pray thee, what was the Meaning of that Caution, IF YE BE FOUND OBEDIENT? Can we then ever want Obedience to him, or is it poffible we should forfake his Love, who formed us out of the Duft, and placed us here in the Fulness and utmost Measure of Blifs, that can be apprehended or fought after by human Defires? To whom the Angel made Anfwer: Son of Heaven and Earth! to what I am about to fay give great Attention! that thou art happy, owe it to GOD; that thou continueft happy, owe to thyfelf, that is, owe it to thy Obedience; therein stand firm: This was that Caution given thee, therefore be advised: Goo made thee perfect, but not unchangeable, and he made thee good; but he left it in thy own Power to perfevere or not ordained thy Will free by Nature, not over-ruled by inevitable Fate, or ftrict Neceffity. He requires our voluntary, and not our neceffitated Service; fuch with him finds no Acceptance, nor ever can find; for how can Hearts that are not free be tried, whether they ferve willingly or no? who will do nothing but what they muft by Destiny, and can chufe no other? I myself, and all the Hoft of Angels that stand in the Sight of the Throne of GOD, hold our happy State upon the fame Condition as you do yours, ONLY WHILE WE HOLD OUR OBEDIENCE, and upon no other Surety: We ferve freely, because we love freely; it being in our Will either to love or not, and in this we either ftand or fall: And fome are already fallen, fallen to Difobedience, and from Heaven to deepest Hell: From what high State of Blifs into what Misery!,

To whom, our great Anceftor replied. Divine Inftructor! I have heard thy Words attentively, and with an Ear more delighted, than when the Songs of Cherubim, fend heavenly Mufick by Night from the neighbouring Hills. Nor was I ignorant, that I was both as to Will and Deed, created quite free: Yet that we never fhall forget to love and obey our

MAKER,

MAKER, who has laid but one Command upon us fo mild and fo juft my conftant Thoughts always affured me and affure me ftill; though what thou telleft me, hath paffed in Heaven, hath moved fome Doubt within me, but more hath it moved Defire to hear (fo be it, thou confent) the Relation at full: Which muft needs be very strange and worthy to be heard with facred Silence: There yet remains great Part of the Day to come, for the Sun hath fcarcely finished half his Journey, and began his other half in the great Zone of Heaven.

CHA P. III.

Raphael tells Adam who his great Enemy is, informs him of Satan's first Revolt, and what was the Cccafion thereof. Abdiel forfakes Satan and bis Party.

T

HUS ADAM made his Requeft; and RAPHAEL after a fhort Paufe affenting, began thus:

FIRST of Men! What thou defireft of me, is no fmall Matter, for how fhall I explain to human Senfe the invifible Exploits of contending Spirits, or how relate without a Renewal of paft Grief, the Ruin of fo many, who once while they ftood firm to their Obedience were fo glorious and perfect? How laftly unfold the Secrets of another World, which perhaps may be improper to reveal, yet this is difpenfed with for thy Good: And what is out of thy Capacity, Ifhall fo delineate by likening fpiritual Things, to Things corporal, as best may make them understood: Though what if Earth be only the Shadow of Heaven; and the

Things that are in them, much like one another more than upon Earth they are imagined to be?

THIS World as yet was not created, and the wild Chaos reigned where now the Heavens roll, and where the Earth refts poifed upon her own Center; when upon a Day, (for Time applied to Motion meafures all Things durable by past, prefent, and future, though it be in Eternity) upon fuch a Day, as Heaven's great Year brings forth, the heavenly Hoft of Angels, called by Imperial Summons appeared forthwith before the Throne of the ALMIGHTY, from all the Ends of Heaven, in bright Order under their Hierarchs: Ten Thoufand, Thousand Enfigns advanced high, ftream in the Air, Standards, and Banners, betwixt the Van and the Rear, and ferve for Diftinftion of Hierarchies, of Orders and Degrees, or in their glittering Tiffues bear expreffed holy Memorials, Acts of Zeal and Love fairly recorded. Thus when they stood in Circles in Number inexpreffible, Orb within Orb, the infinite Father, by whom fat the Son, in the Bosom of Bliss, amidst them, as from a flaming Mount, whose Top Brightness had made invifible, Ipake thus:

