If my command she dar'd for to obey.
Look back and see how all thy arts do lie:
Yet in these threatenings thou the same shalt see;
In thy own manner now I'll answer thee:
Thou say'st, my servant that thou would'st compel,
With all the armies thou hast got in hell,
To take her life, if she would not comply;
Then, Satan, stand and hear what I do say:
With all the armies I have got above,
I'll now defend all those that ME do love;
And thou shalt shortly see my mighty power,
And all thy host I shortly will devour;
And see, if thou canst be a king supreme,
By all thy hellish host that thou didst gain,
First by temptations, that were full of lies.
Look back and see when thou in heaven didst rise,
With pride and envy, and in rage didst swell,
Because the heavens thou could'st not all compel
To worship thee, that thou might'st be supreme.
Look back and see how here thou hast laid thy train :
And know, in heaven thou laid'st it just the same,
And said'st, thy wisdom was supreme to mine;
And so, thou said'st thou hadst the greatest power,
And by thy arts the angels didst devour,
To draw from glory and the bighest bliss;
Thou promised'st happiness that now they'll miss.
For as they judg'd thou wast the wisest king,
And thought in wisdom thou didst ME outshine;
For, as thou'st pleaded with the woman here,
Thou know'st in heaven thou surely didst appear;
In all that manner did thy fury go,
Thou swell'dst the angels with deceit, I know,
To tell them plainly thou hadst power supreme,
And falsely told them they should pleasures gain,
If in their hearts they would but worship thee:
And so my angels thou didst draw away.
And, by thy arts, thou sayest I was unjust,
When out of heaven thou by ME wast cast;
For, like thy pleading with the woman here,
Thou and thy angels daily did appear,
Until to threaten thou didst then begin,
And well thou know'st I cast thee for that thing;
And then together you did all agree
To plead against the just decrees of ME.*
In the same manner thou hast spoken here,
Thou, and thy angels they did so appear,
When cast out of heaven, the same sentiments prevailed among the fallen angels, that God was unjust, as at this day.
To say, no mercy, nor no truth's in MĖ;
Then now their rock I bid them for to see.
For as the seventeenth page it doth appear,
I tell thee, Satan, was thy pleading there,
That thou hast wisdom greater than their God;
And now thy wisdom shall to all be know'd;
For, by thy wisdom I did raise thee up,
And by thy wisdom now I'll make thee drop.
Because together you did all agree,
That Satan was a wiser king than ME;
And of my mercies you did all condemn;
Because I would not let the eavens become
In thy confusion, and a perfect hell;
As in thy heart thy malice it did swell,
To make the heavens in confusion there.
And now the mysteries I to man shall clear :
To gain my honour, then I rais'd him up,
And as a king on earth I let him drop;
And from the dust I then created MAN;
And gave him power for to lay his plan,
To be a king in power for to reign;
I gave him subjects he by arts could gain;
To shew his power I let him to go on,
To see what heaven he would make for man.
As they all judg'd the fittest king he'd be,
And thought the greatest pleasure was in he;
Then to their wisdom I did give all up ;
And to their wisdom now they all shall drop;
Because my honour I will gain it here;
To Satan's justice now shall all appear.
If he's a king in power now supreme,
Let him create an Earth, and subjects gain ;
For now my justice shall be tried by man;
He hath had his power, and he hath had it long;
And of his power men do still complain,
And say he is a king not fit to reign.
For such a king they do not want him here;
And men like angels they do now appear,
To have this prince be banish'd from his throne.
For Reprobation is begun by Man;
Then now Election you shall surely see;
And to his justice I will now agree.
For to his justice now the fool shall stand;
I rais'd him up; they all had ME condemn'd:
As in these writings he'th condemn'd мɛ here.
And now the mysteries I to man shall clear :
A Hell for Satan I did make at first;
For in themselves nothing but hell did burst:
For pride and malice, envy and debate,
For Satan's fury did the others heat;
And to themselves I banish'd them alone.
But from these pages must their words be known;
The twenty-second must be seen by man.
And there my mercies they did all condemn :
And said, a Devil now he'd surely be,
And all the angels they should join with he,
In blasphemy, he said, against their God,
And dar'd the angels for to say one word
In praise of heaven, or lament their fall.
For now the mysteries must be known to all,
How he the fallen angels did compel
To worship him, as they from heaven fell,
And dar'd them ever murmur in a word,
And boldly told them they should feel his rod;
Which made the fallen angels to submit,
And they did tremble at their leader's feet.
For, as the twenty-third page doth appear,
And whining Devils he did call them there;
Because their folly they did so lament :
And some, I know, they surely did repent,
That heavenly pleasures they did ever leave,
And said, the devil did them all deceive.
