Lie vanquish'd; thou hast given 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 victorious, and subdue
My vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil;
Death his death's wound shall then receive, and stoop Inglorious, of his mortal sting disarm'd.
I through the ample air in triumph high
Shall lead Hell captive, maugre Hell, and show The powers 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 carcase glut the grave : Then with the multitude of my redeem'd Shall enter Heaven 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 aspéct 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 Heaven, what this might mean, and whither tend Wondering; but soon the Almighty thus reply'd : O thou in Heaven 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 heavenly 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, lessen or degrade thine own. Because thou hast, though thron'd in highest bliss 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, 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, Powers, Dominions, I reduce : All knees to thee shall bow, of them that bide In Heaven or Earth, or under Earth in hell; When thou attended gloriously from Heaven Shalt in the sky appear, and from thee send The summoning Arch-Angels 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. Mean while The world shall burn, and from her ashes spring
New Heaven 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 scepter shalt lay by,
For regal scepter then 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 the Almighty ceas'd, but all The multitude of Angels with a shout
Loud as from numbers without number, sweet As from blest voices, uttering joy, Heaven rung With jubilee, and loud Hosannas fill'd
The eternal regions: lowly reverent
Towards either throne they bow, and to the ground
With solemn adoration down they cast
Their crowns inwove with amarant and gold,
Immortal amarant, a flower which once
In Paradise, fast by the tree of life
Began to bloom, but soon for man's offense
To Heaven remov'd where first it grew, there grows,
And flowers aloft shading the fount of life,
« ForrigeFortsæt » |