ALL ye Angels! Children of Light! Thrones! Dominions! Princedoms! Virtues! and Powers! hear this my Decree, which fhall stand irrevocable. This Day have I begot whom I declare my only Son, and anointed him upon his holy Hill, he it is whom ye now behold at my Right Hand; I appoint him to be your Head: And I have fworn by myself, that every Knee in Heaven fhall bow to him, and confefs him LORD. Under his great Vicegerency do you all remain united, as though all were but one individual Soul, and be for ever happy: Who difobeys him, disobeys me, breaks the Union, and that Day becomes caft out from GOD, and all Bleffedness, and falls into

uter Darkness, deep into the loweft Gulph without any Redemption, and without End.

THUS fpoke the ALMIGHTY, and all feemed well pleafed with his Words: Seemed pleased, but all were not fo in Reality. They fpent that Day like other folemn Days in myftical Song and Dance about the facred Hill, (which yonder 'ftarry Sphere of Planets, and of fixed Stars, in all her Wheels refembles neareft; eccentric, intervolved, and yet moft regular when they feem moft irregular,) and in their Motions divine Harmony is expreffed fo fmoothly in charming Airs, that God's own Ear liftens delighted. The Evening approached now (for we have alfo our Evening and our Morning, not for Neceffity, but for pleafant Variety) and from the Dance with one Confent, they turned themselves to fweet Repaft, Tables are fet all in Circles, as they ftood, and all on a fudden were piled up with the Food of Angels and bright Nectar Hows in Cups of Pearls and Diamonds, and maffy Gold; the Produce of delicious Vines that were the Growth of Heaven.

REPOSED upon Banks of Flowers, and crowned with rich Garlands, they eat, and drink, and in fweet Communion quaff Immortality, and Joy, before the all-bounteous KING, who gave with a copious Hand and rejoiced in their Joy. Now when the Night exhaled with Clouds, from the high Mountain of GoD, whence Light and Shade both fpring, had changed the full Brightnefs of Heaven to grateful Twilight; (for Night does not come there, in total Darkness) and sweet Dews had difpofed all to Reft, except the unfleeping Eye of GOD; wide over all the Plain, and far wider than all the globofe Earth, if it were fpread out in Length (for fuch are the Courts of GoD) the Angels difperfed in Bands, and Files, and extended their

Camp

Camp in numberlefs Pavilions by living Streams that run among the Trees of Life; and fuddenly raifed up celeftial Tabernacles where they flept, refreshed with the cool Wind, except thofe, who in their Turn fung melodious Hymns all Night long before the Throne of GOD. But SATAN (call him fo now, for his former Name is no more heard in Heaven) did not take to any fuch Purpofe; he, one of the first if not the very first Arch-Angel, very great in Power, in Favour, and Pre-eminence; yet being filled with Envy against the Son of GOD, (who was that Day honoured by his great Father, proclaimed MESSIAH (r) and anointed King) could not bear through Pride to fee that Sight, and thought himself leffened and impaired, conceiving thence Difdain and deep Malice, he refolved as foon as it was Midnight, and all were in Sleep, and Silence, to defert with all his Legions, and contemptuously to leave the Supreme Throne unworshipped and unobeyed, and to him who was next in Degree under him, thus fpoke in fecret :

My dear Companion! doft thou fleep now? what Sleep can close thy Eyes, doft thou not remember the Decree of Yesterday, which hath paffed the Lips of the Almighty KING of Heaven? Thou waft ufed to impart thy Thoughts to me, 'I mine to thee, waking we had but one Mind, how then is it, that thy Sleep makes us differ, thou feeft there are new Laws impofed! New Laws made by him who reigns, may raife new Minds in us who ferve, and new Councils to debate what may hereafter happen: It is not fafe to utter more in this Place.--- Do thou affemble all thofe Angels of whom we lead the Chief; to tell them that by Command before Morning, I, and all thofe who are

(r) Meffiah; Heb. Meffias, and Chriftos in Greek, i. e. The Anointed. Chriftians believe that

Jefus born in Bethlehem, about A. M. 4000, in the Reign of Au guftus, is the true Meffiasor Chrift.

Z 2

under