For ever fhall indure; the like shall fing
All prophecy, that of the royal stock
Of David (so I name this king) shall rise
A Son, the Woman's feed to thee foretold,
Foretold to Abraham, as in whom shall truft
All nations, and to kings foretold, of kings
The laft, for of his reign fhall be no end.
But first a long fucceffion muft enfue,

And his next fon, for wealth and wisdom fam'd,
The clouded ark of God, till then in tents
Wand'ring, shall in a glorious temple' infhrine.
Such follow him as fhall be register'd

Part good, part bad, of bad the longer scroll,
Whose foul idolatries, and other faults

ever before thee; thy throne shall be eftablished for ever, z Sam. VII. 16. And this promife is called irrévocable, for fays God Pfal. LXXXIX. 34, 35, 36. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I fworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His feed shall indure for ever, and his throne as the fun before me. The poet goes on, the like fall fing all prophecy, all the prophets fhall foretel the fame, that of the royal flock of David fall rife a Son, infomuch that when the Pharifees were asked Whofe fon is Chrift, they all readily answer The fon of David.

325

330

335.

Heap'd

Matth. XXII. 42. foretold to thee as the Woman's feed, Gen. III. 15. foretold to Abraham as a perfon in whom all nations shall truft, Gen. XXII. 18. And in thy feed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, and in him shall the Gentiles truft, Rom. XV. 12. and to kings foretold, as the laft of kings, for of his reign shall be no end, according to the declaration of the Angel, Luke I. 32, 33. The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no end. So thoroughly has our author ftudied all the parts

of

Heap'd to the popular fum, will fo incenfe
God, as to leave them, and expose their land,
Their city', his temple, and his holy ark

With all his facred things, a fcorn and prey

To that proud city, whofe high walls thou faw'ft
Left in confufion, Babylon thence call'd.

There in captivity he lets them dwell

340

The space of fev'nty years, then brings them back,
Remembring mercy, and his covenant fworn

To David, stablish'd as the days of Heaven.
Return'd from Babylon by leave of kings

346

Their lords, whom God difpos'd, the houfe of God They first re-edify, and for a while

In mean eftate live moderate, till grown

359

In

of holy Scripture, and digefted them ham, ver. 128: but the Mediterrainto this work.

· 342. whofe high walls thou faw'ft &c.] I know not whether the poet has not here forgotten himself a little; for it is not ftrictly true, that Adam faw the walls left in confufion; it was no part of Adam's vision; it is only a part of the Angel's narration in this book. I was thinking then that perhaps Adam might fee places, tho' he could not fee perfons; as he fees the Nile, ver. 158, and mount Hermon and the Mediterranean, ver. 142, tho' he could not fee Abra

nean, and Hermon, and the Nile, feas, and mountains, and rivers, are fuch places as exifted at that very time, whereas the walls of Babel or Babylon were not built till feveral years afterwards, and Adam feems now to have loft his profpect of things future; as the Angel fays, I perceive thy mortal fight to fail, ver. 9. We must not therefore underftand the expreffion litterally; for verbs of feeing are often extended beyond the bare act, and are applied to other fenfes and other faculties of the mind,

In wealth and multitude, factious they grow;
But firft among the priests diffenfion fprings,
Men who attend the altar, and should most
Endevor peace their ftrife pollution brings
Upon the temple' itself: at last they seise
The scepter, and regard not David's fons,
Then lose it to a stranger, that the true
Anointed king Meffiah might be born
Barr'd of his right; yet at his birth a star
Unfeen before in Heav'n proclames him come,
And guides the eaftern fages, who inquire
His place, to offer incenfe, myrrh, and gold;
His place of birth a folemn Angel tells

355

360

To fimple fhepherds, keeping watch by night; 365
They gladly thither hafte, and by a quire
Of fquadron'd Angels hear his carol fung,
A virgin is his mother, but his fire

The pow'r of the most High; he shall ascend
The throne hereditary, and bound his reign

355.-their firife pollution brings Upon the temple itfelf: &c.] For it was chiefly through the contests between Jalon and Menelaus, highprietts of the Jews, that the temple was polluted by Antiochus Epiphanes. See 2 Maccab. V. and Prideaux.

370 With

At last they feife the fcepter, Arifto, bulas eldeft fon of Hyrcanus, highpriest of the Jews, was the first who affumed the title of king after the Babylonifh captivity; before Chrift 107. And regard not David's fons, none of that family having had the

govern

With earth's wide bounds, his glory with the Heavens.

He ceas'd, difcerning Adam with fuch joy Surcharg'd, as had like grief been dew'd in tears, Without the vent of words, which these he breath'd. O prophet of glad tidings, finisher

Of utmost hope! now clear I understand
What oft

375

loins 380

my fteddiest thoughts have search'd in vain; Why our great expectation should be call'd The feed of Woman: Virgin Mother, hail, High in the love of Heav'n, yet from my Thou shalt proceed, and from thy womb the Son Of God most High; fo God with Man unites. Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise Expect with mortal pain: say where and when 384 Their fight, what stroke shall bruise the victor's heel. To whom thus Michael. Dream not of their fight, As of a duel, or the local wounds

Of head or heel: not therefore joins the Son Manhood to God-head, with more strength to foil

Thy enemy; nor fo is overcome

390

Satan, whofe fall from Heav'n, a deadlier bruise,
Disabled not to give thee thy death's wound :
Which he, who comes thy Saviour, shall recure,
Not by destroying Satan, but his works

In thee and in thy feed: nor can this be,

But by fulfilling that which thou didst want,
Obedience to the law of God, impos'd
On penalty of death, and suffering death,
The penalty to thy tranfgreffion due,

395

And due to theirs which out of thine will grow: 400 So only can high justice reft appaid.

The law of God exact he shall fulfil

Both by obedience and by love, though love
Alone fulfil the law; thy punishment

In thee and in thy feed:] John III. 8. For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted, that he might defroy the works of the Devil.

400. And due to theirs which out

of thine will grow:] Punithment is due to men's actual tranfgreffions, tho' the original depravity, the tranfgreffion of Adam, was the root of them. Richardfon. though love Alane fulfil the law;] Rom. XIII. 10. Love is the fulfilling of the law. 409. his merits

403.

He

To fave them, &c.] Dr. Bentley fays that the conftruction demands Do fave them, and fo he fuppofes that Milton gave it. But I cannot chael is fpeaking of things to come, fee with what propriety, when Miand using the future tense before and after this fentence, he can here jump at once into the prefent tense do, and represent Chrift's merits as then actually saving them. And yet tho' I dislike the Doctor's alteration, I confefs that there is a difficulty in the common reading. The only fenfe that I can make of it is this,