^. KMBBR Ejiwsa 'H-: * \- -/ HfiSE|9ut^HMHn HHHfcdSBl Bl ^K THE! MESSIAH TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF . KWPSTOCK. A NEW EDITION, IS OXE TOLL' ME. BUNGAY: JND PUBLISHED SY C, SSIOSTJLT, J808. TO THE PUBLIC. MR. KLOPSTOCK \u received from big Messiah the honour of being esteemed the Milton of Germany, and is considered as having completed what that favtfurite son of the British muse had left unfinished. Mr. Klopstock's Mesiiah is formed upon an extensive and important plan, and includes the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ It aboundiio strength of invention, in grand imagery and in a great variety of characters, some of which are entirely new, and all of them appear well sup- ported. He particularly shines io his descriptions and speeches, in which there is sometimes an ama- zing sublimity, that seems impossible to be trans- lused, with such force and energy, into another lapguage. 2067083 CONTENTS. BOOK I. -The Messiah, withdrawing from the multitude, ascends the mount of Olives ; and, in a solemn prayer, repeats his promise to undertake the-wdemption of mankind. He sends GabrieHo present his petition to the Most High. The seraph proceeds through a path illuminated by suns, and, reaching heaven, hears a song of praise. Eloa meets Gabriel, and conducts him to the altar of the Messiah ; upon which he otters incense.- -The omnipo- tent Father at length qpcns wiih his U,i3ru,lefs the H$Jy sanctuary. A. discourse between EW and IJrim,. ori the prophetic visions seen in that sacred place. God speaks. Eloa proclaims his more particular orders. 'Gabriel is sent to the angels of the earth, and to those of the sun. He descends lo the earth and finds the Messiah asleep, addresses him, and they prooqeds to 'the guardian angels of the earthi wh,o, jjesids in its centre ; w)$rq he finds the souls of infants, which ate there prepared for heaven. Thence he ascends, to the sun ; where he sees the souls ot the patriarchs, with Uriel, the atigcl of that ofb. 1 .) o.TU>a .'T.t'.ar.if;:-'* !;> TlOHCV .>'i;r/j BOOK It. jb ??i!' I'* "n:.'!s vlTi^.nihiui t* The souls of the patriarchs seethe Messiah awake at break of day ; and the parents of the human race alternately salute him with a hymn. Kaphael, John's guardian angel, tells Jesus that this disciple is viewing a demoniac among the sepulchres on the mount of Olives. He goes thither, heals the demoniac, and puts Satan to flight ; who, returning to hell, gives an account of what he knows of Jesus, and determines his death ; but is opposed by Abbadona. Adramelech speaking in support of Satan's determination, all hell approves it ; on which Satan and Adramelech return to the earth, to put their design in ex- ecution. Abbadona, following them at a distance, sees CONTENTS. t the gate of hell, Abdiel, a seraph, once his friend, whom he addresses : but Abdiel taking no notice ot him, he proceeds forwards ; bewails the forfeiture of his glory ; despairs of finding grace ; and after vainly endeavouring to destroy himself, descends on the earth. Satan and Adramelech also advance to the earth, and alight on the mount of Olives. 25 BOOK III. The Messiah still continues among the sepulchres. Eloa descends from heaven, ami counts his tears. The souls of the patriarchs send the seraph Zemia from the sun, to observe the words and actions of Jesus, while the darknes*,of the night prevents their seeing him. The Messiah sleeps for the last time, and while his disciples eek him about the mount of Olives, their guardian angels give Zcmia their several characters. Satan ap- pears in a dream to Judas Iscariot in the form of his deceased father. The Messiah, awaking, comes to his disciples, and mentions their approaching flight. Judas, who had concealed himself, overhears the Messiah, % -i*md feels his mind distracted by contending passions. 57 BOOK JV. Caiaphas assembles the Sanhedrim, relates his dream, and proposes the deaih of Jesus. Philo, a Pharisee, supposes the dream a fiction, but joins, with great vehemence, in recommending the death of Christ. They are "warmly opposed by Gamaliel and Nicodemus. Judas has a private couference with Cainphas. The Messiah sendt Peter and John to prepare the passover. Peter sees Mary the mother of Jesus, Lazarus, Mary his sister, Setnida, and Cidli, coining in quest of Jesus. The pious love of Semida and fcidli. Mary proceeds in search of Jesus, TV ho stops at the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, near Golgotha. He proceeds to Jerusalem, and is met by Judas. Ithuriel, no longer able to continue that traitor'3 guardian angel, is made Peter's second angel. Jesus institute the memorial of his death. Judas goes out. Jesus prays with his disciples, and return*; to the mount of Olives". 83 CONTEWTiY BOOK V. God descends toward the earth, "and is met by the wise men of the east, newly released from their bodies, one of whom addresses the Most High. He is seen by the first inhabitant of a guiltless world ^ who relates to his happy offspring, what he has heard of the fall of man, and the coming of the Messiah. God rests on Tabor. Jesus prays ; when Adramelech, coming to insult him, is by a look put to flight. The Messiah comes to his disciples, whom he finds asleep. He then returns to pray. Abba- dona comes, and after mistaking John for the Messiah, finds him. and gives vent to his thoughts. The Messiah again returns to his sleeping disciples, and a third time prostrates himself in prayer, when God sends Eloa to comfort him by singing a triumphant song on his future glory. All the angtls, except Eloa and Gabriel, with- draw, and God himself returns to his celestial throne. 129 BOOK VI. The Messiah is seized and bound. The assembled priest* are filled with consternation at being informed (hat the guard were struck dead. Their fears are removed by the arrival of a second and a third messenger. Jesus being taken before Annas, Philo goes thither, and brings him to Caiaphas. John expresses the agitations of his mind. Portia, Pilate's wife, comes to see Jesus. The speeches of Philo and Caiapbas, with the evidence given by the suborned witnesses. Jesus, on declaring that he is the Son of God, is condemned. Eloa and GabViel discourse on his sufferings. Portia, deeply af- fected, withdraws, ami prays to the chief of the gods. Peter, in deep distress, tells John that he has denied his Master^ then leaves him, and deplores his guilt. 155 BOOK VII. Eloa welcomes the returning morn with an hymn. The Messiah is led to Pilate, and accused by Caiaphas and Philo. The dreadful despair and death of Judas. Mary comes, sees her divine Sou standing before the Roman . CONTENTS. governor, and, filled -with grief, applies to Portia, who comforts her, and tells her dream. The Messiah it sent to Herod, who, expect ing to see him work a miracle, u disappointed : when Caiaphas, observing his dissatis- faction, accuses Jesus, who, after being treated with deri- sion, is sent back to Pilate. That governor endeavours to save him ; but is prevailed on to release Barabbas, and condemn Jesus. He is scourged, arrayed in a pur- pie robe, and crowned with thorns, and in this condition Pilate shews him to the people to excite their compassion, but finding all in vain, he delivers him to the priests, who cause him to be led to crucifixion. 179 BOOK VIII. Eloa descends from the throne of God, and proclaims that now the Redeemer is led to death ; on which the angels of the earth form a circle round mount Calvary, also named Golgotha. Then, having consecrated, that hill, he worships the Messiah. Gabriel conducts the souls ot the fathers from the sun to the mount of Olives, and Adam addresses the earth. Satan and Adramelech, hovering in triumph, arc put to flight by Eloa. Jesus is nailed to the cross. The thoughts of Adam. The conversion of one of the malefactors. Uriel places a planet before the sun, and then conducts to (he earth the souls of all the future generations of mankind. Eve, seeing them coming, addresses them. Eloa ascends to heaven. Eve is affected at seeing Mary. Two angels of death fly round the cross. Eve addresses the Saviour, aud the souls of the children yet unborn. 213 BOOK IX. Eloa returns from the throne of God, and relates what he has seen. The behaviour of Peter, who joins Samma and a stranger, and afterwards successively meets Leb- beus, his brother Andrew, Joseph, and Nicodemus, and then ret-irns to Golgotha, where h<- sees John, and the female friends of Jesus. A conversation between Abra- ham and Moses. They are joined by Isaac. Abra- ham and Isaac address the Messiah. A cherub conducts the souls of some pious heathens to the cross. Christ CONTENTS. speaks to John and Mary. Abaddona,, assuming tlie appearance of an angel of light, comes to tlu? cross ; but being known by Abdiel, fli^s. Obaddon conducts the soul of Judas to the cross, then gives him a distant view of heaven, and at length conveys him to hell. 237 BOOK X. God looks down from his throne, while the Messiah casts his eyes on the sepulchre, and prays; then with a look fiils Satan and Adramelech with terror. Many elevated souls are now given to the earth, one of whom delivers bis thoughts *f the dying Redeemer. A character of these souls. A conversation between Simeon and John the Baptist. Miriam and Deborah lament the dying Saviour in a hymn. Lazarus cornf6rts Lebbeus. Uriel gives notice that the first of the angels of death is de- scending to the earth. The impression this makes on Enoch, Abel, Seth, David, Job, and more particularly on our first parents, who descend to the sepulchre of Jesus, and pray. The angel of death descends, ad- dresses the Messiah, and makes known the divine com- mand. The Messiah dies. 263 BOOK XI. The glory of the Messiah soars from Calvary to the Ho'iy of Holies in the temple. The earth shakes, and the veil of the temple is rent. Gabriel tells the souls of the patriarchs that they must retire to their graves. The Messiah leaves the temple, and raises the bodies of the saints. The resurrection of Adam, Eve, Abel, Seth, Euos, Mehaleel, Jared, Kenan, Lamech, Methuselah, Noah, Japheth, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel, Lea, Benjamin, Joseph, Melchisedec, Azariah, Mishael, Hananiah, Habakkuk, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Amos, and Job. The converted thief on the cross dies. The resurrection of Moses, David, Asa, Je- hoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham, Josiah, Hezekiah, Jona- than, Gideon, Elisha, Deborah, Miriam, Ezekicl, As- nath, Jephtha's daughter, the mother and her seven mar- tyred sons, Hemnn, Chalcol, Durda and Ethan, Anna the prophetess, Benonij Simeon, and John the Baptist. CONTENTS. BOOK XII. Joseph obtains Pilate's permission to bury the body of Jesus, lie and Nicodemus, having wrapped it in spices, perform the interment, which is solemnized by choirs of risen saints and angels. The disciples, many of the seventy, and Mary, with some devout "women, meet in John's house', and are joined by Jiwrph and Nicodenuis ; the latter bringing the crown of thorns, which he had taken from the body at its interment. The death of Mary the sister of Lazarus, -who, with Nathaniel and Martha, sees her die : Lazarus returns io the company of believers- at Jerusalem, and endeavours to comfort them. Salem, .John's angel, strengthens him with a vision. . 333 BOOK XIII. Gabriel assembles (he angels ami the risen about the sepifl- chrc, where, they -wait the Messiah's resurrection. The emotions of Coeus, the Roman officer on guard. The soul of Mary, Lazurus's sister, comes into the assembly of the saints, Obaddon, the angel of death, calls Salafn and Adnuucli'cb, and orders then* to leave 1 the Dead Sea, and either to repair to 1 Ull, or to the sepulchre. Satan determines on the latter, and Adrameleeh on the former, but after changing his resolution, dares not to put it in execution. 1'hc angel of death leaves it to Abbadona either to come to the sepulchre or not, as he pleases. The glory of the Messiah descends from heaven. Ad^m and Eve pay their adorations. The Messiah rises from the dead. The acclamations of the angels and the risen. The seven martyrs, the sons of Thirza, sing a hymn of triumph. Some of the saints come down to him from the clouds, and at last Abraham and Adam. The soul of a Pagan brought before him, on which he judges the soul and disappears. Gabriel orders Satan to ily to hell. Some of the soldiers of the guard, and also Cneus, enter the assembly of the priests. Philo puts an end to his life, and Obaddon meeting his soul in Ge- henna, conducts it to hell. 357 CONTENT*. BOOK XIV. Jetus appears to Mary Magdalene, nine other devout women, and Peter. This they relate to the assembly. Thomas doubts the reality of his appearance. Jesus discovers himself to Matthias and Gleophas at Emmaus. Thomas goes into a sepulchre on the mount of Olives, where he laments his incredulity, and prays. One of the risen, whom he knows not, converses with him. Matthias and Cleoplvas return. Lebbeus likewise is not yet con* yinced. Jesus appears to the assembly. 333 BOOK XV. Several of those who had been raised from the dead appear ; particularly to Nepthoa, one of the children whom Christ had placed before the people ; to Oilcan ; to Tabitha, , -whom Peter restored to life ; to Cidli ; to Stephen ; to Barnabas, the son of Joses ; to Portia ; to Beor, blind from his birth, and brought to his sight by Jesus. Abra- ham and Moses would appear to Saul ; but it is for* bidden by Gabriel. Some of those raised from the dead also appear to Samma, Joel, and Elkanan, Simeon's brother, and to Boaz : to Mary, the mother of Jesus ; to Cidli, Jairus's daughter, and to Semida, the young man of Nain 425 THE -< MESSIAH. BOOK I. THE ARGUMENT. The Messiah withdrawing from the multitude, ascends the mount of Olives ; and, in a solemn prater, repeats his promise to undertake the redemption ot mankind. He sends Gabriel to present his petition to the Most High, The seraph proceeds through a path illuminated by suns ; and, reaching heaven, hears a song of praise. Eloa meets Gabriel, and conducts him to the altar of the Messiah ; upon which he offers incense. The omnipo- tent Father at length opens with his thunders the holy sanctuary. A discourse between Eloa and L'rim, on the prophetic visions seen in that sacred place. God speaks. Eloa proclaims his more particular orders. Gabriel is sent, to the angels of the earth, and to those of the sun. He descends to the eanh and finds the Messiah asleep, addresses him, and then proceeds to the guardian angels of the earth, \\ho reside in its centre ; where he finds the souls of infants, which are there prepared for heaven. Thence he ascends to the sun ; where he sees the souls of the patriarchs, with Uriel, the angel Of that orb. TNSPIRED by thine immortality, rise my soul, JL and sing the honours of thy great Redeemer : honours obtained in hard adversity's rough school obtained by suffering for the sins and woes of others, himself sinless. Recount, with humble gratitude, those guiltless sufferings, the bitter consequences of love to man's degenerate race. In vain Satan raged against the Lord's Anointed : in vain Judea stt 4 THE MESSIAH. BOOK |, herself against him ; he accomplished, in his hu- manity, the great -work of our redemption. O work divine, compleatlj known only to the omnipresent God ! May the muse presume, with awful distance, to penetrate the secret veil that sur- rounds thee, and feeble man attempt thy praise ! Can a weak mortal explain thy heights, thy depths ? Assist me, O thou divine Spirit, before whom I suppliant bow ! lead and inspire me, that full of rapture full of thee, I may penetrate the depths Drofound of heavenly wisdom ; contemplate the glorious plan of man's redemption, through the ob- scurity of ages past, and enlightened by thy revela- tions, in exalted strains, display the great Messiah's love to Adam's ruined race. Rejoice, ye sons of earth, in the honour bestowed on man. He who was before all worlds : he who spake this visible creation into being, came down to earth as your Redeemer ! Hear and join my song, ye noble few, ye favorites of the amiable Mediator ; inspired by his example, with filial love, with de- vout piety, tread the path of life, and with humble hope, wait for the rich rewards of virtue, when crowned with glory and arrayed in righteousness, he again shall descend, and come to judge the world. Near Jerusalem, once the city where God dis- played his grace : once the nurse of the holy pro- phets, though she had now thrown away the crown of high election, and was become an altar of blood, shed by murderers; the divine Messiah withdrew from the multitude, and sought retirement. He concealed himself from a people, who, though they had paid him honours, strewing his path with blanches of palm, and shouting forth his praises in loud hosannahs, received him not with the singleness of heart that pleaseth the all-piercing eye of God. BOOK. I. THE MESSIAH. 5 Looking for a temporal king, arrayed in earthly glories, and the vain pageantry of mortals, they set at nought God's great Vicegerent : to see their Saviour uuder the form of a Carpenter's son, their eye was too dim, their faith too weak. From Hea- ven God himself had descended. A mightv voice proclaiming, I have glorified my Son, and will again glorify him, anounced the present Deity. But, blinded by their lusts, they despised his mission, and refused to accept him as the Messiah, whose coming was foretold by the holy prophets. From these, slow of heart, Jesus withdrew On the side where the sun first gilds Jerusalem with his beams, rises a mountain, whose top the holy Mediator had often honoured with his pre- sence, when during the solitary night, he, wakeful, spent his hours in fervent prayer. Thither he now went to offer up his supplications to the eternal Father, and once more to declare his full, his free resolution to sanctify the favoured sons of men. John, his beloved disciple, followed him as far as the sepulchres of the prophets, intending to watch the tedious night with his divine friend; but to the summit of the mountain Jesus ascended alone. Around him glimmered the distant light of sacri- fices, flaming to appease the Deity, on high Moria ; \vhere, ignorant of the salvation offered them by the divine Messenger of God, they shed the blood of bulls and of goats, as an atonement for the sins of the people. Vain oblations, without renovation of heart, and amendment of life ! Here he rested, where the olive spreads her refreshing shade and gentle breezes hovered round. Gabriel the seraph sent from heaven to the Messiah, to execute his orders on earth, now stood between two perfume- breathing cedars, contemplating on the salvation of man, and the triumphs of eternity. Jesus passed 6 THE MESSIAH. BOOK t by. Gabriel knew the time of man's redemption was at hand, and filled with holy rapture, thus ad- dressed the Messiah ; wilt thou/ O divine Saviour of men ! wilt thou again spend the lonesome night in prayer ? Or do thy weary limbs demand repose ? Here the cedar stretches forth her verdant arms to shelter thee ; arid here the fragrant shrubs breathe their sweets. Shall 1 of that soft moss prepare a couch on which thou mayest rest thy sacreot head ? O thou compassionate Redeemer ! how art thou spent ! To what sufferings art thou exposed from thy fervent love to the human race ! Jesus answered not ; but rewarded him with an expressive look of divine complacency. The Messiah now reached the summit of the mountain. This was the confines of heaven ; for God was there ; and there Jesus prayed. Earth resounded, and his voice penetrated the gates of the deep : but it was not the voice of threatenings dreadfully uttered in storm and tempest : it was the voice of the blessed Saviour, speaking peace on earth, good-will towards man. Earth rejoiced as at the renewal of her beauty ; her hills, overspread with an amiable twilight, shouted forth their joy : but only the eternal Father and himself knew the whole of the divine petition. This alone the tongue of man can utter. Divine Father ! the day of salvation and heaven- ly grace ;- of suffering for the salvation of man, draws near. In the solitude of eternity, ere the cherubim and seraphim were formed, were we to- gether. Filled with divine love we saw man, ere I, by thy power, formed him of the dust We saw him miserable ; the immortal become polluted dust, stained with sin. Then saidst thou, frail man will fall ; but who by suffering will renew the divine image in his soul, and by dying save him from death BOOK I. THE MESSIAH. T eternal ? I alone offered to perform tlie arduous task, and cried, lo 1 will do thy gracious will, O God ! Then was formed the glorious yet awful mystery of redemption. Eternal Father, thou knowest it is also known to all the host of heaven, with what ardour I have longed to fulfil the divine work. O earth how wast thou, before my humilia- tion in this human form, my chosen, my beloved object ! and thou O Canaan, sacred land, how oft has my compassionate eye been cast on thee ! At length my heart fluttered with transports of joy at my being man, and that many righteous shall flock to me, and all generations through me be able to obtain salvation. Here I lie, O holy Father ! and still united to mankind, pour out my prayers before thee ; but soon shall I, filled with amazement, be slain by thy justice. Already I hear thee, O thou Judge of the earth already do I hear thee far dis- tant passing by already the gloomy garden lies be- fore me. Already I sink before thee in the lowly dust, covered with the sweat of death. Behold, O my Father ! here am I ready to suffer for man to die that man may live. Thine anger, thy justice will I support ! and become a willing sa- crifice for the sins of men. Yet still am I free : still might I pray to thee, to send me myriads of celestial spirits to conduct me back in triumph to thy sacred throne : but I will suffer what no seraph can what no meditative cherub can conceive will I suffer. This agonizing death, with all its terrors, will I, O Eternal, suffer ! Farther he said : I lift my head to the heavens, and spread mine hands in the clouds, and swear, that I will redeem mankind. Thus spake the holy Jesus, and arose. In his countenance shone sublimity, filial love, and resigna- tion. The Eternal Father looking with delight and complacency on his divine Son, answered, I $ THE MESSIAH. I?oo* I. - ^^ raise my head above the highest heavens, an^ stretch my hand through the immensity of space, and swear to thee, my beloved Son, that I will for- give the sins of the repentant children of men. While the Eternal thus spake, all nature shook : souls just emerging from non-existence, which had nof yet begun to think, trembled, and first caught sensation. Unusual awe overwhelmed the heart of the seraph ; he was agitated like the earth, when she expects an approaching tempest. The apostate spirits, in the fiery deep, shook on their burning thrones, in fearful expectation of encreasing tor- ment. They sunk lower in the bottomless pit, and on each fell an huge mass of flaming sulphur. All hell resounded with the execrations of these malig- iianfs, against God and his anointed, the holy Jesus. The Messiah still continued standing before the Eternal Father. At a distance Gabriel lay on his face in prostrate adoration, filled with new and rapturous contemplations. During the innumerable ages of his existence, never had he felt ideas and sensations so affccting and sublime. The infinite love and condescension of the. almighty Father, the grace and compassion of the great Redeemer, now opened on his astonished mind. The seraph arose he stood amazed he prayed. Joy inexpressible thrilled through his whole frame. From him issued such refulgent light and spendor, that the earth melted under his feet : when the divine Mediator, seeing the summit of the mountain illuminated by hig brightness, said, O Gabriel, veil thy lustre, and re- member that thou ministerest to me on earth. Haste now to lay this my request before my Father, that the noblest of the human race the blessed patriarch* and prophets, with all the celestial spirits, may be- hold that fulness of time for which they had so ar- 4ently longed. There thou needest not shrowd thy Boon I. THE MESSIAH. 9 glory, since thou wilt not appear as the messenger of the Messiah. Silent the seraph, with heavenly grace and lustre, ascended. Jesus followed him with his eyes, tracing his rapid course to the confines of heaven. Now the Father and the Son entered on discourses myste- rious and profound : obscure even to the immortals : discourses of things which, in future ages, should display the love of God to man. The seraph entered the borders of the celestial world, whose whole extent is surrounded with suns, which, as an ethereal curtain of interwoven light, extend their lustre around heaven. No dark planet approaches the refulgent blaze. Clouded nature flies swiftly by, far distant. There the terrestrial orbs seem to roll minute and imperceptible, as the dust, the habitation of worms, is seen to rise from under the foot of the traveller. Around heaven are a thousand paths of extent immeasurable, also bor- dered by suns. Along the ethereal way that leads from heaven to earth, when first created, constant flowed, from a source celestial, down to Eden's happy groves, a lucid stream, through which God and his angela descended, when they deigned to hold blest inter- course with man. But ah ! too soon the lucid stream rolled back to its source : for man, by sin polluted, had turned a rebel to his God. The im- mortals then no longer visibly appeared in all their radiant lustre : they withdrew from a land defaced by guilt, and made a prey to death. They left the iilent hill where yet remained the vestiges of the Eternal's presence : the whispering groves, honour- ed by the appearance of the Most High : the sacred peaceful vales, once with pleasure frequented by the youth of heaven : the umbrageous bowers, vhere the human heart first overflowed >*ith sweet 10 THE MESSIAH. BOOK L sensations and ecstatic, grateful rapture ; and where the first man wept for joy that he was thus Jo Ijve forever. These, these the blest spirits left. Cursed was the earth ; it became the general tomb of*its once immortal inhabitants. But when here- after, purified by fire, it shall triumphant rise from its ashes, renewed in beauty, and God, by his om- nipotent Voice, shall unite the terrestrial orbs to the heaven of heavens, the world shall be one Para- dise. Then shall the ethereal stream of heavenly light again roll from its celestial source, and with resplendent brightness flow to a new Eden. Then shall assemblies of radiant spirits, coming to the earth, frequent its lucid banks, and seek sweet communion with the new immortals. Up this sacred way Gabriel now ascended, and goon approached heaven, the peculiar residence of the divine glory. . In the centre of the assemblage of suns, heaven rises into an immense dome. The Origin of worlds, the Architype of all that is fair and lovely, diffuses beauty, in flowing streams, through the infinite ex- panse. The harmonic choirs, borne on the wings of the wind, to the borders of the sunny arch, chant liis praise, joining the melody of their golden harps, nvhile he who looks with complacency and delight on all his works, smiles benignant, at the effusions of their gratitude and love. O thou who teachest my tongue to utter celestial strains ! associate of angels ! prophetess of God ! instruct me to rehearse tlie song then sung by the sons of heaven. Hail sacred land, where the Most High displays his majesty and grace ! Here our dazzled eyes be- hold him unveiled and shiding; in unclouded light, diffusing -joy and rapture through all the blessed, jjow infinite art thou in all thy perfections, O Jo- BOOK I. THE MESSIAH. It hovali ! Our songs, poured forth with grateful fer- vor, and all the powers of harmony, in vain attempt to extol thine excellence. Lost in thine immensity, in feeble strains we strive to express thy glory. Thou alone art perfect thou alone, from thine es- sential excellence, wert ever sublimely happy : nor can our homage add to thine unuerived felicity. Yet, O Most Gracious ! prompted by thine over- flowing goodness, thou hast created beings to taste thy love, and share thy bliss ! Thou heaven wast first created, then us, heaven's inhabitants. Far wast thou then from thy birth, thou young terres- trial globe ; thou sun, and thou, O moon, the fa- voured earth's attendants ! First born of the material creation, what was thine appearance, when, after an eternity of ages, God descended and created thee the mansion of his glory ? Thine immense circle called to existence r was stretched out and assumed its glorious form. The creative voice went forth, with the first tumult of the crystalline seas. Their banks heard thy voice and rose like terrestrial worlds. Then big with thought, didst thou, Creator omnipotent, sit in so- litude on thy new exalted throne ! Oh hail hail in joyful transports the thoughtful Deity ! Then, then were ye created, ye angels, ye cherubim, and seraphim, incorporeal beings, sublime in thought, and quick to perceive, adoring the wonders of your great Creator ! Hallelujah, a joyful hallelujah we will incessantly sing to the First of Beings ! At thy voice solitude fled : at thy word the angelic spirits arose to life and bliss. Hallelujah. During the hymn the Mediator's refulgent mes- senger stood on one of the suns nearest heaven. The Eternal Father rewarded the celestial choir with a look of benignity, and then beheld the seraph. He also attracted the eyes of all the heavenly host, II THE MESSIAH. BOOK I. and bowing low in awful adoration, the first o*f the seraphs went to conduct him in solemn state to the sacred presence. His name with God is the Chosen ; but by the heavenly host he is called Eloa. This is the fairest spirit of heaven : his thoughts are more sublime than the enraptured soul of man can conceive : his looks more lovely than the vernal morn, brighter than the stars, when with youthful splendor they flew from the Creator's forming hand to run their courses. At his creation the Eternal reduced the resplendent crimson of the morning into an ethereal body, and the radiant clouds of heaven instantly gathered round him. God then with out-stretched arm raised him from them, and blessing him, said, behold thy Creator ! The seraph stood before him, and seeing the Eternal, viewed him with rapture, till he sunk overpowered by the refulgent brightness of the div'ne countenance. At length he uttered the new and elevated sensations of his heavenly mind : but worlds shall perish, a new system be raised from the dust, and ages be lost in eternity, before the most axalted Christian shall feel sensations so sublime. Eloa, who flew with glowing beams, and in all his lustre, to conduct Gabriel to the altar of the Mediator, knew him far distant, and melted into pleasing rapture at the sight of one with whom he had before taken a circuit through all the wide creation of God, visiting each world with its inhabi- tants, and performing actions not to be imitated by the most perfect of the race of man. Now to each other known, thev, with cordial looks of love and / * open arms, fly swift into each other's embrace, where they remain tremulous with joy. Thus tremble two virtuous brothers, who, after braving death for their country, and performing immortal deeds, meet, full of heroic ardour, and embrace before their stili BOOK I. THE MESSIAH. 1* greater father. God from afar beheld and Mesied them. They moved towards the celestial throne, friendship giving a brighter glow to their heavenly lustre, while they approached the sanctuary of God. Near the seat or the divine splendor, on a celestial mount rests the night of the. Most Holy. A bril- liant lirht encompas.ses the divine mysteries ; but the inside is concealed by a sacred gloom from the eyes of angels ; except when God himself by his majestic thunder, opens the veil of darkness, and then the celestial spectators behold and adore. At the entrance of the sanctuary, the altar of the Messiah, like the mount of God, instantly stood unclou.ded. Thither Gabriel went in festal splendor, carrying two golden censers : then stood wrapt in thought. Eloa, who was with him, called forth from his harp divine harmon}' to prepare the offering seraph for supplications fervent and sublime. The flowing melody filled Gabriel with an heavenly transport and swelled his labouring thoughts to ecstacy. Thus the ocean rises, when the voice of the Lord moves over it with mighty winds. The messenger of the Messiah then raised his eyes to God, and offered up his petitions. The Eternal heard his prayer, and with him all the celestial host. The Supreme himself caused a descending flame to light the incense. Fumes of fragrance then arising, ascended to God as from the earth resplendent clouds rise towards heaven. God had fixed his ail-seeing eyes on this terrestrial globe, where the Redeemer, transported with love to man, was still engaged in prayer : but now the face of the Almighty, bean'i.ig with grace and mercy, filled all heaven with effulgent glory. With silent rapture the exalted spirits adoring, wait the voice of the Lord. The celestial cedars no longer wave : the crystalline ocean lies silent within its 14 THE "MESSIAH. BOOK i. lofty shores : the breaching winds, with exparsded^ wings, stop within the brazen mountains. While all listened expecting the words of the Eternal, thunder suddenly rolling from the sanctuary, pro- claimed the approaching answer. When it ceased the veil which covered the Most High opened to prepare the expecting heavens. Then to the mighty Eloa,, the cherub Urim, wrapt in divine contempla- tions, said what, O Eloa, dost thou see ! At this the seraph arose, and advancing with solemn pace, cried, I see on those golden pillars the mysterious tables of prescience. There the book of life is opened by the breath of mighty winds. That of the general judgment now opens dreadful, like the waving banners of hostile seraphs, and threatens de- struction to all the workers of iniquity. The Al- mighty draws back the veil : 1 see, Urim,, the sacred candlesticks glimmer through a silver cloud, that resembles the morning dew descending on the hills. Thus in prophetic vision shine the Christians, the future heirs of salvation. I see thousands and ten thousands of those golden candlesticks, typical of the churches. O Urim ! count the sacred number. Urim replied, we can number the worlds, we can count the radiant seats of the angels, and the man- sions of the blessed ; but not the effects of the great redemption, nor the boundless mercies o the Most High. I now see, returned Eloa, the judgment seat of Christ. How tremendous art thou, O Judge of the earth, seated on high, and rising on tempestuous clouds, amidst the bursts of rolling thunder; radiant with mercy, and armed for de- struction ! Thus conversed Eloa and Urim on these myste- rious visions. Seven times had the thunder opened the sacred darkness, when the awful voice of the Eteinal slowly descended. %" BOOK I. THE MESSIAH. 15 I am love. Such was I before the existence of my creatures before I formed the worlds : and now I am love in my conduct towards man ; in the accomplishment of the great work of redemption, by my sending my beloved Son to die for sinners. Did not my almighty arm support you, ye exalted, tut finite bein- quered death, and triumphed over the grave, waits to receive thee ! Round the seraph also flocked the souls of those I. THE MESSIAH. 23 tender infants who had just entered into life ; but fled weeping with the piteous cries of childhood. Their timid eves had viewed with astonishment t/ the objects around them, when, not daring to stay on the great theatre, yet unopened to their view, their guardian angels conduct them thence, and animating them with rapturous songs, joined to the harmo- ny of the reviving harp, they in soft and melodious strains tell them,, from whence they received their origin; of the purity of the human soul, when pro- ceeding out of the hands of the All-perfect Spirit 1 and with* what juvenile lustre the new created suns with their attendant worlds, appeared before the great Creator. The progenitors of the human race, say they, expect you ; a glorious view of him who has crow r ned you with mercy, awaits you at the eternal throne. Thus do they instruct their worthy disciples in that sublime wisdom, the fleeting shadows of which erring mortals vainly pursue. The souls of the infants now quitting their lucid bowers, joined their faithful guardians, who, en- compassing the divine messenger, he made known to the assembled spirits, the orders of the Most High concerning the Messiah. Transported they listened and when he ceased to speak, stood rapt in deep contemplation. An amiable pair named Benjamin and Jedida, two infant souls in tender friendship joined, at length embracing, thus discoursed, Is it not Jesus, O Jedida ! of whom the seraph spoke ? Ah ! well do I remember, when we were on earth, the ardour with which he folded us in his arms ! How tenderly he pressed us to his throbbing heart ! A tear of benignity and grace fell on his cheek I kissed it away I see it still ever shall I see it. I too re- member, answered Jedida, that holding me in his arms, he said to our mothers, who were standing 24 THE MESSIAH. BOOK I. by, resemble these little children, or ye cannot enter into my kingdom. This this, returned Benjamin, is the Redeemer ! the Saviour i our Gracious Friend ! the Dispenser of happiness to the human race ! Thus they affectionately conversed, while Ga- briel, now bent on a new embassy, ascended. A stream of light rolling down, flowed as he went, with magnificent splendor, from the feet of the immortal. Thus the inhabitants of the moon be- hold the day of this terraqueous globe illuminate their nights, when dew-dropping clouds descend on the top of their mountains. Gabriel thus ascended into the more exalted atmosphere, amidst the ac- clamations of rejoicing angels, and of the souls who had left their bodies, Like the arrow flying from the silver bow, and winged for victory, he shot along by the stars and hasted to the sun. Then alighting at Uriel's residence, found on one of the pinnacles of that noble structure, the souls of the fathers, whose fixed looks followed the beams that dispense the new-born day to the land of Canaan. Among these was Adam, the first of men, who appeared with distinguished dignity, standing sublimely pensive. Gabriel and Uriel joined him, and conversing with him on the salva- tion of man, stood waiting for the sight of the mount of Olives. THE END OF THE FIRST BOOR, THE ^j'/r r MESSIAH. BOOK. II. THE ARGUMENT. The souls of the patriarchs see the Messiah awake at break of day ; and the parents of the human race alternately aalute him with a hymn. Raphael, John's guardian angel, tells Jesus that this disciple is viewing a demoniac among the sepulchres on the mount of Olives. He goes thither, heals the demoniac, and puts Satan to flight ; who returning to hell gives an account of what he knows of Jesus, and determines his death : but is opposed bv Abbadona. Adramelech speaking in support of Satan's determination, all hell approves it ; on which Satan and Adramelech return to the earth, to put their design in ex- ecution. Abbadona following them at a distance, sees at the gate of hell, Abdiel, a seraph, once his friend, whom he addresses : but Abdiel taking no notice of him, he 'proceeds forwards ; bewails the forfeiture of his glory ; despairs of finding grace, and after vainly endeavouring to destroy himse If, descends on the earth. Satan and Adramelech also advance to the earth, ami alight on th* mount of Olives. THE morn now descending over the woods of waving cedars, Jesus arose. The spirits of the patriarchs saw him with joy from their solar mansion. Among these were the parents of the human race arrayed in heavenly beauty, who thus alternate sang. Adam began. Fairest of days, said he, of all the stores of time, most sacred ! At thy return, the *6 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. souls of men, the cherubim and seraphim shall hail thy rising and setting light. Whether descending to the earth, or whether the bright spirits of heaven diffuse thy radiance through tlie firmament, or thou advancestby the throne of God, thee in festive pomp will we celebrate with hallelujahs jubilant. Thee will we bless with joyful gratulations, O day, in which our ravished eyes first behold the ^reat Messiah arrayed in humility. How beautiful is his form ! how lovely ! how divine ! Eve rejoined, blessed and holy art thou who broughtest him forth more blessed than Eve, the mother of men. Though innumerable my offspring, I am also the mother of innumerable sinners : but thou, fair daughter of earth ! hast brought forth only one, the great Emanuel, the righteous, the spotless, the divine Messiah ! With wandering eye I view my beloved earth : but thee, O paradise ! I no longer behold : thou wert swept away by the waters of the overwhelming deluge. Thy lofty umbrageous cedars which God himself had planted ; thy tranquil bowers, the mansion of the young virtues, no storm, no thunder, no angel of death has spared. Thou Bethlehem, where Mary brought him forth, where, with maternal ecstasy, she first pressed him to her bosom, be now my Eden. Thou well of David, be the clear spring, where I, just coming from my divine Maker's hand, first saw myself; and thou homely cottage, where he first wept, be thou to me the bower of primeval inno- cence. O that I, in Eden, had borne thee ! O that I, just aftermy fatal transgression, hadbrought thee forth ! then would I have gone to my Judge, where the earth opened before him, as if to form my grave ; where the rustling of the tree of know- ledge produced a dreadful sound ; where his thun- ders announced the sentence of the curse : where BOOK IT. THE MESSIAH. 27 trembling I stood, and fainted with terror. There would I have gone to him. Thee, weeping, would I have embraced, and pressing; thee to my fluttering heart, would have cried, forgive me, O my God ! and no longer be incensed against me. I have borne the Saviour, the Redeemer, the Prince of Peace. \ The first of men then resumed, holy art thou, adorable and eternal, O thou First Cause ! thou Prime Source of being, of mercy, of felicity ! thou Father of the divine, the holy Jesus, whom thou, all-gracious, hast chosen to redeem mankind, my issue ! Their alienation from thee I have ever de- plored : Thou, O God ! hast beheld my tears- By you, ye seraphim, have they been seen and numbered. Ye spirits of the dead, the blessed souls of ray sleeping descendants, have heard me sigh for the promised happiness of our offspring. But thy divine grace, thy condescending mercy and love to man, changes my paternal concern into rapturous joy. And now, all gracious Redeemer ! Son most dear ! returned Eve ; while thou bearest our image, the image of mortal man, thee let us implore, to complete the offering made for us. For this thou hast descended from the celestial abodes for thig thou hast veiled thy glories, and art clothed in flesh, O thou Creator and Judge ! renew the earth, thine, and our native land, then quick return to heaven; while we, O thou divine, thou spotless Redeemer! hail thy mercy and thy love ! Through the domes of the angelic palace re- sounded the voice of these fervent souls. The Messiah heard them in his deep recess, as in a sacred solitude, the holy prophet rapt in contem- plation, hears, in soft whispers, the voice of the Eternal. Jesus now began to descend from the 58 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. top of Olivet. In the midst of the mount, a clus- ter of palm trees growing on an eminence, reared their waving heads into the light flimsy clouds of hovering morning vapours. Under these palms the Messiah perceived Raphael, John's guardian angel, absorbed in meditations deep and awful, while gentle breezes flowing from him, brought to the Mediator, sounds which none but he could hear. With gracious voice, the Messiah spake. Ra- phael draw near, said he, and invisibly walk by my side. How hast thou watched the pure soui of John ? Did his thoughts, O Raphael ! resemble thine ? I watched him, O holy Mediator ! an- swered the seraph, with the utmost care. Holy dreams hovered round his transported soul. O that thou hadst seen him, when sleeping, he beheld thee ! A smile of complacency and love over- spread his face. Thy seraph also beheld Adam, when sleeping in the blooming fields of Eden, the lovely form of Eve just risen into existence, wa presented by his divine Maker to his mind ; but the pleasure diffused over his countenance, was ex- ceeded by the pleasing rapture visible in the face of thy holy disciple. He is now among the gloomy mansions of death, lamenting over a demoniac, who, pale as the ghastly corpse, lies stretched in the dust of the dead. O thou most Gracious ! Wilt thou not see him ? wilt thou not behold the gentle youth, overcome by sympathising distress, his heart swelled by the painful feelings of huma- nity, and his whole frame trembling with horror ? I myself was so struck at the sight, that the tear of sorrow quivered in my eye, and I hastily with- drew. Raphael ceased. Indignation sparkled in the eyes of the Mediator, and, raising them up to hea~ BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. J Ten, he cried, O Father omnipotent . hear me now I call upon thee. May the enemy of mankind feel the effects of thy justice; that heaven may rejoice at seeing hell involved in confusion, shame, and terror ! Jesus now drew near to the sepulchres hewn in the cliffs of the rock, where thick and gloomy woods guarded the entrance from the view of the hasty traveller Here the morning dawn lowered in chilly coolness, and the sun faintly shot his beams among the tombs. Samma, thus was the demoniac called, now lay iti a swoon by the sepulchre of his youngest and best beloved son, prostrate by the mouldering bones, and the once animated dust that sprung from his own flesh. Near him stood his other son weeping, with his swelled eyes lift up to heaven. The fond mother, moved by the en- treaties of this wretched parent, had once brought the deceased child they thus lamented, when agi- tated by the malice of Satan, Saruma roved among the dead. Ah father ! then cried his little Benoni, the darling of his heart, breaking from his mother's hold, while she, filled with terror, hasted after him, Ah my poor father ! will you not kiss me ? then clinging about his knees, he pressed his hand to his breast. The father embraced him trembling. The little innocent returned his endearments, and looked up to him with an engaging smile, endea- vouring to attract his notice by the little pleasing blandishments of infant fondness. When the father, suddenly starting, seized the child, and, filled with all the fury of hell, dashed him against the rock : his brains, mixed with blood, discoloured the stone, and with a gentle sigh, his spotless soul left its shattered habitation. The madness of the wretched parent then subsided. He threw himself on the ground ; then rising, snatched up the stiffening SO THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. i corpse, which he folded in his fainting arms : he pressed it to his bosom ; and while the mother rent the air with her shrieks and lamentations, he mourned inconsolable, crying, My son Benoni ! O Benoni., Benoni, my dear son ! while repentant tears gushed from his streaming eyes. In this state was Samma, who now recovered from his swoon, when Joel, his other son, turning his face, wet with tears, from his father, beheld the Messiah advancing towards the sepulchres, and filled with surprize and joy, cried, O father, here is Jesus, the great prophet, coming towards the tombs ! Satan heard him. and struck with terror, cast a lowring glance through the entrance of the sepulchres. Thus from his dark dwelling, looks the profane atheist, when the loud tempest yides along the flaming clouds, and the tremendous chariots of vengeance awfully roil on high. Satan had hitherto tormented Samma only at a distance, pending forth plagues from the remotest parts of the dusky tombs ; but now rising and arming him- self with the terrors of hell, he launched them at the poor afflicted wretch, who instantly sprung on his feet, but void of strength, he again sunk on the earth. His troubled soul was scarce able to strug- gle against the assaults of death. But suddenly raised to madness, he was driven by the arch tiend up the rocks. Here, O benevolent Saviour ! Satan would before thy face have dashed him in pieces by casting him down : but thou wast already there. Thy speedy preventing grace supported the help- less, and bore him upon thine immortal wings. The destroyer of mankind, seeing the Saviour approach, trembled with indignation and terror. Jesus now casting down on the demoniac a look of benignity and grace, a divine power issues from Ilia eyes, and Saruma, freed from pain, with fear BOCK II. THE MESSIAH, 31 acknowledges his deliverer : life dawns in that face, which just before had the awful stamp of death. With a loud cry, and streaming eves, he looks towards heaven. Fain would bespeak; hut onlj tremulous accents proceed from his faultering lips : he stretches out his suppliant arms to his gracious deliverer, and "views him enraptured. Thus the melancholy sage, when bewildered in thought, shuddering, doubts the eternity of his future duration ; till a kindred mind, certain of its immortality, and relying on the promises of* the Almighty, approaches with cheerful looks. The gloom then disperses, and the illumined soti), shaking off the painful depression, exults and tri- umphs, and seems to become a second time im- mortal. The Messiah now addressed Satan with a voice of awful superiority ; Spirit of Destruction, \vho art thou, that in my presence hast the presumption to torture man, the race elected for redemption t A voice deep roaring answered in wrathful accents, I am Satan, the sovereign of the world; and reign supreme over the independent spirits, for whom I find other employment, than that given to the ce- lestial songsters. Thy fame, O mortal prophet ! (for Mary could never bring forth an immortal) lias reached the depths of hell ; and I myself, aft honour thou mayest well boast, came to see the Saviour, whose coming was proclaimed by the slaves of heaven. But thou becamest a man, an enthusiastic visionary, like those whom Death, my son, who is far mightier than thou, has already laid in the grave. I deemed it beneath me to mind what those new immortals were doing; yet not to be quite inactive, I tormented mankind. This thou thyself hast seen ; that face has been marked by the finger of death. I now basten to hell. 52 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. irresistible foot shall lay waste the earth and the wide ocean, to open me a commodious passage. Hell, with joyful acclamations, shall celebrate my return. If thou darest to oppose me, do it now. I shall come back with the power of a king, to pro- tect the world I have conquered. But first die, thou wretch, added he, impetuously rushing on Siimma. The Messiah, calm and silent, like the omnipotent Father, when with a nod he saves or destroys a world, with a look checked his fury, and rendered feeble all his boasted power. He fled precipitate, forgetting in his flight to make the earth and the ocean feel the force of his irresistible foot. Samma now descended from the rock, with no Jess joy than Nebuchadnezzar flew from the majestic stream of the Euphrates, when, by the decree of the Almighty, his reason was restored, and rising erect, he wai able to view the heavens. The terrors of the Lord, and the roaring waves of the impetuous stream, no longer passed over him amidst the rolling thun- der, and the forked lightning, like that seen on mount Sinai. The prince then went to Babylon's pensile gardens, not to exalt himself as a God, but lying prostrate in the dust, with his arms stretched out towards heaven, he poured forth the warm ef- fusions of his gratitude to the Eternal. Thus Samma, hasting to the Messiah, fell at his feet, and cried, O man of God ! O heavenly prophet ! suffer me to follow thee ; and let the life thou hast restored be devoted to thee ! He then rising on his knees, threw his trembling arms about the Redeemer. Jesus, casting on him a look of benevolence, mildly answered, follow me not : but henceforth frequent the hill of Calvary, where thou shalt see the hope of Abraham, and of the prophets. The Messiah had scarcely spoke, when the in- BOOK IL THE MESSIAH. 33 nocent Joel, with a timid air, addressed himself to John : Dear Rabbi,, said he, lead me to the great Prophet of God ; for I would speak to him. The beloved disciple then taking him by the hand, presented him to the Saviour, to whom,, with inno- cent simplicity., he thus spake : O great prophet, why may not my father and I follow thee ? Let me ask thee too, Why dost thou stay in this dismal place, where the sight of the bones of the dead chills my very blood ? Gome, O come, thou Man of God, to our house, to which my father is returning. My poor mother, I am sute, will be glad to wait en thee. She will bring thee milk and honey. She will give thee the best fruit of our trees, she will cover thee with the wool of the youngest of our lambs. When summer returns, I will shew thee those trees in our garden which my father has given to me, and thou shalt sit under their shade. But O Benoni ! my dear brother Benoni is dead ! I must leave him in that tomb. No more, Beuoni, wilt thou go with me to water the flowers : nor in the cool evening wilt thou fondly wake me ! See there, O divine Prophet ! he lies within that tomb. Jesus with a tender smile embraced him ; then wiping away his tears, sent him home, and turning to John, said, Amiable child ! a mind so fender and ingenuous have I seldom found in those of riper years. Thus he spake, and stayed with John among the sepulchres. In the mean time, Satan, wrapped in clouds and vapours, passed through the valley of Jehoshaphat, and unseen, crossed the Dead Sea. Then reaching cloud-capped Carmel, he, from thence shot up into the heavens, w here, with look malign, he wan- dered through the universe, amidst suns and worlds innumerable ; enraged that, after a long succession of ages, they still shone with all the beauty aud 34 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II, grandeur the Thunderer had imparted to them at their creation. Then, unwilling that the morning stars should know him by his gloomy aspect, which their mingled radiance rendered more conspicuous, he changed his form, and arrayed himself in ethe- real light : hut soon the effulgent vesture became insupportable ; when being ajso disgusted at what he beheld,, which ill suited a mind so foul ; he hasted back to hell. Now with rapid descent, he reached the confines of the mundane system, where immense spaces opened before him; and these he termed the frontiers of more extended realms ; where he proposed to fix a new empire. Here as far as the sickening rays of the last stars of the creation cast a pallid light through the void, he beheld trasient gleams ; yet saw not hell. Far from himself and the blessed spirits, God had in- closed the abode of terror in perpetual darkness. For destruction horrible it was created ; and to answer the end of punishment, it was dreadfnlly pompous, and awfully perfect. In three nights hell was formed. Then God forever turned from it his face : that face wherewith he smiles with benignitr and grace, on his creatures, trausfusing.througii their soul's the sweetest joy. Those dismal regions are guarded by two angels of approved valour. The almighty himself girded them with arms in- vincible, that they might there restrain the powers of darkness, lest Satan, prompted by malice, should assail the fair creation of God. To the entrance of hell, where, with solemn state, the angels sit, de- scends a. lucid path of streaming light, resembling a river of liquid crystal : that thus remote., they might not lose the holy joy, and pleasing rapture, the mingled beauties that the wide creation yield. Skirting this luminous way, Satan, involved in a , reached the gate of hell unseen, and rushing BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. 