought left;
But to destruction, sacred and devote,
He, with his whole posterity, must die.
Die he or justice must; unless for him
Some other able, and as willing, pay
The rigid satisfaction, death for death.

Say, heav'nly pow'rs, where shall we find such love? ›
Which of ye will be mortal, to redeem

Man's mortal crime, the just th'unjust to save?
Dwells in all heaven charity so dear?

He ask'd; but all the heav'nly quire 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
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,
His dearest meditation thus renew'd:

Father, thy word is past, man shall find grace; And shall grace not find ineans, that finds her way, The speediest of thy winged messengers,

To visit all thy creatures, and to all
Comes unprevented, unimplor'd, unsought?
Happy for man, so coming: he her aid

Can never seek, once dead in sins, and lost;
Atonement for himself, or offering meet,
Indebted and undone, hath nose to bring.
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

Well pleas'd: on me let Death wreak all his rage;
Under his gloomy pow'r I shall not long
Lie vanquish'd; thou hast giv'n me to possess
Life in myself for ever; by thee I live,

Though now to Death I yield, and am his due,
All that of me can die; yet that debt paid,
Thou wilt not leave me in the loathsome grave
His prey, nor suffer my unspotted soul
For ever with corruption there to dwell;
But I shall rise v ctorious, and subdue
My vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil;
Death his death's wound shail then receive, and stoop
Inglorious, of his mortal sting disarin'd.

1 through the ample air, in triumph high
Shall lead hell captive, maugre hell, and show
The pow'rs of darkness bound. Thou at the sight
Pleas'd, out of heaven shalt look down, and smile;
While, by thee rais'd, I ruin all my foes,
Death last, and with his carcass glut the grave:
Then, with the multitude of my redeem'd
Shall enter heav'n, long absent, and return,
Father, to see thy face, wherein no cloud
Of anger shall remain, but peace assur'd,
And reconcilement; wrath shall be no more
Thenceforth, but in thy presence joy entire.

His words here ended, but his meek aspect
Silent yet spake, and breath'd immortal love
To mortal men, above which only shone

Filial obedience: as a sacrifice,

Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will

Of his great Father. Admiration seiz'd

All heav'n, what this might mean, and whither tend, Wond'ring; but soon th' Almighty thus reply'd:

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.
Thou, therefore, whom thou only canst redeem,
Their nature also to thy nature join,

And be thyself Man among men on earth,
Made flesh, when time shall be, of virgin seed,
By wondrous birth: be thou, in Adam's room,
The head of all mankind, though Adam's son.
As in him perish all men, so in thee,
As from a second root, shall be restor❜d
As many as are restor'd, without thee none.
His crime makes guilty all his sons; thy merit
Imputed shall absolve them who renounce
Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds,
And live in thee transplanted, and from thee
Receive new life. So man, as is most just,
Shall satisfy for man, be judg'd, and die,
And dying rise, and rising with him raise
His brethren, ransom'd with his own dear life.
So heav'nly love shall outdo hellish hate,
Giving to death, and dying to redeem,
So dearly to redeem what hellish hate
So easily destroy'd, and still destroys,

In those who, when they may, accept not grace.
Nor shalt thou, by descending to assume

Man's nature, lesson or degrade thine own.
Because thou hast, though thron'd in highest bliss
Equal to God, and equally enjoying

Godlike fruition, quitted all to save

A world from utter loss, and hast been found

By merit more than birthright Son of God,
Found worthiest to be so by being good,

Far more than great or high; because in thee
Love hath abounded more than glory abounds;
Therefore thy humiliation shall exalt

With thee thy manhood also to this throne;
Here shalt thou sit incarnate, here shalt reign
Both God and man, Son both of God and man,
Anointed universal King; all power

I give thee; reign for ever, and assume
Thy merits; under thee, as head supreme,
Thrones, princedoms, pow'rs, dominions I reduce:
All knees to thee shall bow, of them that bide
In heav'n, or earth, or under earth in hell.
When thou, attended gloriously-from heav'n,
Shalt in the sky appear, and from thee send
The summoning archangels to proclaim
Thy dread tribunal; forthwith from all winds
The living, and forthwith the cited dead
Of all past ages, to the general doom

Shall hasten; such a peal shall rouse their sleep:
Then, all thy saints assembled, thou shalt judge
Bad men and angels; they arraign'd shall sink
Beneath thy sentence; hell, her numbers full,
Thenceforth shall be for ever shut. Meanwhile
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.
Then thou thy regal sceptre shalt lay by,
For regal sceptre there no more shall need,
God shall be all in all. But all ye gods
Adore him, who to compass all this, dies;
Adore the Son, and honour him as me.

No sooner had th' Almighty ceas'd, but all
The multitude of angels, with a shout

Loud as from numbers without number, sweet
As from bless'd voices, uttering joy,
heav'n rung
With jubilee, and loud hosanna's fill'd