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Die he or Justice muft; unless for him
Some other able, and as willing, pay
The rigid fatisfaction, death for death.

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

Man's mortal crime: and just, th' unjust to save? Dwells in all heaven charity fo dear?

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216 He afk'd, but all the heav'nly choir ftocd 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 ransom set. 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 fullness dwells of love divine,) 225 His deareft mediation thus renew'd.

Father! thy word is past, Man shall find grace: And shall grace not 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)
Attonement for himself, or offering meet,

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(Indebted, and undone !) hath none to bring. 235 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 bosom, and this glory next to Thee

Freely put off, and for him laftly die

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Well pleas'd, on Me let Death wreak all his rage.
Under his gloomy pow'r I shall not long
Lie vanquish'd; Thou haft giv'n me to poffefs
Life in My felf 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

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My vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil :
Death his death's wound fhall then receive, and ftoop
Inglorious, of his mortal fting disarm'd.

I through the ample air in triumph high

Shall lead hell captive, maugre hell! and show 255
The Pow'rs of darkness bound. Thou at the fight
Pleas'd, out of heaven shalt look down, and smile;
While by Thee rais'd I ruin all My foes,

Death laft, and with his carcafs 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
affur'd
And reconcilement: wrath shall be no more
Thenceforth, but in Thy presence joy entire.

His words here ended, but His meek afpect
Silent yet spake, and breath'd immortal love
To mortal men, above which only shon
Filial obedience: as a facrifice

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Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will
Of His great Father. Admiration feiz'd

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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 275 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 fave (By lofing Thee a-while) the whole race loft. Thou therefore whom thou only canst redeem, Their nature alfo to Thy nature join ;

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And be Thy felf Man among men on earth,
Made flesh, when time shall be, of virgin-feed,
By wond'rous 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,

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As from a fecond root, fhall be restor'd
As many as are reftor'd, without Thee none.
His crime makes guilty all his fons; Thy merit 290
Imputed shall abfolve 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 fatisfie for man, be judg'd, and die;
And dying rife, and rifing with Him raise
His brethren, ranfom'd with His own dear life.
So, heav'nly love shall outdo hellish hate
Giving to death, and dying to redeem,

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So dearly to redeem what hellish hate

So easily destroy'd, and ftill deftroys

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In those who, when they may, accept not grace. Nor fhalt Thou by descending 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 save

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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,

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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 fhalt Thou fit incarnate, here fhalt reign 315
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 supreme

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Thrones, Princedoms, Pow'rs, Dominions I reduce:
All knees to thee fhall 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 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, such a peal shall roufe their fleep!

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Then all thy faints affembled, thou shalt judge 330 Bad men, and Angels; they arraign'd shall sink Beneath Thy fentence; hell (her numbers full) Thenceforth fhall be for ever fhut. Mean-while

The world shall burn, and from her afhes fpring
New heav'n and earth, wherein the just shall dwell;
And after all their tribulations long

Sce golden days, fruitful of golden deeds,
With joy and love triumphing, and fair truth:
Then Thou Thy regal fceptre fhalt lay by,
For, regal fceptre then no more shall need;
God fhall 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 fooner had th' Almighty ceas'd, but all
The multitude of Angels with a shout
(Loud, as from numbers without number; fweet,
As from bleft voices) utt'ring joy, heav'n rung
With jubilee, and loud hofanna's fill'd

Th'eternal regions. Lowly reverent

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Tow'rds either throne they bow, and to the ground
With folemn adoration down they caft

Their crowns, inwove with amarant, and gold,
Immortal amarant! a flow'r which once

In Paradife faft by the Tree of Life

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Began to bloom; but foon for man's offense

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To heav'n remov'd, where first it grew, there grows,

And flow'rs aloft fhading the fount of life;
And where the river of blifs thro' midft of heav'n
Rowls o'er Elysian flow'rs her amber stream:

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