receive new Light from Thee: So (as is most just) MAN fhall fatisfy for MAN, be judg'd and die, and afterwards rife again, and with him raise his Brethren, ranfom'd with his own dear Life: So hellish Hate fhall be outdone by heavenly Love, giving itself to DEATH, and dying; fo dearly redeem what hellish. Hate deftroy'd fo eafily, and ftill does destroy in all thofe, who when they may will not accept of Grace. Nor fhalt Thou leffen or debafe thy own Nature, by condefcending to affume that of 'MAN; becaufe, tho' enthron'd in highest Blifs, equal to GOD, and enjoying the fame as the FATHER, Thou haft quitted all, to fave a whole World from utter Lofs, and haft been found the Son of God, by Merit more than by Birthright; form'd worthy to be fo, by Reafon of being good, far more than by being great or high; becaufe Love hath abounded in Thee far beyond Glory: Therefore thy Humiliation fhall with Thee exalt thy Manhood alfo to this Throne; here Thou shalt fit incarnate, and reign here, both GOD and MAN, the Son both of GOD and MAN, anointed the univerfal King; all Power I give unto Thee, do Thou reign for ever, and affume all Adoration as thy Merit; all the Angels of Heaven I put under thy Government; to Thee, as the fupreme Head, every Knee fhall bow, of Things in Heaven, and Things in Earth, and Things under the Earth; when Thou fhalt appear in the Sky, attended gloriously from Heaven, and fend from Thee Arch-Angels, with a Summons proclaiming thy dread Tribunal: Forthwith from all Corners of the Earth the Living fhall haften to the general Doom, and the cited Dead of all Ages; (for fuch a Peal fhall rouze them from their Sleep) then all thy Saints being affembled, Thou fhalt judge bad MEN and bad Angels, when they come to be arraign'd, they fhall fink beneath thy Sentence, and Hell (the Number of the Damn'd being fill'd up) shall be thenceforward fhut up for ever. Mean while

the

the World shall burn, and there fhall arife from her Ashes a new Heaven and a new Earth, wherein just MEN fhall dwell; and after all their long Perfecutions and Sufferings fee happy Days, that fhall bring forth nothing but Joy, Love triumphing, and fair Truth: After this Thou fhalt lay thy regal Scepter by, for there fhall then be no farther Ufe for it, but GOD fhall be all in all. All ye Angels of Heaven, give Adoration to him, who to compafs all this dies; adore him, who is my only Son, and honour him even as ye honour me.

No fooner had the ALMIGHTY pronounc'd this, than the Multitude of Angels gave a Shout, uttering Joy; loud as from Numbers which were not to be number'd, and fweet as from bleft Voices; Heaven rung with Jubilee, (g) and loud HOSANNAS (b) fill'd the eter-. nal Regions. Toward either Throne they bow lowly, reverent, and cast down to the Ground their Crowns, with folemn Adoration; Crowns that were adorn'd with Gold and immortal Amaranth, a Flower which once began to blow in PARADISE, juft by the Tree of Life; but after MA N's Fall was remov'd to Heaven, where it firft grew, now grows, and with its never-fading

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(g) Jubilee; Lat. Gr. Heh. i. e. A Ram and a Ram's Horn: because the Jews proclaim'd their Feafts with the Sound of Trumpets made of Rams Horns, Lev. 25. 8. The Word came first from Jubal the Son of Lamech, the Inventor of Mufical Inftruments, Gen. 4. 21.

(b) Hofanna's; Lat. Gr. Heb. i. e. Save we beseech thee, or God bless the King. Solemn Rejoicings among the Jews in the Feaft of Tabernacles and Congratulations to their Kings.

And the Difciples went, and

Bloom

Bloom fhades the Fountain of Life, and all along where the clear River of Blifs flows through the Midft of Heaven; with thefe immortal Flowers the elect Spirits bind their glorious Locks, wreath'd in with Beams of Light. Now the bright Pavement, that fhone like a Sea of Jafper, made Purple with heavenly Rofes, was cover'd with the Garlands which they had thrown off; afterwards taking their Crowns again, and their golden Harps that hung (always tun'd) like Quivers glittering by their Side, with fweet Preamble of charming Symphony, they ufher in their most facred Song and exalted Praifes, no Voice being exempt; for fuch Concord there is in Heaven, that there was no Voice but could well join in fuch melodious Extafy.

