with the Multitude of my Redeemed, to fee thy Face, wherein no Cloud of Anger fhall remain, but affur'd Peace and Reconcilement; thenceforward entire Joy fhall be in thy Prefence, and Wrath fhall be

no more.

HERE his Words ended; but his meek Afpect, tho' he was filent, fpake, and breath'd immortal Love to Mankind, above which only fhone filial Obedience; he attends the Will of his great FATHER, as a Sacrifice glad to be offer'd up. All Heaven was feiz'd with Admiration, what this might mean, anđ whither it would tend; but the ALMIGHTY foon reply'd:

My fole Delight! the only Peace in Heaven and Earth found out for Mankind, under Wrath; Thou knoweft well how dear all my Works are to me, and it fhows MAN not the leaft fo, though the laft creared; feeing that for his Sake I fpare Thee from my Bofom and Right-Hand, to fave (by lofing Thee for a Time) the whole Race that was loft: Do Thou, therefore, join thy Nature alfo to theirs, whom Thou alone canft redeem; and be Thyfelf a MAN upon Earth among MEN, and made Flesh, when the Fulnefs of Time fhall be, of Virgin Seed, by a miraculous Birth: Be Thou in the Room of ADAM, (f) the Head of all Mankind, though one of his Sons; as in him all MEN perifh, fo as from a fecond Root, in Thee fhall be reftor'd as many as are reftor'd, and without Thee none; His Crime makes all his Sons guilty; thy Merit accounted for theirs, fhall abfolvė all those who renounce their own Deeds, both righteous and unrighteous, and live engrafted in Thee, and I 2 receive

(f) Adam; Heb. i. e. Red. The Name of the first Man and first Woman: because they were formed of the Red Dust of the

Earth, Gen. 2. 7. 5. 2. As Home in Lat. is from Humus, i. e. the Ground: which points at both our Original and End.

receive new Light from Thee: So (as is moft just) MAN fhall fatisfy for M AN, be judg'd and die, and afterwards rife again, and with him raise his Brethren, ranfom'd with his own dear Life: So hellish Hate fhall be outdone by heavenly Love, giving itself to DEATH, and dying; fo dearly redeem what hellish Hate deftroy'd fo eafily, and still does deftroy in all thofe, who when they may will not accept of Grace. Nor fhalt Thou leffen or debase thy own Nature, by condefcending to affume that of MAN; because, tho' enthron'd in highest Blifs, equal to GOD, and enjoying the fame as the FATHER, Thou haft quitted all, to fave a whole World from utter Lofs, and haft been found the SON of GOD, by Merit more than by Birthright; form'd worthy to be fo, by Reafon of being good, far more than by being great or high; because Love hath abounded in Thee far beyond Glory: Therefore thy Humiliation fhall with Thee exalt thy Manhood alfo to this Throne; here Thou fhalt fit incarnate, and reign here, both GOD and MAN, the Son both of GOD and MAN, anointed the univerfal King; all Power I give unto Thee, do Thou reign for ever, and affume all Adoration as thy Merit; all the Angels of Heaven I put under thy Government; to Thee, as the fupreme Head, every Knee fhall bow, of Things in Heaven, and Things in Earth, and Things under the Earth; when Thou fhalt appear in the Sky, attended gloriously from Heaven, and fend from Thee Arch-Angels, with a Summons proclaiming thy dread Tribunal: Forthwith from all Corners of the Earth the Living shall haften to the general Doom, and the cited Dead of all Ages; (for fuch a Peal fhall rouze them from their Sleep) then all thy Saints being affembled, Thou fhalt judge bad MEN and bad Angels, when they come to be arraign'd, they fhall fink beneath thy Sentence, and Hell (the Number of the Damn'd being fill'd up) fhall be thenceforward fhut up for ever. Mean while

the

the World shall burn, and there fhall arife from her Ashes a new Heaven and a new Earth, wherein just MEN fhall dwell; and after all their long Perfecutions and Sufferings fee happy Days, that fhall bring forth nothing but Joy, Love triumphing, and fair Truth: After this Thou fhalt lay thy regal Scepter by, for there fhall then be no farther Ufe for it; but GOD fhall be all in all. All ye Angels of Heaven, give Adoration to him, who to compafs all this dies adore him, who is my only Son, and honour him even as ye honour me.