35 fiercely through, in haste mounted his burning throne. Among the eyes dimmed by darkness and despair, none saw him hut Zophiel, one of the infernal heralds ; who., observing a cloud invest the lofty steps, cried to a spirit standing near, Satan, the sovereign of these dark abodes, is- at length returned: That cloud of vapours indi- cates, that he, so long expected by all the gods, is there. While he yet spake, the intervening cloud dispersed, and Satan, with terror and rage on his-brow, appeared seated. The servile herald instantly flies to a volcano, which in streams of flaming sulphur used to proclaim Satan's arrival through all the burning land : there mounting on the wings of a tempest, he ascended* from the bottom of the mountain up to its summit ; where, wrapped in clouds of smoke, is a yawning aperture. There kindling the fiery storm, eruptions terrible proclaim the arch fiend's arrival, while gleaming light illuminating the dark abodes, to the far distant shew bell's monarch, seated high in pageant state. All the inhabitants of the abyss then appear, and their chiefs haste to seat themselves beneath him on the steps of his throne. Thou muse of Sion, who undismayed, lookest, filled with sacred fervor and solemn awe, down into the abyss of hell, while, when the Most High punishes the sinner, thou readest in the divine coun- tenance, self-approbation and calm tranquillity ; O now inspire thy suppliant, and let the mighty voices of the infernals roar in my numbers, as the .bellowing storm as the tempest of God ! First appeared Adramelech, a spirit in guile and malice exceeding Satan, against whom his bosom still boiled with indignant rage, for being the first who attempted the apostacy, which he himself had long before projected. The action* J> 36 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. he performed were not to advance Satan's kingdom, bt hig own. From years immemorial he had been considering how to raise himself to the dominion of hell ; how to engage the prince of the fiery deep in a fresh war against the Eternal : how to cause him to be for ever banished to the infinite space : or, if all failed, how he might subdue him by force of arms. These thoughts had employed his mind ever since the apostate angels, flying before the conquering arm of the Messiah, had been driven down into the tremendous gulph. The superior spirits then assembling, Adramelech appeared ; but instead of martial armour, bore a tablet of polished gold, and slowly advancing, called aloud, Why, O ye kings ! do ye thus ignominiously fly ? Know, ye celestial warriors, ye noble asserters of liberty, that ye shall soon enter new abodes, the mansions of magnificence and immortality. When God had invented thunder, and with it armed the Messiah, who, with a tremendous storm, drove you io this place of woe, I passing by unseen, to^the far distant sanctuary of God, entered the awful place, and brought away the golden table of destiny, in which our future fortunes are enrolled. Draw near ye immortals, and read the archives of heaven, Here see the sovereign decree of fate. He then read the following words : Of the gods over whom Jehovah reigns, one becoming sensible of his divinity, and quitting the heaven of heavens, shall dwell with his divine as- sociates in solitary and gloomy mansions : these will he at first inhabit with pain and reluctance, as he who shall drive them thither inhabited chaos, till, for him, I formed the universe. Such is .my will. Dread not, ye celestial spirits, to enter the abodes of terror and dismay. For out of these new worlds shall arise more glorious than those ye have BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. left. These Satan shall create : hut from me he shall receive the divine plan. Thus says Destiny, the god of gods., i who alone circumscribe ?ii space, and with my most glorious world encompass that* with all the orhs and their gods. Here Adra melech ceased ; hut in vain did the spirits of dark- ness stiive to alleviate their pain by giving credit to his woids. The Most High, who heard his blasphemies, said, I -jam Jehovah, and besides me there is no other God. The heavens shall declare my glory, and the trembling sinner bear witness to my jnrwer. Then proceeded from the mouth of God ths mo- mentous decree. Deep in the lowest hell rises a luminous mass, in the midst of the ilaming sea, which runs into the lake of death, This mass enor- mous, the circling thunders, in whirling eddies, tore from its base, when rising high it struck the proud Adramelech, fraught with lies, and cast bim with his impious tablet into the derdly lake There seven nights he lay rolling in the abyss. Long after, he caused himself to be worshipped on earth as the supreme God, and had a temple erected to his honour, in which he himself presided, placing over the high altar the tablet of Destiny, which none believed. Thither his partisans resorted, and like slavish hypocrites, worshipped the visionary deity, when present, with reverence, and while absent, with mockery. From this temple now came Adramelech, and concealing his secret hatred of Satan, seated himself on the throne, close by his side. Next came Moloch, a warlike spirit. Lest the thundering warrior, for so he calls the great Je- hovah* should descend to seize the plains of hell, he vairfly fortified them with a wall of mountains, raised \\ith towering battlements. Oft when the 38 THE MESSIAH. Boo* If. gloomy dawn rises in sulphurous vapours from the banks of the flaming ocean, the inhabitants of hell see him tottering under the stormy peak of some lofty eminence, while he slowly advances down the declivity of the mountains, when, having cast his load on his new raised mound, which rises to- wards the high vaulted roof of hell, he stands in the clouds, listening to the echo made by the fall of the ponderous rock, and fancies it to be the noise of the rattling thunder. The souls of the once proud conquerors of the earth then viewing him with astonishment from beneath, lie rushes among them from the stupendous heights, while they, winged by fear, fly from the martial fiend. He now went in his sable armour, which resounded as he walked, resembling thunder involved in black clouds. Be- fore him the mountain shook, and behmd, the rock trembling, sunk. Thus he advanced to the throne of Satan. After him appeared Belial, who in mournful silence came from the dreary forests and desert wastes, where the black streams of death, issfiing from a source involved in clouds, flow dark and languid to the foot of Satan's throne. Vain, eter- nally vain, are his endeavours to render the accur- sed land on its banks, like the bright creation of God. Thou, O Eternal ! laughest at his attempts, when, howling like the tempest, he would imitate the cooling breeze of the zephyrs, and when with impotent arm he attempts to drive the sullen stream before him. At these labours he incessantly toils, while the terrors of God roar in his destructive wings, and desolation, arrayed in deformity, is spread over the trembling abyss. With rage Belial remembers the eternal spring, which like a young seraph, smiles on the ever-blooming flowers of heaven. Fain would he imitate the beauties of II. THE MESSIAH. 39 that season in hell's nocturnal vales. Then frowns end vents indignant sighs, at seeing the doleful land lying before him in dreary darkness, for ever incapable of improvement ; and notwithstanding all his pains, infinite tracts filled with a dreadful scene of woe. Belial, with a brow lowring with dire dejection, repaired to Satan. His mind still boiled with revenue against him who drove him from the celestial fields, into that land of terror and desolation, which every succeeding century seemed to render more intolerable. Thou Magog, who dwellest in the lake thou also amidst thy waters sawest the return of Satan. Thou earnest forth rising in the midst of a roaring whirlpool, and when thy feet divided the black stream, the sea, driven before thee, rose like exten- sive mountains. Magog cursed the Lord. The voice of his wild blasphemies continually flowed in loud bellowings from his distorted mouth. Since his being cast from heaven, he has been ever uttering execrations against the Eternal ; and filled with hatred and revenge has been weakly bent on de- stroying hell, though it should cost him the labour of millions of ages. Being now alighted on the burning land, he spread devastation around, throw- ing the whole shore with its mountains into the deep. Thus did the princes of the infernal regions as- semble about their king. Like the islands of the sea when torn from their foundations, they rushed on with boisterous uproar and irresistible tumult. After them crowds of inferior spirits flocked., as the waves of the ocean roll to the lofty shores. My- riads of spirits appeared, who, sentenced to contempt and endless infamy, chauntcd their own exploits to their harps, which had been cracked by the thunder of heaven, and sounded the discordant notes of death. 40 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. Thus in the midnight hour, the lofty cedars, split by a tempest, groan, when Boreas in his hrazen chariot sweeps over them, while Lebanon is agitated and Hermon trembles. Satan sees, and hears them coming. He starts up in a - wild transport., and casting his eyes over them, beholds the atheists, a mean grovelling band, among whom was Gog, their horrid leader, in phrenzy, and in power pro eminent. They endeavour to imagine, that what they saw in heaven was all a dream, the idle pro- duce of phantastic visions ; and, lost in a labyrinth of opinion, persuade themselves, that the great Jehovah, first their Father, and then their Judge, has no existence. Satan beheld them, with contempt. For some time he stood lost in thought, then slowly moved his eyes around, and again sat down. As menacing storms hover slow and dilatory over dreary and inhospitable mountains, so Satan sat frowning and pensive. At length, furious, he opened his lips, from which a tempest burst forth, and a thousand claps of impotent thunder issued from his impious mouth. Ye formidable bands, if ye are indeed those who bravely maintained with me bold war in the plains of heaven, during three dreadful days, hear with % triumph what I shall relate, concerning my stay on earth. Hear ye also, my friends, the noble resolution I, your supreme god and king, have ta- ken to put Jehovah to shame. Sooner shall hell pass away, sooner shall he annihilate his creation, and again dwell in solitude, than he shall wrest from us our dominion over the race of man. Ye gods, ever, unconquered, ever free shall ye remain, though he should send even hither his Reconciler, with thousands of his heavenly messengers : nor shall he rob us of our dominion, though he him- self should descend to the earth to save mankind. BOOK II. THE MESSIAH, 41 But against whom do I vent my indignation? Who is this Saviour, this incarnate God who comes clothed in a mortal body ? Would the Messiah, who, armed with the thunder of heaven, drove us from the celestial plains, enter the womb of a mortal ? or is he, who must soon moulder in the dust, to make war on us, and destroy our empire ? Yet there are some here that have timorously fled before him : who, at his approach, escaped from the emaciated bodies of the mortals they tormented. Ye dastards, tremble before this assembly ! hide your faces, and blush in obscurity. Hear it, ye gods ! they fled ! Why, ye pusillanimous, did ye fly ? Why did ye stile this Jesus, who is beneath both you and me, the Son of the eternal God ? But that ye may know who he is, hear from me the history of this arrogant impostor. Hear this, ye assembly of gods, with triumph. From the remotest time, a prophecy has prevailed among the Jews, a nation of all others the most addicted to visions, that a Saviour is to arise, de- scended from David, one of their kings, who will forever deliver them from their enemies, and raise their monarchy to unparallelled glory. Ye are' not ignorant that some of your companions once came with the tidings that they had seen on mount Ta- bor, a host of rejoicing angels, who, with seeming rapture, and awful reverence, incessantly called on the name of Jesus. That the cedars of the moun- tain trembled, and the sound of their hymns, ut- tered in jubilant strains, echoed through the neigh- bouring rocks, while all Tabor resounded Jesus the Saviour. Then Gabriel, proud and insolent, went in triumph to an Israelitish woman, and giving her the salutation only due to the immortals, in a voice and gesture of reverence, said, From thee shall a king be born, who will protect the portion 49 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. of David, and exalt the inheritance of Israel. His name shall be Jesus. He shall be called the Son of God, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Why, O ye r^ods of Kell ! when ye heard of this, were ye struck with terror ? Much more have I heard, yet continue undismayed. But does it become us to be apprehensive of danger, because a mortal Dreamer on our earth assumes the titles of the Son of God, the Redeemer, and the Saviour ? During this speech, the arch apostate saw arise the scars made by the Thunderer ; but though these filled him with terror, he strove to rekindle his boastful rage, and thus continued : I watched on earth for the extraordinary birth of this divine infant. He will soon, said I, proceed from the womb of Mary. Then, swift as the rapid flash from the lowring clouds, or the thoughts of the gods, when winged with wrath, will he grow up towards heaven. In his exaltation, he, with one foot, covers the sea, and with the other, the earth. In his dreadful right hand he poises the sun and moon, and in his left the stars of the morn- ing. He comes accompanied by Destruction, irr the midst of storms, and rushes irresistibly to vic- tory. Fly, Satan ! ah fly ! lest, with his omnipo- tent thunder he strikes impetuous, and having" liurled tlice through a thousand worlds, leaves thee senseless, and even void of life, in the immense abyss. Behold, these, ye gods, were my thoughts : but how far were they ffom the truth ? He came into the earth a mere human being ; a whimpering child ; and, like the other sons of the earth, was no eooner born, than he mourned his mortality with infant tears. A choir of heavenly spirits, indeed, sung at his birth : for sometimes they descend to take a view of that earth where we rule with ab- solute sway, and viewing the graves and sepulchrei BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. 43 of the dead, where once was paradise, they, weep- ing, turn awaj their eyes ; but soon, to assuage their grief, sing hymns of joy, and return to heaven. This was now the case. They hasted back, and left the helpless infant ; who then fled from me, while I suffered him to fly ; for so cowardly an enemy was beneath my pursuit. Meanwhile my trusty vicegerent, Herod, caused the infants of Bethlehem to be massacred ; when the streaming blood ; the dying shrieks of the helpless innocents ; the agonjes of the disconsolate mothers, and the odorous steam of the fresh mangled bodies, mingling with the ascending souls, rendered them a delight ful sacrifice. It was I, Herod, who prompted thee to perform this exploit. Let not any inferior spirit claim this honour : an honour which I maintain is due to me alone. Let therefore that vain boaster, who here in hell, would deprive me of this glory, be silent. On the death of Herod, the child was brought back from Egypt. His early years he passed in the lap of his fond mother, and amidst her embraces remain- ed unknown. Afterwards no blaze of Juvenile fire, no impulse of noble valour prompted him to exert his courage. He retired to the lonely deserts, and the dreary wilds. Yet at length he seemed to assume a more distinguished character. One day, when bathing in the river Jordan, on him descended the glory of God on effulgent splendor. This I myself beheld with these immortal eyes. Bright it flowed, as when it issues from the throne of Heaven through long ranks of adoring seraphs. But why it thus descended, whether in honour of the earth-born child, or to observe the watch we kept, is difficult to tell. However, I instantly heard the rolling thun- der bellow from the clouds, mixed with these words ; this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Thus, to perplex my thoughts, Eloa, or some other 44 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. of the heavenly host, uttered these words : It was surely not the voice of God, at least far dif- ferent did it seem from that, in which he imposed on us the irksome task of paying homage to his favorite, the Messiah. Near Jesus was a fallen prcphet, who, like a savage, roved among the rocks of the wilderness ; and calling out to this pretended Saviour, said Behold the Lamb of God, v/hich taketh away the sins of the world. Hail thou who wast before all worlds ! from thee we receive grace for grace. God gave the law by Moses ; but from the anointed of the Lord come grace and truth. How lofty ! how prophetic ! Thus when dreamers praise each other, they wrap them- selves in a sacred obscurity ; and then we, O ye immortal gods ! are thought much too mean to be able to draw aside the fraudful veil. 'Tis true, the earth-born, of whom the prophet speaks in such lofty strains, hath already seemed to wake the dead ; his mighty power, remember it ye princes of hell, has called to life those, who, fainting under their pains, have been laid in their tombs soon he is to raise the whole human race from sin and death : from sin, who charms every heart, and reigns with such despotic sway : from death, the offspring of the fair flattering charmer, will he also deliver them .: though at my nod he has so often laid in the dust the whole creation of God. Ye soult who, since the formation of the earth I have ga- thered round me, as numerous as the waves of the ocean, or as the glittering stars : ye who lament in eternal night, who, in that night, are tortured by penal fire ; in that fire by despair and in that despair by me : will then be as free from death, as the band of the adoring worship- pers ; while we are to degenerate, and crouching low, to lie prostrate before him. Thus what BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. God's mighty Thunderer was unable to ac- complish, this dreamer is to produce. Presump- tuous boaster ! first free thyself from the lot of humanity, and then awake the dead. Thee will I lay pale and disfigured in the dust. Then will I say to thine eyes, which shall be covered with the veil of eternal night, open and see the dead awake ! Then to the ears which hear not, and from which an eternal insensibility shall exclude all sounds, will I say, Hark ! the fields, resound with the.call, Awake ye dead ! And to thy soul that has just taken its flight, and directs its course to hell, doubtless to subdue us, will I call with the voice of a tempest, Make haste, thou who hast conquered death haste to begin thy triumph ! For thee a pompous entry is prepared the gates of hell open to invite thee in. The deep abyss re- sounds with shouts of joy Thee, the gods, and the souls of thy fellow mortals, greet in triumphant songs. Thus in sportive strains he raved : then added, boasting ; My great resolutions shall be executed, unless God draws up to heaven the lessen- ing earth, and with it the whole human race.-* This Saviour shall die ! he shall die ! Thus shall I be both the father and protector of death, and live unconquered through the ages of eternity. He shall die ! Soon will I, before the face of the Eternal, scatter his mouldering clay in the way to hell ! Thus in a voice hoarse and discordant, spoke the arch-apostate. The great Messiah was still amjong the lonely sepulchres, when the breath with which the blasphemer ended his impious speech, brought to the holy Jesus a fluttering leaf, on which hung a dying worm. The meek and hum- ble Saviour gave it life ; but at the same instant, horrors unutterable entered the bosom of the proud 46 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. boaster. Behind the step of the high raised throne from which he vented his blasphemies hell sunk. and before it Satan, from the terrors ihat seized his mind, appeared wrapped in the darkest gloom of night, while all the inhabitants of the dreadful abyss beheld him with motionless amazement. Below the throne sat Abbadona by himself in deep dejection, ruminating with keenest anguish on the past and the future. Before his face, which was deformed by melancholy, internal anguish, and sad dismay, he beheld tortures accumulated on tortures, extending into eternity. He then looked back to those happy times when he himself was a bright seraph, and the friend of the exalted Abdiel ; who on the day of the revolt, bravely vindicated the cause of God, and having zealously contended for the truth before the apostate legions, returned without him to his Creator, invincible and crowned with immortal glory. Abbadona was near escaping with that heroic seraph ; but being surrounded with the rapid chariots of Satan, and the bright bands of those who fell from their alle- giance, he drew back, and though Abdiel, with looks of menacing love, chid his delay, and strove to hasten his escape from those reprobate bands, inebriated and dazzled with the delusive prospect of his future godhead, he no longer attended to the once powerful eye of his friend, but suffered himself to be carried in triumph to Satan. Now lamenting in pensive silence, he revolves the history of his once spotless innocence, and the fair morning* of his days, when he came pure and happy out of the hand of his Creator. At once the Almighty Source of Goodness formed him and Abdiel, when filled with inborn rapture they thus addressed each other : Ah beauteous form, what are we ? Where ray beloved didst thou first see me ? Ho\r BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. 47 Jong hast thoiihow lone; have I existed ? Come oh O come,my divine friend, embrace me Admit me into thy bosom Let me learn thy thoughts In the mean time came the glory of God, shining from afar with ineffable splendor, fraught with bene- diction. They looked around and beheld an innu- merable host of new iinmortals. A silver cloud then gently raised them to the Eternal. They aw their Creator . they called him Father, and enraptured adored him as the source of their happiness. Abbadona, tortured by these thoughts, shed a torrent of tears, and now resolved to oppose the blasphemous speech of Satan, which had filled him with horror. He thrice attempted to speak, but his sighs stopt his utterance. Thus when in a bloody battle two brothers are mortally wounded by each others hand, at last each to the other being mutually known, they are unable to express the strong sensations of their hearts, and sighs only proceed from their dying lips. At length Abbadona thus broke silence : Though 1 incur the everlasting displeasure of this assembly, I will not refrain from speaking. Yes Satan, I will boldly speak, and perhaps the heavy judgments of the Eternal may more lightly fall on me than on thee. O thou seducer, how I now hate thee ! This essence, this immortal essence, which thou hast snatched from its Creator, he will perpetuajly require of thee He will require of thee the whole assembly of immortal spirits, by thee involved in ruin. Thou execrable de- ceiver, with thee I renounce all connection., I will not participate in thine impotent pro- ject of putting to death the divine Messiah. Against whom, O spirit accursed ! dost thou rave ? It is against him whom thou art forced to confess 48 THE MESSIAH. BOCK It is more mighty than thyself ! Has not his irresis- tible thunder sufficiently disfigured thine audacious front ? Or camuot the almighty Father defend him against those, by whose delusions man became sub- ject to death ? Alas ! in that crime I was" an ac- tomplice ! But mad with rage shall we put to death the great Messiah, and thus perpetually shut against us us once so many pure and happy spirits, the entrance to future deliverance ; or at least pre- vent some little alleviation of our torment. O Satan ! as we all felt increasing pain,. when thou gavest the name of thy kingdom to these mansions of night and horrid damnation, so instead of triumph shalt thou return with shame, from thine audacious attempt against God and his Messiah. Satan heard him with impatient rage, and instant- ly from the top of his throne, attempted to hurl at his devoted head an enormous rock, but his destruc- tive, right hand dropped, shrivelled and void of strength. Then stamping with' impotent fury, three times his disappointed malice shook his whole frame, three times he cast a look of malignant fury at Abbadona, while his struggling passions stopped his voice. Abbadona, with an afflicted counte- nance, still stood before him firm and intrepid. Now spake Adramelech, the foe of God, of man, and even of Satan. Thou base and abject slave, cried he, I will speak to thce in storms, and will answer thee in a tempest. Darest thou pre- sume to revile the gods ? Dare one of the most grovelling spirits of hell to rise up against Satan and me ? If thou art tortured, thou slave, it is by thine own thoughts. Fly, thou pusillanimous spirit, from our dominions, the abode of kings fly into the wide abyss of space, and there importune thjr God to erect for thee a kingdom of new tortures, in which thou mayst live for ever. But thou hadst BOOK II. f THE MESSIAH. 49 rather perish perish then, humbly adoring the object of thy terror. Come, Satan, thou who in the midst of heaven knewest thy divine essence, and boldly attempted to dethrone Jehovah Come, we will soon shew these contemptible spirits the ter- rors of our arm, by enterprizes that, like a storm, shall at onre depress and blind them. Come, ye mazes of impenetrable guile, big with ruin, destruc- tion and death. It is determined that this Saviour shall die : he shall not even save himself. There is no way for his escape ; nor shall any guide deliver him from the labyrinth into which he shall enter. But should he even elude our stratagems : shouldst Thou, who dwellest on high, enable him to escape, by enduing him with the sagacity of a god, yet fiery tempests, the agents of our wrath, shall soon take him from our sight tempests like that with which we formerly attacked the happy Job, the favorite of heaven. Fly fly from us thou earth, we come against thee armed with all the powers of death and hell. Woe to him who in our world, shall dare to oppose us. Thus spake Adramelech ; and now the whole assembly with unanimous tumult sided with Satan. The stamping of their mighty feet surpassed the noise of falling rocks, and shook the deep profound. Inflated with their future triumphs, the hoarse roar of applauding voices, reached the utmost confines of the dreary regions, all approving the infernal resolution of slaying the blessed Jesus : though an act like this, Time, since he first began his course, had never seen. Its cursed inventors, Satan and Adramelech, with resolutions fell and malignant, descended from their throne ; the steps like brazen mountains, resounded under their feet, and the bel- lowing cry of war and victory accompanied them to the gate of hell. 50 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. Abbadona, who alone had remained unmoved, folio wed. at *\ distance, either still to persuade them from engaging in the dire attempt, or to behold the consequences of the dreadful deed. Now, with steps dilatory and slow he advanced and before he was aware, found himself before the angels who guarded the gate. But how was he confounded, when he saw there the invincible Abdiel ! sighing, he held down his head and thought of retiring ; then resolved to advance ; then trembling and filled with perturbation, determined to fly into the im- mense abyss of space : but instantly collecting himself he moved towards the seraph. His beating heart spoke the terror of his mind : distressful tears, such as fallen angels weep, fell from his eyes : deep sighs burst from his agonizing breast, and a continual tremor, never felt by mortals, shook hn whole frame. Abdiel with an open tranquil eye, stood in fixed attention, gazing up the bright stream of light, and with sweet serenity was view- ing the distant worlds, formed by the great Crea- tor, to whom he had ever remained faithful. He taw not Abbadona. As the sun on its natal day poured his resplendent beams on the new-created earth, so shone the bright seraph ; but the afflicted Abbadona felt no genial influences from his reful- gent rays. Sighing, he cryed to himself in plantive voice, Abdiel, my brother ! wilt thou for ever whun me ? Wilt thou for ever leave me ? for ever leave me in solitude, far from thee ? Oh grant me thy pity, thou child of light ! Wilt thou not, Abdiel, mourn for me ? Ah, he no longer loves me ! he will for ever cease to love me ! Wither, ye ever verdant bowers, under which, in high raised rapture and sweet delight we talked of the tender charms of friendship. Cease to flow, ye celestial streams, where we mingled the sweet em- BOOR. II. THE- MESSIAH. 51 brace, and \vitb unpolluted lips sung the praises of the Eternal Abcliel, my brother, is for ever dead to me ! Thou hell, my dark abode, eterna) night, thou mother of torments, join my lamentations, and \vhen the terrors of God nightly oppress me, nmy my sighs and bewaiiiiig groans resound in thy caverns. Abdiel, my brother, is for ever dead to me ! Thus unregarded, he, to himself, uttered his complaints. He now stood fronting the crystaline stream of flowing light that leads to the mundane system. At first he was afraid of the brightness, and of the winged lightning, that seemed ad- vancing towards him. Immersed in misery, and , confined to solitude, ages had passed since he had seen the worlds. Now standing pensive, he cried, Blessed entrance ! oh that I might pass through thee to those innumerable places, where the Creator displays his power and grace, and never more tread the dark kingdom of Damnation ! Ye suns innu- merable, how much more resplendent was I than you, ye inanimate children of the Creator, when first at his almighty voice, your glorious orbs began to roll ! Now, this gloomy mansion is my place of residence. 1 am an outcast, an object of abhor- rence to the meanest spirits who maintained their allegiance to the Omnipotent ! O thou heaven, seat of purest bliss, the sight of thee fills me>with remorse ! In thy blissful regions I became a sinner there I rose up against the Almighty. Thou immortal repose, once my sweet associate in the blessed vale of peace, whither art thou fled ? Alas ! thee I have for ever lost, and my Judge scarce permits me to enjoy, in the midst of my gloomy horrors, the admiration of his worlds, those glorious structures that display his omnipotence and grace Oh that I might without shuddering, pro* 32 THE MESSIAH. BOOK II. sume to nail him my Creator ! how willingly would I resign the tender, the endearing name of Father ! how cliearfully forego the noble privilege of the seraphim of being called his children ! O thou> who art my judge, dare I, abandoned, implore thea to cast on me one gracious look, while thus involved in guilt involved in woe ! Ye dark thoughts, full of anguish, and thou wild dispair, tyrannic rage ! for ever rage ! Miserable that I am ' O that I were but blotted from the creation ! Cursed be the day when the Creator went forth in his glory, and called me into being Yes, cursed be thou, O day ! when the new immortals said, he Is also our brother ; O Eternity ! thou mother of endless torments ! why didst thou bring it forth ? And if it must still remain, wherefore is it not dark *nd horrid, like the eternal night when the mighty Thunderer, borne on a tempest, drove us through the void creation, laden with the anger and curse of the Omnipotent But against whom, while doom- ed t') this horrid abyss, darest thou, blasphemer, complain ! Fall on me ye swns, hide me ye stars, from the fierce wrath of him, who from the throne of his eternal justice, both as my enemy and my judge, fills me with terror and sad dismay. O thon whose judgements are irrevocable, has eternity no hope* in store for me ? O divine Judge, Creator, most gracious Father ! Alas ! again I offend I blas- pheme the Most High I call him by names not to be uttered by guch an ingrate. Yet all this he once was to me He was once my most gracious Father he would have been so still, had I like Ahdiel, my dearest friend, stood firm. But I, alas ! impious, ungrateful fled but whither did I fly ? Thus he spoke, and looked, dejected into the deep abyss. Then lifting up his eyes, glaring with wild despair, he resumed: BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. 53 O God, armed with destruction create a fire a devouring fire that will destroy the spirits which thou, without their consent, hast created immortal. In vain he called, no devouring flame appeared : he then turned and fixing his looks on the worlds, flew up, till spent with fatigue, he alighted on one of the suns, and stopping, suffered his eyes to rang over the wide creation, where stars innumerable seemed to press on stars. He perceived a comet in the immensity of space, and approached it from the sun on which he stood. Its sentence was pro- nounced. Its final period drew nigh, and it was on all sides covered with smoke. Upon it Abba- dona threw himself, that he too might perish, but itill surviving, he sunk through the inflamed globe, and descended slowly to our earth. In the mean time Satan and Adramelech ap- proached the earth. They proceeded together, yet alone, each solely taken up with his own infers nal thoughts. And now Adramelech descries the earth involved in distant darkness. There, there it is, cryed he to himself, Yes, there it is. There I, when I have obtained the glory of conquering Satan, shall sole reign as the author of all evil. But why, O earth ! over thee alone ? why not over those stars, whose inhabitants have been already too hang happy ? your orbs shall for me perform their courses. Yes, death shall advance ft om star to star, and in sight of the Eternal, ex- tend his dominion to the utmost confines of the wide creation ! Then shall I not like Satan, succes- sively destroy only single individuals of rational beings, but sweep away entire generations. Be- fore me shall they lie grovelling on the earth> and, writhing themselves with torment, expire. Then will I sit on this, on that, or the other star triumphant, a::d, sole monarch, cast my glad eye* M TH MESSIAH. BOOK . over my infinite domain. Thou, nature whom I &bali then have rendered the tomb of thy creatures, shall I delighted behold, while I, laughing, gaze on their corruption, in thy deep and endless grave. Even should the Eternal resolve to form other rational beings of the dust of the tombs, them also will I bring to destruction. Thus shall my never failing skill and intrepidity carry seduction and death from world to world. Then shall I act like myself : and should I be successful iu de- stroying spiritual beings, Satan himself shall pe- rish, and his immortal essence evaporate like smoke. Under him no great and worthy action shall I perform. It is then determined. Spiritual sub- stances shall be reduced to nothing. I will destroy them or perish : for that is better than to live and not to reign. 1 will summon all my thoughts, to form schemes of destruction This is the time for performing what has eternally been the subject of my ambition. Now God awakes, and if Satan does not err, has sent a Saviour of mankind, who is to disposses us of a kingdom we have so boldly conquered. He is not mistaken ; he who is called the Messiah, is the greatest of all the prophets. Yet I shall signalize myself by his overthrow, and all the assembled gods shall esteem me most worthy of the infernal throne. Or, what is still wore suitable to my dignity, and more worthy of such an immortal being, I will first destroy Satan : n glorious exploit that will put an end to my ser- vitude ! he shall be subdued*, and then shall I reizrn supreme among the gods. "Thus tbe proud boastful fiend malignant raved, bewildered by his wishs, in a maze of thought. The Most High, who sees through the darkness of futurity, heard him iu silence. Adraxnelech lost Ja meditations deep, insensibly wrapped himself in BOOK II. THE MESSIAH. the gathering clouds : his wangled front glowed with rage and malice, and fury lowered on his brow. At length, at the approach of night, he again joineri Satan., when both descended on the mount of Olives, they with impatient rage went in quest of the Messiah, and his faithful followers. As two murderous chariots armed for slaughter rush into a valley, against the tranquil general of an enemy's army, so Adramelech and Satan de- scended the mountain. THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK. THE MESSIAH. BOOK. III. THE ARGUMENT. The Messiah still continues among the sepulchres. Efcw descends from heaven, and counts his tears. The bculs of the patriarchs send the seraph Zernin^ from the sun, to observe the words and actions of Jesus, while the darkness of the night prevents their seeing liira. Tfce Messiah sleeps for the last time, and while his disciples seek him about the mount of Olives, their guardian angels give Zemia their several characters. Satan ap. pears in a dream to Judas Jscariot in the form of his deceased father. The Messiah awaking comes to his disciples, and mentions their approaching flight. Judas, vrho had concealed himself, over-hears the Messiah, and feels his mind distracted by contending passions. HAIL earth ! mj native land, thee I revisit : thou shalt lay me in thy cool bosom among those who sleep in God : thou shalt softly cover these my bones. Yet let me hope first to conclude the sacred song of heavenly love. Then these lips which sung the gracious Friend of man ; then these eyes which he has oft filled with tears of joy, shall be closed : then my gentle friends, with fre- quent gushing grief, shall encircle my grave with ever-verdant laurel, and the spreading palm : tKere shall I sleep till my new-raised form, awaked from death, rises in heavenly splendor from the silent grave. 8 THE MESSIAH. BOOK m. And thou harmonious muse of Sion's hill, \vho hast carried me to the gloomy regions of hell, and safe hast brought me back, still trembling : thou, who in the divine countenance hast seen awful justice mixed with radiant grace and love, pour on my enraptured soul celestial light, and teach her in lofty strains to sing the great Redeemer. Jesus still remained with John, at the receptacles of the dead, among the scattered bones of human bodies, and surrounded by nocturnal darkness. He sat meditating on himself, the Son of the Eter- nal Father, sacriliced for man. Before him passed in horrid form a numerous train of sins, which since the creation had received their birth from the children of Adam ; followed in awful pomp by those posterity will still produce ; an innumerable host, flying from the face of God, in the midst of whom was Satan their chief and father, driving sinners from the sacred throne, and gathering them round himself. Thus the northern whirlpool, ever open to destruction, in circling eddies ingulphs the liquid plain, drawing into its deep abyss unwary mariners. Jesus beheld the black assembly in their native forms most hideous, not as when painted by the passions, they appear to man in the garb of lavish luxury and proud ambition ; or as when to the lascivious eye they scern dressed in smiles and wanton blandishments. The holy Saviour then looked up to his Father, who, with awful counte- nance, regarded him ; but though the tremendous sentence was slowly breaking forth, grace inexpres- sible beamed from his face. The seraphs say, the Father then silent dropped the second tear : the first fell with Adam's curse. While thus each the other viewed, all nature bowed before them ; full of awe and expectation, the world stood still, the stars stop peel their courses, and night gazed with ///v.sY A. ./'//// ul ///-" ..:!u-:.l t * .//>i..vV7// ( *JSrytff IT!. THE MESSIAH. $y all her eyes. The contemplating- cherub in a calm cloud passed by. The seraph Eloa also riding in celestial vapours came down to the earth, and having counted the tears of love, by the Redeemer shed tor man, reascended towards the heavenly plains. John beheld him rise ; for Jesus had opened his eyes, and enabled him to perceive the seraph. He saw him, and stood amazed. Then with ardour embraced the Mediator, and sighing, called him his Saviour and his Lord ; enraptured lie thus called him, and filled with joys inexpres- sible, continued the sweet embrace. Meanwhile the eleven, -who- had long been de- prived of the sight of Jesus, wandered sorrowful at the foot of the mount of Olives, seeking him amidst the darkness of the night : one alone excepted who no longer paid the same honour, or felt the same tender regard for the Messiah, as the others. Though filled with innocence and unspotted truth, they knew not the purity and sublime nature of their own souls : but they were better Itnown to God. He had given them minds fit for receiving divine illuminations. Even he, who proved him- self unworthy of the celestial call, might also have received heavenly revelations, had he not afterwards impiously betrayed the blessed Saviour. For be- fore the souls of the apostles dwelt in fabernaclei of clay, golden thrones were prepared for them ia heaven, by those of the four and twenty elders. Yet one of these had been covered with clouds, they, however, soon dispersed, and the bright throne again diffused effulgent splendor. Eloa then came forth, and with a loud voice said, This "is taken from him, and given to one more worthy. Their guardian spirits, twelve angels of '' e earth under the inspection of Gabriel, now arcende4 to the summit of the mountain, end with tender GO THE MESSIAH. BOOK HT. complacency, stood unseen, viewing those committed to their charge, while they, with eyes filled with anxious tears, carefully sought the divine Media- tor. Mean while Zemia, an agile spirit, one of the four who next in authority to Uriel presided over the globe which enlightens the earth, descended to them, and thus spoke. Tell rne, ye celestial friends, where is the great Messiah ? sent by the souls of the fathers, 1 shall with awful silence accompany his steps, and with admiration observe all his words and actions. No holy expression, no sigh of compassion, will I suffer to escape unobserved : no look beaming com- fort, no tear of soft commiseration, shall appear in his eye, unnoticed. O earth ! too soon dost thou withdraw from the view of thine ancient inhabitants, thy field? most lovely, where walks the glorious Prince of Peace veiled in humanity. Too soon dost tfcou fly the day and Uriel's face, while the sun reluctant lights the other hemisphere. There no rising hill, no lowly vale, gives delight ; for tliers the Saviour is not eeen. Orion, the seraph, Simon's guardian angel, then replied, Below, among the melancholy sepulchres hewn deep in the rocks, near the foot of this moun- tain, stands the great Messiah rapt in meditation. JSerma beheld him, and remained in silent ecstacy. He still stood enraptured, while on their swift wings two fleeting, calm, and silent hours of the night passed over his head. Then the last balmy sleep descended on the eye of the Mediator ; for sacred repose, jssuirig from the divine sanctuary, was sent by the almighty Father in a gentle breeze. Jesus slept. Zemia then turning, entered into the midst of the spiritual assembly, and in the voice of friend- ship, thus spake : Tell me, ye celestial friends, who are those I see III. THE MESSIAH. 6i roaming on the monntain dejected and forlon : Over their faces hovers sympathising grief, ever graceful when, as here, there appears a noble mind. They, perhaps, lament some dear departed frienr 1 , virtuous like themselves. These, O Zemia ! Orion replied, are the holy twelve, whom the Messiah has chosen for his disciples. Happy are we ia being selected their guardians and friends. Thus we continually behold their divine Master, and hear, how he, with sweetest lips of sacred love, opens to (hem his heart : how he dispenses his in- structions : how in sublimest converse he introduces them to the knowledge of celestial mysteries, or in parables shews thee, immortal virtue, in all thy native lustre. Thus impressing his image on their hearts, he forms them for the glorious employment of leading man to the high regions of immortality. Oh how much do we learn from his instructions ; how vigilant are we rendered by his bright ex- ample ! and how are ws allured to accompany him in fervent adoration of the Source of all good, the supreme Father of angels and of men ! O Zemia ! wert thou but daily to behold him wert thou but witness to his divine friendship, his humi- lity, his exalted piety, thine heart would overflow with silent rapture. Delightful is it also to the immortals to hear his disciples converse of him, like us, in affectionate effusions of love. Often, O my friend ! have I said to -these my companions, and 1 again repeat it, that I have frequently wish- ed to be of Adam's race, and to live with man in &, state of mortality, if mortality can be without sin. Perhaps I might then more truly honour the Messiah ; perhaps I should feel a more ardent af- fection for my brother, born of the same flesh and blood. With what rapture might I then deliver up my life for him who had died for me ? Whila G2 THE MESSIAH. BOOK HI. stained vrith my warm innocent blood I \vould praise him ; and then my faint si^hs, my dying accents, \vouid sound in the ears of the Most High, "with no less harmony than the lofty strains of Eloa, when he stands before the throne. Then, Zemia, thou, or one of these my friends, would, with in- visible hand, gently close my eyes, and conduct my departed soul to the Eternal King. Greatly, O gentle seraph ! replied Zemia, nm I moved by thy words. How hast thou incited me to join in thy wish to be a brother of man ! Those I there behold are then the holy twelve, the Messiah's chosen friends. An honour which a se- raph might well wish to obtain by becoming mor- tal. I salute you his disciples : ye are worthy of immortality. You the Redeemer loves as brethren. Ye shall sit with your Lord on golden thrones to judge the world. ,O ye seraphim ! I would hear the names already recorded in the book of life. Say first who is he that with quick eye looks around, and now penetrates the thick grove, perhaps with impatient eagerness looking for Jesus ? In his countenance rnethinks I see the traces of a bold and determined mind. Tell me the thoughts and emo- tions of a heart that seems susceptible of the strongest impressions. This, replied the seraph Orion, is Simon Pcfer, one of the greatest of the disciples. Me has the Redeemer chosen his guardian angel. Thou, O Zemia, hast judged aright : he Ls all that thou gayest, Shouldst thou see h'.m when full of fervor, he listens to the voice of his gracious Master ; or iv.hen absent from him, and no longer under his eye ; or when sleeping, he, in his dreams, beholds his Saviour ; thou, O seraph ! wouldst admire the sensibility of his heart, and think it still more divine. Jesus asking his disciples, vhom they thought BOOE III. THE MESSIAH. C$ him, Peter answered, with tears of joy, Thou art Christ, the son of the living God, But, oh that I had not heard the Messiah say to Peter, Thou wilt deny me thrice ! how dreadful the prediction ! Ah Simon, my hrother ! what oh what w r ere the thoughts of thine heart ? boldly didst thoo reply, I will never deny thee my Redeemer and my Lord. Yet Jesus again repeated the dreadful words. Didst ihou, Peter, but know how this fills me with soft compassion, surely thou wouldst, as thou hast said, rather die than deny thy kind and gracious Lord. Thou knowest how Jesus loves thee. For then didst thou observe, that while he thus spake, he beheld thee with eyes filled with divine sympathy and grace. Fain, O Peter ! would I hope, that thou wilt not basely deny thy Lord. The seraph Zemia heard him with deep concein, and replied, Is it possible that he should be so void of gratitude and love, as to disown his Saviour, his faithful, his divine Friend ! what honesty and truth shine in his face ! But who is he, on whose open countenance is painted a glow of virtue and a detestation of vice, inexorable to the slavish sinner who knows not God ? is he not Peter's frieud ? how closely he attends him ! with him he con- Terses with all the familiarity of fraternal af- fection. Sipha, his guardian angel, answered, right, O seraph ! is thy conjecture. That is Andrew, Peter's brother. They grew up together from tender in- fancy, under my care and that of Orion. Often have I, when his fond mother was affectionately embracing my infant charge, moulded his heart, to render it capable of receiving the perfect love 1> was afterwards to feel for the Messiah. When Jesus saw him as he stood by Jordan's silver stream, he was one of the disciples of John, and still in hi* ($4 THE MESSIAH. BOOK III. retentive ear resounded the words of that holy prophet concerning 1 the mediator, whose coming was at hand. Jesus, with a look of benignity, called him. I was present. I beheld a divine fire pervade his breast ; he felt the heavenly im- pulse flash upon his soul, and instantly flew to his saviour. Now spake Libanicl, Philip's tutelar angel, and said, He, O Zemia, whom thou seest filled with social friendship for those two brothers, is Philip. A smile of benevolence adorns his placid counte- nance, and the invariable desire of loving as bre- thren, all whom the Most High created in his own image, is the ruling passion of his godlike mind. The great Creator has also tipt hi tongue with mild persuasive eloquence. As at the wakening morn the dew distils from Ilermon, and odours breathe from the spreading olive, so sweet discourse proceeds from the lips of Philip. But who, said Zemia, smiling, is he that with slow step walks among the cedars ? on his face glows a noble desire of fame. Behold, he appears like one of those immortal sons of Sion, who con- secrate their sacred works to posterity, and live in fame from generation to generation. Their glory unconfined, becomes boundless and eternal ; it tonietimes passes from star to star ; and when they, enraptured, compose hymns to God and his Mes- siah, we aid the aspiring strains, and sing them in the heavens. That, said the seraph Adona, is James the son of Zebedee. His noble ambition is solely directed to divine objects : his grand pursuit, to rise to glory at the great and solemn day, when the Lord of Life shall awake the dead, and pa&s sentence on the sons of man. To his exalted soul, less honour Would be ignominy, Ou his seeing the Saviour, in BOOK III. THE MESSIAH. 65 a rapture of joy he ran to meet him. I saw him when on Tabor's hallowed mount, Moses and Elias, sent of God, appeared to the Messiah. Lo, bright and glowing clouds encompassed and over- shadowed them. Jesus was transfigured : his face shone more bright than the sun in its meridian lustre : he was arrayed in silver light. As in the holy of holies Aaron the high priest saw the glory of God, so enraptured by this pornp of celestial splendor, James admired and contemplated the glorious appearance. He of the holy twelve, is to be the first martyr. Thus say the tables of prescience. He is therefore soon to enter triumphant on the ample theatre of the eternal state, and to quench the desires of his longing soul, in the unutterable delights of never ceasing felicity. Simon the Canaanite whom thou behold est sit- ting, said Megiddon, his tutelar angel, was once a devout shepherd, whom Jesus called from the field. His innocent and peaceful life, with his meekness and simplicity of manners, has gained the heart of his Lord. Jesus coming to him on a journey, he, with hospitable speed, killed a young lamb, and with assiduous care attended his welcome guest, transported with the honour of entertaining in hit low cottage the Prophet of God. Not less grate- ful was his repast to the Messiah, than that he and the two angels received from Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Come, O Simon ! come, and follow me, said he, with benignity in his look follow me, and heave thy flocks to thy companions. I am fie, of whom thou, when a youth, heardst the song of the heavenly host by Bethlehem's limpid stream. There i* my beloved charge, said Adoram, the seraph. Behold James the son of Alpheus. That grave and placid countenace is e'xpressivc of the r 66 THE MliSSIAIL BOOK Ilf modest virtue which consists not in words, but in action. While conscious that he is known to God though he should be disregarded by man ; forgotten by posterity, and overlooked by us, his celestial friends, he would still persevere in his exalted piety and steady virtue. Umbriel then stood forth, and stretched out his hand to Zemia, said, he whom thou seest musing in the depths of that tall grove, is Thomas, a zealous disciple. His mind is continually rapt in medita- tion, thoughts frequently produce thoughts without end, and extend before him, like a boundless sea. He was once almost lost in the dark system of Sadducean dreams : but was saved by the mighty miracles of the Messiah. Then leaving the mazy labyrinths of entangling error, he came to Jesus. Yet still, hard of conviction, he would fill me with solicitude, did I not know that with his active mind, he has sincerity of heart, and an ardent love of sacred truth. Yonder, said the seraph Bildai, is Matthew, who was educated in the soft luxurious lap of pleasure. His wealthy parents accustomed him to the sordid employments of those who, unmindful of their im- mortal souls, are as in-satiably bent on accumulating shining ore, as if they were to live eternally on this heavy globe : but on his seeing the blessed Jesus, the hidden powers of his mind expanded : at a nod from Christ he followed him, leaving his employ- ment, which had pressed him down to the earth, to the groveling souls who have no taste for the more substantial treasures of heavenly wisdom. Thus a brave hero, when called to hazard his life for his country, breaks from the charms of some fair prin- cess. He enters the field. There the Most High arrayed in justice, guides the battle, and directs the hand of death. The innocents he saves from the fury of the blood-thirsty enemy, shall with BOOK III THE MESSIAH. 07 transports of gratitude proclaim his glory, and if in the midst of slaughter he remembers that he is himself a man, we will chant his name before the Eternal. Siona, the seraph, then said, that amiable old man with silyer locks, is Bartholomew. He is un- der my care. Observe his devout and engaging countenance. There sacred virtue delights to dwell. By his practice its severities will be rendered more amiable and acceptable to mortals. Thou, O Bar- tholomew ! shall gather many to Jesus. They shall see thy glorious end, and be struck with thy fortitude, when thou, in the sweat of death, shaft mile on thy murderers, and on thy brethren, with the tranquility of a seraph. Then, ye celestial friends, you will join with me, in wiping the blood from his face, that all may behold his triumph over death, and filled with admiration, turn to the Lord. That meek and humble disciple, said Elim, is my Lebbeus. Few have such tenderness and sen- sibility. When I called his immortal spirit from those regions, where souls reside before their union with the body, I found it by a stream which, murmuring like the distant sound of sighs and plain- tive moans, creeps along the vale. There, as angels relate, Abbadona lamented, as he returned from Eden, after seeing the mother of mankind, who had lost] her spotless innocence. You also well know, that there the seraphs oft bewail the souls intrusted to their care, when after adorning their juvenile years with fair religion, and sanctity of manners, they unhappily blast their blooming virtues, and quitting the nobler pleasures which heaven approves, become infatuated with the false, the shadowy allurements of vice. Alas ! how dreadful will be their fate ! the angels lament their fall with sigh* F C8 THE MESSIAH. BOOK 1IT. of pity, and shed such tears, as cannot fall from the eyes of mortals. There I found the soul of my dear JLrbbeus, shrouded in tranquil clouds,, and listening with faint perception, to the sound of pensive mur- murs. These, where the stronger feelings of the senses prevail, are disregarded. Yet when his soul, clothed with light, entered the body, a slight per- ception of the melancholy murmurs still remained, sufficient to impress the mind in its first formation. Soft in the bosom of a fleecy cloud, 1 gently con- veyed the unimbodied spirit to the dwellings of mortals. At length his mother brought him forth in a grove of palms. I descended invisible from the top of the rustling branches, and cooled the infant with refreshing breezes : but even then at the gloomy sensation that he was born to die_, the num- ber of his tears exceeded that of other mortals. He passed his youth in tender sorrow, weeping at the tear shed by a friend, and sympathising in every woe of his fellow-creatures. Thus, soft and com- passionate, has he passed his time with Jesus. How arn I grieved for thee, O Lebbens ! at the death of thy Lord, thou, his devout disciple, wilt sink under the burden of thy grief. Ah ! support him, thou gracious Redeemer ! strengthen him in that hour, thou who pitiest mankind ! Behold with faultering step he is wandering towards us in deep affliction. Here, seraph, of him thou wilt have a nearer view, and face to face see the softest and most tender soul. While Elim was yet speaking, Lebbeus silently joined them. Quick the circle of assembled seraphs widened to admit a mortal. So the vernal breeze* move before Philomela's plaintive strains. They now encompass him, and full of affection, stand as man with man. Lebbeus thinking himself alone, aud unobserved, lift up his joined hands, and with BOOK III. THE MESSIAH. G9 gestures of distress, indulged the transports of his grief; crying, No where can I find him. Already one dismal day already two tedious nights have fled, and we have not seen him ! Ah his cruel persecutors have at length found and siezed him ! I forsaken,, live, though Jesus is dead ! Thee have sinners barbarously slain, and yet I did not see thee die ! Thine eyes with gentle hand I have not closed ! Say, ye cruel men ! where did you mur- der him ? To what dreary desert, to what barren wild, to -what gloomy sepulchre, did ye, inhuman, drag him, to take away his life ? Ah where, my divine friend, dost thou lie ? It is among the dead, pale and disfigured ! The tender grace, the hea- venly smile of thy compassionate looks, these mur- derers have stolen ! Thy servants have not seen thee die ! Oh that this heart this oppressed heart, might eease to beat ! that my soul, formed for an- guish, might, like that dusky cloud, fly into the aight of death, that I might there meet my Lord ! Spent with watching, I will lie down and indulge this heaviness that comes upon me. Thus lamenting, he sunk into the arms of sleep. Elim covered him with the slender branches of thg olive ; fanned his languid face with his gentle breath ; poured on his head balmy slumbers, and, While he slept, presented to his mind a dream, ill which he walked conversing with his Lord. Zemia hung over him full of benevolent sympa- thy, when- a disciple appeared coming from the gloomy grove before the sepulchres. Tell me, said he, who is he that ascends the mountain ? His raven locks fall in curls on his ample sloulders, and a manly beauty appears amidst the austerity of his countenance; while his head rising superemincnt above those of the other disciples, completes tlie dignity of his appearance. But may I, my celestial F 2 TO THE MESSIAH. BOOK Hi; friends, presume to say, that if I am not deceived, I perceive in his countenance,, traces of the strongest agitations of mind,, and something that to me ap- pears mean and sordid. He is, however, a disciple, and will one day come with Jesus in the clouds of heaven to judge the world. But whence, O ye immortals ! is this silence ! Will none of you, my celestial friends, condescend td answer me ? Ah, why do you still continue silent ? Have I formed a mistaken judgment of this disciple, and does that give you pain ? Speak oh speak I own my fault. And thou holy disciple, be not offended. When thou shalt enjoy the honour of suffering martyrdom for the truth, and shalt enter in triumph among the immortals, before these se- raphs will I atone for my offence, by the most cordial friendship. ' Ah Zeraia ! must I then answer thee ? said Ithuriel sighing and advancing towards the seraph. Better would it be for us both, were I to observe, on this subject, an eternal silence : Yet I will an- swer thee. He whom thou seest is Judas Iscariot. I would not, O seraph, lament over him. Un- moved, and without one compassionate tear, would I behold him. With pious indignation would I avoid the guilty wretch, had he not be^n blessed with a heart formed for every virtue, and passed his youth unpolluted by crimes had not the Mes- siah himself thought him worthy of my care when his life was pious, holy and irreproachable. But alas ! now he to add more, would be heaping iorrow on sorrow ! Ah ! now I know why, when in the presence of the Most High, we were dis- coursing of the sOuls of the disciples, Eloa the eraph, on receiving a sign from the Supreme, descended mournful, and instantly enveloped in ilouds one of the Iwfty golden seats, set apart for BOOK III. THE MESSIAH. Tl the twelve disciples, flear the Eternal. O thatthou, Judas, Iwdgt never been born ! Oh that no seraph had ever mentioned thine immortal soul ! Better infinitely better would it have been for thee never to have seen the light, than for thee, ungrateful traitor ! to betray thy Lord, and profane the glorious, the sacred office to which thou wert called. Thus spake the seraph Ithuriel, and with down- cast look stood before Zcmia, who replied, I shud- dering sympathize with thee, and darkness, like that which precedes the dawn, overclouds my eyes. Judas, one of the twelve, and thy charge, O Ithu- riel, profane the office of a disciple, and dishonour the gracious Mediator ! this none of the immortals could have believed. Yet, what is his dreadful crime! What has the abandoned done, before Jesus, and thee, and the celestial spirits : freely tell me though my heart, O Ithuriel ! tremble at the recital. O seraph ! Ithuriel returned, he hates John, because Christ loves him with greater tenderness than any of his other disciples. And (fain would he conceal it from himself) he hates the Redeemer ! In an unhappy hour, dishonest avarice took root in his once noble soul : For this is not the \ice of jouth. Blinded by this base, unsocial passion, he imagines that John will be preferred by the Messiah before the other disciples, and more especially be- fore him, to collect the treasure ; the heavenly treasure, the first fruits of the unbounded wealth of his new kingdom. Thus does he speak ; and this, oft have I heard him murmur with rancorous heart, when in his lonely walks he thought himself unob- served. Once (long will the horrid image hover in my sight, and fill my heart with silent gloom) Once in the vale Benhinnon, full of inquietude he T2 THE MESSIAH. BOOK III. gave vent to the agitations of his mind, tittering the most malignant and impious wishes. Deeply af- fected, I cast down my eyes, when instantly I beheld Satan leave him, with an air of bitter mockery and triumphant smiles ; and then passing by me, gave me a look of arrogant contempt. At present the heart of Judas is so torn by the storms of guilty passions, that I dread lest each black thought, each fell emotion of his wicked mind, should hurry him to swift perdition. Oh that thine omnipotent hand, O God, had held Satan bound in adamantine chains in the abyss of deepest darkness ! that the immortal soul thou hast formed for eternal glory, might reco- ver from her errors, and seize the precious remaining hours ; that, worthy of her high birth, and the creative voice by which the Almighty called her to immortality, and consecrated her to the discipleship, she, invincible and fearless, might resist the furious destroyer, with the courage and intrepidity of a se- raph. But, O thou supreme Wisdom ! thou Source of Goodness ! be not offended at my wishes: whatever thou doest, is wisest, most just, and best. Dearest seraph, cried Zemia, what says the Me- diator ? ah, what does the gracious Mediator say to his lost disciple ? Can he still see near him the criminal ? Does he yet love him ? and if he do, oh ! how does he shew his compassion ! Zemia, constrained by thee, said Ithuriel, I must reveal all that I would gladly conceal from myself, from thee, and from the angels. Unworthy as he is, Jesus still loves him. Full of assiduous affection, not in words, but by looks of the most elivine benevolence, he lately, when all the disciples were present, said, Thou art tie that will betray me ! But, Zemia, see he approaches, 1 will retire. 