But then be boldly answer'd them again,
That my protection they could never gain,
And that in pieces them he'd surely tear,
And by his threatenings made them for to fear;
And told them heroes they would surely be,
If they in spirit then would join with he,
And all the power of their God defy;
Then he would praise them for their company.
For as the twenty-fourth page appears;
He asked what greater power they could fear,
If he was with them, always to protect,
He asked, what greater power did they expect?
And so his merits he would make them plead,
As thou dost Christ's. Remember what he said.
For as the twenty-fifth page doth appear,
God was unjust, he surely told them there;
And that their tongues they should not run so fast,
Because a discord in them all did burst;
When from the heavens they were hurried down,
I say, confusion in them all was found.
Here is easily understood the origin of Hell. The arm of Divine Power, to secure the society of the just in wisdom and happiness, cast out the infernals, and compels them to be confined in their own hellish union. And when the kingdom of heaven comes on earth, the infernal host must be cast and chained. that Man may be in heavenly union with God and his Angels.
And as the twenty-sixth page doth appear
Was Satan's pleadings with his angels there.
When out of heaven they at first were cast,
He, in that manner, on the angels burst,
And told them plainly God did act unjust,
"To have so great a king as he was cast,
"Whose mighty power from his own orb did come;
"And by his power he had created them;
"And therefore, they should worship him supreme."
Like all his pleadings here he did contend
With all the angels that did then repent,
That they to join with him did e'er consent;
Then of his power he as much did boast,
And made them all confess, "GOD was unjust,
"Not for to let him reign upon his throne,
"With all the angels he did call his own."
So he by threatenings got all on his side,
And all the justice of their God denied ;
And all together said, I was unjust;
And all condemned their God for being cast.
But as the Devil thou throughout didst blame,*
Just so my heavenly angels did the same.
But further on I shall direct the way,
And tell thee how his subtle arts did lie.
For as the Fourth Day it doth appear,
I tell thee so was Satan's pleading there,
With every blasphemy against his God,
That by the angels he was overthrow'd:
They and their MAKER he did so blaspheme,
When that the fallen angels he did gain,
By all his threatenings to stand by his side.
And here's the bill that now must be applied,
That he brought in against the Saviour there;
Because with ME the Crown he so did share:
And Satan said,
"" that I did cast him down;
"From his own orb he said his power was found;
"For never was it given him by мe.”†
And so together they did all agree,
That sure unjustly I had cast him there;
In heaven with Me he ought for to
And in my heaven to reign supreme a king ;
And so his wisdom unto all was seen,
To judge their Maker he was all unjust;
And so the bill against me it was cast.
So by their bill, I surely rais'd them up;
And by their bill the leader now shall drop.
+ Satan denies being formed of God.
As to the Angels he did then appeal,
If I in justice to them did not fail
His mighty power for to overthrow;
And now my justice he shall feel and know.
If he began a mighty king in heaven
For to oppose the laws that I had given,
And as a fiery serpent did appear,
I ask him how his "Golden Orb" came there?
Or how he breath'd in it the BREATH of LIFE?
I soon CREATED MAN to end the strife;
And of this world I made him lord below,
And all to Adam I did surely show,
That every thing I had given unto n an.
And now unto the Serpent I shall come,
And ask him, how he came a Prince below,
If I no justice unto him did show?
To give him power for to try his reign,
How he would act, where he could subjects gain?
And where his power I let him to show,
From Cain and Abel, I shall let him know,
That he a murderer instant did begin ;
Because his power o'er man in Cain was seen;
And so his brother he did instant slay:
But Abel's blood for Vengeance now doth lie,
To show the power of the boasted king.
And do they think such murderer I shall screen,
To have the heavens in murder to appear?
Like Cain and Abel must it all been there,
If I in heaven had e'er given him a seat,
After his pride and malice swell'd so great:
No; as the earth he surely did make mourn,
Just so the heavens he'd in disorder turn.
But as the angels, that with him did fall,
Judg'd ME unjust-and so they judg'd ME all;
Then, to convince them I did raise him up;
To gain my honour, let the fool to stop,
'Till I a heavier bill had brought them here;
And so my justice I that way shall clear,
To gain my honour over Satan's host,
And show their king, that they so much did boast;
And now their king I'll show his reign in men,
Where I let Satan guide their every hand.
But first a king I liken'd him to Saul,
When free from pride, I now do tell you all;
Or little in his eyes he did appear,
I gave him power he could never bear,
To see a DAVID after him to come,
With his ten thousands; this brought on his doom,
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