Selected quad for the lemma: work_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A50924
|
Paradise lost a poem in twelve books / the author John Milton.
|
Milton, John, 1608-1674.
|
1674
(1674)
|
Wing M2144; ESTC R13351
|
166,940
|
342
|
nor so is overcome Satan whose fall from Heav'n a deadlier bruise Disabl'd not to give thee thy deaths wound Which hee who comes thy Saviour shall recure Not by destroying Satan but his works In thee and in thy Seed nor can this be But by fulfilling that which thou didst want Obedience to the Law of God impos'd On penaltie of death and suffering death The penaltie to thy transgression due And due to theirs which out of thine will grow So onely can high Justice rest appaid The Law of God exact he shall fulfill Both by obedience and by love though love Alone fulfill the Law thy punishment He shall endure by coming in the Flesh To a reproachful life and cursed death Proclaiming Life to all who shall believe In his redemption and that his obedience Imputed becomes theirs by Faith his merits To save them not thir own though legal works For this he shall live hated be blasphem'd Seis'd on by force judg'd and to death condemnd A shameful and accurst naild to the Cross By his own Nation slaine for bringing Life Bur to the Cross he nailes thy Enemies The Law that is against thee and the sins Of all mankinde with him there crucifi'd Never to hurt them more who rightly trust In this his satisfaction so he dies But soon revives Death over him no power Shall long usurp ere the third dawning light Returne the Starres of Morn shall see him rise Out of his grave fresh as the dawning light Thy ransom paid which Man from death redeems His death for Man as many as offerd Life Neglect not and the benefit imbrace By Faith not void of workes this God-like act Annuls thy doom the death thou shouldst have dy'd In sin for ever lost from life this act Shall bruise the head of Satan crush his strength Defeating Sin and Death his two maine armes And fix farr deeper in his head thir stings Then temporal death shall bruise the Victors heel Or theirs whom he redeems a death like sleep A gentle wafting to immortal Life Nor after resurrection shall he stay Longer on Earth then certaine times to appeer To his Disciples Men who in his Life Still follow'd him to them shall leave in charge To teach all nations what of him they learn'd And his Salvation them who shall beleeve Baptizing in the profluent stream the signe Of washing them from guilt of sin to Life Pure and in mind prepar'd if so befall For death like that which the redeemer dy'd All Nations they shall teach for from that day Not onely to the Sons of Abrahams Loines Salvation shall be Preacht but to the Sons Of Abrahams Faith wherever through the world So in his seed all Nations shall be blest Then to the Heav'n of Heav'ns he shall ascend With victory triumphing through the aire Over his foes and thine there shall surprise The Serpent Prince of aire and drag in Chaines Through all his Realme and there confounded leave Then enter into glory and resume His Seat at Gods right hand exalted high Above all names in Heav'n and thence shall come When this worlds disolution shall be ripe With glory and power to judge both quick and dead To judge th' unfaithful dead but to reward His faithful and receave them into bliss Whether in Heav'n or Earth for then the Earth Shall all be Paradise far happier place Then this of Eden and far happier daies So spake th' Archangel Michael then paus'd As at the Worlds great period and our Sire Replete with joy and wonder thus repli'd O goodness infinite goodness immense That all this good of evil shall produce And evil turn to good more wonderful Then that which by creation first brought forth Light out of darkness full of doubt I stand Whether I should repent me now of sin By mee done and occasiond or rejoyce Much more that much more good thereof shall spring To God more glory more good will to Men From God and over wrauth grace shall abound Buâ— say if our deliverer up to Heav'n Must reascend what will betide the few His faithful left among th' unfaithful herd The enemies of truth who then shall guide His people who defend will they not deale Wors with his followers then with him they dealt Be sure they will said th' Angel but from Heav'n Hee to his own a Comforter will send The promise of the Father who shall dwell His Spirit within them and the Law of Faith Working through love upon thir hearts shall write To guide them in all