Which uttering, thus He to His FATHER spake.]
O FATHER! gracious was that word which clos'd
Thy fov'reign fentence, that man should find grace;
For which both heav'n and earth fhall high extol
Thy praises, with th' innumerable found
Of hymns and facred fongs, wherewith thy throne
Encompass'd fhall refound thee ever blest.
For should man finally be loft, fhould man
Thy creature late fo lov'd, thy youngest fon,
Fall circumvented thus by fraud, tho' 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 fhall the adversary thus obtain
His end, and fruftrate thine; fhall 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 thy felf
Abolish thy creation, and unmake
For him, what for thy glory thou haft made?
So fhould thy goodness and thy greatness both
Be question'd, and blafphem'd without defense.
To whom the great Creator thus reply'd,
O SON, in whom my foul hath chief delight,
SON of my bofom, Son who art alone
My word, my wisdom, and effectual might!
All haft thou spoken as My thoughts are, all
As My eternal purpose hath decreed.
Man fhall not quite be loft, but fav'd who will;
Yet not of will in him, but grace in Me
Freely vouchfaf'd: once more I will renew
His lapfed pow'rs, though forfeit, and inthrall'd
By fin to foul exorbitant defires :
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 chofen of peculiar grace
Elect above the reft: fo is My will:
The reft fhall hear Me call, and oft be warn'd
Their finful ftate, and to appease betimes
Th' incenfed Deity, while offer'd grace
Invites for I will clear their fenfes dark,
What may fuffice, and foften ftony hearts
To pray, repent, and bring obedience due.
To pray'r, repentance, and obedience due, ·
(Though but endeavour'd with fincere intent)
Mine ear shall not be flow, Mine eye not fhut.
And I will place within them as a guide
My umpire CONSCIENCE; whom if they will hear,
Light after light well us'd they fhall attain,
And to the end perfifting, fafe arrive.
This My long fafferance, and My day of grace,
They who neglect and fcorn, fhall never tafte;
But hard be harden'd, blind be blinded more;
That they may ftumble on, and deeper fall:
And none but such from mercy I exclude.
But yet all is not done: Man disobeying,
Difloyal breaks his fealty, and fins
Against the high fupremacy of heav'n,
Affecting God-head, and fo lofing all,
To expiate his treason hath nought left;
But to deftruction facred and devout,
He with his whole pofterity muft die;
Die he or Justice muft; unless for him
Some other able, and as willing, pay
The rigid fatisfaction, death for death.
Say, heav'nly Pow'rs, where fhall we find fuch love?
Which of ye will be mortal to redeem
Man's mortal crime: and juft, th' unjust to save?
Dwells in all heaven charity so dear?
He ask'd, but all the heav'nly choir stood mute,
And filence was in heav'n on man's behalf
Patron or interceffor, none appear'd; ·
Much less that durft upon his own head draw
The deadly forfeiture, and ranfom fet.
And now without redemption all mankind
Must have been loft, adjudg'd to death and hell
By doom severe, had not the Son of GOD,
(in whom the fulness dwells of love divine,)
His deareft mediation thus renew'd.
FATHER! thy word is paft, Man fhall find grace:
And shall not grace find means, that finds her way,
The speedieft of thy winged meffengers,
To vifit all thy creatures, and to all
Comes unprevented, unimplor'd, unfought?
Happy for Man, fo coming! He her aid
Can never feek, (once dead in fins, and loft)
Atonement for himfelf, or offering meet,
(Indebted, and undone !) hath none 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 fake will leave
Thy bofom, and this glory next to Thee
Freely put off, and for him laftly die
Well pleas'd, on Me let DEATH wreak all his rage.
Under his gloomy pow'r I fhall not long
Lie vanquish'd; Thou haft giv'n me to poffefs
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 loathfome grave
His prey, nor fuffer My unspotted foul
For ever with corruption there to dwell:
But I fhall rife victorious, and fubdue
My vanquifher, fpoil'd of his vanted spoil:
I through the ample air in triumph high
Shall lead hell captive, maugre hell! and show
The Pow'rs of darkness bound. Thou at the fight
Pleas'd out of heaven fhalt look down, and smile;
While by Thee rais'd I ruin all My foes,
Death his death's wound fhall then receive, and floop
Inglorious, of his mortal fting difarm'd.
DEATH laft, and with his carcafe glut the grave:
Then with the multitude of My redeem'd
Shall enter heav'n long absent, and return,
FATHER! to fee Thy face, wherein no cloud
Of anger shall remain; but peace affur'd
And reconcilement: wrath fhall be no more
Thenceforth, but in Thy presence joy entire.
His words here ended, but his meek afpect
Silent yet fpake, and breath'd immortal love
To mortal men, above which only fhon
Filial obedience: as a facrifice
Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will
Of his great FATHER. Admiration feiz'd
All heav'n, what this might mean, and whither tend
Wond'ring; but foon th' Almighty thus reply'd :
O Thou in heav'n and earth the only peace
Found out for mankind under wrath! O Thou
My fole complacence! well Thou know'ft how dear
To Me are all my works, nor Man the leaft
Though laft created; that for him I spare
Thee from My bofom and right hand, to save
(By lofing Thee a-while) the whole race loft.
Thou therefore whom thou only canft redeem,
Their nature also to Thy nature join;
And be Thyfelf Man among men on earth
Made flesh, when time shall be, of virgin-feed,
By wondrous birth: be Thou in ADAM's room
The head of all mankind, though ADAM's fon,
As in him perish all men, fo in Thee,
As from a fecond root, shall be reftor'd
As many as are reftor'd, without Thee none.
His crime makes guilty all his fons; They 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 fatisfy for man, be judg'd and die;
And dying rife, and rifing 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 eafily deftroy'd, and still destroys
In those who, when they may, accept not grace.
Nor fhalt Thou by defcending to affume
Man's nature, leffen or degrade thine own.
Because Thou haft (tho' thron'd in highest blifs
Equal to GoD, and equally enjoying
God-like fruition) quitted all to fave
A world from utter lofs, and haft been found
By merit more than birthright Son of GOD:
Found worthieft to be fo 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 alfo to this throne;
Here shalt thou fit incarnate, here shalt reign
Both GoD and MAN, SON both of GOD and Man,
Anointed Univerfal King; all pow'r
I give Thee, reign for ever, and affume
Thy merits under Thee as Head fupreme
Thrones, Princedoms, Pow'rs, Dominions I reduce:
All knees to thee shall bow, of 'em that 'bide
In heav'n, or earth, or under earth in hell;
When thou attended gloriously from heav'n
Shalt in the fky appear, and from Thee fend
The fummoning Arch-Angels to proclaim
Thy dread tribunal: forthwith from all winds
The living, and forthwith the cited dead
Of all paft ages, to the general doom
Shall haften, fuch a peal shall rouse their fleep!
Then all thy faints affembled, thou shalt judge
Bad men and Angels; they arraign'd fhall fink
Beneath Thy fentence; hell (her numbers full)
Thenceforth fhall be for ever fhut. Mean while
The world fhall burn, and from her afhes fpring
New heav'n and earth, wherein the juft fhall dwell;
And after all their tribulations long
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