1 can no longer bear to. look upon the ingratc. Follow BOOK HF. THE MESSIAH, 73 inc. Thus saying, Ithuricl hasted away. Zeinia went with him, and Salem, a young seraph who wat John's second guardian, followed them at a dis- tance : for God had given to John two tutelar angels, the chief of whom was Raphael, one of the most exalted seraphs. Zemia and Ithuriel now went to Jesus lit the se- pulchres. There Salem, with radiant countenance, joined them, and, with a look of cordial affection, gave them the tender embrace. A mild joy shone in Salem's face, and a youthful smile played in his features. As the opening gates of a delightful vernal morn, his mouth poured forth the sweetest harmony, and from his lips flowed eloquence in soft mellifluous accents. Ye seraphs, compose your minds, said he ; there with Jesus in the tombs, is John, the most amiable of all the disciples. Cast your eves on him, and you will no longer think of Judas. Devout as a seraph, he lives with the Messiah as one of the immortals. To him the Redeemer opens his heart ; and him lias he chosen his chief confident. As the friendship of Gabriel and the exalted Eloa, or as the affection Abdiel once felt for Abbadona, while living with him in native innocence, is the friendship that sub- sists between John and his divine Master. Of this he is worthy : for of all the souls of men, the Creator never formed one more pure and heavenly than that of John. I was present when the immor- tal essence came forth, and bdield a resplendent rank of young celestial spirits, thus, in flowing numbers, hail their companion : We salute thee, holy offspring of the breath divine ! Beauteous and loving art tbou as Salem, as Raphael heavenly and sublime. From thce pure sentiments will flow as dew from the purple clouds ef the morning, and thy humane heart thy heart. 74 THE MESSIAH. Boon nil filled with tender sensations, shall melt, as the eyei of the seraphim, enraptured at the sight of virtue, overflow with sweetest transports. Fair daughter of the breath divine, faithful sister of the soul which once, in its unspotted youth, animated the first of men, we will now conduct thee to the body, thy companion, which smiling nature moulds for thee in proportions just and lovely. It will be beautiful, like the body of the Messiah, which soon the Divine Spirit will form, and which, in manly grace, shall exceed all the sons of Adam. In this thy tender and amiable frame, thy virtues will be proved, till the fair habitation of clay shall be destroyed. It shall then moulder in the dust ; but at last thy Salem will seek and awake thee ; and if thou hast faithfully performed thv task on earth, will conduct thee, arrayed in celestial beauty, to the embraces of the Messiah, coming in the clouds to judge the world. Thus, enraptured, sang the juve- nile spirits of heaven. Salem ceased. He and the other seraphs, filled with softest affection, remained near "John. Thus three brothers encompass a beloved sister, who, in blooming beauty, resembles the fair immortals, while she, with mind untroubled., sleeps on the new blown flowers. Alas ! she knows not that her worthy father draws near the end of his virtuous course ! With this distressful news her brothers come ; but forbear to molest her placid slumbers. Meanwhile the other disciples, spent with in- quietude and fatigue, had fallen asleep : one lay sheltered by the low bending arms of a spreading olive i another in a valley, encompassed by emi- nences on all sides gently rising ; another at the foot of a loftv cedar, which with soft rustling sounds slieds soft repose from its waving top. Some $lei>t in the sepulchres built by the cliildreu.of the BOOK III. TllE MESSIAH. YB anguinary" city, in honour of the prophets mur- dered by their fathers : while Judas Iscariot, wearied by the perturbations of his guilty mind, lay near the gentle Lebbeus, his relation and friend. Satan, who in a secret cave had listened to the characters the angels had given of the disciples, now burst forth, and with fell "purpose of dire destruction approached Judas. So in the midnight hour the pestilence silent invades some sleeping city. Death on erpanded wings hovers round the walls, breathing poisonous vapours. While the city rests, the sage, still wakeful, sits with his friends, refined in sentiment, under the shade of a leafy bower, regaled with chearful wine. Sober temperance fill* the glass, and adds an innocent alacrity to their sublime converse on the charms of friendship, the nature of the soul, and its endless duration. But soon approaches the day of lamentation, Soon death with hollow eyes and countenance terrible, spreads far and wide his baneful influence. Then comes the night of torments and of groans, of heart-rending sighs, and gushing sorrow. Wring- ing her hands, the tender bride bewails her dearer half, the partner of her soul. Then the distracted mother, whose agonizing heart is deprived of all her little fondlings, curses the day of her birth and theirs. Then even the unfeeling grave-digger stands aghast ; trembling, he joins the crouded dead, and drops into the pit himself had dug. Then the angel of death descends, involved in clouds, and stopping on the tombs, takes a melan- choly view of the desert waste, where now solitude and dreary silence reign. Thus the destroying enemy descended on Judax, $nd presented to his waking fancy a seducing fircam. Quick he enflamed his corrupted heart ,*6 THE MESSIjftl. UOOK III. which was too much inclined to guilt, with fell fensations; and thoughts big \vith rage. So the red bolt of the heavens., falling on mountains of sulphur, kindles the ready meterials ? then new subterranean thunders roar, and through the ca- verns the spreading tempest rolls. For high mys- teries, and thoughts apt to inflame the souls of men, were for his geater condemnation, not unknown to Satan. Soon careful solicitude broug-ht back the - C* seraph Ithuriel to stay by his wretched charge : but perceiving Satan hovering over him, he trem- bling stopped ; then looking up to the Almighty, resolved to awake him from his sleep. Thrice, with the wings of a storm roaring among the cedars, lie swept over his face : thrice he passed by him with sounding steps, that made the summit of the mountain shake. Yet Judas continued as in the sleep of death. To the dreaming disciple Satan, in the form of liis father, appeared with dis- consolate looks of grief and perturbation ; and with trembling accents, fraught with guile, thu spake : Dost thou here sleep, Judas, careless and at thine ease ? still dost thou continue absent from Jesus, as if thou knewest not that thou art the object of his hatred, and that all his other disciples fce prefers to thee ? why art thou not continually near him ? why dost thou not attempt to regain the favour of thy Lord ? Good God ! what fault have I, what crime hast thou committed, that I should be obliged to leave the region of death to lament the melancholy fate of thee my son ? Dost thou suppose thou shalt enjoy greater happi- ness in the new empire Christ is to erect ? how jniserably art thou deceived ! Peter and the fa- vourite sons of Zebedce, will be greater and more .than tbee ! treasures in a full stream shall BOOK III. THE MESSIAH. 77 flow to them from the spacious land. All the others too shall receive from the Messiah a much more splendid inheritance than my unhappy son. Com Judas, I will shew thee his kingdom in all its glory. Rise with me : be not dismayed ; but arm thyself with courage Now thou seest before thee that endless chain of mountains, which cast their length- ening shades into that fertile valley. There gold sliall be incessantly dug ; gold, bright and glittering as that of Ophir : while the valley shall through the prosperous year pour forth a rich exuberance of blessings. This is the delightful inheritance of the favourite John. Those hills, covered with vineyards, and those wide-spreading fields, clothed with waving corn, the Messiah has given to Peter. Seest thou all the opulence of that smiling country, where cities rising in lofty splendor, each like Jerusalem, the king's daughter, glitter in the sun, and with their innumerable inhabitants extend along the vale. Behold how those cities are watered by the limpid streams of a new Jordan, which passes through noble arches in the lofty walls. Gardens, resembling fertile Eden, wave their blushing fruit, over the golden sands, on its happy shores. These are the kingdoms of the other disciples. But now, Judas, my son, observe that far distant mountainous country, wild, stony, and covered with withered shrubs, How barren, how desolate ! Aboye it rests night iu cold and drisly clouds, and beneath, on the tops of the eminences, a sterile depth of ice and northern snow. That, O Judas ! is thine inheritance. In those gloomy regions thou, and the birds of night, thy companions^ are condemned to wander solitary among the aged oaks. With what haughty with what contemptuous airs will the happy disciples look down on thee ! they will pass by without condescending to observe thee ! 78 THE MESSIAH. BOOK III- Ah, Judas, thou weepest with indignation ! but in vain thou weepest ! in vain are all thy tears, while surrounded with despair, thou ncglectest to help thyself ! yet listen to me, thy father, and will disclose to thec my heart. Thou knowest the Messiah delays the promised redemption : the Jews nre still in subjection, and he does not appear in haste to erect his new and glorious empire. Thou art also sensible, that the great are most averse to submit to the authority of the Nazarine king, and daily contrive his death. Do thou, therefore, de- liver him into the hands of the priests, not to re- venge his hatred to thee ; but that he may the sooner overwhelm them with irremediless infamy and confusion, and thus be obliged to found his long expected empire, and to appear before everjr eye as powerful and as formidable as he really is. By this means thou wilt at once enter into the possession of thine inheritance, and the sooner im- prove it by labour and industry, by tillage and trade, so as to give it some little resemblance to the more fertile inheritances of thy companions. Meanwhile, of this thou mayst be certain, that the grateful priests will not fail to reward thre for delivering up Jesus. This is the advice of a father ever attentive to thy interest. Fix thine eye upon me, and know me in spite of the paleness of death. Awake. Despise not the admonitions of a parent who is come to revive thy courage ; and let me not return melancholy and dejected to the mansions of the dead. Satan having thus infected the mind of Iscariot with this deceitful vision, swelled, inflated with pride, like a mountain raised by a volcano, while convulsive earthquakes rock the neighbouring emi- pence*, and sink the surrounding hills. Judas *woke. Furious he started up, crying, Yes, it BOOK III, THE MESSIAH. 7f was he it was the voice of my deceased father ! Thus he spake thus he looked, when before me he expired. Ah ! it is then but too true that Jesus hates me f the very dead know that he hates me ! Well, I will haste and put in execution my father's advice. But, with what treachery shall 1 then act towards the Messiah ! May not this vision be owing to the disgust that rankles in my heart ? or may it not be suggested by Satan ? Hence, ye grovelling, ye timorous surmises ! I already feel that I am enflamed with the disirc of riches with the impatience of revenge ! O my soul ! why art thou so tender, so scrupulous ? visions present themselves before thee visions en- join thce revenge. The command of a vision sanc- tifies the deed. Satan heard him thus speak him who had pre- viously offended the Almighty, by staining his soul with base and ignoble passions. He heard him with pleasure, and glorying in his success, raised his head still higher, and unseen, looked down on Judas with triumphant arrogance. Thus on the top of high Olmypus, a dreadful rock impends over the swelling sea, proudly threatening destruc- tion to the approachuig mariners ; but soon will the red lightning, with hedious roar and terrible confusion, strike it down, and lay it in the lowly deep. The islands will see its fall and exult in the avenging thunder. Satan, now leaving Olivet, with lofty strides stalk- ed unseen over Jerusalem, and repaired to Caiaphas, who slept in his still silent palace, by delusive visions, to infuse into the wicked heart of the ene- my and high-priest of God, emotions still more vile. Meanwhile Judas continued on the mount filled with thoughts malignant as his soul. : The : day was rising on the slurnbesing world 80 THE MESSIAH. BOOK III. when Jesus awoke,, and with him John. Together they walked up the mount, whence they saw the disciples still asleep. Jesus then taking- the devout Lehbeus by the hand, said, I, my dear friend, am here, and still alive. Up sprang the transported disciple, and embraced him with tears of joy. Then running to the other disciples, awaked them, and brought them to their divine Master, when, affectionately gathering round him, he with a gra- cious smile thus addressed them. Come, my pious friends, this day will we re- joice before we exchange the last embrace. Still the heavens, from the early clouds, shed the refresh- ing clews on this favoured land. Behold the towering cedar planted by my Father's hand, af- fords her cooling shade ; and still I behold man, formed after the divine image, walking with the immortals. But this will be no longer seen. Soon will the darkening sky be wrapped in gloom. Soon will the earth with dire convulsions tremble. Soon will man look on me with murderous eye, and soon will ye all fly from me, your Lord. Weep not, O Peter ! and thou, my tender, my affectionate disciple, be not afflicted : for while the bridegroom is present, no grief is felt by the bride. Comfort yourselves, ye shall see me again ; Yes, ye shall see me again at my resurrection ye shall see me with all the raptures with which a mother re- covers her only son. Thus he spake, but while his face was illumined with grace and love, his heart was filled with keenest anguish. He then descended the mount, accompanied by all his disciples except Judas, who, standing in the thick shade of tufted trees, had heard the Saviour's speech, and looking after Jesus who walked away with quick step, said, He him- self already knows that a day of darkness bangs BOOK III. THE MESSIAH. SI over his head He is therefore not ignorant of the manner in which lie will treat his persecutors, and accomplish the great work he has begun. But does he know the plot I am meditating 1 against him ? Docs he know that I intend to betray him ! But, alas ! should I be deceived should my dream prove an illusion, and hated as I am, did it come to encrease mv torment r Ah cursed be the hour */ in which I closed my eyes, and the apparition of my father appeared to my view ! May shrieks resound through the mountain ! May dying groans deepen the horror of the mouldering sepulchres! Cursed be the place where I lay ! But why do I thus rave ? Why give way to such gloomy ideas ? Why am I thus at variance with myself? It is not my fault if I am deceived. But dost thou, hoary, visionary sage, enjoin me to com- mit a crime, by betraying the Messiah ? him whose precepts whose example I have professed to follow him whom I ought to love and reverence ? May the day that fatal day, be cursed, when Jesus chose me when full of love, and with a look of be- nevolence, he invited me to follow him ! May it be covered with clouds and the gloom of night ! May the pestilence walk in darkness, and destructive diseases slay in the heat of noon ! Let no man name it ! May it be forgotten of God ! But whence this agony this secret horror ? Why, my bones, do ye tremble ? Why am I so pusillanimous ? Why do I thus torment myself > I will rouzc my courage, and shake off these weak foreboding fears. My sight did not deceive me, and if it did, can I by any other means accomplish my desires ? Thus he raved : meanwhile, since his vision, be had advanced two dreadful hours nearer to eternity. THE END OF THE THIRD 3OOK. THE M E S S I A II. BOOK. IV. THE ARGUMENT. Caiaphas assembles the Sanhedrim, relates his dream, n.vl proposes the death of Jesus. Philo, a Pharisee, supposes the dream n fiction, but joins, with great vehemence^ in recommending the death of Christ. They arc warmly opposed by Gamaliel and Nicodemus. Judas has a private conference with Caiaphas. The Messiah sends Peter and John to prepare the passover. Peter sees Mary the mother of Jesus, Lazarus, Mary his sister, JJemida, and Cidli, joining in quest of Jesus. Tire pious love of Semida an-l Cidli. Mary proceeds in search ot Jesus, who stops at the tomb ot Joseph of Arimathca, near Golgatha. He proceeds to Jerusalem, and is met by Judas. 'III! uriel, DO longer able to continue that traitor's guardian angel, is made Peter's second angel. Jesus institutes the memorial of his death. Judas goes out. Jesus prays with his disciples, and returns to the mouni of Olives. T'ERRIFIED by a vision, and tortured by JL anxiety, Caiapbas lay restless on bis bed. Sleep fled from his eyes, or if for a few moments they \\ere closed by -slumber, he suddenly started, and agitated by his tumultuous thoughts, furiously turned. Thus in a field of slaughter a dying re- probate, hardened in guilt, rolls in agony : The approaching- victor, the prancing steed, tbe barsh din of arms, the shouts of tbe enemy, the groans *f the (lying, and ail tbe thundering roar of \var, ff f& 'HIE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. distract hb mind. Covered with ghastly wounds lie lies and seems to sink in wild stupidity among the dead. Then again reviving, he curses himself, curses the Most High, and would fain disbelieve his being. Thus lay Caiaphas, and thus he rose; ordering the priests and elders of the people to be suddenly assembled In the midst of his stately palace was the hall of the Sanhedrim, built of the spoils of Lebanon's lofty forest, with all the mag- nificence that was seen in the works of Solomon. Thither came the priests and elders. Among the latter was Joseph of Arimathea, who, super-emi- nent in wisdom, did honour to the posterity of Abraham. Serene as the placid moon, riding in lucid midnight clouds, he repaired to the assembly. Thither also came Nicodemus, a friend to the Messiah and to Joseph. Then entered Caiaphas with proud step, and with a countenance enflamed by rage, thus spake : Now ye fathers of Jerusalem, we must take our final resolution, and with powerful arm destroy our adversary, Jest he destroying us, this be the last time in which we assemble in this holy Sanhedrim. This divine priesthood, instituted by the great Jehovah himself on mount Sinai, and revealed to us by the greatest of all the prophets This divine priest- hood, which continued through all the succeeding ages, and which neither the towers of Babylon, nor formidable Rome,, seated on her seven hills, could ever destroy, a wretched visionary, O Israel ! in ready to abolish. To your shame, he has been suffered to declare with impunity, that he will destroy the temple of the Lord. Is not all Jerusalem hit ? Are not the cities of Judea servilely devoted to their idolized Prophet ? The people grown blind and superstitious, shun the temple of their vise forefathers : they ilock to remote desarts, 19 BOOK ir. THE MESSIAH. f& gaze at his seducing miracles : miracles in which he is only the agent of Satan. What can more effectually blind what fill \vith greater amazement the stupid vulgar, than his raising the dead ? or rather awaking the sick from sleep < Yet we still continue in supine indolence, waiting, perhaps, till his adherents rise in arms, and in some dreadful tumult, murder us before his face, that he may shew his power in restoring us to life ! Is it pos- sible, fathers, that you can thus sit in silent astonish- ment ? that yc can yet entertain a doubt ? Yes, ye incredulous, ye doubt but doubt now and sleep forever. Ye know with what rebellious shouts Judoa has hailed him king. Never before were the ways so spread with the branches of the palm. Never did the air resound with such loud hosannas. It were indeed to be wished, that instead of those triumphant acclamations, he had heard the curse of the Eternal : that instead of those repeated hosannas,] his ears had been deafened by the voice of thunder. Ye degenerate and unworthy fathers of the people (pardon these expressions, which pro- ceed from a mind inflamed with holy indignation) not prudence alone, but God himself orders us to cut him off from the face of the earth. In ancient times Jehovah spake to our fathers in dreams ; and ye yourselves shall judge, whether, upon this extraordinary occasion, your high priest has not had a dream from God. Behold, at midnight when anxious I lay on my bed, revolving in my mind, what might he the issue of the late tumults, I dropped asleep. When lo ! I found myself in the temple, preparing the sacrifice of atonement. Already the blood streamed before m^ ; already with solemn awe, was I entering the Holy of Holies, when drawing the vail aside Mj bnnos still tremble ! still the terrors of God ovr- 88 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. power me ! O ye fathers ! I beheld Aaron in his sacred vestments, with a menacing brow, advancing- towards me. Holy anger flashed with insupportaole blaze from his eyes ; the piercing rays which beamed on me from his breast-plate, shone refulgent, like Horeb ; the winged cherubs over the ark of the covenant, fluttered dreadful ; and my epkod, reduced to ashes, instantly fell to the ground. Fly, thou disgrace to the priesthood, cryed Aaron in the Toice of terror fly, miserable that thou art, and no more presume to degrade thy sacred office, by ap- pearing here as priest of the Lord. Art thou the high priest of the great Jehovah ? ( Here he gave me a furious and vengeful look, like that of a man who suddenly sees his mortal enemy, whom he is re- solved to slay) Art thou the high priest of the great Jehovah ? Art thou vested with that sacred office ? thou who, criminally supine, canst sec that impious seducer with impunity profane the holy sanctuary : make a mock of my brother Moses, of me, and of Abraham, and violate the sabbath of God ? Go, most miserable ! lest on thy longer stay, the mercy seat of the Eternal should consume thee^ith sacred fire. At these words I fled. My hair was dishevelled. Ashes were on my head. Terrified, frantic, and without my vesture, I ran forth to the people, who enraged at the sight, attempted my life. Here I awoke. Three hours full of unutterable anguish three hours most horrible, I lay, after thii dreadful vision, as in the agonies of death. Still I tremble still my heart beats with terror still is my faultering tongue unable distinctly to perform its office. He must die. From you, fathers, I expect a speedy determination on the manner of his death Here Caiaphas was silent: but after a short BOOK IV THE MESSIAH. 81 pause, he resumed. Better is it that one should die, than that all should perish. But in this let us act with prudent caution. Let it not be at the feast, lest the infatuated populace should attempt tosavehiin. Caiaphas ceased. No sound, nor the least murmur was heard throughout the full assembly. As if struck dead by the flash of the heavens, all sat silent and mo- tionless. Joseph observing the solemn stillness, resolved to speak in the defence of .Jesus, but was restrained by the fury with vvhich Philo, a dreaded priest, stepped forth. Too proud to deliver his sentiments, before affairs were ripe for their being put in execution, he had never yet publicly men- tioned Jesus. Great was bis character for wisdom, even with Caiaphas, whom he hated: for he him- self was a Pharisee. His heavy hollow eyes were filled with malignant fury, and with rapid and resentful voice, he thus began: Caiaphas, in vain dost thou pretend to have re- ceived a vision from God, as if thou didst not know that the Eternal never appears to the voluptuous sensualist, and that no spirits convey revelations to the hypocritical Sadducees, who disbelieve their existence. Either thou amusest us by a fiction, or thou sawest the vision. If the first be the ease, ,thou here shewcst thyself worthy of thy Roman policy, and thy purchased priesthood : if the latter, thou, the high priest of God, oughtest to know, that the Almighty, to punish those who violate his laws, permits their being deceived by lyin spirits. Thus, that Ahab, the slave of Baal and of Jezebel, might perish, and the blood of the mur- dered Naboth no longer cry for vengeance, an angel of death steps forth from the throne, and dictates false prophesies to the prophets. \Vhen beheld, the rolling chariots bring back the king; 88 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IT. jnortally wounded. He dies. His blood 'defiles ihe field where Naboth was slain. Thy dream indeed enjoins the punishment of our adversary. Yet no dream hast thou had, but what has been furnished by thy fertile invention. Dost thou not tremble at naming the angel of death ? perhaps one of that order already waits before, the eternal throne, for thy blood, O Caiaphas ! destined soon to be spilt. I plead not for the seditious Jesus, neither do I hold him innocent. Compared with the Nazarene, thou art a less offender. Thou art only a dis- grace to the priesthood of God ; but he would abolish it. This Jesus has been weighed in the balance in which criminals, however powerful, eveq the proud conquerors of nations, are found wanting. He has been weighed, and is doomed to certain death. He shall therefore die. With these eye I will see him expire : they shall behold his pale and bloody corse. The earth of the hill on which he suffers, I will carry into the Holy of Holies : or at the great altar, lay stones stained with his smoaking blood, as an everlasting memorial. But how base is thy fear, O Caiaphas ! that would \varp us into cowardice., and make us stand in awe of the giddy rabble. This mean pusillanimity was never learnt from our forefathers. Let us then hasten to prevent the thunder God's avenging thunder : lest it should not destroy him alone lest our eye-balls roll in death, while they behold his last agonies ; and we expire, defiled by being near him. Did the Tishbite fear the people, when he slew the priests of the sleeping Baal, whom all their tempestuous clamour could not awake ? His confidence was in him who made the sacred flame descend from heaven. But without the assistance! of the descending fire, I will go forth to the people; and woe tojiimthat shall dare, to oppose me, and BOOK IV. THE MLSSIAH. 89 once presume to say, that the blood of the dreaming visionary is not an acceptable oblation to the great Jehovah ! At a sign from me the multitude shall join in stoning him. Before the eyes of all Judea before the face of the Romans, shall the rebel die : then shall we secure and triumphant sit in judgment and enter the sanctuary of God rejoicing. Philo then, with uplifted Lands, advanced into the midst of the assembly, where 'stopping, he, with loud voice, made this maliguKtt.oud profane excla- mation : -Blessed spirit ! wherever thou art, whe- ther cloathed in heavenly splendor, thou sittest with Abraham, and assemblest about thec the prophets ; or whether thou condcscendest to visit the congrega- tions of thy children, and to walk among mortals O Spirit of Moses ! to thee 1 swear, by that eternal covenant, which thou, by the Divine c.oinmand, bro lightest from the fiery tempest, that I will take no rest, till he who hates thee is numbered with the dead ! till with my hands, fuH of the Naza- rene's blood, I come to the high altar, hold it over my hoary head, and wave it as a thank-offering before the Lord Thus he spake, and strove to believe, that the heart-searching God does not detest such whited sepulchres. Yet his conscience called hiro hypo- crite. He felt the just reproach : but full of inflexible rage, stood with undaunted eye before the council. Meanwhile Caiaphas leaned on his golden seat, trembling with indignation. His face glowed with a fury too great for utterance, and he continued silent, with his eyes fixed on the floor. When the Sadducecs observing his discomposure, with tumul- tuous violence rose up against Philo. So in the field of hostile slaughter, the foaming steeds of an iron chariot obtain the reins, when the whizzing SO THE MESSIAH. BOOK 1Y. lance, with quivering flight, strikes the rider, who with his mouth disgorging blood, falls under the wheels. Then neighifig fierce, they threaten with their flaming eyes : they snuff the wind, and striking the earth, it trcmblus under their feet. The en- raged assembly -would have instantly broke up, had not Gamaliel arisen. Serene wisdom sat on his venerable countenance, and stretching out his haiul, he, in graceful accents, thus spake : O fathers ! if in this tumultuous heat of fiery rage, calm and sober reason may be suffered to ap- pear, and you are not enemies to prudence, I entreat you to hear me. Should the eternal quarrel be again revived should the discordant names of Sadducces and Pharisees produce a perpetual ani- mosity between you, how will you be able to destroy the Prophet ? but God has probably sent envy and variance among you, in order to reserve to hit supreme justice, the office of pronouncing sentence on the Nazarene. Let us, then, O ye fathers ! leave to the Eternal the vindication of his own cause. You may be too weak to wield his thunders, and those mighty arms at which the heavens them- selves tremble, may sink you in the dust. Be ye si- lent therefore before the Most High, and, with calm submission, listen to the approaching Judge. Soon will he speak, and the earth from the rising to the setting sun shall astonished hear his voice. If God speaks to the storm, and says, Do thou tear him in pieces ! and to the tempest, Do thou scatter his bones like the dust, and disperse them among the four winds ! or to the glittering sword, Arm the avenging hand, and drink the blood of the sinner ! If ho says to the abyss, Open, and receive him into thy bowels, then is he a guilty visionary. But if, with unexampled power and grace, he continues, by his heavenly miracles, to diffuse happiness over BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 01 the earth : if by his means the blind exulting 1 , lifts up his face to the great luminary of day ; or with enlightened eyes, and overflowing joy, he gazes enraptured on the hand that kindly led him along liis darksome way ( Forgive me, if struck by ac- tions great like these, I, in your opinion, speak more highly of him than I ought) if the deaf car again hears the benediction of the priest, the song of the bride, and the sacred hallelujah : if by him the dead walk, witness against us, and first lifting their new awakened eyes towards heaven, turn them with pious indignation on us, shew us their tombs, and threaten us with the judgment seat, at which they have already appeared : or if (in which he seems still more divine) he continues to live among us without reproach, and by his astonishing virtue, such godlike miracles are wrought, I conjure you, O ye fathers ! by the living God, I conjure you, to say, whether we ought to condemn him whether we ought to fight against God. Here Gamaliel ceased, and, with an air of dignity, returned to his seat. The sun now from his meridian height spread his rays over Jerusalem. At the same time Judas was drawing near, in order to lay his proposal be- fore the Sanhedrim. But first Ith uriel and Satan went thither, and both invisible stood among the priests, where, without being seen, they surveyed the crowded assembly. Nicodemus sat, and silently surveyed every face. Each member of the court appeared like the self* condemned sinner, when pale and trembling, be bears the thunder roll awful over his head. Even Philo and Caiaphas seemed struck, confounded and disturbed by Gamaliel's words. Nicodemus beholding them with a mixture of contempt and tear, arose, Sweetness and benevolence were visible THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. in his look, while an air of solemnity and grief were mixed with that noble dignity that arises from an approving conscience. His eye, which faithfully expressed the situation of his mind, mourned and concealed not its tears. He believed in Christ, and resolved to acknowledge him before his most inve- terate enemies. After a moment's pause, lifting up his hands, he thus spake : Blessed be thou, O Gamaliel i blessed be the words of thy lips ! the Lord hath appointed thee hie champion, and a two-edged sword hath he put into thy mouth ! thy speech hath divided asunder our bones, which still shake ! still do our feeble knees fail ! darkness still covercth OUT eyes, and still God is seen wielding his wrath, to strike those who oppose his will, into the dust from, whence they sprang ! O Gamaliel ! may the Most High, who taught thee this wisdom, who hath en- dued tbee with such magnanimity, be thy protec- tion ! May the Messiah, the sent of God, be thy Saviour, and the Saviour of thine offspring ! But ye, the persecutors of the great Prophet of God, I cannot bless not thee Caiaphas not thee Philo - For you I mourn and if the voice of sorrow can find an entrance into your hearts if tearg of compassion, streaming in behalf of innocence, can move ye these tears also implore your pity for spotless virtue I Know, ye fathers, that the sacred blood being once shed, it will lift up its prevailing voice like a tempest ! it will call it will rue to heaven to the ear of the Eternal ! He will hear it : he will descend, "and give judgment without mercy to those who have shewn no mercy, by .inhu- manly slaying his holy Prophet. O Judea ! Judea ! lie will call., where is thy Messiah ? if he be no where to be found, the arm of God, will throughout all thy land, destroy tlie meu of BOOK I?. THE MESSIAH. Of blood, who have put to death the Holy One of Israel ! Nicodemus here hung down his head, and weep- ing, returned to his seat. Stiil Philo sat \\ith. menacing looks, trembling with impotent rage, which his pride struggled in vain to conceal. Disordered by the conflict of contending passions, bis eyes became dim, night hovered round him, and darkness hid from his sight the whole assem- bly. He was ready to sink : no other relief could be obtain, but by his giving'fresh motion to his con- gealed blood, by venting his thoughts. He made the effort. The spirits pent up in his high swoln heart, flushed in his face, and starting up furious, he rushed forward. So when on inaccessible moun- tains an approaching tempest terrific hangs, one of the black/ clouds, surcharged with lightning, kindled for destruction, bursts single, and while others strike only the tops of the aspiring cedars, that, armed with a thousand thunders, rolls with repercussive roar through the whole ethereal ex- panse ; then the mountainous forests blaze, and splendid palaces are reduced to extensive heaps of ruins. As Philo advanced forward., Satan beheld him, and within himself thus said : Let thy speech be devoted to me : rapid and impetuous let it flow as the floods of hell : terrible as the flaming sea : impassioned as the lofty sounds with which I dispense my orders to the damned : rancorous, and with fury, as the gods of the deep utter their complaints to the immense mountains of the fiery abyss, when the streams of flowing sul phur stop to listen, and glow with a more livid blaze at their execrations. Thus Philo speak, and lead in triumph thy captive hearers. Let thine lienrt give vent to ideas, such as Adramelech him- self would not blush to own. Speak death to the 94 THE MESSIAH. BOOK !r Nazarene. Thy recompence expect from me. At the sight of his blood thy whole soul shall overflow with such joys as hell affords. And when thou comest to us, I myself will be thy conductor, and introduce thee to those heroic spirits, who delighted in carnage, and in spreading desolation all around. Thus spake Satan, unheard of all but Ithtiriel. Philo, standing with eyes lift up towards heaven, cried, Thou altar of blood, where the lamb of atone- ment was offered, and ye other sacred altars, once loaded with undefiied sacrifices, which sent up to God a sweet smelling savour ! even thou Holy of Holies ! ye cherubs ! thou mercy scat, where the Eternal once sat, and from the sacred darkness pro- nounced sentence on the sinner ! thou temple of the Lord, rilled with the divine glory ! and thou, O Moriah, where the voice of Jehovah was heard ! when the Nazarene shall lay ye waste, and these sons of Belial, by him protected, shall bring you to de- struction, let me let me be esteemed guiltless of your ruin. When our children wittj anxious looks, and trembling knees,*wringing their hands, seek the God of their fathers, and do not find him when they seek in vain the Lord, because the Nazarenc has erected his throne, where Jehovah himself re- idcd above the cherubim ! let it be known, that of this I am innocent. If idolaters bring polluted in- cense to the sacred place, where hung the veil, where once the high-priest alone went with hum- ble reverence to the mercy seat ! may my afflicted eyes never behold the impious deed ! may God ra- ther close them in death, than permit them to see this abornin-atkm of desolation, .fall on his people ! AH in my power will I do to avert the impending evil. And, hear me, O God of Israel ! If ever from thy lofty throne thou heardestthe petition of mortal, prostrate in the dust of this lowly earth * BOOK VI. THE MESSI.UI. 95 if ai the command of Moses the earth swallowed up Corah., Dathan, and Abirair. if at Elijah's prayer, the fire descended on the messengers sent by the king-, and consumed them from the top of Carinel hear me,, O God of Israel ! while I curse them who revile thee and defend the foe of thy pro- phet Moses. May thy end O Nicodemus be like fhe end of the Impostor, and thy grave like the grave of the sower of sediton ! May it be among the graves of the murderers, who were stoned at a distance from the temple and the altar. When thou diest, may thy heart be hardened ! may it be obdurate and inflexible ! may not God suffer thee to weep, lest weeping thou shouldest turn to him ! for thou has wept for the impious, and thy servile eye, in opposition to the Eternal, has shed profane tears. '] hou too, O Gamaliel ! hast espoused the cause of the seducer. May a horrid gloom may black darkness cover thine eyes, then inayest thou wait in vain for relief from the Nazarene, and pine away with fruitless grief ! may deafness close thine ear, and horror thy life: then lie till the Nazarene awake thee till thou rot. And if thou hast declared to the stupid herd who, like thyself, idolize this pretended Saviour, that he will raise thee up, may that many headed beast trample on thy grave, and mock both thee and thy Prophet. When thy oul, divested of its, covering of flesh, stands trem- bling before the judgement seat to hear her sentence, then, O God ! stretch out thy dreaded arm, and strike the appalled sinner strike also Nicodemus, and fulfil on both the curse I, for thine honour pro- nounce. But reserve thy fiercest anger, before vhich the mountains tremble, and all hell is dismayed, for a still more guilty sinner Wrap thyself in ten thousand thunders, then go forth and strike the I have been young, and now am old. 35 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV- yet have I continually worshipped and adored thec after the manner of our fathers ; permit, not then, O God, my dying eyes to behold the Nazarene triumphant. Should he conquer, thine eternal eo'venant, thine holiness, thine oath, and the blessing thou gavest to Abraham and to his prosterity, are all vain are all annulled. Then will I, before all Judea, renounce thy laws and ordinances theji will I live without thee without thee will I lay my drooping head in the silent grave. If thine arm doth not cut off .the Impostor, never didst thou appear to Moses ! The burning bush at the foot of mount Horeb was all an illusion ! Thou didst not in tremendous state descend on the top of Sinai, nor did the trumpet sound, or the thunder roar or the mountain shake ! Then both we and otir forefathers from time immemorial, have, of all the nations upon earth, been the most worthy of pity ! For no law came down from heaven, and thou art not the God of Israel. Here Philo^ with wrathful countenance, returned to his place. Nicodemus stood with down-cast eyes, like one who patient under oppression experiences in his own breast all that dignity and elevation of sentiment, which arises from conscious virtus ftnd purity of heart. Gravity sat in his face, and in his soul was heaven. The godlike man was filled with awful thoughts, and revolved in his mind the solemn night when he discoursed with the Messiah on mysteries sublime. While the Saviour spalce, enraptured, he beheld bis heavenly smile, liis look of grace, the more than human lustre of his eyes : he saw the display of paradisaical innocence, the lofty, the resplendent trace of the Son of God. This now filled him with silent ecstacy ; he was too highly blessed to be afraid of man. Elevated by a flaming ardor, an heavenly awe to himself b* Boo* IV. THE MESSIAH. 97 seemed as if standing in the presence of God, before the assembled race c* man, at the general Judgment. On him were fixed the looks of the whole assembly. His eye was serene, filled with the irresistible fire of awful virtue ; his air commanding attention, and he thus began. Happy am I, who with these eyes have seen the Messiah ! Happy am I, in having beheld the Hope of Israel ! the deliverer, whom Abraham, while solitary walking in the grove of Mamre, oft longed to see ! whom David would, with joyful transport, by his prayers, have brought down from the arms of the Father ! whom the prophets with holy tear* longed to behold ! but whom God gave to us the IIP worthy ! Thou, the First-born of the Father, full of grace and truth, didst divide the heavens, and come down to bless thy people. Yet these term thee a visionary and a sinner. O thou guiltless : thou most innocent ! who are they that thus de- fame thee ? "When didst thou invent lying visions ? When was thy so.ul polluted by sin ? did the divine Jesus stand before the assembled Israelites, when thou, O Philo ! wast present ? didst thou not then bear him cry aloud, Who among you is able to con- vict me of sin ? Where, Philo, was then this furi- ous wrath those lips, slanderous and profane ? why didst thou and thy surrounding r companions stand speechless ? why at first did an universal silence reign, and every ear remain fixed in expec- tation ? There were seen faces full of rapturous joy, while others were filled with anxious fear, dreading lest some should step forth and witness against him. How aweful was this silence ! this f weeping tired am I of being thus over- clouded with perpetual gloom. Why, when I sen her, who, perhaps, is no longer mortal why, when she is absent, is she still the subject of my thoughts ? Why does my full heart then feel sensations before unknown ? How tender are my ideas, all center- ing in love ! Why flows from Cidli's lips such oft, such silver sounds ? Why does her speaking eye, from which her soul looks out, fill my throb- 110 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV bing heart with sucli strong,, such dear emotions ? each pure as innocent, and noble as the actions of the wise. Why does grief with sable wing, bover over my head, when I imagine she loves me not ? Torturing thought be gone ! Ah, then am I hastning to the grave, to which I was once so near ! Often do I then attempt, with powerful arms, to combat my sorrow. My soul assembles every sentiment that can evince its high birth and native dignity : I endeavour to inspire it with firmness, by the idea of its immortality : but, alas ! it is all in vain, I still weep. Why am I obliged to feel this everlasting flame ? Oh, why does my heart become so miserable, by aspiring to an union with an heart so pure ? Why do I still incessantly repeat her name ? But can I ever cease to remember her ? Ah what voice divine is this, that in sacred whispers, and in harmonious ttrains, which none but tender souls cai hear, tells me that my love shall be eternal ? I will then ever love thee ! be thou silent or reserved, thou shalt ever be the object of my love ! Ah, Cidli, could I \vith humble awe, presume to think that thou wert formed for me, how tranquil would be my heart ! Thy love, O Cidli ! would fill my soul with joy ! Oh, that I might be allowed to indulge the pleasing thought, that thou, heavenly fair, wilt be for ever mine ! mine through the endless duration of eter- nity ! My love of thee has taught me to know the exalted charms of virtue, once to me invisible ! My heart with glad solicitude obeys her precepts. Thy voice, O duty ! I hear from afar thy secret whispers silent lead me : their divine sound, has struck mine ear, aid not in vain ! With child-like innocence, my obedient heart fulfils thine easy injunctions; nor shall the possession of her who is dearer to me th,<\n the whole creation, be pollut<$ Boot IV. TUB MESSIAH. Ill by guilt. What a gift, O Cidli ! wouldst tbou be to me ! how would I thank the giver, and borne on thy purity, as on wings, approach nearer to the supremely Amiable, who has formed thee thus lovely ! who has rendered my heart so ten- der and thine so divine ! As at thy birth, thy mother dissolved in transport, gazed on thee ; and as she hung over thy dying face, when thou ex- piredst in her embrace, deaf to the sound of the ap- proaching foot, and to the soothing voice of the helpers in Juda : so has my soul been agitated bj the. sensatiops, the transports, raised by each mo- mentous thought. At the idea that thou, O Cidli ! art created for me ! my contemplative faculties hang over thee, view thy purity, the sublimity of thine ideas, the dignity of thy conceptions, till I become inebriated by raptures that seldom flow from heaven into the heart of man ! But when invaded bjL other thoughts, and lying in silent nocturnal gloom, my soul becomes dissolved in tender sorrow ; I then appear abandoned by all, and confined to a painful solitude ! thou art no longer with me, and the whole creation is to me a spacious void ! Oh for the sake of that virtue and love, and inward beauty, which raise thy spot- less soul above the dust of the earth ; or by what is still more precious and exalted by thy awaking from death, and by thine immortality, when clothed in light, thou shalt dwell among the blest inhabi- tants of heaven, and by the crowns, the rewards of virtue, I conjure thee, my dear Cidli, tell me if thine heart feels the same sensations for me; if it knows the love I feel ? Oh the elevated, the sweet, the rapturous idra ! she has been raised from the dead ! I too have been awaked from death perhaps to die no more ! and ooth to a higher life Vanish, yc deceitful 112 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. dreams ; ye rash desires. Ho\v may I he involved in your dangerous seductions ! to what an excess may I be carried by my love for Cidli ! Yet can I with too much ardour love her her with whom in that exalted life,, I more desire to live, than here in the dust below ! With her, whether on high, or upon earth, I long to join in love to the Eternal * and in pouring out our souls in grateful affection to our Lord and our Redeemer ! Rut is he not How in danger of being put to death ? No, I can- not believe that he can die who has raised me from the dead ? How often has he already eluded the persecutor's rage ! but when dangers threaten nis sacred life, ought I to indulge these thoughts of love ? O pardon me, thou divine Jesus ! let all my private griefs be lost in my concern for thce ! and thou, my soul, fix thine whole attention on the designs of these most hardened most un- grateful men, against thy Lord, thy Saviour. Scmida now leaving Jerusalem, hasted to the silent, the lonely rock, in which had been lately hewn his sepulchre. Meanwhile the mother of Jesus, with anxious look, addressed herself to John. He docs not come, I will go, said she, and meet him I will go and meet my son, the Messiah. I will find him, if his cruel enemies have not dipped their hands in his blood, and numbered him among the holy prophets who sleep in denth ! if he yet lives if I be worthy to behold the lovely form, the attractive graces of my prophetic son, and his countenance beaming love divine, will once more condescend to smile on his enraptured mother, I will lose my an- guish at his feet, where he graciously suffered Mary Magdalene, who is not his mother, to weep. With awful reverence will I also prostrate myself before him I will grasp his knees I too will wet t tis BOOK IvV THE MESSIAH. ll'S feet with my tears ! Then looking up to his face benign,, I'll say, By that ecstatic., that transporting rapture that was diffused through my whole soul, when the .immortals struck my ears with heavenly harmony, and in divine hymns sung thy nativity ! If ever I was dear to thee if thoii still rememberest the filial affection with which thou rcturnedst thy mother's joy, when, after solicitous search, I found thee in sacred dignity among the priests, who, by thy words were filled with mute amazement: Then, O my Son ! I flew to thee with open arms. I pressed thee to my heart, and lifting up my eyes, adored the great Jehovah ! Oh, bv that ecstatic joy, the foretaste of eternal felicity ; by thy humanity and gentle condescension to all, have compassion on me, disappoint the designs of thine enemies, and do not die. Thus she spake, and then hasted to meet her Son, with the rapidity with which an ardent and devout ejaculation ascends to him by whom it is inspired. The great Messiah beheld his mother advancing towards him, not with the eye of sense, but with that intuitive perception by which he penetrates the thoughts of the enraptured seraph. Ah ! 1 will, after my resurrection, said he, have pity OB thee, with a pity beyond that of a mother to hot only son ! and then turned aside. Now advanced the grey evening. Silence reign- ed all around, and he slowly walked to the hill of Golgotha, near which was a solitary sepulchre hewn in the rock, wherein no mouldering corse had yet returned to its original dust. This llad been formed by the devout Joseph of ^rimatljea, that on tlve last day, when death shal! end his reign, he might there rise from the earth. He knew not for whom he had ordered it to be hewn : or that there was to be laid the bodv of the great 114 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IT Messiah ! Jesus stood by the sepulchre, and casting up to the hill of Golgotha, a look of sacred grief, thus gave utterance to his divine thoughts. Now declines the day. Now comes the prayer- ful night resting on Gcthsemane. Soon will the day again enlighten that Kill, and the dawning morn arise on Golgotha. Then thou, who con- tainest the bones of the meanest sinners, shalt become an altir, on which the willing victim shall be slain ! soon will it bleed ! Welcome death for the human race ! Then will my graciou's Father look clown on me from his exalted throne, where I once sat in his embrace ! Me will the aijgels of God behold, and those for whom I die ! Welcome death for the heirs of eternal life ! There, in the bosom of the Father, have 1 sat, the Creator of man, and the Friend of the created ! I am now, O man, become thy Brother ! and though once arrayed in celestial splendor, yet wounded will I die, bleeding on thy hill, O Gol- gotha ! Then ( Here he turned, and looked into the sepulchre) then will this body pass two nights and one day within the silent mansion of that cool tomb, in a softer sleep than that ^f A.dam, when the great mystery of death was first unfolded, and he, one melancholy evening, heard the decree, Thou must lie down and die. Many centuries has he slept, and over him has the feet of his descendants walked, while he hears not the sound. They too are dead, and on their bones the feet of their offspring have, careless, trod ! But amidst the joys of a blissful eternity, can any felicity be compared to mine ? the righteous shall all transported awake in peace, in rejoicing and triumph awake ! When my body has slept in this .narrow mansion, and I have raised to cndlcsi BOOK IV. THE MESSIAH. 