;

No fooner had the ALMIGHTY pronounc'd this, than the Multitude of Angels gave a Shout, uttering Joy; loud as from Numbers which were not to be number'd, and fweet as from bleft Voices; Heaven rung with Jubilee, (g) and loud HOSANNAS (b) fill'd the eternal Regions. Toward either Throne they bow lowly, reverent, and caft down to the Ground their Crowns, with folemn Adoration; Crowns that were adorn'd with Gold and immortal Amaranth, a Flower which once began to blow in PARADISE, juft by the Tree of Life; but after MAN's Fall was remov'd to Heaven, where it firft grew, now grows, and with its never-fading Bloom

I 3

(g) Jubilee; Lat. Gr. Heh. i. e. A Ram and a Ram's Horn: because the Jews proclaim'd their Feafts with the Sound of Trumpets made of Rams Horns, Lev. 25. 8. The Word came firft from Jubal the Son of Lamech, the Inventor of Musical Inftruments, Gen. 4. 21.

(b) Hofanna's; Lat. Gr. Heb. i.e. Save we beseech thee, or God bless the King. Solemn Rejoicings among the Jews in the Feaft of Tabernacles and Congratulations to their Kings.

And the Difciples went, and

"did as Jefus commanded them, "and brought the Afs, and the "Colt, and put on them their "Clothes, and they let him "thereon. And a very great "Multitude fpread their Gar"ments in the Way; others cut "down Branches from the Trees, "and ftrewed them in the Way. "And the Multitudes that went "before, and that followed, "cried, faying, Hofanna to the "Son of David: bleffed is he "that cometh in the Name of "the Lord, Hofanna in the "Higheft.,

Bloom fhades the Fountain of Life, and all along where the clear River of Blifs flows through the Midft of Heaven; with thefe immortal Flowers the elect Spirits bind their glorious Locks, wreath'd in with Beams of Light. Now the bright Pavement, that fhone like a Sea of Jafper, made Purple with heavenly Rofes, was cover'd with the Garlands which they had thrown off, afterwards taking their Crowns again, and their golden Harps that hung (always tun'd) like Quivers glittering by their Side, with fweet Preamble of charming Symphony, they ufher in their most, facred Song and exalted Praifes, no Voice being exempt; for fuch Concord there is in Heaven, that there was no Voice but could well join in fuch melodious Extaly.

To Thee, Oh! great GoD and FATHER of all!. they fung firft, almighty, unchangeable, immortal, infinite and eternal King! the Author of all Being, and the Fountain of Light, Thyfelf being invifible, and not to be approach'd amidst the glorious Brightnefs where Thou fit'ft enthron'd; but then when Thou cafts a Shadow over the full Blaze of thy Beams, thy Skirts appear, though drawn round about Thee, like a radiant Shrine; darkening with exceffive Brightness, and dazling Heaven, fo that the brightest Seraphim cannot approach, 'till they have veil'd their Eyes with their Wings.

THEE, first of all Creation, Thee they fung next, Begotten SoN! Divine Similitude! in whofe Countenance, without a Cloud and made visible in the Flesh, the Almighty FATHER fhines, whom no Creature elfe can behold: On Thee imprefs'd abides the Effulgence of his Glory, and on Thee refts his Spirit, pour'd out in Abundance and at full: By Thee he created the Heaven of Heavens, and all the Powers that are therein; and by Thee threw down fuch of thofe,

thofe, as through Pride and Ambition became rebellious: Then Thou didst not fpare thy FATHER's dreadful Thunder, nor ftop thy flaming Chariot Wheels, that fhook the everlasting Frame of Heaven; while Thou drov'ft over the Neck of the warring Angels, routed and put to Flight: Returning back from that Purfuit, thy holy Angels celebrated Thee with loud Shouts, calling Thee SON of thy FATHER'S Might, to execute fierce Vengeance on his Enemies: Not fo on MAN; but he thro' the Malice of Devils fallen, Thou FATHER of Mercy and Grace, didft not doom him fo ftrictly, but much rather inclin'd to Pity: No fooñer did thy dear and only SoN perceive that Purpose, but he much more inclin'd to Pity, to appeafe thy Wrath, and end the Contest perceivable in Thee, be, tween thy Juftice and thy Mercy, without Regard to the Throne of Blifs whereon he fat, and fecond to Thee, offer'd himself to die for the Offence and Difobedience of MAN. Oh Love! without Example, Love truly divine! Hail the Son of GOD, Hail Saviour of MEN! henceforth thy Name fhall be the great Subject of our Song, nor fhall our Harps ever neglect thy Praises, or feparate them from the Praises of Gop the eternal FATHER.

THUS happily the Angels fpent their Time in Heaven above the starry Sphere, in finging Hymns of holy Praise and Songs of Joy.