truth and also arme With spiritual Armour able to resist Satans assaults and quench his fierie darts What man can do against them not affraid Though to the death against such cruelties With inward consolations recompenc't And oft supported so as shall amaze Thir proudest persecuters for the Spirit Powrd first on his Apostles whom he sends To evangelize the Nations then on all Baptiz'd shall them with wondrous gifts endue To speak all Tongues and do all Miracles As did thir Lord before them Thus they win Great numbers of each Nation to receave With joy the tidings brought from Heav'n at length Thir Ministry perform'd and race well run Thir doctrine and thir story written left They die but in thir room as they forewarne Wolves shall succeed for teachers grievous Wolves Who all the sacred mysteries of Heav'n To thir own vile advantages shall turne Of lucre and ambition and the truth With superstitions and traditions taint Left onely in those written Records pure Though not but by the Spirit understood Then shall they seek to avail themselves of names Places and titles and with these to joine Secular power though feigning still to act By spiritual to themselves appropriating The Spirit of God promisd alike and giv'n To all Beleevers and from that pretense Spiritual Lawes by carnal power shall force On every conscience Laws which none shall finde Left them inrould or what the Spirit within Shall on the heart engrave What will they then But force the Spirit of Grace it self and binde His consort Libertie what but unbuild His living Temples built by Faith to stand Thir own Faith not anothers for on Earth Who against Faith and Conscience can be heard Infallible yet many will presume Whence heavie persecution shall arise On all who in the worship persevere Of Spirit and Truth the rest farr greater part Well deem in outward Rites and specious formes Religion satisfi'd Truth shall retire Bestuck with slandrous darts and works of Faith Rarely be found so shall the World goe on To good malignant to bad men benigne Under her own waight groaning till the day Appeer of respiration to the just And vengeance to the wicked at return Of him so lately promiss'd to thy aid The Womans seed obscurely then foretold Now amplier known thy Saviour and thy Lord Last in the Clouds from Heav'n to be reveald In glory of the Father to dissolve Satan with his perverted World then raise From the conflagrant mass purg'd
but Man over men He made not Lord such title to himself Reserving human left from human free But this Usurper his encroachment proud Stayes nor on Man to God his Tower intends Siege and defiance Wretched man what food Will he convey up thither to sustain Himself and his rash Armie where thin Aire Above the Clouds will pine his entrails gross And famish him of Breath if not of Bread To whom thus Michael Justly thou abhorr'st That Son who on the quiet state of men Such trouble brought affecting to subdue Rational Libertie yet know withall Since thy original lapse true Libertie Is lost which alwayes with right Reason dwells Twinn'd and from her hath no dividual being Reason in man obscur'd or not obeyd Immediately inordinate desires And upstart Passions catch the Government From Reason and to servitude reduce Man till then free Therefore since hee permits Within himself unworthie Powers to reign Over free Reason God in Judgement just Subjects him from without to violent Lords Who oft as undeservedly enthrall His outward freedom Tyrannie must be Though to the Tyrant thereby no excuse Yet somtimes Nations will decline so low From vertue which is reason that no wrong But Justice and some fatal curse annext Deprives them of thir outward libertie Thir inward lost Witness th' irreverent Son Of him who built the Ark who for the shame Don to his Father heard this heavie curse Servant of Servants on his vitious Race Thus will this latter as the former World Still tend from bad to worse till God at last Wearied with their iniquities withdraw His presence from among them and avert His holy Eyes resolving from thenceforth To leave them to thir own polluted wayes And one peculiar Nation to select From all the rest of whom to be invok'd A Nation from one faithful man to spring Him on this side Euphrates yet residing Bred up in Idol-worship O that men Canst thou believe should be so stupid grown While yet the Patriark liv'd who scap'd the Flood As to forsake the living God and fall To worship thir own work in Wood and Stone For Gods yet him God the most