115 life the bones of the dead, then every care, every doubt will cease every tear be for ever wiped away ! Death will be the introduction to trium- phant joy and sweet sensations. Nor the grim tyrant, nor the threatening tomb, shall appear on the new earth. This reflection benumbs all human sensation. The blessed in lucid white shall walk serene. Many shall bear wounds like those of the Son of Man resplendent wounds .' They shall hymn the Victor, and call him by the tender names of son and brother. What earthly mortal, what inhabitant of heaven can count their number ? Old things shall then be done away, and behold all things shall become new. But first Golgotha must sec me die, and that sepulchre inclose this mortal frame. The Messiah then quickened his pace. Judas, lurking in the dim twilight, found him near the wall of Jerusalem, and silent mingled among the saints, forming on his deceitful countenance the look of innocence, while his heart felt the sting of guilt. Ithuriel, who had gone before him, had heard from the top of an olive the approaching step of the Messiah, and descending as Jesus passed b'y, walked with him invisible, and in accents soft as .the last thoughts of the dying Christian, thus spake : Thou, O Saviour ! knowest that thdu art be- trayed by Judas by him who has been instructed by thine example by him who has seen thy ni- jacles by him to whom thy lips have unfolded the mysteries of eternal life, and whom thou hast condescended to call thy disciple. Still the har- monious voice of the sublime Eloa fills my car : atill are open his lips, calling me to haste down to earth, to be the tutelar spirit of Judas ! but, all, I leave the sinner ! no longer cAn I be ftis* g 116 THE MESSIAH. fiari* IV, guardian ! against him shall I witness on the great day of retribution ! against him shall *I speak with the voice of thunder. Between the resplendent seats of those that are worthy to sit with thee, judging the world, will I come forth, clothed in darkness, and extending my hand to- wards the cloud that will envelop thy thronc> will I say, O thou whose blood trickled down from the cross ! O thou who hast bled and died by the hands of th^se thou lovedst ! Judas Iscariot has drank iniquity, and against this dreadful day has steeped his soul in blackest guilt. He has called down destruction on his head, and deserved the, fate of the reprobate. Let him be driven from the presence of the Lord. His guilt be upon him- self : I am innocent of the blood of the sinner : Here the immortal paused, but looking at the Mediator, and reading in his eye, that he might farther disclose his concern, he thus continued : Alas ! what different thoughts did I once en- tertain of the disciple of the gracious Friend of Man. Thou, Judas, said I, shalt, by thy glorious wounds/ bear witness of thy Lord, and when thou diest a martyr for the truth, thou shalt hear the sublime songs we shall sing before the Victors. Oh, didst thou but thus 'die, thy soul would be arrayed in light, and thy [friend would then, re- joicing > conduct thee in triumph to the Messiah, the first of Conquerors. Among the golden seats, placed for the twelve elected by the Messiah, 1 should have pointed out that raised for ther. At the sight of the radiant seat, and of him who sits on the throne, thy soul would overflow with transport ! I should have stilcd thee my friend, my brother ! with softest voice I should have called thee my fellow seraph ! Then would my explain to me the mysteries of Christianity : BOOK IV. THE MESSIAH. J17 his sensations when the Spirit which inspired the holy prophets, descended upon him from heaven when thou O Judas ! receivcdst the fortitude to despise death when taught by the Holy Spirit, thy heart prayed in words unutterable, and tasted of the innocence of Paradise. But these thoughts are fled. As the smiling spring drops her flowers, as the bloom of life fades, ere it is ripened by time, so all is passed away. Forsaken am I by the disciple ! Lately was I the guardian angel of a saint : but now solitary I walk among the angels, who look upon me with silent sympathy. Speak the word, O divine Messiah ! shall I return to the celestial regions ? or am I worthy to be- hold thy death ? Jesus, with a composed look, answered the fleraph, Simon Peter will also be tempted by the malicious destroyer, I therefore appoint thee his angel. Two have been given to John ; Peter must have the same number. He shall hereafter hear the celestial hymns, sung by those who shall join the triumphant host above, and in his death will ije resemble me. On hearing this the seraph with fervid joy, ^lew to embrace Orion, his fellow guardian. Jesus now hasted to celebrate the last convivial feast with his disciples, and passing by the splendid palaces of luxurious sinners, entered the more peaceful dwelling of an obscure upright man. The disciples silently reclined around the table on which was placed the lamb of the covenant. Next to the Messiah was John, on whose face sat an affectionate smile. With sweet serenity Jesus then looked round on his disciples : his eye dispensed peace, soft repose, and a pleasing melancholy, full of deep contemplation and calm heart-felt felicity. So Joseph appeared among his brethren, i 2 118 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV; after feeling the first raptures, when his tears, his speaking tears ceased to flow ; when he no longer hung on his brother Benjamin, and he knew that his aged father was still alive. Jesus now, with a mournful look, cried, Greatly have I desired to eat this repast with you, my disciples, before I suffer soon will be accom- plished the predictions of those who spake of m^. Ye know the prophet that was worthy to see the divine appearance, who heard the voice of Ihe seraphs over a throne in the temple., while the heavens resounded with their festal hallelujahs, and their crying to each other, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts ! the whole earth is full of his glory ! then the posts of the doors moved at the voice of him that cried : the temple was filled with smoke : the sanctuary with clouds of votive incense. Then was I present with my Father ; with him was I in the temple : for before Abra- ham wag, "I am before this sacred land with the mountain of God arose from the waters -before the world itself wa formed, I was. But these thoughts, ^in all their amplitude, ye cannot yet comprehend. This divine prophet, who saw the glory of the Most High, at length cried, Lo, I behold in futurity, a branch springing out of the stem of Jesse, that shall grow up before the Lord as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. His form is changed his beauty withered. Every solace of life is fled, and all the smiles of the blooming year. He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Men are silent at the affliction of his soul. They turn away their faces from him. Yet hath he borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. For our transgressions he is wounded, and with bis stripes are we healed. Like the wandering BOOK IV. THE MFSSIAH. 110 sheep have we gone astray : we have turned every one to our own way : the Lord hath therefore laid on him the iniquity of us all. Oppressed and afflicted, he opens not his mouth : meek, like the !amb, is he led to the slaughter,, and as a sheep before her shearers, is dumb. From prison and from judgment is he taken, and who shall declare the generation of the redeemed, who are numerous as the host of heaven. He hath given bis life an offering for sin, he shall therefore see bis seed, a race of new immortals, who having died to sin, have awaked to righteousness, rnd with him shall enjoy eternal life. Thus spake the Redeemer, and then continued long sileat, with his eyes lift up to heaven. At length he resumed. This, O my disciples ! is the last time in which 1 shall keep this feast with you. For never more shall I taste the fruit of the cheer- ful vine, till I drink it new in my Father's king- dom. In the realms of joy are many mansions these I go to prepare for you. There I shall see you again, and with the assembled fathers, commence new festivals, spiritual repasts, of per- petual duration. Jesus ceased, and still all were silent. Thus silent were the holy people on mount Moriah, when Solomon, the wisest of the sons of Abraham, at the prayer of consecration, laid his crown at the foot of the altar, before the Eternal. Then was the temple filled with a cloud. The priests, be- holding the glory of the Lord, were unable to continue their sacrifices, and the jubilant hallelujahs ceased. Not a word was then heard, till one of the supplicants, transported with sacred awe, lift up his face to the cloud, and with tremulous voice, and arms stretched forth towards heaven, cried, Holy, holy, holy ! Thus silent were the dis- 120 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. ciples, till Lebbeus, turning to Judas, with soft voice, said : Alas ! 'tis now too certian, that whatever the other disciples may say or think of his frequent discourses on death, that the Son of Man is about to die. Come death, relief from misery, the re- pose of the weary traveller, take pity on ne ! for when Jesus, my Lord, is led to dcat^ like a lamb to the slaughter, thou wilt be my sole con- solation ! His sighs now stopped his voice. The Messiah observed him and Judas, and giving him a look of mingled benevolence and grief, said to his disciples, How shall I tell you, my friends, that one of you will betray me ! Seized with sudden grief and astonishment, all Cried, Lord is it I ? The Messiah answered, It is one of you who now keep the paschal feast with me". Here his countenance assumed the severity of the judge, and he added, The Son of Man foeth, as the prophets have written of him ; jut woe to him by whom be is betrayed : good trere it for that man that he had never b een born. Judas then, with a low voice, repeating, Is it I ? Jesus whispering, answered, Thou knowest that it is thyself. Now thoughts of grace and eternal salvation again brighten the Mediator's countenance. He rises to institute the sacred Eucharist, uttering the solemn words which so many boldly profane, by absurd superstition, b)' ignorance, and by more hateful vice. But in vain do they wear the fair garb of Christianity, or the well painted mask ; for while, with polluted hearts, they chant the praises of the spotless Redeemer, they call down on themselves the' sentence of eternal death. He who godlike lived, and filled witb benevolence, died en the cross, is not the Saviour of the cruel. BOOK. IV. THE MESSIAH. the impious, the lewd, the dissolute : while steep- ed in impenitence, and wallowing in vice, meek- eyed mercy, ever gracious, ever pure, stretches not out her hand to them. All now received from him the hread, the emblem of his broken body, and the sacred cup, typical of his streaming blood with humility and awful silence they received them from his hand. When John, seized with a sudden transport, sunk down at his feet, kissed thera, and wetted them with his tears. Jesus then" looking up towards heaven, with a gracious smile, cried, O Father ! permit him to see my glory. John then arising beheld at the end of the chamber a bright, assembly of angels, who knew that he saw them. Rapt in an ecstatic transport, he beheld the sublime Gabriel, with motionless astonishment : enraptured he saw the brightness of the celestial Raphael, and him he honoured : with delight unutterable, he also per- ceived Salem in an human form, who, with a smile of friendship, opened his arms, and him he loved. Now, turning his ravished eyes, he dis- covered in the Messiah's placid countenance, traces of his celestial glory, and sunk speechless on his bosom. Gabriel then rose on his extended wings-, and transported with love, said to Jesus, O thou great Messiah, embrace me, as thou em- bracest thy disciple ! To him the Messiah answer- ed, Thou, O Gabriel ! shall attend on me, when I sit on my throne, and shall be seated with Eloa, in the presence of the Most High. Gabriel bowed adoring. At last came Judas, and with the familiarity and dissembled love of John, threw himself at the feet of Jesus, Judas arise, said the Messiah, and gave him the cup, the memorial of his death. Judas received it unmoved. Then the Saviour, 152 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. viewing him, was troubled in spirit, and, with a loud Toice, cried, I know those whom I have chosen : yet one of you will betray me. This I now tell you, that ye may believe when it is accomplished, and that ye may know the rewards prepared for him that continues faithful unto the end. He that receiveth my word shall be saved. Whosoever receiveth you, receiveth me ; and who- soever receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. But the traitor will not obtain the crown of life. I repeat it again, one of you will betray the Son of Man ! Sorrow was again spread over each countenance. Peter then made a sign to John, who still lay re- clined on the breast of the Redeemer, and, whis- pering, asked, Who is it ? He it is, said the Saviour with low voice, to whom I, with tender affection, and brotherly love, give this sop. He then gave it to Judas. John trembled; but his humanity kept him silent. Judas now abruptly left the room. Night was come, and he was surrounded with all its terrors. Widely he cast his eyes into the dark obscure, and thus spake to himself: He then certainly knows it ! Now will the smooth, the fawning John, reveal it to them all All will know what the heart of Jesus has intrusted to him They will Ail know what I have done Be it so These new kings must fly before they have obtained their kingdoms. John may perhaps soon learn to lay aside his insidious smiles, and Peter, when in bonds, will be less bold ! With what imperious accents did Jesus speak ! With what a stern air, and commanding voice did he cry, Judas arise ! How different the language he uses to his favorite John ! Kmsrs indeed are not to be commanded ! t will however sec them again, before 'they obtain BOOK 1Y. THE MESSIAH. their kingdoms in bonds will I see; them ! - their friend will die ! Is it possible ? -who will believe that he can die, who has raised others from the dead? He die ! What wilt thou relent ? O my suffering heart ! banish all humanity ! If he cMc he must surely he a visionary, and r.ot the sent of God Our priests are men of wisdom they an: the ministers of Jehovah, the King of kings yet they always hated him ! They respect, and would maintain the laws of Moses They have engaged rac in their "interest : but they will not go so far as to put him to death I would only see him ni bonds, and' then hear him. Perhaps he will for a moment forget the exalted merit of his favorite disciples, and, condescend to look upon the slighted Judas ! but I must hasten the lords of Jerusalem expect me. lie then proceeded to the high priest's palaec. The assembly of the disciples was now holy, and unpolluted by guilt. 'Ihus when the Christian youth returned from the interment of Ananias and Sapphira, with fairer beauty shone the congregation in the eye of the Lord ; for their sacred unanimity was disturbed by no selfish, no sordid disposition. In the meanwhile Jesus, with divine majesty and composure, thus addressed his disciples. Now is the Son of Man glorified : now is the infinite, the boundless mercy of the Most High glorified in him. Though at present his splendor is veiled by the body of flesh, soon shall even this human frame be invested with celestial beauty. But your grief interrupts my speech.' Why, vny children, do you weep ? 'tis true I shall soon leave you : ye shall seek me, but shall not find me : for ye know not whither I go ; and whither I go ye cannot come But cease your tears. Ye ahall see me again. My dear children, I give 124 THE BIESSIAH. BOOK IV' you a new commandment a commandment more noble, more exalted than all the traditional ob- servances of the scribes and elders ; Love each other as I have loved you : for by your tender, your mutual, your disinterested affection, shall all men know that ye are my disciples. Simon Peter then arose, and said, Whither, Lord, dost thou go ? Whither I go, said the Redeemer, thou canst not follow me ; but thou shalt at length follow my steps, ard walk in the path I tread. Why, O my Lord, said Peter, with an eager and amiable warmth ; why cannot I follow thcc now ? To preserve thy life will I lay down my own ! Thou, Simon, lay down thy life ! returned Jesus ; alas ! how little dost thou know thyself ! I repeat it again, that ere the early cock proclaims the opening- dawn, thou wilt deny me thrice ! The Redeemer then asking if they were al! present, the disciples, oppresssed with melancholy answered, We are here. Christ then returned, The voice of one I no longer distinguish. To this Lehbeus replied, trembling, Judas Iscariot is wanting. Jesus was standing ; but he now kneeled, and the apostles placed themselves on their knees around him. The blessed Saviour then lifting up bis eyes, prayed with a loud voice : O Father ! the hour is conae, glorify thine only begotten Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee. To his power hast thou committed all mortals, that he may at length raise them from the dead, and bestow on them everlasting felicity. This, O my God ! is eternal life, to know thee, aiTd Christ whom thou hast sent, as the Prince of Peace, and the King of Glory. Already, O Father ! do I behold in spirit the accomplishment of the important work. Thee have I glorified BOOK TV. THE MESSIAH. 125 Iiere on earth, and the work thou gavest me to do, I have finished. Now crowns and regal honours await me at thy right hand ! give me the glory I enjoyed with thee, ere I, by thy / power, created the earth and its inhabitants. Thy tremendous thy gracious name have I declared to those thou gayest me tfut of this guilty world : thine they were : thou gavcst them me; afxl lo the wisdom which I taught t ; ;aftj they have faithfully ad- hered. Now do they know that ;vhat thou teachest trie, I have taught to them. This knowledge they with duty and with reverence have received ; deep in their hearts have they lodged the divine truth, that thou hast sent me. For them, O Fa- ther ! do I pray for them I now pray, and not for the world. All who are mine are thine ; those that are thine are mine, and the subject of my joy and my glory, Now do I quit thisearthlj globe, to return to thy celestial throne to thee, Father ! but they remain on earth the scorn of sinners, and exposed to misery ! Keep tberi, O holy Father ! those whom thou hast giver me, that they, as brethren, may live in amity, and like us unite in the great work of love and grace divine. While clothed in this terrestrial frame, 1 have taken care of them, and watched over their immortal souls. Here they are, O ny Father, none have I lost, but the son of perdition ! ,hc ungrateful, has deserted me, and is became a wit- ness to the truth of the prophcls. Now them, that they may think on my glory and rejoice in my joy. The words of thy love have they heard, and sinners have hated them, as they hated me. Yet I pray not that thou wouldst take them from the earth : hut only that thou wouldst shield them from their persecutors ;-*-from the 126 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IV. spirits of destruction ; for tney like me walk in innocence. Sanctify them,, Q God ! through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me, I send them : for them I lay down my life, that they may be pure and holy, and ready to suffer for the cause of truth and virtue. Yet, O my Fa- ther ! I pray not for my disciples alone ; but for those they shall convert for those my chil- dren, who will one day, like the dew of the morning, be born to me through thy word. May they all be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thce, so may they be one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory I' receive from thee I give to them, that they may be one, even as we are one, and all fulfil thy gra- cious intentions, that the sinners of the earth, filled with admiration, may perceive that I was sent from heaven. Love them, O my God ! whom thou hast given me, as the first fruits of thy Son's Ibvc to man ; may these be where I am, and be- hold that glory, which thou, gracious Father, gavest me, before the heavens were stretched around this earthly .ball. The world knew thee not ; but I have known thce. To these my friends, have I disclosed the important purposes for which 1 was sent, and will farther disclose them, that thy love to me may penetrate their hearts, and their immortal souls be filled with love to thee, and their Redeemer. Now Jesus arose, and went forth with his disciples. At length, drawing near to the brook of Cedron, and hearing the nightly broeze play in the branches of some olives that stood on an eminence, he said to Gabriel, in the depth of the garden, on the sloping side of the mountain, is a solitary spot, shaded by a grove of palms, there Assembled the angels. Thus the Saviour BOOK IV. THE MESSIAH. 127 ami was now drawing near to the accomplishment of such exalted deeds, as since the creation of the earth and the heavens, or since the birth of the an- gels, had never been known ; such as were never seen in the boundless theatre of infinite space. But DO outward acclamations, no vain testimonies of applause, the pleasing and fit attendants on the exploits of vulgar heroes, surrounded the great Messiah,, while he went forth to conquer sin and death. THE END OF THE FOURTH BOOK. THE ...- ' MESSIAH. BOOK. V. THE ARGUMENT. God descends towards the earth, and is met by the wise men of the east, newly released from their bodies, one of whom addresses the Most High. He is seen by the first inhabitant of a guiltless world, who relates to hi* happy offspring, what he has heard of the fall of man, and the coming of the Messiah. God rests on Taber. Jesus prays, when Adramelcch coming to insult him, is by a look put to flight. The Messiah comes to his disciples, whom he finds asleep. He then returns to pray. Abba- dona comes, nd after mistaking John for the Messiah, finds him, and gives vent to his thoughts. The Messiah again ' returns to his sleeping disciples, and a third time prostrates himself in prayer, when God sends Eloa to comfort him by singing a triumphant song on his future glory. AH the angels, except Eloa and Gabriel, withdiaw, and God himself returns to his celestial throne. ARRAYED in awful dignity, Jehovah sat on his exalted throne., and near him was Eloa, who, with humble reverence, and low prostration, said, May I presume, O Eternal ! to ask, Why sits terror on thy brow ? Why does anger flash from thine eyes ? What means this thunder which rolls tremendous ? Thou lookest on the stars, and they hide their heads. Silent are the cherubim and seraphim Of all the numberless myriads of angelic spirits, none do I hear chanting gratefnl praise, none in lofty strains hymning the great 130 THE MESSIAH. r HOOK V. Messiah : but all, with reverenlial a*rc, veil their faces wifh their \vings. Wilt thou, O God ! arise, and destroy the kingdom of F>atan ? Wilt thou, O Most Righteous ! go forth to chastise the blas- phemer ! and to reduce to nothing the deep abyss of hell his dominion ? Shall the name of him whom in which he had carried Elijah up to heaven, when, O Dothan on thy cloud-enveloped moun^ tains, he was seen by Elisha. Eloa stood erect. He rushed forward like an impetuous storm. Then resounded the golden axis. Then backward flew his hair and vesture, like shining clouds. With firm foot the immortal stood iinrnoveable; In his right hand he carried on high a storm ; at each elevated thought thunders burst from the tempest. Thus he followed the mighty Jehovah through luminous paths enlightened by suns. The Almighty now passed through the vast assemblage of stars, called the milky way: named among th<* immortals the resting place 'of the Omnipotent : H 2. 131 THE MESSIAH. BOOK V. for when the first celestial sabbath saw the world completed, there the Eternal stopped to view his \vorks. The Almighty now approached a star, the dwelling of rational beings, men formed like us, hut free from \ire, and exempt from death. Their first progenitor stood among his guiltless offspring in all the bloom, in all the vigour of , manly youth, though a long series of ages had passed over his head. His eyes, which time had not dimmed, beheld with pleasure his happy descendants ; nor were they incapable of shedding the pleasing tear of joy. His quick ear was not closed to the voice of the Most High ; to the instructions of the seraph ; nor to the language of hts numerous offspring, from whom he with pleasure heard the endearing appellation of father. At his right side stood the mother of men, her children, beautiful as when the Creator first led her, immortal fair ! to the embraces of her spouse ; even age had added to her charms, and she now appeared more lovely than her blooming daughters. At his left hand was his first-born, his worthy son, the image of his father, arrayed in heavenly inno- cence. Around them stood their descendants of different*" generations ; and scattered about them, on the smiling turf, reclined their youngest off- spring, whose waving locks falling in curls, were crowned with flowers, beautiful as those that, oil this earth, once enamelled the plains of paradise. With pleasure they gazed on their primeval parents, while their young hearts panted to imitate their virtues. The fathers and mothers had brought the lovely infants born the preceding year, to re- ceive the first dear embrace, and pious benedic- tion of their original ancestors. When the happy father of this blessed race *:-f immortal BOOK V. THE MESSIAH. 135 beings, lifting up his eyes towards 'heaven, to invoke the divine benediction, beheld the face of God. The smile of benignity and paternal love now gave place to a look of solemn and reverential awe, mingled with gratitude ; then bowing 1 in hum- ble worship, he cried : Behold and adore, O my children, the great Eternal ! from whom both you and I received our life. 'Tis he who has clothed those vales with beauteous flowers : those blooming groves with fragrant blossoms and blushing fruit, together hanging on each bending bough ; and has crowned the summit of these mountains with golden clouds ; yet neither to the flowery vale, the blooming grove, or to the aspiring mountain, has he given immortal souls. These were his gifts to you my children ! Neither to lull, nor grove, nor vale, has he given your lovely features, nor the human form, so convenient, so august : nor the face significant, expressive of the soul's deepest thoughts: no look of rapturous joy sublime, with grateful eye raised up to heaven : no voice to transmit the great sensations of the glowing heart to fellow minds ; or to join the lofty strains of the adoring angels ! To me he appeared in the waving groves, of Paradise, then a small but delightful garden, though it has now spread over this spacious country. . There, with benignant grace, lie first appeared to me, when from earth he had formed me man, and blessing me, led your mother to my embraces. Speak, ye cedars, rustling speak speak, for under your branches I saw him walk ! Stay, thou rapid stream stay, for there I saw him pass thy waves ! Whisper, ye gentle gales, as when with smiling grace he descended from ihese towering hills ! Stand still before him, O earth, and suspend thy course, as once thau 136 THE MESSIAH. BOOK V. ptoodst still, when he passed over thce ; when found his face subliqje the moving heavens flowed ! when hi right hand poised ,the glowing suns, and jn his left he held the revolving planets ! May I presume, O Eternal ! again enraptured to look on thee ? O Father ! disperse the tre- mendous gloom with which thou art encompassed. Remove from thine eves that awful displeasure, which sure none but an immortal can behold and live ! By whom, O my God ! art thou offended ? -'can it he by those thou lovest ? Perhaps 'tis by a guilty people who fell and ventured (a thought I can scarce conceive ! ) to provoke the All-gracious, the Omnipotent. Hear me, O my children, and attend to my words. Long have I been silent, lest I should give inquietude to your tender, your happy minds, and melancholy should disturb your sacred rest. Far from us, on one of the worlds enlightened by another sun, are men whose form resembles ours : but having forfeited their native innocence, are no longer immortal. You justly wonder, and well you may, that he who was created for an eternal duration, and was one of the most admirable of the works of the great Omnipotent, should basely forfeit bis immortality. But it is not the everlasting spirit the never dying soul that is become mortal : it is the body which returns to the earth, of which it was made. This they call dying. The immortal soul having lost its beauty, its innocence, is con- ducted to the righteous judgment seat of God, there to receive a sentence according to the works done in the body. Ye awful, ye dreadful thoughts fly far from me ! I stand aghast at the dread idea ! On that tremendous tribunal, God alone, th Creator and Judge, can think. With what over- whelming terror does the mere idea of death till BOOK Y. THE MESSIAH. 1ST an immortal ! It is preceded by something dread- ful, which those unhappy creatures call pain. The dying can scarce with trembling tongue utter a mournful farewel ! With difficulty he respires ! * A cold sweat rises on his altered face ! Faint and slow beats his heart ! His eye-strings break ! His eyes become fixed, and no longer see ! From them the face of the cartli and heavens are vanished ! they are lost in the abyss of night ! He no longer hears the voice of man, nor the tender sighs of love and friendship ! He himself can- not speak ! His heart ceases to beat ! he dies ! The form once the most lovely becomes loathsome ! It is buried in the earth, and concealed from human sight ! Thus the daughier expires in the arms of her fond mother, who wishes to accompany her in death. The father presses to his heart his only son, who expires in blooming youth. Fa- thers, mothers, the comforters and supports of their unhappy children, die in the midst of the cries of their desolate family. The beloved spouse perishes in the embraces of her husband, Love, that celestial sensation, is the sole image that has remained on that earth of its primitive felicity ; but it is only a faint image of it, that never exists but in the hearts of the few virtuous. Alas! it renders even them ( happy but for a mo- ment ! A moment and they die God shews them no pity : he relents not at the parting sigh of the pious spouse, at the fervor of her suppli- cations, and her earnest entreaties for one hour more: nor at the despair of the trembling youth embracing her in speech Ixss sorrow : nor at the afflicted virtue, to which love and its tender sensibilities, sometimes raise the mortal pair. Here he ceased, interrupted by the lamentation! of his affrighted children. The fathers pressed 338 THE MESSIAH. BOOK V, their sons, and the mothers their terrified daughters to their trembling breasts. The boys grasped the knees of the stooping fathers, and kissed from the parent's eve trie manly tear. Hand in hand sat brothers and sisters with their timorous looks fixed on each other ! and on the bosoms of the beloved fair sunk, trembling, the immortal youths ; who felt life beat with a higher pulse, while reclined on the breast of the celestial maids. But now the father of that spotless race, recalling his fortitude, thus resumed, while his fair consort fondly leaned on his shoulder. Oh may it not be these whom God in his wrath, is now visiting : Alas ! they have, perhaps, too much offended their gracious Creator ; and having filled up the measure of their iniquities, he is going to exterminate them. Ah! ye kindred race, originally designed like us, for immortality, had you but known our affectionate love ; had you; but foreseen our sorrow for you ; never, surely, would you, by your crimes have drawn down the vengeance of your and our Almighty Friend ! O kindred race ! should the earth be your grave, and God at once destroy all its rational inhabitants, \ve will pity those whom God jias slain but we shall despise ye too our pity will \)d mingled with contempt. How couM ye, ungrateful, offend such unbounded goodness ? Yet to this race, O Almighty Father ! thou hast sent thy beloved Son, the glorious Messiah I All the seraphs, in their visits to us, with the applauding angels, have proclaimed that he shall be their Redeemer that one day he shall raise the dead to life, and that we ourselves shall see them. Behold, the Most High turns his face from us, and now descends to the earth. How wonderful, O God, art thou jn thy judgments ! How inscrutable arc the wisp BOOK V. THE MESSIAH, 159 designs of thy providence ? Thou art eternally the same, ever perfect, ever unchangeable ! Let us sing praises to thee our Creator ! And let thy blessings be poured on these mine "offspring ! With faces veiled the cherubim and seraphim worship before thine exalted throne ! Thee im- mortal men adore from this sacred earth ! the*; mortal men, whom thou slayest, adore in the dust ! Thus he uttered the effusions of his soul, while his fixed eyes followed the divine effulgence. The Almighty now drew near to the earth. From a towering assemblage of clouds, Eloa saw the great Messiah, and there, wrapt in obscurity, in gentle accents thus spake. O thou graciou* Redeemer ! how greatly is thy labouring mind distressed, while thus imploring and procuring mercy for sinful man ! What finite intellect can comprehend tuis mystery ! can comprehend the depths of sovereign wisdom, and of grace divine ? But let'* me be silent, and, rapt in wonder, adore ! Thus spake Eloa, and then, stretching out his arms towards the earth, in silence poured forth his benedictions. God now descended on mount Tabor, and, shrouded in a solemn midnight cloud, viewed this whole terraqueous globe, with idolatrous altars and sinners covered. Over its extensive plains was spread the empire of death, witnessing against man. He saw all the sins, from the creation to the final day of retribution the sins of the idolators ; those of Jehovah's servants ; and the sins of Christians, still more horrid, rise in the clouds before the sovereign Judge : before him they arose in hideous forms, unshrouded from night. They arose from the abyss in which they were buried by the guilty heart, that, un- gateful, rebelled against the all-gracious Creator. 143 THE MESSIAH. BOOK V. The hideous host was led by the crimes of those capacious souls, who beheld thee, O sacred -vir- tue ! in all thy celestial beauty, yet obeyed not thy pleasing; dictates ; but self-convicted with black impiety, and redoubled guilt, opposed the generous feelings of humanity and heavenly grace, struggling in their breasts, and witnessing between themselves and God. In gigantic forms they ap- peared before him who directs the thunder, and guides the forked lightning ; for inexorable conscience, with irresistible voice, summoned them to approach. An universal accusation now ascended to heaven. On the fluttering wings of the wind were borne the soft sighs of suffering Tirtue. Loud as the roar of waves rushing impetu- ous, resounded the groans and lamentations of the dying from the bloody field of slaughter, witnessing against the ambitious potentates of the earth ; and the voice of thunder was given to the blood of the martyrs, crying, O thou who in thine awful hand boldest the balance of judgment, behold the innocent blood that has been shed shed for thy sake, O thou most holy, just, and true ! The Almighty then revolving in his infinite mind, the "virtues of the various orders of intelligent beings who had continued faithful, and weighed the ac- tions of the wicked. His anger was kindled. The earth then shook to its centre ; but he sup- ported it with his hand lest it should be scattered through the immensity of space. Then turning towards Eioa, the seraph at once knew the intima- tions of the divine countenance, and ascended into the air As from the ark of the covenant rose the luminous cloud, the guide of the people of Israel when led by Moses, they from desert to desert moved their tents ; thus silent on a midnight cloud stood the seraph, with bis eyes fixed on the BOOK V. THE MESSIAH. 141 mount of Olives. Him the blessed Saviour then beheld^ and instantly hasted to Gethsemane, to pour out liis soul in fervent prayer for man. Filled with inward distress he went, followed by three 'jf his disciples. These he at length left behind, jmd withdrew alone to a silent solitary spot, where, unobserved by man, he might give vent to the great, the painful sensations that swelled his heart. Thou hast led me, O harmonious muse of Sion! to the sanctuary ; but the Holy of Holies I have not seen. Oh had I the soft melodious voice with which the exalted seraph sings : did the terrific trump, which shook the solid base of S ion's mount, resound from my lips : did thunders speak from my right hand the thoughts which the celestial harps cannot resound ; Yet, O adorable Messiah ! should I fail iu singing thy passion, the mighty con- flicts of thy great, thy generous, thy tender soul ! Thou, O Moses, once boldly prated to see the great Jehovah face to face ; but wast concealed in the sheltering rock while the glory of God passed by ; yet from afar beheld the resplendent beauty of the Eternal ; I am more frail than thee ; yet may the Spirit of Truth overshadow me with his downy wings, and help my feeble sight, that I may see the blessed Jesus struggling in t\ie agonies of his dreadful passion ! Prostrate in the dust of the earth, which trem- bled with silent terror, lay the gracious Messiah, with his guiltless eyes and hands lift up towards Tabor. Seen by no mortal eye, his looks were fixed on his Father's face : distressful thoughts, filled with horror, pressed in swift succession on his soul, and his whole frame shook with un- utterable agony. His terrors still increased : THE MESSIAH. BOOK V . the anguish of his heavenly mind became more intense ; and instead of sweat, the starting blood trickled from the face of the adorable, the gra- cious sufferer. Then raising his head from the ground, his streaming tears, mixed with the pur- ple drops, while lifting up his hands and eyes, he thus addressed the Sovereign Judge : O my Father ! when this world was formed, aoon died the first men soon was each hour marked with dying sinners ! Already have ages past blasted by thy curse. Now is arrived the awful time, when by my death I shall purchase immortality for man. When the earth was scarcely formed, ere the mouldering corse returned to dust, I chose this hour of suffering, and ardent cried, Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God ! Now now is arrived the awful time ! Hail ye who sleep in God, ye shall awake \ I who formed the .earth was born to die ! to die on its surface ! to die that man might live! But how heavily the lot of mortality hangs upon me ! O thou who boldest the sword of justice ! let the hours of anguish pass with rapid flight ! Tothee, O Father ! every thing is possible let therefore this bitter cup pass from me ! -Yet not my will ; but thine be done. My uplifted eyes watch, at midnight, and can no longer weep : my trembling arms are stretched towards thee for help : but alas ! I do not find it Faint with weeping, I .sink to the ground To my grave ! But I resign my- self to thy will thy will, O Father ! be done. Having thus spoke, he lay prostrate on his face in solemn silence, then raising himself up on his trembling arms, looked forward into the gloom. Here passed before him terrifying images of eter- nal death He beheld reprobate souls curse the day f their creation. He heard the dismal howls of V. Till-; MESSIAH. H3 - the deep abyss the winged Voice of anguish, like falling cataracts, bellowing loud. Then the voices of mankind sunk in one boundless sigh of deep- rooted despair. Jesus sypathized in their distress, and, filled with unutterable compassion, felt their misery. , Adramelech from a barren rock had long viewed the Messiah ; but now descending, iu order to come ta him, he, with triumph and exultation saw before him a suicide reeking in his own blood : the accents of whose despair, and the bitter sighs of returning Humanity and remorse, echoed through all the neighbouring hills. At this spectacle the apostate spirit increasing in insolence, resolved to mock the great Messiah. With disdainful pride in his haughty eye, and lost in an ocean of im- pious thoughts he stood, resolving to give to his infernal ideas a voice like that of the black bursting cloud : but Jesus turning, and casting* on him that majestic look of awful dignity with which he will judge the world, the rancorous spirit felt the powerful glance, and trembling sunk abased. Bewildered amidst a whirl of impetuous crowding thoughts, he stood without thought. All around him was a void : no longer did he sec the heavens and the earth ; no longer the Messiah : himself alone he beheld. At length with difficulty collect- ing his weakened strength, he fled. The Mediator now leaving the gloomy solitude, walked towards his disciples, that after such suffering, such lonely anguish, he might enjoy the human solace of seeing the face of man. Silent he drew near, and found them asleep. The surrounding heavens now rejoiced, and solemnized the second sabbath since the creation ; one still more sacred than the first. At length, the final, the decisive day of judgment being passed, THE MESSIAH. BOOK V. the third will arise with unutterable glory, and extend thoughout eternity. At its celebration the Messiah himself will preside. All knew that the great high-priest was accomplishing the redemp- tion : for thus God had said : When the thunders shall roll from pole to pole, and the harmony of the spheres be changed to the ocean's roar : when ranks of wandering stars shall tremble through the vast extent of the heavens : when upon you come the terrors of the Lord, and from your heads suddenly fall your golden crowns ; then has the Messiah begun his severest suf- ferings. Now sang the heavenly host, Past is the first hour of the exalted sufferings of the great Messiah, the Redeemer of man ! Past is the hour which to the good brings eternal rest. Meanwhile the Messiah stood looking on his disciples, whom he saw fast in the arms of sleep. He considered with complacency the serious air spread over the face of the exalted James. Thm grave and serene sleeps the happy Christian before his death. On the affectionate John reclined Peter ; but he was not like John, filled with smiling tranquillity. Over the beloved disciple, Salem, one of his guardian angels, still hovered. Jesus now said, Simon Peter thou sleepest ! what, couldst thou not watch with me one hour ? Ah soon will quiet slumbers cease to close those weeping eyes ! Watch and pray lest the tempter surprise thec. Thou, indeed art willing; but thine heavenly spirit is pressed down by thine earthly frame. Jesus then returned, and again fell an his face and prayed. On the other side of the mountain Abbadona, veiled in a thick cloud, advanced, saying to himself; Ah ! where shall I at length find the gracious BOOK V. THE MESSIAH. 144 Saviour, the Redeemer ; Alas ! I am unworthy to see this best of men. Yet Satan has seen him ! thou divine Prophet ! where oh where shall 1 seek thec ! where shall I find thee ! Through every desert have I roved. Every river have I traced from its source. In the solitude of every sequestered grove, my trembling feet have wan- dered. To the cedar have I said, Oh tell me in rustling whispers tell me, dost thou conceal him ? To the hanging mountains I cried, Bow down your solitary tops at my tears, that I may see the divin* Jesus, who, perhaps, sleeps on your summits ! I am unworthy to see thy face ah unworthy am I, O Jesus ! to behold thy benignent smiles ! Thou only art the Saviour of men ! Me thou wilt not save ! Thou nearest not the plaintive voice of an immortal ! Alas ! thou art only the Saviour of men. He then saw before him the sleeping disciples. Near him lay John, smiling in his placid slumbers, He saw him, and struck with fear, trembling, drew bark. Long he paused : but at length cried, If thou art he whom I seek If thou art the divine man who came to redeem mankind from sin and misery, with tears with incessant tears with everlasting sighs will I hail thee, thou amiable Redeemer ! thy countenance has the lineaments of celestial purity, and the traces of a tender and generous soul. Yes, thou art he !- Thee hate I soughtsweet tranquillity, the rich reward of virtue, hovers round thee! But I tremble at seeing thy soft repose. Turn oh turn thy face from me ; or I must look aside, and weep. While Abbadona thus spake, Peter awaking, called out, Ah John ! I have seen the Master in a dream, who looked at me with mingled dis- plyasure and compassion. ^^B^^^^K^ * f *40 THE MESSIAH. Boo* V, This the fallen seraph, heard, and stood amazed. Now favoured by the silence of the night, lie dis- tinguished a mournful voice. Inclining his atten- tive ear to the place whence it came,, he more dis- tinctly heard the soft and doleful accents. He was moved, and stood some time irresolute. Shalt I proceed, said he, and view the man who there in sounds of anguish and distress, strug- gle* with death, and the thoughts of judgment ? Shall I see the blood of the murdered, who, per- haps quietly returning home, through the shades of night, quickened his steps, to embrace .his affectionate wife, and to caress with parental pleasure his lisping children, hanging about the neck of their mother, when some lurking foe, some barbarian in the dark, bent on murder, gave him a mortal wound ! Perhaps his life was crowned with virtue, and his deportment adorned by . wis- dom ! Ah shall I see him ! Shall I see his dying pangs ! his florid cheeks change to deadly pale- ness ! Shall I hear his last groans his expiring sigh ! Ah blood murthcrously shed ! terrific blood of innocence^ thou bearest witness against me at that inexorable judgment-seat where the soft voice of mercy is not heard ! Unhappy that 1 am ! I was concerned in seducing the human race in rendering them subject to death ! The blood the innocent blood here shed ; and that which through successive ages will flow, is spilt by me. Ah ! I hear its frightful voice, rising against me to heaven, and demanding vengeance vengeance everlasting on my guilty head ! Why did I come to the earth, which on all sides "offers to my view the scattered bones of the children of Adam ? lii vain do I endeavour to turn from them my af- frighted eyes. My conscience, fatal attendant ! leads me, iu spite of myself, to the gloomy tombs, Boor. V. THE MESSIAH. where are laid so many victims which I have con- tributed to murder ! Thou dreadful calm which reignest in the habitations of the dead freezest my heart with fear and horror ! Yet he whom I have irritated, comes in silence Thunders and clouds go before him ! The word of his mouth is death ! is judgment without mercy ! A prey to these dreadful ideas, he advanced with slow and dilatory step towards the mournful voice. Now he beheld the gracious Saviour who^ with his face to the earth, still lay in humble prostration. Seized with fear Abbadona stepped back,, and was silently moving round him, when Gabriel advanced from the thiclf concealing shade. Abbadona saw him, and trembling, retired. The inhabitant of heaven now drew near, and bowing his ear over the Saviour, with-held in his wonder- ing eye the starting tear. Absorbed in thought he stood, listening with reverential awe to the Messiah, with an ear which, at the distance of a thousand times a. thousand miles, hears the songs of the en- raptured spirits that surround the throne. He now distinguished the soft thrilling sound of the slow flowing blood of the trembling Mediator, as it ran from vein to vein. Much louder did be hear in his divine heart the inexpressible, the heavj ighs which swelling with mercy, and with love to man, were more delightful to the Father's ear, than the song of all the heavenly host. The se- raph thus discovered the Saviour's passion, and folding his hands, with his eyes lift up to heaven, rose into the clouds. Abbadona now seeing Gabriel, and a multitude of the heavenly host, with their eyes beaming compassion, in expressive silence, looking down on the Messiah, remained aghast, and trembling, cast ou him a look of mingled fear and surprise. 148 THE MESSIAH. BOOK V, The Saviour now from the ensanguined dust slowly raised his face, at which redoubled terror encom- passed the fallen seraph : jet he again recovered : again gave vent to the new ideas which filled his mind. Sometimes he suppressed his timorous thoughts, and sometimes disturbed the silence of the slight by his sighs and lamentations. O thou whom I here see struggling with death ? ericd he ; by what name shall I call thee ? Art thou formed of > the dust ? a son of earth, a sinner ripe for judgment, shudders at the last day, and at the opening tomb. Yes, thou art but a divine lustre adorns thy human form ! Thine eye, from which shines innocence, and truth, and love to God and man, bespeaks thee superior to the grave and to corruption ! Thy face is not that of a inner ! not thus looks the wretch rejected of the Most High ! Surely thou art more than man ! Methinks I here perceive a mystery deeper than my thoughts can fathom ! A bright labyrinth all divine I Ah ! I still discover more ! But, who is he ? O fallen spirit ! turn-*-tura thine eyes away from him.- A sudden thought has darted into my astonished mind A great, a drend- ful idea ! Alas ! an awful resemblance do I per- ceive Fly, fly, ye dread surmises ! Stream not around me, ye terrors of eternal death Ah ! I perceive a concealed resemblance of the great Messiah, who descending in his flaming chariot, rushed upon s, armed with ten thousand thunders, and hurling destruction, drove us before him, vanquished and dismayed. Then immortality became a curse ; life eternal, death. Alas ! we ft ad before fled from innocence from every celes- tial joy, the lot of the righteous ! Jehovah him- self had ceased to be our father ! Once, while hurled headlong through the deep abyss, I turnc<| T. THE MESSIAH. 149 my face,, and saw him behind me saw the dread- ful Son of God ! lightning flashed from his eyes ! high he stood his chariot then the sable seat of judgment under him was darkness and death Him had the Father clothed with omnipotence ! him, the radiant image of his mercy, had he armed with destruction ! At his thunders, and the force of his avenging arm, nature shuddered, and all the depths of creation trembled ! No more did I see him My eye was lost in the palpable gloom ! Thus confounded, I was carried away through storms and thunder through the howlingi of affrighted nature, despairing, though immortal I I see him still ! still I see him ! his face had something that resembled that of this man here bowed in the dust this more than man ! Here he paused, and continued for some time fea if lost in thought ; then in a low voice cried, Ah ! is he is he the Son of the Eternal ? the Messiah ? the dreadful Victor ? but he suffers ! he is struggling with death ! boundless is the anguish that shakes his divine soul ! he laments in the dust ! his swelling veins, pressed by the anguish of his benevolent mind, bedew his face with blood To me no misery is sure unknown, yet I know not how to name his anguish. Remote in distant gloom I see new thoughts big with wonders approach, in mazy labyrinths involved. The Son of the great Jehovah, the brightness of his Father's glory descends from heaven ; assume* the human form ; preaches repentance ; suffers for man, and, to give life and immortality to his- mortal brethren, dies ! With what awful reverence the angels approach ! Even nature seems to ob- serve a reverential silence, as if her Creator was present. Oh, if thou art the dread Messiah, the only begotten of the Father, I ought to flv, lest L 2 *50 THE MESSIAH. BOOK V, seeing me trembling at thy feet, thj wrath be kindled, and thou instantly sit in judgment against me * But thou lookest not on me ! Yet to thee my thoughts are not unknown. May I venture to indulge the ideas which now first begin to arise in my mind ? -Of men art thou the Saviour ! and not of the more exalted angels ! O gracious Messiah ! hadst thou condescended to become a seraph; hadst thou deigned to enligteu us by thine instructions; hadst thou for us lain extended in the celestial plains, as here on earth, and with supplicating heart, and hands and eyes lift up to the throne of the Majesty on High, how would 1 then, O thou divine ! how would I then have embraced thee ! With what joyful transports should I have hailed my Saviour and my Lord f What rapturous hosannas should I sing ! With what ecstacy should I join the harmony of the harp to my exulting strains ! -Ye children of Adam, the favorites of the Most High, may the curse of everlasting fire fall on the heads of those, who ungratefully spurn at his offered grace, and on each heart insensible to the boundless love of your Redeemer ! Ye tribes of the redeemed, that shall hereafter resort to him, should you profane the sacred blood which drops from that face, may this blood rise up against you, and ye be esteemed his cruel murderers ! To you I call, ye apostates from grace to you who, after having tasted of the heavenly gift, shall draw back to perdition ! when the dreadful gulph of eternity shall first lie before you, and ye are filled with the tremendous thnught, that you, like us are cast out from God, the first and the best of beings ! then will I, looking through gloomy tracts of misery and night, on the new distresses of your immortal souls, cry, Hail torment everlasting ! Hail misery without BOOK. V. THE MESSIAH. 151 end ! This ye have chosen for a shadow ! for this ye have resigned everlasting felicity ! let this be your portion, and your reward ! Then will I tear myself from the iron arms of hell, and ascending to the throne of the exalted Saviour, with a voice that shall pervade both heaven and earth, will I cry, Oh 1 why dost thou, Most Gracious redeenTonly the repentant sinners of the human race, and not the angels ! 'Tis true, hell hates theer-but I, forsaken I who feel more noble sentiments", do not hate thee. Too long alas ! too long have I, weary of my existence, and of a dreadful immortality, poured forth lamentations, mnd tears of blood ! Abbadona having thus given a loose to his disturbed thoughts, hastily ascended into the air and disappeared. The Messiah now, a second time, arose from the dust, again to behold the face of man ; and again the heavenly host rejoiced and sang, Past is the second hour of the exalted sufferings of the great Messiah the Redeemer of Man ! Past is the hour which to the good brings eternal rest ! But soon the blessed Saviour left his slumber- ing disciples, and went a third time to prostrate himself before the Sovereign Judge. Around him the sable curtain of night was spread, over the hetivens, and he was encompassed by the deepest gltvorn . Thus the last night before the day of awful retribution, will be clothed in the blackest veil of darkness, hastily bringing on the coming morn The loud thunder, and the sounding trump will then soon be heard : oon the joining bones and the buzzing field, teeming with resurrection. Then from his exalted throne, the same Jesus shall call the world to judgment. The Father, now looking down from Tabor, 153 1MB MESSIAH. BOO. V red thrth Th Most Hjgh now caller! 171 I ' earth - The i" silence^ through th e t Wh ' r " ta % Messiah peechless ? w alHheSavfour'McrrL, M ""Pd b y when my thumW 9 ; r y trium P h ant sonff, BOOK V. THE MESSIAH. 