Moses and Aaron — sent from God to claim
His people from enthralment, they return,
With glory and spoil, back to their promised land.
But first, the lawless tyrant, who denies
To know their God, or message to regard, Must be compelled by signs and judgments dire.
To blood unshed the rivers must be turned;
Frogs, lice, and flies, must all his palace fill With loathed intrusion, and fill all the land; His cattle must of rot and murrain die: Botches and blains must all his flesh emboss, And all his people; thunder mixed with hail, Hail mixed with fire, must rend the Egyptian sky, And wheel on the earth, devouring where it rolls; What it devours not, herb, or fruit, or grain, A darksome cloud of locusts swarming down Must eat, and on the ground leave nothing green; Darkness must overshadow all his bounds, Palpable darkness, and. blot out three days; Last, with one midnight stroke, all the first-born Of Egypt must lie dead. Thus, with ten wounds, The river-dragon, tamed, at length submits To let his sojourners depart, and oft
Humbles his stubborn heart, but still as ice More hardened after thaw! till, in his rage Pursuing whom he late dismissed, the sea Swallows him with his host, but them lets pass, As on dry land, between two crystal walls; Awed by the rod of Moses so to stand Divided, till his rescued gain their shore: Such wondrous power God to his saint will lend, Though present in his Angel, who shall go Before them in a cloud, and pillar of fire; By day a cloud, by night a pillar of fire; To guide them in their journey, and remove Behind them, while the obdurate king pursues.
All night he will pursue, but his approach Darkness defends between till morning watch; Then through the fiery pillar and the cloud, God, looking forth, will trouble all his host, And craze their chariot-wheels; when, by command, Moses once more his potent rod extends Over the sea; the sea his rod obeys; On their embattled ranks the waves return, And overwhelm their war. The race elect Safe towards Canaan, from the shore, advance Through the wild desert; not the readiest way, Lest, entering on the Canaanite alarmed, War terrify them, inexpert, and fear
Return them back to Egypt, choosing rather Inglorious life with servitude. For life, To noble and ignoble, is more sweet Untrained in arms, where rashness leads not on. This also shall they gain by their delay In the wild wilderness; there they shall found Their government, and their great senate choose Through the twelve tribes, to rule by laws ordained; God, from the mount of Sinai, whose grey top Shall tremble, He descending, will Himself, In thunder, lightning, and loud trumpets' sound, Ordain them laws; part, such as appertain To civil justice; part, religious rites Of sacrifice; informing them, by types And shadows, of that destined Seed to bruise The Serpent, by what means He shall achieve Mankind's deliverance. But the voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful: they beseech That Moses might report to them his will, And terror cease. He grants what they besought, Instructed that to God is no access
Without mediator, whose high office now Moses in figure bears, to introduce
One greater, of whose day he shall foretell, And all the prophets in their age, the times Of great Messiah shall sing. Thus, laws and rites Established, such delight hath God in men Obedient to his will, that he vouchsafes Among them to set up his tabernacle The Holy One with mortal men to dwell: By his prescript a sanctuary is framed Of cedar, overlaid with gold; therein An ark, and in the ark his testimony, The records of his covenant; over these A mercy-seat of gold, between the wings Of two bright cherubim; before him burn Seven lamps, as in a zodiac, representing The heavenly fires; over the tent a cloud Shall rest by day, a fiery gleam by night, Save when they journey, and at length they come, Conducted by his Angel, to the land Promised to Abraham and his seed. The rest Were long to tell; how many battles fought; How many kings destroyed, and kingdoms won; Or how the sun shall in mid heaven stand still A day entire, and night's due course adjourn, Man's voice commanding, Sun, in Gibeon stand, And thou, Moon, in the vale of Ajalon, Till Israel overcome!-so call the third From Abraham, son of Isaac; and from him His whole descent, who thus shall Canaan win.
Here Adam interposed: O sent from Heaven Enlightener of my darkness, gracious things Thou hast revealed, those chiefly which concern Just Abraham and his seed. Now first I find Mine eyes true opening, and my heart much eased, Erewhile perplexed with thoughts, what would become Of me and all mankind; but now I see
His day, in whom all nations shall be blest;
Favor unmerited by me, who sought Forbidden knowledge by forbidden means. This yet I apprehend not; why to those Among whom God will deign to dwell on earth, So many and so various laws are given ?
So many laws argue so many sins Among them; how can God with such reside?
To whom thus Michael: Doubt not that but sin Will reign among them, as of thee begot; And, therefore, was law given them, to evince Their natural pravity, by stirring up
Sin against. law to fight; that when they see Law can discover sin, but not remove,
Save by those shadowy expiations weak,
The blood of bulls and goats, they may conclude Some blood more precious must be paid for man; Just for unjust; that in such righteousness, To them by faith imputed, they may find Justification towards God, and peace Of conscience, which the law by ceremonies Cannot appease, nor man the moral part Perform, and, not performing, cannot live. So law appears imperfect and but given With purpose to resign them, in full time, Up to a better covenant, disciplined From shadowy types to truth, from flesh to spirit, From imposition of strict laws to free Acceptance of large grace, from servile fear To filial - works of law to works of faith. And, therefore, shall not Moses, though of God Highly beloved, being but the minister Of law, his people into Canaan lead; But Joshua, whom the Gentiles Jesus call, His name and office bearing, who shall quell The adversary Serpent, and bring back, Through the world's wilderness, long-wandered Man
Safe to eternal Paradise of rest.
Meanwhile they, in their earthly Canaan placed, Long time shall dwell and prosper, but when sins National interrupt their public peace,
Provoking God to raise them enemies
From whom as oft He saves them penitent, By Judges first, then under Kings; of whom The second, both for piety renowned And puissant deeds, a promise shall receive Irrevocable, that his regal throne For ever shall endure. The like shall sing All prophecy, that of the royal stock
Of David - so I name this king - shall rise A son, the Woman's Seed to thee foretold, Foretold to Abraham, as in whom shall trust All nations; and to kings foretold, of kings The last - for of his reign shall be no end. But first, a long succession must ensue; And his next son, for wealth and wisdom famed, The clouded ark of God, till then in tents Wandering, shall in a glorious temple enshrine. Such follow him as shall be registered Part good, part bad; of bad the longer scroll; Whose foul idolatries, and other faults, Heaped to the popular sum, will so incense God, as to leave them, and expose their land, Their city, his temple, and his holy ark, With all his sacred things, a scorn and prey To that proud city, whose high walls thou sawest Left in confusion - Babylon thence called.
There in captivity He lets them dwell
The space of seventy years; then brings them back, Remembering mercy, and his covenant sworn To David, 'stablished as the days of Heaven. Returned from Babylon by leave of kings,
Their lords, whom God disposed, the house of God
« PreviousContinue » |