High voutsafes To call by Vision from his Fathers house His kindred and false Gods into a Land Which he will shew him and from him will raise A mightie Nation and upon him showre His benediction so that in his Seed All Nations shall be blest he straight obeys Not knowing to what Land yet firm believes I see him but thou canst not with what Faith He leaves his Gods his Friends and native Soile Vr of Chaldaea passing now the Ford To Haran after him a cumbrous Train Of Herds and Flocks and numerous servitude Not wandring poor but trusting all his wealth With God who call'd him in a land unknown Canaan he now attains I see his Tents Pitcht about Sechem and the neighbouring Plaine Of Moreh there by promise he receaves Gift to his Progenie of all that Land From Hamath Northward to the Desert South Things by thir names I call though yet unnam'd From Hermon East to the great Western Sea Mount Hermon yonder Sea each place behold In prospect as I point them on the shoare Mount Carmel here the double-founted stream Jordan true limit Eastward but his Sons Shall dwell to Senir that long ridge of Hills This ponder that all Nations of the Earth Shall in his Seed be blessed by that Seed Is meant thy great deliverer who shall bruise The Serpents head whereof to thee anon Plainlier shall be reveald This Patriarch blest Whom faithful Abraham due time shall call A Son and of his Son a Grand-childe leaves Like him in faith in wisdom and renown The Grand childe with twelve Sons increast departs From Canaan to a Land hereafter call'd Egypt divided by the River Nile See where it flows disgorging at seaven mouthes Into the Sea to sojourn in that Land He comes invited by a yonger Son In time of dearth a Son whose worthy deeds Raise him to be the second in that Realme Of Pharao there he dies and leaves his Race Growing into a Nation and now grown Suspected to a sequent King who seeks To stop thir overgrowth as inmate guests Too numerous whence of guests he makes them slaves Inhospitably and kills thir infant Males Till by two brethren those two brethren call Moses and Aaron sent from God to claime His people from enthralment they return With glory and spoile back to thir promis'd Land But first the lawless Tyrant who denies To know thir God or message to regard Must be compelld by Signes and Judgements dire To blood unshed the Rivers must be turnd Frogs Lice and Flies must all his Palace fill With loath'd intrusion and fill all the land His Cattel must of Rot and Murren die Botches and blaines must all his flesh imboss And all his people Thunder mixt with Haile Haile mixt with fire must rend th' Egyptian Skie And wheel on th' Earth devouring where it rouls What it devours not Herb or Fruit or Graine A darksom 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 dayes Last with one midnight stroke all the first-born Of Egypt must lie dead Thus with ten wounds The River-dragon tam'd at length submits To let his sojourners depart and oft Humbles his stubborn heart but still as Ice More hard'nd after thaw till in his rage Pursuing whom he late dismissd the Sea Swallows him with his Host but them le ts pass As on drie land between two christal walls Aw'd by the rod of Moses so to stand Divided till his rescu'd gain thir shoar Such wondrous power God to his Saint will lend Though present in his Angel who shall goe Before them in a Cloud and Pillar of Fire By day a Cloud by night a Pillar of Fire To guide them in thir journey and remove Behinde them while th' obdurat King pursues All night he will pursue but his approach Darkness defends between till morning Watch Then through the Firey Pillar and the Cloud God looking forth will trouble all his Host And craze thir Chariot wheels when by command Moses once more his potent Rod extends Over the Sea the Sea his Rod obeys On thir imbattelld ranks the Waves return And overwhelm thir Warr the Race elect Safe towards Canaan from the shoar advance Through the wilde Desert not the readiest way Least entring on the Canaanite allarmd Warr terrifie them inexpert and feare Return them back to Egypt choosing rather Inglorious life with servitude for life To noble and ignoble is more sweet Untraind in Armes where rashness leads not on This also shall they gain by thir delay In the wide Wilderness there they shall found Thir government and thir great Senate choose Through the twelve Tribes to rule by Laws ordaind God from the Mount of Sinai whose gray top Shall tremble he descending will himself In Thunder Lightning