1"5S tremulous accents, the pleasing sounds of tri- umph. Thus spake the Almighty. The seraph wen* forth, Jordan roared and thunder issued from Tabor. Slowly he descended from the mount of Olives, when dreadful gusts of midnight winds wafted to him the suppliant sounds ut- tei-ed by the great Messiah, and a silent tremor seized the astonished seraph. But when ad- vancing nearer he observed his distressful coun- tenance that shewed hig bitter anguish, he stood deprived of all his native beauty and heavenly splendor ; and seeming no longer an high im- mortal seraph, he resembled an inhabitant of the earth. Now the Saviour cast on him a look of dignity, mingled with a gracious smile, and with the glance, tjie seraph's immortal beauty and celestial radiance returned, when rising in a cloud, skirted with gold, he thus tri- umphant sung : Thou, Son of the Most High, what grateful rapture does a look from thee inspire ! I am found worthy to contemplate thine awful, thy divine sensations, and' from afar to view the mystery of thine agonies, and thy love to man. Ye devout, ye sacred emotions, continue to transport me beyond the limits of my finite ideas ; bear me from this gloom to the divine glory. Hail almighty Father, and tliou Son di- vine ! Thus shall the blessed children of the resurrection feel sensations new and sublime. As from deep amazement the Mediator has awaken- ed me, so, ye offspring of Adam, shall be awaken you ! This joyful tremor, this rapturous exultation ye also shall feel, when ye, trans- ported, rise to eternal life ! Then thou, O holy Saviour of men, who here liest prostrate in, the THE MESSIAH. BOOK V. dust shall sit on thy resplendent throne, and sum- mon ehe inhabitants to come to judgment ! With %hat -effusion, of joj will thj faithful servants I thee on thy judgment seat! With eyes sparkling with rapture, they will vtew the radiant marks of thy wounds, the memorials of thv love imprinted by thy dying on the cross. Thee O Jesus ! shall they celebrate with ceaseless halle- lujahs. They shall transported feel that they are immortal, and shall triumph in the glorious thought hat because thou livest, they shall live also, they 'hall for ever possess thy love, and for ever share tny glory ! KI Th !JV an ? ? loa ' while the divin Redeemer blessed the adoring seraph, with a look of grace and benignity: then bowed towards heaven in tearful silence. Thus the .expiring Iamb, without bemish, and without spot, wept, while he lay bleeding on the sacred altar. The angels, who with downcast look had viewed the Redeemer unable longer to bear the sight of his anguish,' withdrew. Gabriel kept his station, but veiled Eloa also remained ; bat wrapt his head in a midnight cloud. The earth stood still. Thrice it shook, as if preparing for its dissolution, and thrice it was restrained by the Great Jehovah. The Saviour now rising from the ground, the host of heaven again sang in jubilant strains, Past is the third hour of his exalted sufferings : past is the hour *hich to the repentant sinner brings everlasting Thus sang the heavenly host, while God ascended to his eternal throne. THE END OF TH I/FTH BOOK. THE |I MESSIAH. BOOK. VI. THE ARGUMENT. The Messiah is seized and bound. The assembled priests are filled with consternation at being informed that the guard were struck dead. Their fears are removed by the arrival of a second and a third messenger. Jesus being taken before Annas, Philogoes thither, and brings him to Caiaphas. John expresses the agitations of his mind. Portia, Pilate's wife, comes to see Jesus. The speeches of Philo and Caiaphas, with the evidence given by the suborned witnesses. Jesus, on declaring that he is the Son of God, is condemned. Eloa and Gabriel discourse on his sufferings. Portia deeply af- fected withdraws, and prays to the chief of the gods. Peter, in deep distress, tells John, that he has denied his Master, then leaves him, and deplores his guilt. AS the dying Christian, when approaching death shakes each relaxing nerve, prizes the solemn moments more than he esteemed whole days before ; for then his Almighty Father claims his last obedience, the last struggles of his virtue, which flowing from a heart now freed from gro- velling passions, rises towards the Source of Per- fection ; the soul then plumes her wings, and soars on. high, numbering the sacred minutes by fervent prayer ; while the all-seeing God looks down propitious,, and angels prepare the immortal crown : so the hours of the great, the mystic sabbath be- THE MESSIAH. BOOK Vf; came more solemn, as the gracious, the divine Redeemer hasted to bleed and die. Eloa, rapt in the contemplation of the great Messiah's distress, and the importance of this sacred time, soon unveiled liis face to Gabriel, and thus addressed his celestial friend : Didst thou see his sufferings ? Didst thou be- hold the anguish of his great and benevolent mind ? My admiration and surprise, no words in our celes- tial language can express ! Alas ! what has he still to suffer ? On every moment seems to hang an eternity ! Thousands of years, answered Gabriel, have elapsed since first I strove to learn the future won- ders of his love to obtain some knowledge, though obscure, of the Messiah's promised grace to man. Yet how have I erred ! Oh let us admire in si- lence ! We are encompassed by a holy labyrinth of wonders. We see nothing around us but tombs, and from them shall proceed angels of light. Happy mortals, sweet be your slumbers ! Then Jesus But ah behold ! Who is he that advances with wild gesture encompassed with lights ? Who are those wretches who seem sent from tho abyss of hell ? But he who equally created tht^ grains of sand, and the flam-ing suns who equally reigns orcr the worm and the seraph, knows their inmost thoughts, and is fully acquainted with all their tile designs ! What do I see ? Judas at their head ! he is their conductor ! the traitor will not thus elated walk when the last trump shall call forth the dust from those hills which cover them from the Judge ! While he thus spake, the multitude lift up their torches, and sought through the mazy groves. The great Emanuel perceived them, and sent against them a black cloud which hung over them, VI. THE MESSIAH. J5T spreading terror all around, Damp horrtr seised their minds : but the perfidious Judas defying the powerful admonition, and arming himself against the voice of conscience, softly cried. Where is he ? His favorites say they saw him on. mount Tabor, arrayed in celestial splendor ; but they shall soon see him in bonds ; and all their schemes of grandeur shall vanish But O my coward heart thou tremblest ! Can the coolness and gloom of night shake the courage of a man ? Finish thy work, and dare to pursue the road to wealth and happiness. Thus he spake to himself, and hasted forward. The Saviour seeing them approach, said to him- self, Far, very far are the eternal mansions from this abode of sinners. The humble path I now tread leads to the grave, yet will I walk in it. But it will shine refulgent, when the dead shall arise and the general judgment remove the veil. Judas Iscariot led the band. The priests had commanded that he should take armed men and seek for Jesus among the sepulchres. These were ordered to bind him, and to bring him before the council. Judas knew the place of solemn prayer, the solitary recess where, during the silence of the night, Jesus used to pour out his soul to the Most High, in fervent supplications for man. The un- grateful traitor had said to the band, Whomsoever I kiss, is he : take bim, and lead him away. But still the night had mercy on that perfidious disciple, and delayed his giving the insidious kiss. Yet soon the band with impotent fury advanced to the sleep- ing disciples ; when the Redeemer, moving towards them with awful dignity, said* Whom seek yc ? With rage and tumult, waving their flaming lights, they cried, Jesus the Nazarerie. Now were come the other disciples ; and now the angels who bad 158 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VI. retired, again came, and fixed their eyes on the Messiah, who, with that divine composure, with which he had commanded the agitated waves to be still, answered, I am he. Struck by his voice, they all fell speechless at his feet, and with them Judas. Thus lie in the martial field the dead. Thus stretched among the slain lies the furious xvarrior, when the sedate chief, from the quiet centre of the battle, sends around him destruction. But at length they awoke from their trance, and the traitor also arose from the earth. Over him hovered the angel of death, and he seemed on the point of being called to judgment ; but concealing the horrors of his mind, and the rancour of his heart, with an affected air of serene friendship, he went up to the holy Jesus, and crying, Hail Master ! saluted him. Now had he filled up the measure of his guilt, and by the basest and most impious action, had, like an infernal spirit, opened a w^ay to the deep abyss of terror and dismay. Yet the meek, the humble, the divine Jesus, filled with compassion, looked up to the traitor with an rye of pitv, saying. Ah Judas ! betraycst thou the Son of Mat! with a kiss? Ah unhappy Judas! wherefore art thou, come ? Then gently resigned himself up to the multitude. Peter no sooner beheld this, than his passions being enilamed, he, with eager impatience, broke through the disciples ; drew his sword, and rush- Bng with an intrepid countenance, on the multitude, struck at the servant of the high priest, and cutoff his ear. But the gracious Friend of mankind, smiling benignant, instantly healed the wound, and then looking on Peter, checked his ardour, saying, O my disciple ! put up thy swwl, and be at peace. Knowest thou not, that were I to pray for help to my Father, he would send me from BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 159 heaven legions^ of mighty angels ? but how then would the Scripture be fulfilled ? Then turning to the multitude, who rudely bound him, he cried, Are je come out as against a thief with swords and staves to seize me ; as against a vile malefactor, who had escaped from the hands of justice ? Were not I daily with you teaching in the temple ? To you have I taught the way of life : you have I instructed to shun the path of death and of destruc- tion : Ye then laid not your hands upon me. But this is your hour for accomplishing this work, o'f darkness. Here he ceased, and now was come to the brook of Ccdron. In the mean time the council of the priests and elders had assembled in the stately palace of Caiaphas and there remained agitated on the waves of fluctuating hope and fear. Their inquietude and anxious murmurs did not escape the greedy cars of the alarmed popalace, who, filled with. curiosity, crowded the marble stair-case that led to the council chamber, and filled with astonish- ment, trembling blessed the Holy Prophet, or stamping vented their maledictions. The priests now growing impatient, snid to each other, None of our messengers are returned. What can detain, them ? What means this delay ? He who has betrayed his master, has, perhaps, also betrayed us. Or, the Nazarene, according to his frequent prac- tice, has, by some illusion, escaped. Thus were they discoursing, when one of their messengers hastily entered the hall, with his hair erect, and a cold sweat covered his pallid coun- tenance, which was distorted by fear and terror. For some time he stood speechless, while all be- held him with looks of astonishment ; but at length recovering, he cried in a trembling voice, Ye priests and rabbies, we went according to your f0 THE MESSIAtf. Boo* VT. orders, and at last found Jesus of Nazareth beyond the brook, not far from the sepulchres. The sepulchres filled with horror did not affright us : but the sky was hung with blacker clouds than ever the eyes of man beheld ! Yet the band marched forward, while I stood at a distance. Soon I saw the prophet. Then was I seized I know uot liow it was ; but then was I seized with a shivering, that shook my whole frame ! Yet though they stood so near, they did not know him ; but rushed on those that were about him. He then cried with a firm voice, Whom do ye aeek ? Our men, still undaunted, called out Jesus the Nazarene. Then methinks I hear him still ! All my joints tremble! He answered, as with the voice of death, I am be ! No sooner had he spoke the words, than they all fell on their faces !- They now lie dead, and I only have escaped to bring the dreadful news. The priests at hearing these words, changed colour, and remained as motionless as the rocks. Philo, the hardened Philo, was alone able to speak, and his rage overcoming his fear, he cried with a furious voice, Thou, wretch, art cither one of his disciples, or art affrighted by the phantoms of the night. The open sepulchres made thee giddy, and filled thee with the thoughts of death. Fancy represented to thee the dead. The men we sent live ; they would not fall down at hii words. \Vhile he yet spake, another messenger entered, and cried, Yc priests and fathers, much have we suffered. Before him have we SHnk to the earth : for his look was dreadful, and death was in the words of his mouth. But yet we have taken and bound him. He himself held out his hands and suffered us to bind them, We took hiin> BOOK VI- THE MESSIAH. 161 trembling, lest we should again hear tlwi powerful, the fatal words. But now he comes alousj;, with silent patience, and has already entered the walls of Jerusalem. Scarce had he finished, when a third messenger entered, whose looks of joy shewed that he brought welcome tidings to the enemies of heavenly grace and spotless virtue. Bowing he spoke, and, in glad accents, cried, Blessed be you, ye priests ot the living God, and ye venerable fathers ! may all who rise against you, and all the enemies of the Lord, be destroyed like this Galilean ! We are bringing him bound with bonds, which neither his words nor smiling countenance will be able to unloose. All his followers have left him, and he is now near the palace. May God give you his blood ! He had no sooner concluded, than Satan entered the assembly, and with him an infernal joy that fascinated the priests, causing to hover before their eyes the appearance of the streaming blood of the Victim, and the paleness of his approaching death ; while their ears were struck with the voice of his torments. They then imagined his lips closed ia everlasting silence, while over his bones passed the feet of the saints. Long did they remain under this delirium : hut Jesus not appearing, their fears and rage at length returned. They then sent other messengers and with them w eat Philo. The guard had stopped by the way, and taken Jesus to Annas, one of the chief priests ; for, while the heavy vapours of the night were falling, the hoary priest had left his bed to see the man who, he imagined, had spread confusion through Judea. John followed at a distance. Genial sleep had now fled from his eyes, and melancholy sat on his faded cheek. At length, recollecting that this 162 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VI. priest was void of that rancour which corroded the heart of Caiaphai, be suppressed his timorous dcjccti'ti, and entering the hall saw his beloved Lord standing as a criminal before Annas, who thus spake : Thou art to be tried by Caiaphas. f thou art innocent, as the great works thou hast done have spread abroad thy fame, not only the nations of the earth but the God of Abraham, and his children, will protect thee ! Say then, what hast thou taught ? Who were thy disciples ? Didst thou teach the laws of Moses ? Didst thou did thy disciples observe them ? Annas now paused ; he wondered at the prophet- like mien with which Jesus stood before him ! and admired his composed dignity, undebased by pride. The great Emanuel condescended thus to answer : Freely I taught in the synagogues and in the tem- ple ; whither the Jews always resort. Why then askcst thou me ? ask them who heard me. While he thus spake, Philo rushed in. The assembly was instantly in a tumult. Then an officer who had the soul of a slave, committed against the gracious Saviour, an action of such mean inhuma- nity, that it was thought worthy of being foretold by the prophets. Philo, with imperious voice, now cried, Away with this seditious fellow, that he may receive sentence of death ; on which the guard of the blessed Redeemer again seized him, and, unresisted, took him thence. John no sooner saw the Messiah in Philo's power, than his face became overspread with a mortal paleness ; his eyes were dimmed ; he trembled, and grief took possession of his heart. At last, with unsteady step, leaving the palace, he beheld, at a distance, the moving torches. I will follow No I dare not uow follow thee, cried he ; yet I entrat r .VI. TIIL .JdlJSSUli. 165 thee, O thou best, of men ! that if God has decreed that they shall be suffered to put thee to death, I ..who have, loved thee, and still love thee, with an affection that exceeds that of a brother, may be . permitted to die with thee ! that I may not see thee struggle in the agonies of death, nor hear the last last blessing that proceed from thy fal- tering lips ! Is there no deliverer? no deliverer upon earth ? none in heaven ? Do ye too sleep, yc angels, who sang 1 , when his exulting mother brought him forth ? Alas ! when your bosannas resounded in her ears, little did she think of his terrible death ! There is no other deliverer, but thee alone, O God ! the deliverer of the living and the dead ! O thou omnipotent Father of man- kind, have mercy on me, and let him not die !- Let not him die, who is the most holy of all the children of Adam ! O 'thou Source of Mercy T give these murderers these cruel murderers, a heart ! fill their souls with the gentle feelings of humanity ! Ah ! I no longer see him ! the moving- lights disappear ! Now now they sentence him to die ! May their cruel souls melt, O Jesus, at beholding thy suffering virtue ! But who is this roving in the dark ? Is it not Peter ? He has, perhaps, heard our dear Master condemned to suffer death. How hastily he walks ! Now' he stands still I no longer hear his footsteps. How solitary is this place ! How silent this dreadful night ! Ah ! this silence is fled. What tumul- tuous noise is that ? Perhaps they are hastily, under the cover of the night, dragging' hini,' to death, lest the compassion of the people should deliver him lest the melting stones, or their weep - ing swords should see his death; and that the an- gels alone may behold his blood ! Ah ! have . pity ! -haye pity ou him Have pity on me ! and, M JG1 THE MESSIAH. BooiVi. O thou Father of Mercies, who hast compassion on all thy works, let him not die ! Thus, in broken sentences, intermixed with sighs, he, weeping, gave rent to his thoughts, while he slowly moved to the high priest's pa- lace, and there continued standing without in the dark. Philo, the furious leader of the brutal troop that t guarded Jesus, hasted before them to the council, where they perceived by his triumphant look, his lofty deportment, and flaming eyes, that he who had healed the sick, and raised the dead, was safe in custody, and near the palace. Before they had time to applaud Philo's active zeal, the Messiah was brought in ; and seeing him entering, they trembled with mingled rage and joy. With a serene countenance he ascended the steps, and stood before the judgment seat. All dignity, even the dignity of a mortal prophet, had he now laid aside, and appeared as tranquil as if only viewing the fall of some murmuring stream ; or, as if his mind, after being long elevated with the sublimity of divine converse, was now relaxed, while he indulged a short interval of pleasing and familiar contemplations. He retained only some traces of his hgaven-born excellence ; but these were such as no angel could assume, and none but those celes- tial spirits fully discover. Philo and Caiaphas, filled with rancour, had their eyes rivettcd to the floor. The seat of judgment gave the latter the privilege of speaking first, and the former, from pride, envy, and jealousy, was ready to assume the same privilege : yet both continued lilent. On the side of the palace, where a few lonely lamps presented a dim light, was a circular staircase that led to a gallery in the judgment ball, where BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 165 leaning on a marble balustrade, Portia, the wife 1 of Pilate, stood among other women, in the bioom of beauty. Her person alone was young, for her mind was adorned with the wisdom of riper age. In her the fair blossoms blowed, and produced fruit, as in the mother of the Gracchi, to enrich the degenerate Romans. Prompted by the desire of seeing the great Prophet, Portia had hasted thither, with a few attendants ; for the ostentation of grandeur, and every idea of superiority, she had laid aside. Eternal providence had directed her teps ; and while the rancorous hatred of the priests filled her gentle mind with all the vehe- mence of indignation ; she, with admiration and earnest solicitude, saw him who had raised the dead stand with calm composure, before his persecutors. With different passions was he viewed by Philo, and thus spake the hypocrite : Bring him nearer, and bind him faster. But before we begin his trial, let us lift up holy hands to God, and praise him, for having, at length pronounced his sentence, and his no longer proving us, by keeping silence. Here he lift up bin hands, and added ; O Jehovah ! hear the prayer of thjr people. Thus may all perish who rise up against thee ; may their name, and the place of tfceir abode be forgotten ! May they never be remem* bered, except where the bones of the dead lie scattered, and where the hiils have drunk the blood of those that rebel against thee ! Yes, we will praise thee ! we will praise thee ! we will encompass thine altars, rejoicing, and Israel shall be a song of triumph : The sinner shall bleed ; for hitherto Judah hath shut his eyes, and yet did see : hath stopped his ears, and yet did hear : but at length the wild illusion is vanished ; and we behold him bound who pretended to have been 16fl TirE MESSIAH. BOCTK VI. before Abraham. Often, indeed, have the people with manly resolution, plucked off the galling shackles of error, and taken up stones to slay the blasphemer ! Yet again they suffered themselves to be deceived. But, O thou Impostor ! this day is the period of their blindness, and of thy deceit ! Though the people here present are but few in number, yet among these, many will, at our call, witness against thee. The high priest will summon them forth. Meanwhile I charge thee, and call all Judea to- witness the truth of the accusation I charge thee with blasphemy and sedition. Thou who hast cried in a manger, hast made thyself a God : hast pretended to forgive sins, and to raise the dead : but thy mother and thy kindred shall soon see thee expire. Then awake thyself ! Thou halt not enjoy such soft slumbers as those thou hast raised. Thou shalt lie down with the slain, whom God has rejected. There sleep there feel the iron sleep of death, where the revolving sun, and the wandering moon shall drink up corrupted fumes, tiM death is satiated, and Golgotha becomes white with human bones. Thus thus mayest thou lie, and if there be a greater, a more horrid curse, streaming with seven-fold imprecations, which midnight hears, and the howling graves join in ut- tering, may it alight. Here the bloated lips of the blasphemer were instantly stiffened, and his distorted visage overspread with the paleness of death. In the moment when he began to denounce his dreadful curses, his conscience, in vain, smote him, for having no fear of the Almighty ; and now an angel of death, invisible to all besides, with a look of terror, stood before him, and thus addressed the hardened sinner. The curses that proceed from thy mouth, O thou most execrable hypocrite ! shall fall on thy- BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 167 self. The dark, the bloody hour of thy dissolution approaches with rapid wing. Soon will it come, O thou most flagitious hypocrite ! Soon wilt thou suffer a death as dreadful as ever mortal died, with- out the least mercy, the least token of relenting fa- vour from thy Creator and thy Judge. When mid- night surrounds thee, when death walks in the black- est gloom, when the king of terrors has struck the important blow, and thy struggling spirit, filled with horror, takes its flight ; then, in the valley of Benhinnon, shall thou see my face. Thus spake the angel of death, in whose lowring front were gathered clouds of wrath. From his lofty glaring eye flashed revenge. He stood like a towering rock, and on his shoulders fell his hair, black as the shades of night. Yet did not the destroyer smite him : but he encompassed him with his terrors, and made the accents of death roar around him. Philo, as much as mortal can, experienced the horrors of the damned ; horrors rushing upon his soul with instantaneous and overwhelming rapidity. He wag struck with sad dismay : his strength failed him : he was visibly seized with an universal trembling. Still the ter- rors of God ran through the very marrow in his bones : but as a worm, crushed by the foot of the passenger, curls writhing upwards its convulsed frame, and rears aloft its head : thus, with dis- torted efforts, he at length, after a long pause, struggling strove to proceed ; but only added, What I, overpowered by the offender's guilt, cover with silence, the issue will unfold. Thou high priest make haste to try him. He ceased, stiffen^ ed by fear, and unable farther to vent his rage. A profound silence now reigned throughout the assembly. Portia had examined Jesus, and was struck at the noble serenity of his countenance 168 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VI. during 1 the impious, the inhuman speech of his inveterate foe ; her eye beamed with pity, her heart beat with redoubled strength, and sublime ideas filled her mind. Her eager looks now ranged over the whole assembly, to see if she could find no generous and noble soul, who, like her, admired the Prophet. But she sought in vain, goodness of heart was not to be found among a people ripe for destruction, who were soon to see in flaming ruins their boasted temple, where Jehovah now no longer dwelt. One, however, she observed warming himself at a fire in the outer room with the crowd, who with fierce looks seemed to reproach him ; when turning pale, he with confusion looked wildly round, and then fixed his eyes on Jesus. Ah ! said she to herself, that is surely the Prophet's friend, he wishes his deliverance : he, perhaps, ' seeks to deliver him, and fain would he teach the rude populace to walk in the fuwr path marked out by this wise man ; like him to live a life of sobriety and the purest virtue ; like him to be the tender friend of the human race, and, without ostentation, to delight in doing good. But they, void of understanding, threaten to drag him also before the priests and elders. This strikes him with terror : he trembles, and wanting the firm- ness of this good Prophet, shrinks at the menaces of death. Perhaps the afflicted mother of the much injured Jesus, suffused in tears, besought him to go and save from death the dearest, the best of Sons. Oh with what pain, with what agony of grief would his amiable, his blessed mother have been filled, had she been here, and heard the rancorous speech of that odious Pharisee ! But why oh why do I feel this deep concern for this unknown mother ? Why is rnv heart filled with these strange emotions for a man whose BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 169 person I never before have seen, though often have I heard of his virtues ? Do I wish to have brought forth one who has so noble a mind, and to have given him as a blessing to the world ? O thou mother ! thou happy mother ! pride thyself in him, and may thy life flow serene ! May thine eye not see him expire ! Yet his death will afford an Instructive lesson to the world. Now the high priest, rising from his seat, cried, Though all Judea feels the burthen which the man before us has laid on every shoulder, and the whole world too well knows that he has impious- ly rebelled against the Great Jehovah, who has displayed his terrors on mount Moriah ! that he has rebelled against the priests of the Most High God; and against the great Caesar : though not Caiaphas alone, but all Judea, demand that sen- tence should be passed against him, and that death should strike the blow, yet will we examine wit- nesses, and hear his defence. 'Tis true, Israel is not now assembled, and most of the witnesses are involved in the shades of night O ye devout people who now sleep, soon will ye awake to pucer festivals than those in which the traitor joined ; for among the few who are here, wit- nesses will not be wanting. Let him who works righteousness and loves his country, stand forth, and declare the truth. Thus spake Caiaphas. Then came forth wit- nesses false and corrupt. They had received the hire of iniquity, and Philo, with most industrious care had busily employed himself in filling their narrow grovelling minds with calumny and the basest malice. One with an inflamed look, leering on the Messiah, cried : How he profaned the temple we all know : but in no instance did he violate that sacred place 170 THE MESSIAH. Bflo* VI. '' * )<" i * - r --n*. T ' with greater impiety, than when he drove away those worthy persons, the dealers in offerings. \Ye were assembled to pray, 'when coming with furj lie turned the sellers of the beasts for the sacrifices, out of the* holy portico. 'What veneration can he have for the Eternal, who' was guilty of such vio- lence in his temple, as to drive awajHthe offerings by which God is honoured ? After him appeared another, who. with equal folly and malice misrepresented the divine zeal of the blessed Jesus : falsely adding, thafhe would have taken possession of the temple, and from thence Lave fallen on Jurusalem ; but that his followers, who, with repeated -shouts, had in the wilderness hailed him king, here proved fals.te; and obliged him to fly. Then arose a Levite, who, with a contemptuous air, cried, Has he not blasphemed the Most High by his enormoui pride, in pretending that he had the power to forgive sins ? On the holy Sabbath, he connived at his disciples, when they, regardless of the sacred day, plucked ears of standing corn t On the holy Sabbath too he restored the withered hand ! and yet this profane offender, who thus breaks the commandments which the Most High deliver- ed to Moses on mount Sinai, pretends to forgive fine* Now spake the fourth. With contemptuous smile he arose, and in the voice of ridicule, said, I too must give witness : but what need is there, O fathers, of witness against one who, giddy with his vain enterprizes, builds on the most romantic dreams ? He has said, and peop!*> no wiser than himself stared and wondered. He has said, I say, that he would destroy the temple, and within three days a new one should arise from the dust, built toy himself. This before me, he presumed to utter. BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 171 A man whose hair was whitened by. time, then disgraced his hoary locks by his puerile sentiments. This sinner, said he, keeps company with publicans. I myself was one of that number, and maintain, that from them he was learnt to despise Moses, and to heal diseases on the Sabbath. Thus they witnessed, while looks of expectation were darted on all sides on Jesus, each impatient to hear his defence. So around the dying cbris- tian, whose njind is filled with rapturous hopes and dawning; joys, stands a crowd of base mockers whispering, The animating dream of immortal life will, like himself, soon disappear. Yet still he enjoTO the reviving prospect of endless bliss ; prayi for himself and for them, and smiles at the grave. Thus the expecting crowd gazed on Jesus. But silent was the Prince of Peace. On which Caia- phas, prompted by impetuous rage, cried : Thou sinner, nearest thou in silence what these witness against thee ? But the Messiah still con- tinued to hold his peace ; on which the haughty pontiff, still more exasperated, raising his voice., cried, Speak: I conjure thee by the .living God, to answer, whether thou be Christ, the only begot- ten Son of the Father ? Jesus replied, Thou hast said it. Caiaphas now stood up : his eyes flaming destruction. Satan joined in the same look, while Abaddon, the angel of death, who attended Philo, thus indulged his rapid thoughts : Werexhe to esteem these murderers worthy of an answer, it would be that of mercy. But the anger of the Most High is kindled, and the wicked and impenitent will be reserved for judgment. The last day will at length arr ive. Thou great and terrible day of the Lord, t wilt arise in all thy dreadful lustre ; then will I salute thee, thou day of retribution, as the fairest of all the SODS of 172 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VI. Eternity ; for then the balance of justice shall be held forth, and every man be judged according to his works. I will hail thee, O festive day ! when the righteous shall triumph, and with palms in their hands shall encompass the now persecuted and insulted Messiah ; while these earth-born rebels against the Eternal will be involved in woe, and cast from the presence of Lord, and the glory of his power. I will therefore veil myself, and be silent: but. my silence is the forerunner of death and vengeance. In an instant these thoughts passed through the angels mind. He then fixed his eyes on Caiaphas, who had condemned the Messiah before he spake. Meanwhile the Saviour lift up his eyes to heaven, and then fixing them on the high-priest's face, cried, I say unto thee, hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power } and coming in the clouds of heaven. Thus shall Jesus open the last day, when he shall come in tremendous glory, descending amidst the songs of angels, and their sounding harps. Here the Saviour opened a sudden view of futurity, and with no less rapidity, from the amazed eye, closed the tremendous scene. Caiaphas, now impelled by a torrent of rage, observed no measures, but stepping forth impetu- ous, with death lowring on his brow, rent his gar- ment, and rolling his fiery eyes, called out to the mute assembly, Speak, ye have heard his blas- phemies ! What need have we of farther wit- nesses ? You have heard what he says. Speak ; What think ye ? Then all cried out. Let him die ! Let him die ! Yes, let him die ! rejoined Philo, swelling with rage ; I must give vent to the fulnes* of my heart : Let him die the accursed death of the cross ! a sharp and lingering death. BOOK VI. THE MESSIAH. 173 Let his mouldering bones receive no sepulture ' Let his corpse putrify in the parchiugsun ! and on the day when God shall call forth the dead, may he continue deaf, and not hear the divine voice. Here lie ceased, and the multitude in wild confusion, rushed on the holy Jesus. O sacred muse of Sion's hill ! lend me the veil with which thou coverest thy face, when singing thy orisons before the Eternal : that I like the blessed spirits on high, with humble reverence, may cover mine eyes, adoring. Gabriel and Eloa now standing apart and unseen, thus die- coursed : O Eloa, how deep are the mysteries of the Most High ! How inscrutable are hit ways ! Nothing have I seen that equals the deep humiliation of the Son of him who shone with such resplendent flory ! of him who on high subdued the rebel ost ! of him before whom the bodies of the dead, shaken by his creative voice, shall, at his call, awake, mid the earth suffer, as in the throws of child-birth, when he, attended by the loud re- sounding trump, the angels of death, and the falling stars, shall come to judgment. Behold, cried Eloa, at the formation of this terrestrial globe, he spake, and the light diffused abroad its enlivening rays. A storm, replete with animating life, rushed before him ; and a thousand times a thousand living beings assembled on bis right hand. At his command the sun, glowing with invigorating and reviving light, turned on its center. Then arose the harmony of the spheres ! then he created the visible heavens ! Behold, at his command, replied Gabriel, eter- nal night fled and skulked at a distance from the wide creation ! Eloa, tliou wast by when he stood over the dark abyss : when at his call appeared an 174 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VI. enormous mass inert and deformed : it spread before him like broken suns, or the ruins of an hundred worlds. He bid it glow, and then through the regions of death arose the blue sulphureous blaze ! Then was torture known ; then did the yells of anguish reverberate through the deep pro- found Thus discoursed these great celestial spiritg. Meanwhile Portia, unable longer to bear the in- sults offered to the divine Jesus, went up to the top of the palace : where, having for some time silently indulged her tears, she lift up her watry eyes, and her fair hands towards the lowering sky, and thus gave vent to the painful sensations of her troubled mind : O thou first of beings, who createdst the world from chaos, and gavest to man a heart formed to feel the mild sensations of humanity ! whatever be thy name, God ! Jupiter ! or Jehovah ! the God of Romulus, or of Abraham ! O thou Father and Judge of all, may I presume to pour out my lamentations before thee ! What offence has this peaceable, this righteous man com- mitted, that he should be inhumanly put to death ? Dost thou, with delight look down from high Olympus on suffering virtue ? To man indeed it affords an awful admiration, a wonder mixed with terror : but canst thou who hast formed the stars, be filled with wonder ? No in thee amazement has no place ! More sublime are the sensations of the God of gods ! Surely thy divine eyes cannot, without pity, behold the guiltless suffer ? nor wilt thou fail to reward him, who, thus calmly resigned, offers up himself a sacrifice to virtue, and to thee ! as for me, compassion flows down my cheeks. But thou, where there i TIO trembling tear, canst discern the hidden au- guish of suffering f irtue. O thou Father of Boox VI. THE MESSIAH. 175 and men, reward, and behold, if possible,, this righ- teous man with admiration ! As she now stooped over the balustrade that en- compassed the Hat roof of the palace, she heard below mournful accents, that seemei to proceed from a person in despair. These sounds of grief were uttered by Peter. John, who had continued standing at the door, hearing Peter's groans, and the plaintive broken accents that burst from him, with tender pity cried, Ah ! Peter, is he yet living ? Thou weepest S thou art silent ! John ! returned Peter, leave me leave me to die alone! I cannot survive my guilt ! Our gracious Master is lost ! But more lost am I ! O Judas ! Judas ! thou execrable disciple, hast betrayed him ! I too have been false ; before all who have asked me, I, miserable that I am, have denied him ! Fly from me, John, and leave me to die in silence. Do thou do thou also die Jesus is lentenced to suffer death ; and I like a base, a pusillanimous wretch, have publicly before sinners, denied him ! Thus Peter, in the agony of his grief, confessed his guilt to John, who, struck with surprise and concern, continued silent. The repentant disciple then fiasted from him, and stood in the dark, by the dew besprinkled corner stone of that spacious building, against which faintly leaning, he sunk down, and declining upon it his drooping head, long wept in silence. But at last in broken sen- tences, thus expressed the emotions of his agitated mind. O death ! let thy hideous form now ft>r ever cease to affright me ! -Turn, O Jesus ! turn away that tender, that killing look ! Ah ! I, ungrateful ! have committed the foulest, the blackest deed ! I, like a base coward, have denied thee, my friend ! my gracious Master ! thee 176 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VI- whom I loved thee who lovedst me with an affection superior to that of the kindest friend ! thee whose godlike virtues, whose benevolence, whose piety, more than thy miracles, render thee all divine ! my grovelling timorous soul, what hast thou done ? in the great day of retribution, my dear Lord will disown me ! disown me before his faithful disciples, and all the holy angels ! This this I deserve. Yet, O Jesus, whom I still love ! compassionate my anguish, and let me not hear the dreadful words, Depart from me, I know thee not ! O horrid horrid thought ! Alas ! alas ! what have I done ? The more I think of my crime, the deeper I feel its envenomed sting ! Thus with conscious shame, and deep remorse, shall I languish out my wretched life, and lingering die ! Here he ceased, and silent indulged his (ears. Near him stood Orion, his guardian angel, who- with soft pity, and seraphic joy, observed his penitential sorrow. Peter now falling on his bended knees, cast up his tearful eyes towards heaven, and, in a low voice cried, Thou awful Judge supreme, the Father of men and angels, and of my Lord, thy blessed Son ! Oh pity pity my distress ! Thou knowest the anguish of this contrite heart ! I have denied basely denied Jesus, my Lord ! my gracious Master ! and my Friend ! Yet extend thy mercy to me, ungrateful ! Forgive, forgive this soul, so dastardly, and so vile. He will die ! Unworthy am I to die with my dear Lord But before he bows his head to the grave before he gives his last blessing to his faithful disciples, may I once more see him cast a gracious look on me and may his dyingseyes cheer me with forgiveness ! To thee, O Jesus ! would I (hen sue for pardon, and not for a blessing. ,1 Boos VI. THE MESSIAH. 177 would entreat thee to let me hear from thy Iip that thou forgivest rne : for my guilt will not per- mit me to say, My Lord, hast thou but one blessing 1 , and that confined to these thy righteous, thy faith- ful disciples ! Then if by my tears, my humble icrrow, my deep contrition, I prevail on thee (o let me hear that I have obtained forgiveness, I will go, and before the whole world acknowledge thee as my Lord While it is thy will, O my adorable Creator, that I should live among men, it shall be my sweet- test employment to seek out the good, the pious, the pure of heart, to whom, with incessant grief and tears, will I say, Yes, I knew Jesus, the most holy, the dearest, the best of men, the Son of the Most High God ! Yet was I unworthy to know him ! I was one of his chosen disciples ! He loved us all he loved me yet I, unworthy, did not return his love ! for in the hour of his distress, my courage failed, and I no longer loved the most holy of men, the best, the most divine ! His kind, his generous* heart overflowed with benevolence ; he lived for others, and not to himself. He fed the poor : he healed the sick : he raised the dead to life. Hence he was hated ! hence he was murdered by wretches dead to humanity ! I will teach you the words of wisdom that fell from his gracious lips. But first, arise, ye men, and come away, let us go to his grave, and weep ! Ah ! his grave ! how dreadful the thought ! O Jesus ! thou divine Jesus ! Where wilt thou rest in peace ? Where will the rage of the cruel leave thee a grave ? Thus with deep anguish, and humble fervor, Peter deplored his ingratitude to him, whom the tinners of the earth, in their words acknowledge, and in their actions deny : but he wept, and obtain- ed the martyr's crown. THE END OP THE SIXTH BOOK. ./. . THE ; MESSIAH. BOOK. VII THE ARGUMENT. ISloft welcomes the returning morn with an hymn. The Messiah is led to Pilate, and accused by Caiaphas and Philo. The dreadful despair and death of Judas. Mary comes, sees her divine Son standing before the Romaa governor, and filled with grief, applies to Portia, who Comforts her, and tells her dream. The Messiah is ser.t to Herod, who expecting to see him work a miracle is disappointed : when Caiaphas observing his dissatis- faction, accuses Jesus, who, after being treated with deri- sion, is sent back to Pilate. That governor endeavours to save him; put is prevailed on to release Barabbas, and condemn Jesus. He is scourged, arrayed in a pur- ple robe, and crowned with thorns, and in this condition Pilate shews him to the people to excite their compassion, but finding all in vain, he delivers him to the priests, who cause him to be led to crucifixion* ELD A now stood amidst the purple blushes of the opening morn, encompassed by the guardians of the earth, and in slow and solemn strains joined his lyre to his melodious vriice. To thee, eternity, is born this awful day this day of blood ! It hastes to appear. It rises in the heavens replete with mercy, and with grace divine. Hail, all gracious Father ! who gavestthy Son to die for mail ! and from blackest guilt bringest forth smiling peace and immortality. Hail, Saviou? M 180 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VII. meek and holy ! This awful day shall shew thy love to man, while all the wondering host above, enraptured shall admire thy condescension, and extol thy divine philanthropy and grace. Ye cherubim and seraphim tune your golden harps, and chant his praise, who now will bleed and die, that man may live. Thou now shalt bruise the serpent's head, and break the sting of death. From the earth shall angels rise ; and quitting their mortal clay, appear in radiant forms ; while eternal rest shall close the train of thine exalted triumphs. Hail blessed day, replete with mercy, and with grace divine ! Behold the sun now begins to smile with more refulgent lustre on this earthly globe. .See how his slanting rays dart along the nether sky ! Hail day of sacred rest, and solemn joy in heaven, in which the seraphs lay their crowns before the eternal throne adoring. Let all the wide creation join to praise the suffering Jesus, and suns and worlds innumerable admire and cele- brate his mercy, and his love divine. Thus sang Eloa, while his sacred hymn resounded through the heavens. Now had the high-priest assembled his creatures in the inner hall, where sitting in council, they conspired against the holy Jesus. There in deep consultation, they debated on the methods by which they might bring over Pilate to join their bloody purpose ; on the measures to b taken with the multitude ; and on the manner in which the Saviour should die. But the proud Philo despising them too much to attend to their advice, abruptly left the assembly, and sought the Messiah, whom he found sitting with the guard at the declining fire. Before him, with menacing port, and quick step, he walked to and fro : till, at length, he fixed his threatening eye, gleaming with BOOK Vlt. fHE MESSIArf. 18i revengeful fury on Jesus. He then stood still : but amidst all the ebullitions of rage he foresaw, with fluttering anxiety, a train of difficulties that opposed his design : these he provided against, by placing before his mind every expedient which eloquence, the authority of the priests, or any external object might afford : leaving nothing to chance. At length, recollecting that Jesus might be rescued by the furious populace, his heart began to fail ; but checking his fears, and summoning; all his courage,* he resolved to put him to death, or to perish in the attempt. Then considering that the time for executing his fell purpose was now arrived, his heart again fluttered ; but he soon suppressed the tumult within, and now full of his resolutions, the slight airy web prepared by Tain precautions, he returned to the council ; where he instantly cried, with a loud voice, Still, fathers do you delay ! Does not the dawn already appear ? Shall he yet live till the evening ? Rouzed at Philo's words, the council suddenly broke up ; and the guard rudely laying their hands on the blessed Jesus, they with a formidable body of the priests, scribes, and elders, led him to Pilate. Cold was the breath of the morning; and the glimmering light of the rising day now unveiled to Jesus the temple, which was only for a few hour* to prefigure a nobler sacrifice, than was ever offered on its smoakiug altars. From that struc- ture he turned his eyes to heaven. He was hurried along, and early as it was, was soon attended by a numerous multitude : for report had not concealed the transactions of the night. Messengers were dispatched to inform Pilate of their coming, and they had scarcely arrived, when that governor, td his great surprise, beheld all the tribe of Judah appear before him, onlv to bring a dubious charge ' N % 162 THE MESSIAH. BOOK Vlf. against a single roan. Having pressed up the ample stair-case, -which led to the judgment hall, they stopped in an open gallery before it, called Gabbiitha, where Pilate had caused his seat to be placed : for the approaching festival did not per- mit their entering the court of justice. There, in superb state, sat Pilate on the aeat of judgment, who immediately cried, Of what do the elderi of Israel accuse the prisoner ? and How ! added he, interrupting himself, do I see Caiaphas himself here ? This he spake aloud, with his eyes fixed more on Jesus than on the assembly. The high- priest then advancing nearer, said : We flatter ourselves, that Pilate hath such an opinion of the fathers of Israel as to be persuaded that they would not have brought this man before him, were be not a criminal. Yes, Pilate, he is a criminal, and his crime greater than has ever been committed since Israel has enjoyed the happiness of being under thy government. With such indignation has his guilt filled the fathers of Judca, that they are unable to represent before thee, in a clear light, the impious opposition this Jesus has made against the laws of our prophet, and the holy temple ! or how the sorcerer, by his fascinating speeches, and a thousand pretended miracles, has seduced the people ! Long, very long, O Pilate ! has he deserved death. Here Pilate interrupting him, cried, Then take him, and judge him according to your law. Why, O Roman ! resumed the high priest, dost thou roock us ? Thou canst not but know, that it is not lawful for us to put any man to death. Here he paused, vexed that Pilate should oblige them to, recollect their lost freedom : but soon continued, Thou knowest what submission, what unreserved and uushakeu fidelity \\e have shews to BOOK VII. THE MESSIAH. Tiberius., our Sovereign, and the father of his country. This Jesus whom thouseest before thee, J has assembled the people in the wilderness of Judea, where, by his factious speeches, he hath incited them to shake oft* their subjection to Caesar, and to make him king. He pretended to be the person foretold by the prophets as the deliverer of Judab. He searched into their inmost thoughts, learnt their sentiments, sympathized in their con- cerns, and when they were hungry in the desert, supplied them with food. How greatly he hai by these means attached them to himself, appears from the manner in which he made his public entry into Jerusalem But I shall not attempt to describe the odious pomp and rejoicings of that profane day. Thou thyself must have observed them, and have heard the rude acclamations, the bosannas, the frantic exultations of the maddening populace, which doubtless shook even this solid edifice. At this Pilate only smiled : on which Philo, repressing the heat of his malice, and all the fury of ungoverned rage, calmly began, Could I, O thou wise Roman, imagine, that thou wouldst suffer thyself to be so deceived by a specious shew of humility, as to believe the proud traitor incapable of forming ambitious schemes of rebellion, I should continue silent. But thou knowest mankind. This Jesus, however contemptible he may seem, while bound and a prisoner, made a very different appearance in the desert* of Galilee. I beg, O Pilate, thy patient hearing, while I lay before thee a slight sketch of his projects. First, by the arts already mentioned by the high-priest, he practised on the infatuated multitude. He then proceeded to. try how far he could govern them. Bat how did the triiil answer bis presumptuous attempt ? THE MESSIAH. Boos VII. Confident discourses,, eloquence sublime," now in- deed lying dormant, and fictitious miracles, gave him success. His projects ripening apace, he moved the multitude to make him king. They flocked about him, and the air resounded with their applause. This he perceived, and the more to inflame their zeal, \vithdrew from their sight. This succeeded. They went in quest of him, and the rolling stream was swelled by the accession of new currents. At length finding their strength equal to the end proposed, he no longer avoided them ; but entered Jerusalem in triumph. Yet, however great was the attachment of the multitude to him, it went not so far as to induce them to compel the fathers of Jerusalem to go out and meet their king. And be assured, O Pilate ! that had they dared to make the attempt, there is not a hoary head among all those thou seest before thee, nor any of us who serve at the altar, who would not with joy have bled in the cause of God, and of Ciesar. The divine Messiah, without shewing the least emotion, remained plunged in pr. live branded as the most treacherous most ungrateful most accursed ! Have I not betrayed nay, murdered the holy Jesus once my friend ? for this the grave opens wide its gaping jaws and hell !-^-Oh horror horror inexpressible ! Sure hell cannot be worse ! I'll know the worst. Die wretch die ! kill also the soul, which would carry its wretchedness beyond the grave. Thought, thou ad my torment my curse ! I would kill thought ! Thou thinking principle, so wretched, and that yet shudders at this dread deed of black despair, to thce I wish destruction ! Thus, with wandering look he spake, and then with fury cursed, and raged against the Eternal. Ithuriel, and Obaddon, the angel of death, had followed his steps. They saw him stop under a spreading tree, and perceived on h^s countenance the hideous traces of despair, when Ithuriel, with precipitate voice, said to Obaddon, Behold he is going to die by hia own hand ! I who have been his angel, was willing once more to see him ; but I abandon him to thee, and to the dread effects of his rash despair. Yes, I was once his guardian,, hut thoq angel of ^leath seize thy victim, I veil riiyself, and fly from this scene o,f horror and turn away my eyes. Then Oh addon, rising to the of an adjacent hill, stretched toward} BOOK VII. THE MESSIAH. 187 heaven his right hand, in which he held a flaming sword, and uttered the solemn words pronounced by the angels of death, when man filling; up the Pleasure of his guilt, impiously deseits the post allotted him by the great Creator, and flying in the face of sovereign mercy, which ever smiles on true repentance, murders himself. O death, I conjure thee, by the awful name of the great Omnipotent, to make this man thy prey ! His blood be upon himself. Behold thou, to thee, extinguishes! the sun. Life and death lie before thee : but thou, wretched mortal, shortencst the time appointed thee by sovereign wisdom, and chusest death. Withdraw thy light, O sun ! and on him, come the agonies of expiring nature ! O grave, open wide thy tremendous jaws ! and seize him, O corruption ! His blood be upon himself. Judas heard the voice of the immortal. Thus, at 'midnight, the wandering traveller, in a lonely forest, listens to the distant storm which howls in the mountains, and tears up the cloud-topped cedars on their lofty summits. Filled with all the frenzy of despair, he answered, Too well I know that voice : It is the dying voice of Jesus ! thou demandest my blood ! Thou shalt be satis- fied. Thus crying, with look wild and furious, he leapt from the crag of a shelving rock, and was suspended in the air. Obaddon himself was asto- nished, and started back. The amazed struggling soul, ere the breaking of his convulsed heart, thrice shook his whole frame ; and at the fourth, the stretcliing cord, by which he hung, broke : he fell on the craggy rock, and death drove his frantic spirit from its earthly mansion. It arose upwards. Volatile spirits followed from the squalid corpse, and, swifter than thought, gathered round it, and became an aerial b.ody,, that^ with clearer eyes. 2SS THE MESSIAH. BOOK VII. the soul might behold the dreadful abyss, and, with fitier and more terrifying ear, distinguish the thunders of the awful Judge rolling on high : but it was a body odious to the sight, weak, and only sensible of pain. Soon had the soul recovered from this stupor of death. It began to think, and said, Am I again sensible ? What am I now ? How light I raise myself on high in the air ! Are these bones ? No, they are not but yet I have a body ! How mysterious ! Who am I ? Dreadful are my perceptions ! I feel myself mi- serable ! Am I Judas, who died by his owri hands ? Wliere am I ? Who is he on the hill that bright figure, who casts a dreadful look towards me ? Oh that mine eyes had remained closed in darkness ! but they see more clearly j more clearly still ! ah, how dreadfully clear ' Let me be gone ! O horror ! horror ! it is the Judge of the earth ! I cannot escape I and that is my frightful corpse ! O that I could enter it again ! Now the guilty spirit, amazed and confounded, sunk to the ground. Arise, called Obaddon from the hill, sink not down to the earth. I am not the Judge of the world ; but Obaddon, the angel of death, one of his messengers. Hear thy Sentence. This is the first, and worse is that which will follow. To death everlasting art thou adjudged ! Thou Iiast betrayed thy Lord, the gracious Messiah ! Thou hast rebelled against the omnipotent Jehovah ! ami hast murdered thyself! Therefore he who holds the scales in his right hand, and in his left cleath, hath said, The terrors that shall gather round the head of the traitor are beyond measure ; beyond the reach of numbers. First shew bin the bleeding Redeemer fixed on the cross. Then Boot VII. THE MESSIAH. 189 at a distance let him sec the bright mansions of everlasting felicity, and then convey him to tho gloomy regions of eternal night ! Thus the angel announced the sentence. On which the trembling ghost, now rendered by its ter- rors still blacker and more horrible, followed O bad- don at a distance. In the mean time Jesus was in the judgment hall with Pilate, who said, Art thou the king of the Jews ? -The Saviour, looking on the Roman with a placid gravity, answered, If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight: but my kingdom is not on earth. How then, returned Pilate, canst thbu be a king ? I am, said Jesus. I came down to earth, and was born to lead mankind to the truth. They that are of the truth listen to my voice. Here Pilate changed the discourse, and with the air of a politician, willing to elude the decision of an affair which he thinks beneath his farther enquiry, said with a smile, What is truth ? Then returned with Jesus to the multitude, and ad- dressing himself to the priests, said, I cannot find that he is guilty of any crime ; much less that he is worthy of death. It does not appear to me, that he has really engaged in any seditious prac- tices : but as ye have mentioned Galilee as the principal scene of his rebellion, I will send him to Herod, who is now in Jerusalem, and let him, if he pleases, punish him. The affair seems to relate to something in your law, of which Herod is a better judge than I. After a sleepless night, the mother of the most amiable of the sons of men, came tc Jerusalem with the first appearance of the dawn, and hasted to the temple in search of her divine Son ; but not finding him, stood depressed with anxiety and grief, till 190 THE MESSIAH. BOOK Vll a hoarse murmur from the governor's palace reach- ed her ears. She then moved towards the sound without any idea of the cause from which it arose, and mingled with the crowds which from every part of Jeruselera were flocking to the judgment- seat. Melancholy, but entirely at ease with respect to the cause of the tumult, she drew near to the solemn place, when she observed Lebbeus, who, no sooner met her eve, than he hastily withdrew. Ah, cried she to herself, he shuns me ! Why does he turn aside ! This thought drew the sword which the divine providence had ordained, should pierce through her soul. Mary then enter* ing the place called Gabbatha, and raising her head, saw Jesus. Her angel, on beholding the paleness of death overspread her face, and the tender anguish that appeared in her eyes, turned aside. Yet she, though her sight grew dim, and her ears seemed stunned, went for ward, and trem- bling, proceeded to wards the judgment-seat, where he at once saw her son, his powerful accusers, with the Roman governor sitting in judgment, and heard the voices of the multitude clamourously demanding his death. What could she do ? To whose mercy could she have recourse ? She looked around and saw no pity. She raised her eyes to heaven, but from thence received no relief. In this extremity her bleeding heart in silent fervor, thus offered up its petitions to him who perfectly Ju.ows cfery idea of the human mind. O thou who causedst the miraculous birth of this mv char Son to be made known to me by an angel, before 1 had, by thy power, conceived : who in Bethlehem's vale gave him to me, that I might rejoice with a mother's joy, in concert with those with whom never mother rejoiced : with a joy \vhicji the angelic hosts themselves in their hymns BOOR VII. THE MESSIAH. 191 at his birth, did not fully express : oh let me not sec the wicked prevail against him ! Thou who graciously lent an car to the supplications of the mother of Samuel, when at thine altar, she mingled her petitions with her tears, hear my sighs, and pity the distress of my soul. O God most merciful ! consider the anguish of my heart. Thou gavest me the tenderness of a mother ; thou gavest me the best of sons Of all human beings the best. O thou who createdst the heavens, and hast directed the sons and daughters of affliction to fly to thee for relief, if my petition be agreeable to thy divine will, suffer not these cruel men to put to death my Son, the holy Jesus. Here )ier distress grew too great to permit her even to give vent to her thoughts. Meanwhile the stream of the impetuous multitude drove her aside out of his view With much difficulty she now made way through the crowd : ahe stood still : then pressed forward, seeking for his disciples ; but not finding them, she veiled herself, and freely indulged her tears. At length, lifting up her eyes, she saw herself close by the other side of the Roman palace : then sighing, she said to her- self, Perhaps some humane, some tender mind may dwell in this riotous house ; perhaps a mother, who is not above sympathizing in a mother's grief. Oh that this were but the case ! Many mothers report of thee O Portia ! that thou hast a benevolent heart. O ye angels, who at the manger sang the nativity of my Son ! may she pity my distress ! Mary instantly ascended the marble steps, took off her veil, and entered the empty, silent rooms. Soon she saw a graceful Roman lady, issue forth from a distant chamber, on the side next the hall of judgment, who, beholding Mary, stood sur- prised, while her limbs appeared to tremble under THE MESSIAH. BOOK Vlt her loose robe. The mother of Jesus, though her countenance was clouded by grief, in all hei* gestures shewed a dignity that was admired even, by the angels : for true dignity is best understood by the celestial spirits ; and now, with a graceful humility, she approached the fair Roman, who instantly cried, Say oh say, who art thou ? for never have I beheld such noble sorrow. Mary now interrupting her, said, If thou feelest in thine heart the compassion that sits on thy countenance, lead me oh lead me to the amiable, the humane Portia. The lovely Roman matron, now still more amazed, answered with softest Toice, I am Portia. Thou Portia ! returned Mary, filled with an agreeable surprise. On seeing thee a secret wish arose in my mind, that Portia was such as thou appearest. And art thou indeed that Roman lady ? But thou canst know little of the grief felt by a mother belonging to a people whom thou hatest, yet the women of Israel extol thy gen- tleness and humanity. I am the mother of him whom Pilate is now judging, whom cruel men have unjustly accused, though he has committed no offence ; for he is holy, and his life irreproach- able. Portia stood viewing her with rapturous ad- miration ; while her mind rising above the dejec- tions of compassion, she at first seemed lost in amazement. At length she cried, And is he thy Son, and thou the most blessed of women ? Art thou the mother of the divine Jesus ? Art thou Mary ? .Then turning from her, she, with audible voice, thus lift up her thoughts, and her eyes to' heaven. O ye Gods ! she is his mother ! upon you, ye nobler, ye better Gods I call, who have been re- vealed to me in a dream a,, dream filled with BOOK VII. THE MESSIAH. 