To Thee, Oh! great GoD and FATHER of all! they fung first, almighty, unchangeable, immortal, infinite and eternal King! the Author of all Being, and the Fountain of Light, Thyfelf being invisible, and not to be approach'd amidft the glorious Brightnefs where Thou fit'ft enthron'd; but then when Thou cafts a Shadow over the full Blaze of thy Beams, thy Skirts appear, though drawn round about Thee, like a radiant Shrine; darkening with exceffive Brightness, and dazling Heaven, fo that the brightest Seraphim cannot approach, 'till they have veil'd their Eyes with their Wings.

THEE, first of all Creation, Thee they fung next, Begotten SoN! Divine Similitude! in whofe Countenance, without a Cloud and made visible in the Flesh, the Almighty FATHER fhines, whom no Creature elfe can behold: On Thee imprefs'd abides the Effulgence of his Glory, and on Thee refts his Spirit, pour'd out in Abundance and at full: By Thee he created the Heaven of Heavens, and all the Powers that are therein; and by Thee threw down fuch of thofe,

thofe, as through Pride and Ambition became rebellious: Then Thou didst not fpare thy FATHER's dreadful Thunder, nor stop thy flaming Chariot Wheels, that fhook the everlasting Frame of Heaven; while Thou drov'ft over the Neck of the warring Angels, routed and put to Flight: Returning back from that Pursuit, thy holy Angels celebrated Thee with loud Shouts, calling Thee SON of thy FATHER'S Might, to execute fierce Vengeance on his Enemies: Not fo on MAN; but he thro' the Malice of Devils fallen, Thou FATHER of Mercy and Grace, didft not doom him fo ftrictly, but much rather inclin'd to Pity: No fooner did thy dear and only SoN perceive that Purpose, but he much more inclin'd to Pity, to appease thy Wrath, and end the Conteft perceivable in Thee, between thy Juftice and thy Mercy, without Regard to the Throne of Blifs whereon he fat, and fecond to Thee, offer'd himself to die for the Offence and Difobedience of MAN. Oh Love! without Example, Love truly divine! Hail the Son of GOD, Hail' Saviour of MEN! henceforth thy Name fhall be the great Subject of our Song, nor fhall our Harps ever neglect thy Praises, or feparate them from the Praifes of GOD the eternal FATHER.

THUS happily the Angels fpent their Time in Heaven above the starry Sphere, in finging Hymns of holy Praise and Songs of Joy.

CHA P. III.

Satan lights upon the bare Convex of the World's outermoft Orb, where he first finds a Place fince call'd the Limbo of Vanity.

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upon

EAN while SATAN lighted and walk'd that firm opacous Globe of this round World, whofe first Convex divides the inferior Orbs that are under it, and enclofes them from CHAOS and NIGHT: Afar off it seem'd a Globe, but now a boundless Continent, dark, waste, and wild, under the Darkness of NIGHT, expos'd, ftarless, with Storms of CHAOs always blustering round it, and an inclement Sky; excepting on that Side, which, tho' at great Distance from the Walls of Heaven, gains some small Reflection of glimmering Air, lefs vex'd with loud Tempeft; here the Fiend walk'd at large; as when a VULTURE (i) upon the Mountain IMAUS, (k) (whose fnowy Ridge bounds in the roving Inhabitants of TARTARY) (1) having left a Country where there

(i) Vulture; Lat. i. e. of a piercing harp Sight. A very voracious Bird, bigger than an Eagle, of an excellent Sagacity of Sight and Smelling above all other Birds; fo that it can perceive the Savour of dead Carcaffes fifty Miles off; and appear two or three Days before any great Slaughter. They feed only upon Carcaffes, but prey not upon any living Creatures.

(k) Imaus; Lat. Gr. Tat. contracted from Mus Tag, i. e. The Mountain of Snow, as the Tartars call it; being always covered therewith. A vaft high

was

Mountain in Afia, a Part of Mount Taurus, rifing from it near the Cafpian Sea; and extending to the Spring of the Ganges. It parts Tartary from India, dividing it into two Parts, i. e. Tartary within, and Tarcary without the Imaus. Now Dalanguer.

(1) Tartary; Syr. i.e. Dark, a Remnant; because they are thought to be the Remainder of the Ten Tribes of Ifrael. Tar tary, is a very large Country between Muscovy and India, a: bout 3000 Miles in Length, and 2250 Miles in Breadth; the

tary,