I
Who e'er while the happy Garden fung, By one man's Difobedience loft, now fing Recover'd Paradise to all mankind, By one man's firm Obedience fully try'd Through all temptation, and the Tempter foil'd In all his wiles, defeated and repuls'd,
And Eden rais'd in the wafte Wilderness.
Thou Spirit who ledit this glorious Eremite Into the Defart, his Victorious Field Against the spiritual Foe, and brought'ft him thence By proof the undoubted Son of God, inspire, As thou art wont, my prompted Song else mute, B
And
And bear thro' heighth or depth of Nature's bounds
With profperous wing full fumm'd to tell of deeds
Above Heroic, though in fecret done,
And unrecorded left through many an Age,
Worthy t'have not remain'd so long unfung.
Now had the great Proclaimer with a voice
More awful than the found of Trumpet, cry'd
Repentance, and Heaven's Kingdom nigh at hand
To all Baptiz'd: to his great Baptism flock'd
With awe the Regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth the Son of Jofeph deem'd
To the flood Jordan came, as then obfcure,
Unmarkt, unknown; but him the Baptist soon
Defcry'd, divinely warn'd, and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have refign'd
To him his Heavenly Office, nor was long
His witness unconfirm'd: on him baptiz'd
Heav'n open'd, and in likeness of a Dove
The Spirit defcended, while the Father's voice
From Heav'n pronounc'd him his beloved Son.
That heard the Adversary, who roving still
About the World, at that Affembly fam'd
Would not be last, and with the voice divine
Nigh Thunder-ftruck, th' exalted man, to whom
Such high atteft was giv'n, a while furvey'd
With wonder, then with envy fraught, and rage,
Flies to his place, nor refts, but in mid air
To Council fummons all his mighty Peers,
Within thick Clouds and dark ten-fold involv'd,
A gloomy Confiftory; and them amidst
With looks agaft and fad he thus befpake.
O ancient Pow'rs of Air and this wide world,
For much more willingly I mention Air,
This our old Conqueft, than remember Hell
Our hated habitation; well ye know
How many Ages, as the years of men,
This Universe we have poffeft, and rul'd
In manner at our will th' affairs of Earth,
Since Adam and his facil confort Eve
Loft Paradise deceiv'd by me, though fince
With dread attending when that fatal wound
Shall be inflicted by the Seed of Eve
Upon my head, long the decrees of Heav'n
Delay, for longest time to him is fhort;
And now too foon for us the circling hours
This dreaded time have compast, wherein we
B 2
Muft
Muft bide the ftroak of that long threaten'd wound,
At least if fo we can, and by the head
Broken be not intended all our power
To be infring'd, our freedom and our being.
In this fair Empire won of Earth and Air,
For this ill news I bring, the Woman's feed
Deftin'd to this, is late of Woman born,
His Birth to our just fear gave no small cause,
But his growth now to youth's full flow'r,displaying
All virtue, grace, and wisdom to atchieve
Things highest, greatest, multiplies my fear.
Before him a great Prophet, to proclaim
His coming, is fent Harbinger, who all
Invites, and in the Confecrated stream
Pretends to wash off fin, and fit them fo
Purifi❜d to receive him pure, or rather
To do him honour as their King, all come,
And he himself among them was Baptiz'd,
Not thence to be more pure, but to receive
The Testimony of Heav'n, that who he is
Thenceforth the Nations may not doubt; I faw
The Prophet do him reverence, on him rifing
Out of the Water, Heav'n above the Clouds
|