193 important realities. O thou Supreme ! Jupiter is nat thy name, nor Apollo ; but whatever thou art called, thou hast sent f to me the mother of ths greatest, the wisest, the best of men ! if indeed he be a man : sent her a supplicant to me ! oh let her not offer her supplications to me ! but rather let her lead me to her exalted Son, that he may deliver me from darkness and doubt ! that by casting upon me a distant look, he may unfold the knowledge of the Most High God, and the wcn- dcrous mysteries I long to know. Portia again turned herself towards Mary, who, with an affectionate look, met the Roman matron's eye, and then cried : How art thou moved ! Doth Portia pity me ? Oh then am I happy then an; I indeed a most happy mother ! No mother ever loved a son with a love like mine. But, O fair Roman ! let me conjure thee by thy heart so full of compassion, not to implore thy Gods. It is thou thyself must help my Son ; they have no power to help him : nor canst thou, if the Most High has decreed that he shall die. Yet if Pilate keeps hift hands unstained wkh the blood of the innocent, with more confidence will he appear before the judgment-seat of God. Portia earnestly fixing her eyes on Mary, thus, with gentle voice, replied : Oh I scarcely know what I say, or what emotions swell my heart ! but, let this be thy consolation ; I will strive to help thee thee whom my soul loveth. Know too, O Mary ! that I do not, as thou supposest, call on those Gods. A holy dream, from which I am but just risen, has taught me better Gods, and to them have I prayed. A celestial, a terrible dream, the like of which hath never before been presented to my imagination I would have helped thee, Mary, though I had not the bappiuess of seeing; thesf c 194 tHE MESSIAH. BOOK VI t. for the vision that appeared before me, had already, with a powerful voice, spoke in thy behalf : but the end of it was dreadful and mysterious. At my awaking, strong were the impressions it had made upon my mind, and I was hasting to see the mighty prisoner, when behold, the Gods sent me his mother ! Here she beckoned to a female slave, who stood at a respectful distance in the passage ; for on leaving her apartment, she had given orders that a slave should be sent to attend her. She was now come, and Portia, addressing herself to her, said, Go to Pilate, and let him know from me, that he who is now before him is a divine person, that therefore I entreat him not to condemn the righteous. For this morning it was the will of the Gods, that a vision in his behalf should trouble me while I slept. Then turning to Mary, she added > Cease now, thou tender mother, to dwell on thy sorrows. I will lead thec into my garden : we will walk among the flowers opening to the morning sun : where we shall be free from this alarming noise, and there I will relate to thee my instructive drsam. Portia was now silent, and Mary, unable to express her gratitude and joy, made no reply. They walked down into the garden, while the noble pagan was rapt in amazement, and in reflections which had never before employed the faculties of her mind. Her angel had infused the dream, and from the strong and warm sensations with w r hich she was affected, now awaked uew thoughts, that the greatest certainty and force, he might touch the finest strings of her heart : but at length, rousing herself from these contemplations, she thua addressed herself to Mary. Socrates, thou indeed knowest him not; bul IMSSSIAH ., BOOK VII. THE MESSIAH. M my mind exults at his very name ; fur the noblest life that ever man lived,, he crowned with a dignity in death, that did honour to such a life. That eminent sage, has always been the object of my highest admiration. Him I saw in a dream : for he gave me to know his immortal name. I, Socrates, said he, whom thou admirest, am came to thec from the regions beyond the grave. Cease to place thine admiration on me. The Deity is not what we thought him. I in the shades of rigid wisdora, and thou at the altars, have gone astray. To reveal to thee the wonders of the Most High would exceed my commission. I only lead thee to the first step of the outer court of the temple. Perhaps, in these wonderful days, in which the greatest and most important event is seen on earth, a bettor a more exalted spirit may come, and lead thee farther in the way of truth and holiness. But thus much I may declare to thee, and this know- ledge thou Hast procured by thy singular goodness. Socrates no longer suffers from the cruelty of the wicked. There is no Elysium, no infernal judges, no Tartarus. These are only weak and chimerical fictions, the offspring of ignorance and error. Another Judge judges beyond the grave, whose wisdom comprehends all knowledge, whose justice 13 impartial, whose power is boundless, and whose goodness is infinite. Other suns shine than the fabulous luminaries of Elysium, and the felicitv of the blest is pure, ineffable, eicrnal. But ail actions are numbered, weighed, and measured, how then must the highest apparent virtues sink in real value ! how is the boasted worth of the hypocrite scattered like dust before the whirlwind ! The sincere are rewarded : their involuntary errors receive forgiveness. Thus I, on account of the sincerity of my heart, have obtained grace, and >S6 x THE MESSIAH. BOOK VH- me happy. On earth I loved virtue ; here I drink lull draughts from its pure celestial spring. O Portia ! Portia ! how different is the state on the other side the tomb, from that we have imagined. Your formidable Rome, is no more than a large assemblage of busy ants, and one sympathizing virtuous tear is of more value than a world. Oh deserve to shed such tears ! The celestial spirits are now solemnizing a mystery which has not been unfolded to me, and which I, rapt in wonder and surprise, can only admire at an awful distance. The greatest of mankind, if I may presume to call him a man, suffers more than the sufferings of a mortal, and paying the lowest obedience to the Most High God, perfects all virtue. He suffers for the human race. Behold, thine eyes have seen him. Pilate now sits in judgment on thy Redeemer : but should his blood be shed, louder will it cry, than any innocent blood ever spilt. Here the venerable phantom paused, and then crying, Observe ! instantly vanished. I looked around me, and, behold, a black cloud soon covered all the azure sky with darkness, and descending 1 , hovered over the graves, which trembling, opened. Over one of them the cloud separated, forming a lucid chasm, through which ascended a man stained with blood, followed by the eyes of multitudes dispersed on the graves, who looked upwards with stretched out arms, as if longing to follow him, till he ascended above the clouds, which soon dis- persed. After this I looked, and behold many bled and died for him who had ascended on high. The earth drank their blood, and trembled. I sa\v the sufferers die ; nobly did they suffer, and better were they than the men among whom we live. Now arose a tempest ; dreadful it marched nlong, spreading a thick ^loom over all nature. Terrified BOOK Vll. THE MESSIAH. 19? I awoke. Here she abruptly paused. Thus the mind, trembling, starts back from atrain of thoughts, on finding that the last verges too near on the awful depths of providence. Mary, now filled with new sensations, lift up her eyes to heaven ; and then casting an affectionate look on the fair virtuous Roman, thus answered, What shall I say to thee, O Portia ? I do not comprehend all the sublime truths contained in thine amazing vision. But how much do I honour thee, O thou favoured of heaven ! Spirits of an higher order will come, and lead thee into the sanctuary of God. Silent as I am, when with pleasure and admiration I listen to thy discourse, permit me now to say, that he who created the revolving heavens, with as much ease as these blooming flowers, is the true and only God. It is he who has given to the human race a life of labour, of fleeting joys and transient sorrows, that we may not forget the value of our immortal souls, nor cease to remember that immortality dwells beyond the grave. He is called Jehovah, the Creator* the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He was the God of Adam, the first of men ; the God of Abraham our father. The worship we pay him, whatever the proud may say, the pious among us acknowledge to be involved in obscurity. Yet it was prescribed by the Eternal himself, who can and will remove the veil. He is now removing it. Jesus, the great prophet, the worker of mighty mirrxclcs, the messenger of the Most High God, -whom with inexpressible joy, reverence and astonishment, I call my Son, came to remove the veil. That I was to bear him, that his name was to be Jesus, that he is to redeem mankind, were revealed to me by an immortal being, one of those spirits whom we call angels ; but o 2 1!>8 THE MESSIAH. BOOK, VII. though they are, like us, created, the deities of the Greeks and formidable Romans, did they really exist, would he but as mere mortals, compared with these exalted beings. When I brought forth the wonderful child, though mean was the place, an host of these brightirnmortals celebrated his nativity, with hymns of joy and triumph. Portia now overcome by her amazement, lift up her joined hands and her eyes towards heaven, and sinking down on her knees, prayed. She strove to pronounce the word Jehovah : but feeling a serret awe, which would not suffer her yet to presume to meniion the tremendous name, she arose, and giving Mary a look of sympathetic sorrow, cried, He shall not die. Ah he will ! he will ! returned Mary. Long has this thought clouded my life with grief and melancholy. For he himself, O Portia ! has said it. He is resolved to lay dowr. his precious life : this appears to me, and his pious disciples, most mysterious. Ah now my wounded heart bleeds afresh ! -Thy divine vision begins to open to my mind. May God the God of Abraham bless thee ! but oh turn from me thy weeping eyes ! In vain do thy tears, O Portia, speak com- fort to my soul ! He is determined to die !- to die ! Here her voice failed her. Long they stood without being aVie to lift up their eyes to each other, weeping in silence. At length, as the dying saint casts a look at her friend, the amiable, the disconsolate mother, lift up her head, and cast her swimming eyes on Portia, who, with answering look of tender sympathy, took her by the hand, and said, O thou best of mothers ! thou most honourable among women ! I will go with thee I will mourn with thee at the sepulchre of the dead ! BOOK VII. THE MESSIAH. I 224 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VIII saw on Sinai the appearance of the glory of the Most High : or thus arose the sacred cloud, and pillar of fire from the tabernacle, to guide the peo- ple on their way. Still the god-like Saviour bleeds ; and looking down with divine benignity and grace on the people of Judea, who were crowded together in one great throng from Jerusalem to the cross, he meekly cried,, Father, forgive them ; for they know not what they do. Silent amazement accompanied the voice of love through a part of the crowded multitude, who lift up their faces to the bleeding Redeemer, and beheld him overspread with a deadly paleness. This was all that mortal eyes could see. The souls of the' pious dead saw diviner, more mysterious things. They observed his struggling life, which death could not destroy, had not he borne a commission from the Supreme Sovereign of all. They per- ceived what convulsive terrors shook his mortal frame, while forsaken by his Almighty Father, he hung on the lofty cross ! How great the sal- vation procured by those purple streams i What love and compassion were shewn by his bearing his cruel wounds ! Behold, he lift up his eyes to heaven, seeking ease from pain ! but no ease he found, every moment repeated the most dreadful death. With him, as a farther debasement, were crucified two malefactors, one on his right hand, the other on his left. Of these, one, an obdurate sinner, grown grey in guilt, turning his sullen dis- torted face to the Mediator, cried, if thou be Christ, save thyself and us, and come down from the ac- cursed tree. The other criminal was in all the vigour of blooming youth : he was not abandoned, though he h-ad been seduced by sin ; and now rising supe- BOOK Vin. THE MESSIAH. 225 rior to his tortures, he boldly reproved his fellow sufferer, crying, Ah, dost thou not fear God, when death when condemnation are so near ? What we suffer, alas ! we suffer justly for our crimes ; but this man, added he, looking on Jesus, has com- mitted no crime. Then writhing his body towards the Redeemer, he strove to show his veneration, by lowly bowing his head. The effort tore his lengthening wounds, and the blood gushed forth in larger streams ; but disregarding the pain, and the streaming blood, bending still lower, he cried, Lord remember me, when thou enterest into tht kingdom. The Mediator, with a divine smile, beaming be- nignity and grace, looked on the agonizing sinner, and, with a gentle voice, replied, This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. With devout trem- bling the malefactor heard the reviving words, which thrilled throii;h his soul. With blissful O ecstacy his eyes, which swam in tears of joy, re- mained fixed on the divine Sufferer, the Friend of man, and till his faultering speech began to fail, he attempted, in broken sentences, to express his new and exalted sensations, the delightful foretaste of eternal felicity. What was I ? Oh what am I now ? cried he, with a look of transport, that banished from his face the traces of pain. Such misery before, and now such joy ! Oh this extatic tremor ! these sweet these rapturous sensations ! What dawning felicity breaks in upon my soul-! Who is he that hangs next me on the cross ? Is he a pious, a just, a holy prophet? He is much more ah, much more surely he is the Son of God. the Messiah, sent from heaven ! His kingdom then is far far exalted above the earth ! O ye men and angels, this is the promised Messiah ! yet how deeply does he humble himself! He stoops to 226 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VIII. suffer this painful death ! he stoops still lower he stoops to save roe ! How incomprehensible ! Oh be thou ever beloved by me, while, lost in won- der, I cannot comprehend this grace ! Greater art thou than the highest angel ; for, surely an angel could not thus have transformed my soul could not, with such sublime rapture, have raised it to God ! Yes, thou art the divine Messiah, and thine thine I shall be for ever ! Thus he spake, and then hung absorbed in silent rapturous astonishment. Whenever he cast up his eyes towards heaven, or on the extended earth, all seemed to smile. The peace of God had rested upon him. At a glance from the Redeemer one of the seraphim now hastily left the circle which en- compassed Calvary, and stood under the cross. The import of the divine look was, Thou seraph bring the redeemed to me, after his death. He in- stantly returned to the angelic circle. This was the invincible Abdiel, who by the appointment of the Most High was now an angel of death, and kept the gate of hell. Instantly troops of other angels surrounded him, and asked his commission. Abdiel with transport answered, I received orders ofter the death of that criminal, to conduct him to the Messiah, who hath given him salvation. The delightful task fills me with sweetest joy. A sin- ner is delivered, and delivered in the hour when the gracious Saviour is bleeding is dying for man ! To conduct this purified soul, thqs prepared for heaven to its Redeemer is a delightful task ! Congratulate me, O ye angels ! on the blissful office. In the mean while Uriel, the angel of the sun, had long stood on a mount of that shining globe, ready for his progressive flight ; and now the time was come for executing the commands he had re- BOOK VIII. THE MESSIAH. ceived. Radiant he arose, and proceeded through the heavens with steady wing, to a remote planet, which the Omnipotent had ordered him to place before the sun, that the life of the divine Redeemer might expire under a more awful covert than that of the night. Already the seraph stood over the pole of the star of that star where dwell the souls who, before their birth, are removed into this momentary mortal life of probation. There Uriel looked down on the souls of future generations, and calling the star by its immortal name, thus spake : Aoamida, he who has assigned thee thy station, commands thee to leave thine orbit, and to place thyself opposite to that sun, to prevent any of its rays reaching the earth. The heavenly orbs heard the commanding voice reverberate from the mountains of Adamida. The star tremulous turned its thundering poles, and the whole creation resounded ; when with terrific haste, Adamida, in obedience to the divine com- mand, flew amidst overwhelming storms, rushing clouds, falling mountains, and swelling seas. Uriel stood on the pale of the star, but so lost in deep contemplation on Golgotha, that he heard not the wild tumultuous roar. Now, O sun ! it had reached thy region. At the sight of the new solar orb, the tender human souls were filled with astonish- ment,, and raised themselves above the planet's as- cending clouds. Adamida then slackened her course, and advanced before the sun, covered its face, and intercepted all its rays. The earth was silent at the descending twilight* and as the gloom increased, deeper was the silence. Terrifying shades and palpable darkness came on. The birds ceased their notes, and sought the thick- est groves : the very insects hurried to their retreats, 4 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VIII. and the wild beasts of the deserts fled to their lonely dens. A death-like stillness reigned through the air. The human race, standing aghast, looked up to heaven. The darkness became still more dark. What a night in the midst of day ! The intercepting planet had, to all human eyes, extin- guished the sun ! How terrifying the awful night which was thus involved in sable clouds the ex- tended fields, and was rendered doubly terrible by this solemn silence ! But Jesus, amidst the terrifying gloom, hung unterrified on the lofty cross, while the blood aud sweat of death trickled from his dying members. At the sight, silent nature was struck with conster- nation, like that felt by a virtuous friend on hi* hearing that he whom he loved is snatched away by a premature death. Or as the generous citizen remains immoveable, and contemplates with eyes that shed no tears, the melancholy and venerable remains of the brave patriot who has died for his country : but soon awakened by grief, his emotions shake his whole frame, and raise a tempest in his sympathizing soul. In such dismay the earth then lay, and thus shook. The foundations of Gol- gotha quaked : the darkened cross trembled, and widened the wounds of the divine Sufferer, while his life issued forth in larger streams. Now stood the multitude fixed by deep rooted horror, wildly gazing towards the cross. Dreadfully flowed the sacred blood, by them unjustly shed. On them it came, and on their children. Fain would they have turned aside their faces ; but irresistibly impel- led by terror, their eyes were continually directed towards the bloody cross Uriel, having still another command to execute, descended from the pole of fixed Adamirla, to the unborn soul* on its .surface. They saw the cdes- BOOK VIII. THE MESSIAH. 229 tial intelligence approach ; already they were in bodies of the human form, though of an etherial texture, tinged with the gay splendor of a ruddy evening cloud. Follow me, said Ithuriel : I come from the great Eternal, to take you to yonder earth, overshadowed by the world on which you live. Ye shall see the Saviour of man your Sa- \iour : but yet ye know him not. A remote beam of immortal felicity will dart upon you. Follow me, ye blessed, who when born, will become candi- dates for immortal life, and all the joys of heaven. Come and behold the awful scene. To him who now dies on the cross, every knee shall at length bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord and Redeemer. The conducting spirit extended his wings, and flew encompassed by the souls. Thus the pious sage, fond of meditation, and high celestial con- verse, hastes by moon-light into a lonely forest, there in devout raptures to contemplate on thee, O thou Infinite and Supreme ! HO amidst the souls, the transported seraph, rapt in thought, speeds his way, and draws near to the earth. The progenitors of mankind saw the numberless band coming in the dusky clouds : myriads of myriads of immortals ; a majestic train of thinking beings, that have existed ever since the creation ! Now the mother of men, astonished, turned from the cross her attentive eye. The children come they come ! all the unborn the Christians come ! Thus spake the general mother to the father of men. But soon she again fixed her eyes on the bloody cross, adding, These are my immortals ! But ah, by what name do 4hey call thee, O thou who bleedest, who diest for them ! With what hosannas shall they hymn thee, thus disfigured with wounds ? Oh that you, ye children of salva- Q 2 230 THE MESSIAH. BOOK Vill. tion ! ye Christians ! were now born ; that thou- sands and thousands of weeping mothers led you to the cross ! Oh that you already knew the most holy of those born of women : him who, when he first entered this mortal state,, wept at Bethlehem ! But O Adam ! they will know him, they will know the dear Saviour, the Son of the Eternal ! But as the flower whose stalk is broken by the boisterous wind, hangs its still beauteous head and dies, so some of you, my beloved children, will fall by the murderous sword of persecution ; and hangmg your heads, will smile in death. You, happy mar- tyrs, your mother congratulates. Ye are the chosen, the exalted witnesses of the greatest and most im- portant of all deaths. O ye glorious sufferen for the cause of truth, of virtue, of your Redeemer ! Your pale and hollow cheeks will assume the soft blush of celestial beauty : Your wounds w).ll shine with refulgent splendour : your dying groans be changed to sweetest strains of heavenly harmony, and rapturous songs of joy and triumph. The great Emanuel now lifting up his eyes, filled with celestial love, beheld the unborn souls : his look drew forth a sacred tear on every cheek, and each soul trembling with holy awe, felt new sen- lations. Now the colour of life instantaneously flushed on the face of the dying Jesus ; but as instantane- ously Vanished, never to return : his faded cheeks became sunk, and his head hung on his breast : with difficulty he raised it up towards heaven ; but unable to sustain its weight, soon it dropped. The pendant sky formed an arch round Golgotha, more silent and dreadful than the sepulchral vault, and sable clouds of wide extent hung over the cross. In an instant the silence ceased, and a noise ushered in by no murmuring sound, suddenly BOOK VIII. THE MESSIAH. 231 burst from the earth, with a roar so tremendous, that the sepulchres of the dead, and the pinnacles of the temple shook. This was the forerunner of a tempest, which, rushing on the lofty cedars, tore them up by the roots, and made the towers of Jerusalem quake. Then loud thunder rolled through the sky, and the deafening clap bursting over the Dead sea, its affrighted waters foamed, and the heavens and the earth trembled. Silence, with steady foot, again stood on the earth, again the gloom began to disperse, and the unborn, the human race, and the dead, speechless gazed on the Redeemer. Meanwhile our general mother, with soothing melancholy, now her sweet companion, viewed the divine Saviour, under his linger ing death On beholding him, her eyes were dimmed by obscuring affliction, and soft sympa- thetic sorrow. The Messiah now downward bent his looks on a fair mortal, whom with fixed regard he viewed, while she with drooping head, and a countenance pale and mournful, trembling, stood at the foot of the cross, involved in silent sorrow : her eyes fixed by grief on the ground, shed no tears ; for the kind relief of those heart-easing dropi was with-held. This, said the first of women, is surely the Saviour's mother Thy grief, O my daughter, tells me that thou art she who bore thy Lord and mine. Thou art Mary. What thou now feelest, I felt for my dear murdered Abel, when he lay breathless, with his own blood distain- ed How I pity thee thy grief equals what I then felt, O thou tender mother of my dear dying Jesus ! Thus to herself she spake, while with an affectionate look, her eyes hung on Mary : nor yet had they left her beloved daughter, had not two an- gels of death, with awful, solemn flight, ap- proached from the east. Silent and slow they camew 232 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VIII. Destrction sat on their faces, and their vesture was the gloom of night. Sent by the Supreme Lord, they approached the cross, and so tremendous was their appearance, that the souls of the progenitors of the human race sunk nearer to the earth, and images of death, with the terrors of sepulchral corruption, hovered around the immortals, it- The angels of death standing on the hill, face, to face, viewed the dying Saviour, then one rising to the right, and the other to the left, with sounding pinions, seven times flew round the cross. Two wings covered their feet, two trembling wings their faces, and with two they flew. These, when ex- panded, sent forth groans and sighs, and sounds of death, Dreadful the angels hovered. The ter- rors of God sat on their expanded wings, and seven times they flew around. The dying Jesus, raising his languid head, looked at the angels of death, then cast up his eyes to heaven, and cried, with a voice which none but his almighty Father heard, Ah cease to encrcase the torture of these wounds ! O my God 'forbear ! Instantly the two angels bent their airy flight towards heaven; but first cast a dreadful look on Jerusalem, and on her inhabitants who stood around. On their ascent they left the etherial spectators under deeper dejection, and ,pen- siveness more profound. With disordered counte- nances they stand looking on the graves, then at each other, and then towards heaven : but soon they again turn their faces to him who bleeds on the cross. Innumerable they stand, and though every eye speaks grief or consternation, no immor- tal eyes express such tenderness as those of the mo- ther of men. She bows her head towards the earth, the grave of her descendants, and spreads hr raised arms to heaven. Now she lays her mournful brow in the dust : now folds her hand* BOOK Via. THE MESSIAH. 255 She rises, and earnestly looks around. At length, with faultering voice, she gives utterance to her thoughts, and from her lips, immortal harmony flows forth in sighs. May I, O thou divine Messiah ! presume to call thee Son ? It was my crime that brotight thee down from heaven, and nailed thee to the cross. Had it not heen for me, who have exposed my off- spring to sin and death, thou wouldst not have been my Son thou wouldst not now hang bleeding un thy gaping vrounds : nor ever, ever die ! What an exchange has my guilt brought on thee, O thou most loving and beloved ! thou hast exchanged bliss for misery ! life and ineffable joy, for torment unutterable, and all the agonies of expiring nature ! I alas ! I was the cause ! yet turn turn not away from me thy dying eyes. Thine all-gracious Father, the prime source of goodness and of love, has condescended to forgive me Thou too hast pitied hast forgiven me, O my Redeemer, and the Redeemer of my offspring ! the high arch of heaven resounded, and the throne of the Eternal echoed back thy praise, when thou, the beloved of thy Father, offeredst to give thy life for repentant pinners, that we might enjoy life everlasting. And now thoudiest I stand abs Ived by boundless grace But thou diest ! This overwhelms my oul It throws back immortality into the grave ! O thou divine Saviour, allow me to weep for thee, and forgive forgive the soothing tears of aa immortal ! Yes, O thou dear Redeemer ! thou hast forgiven me. Forgive me, also, O my pious offspring ! for when me, your last groans, when me, your dying sighs curse, as your murderer ; then let your hearts bless me ; for I am also the mother of the Saviour, of the Prince of Grace, of the Au- thor and the Finisher of your faith, who dies thai $34 THE MESSIAH. BOOK VIII. ,you may live ! Curse me not then, O my children ! for I, when mortal, often shed the kindly tear for you, and when nay struggling heart failed, for you I dying wept, and poured forth tears for those who, after me, were to sink into corruption. When ,ye now, O my pious, my virtuous children, expire, ye shall sleep in Jesus, and be conveyed to the realms of ineffable delight ! conveyed to him, whom ye now see bleeding on the cross ! Then .curse not your mother, O my children ! for though I rendered you mortal, Jesus Christ is also my Son, and he will clothe you with immortality ! But, O my dear Lord ! my Redeemer ! my best be- loved ! whose kindness and grace no words can express, thou diest ! Oh that this sorrowful hour were passed, and that thou hadst escaped from pain, .to the felicity that awaits thee at the right hand .of the Majesty on high. Now my dear Jesus bends his looks on me ! O ye seraphim rejoice, he turns his face to me ! Let the gates of heaven echo hack ,the sound, that the great, the divine Redeemer once more turns his face to the mother of mortals ! The joys of eternity already shine around me ! I lift up my eyes to. the Most High, the Omnipotent God, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain ! I stretch forth my hands to his beloved Son ! the Brightness of his Father's glory, the Restorer of innocence ! the Reviver of the dead ! the Judge .of the earth! the 'Redeemer of man ! and with amazement attempt to express my gratitude : but words cannot describe what 1 feel : my soul swells with rapture. I am lost in transport, in extasy, in joy unutterable ! Bless the Lord, O my chil- dren ! bless the great Omnipotent, the original source of joy, of love, of happiness ! Oh pour out your souls in grateful praise to the Lord your Re- deemer, and everlasting Friend. By his bloody BOOK VIII. THE MESSIAH. 235 sweat in Gethsemane ; by those wounds,, and that pure blood now shed for you ; by his drooping head, his dim and languid eyes, his countenance disfigured by pain and approaching death, I con- jure you to love and imitate your Lord, your Friend, your Saviour. In his name I bless you, O mine off- spring ! and may the blessing of the Lord alwayi rest upon you ! THE END Or THE EIGHTH BOOK. I THE M E S S I A II BOOK. IX. SI-IE ARGUMENT. JEIoa returns from the throne of God, and relates what he has seen. The behaviour of Peter, who joins Samma and a stranger, and afterwards successively meets Leb- .beus, his brother Andrew, Joseph, and Nicodemus, and then returns to Golgotha, where he sees John, and the female friends of Jesus. A conversation between Abra- ham and Moses. They arc joined by Isaac. Abra- ham and Isaac address the Messiah. A cherub conducts the souls of some pious heathens to the cross. Christ speaks to John and Mary. Abaddona, assuming the appearance of an angel of light, comes to the cross ; but being known by Abdiel, flies. Obaddqn conducts the soul of Judas to the cross, then gives him a distant view of heaven, and at length conveys him to hell . ELOA now filled with deep contemplation, slowly hovered over the pinnacles of the tem- ple, and then came to the assembly of the progenitors of the human race : whom he thus addressed : Before I communicate my thoughts, oh join in prayer with me. Ere I speak, I will ofter my adorations. All then, with humble prostration, in silence adored the Infinite and Eternal, and silent rose. Eloa still continued rapt in thought ; but at last said : To the First of beings, to him whom no name can express, no thought conceive, I have just soar- THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX. ed, desiring to see him face to face, in all his tre- mendous glory. I reached the suns that gild the radient path to heaven, aud they were dimmed. 1 then ascended to the celestial throne, "where dark- ness progressive deepened beyond darkness ; hui no words can express the deepness of the sable cloud, in which the Eternal was involved, nor the awful terrors with which he was environed. I stood amidst the profound silence of the fair creation : I sunk prostrate, adoring the great Omnipotent in silence. Thus Eloa spake, and veiling his face, withdrew. The head of the divine Jesus now hanging upon his breast, he seemed to slumber. The storm of the blasphemous multitude was laid, and all was calm as the ocean reclining on the peaceful shores, Those who revered the Saviour walked about the skirts of Golgotha, where with weeping eyes, they might obtain a distant view of the Redeemer. Yet each avoided the others : their afflicted hearts allowing them no tongue for converse, bitter converse adding pain to their distress. Only the beloved disciple, and the tender mother of Jesus, continued with each other at the foot of the cross. The disciple who had sworn that he knew not his divine Master, was now walking solitarily about the mountain. Thus by the winding shore wan- ders a son, within sight of a rock on which his father was wrecked ; speechless he walks, with his eyes fixed on the spot where his tender parent perished, and lifting them up to heaven, bursts into bitter lamentations : Peter now faint with weeping, stood on an eminence near mount Cal- vary, too weak to express his grief, too weak to lift up his supplicating hands to heaven. Itburiel, his guardian angel, with pity beheld his grief, and BOOK IX, THE MESSIAH. 230 infused into his heart some drops of consolation. This, though an immortal, was all he could give. The afflicted disciple felt the lenient balm thrill through his soul, and now looking up, with long- ing eyes, sought his friends, desiring to receive from them reproof and comfort. He stood with his eyes directed t wards Jerusalem ; for up the hill of death he did not dare to look. At length, his eyes were drawn aside by a distant murmuring; sound, which arose from the strangers, who, being come to the festival, were hastening to obtain a sight of the crucified Prophet. To them Peter went, and among the more silent groups of people, sought his fellow disciples, but none he found. At length the conversation of two men suspended his search ; one of a swarthy complexion, richly dressed in a foreign robe, asked a man of an open countenance, who held by the hand his little son ; for what crime the malefactor, on the middle and more lofty cross, was put to death ? His crime ! said the other, with an air of surprize ; he is put to death because he hath given health to the sick, feet to the lame, ears to the deaf, eyes to the blind ! because he relieved the possessed, of which number I was one, and freed us from our torments ! because he even raised the dead ! because by his powerful preaching he opened to our enraptured souk the gates of eternal bliss ! because his life was holy, blameless, divine ! Here seeing Peter, he stretched out his hand towards him, and said, Tbis is one of the chosen friends of the great prophet, who daily saw and heard fro-m him the words of truth. Do thou in- form us, added h, turning to Peter inform tbi stranger and me, why they put tiiis divine person to death. Comply, O thou man of God ! with my request, and turn not away thine eyes from ro. 240 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX. Thou knowest him. Thee he loved ! for thou wast one of his chosen disciples. Brothers have less love for each other, than thou and John hav* for him. Peter still turned from them, not hecause he wa known ; for now he was prepared to die ; but his being joined with the faithful John, pierced his very soul. My friends, said he at last, with faul- tering voice, There dies the holy ' Then bursting into tears, he hid himself among the crowd. Thus he leftSamma and Joel, with the favourite of queen Candacc, the eunuch, afterwards baptized by Philip. These, filled with admiration, now moved slowly towards Golgotha. Meanwhile, Peter discovered at a distance Lebbetis, who stood, leaning with a dejected look, against a withered tree, and going towards him, with a faint trembling voice, said, Ah Lebbeus ! hast thou too seen him on the crss ? Thou, in thy grief, canst dare to lift up thine eyes to him ; but I oh pity pity my misery ! Here, .here it bleeds ! added he, laying his hand on his breast : Here my swelling, tortured heart bleeds ! Will not my dear friend speak to me ? Will he not afford me one word of consola- tion ? Thou art silent still art thou silent. In vain Lebbeus strove to give utterance to the strong emotions of his mind. Yet the agitations that ap- peared in his countenance, and his falling tears were not speechless. But no comfort could Peter's soul receive from them. With heavy heart he left that affectionate disciple, and depressed with a new load of woe, again hid himself in the crowd. At length, having once more escaped from the multi- tude, he suddenly saw before him his brother An- drew. Him he would have shunned ; but receiv- ing a sign to retire farther from the people, Peter followed him, and, ou joining him, cried, My bro- BOOK IX. THE MESSIAH. ther; my dear brother! Then embraced him: not indeed with his usual fervour, for with feeble grasp he held him., and hung on his neck weeping. my dear Peter, returned Andrew, with more composed affliction ; fain would I, but I cannot suppress my grief ! My heart bleeds as well as thine ! I mourn for thee the best of Men ! the most faithful, the most loving Friend ! the Son of God ! thou alas ! before his enemies has I denied ! Meek-hearted grief, sacred to him whom he had denied, and effusions of cordial thanks for his bro- ther's fidelity, appeared in Peter's eyes : but speechless were his lips. They then walked hand in hand, with their eyes still suffused in tears, which scarce allowed them the power of sight, till, at length, overcome by the langour of grief, their hands sunk, and losing their hold they parted. Peter, still disconsolate, and still earnestly breathing after consolation, walked alone ! but not far : loon he cast his eyes on two persons whom he es- teemed, yet strove to avoid ; but was too near. Does the dear disciple of the divine Teacher not know us ? said Joseph of Arimathea. We also, O Simon ! are his disciples, We were so in secret, but now we are ready to acknowledge him before all the people. Nicodemus, my worthy friend, who cannot be unknown to thee, has boldly de- clared for Christ before the sanhedrim : with un- shaken courage he, before them all, spake in his defence : but I alas ! too late acknowledge .him. 1 was intimidated coward as I was, I did not dare to express iny thoughts before that impious as- sembly ! Forbear, dear Joseph, said Nicodemus, to afflict thy tender mind. Thou earnest away with me, and hast already owned the divine Jesus. Joseph here lifting up his eyes, swi turning in tears, THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX, to heaven, cried, Hear, O hear, Thou God, and Father of the holy Jesus ! the voice of my sup- plications. Him whom I so faintly owned while he lived, may I, before all the world> undauntedly acknowledge when dead. Here Joseph was silent. His petition arose to the eternal throne, and with the grant descended divine grace. Nicodemus now addressing himself to Peter, said, O Simon ! thy heart seems steeped in bitterness, and thou turnest thy face from us. We share thy grief, we feel like thee, the death that is now seizing the holiest, the best of men ! Perhaps he is now expiring ! But> O thou, his dear disciple ! let thy gracious words pour into our souls an healing balm ; and let not thy melancholy eye upbraid us with having so long, only in private, acknowledged the divine Jesus thy Lord and ours. As a tree seized by the blustering winds, quivering bends its lofty top, so Peter, hanging down hig head, stood trembling. Overpowered by remorse, he hid his face in his garment. Then fled, seeking rest in greater pain. He hasted back to Golgotha, and. with labouring steps, ascended the hill. He now more freely breathes, He ventures to raise his eyes to the lofty cross ; but not to Hie* awful face of his dying 'Lord. Under it he beheld, near each other, John and the mother of the sacred vic- tim, motionless, silent, and with eyes which, through excess of grief, shed no tears. At a small distance stood many of the faithful, who had followed the Saviour out of Galilee. Though low their birth,, though obscure their rank, though mean their appearance, sacred history has transmitted the names of some of that virtuous band to posterity : Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, Mary the mother of the sons of Zebedee, aud thou, O Marv, who now didst behold, extended BOOK IX. THE MESSIAH. 243 on the cross, thy divine Son, the best and most ami- able of the race of men. These, with many others, from the warmth of their affection, ventured to stand near their dying- Lord. Mary Magdalene had sunk on the ground, longing for death. Carried away by the torrent of her sorrow, she abandoned every hope ; every idea of the Saviour's miracles, and lay impassioned on the hill, filling the air with her complaints. The mother of Joses, though herself inconsolable, prompted by. the tenderness of her soul, attempted to give her the comfort she herself could not feel ; and, with the soft voice of pity, strove to alleviate her distress : but soon the agony of her own grief rendered her silent. Meanwhile the mother of the two sons of Zebedee, pale and fade-d with grief, stood weeping in the dreary gloom, with uplifted eyes, and wringing her hands, seemed to say, How long will the divine vengeance be delayed ? Sood will it fall on this cruel people ! But none with more fervour of soul ; none with more cordial compassion, viewed the dying Jesus, than, the converted criminal. This escaped not the notice of the immortals, more especially of those who were once of the human race ; while the chief object of their exalted sensations was the grace of the Redeemer. Abraham, enraptured with the thought of his salvation, observed him with warm, affection ; till at length the affecting sympathy with which the already happy convert beheld the Holy Sufferer, struck the patriarch with such mingled pity and joy> that, breaking forth from his mute astonishment, he turned to Moses, who stood by his side ; and the exalted father of the twelve-trihed Hebrews, thus spake to the inspired legislator, the builder of the tabernacle ; H THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX. What we, O son ! behold what, these few hours display, will furnish us with discourse through the endless ages of eternity. Thou sawest the glory of God on Horeb ; I in Mamre's sacred grove : mild was then its appearance : then the divine lips sounded melodious grace. Thus sweet, thus ravish- ingly soft was the voice of the Saviour, when he spake pardon to the criminal. O thou pure, thou spotless Jesus, thou suffering Messiah, how great is my joy at the redemption thou procurest for sinners, my children ! my jubilant songs shall join those of the heavenly host ! Sec how this new dis- ciple smiles at his approaching death ! How the mercies of the Most High how the divine bene- volence of the great Redeemer swell his struggling heart ! How the transports of eternal life beam around him ! Yet, though the repose of a better life is so near, with what soft compassion does he look on the sufferings of his gracious Saviour ! That my abandoned children should thus ungrate- fully, with cruel hands, slay the Lord of Life, would, was I mortal, fill me with such grief as to bow me down to the grave ! What Gabriel in vain strove to conceal from me, let me communicate to thee ; and then may the dread idea be for ever banished from my mind. The gracious Redeemer, who, with the marks of these wounds, shall come tojudge the world, lias already foretold the fate of these abandoned sinners : nay, they have impre- cated the divine vengeance on themselves. The heathen governor sought to save him, and, Wsitli reluctance, passed sentence ; while they cried out, His blood be upon us and our children. Oh that no angel of death had engraved the dreadful words on an eternal rock, and placed it by the throne of the Most High. I see- I see nations coming froia BOOK. l. THE MESSIAH. 245 the ends of the earth to pay homage to the divine Jeans ; to listen to his precepts, and to bow before him, their Lord and Saviour. Cut among these I see not niy children. Moses answered, Thou father of Isaac, of Jacob, and of the faithful who adhered to the worship of Jehovah, when the multitude flocked to graven images : thou Father of her who bore the Re- deemer, and of him who accomplishes the great work of redemption ! O Abraham ! lift up thine eyes and befcolij. What I shall say, is to thee al- ready hnown : but 'tis good frequently to gaze on the fair face of truth. There are a people of judgment and of grace. The Unsearchable, who points with his right hand to mercy, and with his left to judgment, hath placed the Jews on a rock, that all generations of men, all the sons of the dust, may clearly see that they have the power of chiis- ing life and death ; whosoever, therefore, on ob- serving the monitory rock, will not look up to it to see and learn, is his own destroyer : he condemns himself. Abraham listened with grateful smile to hi$ words, and replied, Perhaps when they have long served as a proof to the nations, they will forsake the wave of sin, and then the son will no longer bear the iniquities of the father. Then, O Moses, then perhaps they will return Sweetest transports flow in upon me, and peace from God smiles all around ! Oh then will they return to the great 'Redeemer ! the Saviour of all oiankind ! to him. who by day iji a cloud, and in the night by a pil- lar of fire, led their forefathers to the land of Canaan, and on the cross now bleeds for them. Return, return, O my children ! return to him who is ready to save ! fo him to him R X 246 THE MESSIAH. BOOH DC. ye are now putting to death ! to the Lamb that will soon be slain '. to eternal life ! Here with supplicating look, he raised his eyes to heaven. Isaac, his beloved son, once the com- fort of his declining age, seeing him, came in his juvenile form, with a smile of joy, mingled with concern, and instantly cried, Ah father, in thy countenance I see the warm emotions of thy mind ! But alas ! our children cruelly slay him, who sanctified himself for them ! Yet, O Jehovah ! thou wilt at length have mercy on them ! thou wilt bear them on eagles' wings to their Saviour ! At this delightful thought felicity comes hovering round me, and extatic bliss rushes upon my exult- ing soul ! Yet one idea fills me with sacred awe. -Well dost thou remember, when on yonder sa- cred mount (for ever sacred let it be to me !) thou ledst me to the altar. Thy son more cheer- ful than thyself, went by thy side, rejoicing that he was going with thee to sacrifice to the Eternal : but when I lay bound on the wood, and the light- ed brand flamed by my side ; when I lifted up my eyes swimming in tears to heaven ; when you gave me the parting kiss ; then turning from me drew the glittering blade, and held destruction over thy son But I pass over that trying hour, since crown- ed vrith ages of purest joy Then thine Isaac was surely chosen to prefigure the Son of the Most High the sacrifice that now bleeds on Gtlgotha. 'This filfs me with a sweet and rap- turous melancholy that overpowers my immortal soul. Thus Isaac spake, and Abraham in soft accent* replied, Let us bow before the Redeemer. In- stantly they kneeled : one of Abraham's arms en- closed that of hii son. and their folded hands were BOOK IX. THE MESSIAH. 4T raised to Golgotha. The father then cried, O thou sacred source of joy to believers ! thou Son of the Supreme Father ! what have I felt since a mortal mother bore thee at Bethlehem ? The angels, lost in astonishment, comprehend not the wonders of thy grace and love. Thou the inspiring theme of their jubilant songs, condescendest to shroud thyself in a mean and humble life. Scarce could the spirits on high know thee under the lowly dis- guise. O th on in whom the brightness of thy Fa- ther's glory^shone ! thou hast walked the steep, the solitary way of mortality ; and now art thou come to its solemn, its momentous period to thy last, thy most painful sufferings, which, long before I was born on this earth, thou, O my Saviour, and the Saviour of all that come to thee, didst chuse ! didst chuse for man ! and now thou bleedest thou diest ! Oh ! thou art far superior to our compassion ! Yet we feel the great, the dreadful stroke, with which death strikes thee, and at which the immense creation trembles. Have mercy on us, O God Most High ! thou spring of never failing mercy and of grace ! that we may not too deeply feel the sufferings of thy Son. Have mercy have mercy on all who, rapt in admiration, surround the Saviour on all, like us, allied to the dust. Here Abraham ceased, and both were silent, till Isaac asked, Who are the souls that cherub is leading to the cross ? The radiant band ap- proached from the distant sky, beautiful as the rising morn. They had quitted their tabernacles of flesh, and came from all the nations of the earth, extending from pole to pole, where their bodies had been consumed by the quick devouring flames of the funeral pile, or committed to the silent grave. Their hearts were sincere and pure, if the purity of mortals deserves the name. Animated by the lav* THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX. pf virtue, fairest ornament of the human mind, and ever lovely in the eyes of the Universal Parent, they passed through this inferior life ; hut had not been illumined by the light of an external reve- lation. Thousands of these happy souls were led by the meditative cherub, while seized with their first astonishment at the glories of their new state of existence, they with silent rapture adored the Sovereign Lord of all, who is no respecter of persons, and whose tender mercies are over all his works. To them the cherub turned his face, when Abra- ham and the other patriarchs heard him thus ad- dress the souls, while they approached the gloom surrounded cross. What ye, blessed spirits, see, consider with all the powers your new and rapturous sensations will allow. Here is fresh subject for your love, your gratitude, your devout astonishment. None born of woman can without the Mediator, who there bleeds for you,- see the Eternal. Ye happy souls, to you 1 now reveal the great mystery of eternity. The divine victim expiring before you is Jesus. He offered himself a sacrifice for sinners condemned to die. Though the Son of the Most High, he was born on earth, born of a mortal mother, who there stands at the foot of the cross. Fastings, prayers, adorations, instructions, miraculous acts of beneficence, sufferings on sufferings, filled up the life of the gracious Saviour : and now (the joys of eternity hang upon the great event) now he dies he dies for all the sons of earth he dies for you ! Had he not from the beginning been chosen, the Redeemer, all would have died ; but through his obedience all shall be made alive. God is pleased with your sincere endeavours to know and pbey him, and, happy souls, for his sake your sin- ferity it accepted ; lie whom ye strove to know, BOOK IX. TiJK MESSIAH. 219 has seen your tears ; has heard your petitions to be freed from sin, which ye felt, which ye conquered, though ye knew not all its evils. Hence your prayers have ascended to the highest heavens and were acceptable to him who searcheth the hearts of the sons of men. Prostrate yourselves to the bleading Jesus your Friend, your Redeemer, your Intercessor ! Oh give thanks to the great Media- tor ! to the Dispenser of eternal life ! to the suf- fering Jesus, the Son of the Most High God ! These souls, filled with inexpressible blissful sensations, mingled with gentle dejection and as- tonishment, sunk in rapturous adoration of the gracious Saviour, who had loved them before the foundation of the world, and was now dying toper- feet the redemption of the human race. Salirn and Selith, the guardian angels of John and Mary, observing the grateful prostration of these enraptured souls, Salim cried, How sensible of their felicity, O Selith, are these new immor- tals ! How the joys of heaven already flow in upon them ! O my friend ! What a spectacle worthy of angels ! They are for ever delivered from the trou- bles of mortal life ; from the afflictions which full so thick and heavy on the inhabitants of the earth ! Alas ! the dear persons under our care are far from enjoying their repose ! They were lately so filled with sublime sensations, as scarce to feel the heavy clog of mortality ; but now, those pale cheeks, those agonizing looks, those bleeding wounds, have chilled the extasies of the mother and the friend ! I, O Selith, also feel thera ! I feel the cruel nails that pierce their souls ! I, replied Selith, have seen many of the afflicted : but no distress like theirs ! Yet is my compassion mixed with wonder. Is it riot strange, that they who are beloved by the Eternal, should thus deeply suffer ? yet with pleasure J THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX, reflect, that God frequently ''mpart r - consolation to his suffering servants, when every ray of hope seems vanished. And, O Salim ! if my ardent de- sire of seeing them again favoured hy divine con- solation, docs not deceive me, I now see emana- tions of comfort beaming from the benevolent eyes of the Messiah. Thus spake Selith. He erred not ; for the Re- deemer would no longer withhold his pity from John and the afflicted Mary ; but cast down on them a look whence reviving effusions stream- ed into their fainting souls. Then inclining Lis divine face towards them, Mary, with trem- bling expectation, listened, while, to her ear the voice of her gracious Saviour, thus descended : M ther. behold thy Son. Then to the disciple he said, Behold thy mother ! John and Mary trans- ported, looked at each other filled with surprize, and shedding tears of gratitude. The dying Jesus still continued suspended in keenest torture. An horrid silence encompassed the hill of death, and the earth incessantly trem- bled through its secret caverns. Yet in the neigh- bourhood of Jerusalem, its latent trepidations were not felt. Once did the concussion reach the re- bellious city : but it only raised an obscure sensa- tion : something of a distant terror of impending vengeance, for the blood that was then flowing, seized the hearts of the multitude. The stcret convulsions of Nature reached a rocky mountain far from Olivet, where into a gloomy cave, Abbadona had retired to mourn in the depths of the earth. He was sitting on the declivity of a subterranean rock, viewing vyith fixed attention a torrent which fell at his feet. His lis- oar was following the roar of the foaming ^ which flowing from the summit of the BOOK IX. TH MESSIAH< lofty mountain, was clashed from cliff to cliff, when suddenly he felt under him a progressive trembling, and the rocks fell from their aspiring heights. Ab- badona, terrified at the convulsive pangs of nature, cried, Does the earth lament that she has brought forth children ? and is she tired of bearing her mouldering issue in her bosom, which is now be- come a perpetual grave to them ? Thus thronged with human bodies, she is within dreaflful, while without she is clothed with a verdant robe, and adorned with blooming flowers. Or, alas ! docs she lament the great, the divine person, whom I, in midnight darkness, saw in humble prostration, Suffering ! Ah, what is his fate ! Why do I delay to see him again! Is the heavy band of awiul justice nearer me, when exposed on the open earth, than when here ? No where can I escape from justice ! should I ily from the creation, still would she follow me ? I will then seek him, I will sec the issue of his dreadful sufferings, and penetrate into the mystery of this great event But if he is always encompassed by this heavenly host, how shall I approach him ? How sustain their looks ? Dare I to imitate their splendor ? Dare I to transform myself into an angel of light ? Alas ! the God of truth would, with his pointed lightning, strip off the disguise, and the angels see me in ray hideous form. But Satan has been permitted to appear }ike an angel of light ! he who has provoked .the Most High by greater crimes by incessant acts of deepest guilt ! Ab this disguise is not_to con- ceal any base design, harboured in my tortured heart ! But shall Abbadona use disguise ? Retire, retire, wretch, rejected and forlorn ! retire, and in secret contemplate thy misery ! Am I ex- cluded then from going ? and must I not know |j< end OP his wcindrou.s sufferings ? But, THE MESSIAH, Bo * should I be able to bebold the looks of the angels and not fly ? Thus fluctuating, and still dubious he arose from the cavern : but scarce had he alighted on the surface of the earth, when with astonishment he drew back : for then seeing her involved in the dreadful gloom of night,, he cried, with a tremu- lous voice. At mid-day, overspread with such thick darkness ! Is the earth ripe for judgment ? Is she now to be destroyed-? Doth the Omnipotent hold her in the hollow of his hand ? But wherefore ? Does the wonderful Sufferer lie buried in her bo- som ? and does God require him of her sons ? But can the Messiah die ? Wherever I turn, per- plexity dwellsi on each new idea. Much better is it for me to Ihaste and seek him to see, and by that means, t.o learn than to sit alone, lost in fruit- less conjectures. Thus resolved, he stood on the tree-crowned sum- mit of a lofty mountain, a.nd amidst the shroud- ing darkness, long with quick eye, sought the holy city. At length he perceived it, when through hovering clouds, it seemed like a heap of ruins. Now, trembling, he tries to assume a bright ethe- rial form a nd all the juvenile beautv with which he shone ini the blissful vale of peace : but awk- ward is the; imitation. Radient tresses indeed flow beneath his shoulders, which are adorned with golden wings ; within his eyes he retains his tears, and the Uistre of the dawning day overspreads his lucid countenance. Thus arrayed in beauty he, with trembling flight, chuses his way through the thickest gloom. In traversing the coast of the Dead Sea, he hears an unusual noise in the agitated waters : with the roar of the waves are inter- mingled the groans of anguish, and the howls of despaij;. So, when guilty cities are swallowed up BOOK IX. THE MESSIAH. 