First, Highest, Holiest, Best; thou always seek'st To glorify thy Son, I always thee,
As is most just This I my glory account, My exaltation, and my whole delight,
That thou, in me well pleas'd, declarest thy will Fulfill'd, which to fulfil is all my bliss. Scepter and power, thy giving, I assume, And gladlier shall resign, when in the end Thou shalt be all in all, and I in thee For ever; and in me all whom thou lov'st: But whom thou hat'st, I hate, and can put on Thy terrours, as I put thy mildness on,
Image of thee in all things; and shall soon, Arm'd with thy might, rid Heaven of these rebell'd; To their prepar'd ill mansion driven down, To chains of darkness, and the undying worm; That from thy just obedience could revolt, Whom to obey is happiness entire.
Then shall thy Saints unmix'd, and from the impure Far separate, circling thy holy mount,
Unfeigned Halleluiahs to thee sing,
Hymns of high praise, and I among them Chief.
So said, he, o'er his scepter bowing, rose From the right hand of Glory where he sat ;
And the third sacred morn began to shine,
Dawning through Heaven. Forth rush'd with whirlwind sound
The chariot of Paternal Deity,
Flashing thick flames, wheel within wheel undrawn,
Itself instinct with Spirit, but convoy'd
By four Cherubick shapes: four faces each
Had wonderous; as with stars, their bodies all
And wings were set with eyes; with eyes the wheels1
Of beryl, and careering fires between ; Over their heads a crystal firmament,1 Whereon a sapphire throne, inlaid with pure Amber, and colours of the showery arch. He, in celestial panoply all arm'd Of radiant Urim,2 work divinely wrought, Ascended at his right hand Victory Sat eagle-wing'd; beside him hung his bow And quiver with three-bolted thunder stor'd; And from about him fierce effusion roll'd
Of smoke, and bickering flame, and sparkles dire: Attended with ten thousand thousand Saints, He onward came; far off his coming shone ; And twenty thousand (I their number heard) Chariots of God, half on each hand, were seen; He on the wings of Cherub rode sublime On the crystalline sky; in sapphire thron'd, Illustrious far and wide. but by his own First seen; Then unexpected joy surpris'd, When the great ensign of Messiah blaz'd Aloft, by Angels borne, his sign in Heaven; Under whose conduct Michael soon reduc'd
His army, circumfus'd on either wing, Under their Head imbodied all in one. Before him Power Divine his way prepar'd; At his command the uprooted hills retir'd, Each to his place; they heard his voice, and went Obsequious; Heaven his wonted face renew'd, And with fresh flow'rets hill and valley smil❜d. This saw his hapless foes, but stood obdur'd, And to rebellious fight rallied their Powers, Insensate, hope conceiving from despair.
Crystal firmament:' the 'terrible crystal' of Ezekiel.- -Urim:' referring to the stones of mystic import on the high priest's breast.
In heavenly Spirits could such perverseness dwell? But to convince the proud what signs avail, Or wonders move the obdurate to relent? They, harden'd more by what might most reclaim, Grieving to see his glory, at the sight Took envy; and, aspiring to his highth, Stood re-embattled fierce, by force or fraud Weening to prosper, and at length prevail Against God and Messiah, or to fall In universal ruin last; and now To final battle drew, disdaining flight,
Or faint retreat; when the great Son of God To all his host on either hand thus spake.
Stand still in bright array, ye Saints, here stand, Ye Angels arm'd; this day from battle rest: Faithful hath been your warfare, and of God Accepted, fearless in his righteous cause; And as ye have received, so have ye done Invincibly: But of this cursed crew The punishment to other hand belongs : Vengeance is his, or whose he sole appoints : Number to this day's work is not ordain'd, Nor multitude; stand only, and behold God's indignation on these godless pour'd By me; not you, but me, they have despis'd, Yet envied; against me is all their rage, Because the Father, to whom in Heaven supreme Kingdom, and power, and glory appertains, Hath honour'd me, according to his will. Therefore to me their doom he hath assign'd; That they may have their wish, to try with me In battle which the stronger proves; they all, Or I alone against them; since by strength They measure all, of other excellence
Not emulous, nor care who them excels; Nor other strife with them do I vouchsafe.
So spake the Son, and into terrour chang'd His countenance too severe to be beheld, And full of wrath bent on his enemies.
At once the Four spread out their starry wings With dreadful shade contiguous, and the orbs Of his fierce chariot roll'd, as with the sound Of torrent floods, or of a numerous host. He on his impious foes right onward drove, Gloomy as night under his burning wheels The steadfast empyréan shook throughout, All but the throne itself of God. Full soon Among them he arriv'd; in his right hand Grasping ten thousand thunders, which he sent Before him, such as in their souls infix'd Plagues: They, astonish'd, all resistance lost, All courage; down their idle weapons dropt: O'er shields, and helms, and helmed heads he rode Of Thrones and mighty Seraphim prostráte, That wish'd the mountains now might be again Thrown on them, as a shelter from his ire. Nor less on either side tempestuous fell His arrows, from the fourfold-visaged Four Distinct with eyes, and from the living wheels Distinct alike with multitude of eyes; One Spirit in them ruled; and every eye
Glar'd lightning, and shot forth pernicious fire Among the accurs'd, that wither'd all their strength, And of their wonted vigour left them drain'd,
Exhausted, spiritless, afflicted, fallen.
Yet half his strength he put not forth, but check'd His thunder in mid volley; for he meant
Not to destroy, but root them out of Heaven:
The overthrown he raised, and as a herd Of goats or timorous flock together throng'd, Drove them before him thunder-struck, pursued With terrours and with furies, to the bounds And crystal wall of Heaven; which, opening wide, Roll'd inward, and a spacious gap disclos'd Into the wasteful deep: The monstrous sight Struck them with horrour backward, but far worse Urg'd them behind: Headlong themselves they threw Down from the verge of Heaven; eternal wrath Burnt after them to the bottomless pit.
Hell heard the unsufferable noise, Hell saw
Heaven ruining from Heaven, and would have fled Affrighted; but strict Fate had cast too deep Her dark foundations, and too fast had bound. Nine days they fell: Confounded Chaos roar'd, And felt tenfold confusion in their fall
Through his wild anarchy, so huge a rout Incumber'd him with ruin: Hell at last
Yawning received them whole, and on them clos'd; Hell, their fit habitation, fraught with fire
Unquenchable, the house of woe and pain. Disburden'd Heaven rejoic'd, and soon repair'd Her mural breach, returning whence it roll❜d. Sole Victor, from the expulsion of his foes, Messiah his triumphal chariot turn'd: To meet him all his Saints, who silent stood Eye-witnesses of his almighty acts, With jubilee advanc'd; and, as they went, Shaded with branching palm, each order bright, Sung triumph, and him sung victorious King, Son, Heir, and Lord, to him dominion given, Worthiest to reign: He, celebrated, rode Triumphant through mid Heaven, into the courts
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