253 by an earthquake, there resounds from the open- ing 1 abyss, the cries of the dying, mixed with the fall of polluted temples and marble palaces ; at which the pale traveller, filled with terror, flies. Thus the affrighted Abbadona hears the roaring of the Dead Sea, mingled with the groans and bel- lowing of Satan and Adramelech. lie knows (hem, and with fluttering wing, leaves the doleful shore. He now draws near to the angelic circle. At the august appearance he is suddenly overpowered by an insurmountable terror, and his mimic lustre fades. The augel solely immersed in the contem- plation of the holy the dying Messiah, observed not his approach : but he escaped not Eioa's piercing eye. He instantly knew him, and thus said to himself, The forsaken of God, this fearful soul -to; merited seraph, would then behold the cru- cified Jesus ! Already has he seen his passion in the garden. He seeks him again ! How restless how miserable is his state ! A prey to inces- sant remorse ! Long, very long has he been dis- solved in these bitter tears of anguish ! O God, thou Sovereign Judge, all thy purposes on Abba- dona thou wilt accomplish ! thy ways are ever just and righteous. Then in Iiumbie prostration, he prayed in silence. On his rising, he made a sign to an angel, who instantly stood before him. Haste, blessed spirit, said Eloa, haste to the angels, and. to the progenitors of the human race, and thus ad- dress them. Abbadona, trembling and anxious, is drawing towards us. Should he venture to mingle with you, oh forbid him not ; for in extreme dis- tress he comes, to obtain an r,wful view of the Re- deemer. Let none order him to fly. Let none discountenance a mind so humbled. Indulge him 254 THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX' in this afflictive alleviation of his anguish. About the cross are greater sinners than Abbadona. The fallen seraph hovered, trembling, about ihe angelic assembly. He hesitated ; fluttered for- ward ; stopt ; alighted on the ground. He was suddenly desirous of returning back. He then ani- mated himself with the thought, that none but the Messiah could be encompassed by so spacious, so pompous a circle of angels. He now flew amidst them. The angels turned and saw him ; they saw the faint disguise. Abbadona wore a ghasty smile ; a lustre that irradiates none of the blessed,, mingled with fixed horror and predominant grief, which he strove in vain to conceal. With silent commisera- tion they suffered him to pass, and he approached the cloud topped hill ! but seeing those on each cross, he swiftly turned aside. No, I will not see them, said he ; I will not see the faces of the dying ! Their sufferings pierce me too deep, and present to ray thoughts images of horror ! too loudlv do thry accuse me to the Sovereign Judge ! Unhappy creatures ! my companions in guilt and misery, \vho have rendered yourselves so guilty that vour own brethren have made you such terrible examples ! -Bu-1 1 will not enquire whether the justice or cruelty of those like yourselves have inflicted on you this dreadful death Let rne fly let me escape from this distressful sight. But where shall I find him whom I seek ? This as- sembly of the heavenly host has not descended to the earth in vain : they doubtless incircle him. He is then in this sacred place : but where ? When I saw him in the garden it was covered with an horrible darkness that on this hill, strewed with bones, is still more horrible. But can he not be 5>een ? O that some angel would point him out ! MESSIAH 255 -Dare I, unhappy, ask an angel to shew me him 3 Did they know me by this tremor., bv this nu'kui- choly confusion, they would order me to retire. But rapt in divine contemplations on this holy per- son, they observe not me Ah, wretch ! how de- based art thou ! thou darest not lift up thy bash- ful eye to the faithful ministers of God ; and yet on this hill of sculls presumest to appear before them, while adorned with all their radiant splen- dor ! Perhaps here, where dying malefactors afford the most manifest proof of the fall of man, Jesus concludes his earthly sufferings. Perhaps, prostrate among human bones, he is here offering up his supplications to the Sovereign Judge. Ah, must 1 again turn my face towards this mount of death ! He then turned, hovering slow and timid around the hill, till descending, he sought with quick and piercing eye under the crosses. There he found John, and careful watched his looks. Meanwhile the gracious Saviour still hung on the darkened cross, and every feature of his agonizing counte- nance seemed to wish for the repose of the grave. Abbadona at length recovering from his first emotions, softly cried, It is impossible it is im- possible It cannot be He die ! It is impossible ! But why do I delay to obtain conviction ? Then lifting up his eyes, he suddenly added, I see him I am not deceived It is he ! Yes, it is he ! be whom I saw on the mount of Olives, prostrate, weeping, and pouring out his soul in prayer for roan ! He now sunk upon the hill, and resumed, Here will I in the dust wait the issue of this solemn tremendous scene, and if I may be permitted, will see the divine Sufferer die ! Ah what is this that mriws ia my mind like the opening dawn of rest ? g56 THE MESSIAH. Bo OK fX Is it the stupefaction of anguish, or a ray of re- viving hope ? of the best hope 1 dare entertain * the hope of annihilation ? Oh deceive me not. tinu mere ideal hope Thou dost not Thou art more than imaginary. Methinks I now dare fly to the Sovereign Judge, and humbly implore him to grant me annihilation ! Ah then I shall be no more I- No more shall feel the burning torment ! Then at once will ray existence cease ! I shall be blotted from the race of immortal beings ! be forgotten by the angels, by the whole creation, by God himself ! Behold, I bow my head, O Jehovah ! to thine om- nipotence ; and do thou, my Sovereign Judge con- descend to exterminate me from thy creation by an invisible touch of thine almighty hand, or by a sub- til blaze darted from thy refulgent splendor. Such were the supplications of Abbadona, which lie presumed to hope would be accomplished. Filled with mingled joy and terror, he glided along the earth, and looked up to the bloody cross, to the dying Redeemer, visible in obscurity, striving to retain his borrowed splendor. But while he thus strove, and his fears and terrors still returned, he perceived hovering on the right side of the more lofty cross, his beloved, now his dreadful Abdiel, once his friend, his brother ; for with him was he created. Surrounding gloom instantly veiled from his sight the radiant circle of angels, and to h'm the whole creation appeared too narrow. Every* appertinence of an happy immortal, ail the graces, all the powers of a fair etherial spirit, he suddenly strove to assume, to prevent his being known by Abdiel ; and hasting as if dispatched on some high behests, from remote worlds to others more remote, he had stopped, but dared not stay; he thus, with quick speech, addressed himself to Abdiel. Tell ine, dear seraph, ( for thou, perhaps, mayes! BOOK IX. THE MESSIAH. 257 know) when will the Saviour expire ? I am ordered to he expeditious ; yet, wherever I am, I could wish, with the lowliest adorations, to solemnize that important moment. Abdiel, at hearing his voice, turned towards the unhappy, and, with a gravity softened by compas- sion, answered Abbadonu ! As the face of a bloom- ing- youth blasted by a. sulphureous flash darted from the clouds, is suddenly overspread by the livid paleness of death, so gloom issuing from the abyss, instantly covered the face of Abbadona. All the heavenly, host beheld his transformation. When, struck with fear and shame, he suddenly flew, with rapidity, from the bright circle of the celestial spirits, unable to bear their looks or their splen- dour. The fallen seraph ascended far into the sky, and then sunk down on a mountain-, from whence at the same time arose on the opposite side a spirit, far more black and miserable than he who had fled. One of the bright inhabitants of heaven seeing; him, said to his companion, \\ho is that wretch accursed advancing towards us, from yonder hill ? How has the hand of justice branded his wrinkled front. ! How is he deformed by odio us guilt ! Yet he pre- sumes to fly towards this bright assembly ! But sec, the mighty Obaddon is driving forward the wretched spirit. Ah ! it is the ghost of the trai- tor ! INow the angel of death brought the trembling caitifnearto the cross ; and all the celestials saw him so black, that he seemed a spot in the darkness which encompassed the globe.. He appeared as distressed with agonizing terror, as if, wherever he flew, over him enkindling .lightnings blazed, and under him the earth opened, \vhile that darted at his head avenging fires ; and this, with equal 258 THE MESSIAH. Bob* IX, fury prepared to swallow him. Thus, with wild anguish, the soul of Judas approached the cross, with his eyes fixed on Obaddon! who, waving in his right hand his flaming sword, drove him, re- luctant ; till, alighting on a sable cloud, he, with imperious voice, thus spake : Behold ! there lies Bethany here the palace of Caiaphas here below, the house where thou, un- grateful, didst partake of the memorials of the Saviour's death There is Gethscmane that is thy carcase dost thou tremble ? tremble still but open not thy mouth in curses. Hero, stretching out the flaming sword towards the middle cross, which rose pre-eminent, he added, That is Jesus Christ, once thy Lord ! He dies ! he dies for men ! to sweeten their life, their death ! to deliver them from torment like thine, and to exalt them to the regions of eternal bliss ! Those wounds, whence flow his redeeming hlood, shall shine, with en- rapturing lustre, when he comes to judge the world ! Now turn, thou wretched spirit, and fol- low me. Overwhelmed with despair, Judas turned aside, and Obaddon quick relieved the angelic circle from a sight so hateful. They now wing their way among the stars. The traitor is terrified at the immense extent of the silent creation. The dread idea of the omnipresent God rushes upon his mind with all its terrors ; and long he tremblei before he dares to utter this request : O thou most dreadful of the angels ! let me entreat let me implore thee not to carry rne to the throne of the Eternal Judge but, with that dread flaming sword, to put an end to my wretched being. Obey, and be silent, said Obaddon, driving him forward, till at length, at his command, he stood on on.e of the suns, and near him that angel of death. There he shewed tbe traitor the heaven of heaven*. BOOK Jfc. THE MESSIAH. 259 where the Most High visibly displays his glory, and the blessed enraptured spirits enjoy the beatific vision. Though the throne of God was now en- compassed with sacred darkness, and instead of eternal hallelujahs, and the triumphant joy of the saints, reigned stillest silence : yet heaven was still worthy of being- the residence of Him who is the Author of all beauty, the Source of all perfection, and to the most exalted of the blessed, was still the region of boundless joy, of ineffable felicity. This said Qbaddon to the \vretched spirit, is the heaven of the Most High God, the theatre on which he displays the most blissful manifestations of his exuberant glory, which he graciously imparts to those who make him the object of their grateful love. At present the Eternal hides his facs from all finite beings, and sits shrouded on his throne irt sacred obscurity : but still mine eyes perceive the divine glory. That celestial, that blooming moun- tain is called Sion ; upon its top he who now dies, for man will often shew himself resplendent in grace, to those who on earth, were his pious followers. Those twelve golden thrones thou seest on Sidn, shining like the sun in its splendour, were, by the august Rewarder of virtue appointed for the twelve faithful disciples of the divine Jesus: and, seated on these, they shall one day judge the earth. Thou wast one of his disciples. That throne was thine. But thou hast forfeited the seat of bliss ; and it will be given to another more worthy. Sue not for destruction. Fruitless are all thy lamentations. Behold, so many of the celestial glories as thine eyes are able to discover, so many torments has God measured out to thee. In vain, feeble wretch, theu strivest to forbear looking up to heaven. Learn to know the omnipotence of the Supreme Judge. Like a rock in the sea, which no storm car THE MESSIAH. BOOK IX move, shah tbou here stand and contemplate., that Jesus Christ dies on the cross to raise those who love him to this heaven : to this state of unutterable glory. At these words Obaddon left him, and flew up towards heaven, till arriving at one of the celestial suns he prayed. At length rising from his orisons, and returning to the traitor, who stood wildly gazing and filled with unutterable misery, he cried, Away, tbou wicked spectre, I now lead thee to hell, thine everlasting dwelling. Thus, with the hoarse voice of terror sounding like redoubled claps of thunder, spake the angel of death, and then precipi- tated his flight down to wards hell. From afar they 'heard the noise of the infernal deep, which roaring struck the confines of the creation and undulated to the nearest stars. In that space where God has set bounds to infinitude, hell rolls her torrents of liquid fire. There no order submissive reigns above or below ; no law of motion swift or slow. Sometimes with unusual rapidity they move, such is the command of the Sovereign Judge, to punish the fresh crimes of her inhabitants with flames more vehement, arid sharper darts of ever-dying death. Now with rageful impatience, and hideous ound, mingled with groan?, and yeUs, and shrieks, they fly up into the wide expanse. Meanwhile the traitor and his potent guide quit the -confines of the fair creation, and all the worlds innumerable, and, with extended wings, sink down to the gates of hell. The angel of death stationed there knows Obaddon, sees the criminal writhing and struggling to escape, while the dread of the flaming sword forces his reluctant submission. He unfolds the wide adamantine gates, which harsh grating with jarring sound impetuous turn their broad lunges, and at oac discover the deep the dread abyss tre- BOOK IX. THE MESSIAH. 261 mendous and most horrible. Not mountains heaped on mountains would till up the enormous entrance : these would only render the passage more rugged . No path leads down to hell's hideous deeps. Close by the gate rocks cleft with gusts of liquid fire, fall down in ruins wild, while dismay pale and. giddy at what is seen and heard, looks .speech itss down with eyes wide staring and face aghast, into the flaming gulph. The execuiiouer of the divine vengeance, w-ith the infernal Judas, stood at this gaping grave : the grave where Death never dies never sleeps. The seraph then turning aside, pointed his flaming s \\ord down into the deep abyss, and cried, This is the abode of the damned, and this, O wretch ! is thine abode ! Jesus Christ, once thy gracious Lord, descended from heaven, lived a life of sorrow, breathing benevolence and love to man, and is now dying on the cross, to save man- kind from this place of everlasting woe ! Thus he spake, and hurled the struggling spec- tre into the abyss. Then with rapidity soared from the precincts of the fiery deep, to the fair creation* Now he comes to the altar on which the divine vic- tim was offered, and stands waiting farther orders from the Omnipotent. THE END OF THE NINTH BOOK. THE BOOK x. THE ARGUMENT. God looks down from his throne, while the Messiah caste his eves on the sepulchre, and prays ; then with a look fills Satan and Adramelech with terror. Many elevated souls are now given to the earth, one of whom delivers his thoughts of the dying Redeemer. A character of these souls. A conversation between Simeon and John the Baptist. Miriam and Deborah lament the dying Saviour in a hymn. Lazarus comforts Lebbeus. Uriel gives notice that the first of the angels of death is de- scending to the earth. The impression this makes on Enoch, Abel, Seth, David, Job, and more particularly on our first parents, who descend to the sepulchre of Jesus, and pray. The angel of death descends, ad- dresses the Messiah, and makes known the divine com- mand. The Messiah dies. STILL farther do I travel in my tremendous path, still nearer draw to the Saviour's death to his death who breathed nought but love di- yine, and "whose love supports my fainting powers. O let me not, presumptuous, too boldly sing the great Redeemer ! nor without solemn dignity at- tune my song ! Look down propitious, on me, who am but dust, O thou, by whose omnipotence I am environed ! Thou seest all the conceptions of my mind, ere into thought they rise, nor is there a word that trembles on my tongue to thee unknown. O 261 THE MESSIAH. BOOK X. my Redeemer ! enlighten me, and when I stumble forgive ! A ray of thy light, a drop of thy grate is to the famished soul fulness, apd to its thirst, the refreshing stream. The throne, which was wont to shine serene in visible beauty, now stood involved in the thickest gloom of night : solitary it stood, around it no im- mortal adored, save an angel of death, who pros- trate beneath the lowest step, with raised hands and suppliant eyes, looked up with fixed attention; Meanwhile Jehovah through the bright dust of scattered suns, and worlds obscure, through silent nature looked, with awful view, understood or felt by none but him on whom the eternal eye was fixed, Death, now so near, the Saviour's whole frame pervades. The worlds tremble through all their secret ppwers. Troubled, enraptured, silent, stand all the immortals, contemplating the Son of God, on whose divine face a more deadly paleness sits. His weary languid eyes are faintly cast on his near sepulchre, hewn out of a lonely rock among trees of antient growth, and with a mind still filled with Benignity ;ind soft compassion, which no pain could expel, he thus pours forth in secret sighs the yet warm thoughts of his expiring soul. There in the sleep of death soon wilt thou, my body, lie. For this I assumed thee. Yet though thou shall lie down in death, thou shalt not see corruption. O my gracious Father ! "wipeevery tear from every eye" that shall then weep for me !-~Have pity mi them, when thou shalt bring them to their latest hour ! Have pity on all who believe in thy bcr loved Son, who now dies for t,he sins of the world ! O Father ! have compassion on all who, in their struggles with death, shall fly tothee for grace and consolation. Have compassion on those, who shall be brought by many tribulations to the grave : who BOOK X. THE MESSIAH. 265 in poverty shall live, and yet shall not deny thee : who while they keep a conscience void of offence both towards thee and towards man, shall become the scorn and mockery of sinners : who, true to their friends, bless even their enemies : who, by their actions, shew their love to their brethren, their love to mankind ! Have compassion on those, who unda/zled by the honours, the wealth, the dignities of life, shall use them for the good of others ; themselves regardless of the glittering toys, and all the distinctions of vanity. Oh be merciful to those who, loaded by thy gifts, shall constantly employ them in thy service, and to thy glory : in their last hour shew them the light of thy coun- tenance : when their eyes sink in death, and their aspiring souls are ready to take their flight to their great Creator, then visit them with thy consolations, and receive them to the world of eternal peace and joy. O holy Father ! God of love ! by the blood which flows from these wounds, on which my body is suspended ; by the ensanguined crown of thorns that encircles my head, and by all my agonies and sufferings, I conjure thee, in the name of that love that has induced me to suffer the ignominy and death of the cross, to accomplish the salvation of mankind, to hear me, and grant that they whom I love may remain faithful to the end may die in comfort, and, rising to eternal life, receive the bright crown of unfading and immortal glory. Thus silent prayed the great, the dying Messiah. Then turning his benevolent eyes from the sepul- chre, he looked with stern brow on the Dead Sea, where lay Satan and Adramelech. His eyea now darted convulsive terrors and deep dismay into k t!ie depths of that tempestuous lake, and both the apostate spirits sunk in the lowest misery. Then was fulfil led the sentence of the Eternal, that the SS THE MESSIAH. , BOOK X- Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Satan in the midst of his anguish stamped into atoms one of the subterranean rocks, and intermingling his faultering accents with languid bowlings, thus began : Feelest tbou, like me, the inflamed, unquench- able tortures, which death, eternal death, pours into the deepest recesses of this immortal substance ? lu vain would J give thee an idea of what I suffer : but hell affords not images so frightful, so terrible, as to enable me to describe what I suffer. Judge my anguish, that will allow me to be sensible of no other joy than that of seeing thee suffer ! Judge my humiliation, and the excess of my despair, when, in spite of myself, I am forced to acknowledge that lie is omnipotent ! Yes, he is omnipotent, and J the blackest monster of the abyss ! The lowest the lowest I lie., and all hell is upon me ! With all its torments am I oppressed ! to all the terrors of the fiery gulph, my boasted empire, am I aban- doned ! But did he, by his thunders precipitate us into this gulph ? No, an angel bid us fly our boasted courage sunk, and we like cowards fled I- But in whose name did his messenger utter that command ? Oh ! what new vengeance threatens my rebellious head ! The great name J dare not utter ! He in whose name we fled he whom we persecuted, now perhaps dies ! A ne,w, a more fiery dart of destruction flies with this thought through all my immortal powers. Darkness on darkness surrounds me. The obscure mystery affords not the least glimmering ray Ah ! this is misery all, all around me is misery ! Even the hope, the wretched, the agonizing hope. of anni- hilation vanishes. Ye worlds, and thou heaven, turn ye to chaos be confounded with hell ! and lm{p me from the wrath of the Omnipotent. BOOK X. THE MESSIAH. 267 The proud Adrameledi, could scare with sobbing anguish and despairing look., reply, Help me thou accursed, help me. 1 suffer the pangs of ever-dying death. Once I could hate thee with furious ha- tred, but now 1 can no more ! I sink under the excess of my misery ! I would curse thee, but cannot ; I would curse mvsir for imploring help of thee ! O monster ! O Satan ! help me, I con- jure thee help me ! This he uttered bellowing loud, and laying his iron hands on Satan, continued, It would be a^satisfaction to me to detest, and to curse thee I will I will. Here fainting with the effort, he sunk and fell. Thus both experienced the vengeance sent forth from the mighty Victor ; and so far Terror stretch- ed her crushing arm, that the lo\est hell resounded wilh the bowlings of despair. O muse of Sion ! no farther unveil tbe dreary abodes of pain and horror. Another and a nobler scene opens before thee, a scene of sacred melan- choly, of holy adoration, and of grace divine. Jesus now turning his eyes from the Dead sea, viewed the celestial bands that dissolved in pious grief, and rapt in sacred wonder, surrounded the cross. The soft sensations of eternal love appeared in the looks of the divine Saviour ! and long did they dwell on those souls who had never entered a mortal frame, or sanctified the dust. Now ap- proached one of those happy periods in which the earth was blessed with maiiy noble minds, that spread their influence through future ages. 'Tis true, the fame of virtuous deeds doth not always float along the stream of time ; yet the great effects of fair examples are seen conquering disgust and error ; and, with a progress secret but sure, flowing into the deeds of posterity. Thus, though the itone thrown into water sinks, on the surface wider 63 TIIE MESSIAH. BOOR X. and still wider circles, quivering spread around. Now one of the most exalted of those unembodied spirits, perceiving a glimpse of the light, which, during her stay on earth, was to beam pure sanctih'cation and radiant truth, thus indulged her thoughts. Still more and more do I feel, that he is the great Messiah. Innumerable and powerful as the suns that gild the starry fields of light whence we came, "but with influence much more benign, are the thoughts I read in his countenance. But how different is his appearance from that of our friends the angels ! Ah he resembles the men by whom he is surrounded ! but in his form alone he resem- bles them. In their faces is something gloomy, and averse to their Creator. Ah! what is man? We must also be of their number; like them we must be clothed in mortal bodies ; like them must live awhile and then return to the Eternal. thoti Father of angels and of men, be thy decrees accomplished ! Thy divine will be done ! and thine, O thou Messiah ! Of all that is difficult to conceive, this is most inconceivable, that thou, >nce arrayed in thy Father's glory, sufferest -There thou, raised above the hill, art suspended ; there thy passing life seems to flow away : and ye angels who once resolved my questions, are now silent. Yet within myself I feel that this departing life, to which, O thou divine! hast condescended to ubmit, is of importance to me to me, perhaps of more importance, than to the flaming seraph 1 love the suffering Messiah more than I can tell. O my God, accomplish what thou hast begun, complete my inflamed, my continual, my devout breathings after felicity ! Thou alone, O thou Infinite Source of perfection, art my felicity ! In thy presence is eternal joy. BOOK X. Till; MESSIAH. 269 Thus meditated the transported spirit, and not fruitless were its meditations. God, who oft in distant periods prepares what he is determined to accomplish, thus forms the soul for a life of pro- bation, and for the succeeding joys of eternal, ineffable felicity. Let time now fly with joyful wings, Around the cross stood wailing with devout fervor, the future guardians of the souls who drew near to a mortal pfe. Trembling with solicitous joy, thr attendant an- gels stood while from the Redeemer's eye issued the great command, Go and live ; believe and come. Their angels then smiling, received their charge and led them forth. Relate, O Sion's muse ! their life : relate their gifts and graces, while, dwelling iu tabernacles of clay, they passed their mortal pilgrimage, in sacred love and pious ardour ; imitating the bright example of their Saviour. The effects of the new sensations they had experienced on beholding Jesus on the cross, took root in all, ar.d at length unfold- ing with their increasing perceptions, became min- gled with the resplendent grace that flows from above. One of the fairest of these souls was that of Ti- mothy. He was yet in the bloom of youth, when he began, with humble and ardent zeal to \\afch over the church committed to his care, and, un- daunted, ventured to preach a dying, a risen Jesus. He was instructed by Paul, who brought to him the knowledge of the Lord, out of that awful, that dazzling light Tfhich beamed conviction. The pure soul of Timothy learnt, with tremulous joy., the way to eternal felicity, and taught it to thou- sands. Thousands loo were converted by his death ; when having nobly finished his course, he fell hy 270 THE MESSIAH. BOOK X. the executioner's sword. Like Paul and Cephas, be shone in the church as a bright resplendent lu- minary Thou, Antipas, didst early receive the glorioui rewards prepared for the faithful. Then the Judge of the earth, in his sentence on the church of Pat- roos, mentioned thine immortal name. With in- flexible fidelity, with pure, with warm affection thou lovedst thy crucified Lord, lovedst him till death. Hennas, with tears of joy, sang the Mediater. Sang him who died, who rose again, who ascended on high, and led captivity captive. Sang the Son of Gi)d, the Saviour of frail and mortal man The Son of God, who shall raise the dead, and judge the world. His hymns w< re sun^ by Christians re- trFed to solitary caves, when Hermas receiving ao intimation of the will of (he Most High, left the choir of his rejoicing brethren, joyfully suffered death, and went to join the moie exalted choir above. Phebe, desirous of doing good, and winning souls, left the narrow limits that confine her sex, aid generQiisly devoted herself to the service of the church. She kindly strove to remove the distresses of t lie indigent ; to help the sick; to comfort the dying. Heaven-born Charity, her dear compa- nion, was always with her ; but she fled from ap- plause, and was known only to the pious, and to ihe angels. From every fluctuating doubt of false wisdom, Herodian wa at length freed, and convinced that he who was not moreexaltad by his miracles thao by tho sublime truths he punished, had made known the Eternal Father's will ; dispersed the shades of death, and marked the path that leads to heaven. Through what intricate mazes of (horny speculation BOOK X. THE MESSIAH. 271 did he wander, before he reached the light which God, at length, poured around him ! In what painful, what fruitless researches did he engage, before he found the lightness of (he scale of human knowledge, and the preponderating weight of that of heavenly wisdom ! Epaphras was powerful in prayer. Like Paul, he was esteemed worthy to suffer for the sake of the crucified Jesus. He was thrown into the prison of a tyrant. The prisoner heard his prayers for the churches, and the blessings derived from his supplications chiefly streamed down on his beloved Colossians. With them he w r atched and strove with unwearied diligence. His zef the first offender, saying, the Promise of God, Christ Jesus the Faithful, the Long-suffering, the Abundant in mercy, full of Loving-kindness, has died for sinful man ! O thou Shoot of Adam's stem, blossom, and rise to eternal life ! Rejoice O hea- vens, and be glad O earth ! the All-gracious has given his only begotten Son for you ! Triumph, O my sons, in your Redeemer's love, his sufferings are ended, and a better, a more glorious life, awaits you above. V 2 294 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI, Jesus was still in the sanctuary. To no angel, to no patriarch had he yet revealed himself; but as he soared from gloomy Golgotha to the temple, the rustling ear and trembling earth to them an- nounced his presence : they saw not his glory, and still adored from the heights of Moriah. The idea of tne Mediator's death filled the souls of the patriarchs, and no angelic being felt their sensations. Joy mixed with the tender thoughts of thy death, heaven's most delightful solace, O thou divine Re- deemer ! overflowed their souls. Soft repose, the peace of God, and the love of Jesus illumined all their thoughts, and inflamed every sensation. While the souls of the saints absorbed in these ex- quisite raptures, their effulgent lustre gradually returned, and the Celestial love they felt for each other raised them still higher to the beatitude of loving the Redeemer ! they had all one soul, which in all was the temple of their Saviour. Gabriel, now hasting from the mount of death, appeared amongst them. His speech was at first obstructed by his joy at beholding the eternal iy redeemed, and their voices were to him as sweet and melodious as the sound of the celestial harps. Bre- thren ! immortals ! he at length cried ; Scarce can I presume to call ye brethren ; for your father is the father of Christ ! I brought ye from the sun to this earth. Another command I have received, Repair ye redeemed to your graves. The heavenly bands now dispersed, each hasting to his tomb. By the altar near which the earth had imbibed Abel's blood, was "still remaining a mossy rock, in which were interred Adam and ma- ny 'of his descendants. There the father of men with the devout of his race assembled. On ap- proaching their sepulchres each saw the blessed spi- rit who, while he was on earth had beeu his guar- BOOK Xl. THE MESSIAH. 295 dian angel, hovering round the ruins of his moul- dered tomb : but on the nearer approach of these holy souls, they upwards took their triumphant flight, while the souls of the dead were at "a loss to conceive the cause of their thus soaring with hymns of triumph. Enoch and Elijah still remained on the hill of death, looking with amazement at the saints who were descending to the receptacles of their mortal frames. Noah with Japheth and Shem, ascended to their graves on that mount where rested th ark, which, preserved by divine mercy, triumphed over all the rage of the deluge. Abraham, with his beloved, retired to his sepul- chre, near which he saw the heavenly traveller, in human form, whom, while unknown, he entertain- ed in the friendly shade. Moses repaired to his solitary grave on Nebo'a lofty summit, where God himself made the rock his tomb. He died in the immediate presence of the Almighty ; who, before he closed his eyes, gave him a view of Canaan's then fertile land. The rocks at the presence of the Omnipotent, rent under the lifeless body ; it sunk down : the trembling rock closed, and thus he lay interred by the hand of God. Nearer to Golgotha came to their graves those disciples of Moses who, armed with the thunder of eloquence, and psalms prophetic of future salva- tion, rescued Abraham's race from idolatry's iron chains. Horror encompassed the fields of the sacred graves, and affrighted back every mortal foot that presumed to approach ; but the angels, as if only destined to converse \rith spirits of the saint*, returned from the clouds. Adam had entered THE MESSIAH. BOOK W his grave, with his beloved, and addressing her, thus gave vent to his amazement. Thou, I saw, didst observe the devout awe, which I felt at the divine command, but now, O Eve, rejoice with me, that we are esteemed worthy, while the sacred body of the Lord of Life sleeps in death, to be with him, humbled in the grave. How transport- ing the thought of being humbled with the Eternal Son of the Father! Let me also exult that in the day of judgment, he will descend to Eden, and I shall here awake, and ye, my children with me ! Jlere from death we shall awake ! all that now sleep in the silent grave, for all eternity shall awake ! All my numberless devout children shall receive bodies that are glorified spiritualized ! O the unutterable beatitude which the great Jehovah has graciously allotted for us ! How hast thou, O death of the Redeemer exalted us ! what bliss has it procured ! Thou Enoch, and thou Elijah, see how worthy a resurrection from death is of the longing desires of an immortal. Delay not then, thou last of days, that for this bliss we may long no more ! Yet, rather delay, that multitudes may be added to the multitudes that shall then rise from the grave to eternal life ! Thus spake Adam, in blissful raptures, while his listening associate also dwelt on the gladdening thought of their joint humiliation with the gracious Redeemer, and on the earth's final day. Now from the foot of the mount to the" temple's lofty pinnacles, Moriah trembled. Clouds issuing from the sanctuary, rolled through the court of the temple, then rose towards heaven. Wherever the awful clouds turned, the earth shook, the rocks rent, and the rivers swelled. The clouds becoming resplendent spread over the graves, and a loud wind rushed from under the tombs ; but the power BOOK XL THE MESSIAH. 297 of the Eternal Son was not in the storm : the earth around the graves shook ; but the omnipotence of the Redeemer was not in the trembling earth : flashes issued from the clouds ; but the Lord was not in the flashes : then from the heavens descended a soft and gentle breeze, and in this gentle breeze was the omnipotence of the Son. Behold at his command, sweet insensibility came like slumber in the cooling shade. t The patriarchs knew not what was to happen ; but their sensations though dimmed, perceived the present Deity in the ambient breeze. Meanwhile, transported with fraternal joy, the angels looked down viewing the fields oi the resurrection. Adam now cried, I shall be again created ! created anew ! and strove to rise, yet still he kneeled in the dust, while the cherubim and sera- phim, striking their harps, thus sang, Be thou anew and for ever created. Behold on the darkest of thy days thou diedst. Oh hail the first ! awake and live a life, O Adam, more sweet than that tbou enjoyedst at thy first creation ! and now no more to die ! Adam with dimmed sight, still kueeled in the dust. The ethereal form in which since his death, his never-dying soul had been clothed, became mixed with his risen glorified hody, and swiftly rising, he stood erect, with his arms stretched towards heaven, crying, O joy un- utterable ! thou hast called me out of the dust, and I know of a truth, that thou, O my Redeemer ! hast created me more glorious than in Eden ! that I could find thee, my Redeemer ! that I could find the Almighty ! How would I prostrate myself before him, and pour out my adorations ! But thou art ever near, though unseen ! This celestial murmur is the voice of thy presence ! Even those around me now awake ! Look down, ye angels. THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI. and see around the father of men, his holy children the. Eve now arose, and looking round cried, Where have I been ? Where am I ? Am I in Eden ? I again dwell in my original mansion, once dissolved ! There, O there is Adam ! how effulgent ! How effulgent I ! O thou whose wounds I have seen ! where art thou, O thou Restorer of Innocence, that I may pour out my praises before thee ? Adam hasted to her and she to him. Jn transport they embraced, joy stppped their voice, and they coulo! only stammer forth the name of him who had raised them from the dead. Abel ! my son Abel ! cried Adam ; for Abel hovered there like the vernal morn, clothed in radiant purple. O my son, added he, with what grace and glory has the Redeemer blessed us ! These bodies were earthy when we laid them down in our kindred dust ; but what are they now ? Above all that we could think or ask, said Abel ; O father, has he done for us, who has put away our sins, and the sin} of the world ! O celestial repose ! all shall like us, at the last day/ awake ! Enos found himself by Seth, Mehaleel, Jared, Cainan and Noah's father, and with them was Methuselah. He found them encompassed with glory, on their trembling graves, filled with new life, in celestial bodies, more fit companions of their immortal souls. These shining frames seemed almost endued with thought, and full of the pre- sence of God. As after the creation the morning itars sang together, so the sons of Adam hovered, uttering effusions of grateful praise and joy, and the field of the resurrection resounded with tlie trans- ports of the reviving dead, BOOK. XL THE MESSIAH. 299 Noah, the second father of mankind, felt his new creation, and was awaked in the soft breeze of the evening; twilight. A rosy cloud flowed from the boulders of the immortal, as he rose. Ye angel?, he cried, O tell me, has a bodv like that of Adam in Paradise been formed for me ? Ah, where are we ? Say, where is he who has thus created me ? that I may prostrate myself with you, and join your ado- rations ? Then seeing Japheth and Shem rise from their graves, he added, O my sons ! where is he who has raised~our bodies from the dead, that we may haste to prostrate ourselves before, him, and pour forth our devout thanksgivings ? Toll me, ye other sons of the resurrection, where, O where is he who has filled you with celestial fire, that we may kneel, and with our feeble lips pour forth our im- perfect praise. As the pious man who in all things seeks and finds God his Creator, on beholding through the breathing grove, the sun rising in his beauty, is filled witb soft rapture, from its being a testimo- ny of the glory of God ; so Abraham's guardian angel beheld the /ather of the faithful arise from his tomb, blessed, glorified, and immortal. Abra- ham laving his hand on his mouth, and looking to- wards heaven, wrapped in astonishment and self con- sideration at length thus gave vent to his amaze- ment : Am I again created ? How wonderful, how gracious, O my Saviour, are the consequences of thy death ! This new life to which thou hast rai- sed us from dust, O blessed Redeemer ! flows from thy sufferings. This incorruptible body, the no- bler consort of my soul, thou hast given me before tb dissolution of nature. Oh whe am I ? who am I ? that thou couferrest on me such felicity ! Thus he exclaimed and wept, filled with gratitude and joy. 900 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI Isaac came. Him Abraham thought a young teraph adorned with ethcrial radiance, and those smiling blushes of the morning that cover the bright inhabitants of heaven, and cried, Didst thou see me, O resplendent angel ! raised from the dead, and at the divine command, wy consumed bones re- vive ? O Abraham, my father ! he returned, once didst thou believe, that had I been consumed by the al- tar, my ashes would revive, and I should again be restored to life. My body, O best of fathers ! ia now restored. How amazing is the Redeemer's goodness ! His sacred body is still suspended on the cross, yet ours rise, and we enjoy these raptures. I sunk as in sleep, a celestial breeze blowed around me, and I found myself wrapped in a resplendant cloud. Enraptured came Sarah and Bethuel's daughter to their beloved. With eyes lift up to them, and then to heaven, stood the father and the son. Long stood they speechless, while their souls glowed with everlasting gratitude and triumphant praise. Israel came exulting, and while his full soul poured forth grateful tears from his now immortal eyes, he cried, Hallelujah to the Mediator, the Conqueror of Death ! Oh thou hast bled thou hast completed our redemption thou hast called us out of the valley of death ! Meanwhile the seraphs were not silent : their hymns accompanying the joyful acclamations of the righteous patriarchs: Praise and glory, said they, be to him that revives the dead, to the divine Giver of this eternal life, which now blossoms from the tombs. Rejoice O heaven ! at thy future inha- bitants ! Israel now turning his eyes from them to Golgo- BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 30i tha cried, I -will join my thanksgivings with those of ail the celestial choirs, when thou shalt soar from thy tomb ; when the beloved shall see thee their Redeemer on the throne of glorv, in the lustre that was thine ere the earth was formed. Are you, ye angels, like me? Ye are not. You have not, like me, died, believing in him. You have not felt the joys of the resurrection. The Redeemer laid down his life for man ; and., like man, will revive. Ye blessed spirits join with us in adoring him ; but we will love him more ! He then casting his eyes from heaven to the earth saw his beloved Joseph. An angel was at the tomb of Rachel, standing aloft on the pendant rock. She looked up to him with cordial affection, while he smiling looked down on her, with a countenance of the sweetest friendship. My tomb, O seraph. said she, is solitary Rachel, he answered, the se- pulchre in which the divine Redeemer will soon be laid is also solitary Alas ! she returned, how has he suffered, whose earthly form a tomb in Golgo- tha will soon inclose ! Oh what has his conde- scension and death obtained for us ! The time will come when my body shall awake from sleep, when my bones, long mouldered in the dust, shall rise. Even for me has the Saviour obtained a re- surrection. While she was yet speaking a vapour arose round her feet in the tomb, fine as the breath of the rose, or of the vernal leaf dropping silver. Rachel's ra- diance tinges the rising vapour with gold, as the sun gilds the skirts of an evening cloud, while her eye follows the undulating vapour which in various forms waves around her, rising, falling, and draw- ing still nearer and more lucid. She admires the deep wisdom shewn in the ever-varying creation, equally unfathomable in what is great and what is THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI. small, without knowing the near affinity between her and the bright curling cloud, or to what thine almighty voice, O thou Redeemer ! would soon re- duce it. She then leaning in the midst of the radiant dust stood musing with joyful look. With folded hands stood her angel, viewing what passed with transport too exquisite for speech. Now was heard the omnipotent voice, and Rachel sinking down, seemed to herself as if dissolving in tears of joy, in some shady vale by a fountain side ; then appeared as if lightly rising to a flowery plain refreshed by a gentle breeze, and then as if new created amidst the fragrance-breathing flowers. Awaking from her short trance, she suddenly rises, she feels, she sees, she knows that she ha's a new im- mortal body. Enraptured she raises her eyes to heaven, and thanks him who called her forth from death. O Jesus, my brother, my Lord, and my Sa- viour, she cries, ever shall thy name be first on my lips, then yours Israel, Joseph, Benjamin ! My Lord and my God ! Where am I ? Lead me, O seraph lead me, that I may see the Adorable, that I may see Israel and my children. My soul pants after them ; with them will I rejoice in the glories of the resurrection. Isiael beheld her, and also Leah, with her son, who came from the banks of the Nile. Benjamin was likewise there ; but Joseph was still absent. The heavenly Joseph still hovered over his sepul- chre at Sichem. Samid, one of the children whom the Mediator had k'issed and blessed, was with him ; he was lately dead, and just knew himself to be an heir of eternal Life. His guardian angel had con- ducted him to Hainan's pastures, where he perceiv- ed Joseph hovering over his grave, and thus ad- dressed the angel, Who, my heavenly guide, is that Boot XI. THE MESSIAH. 305 radiant form" with looks so sweet and mild and yet so full of dignity ? Joseph with a smile of benignity and tempered effulgence, thus began an endearing conversation Thou flower that now wilt grow in the shade of the tree of life, and near the crystal stream that flows from the throne, know that I was once, like thee, a happy child, till injuries involved me in miseries that were succeeded by great prosperity, and I became the father of nations. Knowest thou, happy child, the son of Israel and Rachel ? O thou immortal, the son of Jacob and Rachel ! oft have I wept with joy while I have heard my fa- ther tell me the wonderful story of Joseph. Yet allay thy splendor, O Joseph ! allay thy lustre, then will I venture to talk with thee. The joy of seeing thee is worth a,ll the pangs of death, and I would again bear those painful struggles, from which I am but just delivered, to see and converse with thee. I seemed awhile ago to sink into no- thing ; but from this dream of endless night, my angel awaked me, by telling me I lived, and should live for ever. O early blessed soul, how little hast thou suffered of the calamities of life '. What a recompence hast thou received, in being so soon a companion of the heirs of bliss, and of those that stand higher than I in the steps of salvation. O Joseph ! O son of Israel ! scarce can I bear the radiance thou hast SQ sweetly softened. Soon wilt thou learn, Q Samed, soon wilt thou see Abraham ! The blessed disencumbered from their house of clay soon learn. Gladly will I learn, O teach me, thou son of Is- rael. Even the earthly life I have just left is not without some heavenly intervals. How vras it with THE MESSIAH, BOOK XI thee, in that delightful moment when no longer able to conceal thine affection, thou calledst out, so loud that the distant Egyptians heard thee, I am Joseph ! is my father still living? Then thy brothers then the eyes of thy younger brother Benjamin gazed upon thee, and thou saidst, Make known to my father all the glory I enjoy in Egypt ; and throwing thine affectionate arms about thy dear Benjamin's neck, thou shedsta flood of tears, and in thine embrace, Benjamin's tears expressed his joy ! Oh in that honr what didst thou feel ! When thy father received the news, the heart of the good old man strdggled with different thoughts, and he doubted the truth, till he heard thy words and saw the wagons of Pharaoh. Then his trou- bled soul revived : It is enough, he cried, Joseph my son, still lives ! I will haste and see him before I die ! When he came near, how didst thou run to him, and long continue in his embraces ! O let me now die, said he, I have seen thy face, and thou art yet alive ! What O Joseph, didst thou feel in those heavenly hours ? Come thou, who art also Israel's son, an4 ray bro- ther, younger still than was my Benjamin, come and embrace me. Samed trembling embraced him, and they long wept celestial tears. How it was with me, Samed, thou thyself felt, when thou recalledst to me the joyful history of those tears I shed on earth. By this remembrance thou hast enhanced the joys of heaven, and I shall offer the giver of those blessings new thanks, and more ardent praise than while confined to this earth. I will also, O Joseph, learn of thee to offer up my ardent thanksgivings. But why dost thou remain at this tomb ? Knowest thou, O immortal ! that the divine Je- sus is dead ! He commanded us who were round BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 30 . 5 jf 303 THE MESSIAH. BOCK XI. rays ! The Omnipotent will assemble the dust once inhabited by immortal souls. Over it will he stand, and order it to be informed with new life. The Almighty took the dust of the ground, and to the trembling earth said, Become thou the body of man. He spake, and it obeyed : thus he will take the dust of corruption, and again command it to form a body. Hallelujah ! Then will our dust awake. The streams will roar, the storms rise, the sea boil, the arth tremble, the heavens thunder, and night be involved in ten-fold darkness ; but louder than the noise of all will the trumpet sound to awake the dead ! He who saw thy steeds, O Chaldea, swift as the leopard, or as the e-agle in quest of prey : he who beheld thy horsemen assemble captives as the sand, while they laughed at princes, and made a mock of kings : their leader drunk with his own rage, which was as insatiable as the grave : He who saw the avenger in the terrible glory with which he came from Paran, when before him walked the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet ; when he stood and measured the earth, how far the destroying angel should pass : the hills then sunk before him, the mountains were scattered, and the rivers hastily fled : the deeps sunk down, and the heights lifted up their hands. Ye sun and moon then stood still ; his arrows flew glittering, and his spears as. the blaze of lightning, Habakkuk, who thus saw the great Helper in Judah, the Rewarder in his glory, now raised from the grave, toucued his harp with the softest melody, while he sang, The fig-tree blossoms ! there is fruit in the vine ! the gladdening labour of the olive fills the valleys ! the immortal seed shoots up on high, an eternal harvest, ripening radiant in he smiling field I Heaven, O Lord, is full of thy BOOK: XI. THE MESSIAH. 309 praise, the earth of thy glory ! Thou didst think on us, O thou who art most merciful., when we drank the cup of death, and had seen corruption : therefore will I rejoice in thee my Deliverer, and through eternity, joy in the God of my salva- tion. As when the whole expanse of the heavens it shrouded in clouds, and the intent eye of encrea- sing expectation is fixed upward, when the flame of the Lord darts,at once from the heavens, and storms of thunder proclaim the glory of the Almighty, thus Isaiah threw aside the night of death, shone radiant over his grave, and poured forth his thanks to his all-gracious Creator, who had raised him from the dust. Amidst the ruins of great Babylon, built by Nebuchadnezzar in ostentation of his grandeur, where the holy watchman with tremendous voice denounced, Thy kindom is departed from thee, and thy dwelling shall be among the beasts of the field : among these solitary ruins lay the remains of Da- niel, whom God bad irradiated with his illumina- tions, and who now sought his grave, calling to a seraph to assist his search. He hovered above, amidst the cry of night birds, the hiss of serpents, and the ruins of palaces, where the Arab had no cottage, uor his slave a dwelling. Instantly the an- gel found the grave encompassed with water and slime, and a mossy tomb-stone rose among the Wai- ving reeds. The soul of Daniel here recollected the fate of many who had long slept in death ; of him whose front, like a lofty wide-spreading tree, rose high towards heaven, an extensive shade to the weary ; but feH at the divine command, Hew it down. He learned wisdom from this chastisement ; but not so ttis son ; he, of more obdurate pride, considered not that God has power over the nation* * % SW THE MESSIAH. BOOK XJ. therefore was the hand seen near the golden branch, writing the sentence of death, Know, O king ! the years of thy power are numbered and accomplished : thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting : thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medcs and Persians. Then the proud mountain and its confederate hills sunk in the day of desola- tion. The resplendent form of the holy Daniel quick descended into his grave ; but soon arose, and as the morning star beams through the heavens, darted his rays on Babylon's solitary ruins. Hilkiah's gentle son had sowed in tears ; but now reaped elevated joy. He stood on his grave sensible of his new life, filled with rapturous thoughts of his complete and perfect immortality. The herdsman of Tekoa, who among the cotta- ges of simplicity, knew him who placed Arcturus and Orion high in the heavens, had seen the plains a scene of calamity, and the top of Carmel wither- ed ; the palaces of Kirioth devoured by fire ; Mo- ab and Kirioth die with tumult, shouting, and the sound of a trumpet. In the fields of Judah he had beheld confusion and death ; the altar of Bethel, and the palaces of the mighty fall : the rage of fa- mine ; the heavens yielding no rain ; the sword devour the youth, and pestilence prey on the dead. Amos, filled with sympathy, had removed from the sights of these miseries to the peaceful grave ; but now awaked in an immortal body to behold the sal- Tation accomplished by the Redeemer, the heavens no longer iron, nor thirst known to those who had panted after the knowledge of the Holy One of Is- rael. Job's tomb was encompassed with cool shades, and his soul hovered in the waving grove. Now the rock in which it was hevrn sunk down before him, and from it rose clouds of undulating dust BOOK. XI. THE MESSIAH. 311 that flashed radiance : a dust and radiance" he had never before seen. \\ hile fixed in deep attention and rejoicing at this new appearance, he sunk in raptures amidst the splendid dust. His angel then beholding him under the Almighty's forming hand, poured forth the fulness of his joy with a lofty voice that shook the grove and the neighbouring rocks. This Job himself perceived, who being now created a new, extatic tears of rapturous joy flowed from hisey^s, and he erred with a voice that also shook the grove aiid'yocks. Holy, holy, holy, is He that is, and was, and is to come ! The sky about Golgotha was still covered with gloom, and round the cross the clouds of night shrouded the eminences and vales, through the whole seen of the divine sacrifice, as far ai the hu- man eye could reach. The sacred corpse was now stiff, the head sunk, and the temples pressed with the crown of insult, stained with clotted blood, which ceased to call on the Judge for, pardon and grace, and to raise its voice to the heaven of hea- vens, crying to the Father for mercy ! The body hung lifeless on the lofty cross, without a tear, without its trembling voice. Around the cross the softest whisper of the air was silent, and the hill became a solitude almost forsaken by man. So lies a field of battle, left by the souls of the dead. The repentant thief now looked with fixed, though dim eyes, on the body of the breathless Redeemer : Thou art dead ! cried he, with a low tremulous voice, thou art dead ! I am left alone in this tor- menting death. Gladly will I suffer, gladly will I suffer all with patience ; but do not Thou forsake me ! Yet God forsook thee ! O mystery pro- found ! I saw thee with thy face lift up to heaven, when with a loud voice thou criedst, My God my God, why hast theu forsaken me ? and while I heard, 312 THE MESSIAH, BOOK XL Heaven and Earth vanished from my sight, and a fresh stream of warm b'ood issued from my veins. I thought myself dying my God look down up- on me with pity ! Such were his thoughts when a divine illumination poured into his soul. The high priest had prevailed on Pilate not to defer putting Jesus to death till the malefactors expired, lest thepassover should be defiled by their hanging on the cross. Accordingly a slave came in haste with orders from Pilate to the centurion, who having given the word, the next to him laid hold of a club stained with the blood of many of the crucified dead and approached the cross, fol- lowed by his companions. Then with nervous arm he swung it over his head, ard crying with a ter- rific voice, Die villain, struck -the blow, which broke the malefactors bones, while the cross shook, and sent forth a jarring sound. This the repentant criminal heard, and joyfully predicted his own ap- proaching death. The Roman then turned, and stood opposite the middle cross, when looking up, he trembled, and fancied he saw the vengeful gods hovering round. Terrified he stepped to the con- vert, who looked down upon him with pleased eye. To put a speedy end to his torture, the execution- er exerted all his strength, striking his legs with such force that the bones were shattered and Gol- gotha trembled. He now, once more, but with slow step advanced to the middle cross, and, stand- ing still, viewed the pendant body, then called out to the centurion, This man is already dead. I know it, he answered, but take a spear and pierce his heart, then turned aside with his eyes fixed on the ground. Soon the executioner raised the glittering pear, and drawing back pushed it. with redoubled force into the sacred corpse, and from the wound issued blood and water.- BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. S?3 Now as through a mist, the languishing eyes of flie dying convert beheld the blood and wi'.ter trickling from the body of the Most Holy. His soul struggling to free itself from his body, raised to heaven thoughts inarticulate and impassioned Ah, now, now, be merciful even to me ! O by thy blood by thy death, which now for all By thy death on that cross, be merciful ! Thou Gol- gotha my grave, wast his altar ! Ah crushed bones, exult in your corruption, here shall ye moulder. Abdiel now drawing near, viewed him as he hovered round with gentle flight, and the counte- nance of the immortal shone with brighter lustre ; while he thus uttered his final benediction : Source of life, Giver of Mercies more exalted than the tongues of men or of angels are able to express, Oh be with him, and in this dark valley of death pour into his mind the joys of the celestial life, a delightful foretaste of the consummation of blessed- ness. The departing soul then uttered these impassion- ed thoughts : Thou Love ! thou, eternal Love ! O rny freed soul, cease thine efforts ! in vain ihou strlvest to express thy thanks ! O Lord God .merciful and gracious, who forgivest iniquity, transgression, and sin, into thine hands Ah, ye bands of Paradise, how ye wave your palms ! O Lord merciful and gracious, into thine hand I cornrnend Ah now no longer delay, no longer delay! This reconciled, justified, highly favour- ed soul, O ray Saviour ! into thine hands I com- mend. He then expired. Together with the soul, the finest parts of the body left the corpse to become the vesture of the immortal spirit : Is this death ? said the transported soul. O happy separation ! i-14 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI. what shall I call thee ? Not death, no more shall thou be called by that dreadful name ! and thou corruption, so fearful thought, how soon art thou become my j ->y ! Slumber then, thou my companion in the past life : fall to dust, as seed sown by the hand of God, to ripen for the general harvest! O corruption what a different life do I now enjoy ! this has no death ! this can know no .end ! Now no longer did Abdiel conceal his radiant form. He saw the soul of the new immortal cloathed like himself in celestial splendor, and advanced towards him, irradiated with the joy of the most intimaie love, brightened by his seeing him now delivered. The repentant, pardoned soul hasted to meet him, crying, servant of the Most High, for that thou art one of the blessed of God, thy dignity and unsullied brightness declared to me, when my fixed eyes saw thee from afar : then the melodious sound of thy wings filled me with transport, and chased away dread and pain. Yet still do I tremble before thee; but this trembling is ecstatic rapture. Abdiel answered, Come thou first .of the dead, the first reconciled by the sacrifice of the blest Redeemer ; thou who turnedst late to God, and first poured out thy soul to him when confined in prison ; thou the hope of future sinners, come, oh come ; for uow will be accomplished the Mediator's glorious pro- mise : come, I will conduct thee to the joys of Paradise ! He then winged his rapid flight, follow- ed by the transported soul: He \v hose face shone, when he descended from the presence of the Eternal, with such lustre that the people were unable to view him till he covered i\ with a veil : he who doubting that the rock would not instantly pour forth a spring of water, BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 315 was permitted only to see Canaan from Nebo's lofty summit, now hovered alone, absorbed in thought, over his solitary grave,, no angel present ; for none had he, in the life of probation, who, without dying, saw the glory of God pass by : but before him a resplendent cloud hovered over the dust in which he had lived. O Pharaoh, said he, long is it since thy bones, and those of thy drowned host whitened the sedgy shore. Oh how the walls of the sea fell ! How the storm rushed from the fiery column t How Egypt sunk in death ! Even there, on this side, beyond the hills, did the cloud and fiery pil- lar lead us. There did God strike thee, O Amalek, while my arms were extended towards heaven, and on their sinking Israel 'suffered. There the hush burnt, the place to me was holy. Oh rock ! why didst thou delay thy refreshing stream ? That is Sinai the mount of thunder, and the sound of a trumpet ! Great art thou, O wilderness, the spa- cious grave of all whom the Almighty conducted through the Red Sea ! Nebo is mine- buf lofty Gerizim and Golgotha's altar are not there ! CJ Golgotha's bloody altar, pregnant with salvation, now sang the angels by whom the Eternal sent the covenant of the law. They sang on Nebo's sum- rait, which was irradiated by their presence. They hovered round the grave of Moses, and touching their golden harps chanted with sweetest harmo- ny : We immortals have not the blessings of Ge- rizim ; but those of Calvary are ours ! Moses, thou God to Aaron, why delays thy body ; O dust shake off thy rest, and at the Redeemer's call rise into life. Amidst the soothing sounds of the celestial harps, the dust of Moses continued sleep- ing ! but at the trumpet's death-awakening clan- gor, Nebo and the opening grave shook. The jf lorified Moses then arose, but instantly sunk down, 316 THE MES^IAR, BOOK XI. and worshipped kneeling. Long ascended his thanksgivings, long his praise, no angel now sup- porting his up-lift arms. Even the sepulchres of the kings trembled. The dust of David awaked, as if satiated with bliss, in the glorious image of the Incorruptible, whose re- surrection waited for a more exalted triumph, as the first feu i is among the dead. The bright spirit of Jesse's son descended into the dark -vault, and perceived near his remains the soul of Solomon. The son was astonished, and the awakened won- dered at the risen. Then hasted the angels and he risen to the sepulchre crying, They rise from the dead ! Yes, we rise from the dead, said Abra- ham in a transport of joy. Our dry bones hear the voice of the Lord. We awake immortal, so he himself shall awake. O David, the father of the holy Jesus, thou art chosen to flourish round the cedar of God, an ever-verdant tree in the hea- venly Paradise, and thy branches to wave amidst celestial breezes, with thy top piercing the clouds. Mourn not, thou soul of Solomon, said Gabriel ; mourn not, thou highly favoured, thou shalt not be clothed with thy dust when; the Cedars of God shed the first fruits of the spring. Shall I mourn, he returned, I whom heaven crowns with such exalted favours ? I who have committed such errors, while I am permitted to see the glories of redeeming love. Rest my crumbled bones till the great day, when, this vault shall no longer be able to contain you. Rise as a vapour in the mild coolness of the evening, under the shi- ning moon, till the instant before it shall cease to .give light to mortals. Gabriel and the risen now leaving the sepulchres of the kings soared to Manure's groves and to the risen within its shades. BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 317 Asa, who by the terrors of the Lord, conquered the innumerable host of Zerah, rose. He likewise who preaching to the people travelled through Judea, attended by his princes and the priests of Lord : to him the Almighty gave unparalleled prosperity : for Jehoshapbat led his army against the enemy in sacred attire, with psalms and hymns and shouts of exultation : not to battle; but to adore their Almighty protector, who destroyed their enemies, and covered the plain with the dead. Uzziah also awaked in his solitary tomb, and in the royal sepulchre, his son, with Josiah, devout youth, ever mild and gracious, and ihe destroyer of idols ; him the rnen and women singers bewailed ! the Benjamites, whose tears, likewise, flowed over Salem's ruins, bewailed him in plaintive song. They lamented him fallen by Necho's shafts. These all rose at once, and like resplendent rays darted through the heavens. Hi'zckiah was not yet risen. Nisroch an angel of the abyss that once animated an idol, now slowly moved with the ghost of Sennacherib, from the summit of Lebanon. Nisroch had been ordered to bring the conqueror from hell to the sepulchres of the kings of Judah. Who compels me, cried Sen- nacherib, with impetuous voice, to visit the hated earth ? O Sennacherib, said the infernal spirit, had not the order been given by an angel of death, I would have disobeyed. Thou heardest him speak with the voice of thunder. Who can support the ter- rors of these irresistible spirits ? Thou weak and pusillanimous, on whose altar victims have bled, must appear as a bleeding victim before this ter- rible angel of death. Thou pusillanimous must fly at his command! Thou pride-swelled conqueror, haste and .bow thyself in the dust of the kings of 318 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XT. Judah ! Fly thou reviler of the Mighty One, lest he put a bit in thy mouth, and drag thee through the countries thou hast ravaged. Sennacherib hasted, and the two spectres of the abyss soon entered the tomb where the soul of He- zekiah and his guardian angel continued hovering. . Wherefore, O angel., said the blessed spirit, are these accursed come to profane my tomb ? Thou will soon know, replied the angel. This is Senna- cherib with his idol deity. Sennacherib knowest thou .this resplendent spirit ? How should I, wretched that I am, know all the sons of felicity f Wretched indeed, resumed the angel, and more wretched for thine impieties. This is he who humbly prostrated himself in the dust before him whom thou blasphemedst, who made God his re- fuge and -his confidence, when thine hosts, as a mighty torrent advanced against him. What judg- ments smote thee on earth thou knowest, and now this follows : he, O Sennacherib, whom thou thoughtest almost beneath thy contempt, and didst insult the Omnipotent, on whose protection this magnanimous prince relied, thou shalt behold in new glory. Does his glory then increase ? cried Sennache- rib. O let me fly to my abyss ! What is Heze- kiah or everlasting light to me, the companion of the darkest gloom ? Let me, O tyrant of hea- ven, fly. Thou canst not escape the judgments of God. Here rests his dust, thine lies under the ruins of Ninevah. It shall also awake, but dark and wretched. How different wilt thou appear from him thou wilt now behold ! Terror and dismay siezed the bloody conqueror of nations, at seeing the grave of the exalted Heze- kiah tremble, and at his being speedily arrayed in BOOK. XL THE MESSIAH. 319 new fflory. Now, curse, thou blasphemer, curse thou scorner, the great Awakener of the dead, cried Hezekiah, shining with effulgent lustre. \\ hy dost thou delay ? Curse him in thine infernal ahvss. Sennacherib stood rooted m the rocks of the tomb, rage itself impeding his flight. Heze- kiah then rising in the air, called from above : be- hold another kind of scorn than thy flight into the temple of Nisroth, where thy sons waited for thee, with swords prepared for unnatural murder ; Sion s celestial daughter shews thee the golden erown of salvation, and the heavenly Jerusalem shakes her head at thee, thou humbled destroyer. Ah whom hast thine impious presumption despised Against whom hast thou lifted up thine arrogant eyes and blasphemous voice ? Here Sennacherib fled, with his demon to the infernal abyss. David hasted to Kish, where was the tomb of Jonathan, who viewing him with pleasure cried, Is it thee, my David ? With such splendor none have appeared but Enoch and Elijah. O thou father of the great Redeemer, how gloriously art thou changed ! The dust in my sepulchre moved, and behold I arose ! Thou likewise, my Jonathan shalt arise. Even I have risen from the dead, and hast thou sinned like me ! No : but though I had been as pious as David, I was not the father of the Messiah. Alas ! how little do I deserve, and what thanks do I owe to the Giver of all good, for being thought worthy to descend from heaven to behold the blessed Jesus ! O David I have seen him die, and mine eyes shall also behold hrs exaltation and triumph ! I am blessed also, my David, in seeing thee ! Sadness had hovered round toe on this grave, where none of my fathers, nor my brothers were with me. Do not Saul 9 remains rest here ? Yet do not thou, O my Jona- .t* 320 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI. than complain. No, David, rather would I cease to he ! Has not God made me an heir of light ? Yet on my lather's dust, let me, without complain- ing, drop one tear. Jonathan's angel then called, Dry up that tear, which too late thou shedst. Dry it. up and weep no more. Scarce had he called, with a voice like the sound of the celestial Hallelujah, when Jonathan sunk into a sweet and rapturous slumber, and soon awaking, stood before David in absolute immortality, He who had heard David's and Jonathan's lofty hymns ascend to the throne, then heard their sublime discourse, and , knew the thoughts that surpassed their ut- terance. Gideon, who refused the crown offered him by Judah, soared up in the lustre of immortality. Not so, when the loud trump shall call the sons of Cod to judgment, shall they shine, who owe their blood-stained diadems to direful conquest: or those who wantonly pollute their reigns with slaughter, in which innocence and virtue bleed. The cry of their blood will reach the ear of the mighty Judge, and when he conies he will listen to the sound. Now awaked the dead bones of Elisha, himself the awakener of the dead, and quitting his grave in crimson radiance, issued forth like a vernal morn. At Deborah's tomb the palms waved their rustling tops, above which suddenly rose the pro- phetess, pouring forth praise to the Author of life. There Miriam came forth from the dust of the .earth triumphant, then lift up her eyes, beaming joy,- towards heaven ; and then eagerly cast them over the spacious field ; but found not the im- mortal who had raised her terrestrial frame from death to life. Thou angel of the resurrection, BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 321 cried she here shall I find thee ? What sacred shades cover thy radiant head ? In what moun- tain does that trumpet sound, with which thou hast awaked me from the sleep of death ? Ah 'where restedst thou after thy glorious work, lost in asto- nishment that God should employ thee in perform- ing such wonders ? Ezekielnow stood near his dust, and remembered the vision in which, filled with inspiration, at his voice the dry bones that covered the field moved, bone joined to bone, and over them grew sinews., flesh, and the covering skin ; and again speaking; they arose a numerous host. Thus Ezekiel stood with a vernal lustre shining round him. His angel then cried, I hear a distant sound as of the divine presence ; instantly the prophet's dust is in motion ; he sinks down ; but soon reanimated with the fereath of eternal life, he rises erect, filled with un- utterable joy ; raises his grateful eyes to heaven, and rushes into the embraces of the angci. Then guided by the sound of the divine presence, they move to the other dead, to be spectators of tbsir. re- surrection. Asnath seemed as if sinking into'a gentle slumber and with dubious motion, hovering, touched the dust of her grave. So in the humid meads floats a vapour which, enlightened by the moon, moves in silver lustre. O my guardian angel, said she, with what am I environed ? what appearances glide before me ? What new, what nameless *ensations do I feel ? Tell me, thou angel of God, shall I again die ? ?vlethinks my voice trembles, I faint, am weak, I sink like the soft dy- ing sounds of the lute. I expire, O seraph, amidst the gentle murmurs of Eden's rills, amidst the sweet breezes in the shades of Paradise. Thus Asnath sunk down, but encompassed with pleasing 32? THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI. thoughts and thrilling; sensations of joy, soon arose the heiress of immortality. As expands the first flowers of the spring, so awaked to life Jeptha's daughter, but never more to fade. Her tremulous lips in silver sounds sent up her praises, accompanied by her angel's golden harp, which on the wings of grateful harmony rais- ed her adorations to heaven. Thirza, the mother of the seven sons had been interred with those glorious martyrs near Jerusalem. In their sepulchre the weary traveller had often sought repose, and oft poured forth tears. Within this spacious receptacle of the dead kneeled the soul of the happy mother, with those of her sons, offering gratefpl thanksgivings. While their ori- sons ascended to heaven, there came across a stream which ran near the sepulchre, Semida and Jethro, a man of Bethlehem- who, guided by angels, had seen thee, O thou adorable Redeemer ! in the sta- ble where thy first infant cries were heard, and now, spent with fatigue and sorrow he and Semida, sat down at the entrance of the sepulchre, and thus gave vent to their thoughts. O Semida, how shall I describe what I felt at the death of (he Friend of Man ! But tell me, O tell me, what sensation is this, which since oar approaching the sepulchre of the martyrs, has seiz- ed my mind ? so it was at the approach of the an- gels who proclaimed his nativity. Holy, O Jethro, is this tomb ! W r hat thou feel- est, I also feel. Let us retire ; some angel or de- parted spirit, now sanctifies by his presence this sacred sepulchre, and the sensations we feel are ih- timations that we should depart. They now arose, when Semida advancing into the gloomy cavern, cried, O ye immortals, lament with us the death of out Lord !' Holy he lived ! BOOK. XI. THE MESSIAH. >oa O-.^ holy lie died ! Jesus his name on earth Jesus his name proclaimed by angels, cannot be to you un- known ! Though alarmed at your presence, we are also the children of God, and our souls, like you, immortal ! Ptrmit us then to call you by ait endearing human name to call you brethren. Ke this sepulchre of the martrys a witness, when here- after we come to yon, that even on this unhallowed earth, and while in the veil of flesh, we termed you onr brethren-} Let us remind you, ye angels, on our ascending to your bright mansions, to receive us as your breihren ! Semida thenturned, and leaving the tomb, followed Jethro. Thirza and her sons observed them, and while Semida spoke, viewed them unseen with surprize and pleasure. Then turning to her sons, she said, I could have wished their longer stay : for candour and innocence are seated on their amiable aspects. Depart ye in peace, The Lord be your God, and bring you to our everlasting life. -Yes, at your falling asleep, joyfully shall we descend from hea- ven to meet you, our brethren. The idea of the two mortals was sfii! present to Thirza's mind, when it was suddenly impressed \vith a more astonishing view. Her sons, though blessed with celestial life, sunk as into a sweet slumber ; but two of them appeared rather in- tranced than asleep, for their countenances became more resplendent. Their minds overflowed with joy, and their voices were sweet as the celestial harps. Dost thou rise already, O most beautiful of mornings, thou blest morning of his resurrection ? cried Benoni. Yes, joyful morning, thou art risen ! The sepulchre shakes Calvary and the cross shakes ! Hail morning pregnant with bliss, lie then sunk like his brothers into rapturous slumber. Instantly Jedidotb, the youngest of his Y TME MESSIAH. BOOR XI. brothers, poured forth his joy. O ye angels, cried he,, has the Lord already ascended to the Father's throne ? Here be sunk down, and lay like his brothers. Thirza's astonishment continued : before her lay seven immortals, like mortals wrapped in sleep ; while she with a look of maternal fondness, hung OTer them. But soon her eyes closed; she no longer saw them ; she sunk ; but soon she awaked, when perceiving hr risen body ; Praise, praise be to thee ! said she with tremulous voice ; eternal praises be to thee ! Thou hast given me joys itirpassing all conception ! They, O thou Giver of ineffable joys, also awake. She then fcneeled, and with folded hands, and cordial angeli* tears saw her sons awake arouii r d her : saw them rise from their moving dust, swift as ascending thtimv*. The blessed mother beheld their bright transfigura- tion ; their first smiles ; their joy-beaming eyes raised towards heaven, and heard their new voices tourit forth in praise and thanksgiving. Within another cave, hewn out of the rocfc, lar four friends. Their bright spirits were there, these seeing their mouldered dust, longed for fesiurectioo. Darda, who last survived, and ha.l attended the bodies of his beloved associates Ethan. Chalcol, and Hcmanto their rest, thus addresscJ them : How happy, my friends, arc we ! unite;! i life, united in the tomb, and we shall be united during the endless ages of eternity ! We saw- Ethan expire, and lamented his death. White are uow thy bones, O Ethan ! I saw also Heman and Ohalcol enter the valt- of death. Chalcol fell asleep in mine arms, and I remained less ripe for immortality. O Chalcol ! what was mine anguish, when I, forlorn, attended tbee to thy grave ! but God by his gracious cumulations XI; THE MESSIAH. enabled me to look up to heaven ! After a few rights the sleep of death fell on me ! Behold, there lie our bones waiting till they are called forth bv the resurrection. To rise from the dead, how transporting the thought ; how ravishing* will be the reality ! O extacy, cried Hcman with a voice of celestial harmony, we shall awake to life ! awake to days without end ! Permit me, O Thou Saviour of men ! to utter a wish, which my ardent soul almost ripens into hope, that my body may awake with thine ! wi(h thine, O Jesus ! for corruption has no part with thee, O grant thai this sleeping dust may arise under thy shade, to glory and immortality ? Ah ! the blessed time is arrived ! exclaimed Chalcol. See the dead awake ! Behold their encreasing lustre ! He was then silent. He awaked with those that revived. No time was left to thee, O Darda, for astonish- ment ! nor for thee, O Ethan ! the dead bones mo- ved ; they arose vested in redoubled splendor, and these happy friends soared hand in hand, with intermingled radiance, praising the Redeemer. Near Jerusalem slept Anna the prophetess, who had seen the babe of Bethlehem in the temple, and knew him to be the promised shoot of Judah's stem. He was carried into Egypt, and she to her grave, whence she now awoke to glory ; issued forth from her tomb, and opening her immortal eyes, saw Jesus hanging lifeless on the cross. Though thou art dead, said she, by thee ana I awaked from death ! Thou hast given me a new and immortal body before the a;reat day of consum- mation ! Thy sacred blood has flowed, and loud!/ it palls for grace ! Here jov stopped her Toice. Joelj Sarama's first, and cow only sou, had left his father and the hill of death, wandering with llqw steps into the valley of mount OJivct, towards T 2 326 THE MESSIAH. BOOK Xf. his brother's tomb. The stone was already cover- ed with moss, and near it he sunk down., his eyes stiff and red with weeping for Jesiu and Benoni The mouths of babes and sucklings, said he, shall speak thy praise. My grief for Benoni bogar* to abate, when now But I should not mention the divine name with tliat of death. I will no longer stillc my grief for poor Beiroui, who is still dead to me. How can I presume to lament the great Prophet ! he is tire brother f angels,, and surely none but angels should- dare to wepp for him : bui for thee 1 dare for thee I will ever grieve. He then leaned his drooping head on a stone, hij eyes languid and his visage wan. II is brother's guardian angel, and his brother himself viewed him with intermingled joy and compassion : for the boul of Benoni, and his angel, had descended to the facred silence of the tomb ; bt this was unknown to Joel. So the pious mait resigned amidst hi-a sufferings, knows not the hand which- supports him, though it is as near as the sweet whispering breeze. O seraph ! said Benoni, I love him more than he loves himself: bat trhr does he lament my death, and not think of my more exalted life ? Thou art gout*, rny Benoni, resumed Joel, and hast left me akme> like a flower in Sharon's vale, whose stalk is broken in its early bloom. If I am gone, my Joel, my dearest brother, it is to grow high in heaven, and spread a friendly shade near the tree of life. Our father is old. Thy death, O Benoni, will take him from me, and sorrow bring his grey hairs to the grave f 1 fatherless, and without a brother, shall pant for the cup of death, which though to others bitter, to me will be sweet, O seraph, how am I pierced by his anguish ! Dry up hi* tears ! ah dry up his affecting tears I BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 327 Ah the tomb shakes, and from the moving stones around me rises a faint light in gentle fluctuations ! O my God, where am I ? O thou Giver of eter- nal life support me ! Sure thou wilt not dissolve this spiritual suhstance ! Thus he spake in a voice soft as the dying echo. Now glorified with the re- surrection body, he cried, Thou not only supportest me, O thou most gracious ; but cloathest me ; .with everlasting bliss ! All praise, blessing, and honour be ascribed to thee, my Creator, who hast loaded me with thy benefits, and given me this immortal life ! Rejoice, O my brother, and etult, for when thy body shall be dissolved, it shall be raised by thy Redeemer, who shall thus load thee with his benefits ! * Here the blessed Benoni seeing his fether, added, O tender parent, lament not over my tomb, I am in a state of bliss, and it no longer contains ray body ! Samma, now Approaching the tomb, cried, O Joel ! long have I sought thee. Let us hasten from these gloomy sepulchres. Is not that my dear Benoni's ? Come, Joel, let s flee from hence. Gad bless thee, my child ! God will speedily bless thee, returned Benoni, he will bless thee, thou tender father, with eternal life. Simeon, after pouring forth the joy of his heart, on his seeing the Saviour, whom God had appoint- ed the Light of the nations, the Glory of his people Israel, laid his hoary head iu the grave. His spirit then arose with resplendent lustre, and his corruptible part mouldered into dust. The radient soul of the prophet now hovered over hi* grave, unknowing that his dust was soon to rise iu celestial beauty, to enjoy eternal life. In the path which extends by the brook of Cedron from Jerusalem to the foot of mount Olivet, slowly 32S THE MESSIAH. BOOK XI. moved towards Simeon's sepulchre, one laden with years, and with him a boy. These were Simeor's brother and grandson. The eyes of the old man were involved in darkness, the too early night of death, ere we enter that gloomy vale. Bouz, th youth, guided his uncertain steps, and offering child-like comfort, they thus discoursed. Dear father, wipe thine eyes and weep no more. Long it is since mine eyes have seeu, they are only fit to weep. I must lament the slow ap- proach of death, and from this darksome earth, look up to fairer, brighter prospects. But tell me, Boaz, are we far from my holy brother's bones ? No, not far. The moss on the tomb, like jvy among those lonely ruins, says, he has been long at rest. Ah child, he returned, my heart is filled with secret pleasure at recollecting those antient, those venerable sepulchres. Has Simeon already lain so Jong in the tomb ? Long has mine been hewn in the rock, yet still wants its inhabitant. Thus spake Simeon's brother, leaning on Boaz, and at length resumed, Tell me, child, for to thee the sun is not extinguished, nor the mild light of the summer's eve ; tell me are the heavens se- rene ? I feel a gentle breeze refreshing my weary limbs. The air, said Boaz, is clear, and the wide fields look like spring. Ah Boaz, were it involved in blackest clouds, and deformed by tempests, yet shall the day on which I die be to me serene. He thirsts for death, said Simeon's soul to the angel ; and is unable to bear the thought that Jesus is dead. Thou dost Bot know then, said the angel, that the dreadful BOOK XI. THE MESSIAH. 3*9. news has been concealed from him, test it should shorten his days. In the mean while Simeon's brother and Boaz iat down in the tomb. The angel now scpa/- rated from the common dust, that of Simeon's bones. It moved, visible only to the angejs, and arose about his soul, forming a resplendent body. His mental powers were borne on the wings of extatic melody ; but returned at the completion of his iie^y created frame, and the idea of his resurrection filled him with the sublimest trans- ports. At tin's instant one who riad come to the pass*. over, with quick step, walked by in his way back to Bethlehem, and Simeon's brother asking the meaning of his baste, Should I not haste, he answered, to carry the news of his death to mj family? Whose death? called the brother of the risen. Art thou, he returned, the only one, who has not heard of the crucifixion of the divine Jesus ? The old man sunk down speechless ; but being at length brought to himself, was with difficulty led back by the traveller and Boaz to the gate of Jerusalem. Shall we, O seraph ! said Simeon, shall we meet his spirit, when it quits its present encumbering abode f for the en- suing morn will surely set it free No, my be- loved Simeon, the angel returned, he is not dying : ven in this abject life much joy awaits him ; far thou art to appear to his enraptured mind, and to converse with him on the Lord's resurrection. Here lie and rest, said John, who stood by his corrupted frame, till the great decisive day. My continuance here will be only while the Redeemer's body is -wrapped in the shades of death. Then wilt thou, O Lamb of God ! arise as Victor ! jmd gather us. around thee, that wa may behoM 330 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XT. thy glory. At length, at the trumpet's joyful sound, the body with which I now willingly remain shall rise. O the transports of the resurrection ! How transcendent must they be, when only the hopes of them are so ravishing ! How delightful the wish that my body may soon revive ! Such were his thoughts when he beheld the blessed Benoni ad- vancing radient through the evening twilight. O :Seraph, said he to his celestial guardian, what angel is that which issues from those pendant rocks. Every charm of vernal beauty environs the hea- venly youth. He resembles Benoni. Is it not bis guardian angel ? No it is no angel, it is no soul cloathed in a vesture of light ; yet it re- sembles Benoni. Is he risen ? O heavenly youth, art thou risen from the dead ? Come, whoever thou art, wing thy way and animate thine harp. Perhaps Benoni, lately deceased, is risen, and sent hitherto declare some new wonder of the Divine goodness. Here Benoni, striking his melodious harp, came with graceful flight to John, and said, Greatest of those born of women, the Father of all eternally bless thee ! I bring thee heavenly tidings. Behold the sacred dust atvakes ! Thou baptizer of the great Ernanuel, the whole plain is in motion, and the dead in the Lord awake ! Who, O celestial youth, said John, Oh who hast thou seen ? I have seen, returned Benoni, the lather of men ! Enoch and Elijah stoo<| astonish- ed ! Abraham shone like the host of heaven ! and Isaac came in a crimson cloud ! I saw Moses and Job, with grateful eyes lift up in devout adoration ! I saw the seven martyrs absorbed in extacy ! May (rod eternally bless thee thee one of the race of Adam ! thou art now to prepare for thy resurrection* John, with amazement, beheld his body rise ; BUCK XI. THE MESSIAH. Ins sublime soul, animated the lucid form, and lie stood erect transfig-ured. Now was the beatific miracle complete, and to the Redeemer the glori- fied saint poured forth his rapturous praise. These names of the risen distinctly reached mine car : others the waving palms dispersed, till Sinn's heavenly muse visiting my contemplative hours, conveyed them to my thoughts. THE END OF THE ELEVENTH BOOK. THE ? MESSIAH. BOOK XII. .THE ARGUMENT. Joseph obtains Pilate's permission to bury the body of Jesus. He and Nicocleums having wrapped it in spices, perform the interment, which is solemnized by choirs of risen saints and angels. The disciples, many of the seventy, and Mary, with some devout women, meet in John's house, aud are joined by Joseph and Nicodemus ; the latter bringing the crown of thorns, which he had taken from the body ut its interment. The death of Mary the sister of Lazarus, who, with Nathaniel and Martha, sees her die : Lazarus returns to the company of believers at Jerusalem, and endeavours to comfort them. Salem, John's angel, strengthens him with a vision. DISTRESSED and deeply plunged in bitterest anguish, is the soul that fears her not being admitted to her divine inheritance : bewildered in thought, she is struck with the curses of Sinai and of Ebal, and with the terrors of ensanguined Golgotha. She no longer hopes to wear the white robe and the victors crown : but afflicted, lies in the dust, till a ray of comfort intermingled with the blessed idea that the divine Redeemer will be tho Deliverer, breaks in upon her mind, and fills her with hope and joy, and bumble submission : thus dejected, thus of every hope bereft, were they wko knew the Saviour, when they saw his eyei 534 THE MESSIAH. BOOK. XII. closed, his body dead, and all around silence awd solitude. Joseph of Arimathea alone bore up against this depression : To inter thee, O sacred corpse, said he, shall be his task who filled with pusillanimity, did not dare to oppose thy mur- derers. I will, added he, calling aloud, so that the Roman officer, and those involved in silent grief, heard his voice I will inter fche divine Jesus in my own sepulchre. Here, Nicodemus, stay for me at the cross, while I haste to the Roman governor. I will bring the funeral linen. He hasted away : so hastes he who firmly re- solved to lead a new life, despises the threats of man, the allurements of vice, and all its vain seducing charm?:. He soon reached the palace, where he beheld Pilate discomposed, and Portia, whose sorrowful look, and humid eyes ex pressed the anguish of her heart. Joseph having asked for the body, Pilate bid him send for the commanding officer at the cross, and on his arrival being assured (hat Jesus was really dead, ordered him to deliver the body to Joseph, who, returning him thanks, \vithdrew, and having fetched the linen and spices, hasted back to the hill of death. The disconsolate mother of Jesus first saw ihe faithful disciple bringing the funeral linen for her son's interment ; but filled with inward grief, stood silent, while John in vain strove to give her con- solation. As Joseph was hasting to the cross, he was met by Nicodemus, and to those of the faithful who drew near, they cheerfully said, We are not afraid to inter the Holy Jesus. The pioiis mourners then retreated, and stood at a distance, not so the celestial witnesses, the risen and the angels. These removed nearer, and now the harp, to the human ear unheard, lygan to ound : but had a mortal, however immersed ift XIL THE -MESSIAH^ &5 sorrow, heard ifs rapture-breathing* notes, ecstacy would have raised him to the joys of heaven, or the lugubrious sounds have extinguished life. * Joseph and Nicodemus having spread out the Iriiicn and aromatics, drew the nails ; took tjie corpse from the cross, and gently lowered it to the ground, They then wrapped the body in the spices and linen, to preserve that from putrifuction, wind* was soon to rise from the dead. - Eve now bovering over the body, bowed down her face to that of the breathless Messiah. Her golden tresses waved over his wounds, and a ce- lestial tear dropped on his tranquil breast. How lovely, O my Son and my Lord said she, appear these wounds, the testimonials of thy love! from each vein flows salvation ! Though the colour of death has tinged thy face, yet thy closed lips and fixed eyes speak eternal life ! fhou still smilest be- nign, and every lineament of thy divine counte- nance indicates love to man. Thus spake the mother of the human race, while Joseph and Nicodemus werfe swathing the extend- ed body. The burial clothes being stained with blood by the trembling hands of the disciples who performed this tender office, the fore-fathers of the Mediator began a plaintive song, a celestial thrc- nodv. One of the choirs beerau, and the tears of ., *, i j n , the blessed flowed. Who is he coming from Calvary cloathed io red ? \Vho with blood-stained garments comes from iJu- altar ? Vv hose divine power is concealed, and whose talvation is everlasting ? To them answered another choir, while tlia;r tears also flowed, and to their voices was joim-tl the sound of the trumpet : I am he who teach^Ui righteousness ; a master who bringeth salvation .and counsel. SSf? THE MESSIAH, Boo* XIT. The first choir resumed, Why is thy raiment stained with red, and thy vesture like that of one who treads the grapes ? Did not I tread the grapes alone ? and were any with me ? Those who arose have I crushed in mine anger. In iny indignation I trod them under foot, and my garments have been sprinkled with their blood. The day of wrath, the year of the great redemption is come ! When I undertook to redeem mankind, 1 looked round, but no helper was near, none in heaven or on earth ! Mine an- ger prevailed against the ground, I bruised tho head of the serpent ! Mine adversaries have I crushed in my wrath, and have trampled their pow- er in the. dust ! Thus sang the choir, joining with sadness trium- phant songs. Joseph taking offthe crown of insult, covered the Redeemer's sacred head. The celes- tial spectators that hovered over Golgotha were not silent, like Mary and the disciples ; but renew- ed their funeral hymns, which were accompanied with celestial tears. Hadst thou, O favourite disciple of the deceased son of the most afflicted of* niotjiers, now heard those harps, which though still a mortal, thou heardest in Patroos, how raised would have been thine extacy ! The choir of the risen with their eyes fixed on the corpse, con- tinued. Listen, ye angels, the brook of Cedron murmurs ! Listen to the murmuring of the brook of Cedron ! Tread upon the proud tread, O my sonl, on the Tanquished serpent t The palms groaned on Geth- semane ; for there he began to die. From another choir issued sounds hoarse as thun- der : Heard he not below the roarings of (he in- fernal floods, the bellow ings of the tortured ? Did not Tabor's summit shake amidst the clouds ? Then BOOK XII. THE MESSIAH. Eloa issuing from the darkness that encompasses the Father's judgment seat., sang triumphant ! He then began to die ! They were silent, and then was heard "in a soft voice of complaint, He is dead ! ye angel., he is dead ! Joseph and Nicodemus now raised the sacred body from the ground, and with slow steps carried it down the hill. "When one of the choirs sang, Ah he thought it no robbery to be like God ! yet Jesus, fairest among men and angels, condescend- ed to die the death of the cross ! The servants of sin for his vesture cast lots ! When parched with thirst, gall and vinegar they gave him to drink, and his afflicted suul drank of the bitter cup of insult ! Here a fervent choir lifted up their voices to hea- ven : Ah Jerusalem ! Woe to thee, Jerusalem ? Woe to thy sont, O Jerusalem ! Thy dreadful voice ; thy cry for the Redeemer's blood lias reached the highest heavens I The harps of the fathers now failed ; even in the hand of Moses, failed the melodious strings ; qp Eloa's high sounding trumpet proclaiming woe/ lie withdrew from the weeping choirs, and advanc- ing near the bloody corpse, sang accompanied by the seraph's trump : Long will the eternal chastise you who have murdered this Abel. Thou Cain I well know. Thy brother's blood cried for mercy, not tor revenge, and its ardent voice penetrated to the darkless which encompasses the Holy of Holies I but ye spurned at mercy ! Therefore from lofty Cirolgotha to the lowest hell, shall the avenger's voice resound through successive ages ! Eloa's trumpet now ceased, aiid silence broke off the glowing prophet's son*;. Tbeir looks followed tb^bod,, while faithful 338 filE MESSIAH. BOOK disciples carried it down to the sepulchre, which was hewn in a lonely rock bordering on the mount, and over-hung with aged trees. The disciples having rolled away the ponderous stone which closed the entrance / Joseph, with his eyes filled with tears, choose the spot where the sacred corpse should lie, saying, He whose life and death were filled with distress and pain, has at length a place to lay his head ! They then gently laid (he body down, and having hung over it with streaming eves, at length moved back the massy stone, and left the corpse of the Mediator in sepulchral dark- ness. Now the celestial choirs, perceiving through the sepulchral'gloom the resurrection's lucid dawn, renewed their hymns, Thou, Lord, shall not seo corruption. No sooner art thou involved in the shades of death,, than new life breaks forth aroniul; for the trumpet of the chief of angels will soon proclaim the revival of the greatest among the dead ! Ye harps in soft sounds shall hail the most resplendent morn, when the Conqueror of Death shall rite ! Lament him lament, ye his beloved, who yet mortal walk in the dust! Soon will ye shed other tears ; tear* unknown to us, who never felt your woes ! Around the sepulchre all were now silent, for tne angels and men were with-drawn. John then turning towards the dejected Mary, said, wi(h sympathetic tenderness, O mother, thy precious son being concealed from our view, let us retire from this hill, and let me lead thcc to my duelling. Her soul was now elevated above itself, and she answered, with her eyes red with weeping, Mv being thy mother, O Jesus, may be one day the source of heavenly raptures* and I rejoice that thou, his beloved disciple, art given to me as my son ; but BOOK. XII. tHE MESSIAH. .^59 grief and death and the grave, dwell iu the thought that He, my son, is no more ! Here again sinking into a solemn silence she veiled her face and was slowly led by her son with sympathizing sadness down the solitary hill. Amidst thick-set palms, and within the temple's shade, adjoining to the city wall, stood the house of the heloved disciple. Hither was he leading the disconsolate Mary, himself weakened and oppressed by grief, when meeting with some of the twelve, of the seventy, and several of the devout women, be entreated them to go with him, and join their endeavours to heal her wounded mind. Sing, O muse, the tears of the lovers for the beloved, and the complaints of mourning friend- ship. In this house they soon assembled. Mary, with weeping eyes, entered the hall where she had often seen the Holy Jesus, and heard him speak with tears of joy : but now on seeing the seat empty, where he used to open divine truths, and pronounce his affectionate benedictions, she burst into an agony of grief, and sunk down leaning her bead on the seat. While she was in this attitude of grief, Mary Magdalen, the mother of the sons of Zebedec, and Nathaniel went up to her, and at their entreaties, she permitted the women to raise her up ; but sat veiled, and all the company con- formed to her silence, till Peter entering, wept aloud, exclaiming, He is buried ! I hope, ear- nestly hope, that we shall all be soon buried near him ! Joseph shall promise to lay my body close to the rock which hojds my dear Lord ! And roe within the rock ! said Mary. Arm in arm came Simon the Canaanite and Matthew, with Philip and James the son of Al- pheus. Lebbeus cam by himself ; concern sup- 310 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XII. pressed his speech, and covering his face, he sat in the darkest place in the hall. Next came James, from his ardent zeal stiled the Son of Thunder, who with uplift hands and eyes raised towards heaven, cried, He is dead ! he is dead ! O what is all human excellence, even the most exalted and sublime I for over him have the wicked triumphed ! So saying he withdrew, and walked among the shady palms. Hither came Bartholomew, and with him An- drew the brother of Pe-ter, with Cleophas, Matthias, and ftemida, all sad and disconsolate, the affliction ef each increased by that of his associates. Silence now. reigned in the hall, and nothing: was heard but thrr dull murmurs of grief. Mary Magdalen lighted the funeral lamp ; after which devoyt women brought linen and spices for the sacred corpse. Even the guardian angels of the apostles and other mourners entered the hall, and the all- teeing eye of him whose death they bewailed, cast a compassionate look on the assembly. Mary Magdalen's angel, then raising her from her depth of affliction, enabled her thus to give vent to her grief. Ahs ! how are all things changed since he O mother ! do not thoti also die, for then what will become of us ? Now I first feel now I join in his lamentation over Jerusalem, the solitary widow, the queen among the nations ! We lived in obscurity, yet were happy, for he whose death we mourn was divine : but now in what misery are we involved f What nights of sorrow await us ! Oh may our nights of sorrow be few, and our last sleep soon come ! Our enemies triumph, and insult those that love their Lord. To him they offered the basest insults to him, when athirst, they gav gall and vinegar, doubly im-bi tiered with XII. THE MESSIAH. 341 contumely contumely cast upon him in the midst of his tortures ! O thou Judge ! thou just A- v<>nT ! pour out to them the full cup of thy wrath. She ceased, and the mother of Jesus, in a faint voice and broken accents, said, Learn, O Magda- len ! like my Son to forgive ! Did he not, when bleeding on the cross, filled with divine philan- thropy, cry out, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do ! Devout astonishment and inexpressible sorrow here seized every heart, and all felt a conflict be- tween the most elevated joy, and bitterest grief; but grief prevailed, and their souls were again in- volved in gloom. Yes, have mercy on them, O thou Judge and Father ! said Lebbcus, have mercy on us, and suffer us to die ! What have we to do on earth ? He is dead ! In his Father's house he told us are many mansions ! Ah let us rather lie at the threshold of thine house than re- main ia the dwellings of misery ! No other com- fort can I receive but death ; for this I long : its name I love to utter, it is more pleasing than the spring, it is to rne as the hymns of the temple f Be it our most delightful employment to converse n the change those have felt who have entered into the state of bliss, and, like active travellers, let us stand ready with our staff in our hand ! I love you, my beloved, as myself, I therefore wish you the bliss of dying 1 Yes, said Peter, death is most desirable, and O thou Most Merciful ! permit us to make sepulchreg for each other. Scarce had he uttered these words, when Thomas, with dejected look stopped at the entrance of the room. How awful appeared the objects that ttruck his convulsed mind! to him the glimmer- ing- hall was a tomb, and the silent mourners as- 2 2 34* TUK MESSIAH. BOOK XII. the images of (lie dead ! If ye be they, said he, entering the room, who heard the loud hosanna'sy when the -Mossed Jesus entered into life, how can ye avoid accompanying him in death ? 1 feel mine approach, and thought I should have found among you some who had arrived at happiness, to whom we might have paid the funeral rites. He is bu- ried,. who r when living, walked on the waves of the sea, and restored the dead to life ! Now with mournful look Joseph of Arirnathea, entering, joined the sighing assembly,, saying, Your brother in Christ, and mine, my friend Nico- demus, is come with me, and trembling waits your permission to enter. lie brings Ah .Joseph, thou Jbest of men, said the mother of the Lord ; what does he bring ? What, O Joseph ! does he bring ? Oh B see ye suffer too much, returned he, alas ! vthat will ye sufTer ! Let him return, let him fly from hence, and not add to your affliction ! What does he bfing * . nat, O Joseph ! has he brought ? I will go, and prevail on him to fly from thence ! He brings the bloody crown ! The- bloody crownj the Saviour's molher exclaimed, with cry that pierced the hearts of the whole assembly. Instantly Ni- eodemus entered with the crown of. thorns in his hand; when breaking from those who had sup- ported her, she took off her veil, threw it over the murderous wreath, and wringing her hands, sunk with it on. the floor. They raised her up. and she stretched out her suppliant arms for divine sup- port. Her Son overflowing with tenderness, looked down from above, and prepared for hw sublime felicity : but this being yet concealed, she, pale and languid, continued her lamentations, and cry- ing, Why, O why was it brought ! Too long did I. see it encompass his bleeding head ! He that h iu tho heaven of heavens., though all- wise BOOK. X!T. THE MESSIAH. 313 and all -gracious, hath bent his bow against me, and pierced me with his fiery arrows ! Ah never, never did mother bear a son like him I saw expire mi the cross ! Meanwhile the devout Mary, the sister of Laza- rus, lay at the point of death. Cold sweats and the conflict of her heart, denounced her approach- ing dissolution. She already tasted the leaden slumber, the harbinger of sleep in the bosom of silent corruption : from this lethargic insensibility, she raised her head, and with mournful counte- nance sought Martha's sympathising eyes, which exhausted by continual grief, shed no tears. Sh then began the following discourse, in which Mar- tha answered and she replied : I can no longer, my dear sister, continue silent. All now forsake me, even Lazarus and Nathaniel 1 and see I die ! Ah I lived with them, but without them shall die ! Accuse not the faithful. Perhaps the divine Teacher has led them into the wilderness, that they may learn by experience how lie f"eds the hungry, and refreshes the weary soul. I do not accuse them, Martha. Those whom I love never have I accused. If I have, O my dear- est friends, forgive me. Forgive all my offences. Alas ! what now rises in my soul, covers it with sadness. Shake off the solicitude with which thou art oppressed. Does that gloom which sometimes clouded the felicity of thy life, return in death. O call not the divine disposition gloom ! I con- jure thee by him who judgeth us, and is now gathering me to my fathers, call not his disposition gloom. Jf I have suffered, have I not also had much joy, and friends like thee ? have not I, in my pilgrimage to the grave, seen Jesus the delight of angels, seen his miracles, and heard his wisdom ? O tet me be thankful for all my afflictions ! for all THE MESSIAH, BOOK XII the supports, all the reviving cordials I have re- ceived ! And above all I give thee thanks, O thou all-gracious Disposer of my life, that I have seen Jesus the friend of man, the Awakencr of the dead ! Leave me, Martha, go and make ready my sepul- chre, where Lazarus slept, there will I sleep. Sleep, O Mary, where Lazarus slept, and rise at the voice of him who raises the dead ! Happy Martha, what sweet hopes flow into my soul ! W ithdraw that I may be alone with God. How shall I leave thee in thy last moments ! I cannot leave thee. Compose thyself, dear sister, thou art alone with God, and may the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, be with thee ! Stay then. May he be with me who fills the heavens, and whose almighty voice calls the children of men to return to life. With me be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ! Having thus 'spoke, she from her inmost soul thus supplicated the Forgiver of sins : Hear, O hear me ami cuter uot into judgment with a poor sinner ! What mortal can stand before thee ? O God give rest to mv dying heart, and rejoice my soul with the assurance of thy salvation ! Thou Lord of death, cast me not off from thy presence ! Give me again, O Father, thy consolations, and restore to me thejoys of thy spirit ! Thou who heardest Job amidst the most piercing afflictions, regard my supplications, and he my support. . Thus she prayed. Then turning to Martha, said; Dost tluni, my dear sister, think that Jesus now prays for me ? He shed tears on his coming 1 to the grave of Lazarus ; will he not also pity me ? Oh what hope dawns into my soul ! The ominV- present Lord of life and death is with me ! Ptlary now sunk into a deep slumber, en which Martha rose and stood by the bed to view her BOOK XII. THE MESSIAH. 315 sleeping sister, scarce breathing for fear she should awake her who had now entercl far into the gloomy vale, while she was left alone. Sadness pervaded her heart, and some tears flowed down her pallid cheek, till her agonies and palpitations gradually subsided. Thus silent she stood, in the gloom/ chamber, enlightened only by a dim hal f-extinguished lamp. A traveller who considers death as a sub- ject of joy, after passing through a parched and lonely wilderness, enters the cavity of a hollow cock, where little of the lowering day finds en- trance, and where is presented to his astonished sight a tomb, ou which is placed recumbent, a statue of the dead, with another of marble, the friend of the deceased, who stands weeping. The traveller views the tomb, is struck at the image of the deceased, and sympathises in the grief of the mournful surviver. So, Mary, did thine angel, on approaching thy bed, find Martha with thee, and at thy feet stood the celestial youth. Of those angels who in the scale of spirits arc near to the human soul, beauty is the portion, and those distinguished by the title of thrones are supereminent in glory ; yet how dim their splendor when compared with that of Him who ascended to the right hand of the Father ! O thou who hast triumphantly risen to the heaven of heavens, my Intercessor ! my Brother ! grant that innumer- able hosts of the redeemed may die the death of the righteous. Whether our lives be closed amidst sufferings, or whether we eujoy a fore-taste of lleaven, O thou Redeemer ! thou Lamb of God ! let the death of the righteous be our portion ! While (Jhebar stood at the feet of Mary, he found his resplendent beauty fade : from his face flnl the rosy blush of the morning, and the radient of his t- yes : his wings flagged : no harmony, 346 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XII. no fragrant, exhalations accompanied their languid motion ; no longer they glowed with celestial azure be-drop-ped with gold. From his head he took his radient crown, and held it in his drooping hand. He knew that though her heart strings were ready'to break, he could not. assist her, be- fore Lebbeus, Martha, and Nathaniel joined their lamentations, and Lazarus poured forth his prayers. Lazarus was still at Jerusalem, in the dejected company of the faithful, and going to the mother of Jesus, said, Behold, O Mary ! midnight is now at hand, and when I left Bethany, my sister seemed near her dissolution. I will go to see her. Per- haps if the dreadful news of what has passed at Calvary has not reached her ears, she may be still alive. Lebbeus iiistantly rising, said, I will ac- company thee ; at which Nathaniel, embracing him, answered, Come, thou most beloved among the living;, how my heart thanks thee ! They were now standing ready to go, when Lazarus address- ing the mother of Jesus, said, O thou mother of hitn whose name the angels proclaimed ! may he who sees and counts thy tears, even the father of him who is interred, bo with thee. Thou heardest thy blessed Son pray, Father, into thy hands I com- mend my spirit ! I commend thy soul and mine to his and our Almighty Father. Thus saying, they hasted towards Bethany, and amidst the silence of the night reached the house where the devout Mary lay, and stood by her sister near the bed. At length Mary awaking from her lethargic slumber, cried, Thanks be- to thee, O thou Almighty Author of life and death, they are come, and with them Lebbeus. O Mary, ?aid Lazarus, how has the Giver of every mercy supported thee ? Whatever he does, said she, how painful soever it may appear, is the effect of BOOK XH. THE MESSIAH. mercy. Ah ! what has my heart endured ! Now behold I die. But where, oh where is Jesus ? He knows he knows what I suffer. Has he prayed for me ? What, O Mary ! said Lazarus, dost thou now suffer ? Mary answered, My sufferings spring not from the dread of corruption, or from afiiictive thoughts of being taken from these my dear friends, hut from doubts which wound my bleeding soul. Ah brother how was it with thee ? But does Jesus pray for me- 3 With the prayers of the holy Jesus will I compose myself for the sleep of death. Will not this earthly life soon be over ? O say, is it not near its end ? They are silent, Tvlarlha, Nathaniel is also silent. Jesus has not yet prayed for me ! this pierces my soul. Here am I, O Lord, thy will be done ! Thy will is best ! Here Lazarus lifting high his folded hands, said, As a mother pities her child, so, O Lord, is thy pity towards us : but though a mother may forget to pity her child, yet thy mercy never fails. Lazarus then weeping, Mary raised her languid head, and! said, Tell me, iny heavenly brother, which: now belongs to me, the curse 'from Sinai, or the mother's love ? Oh if he loves me, what triumph ! What extacy ! the most lofty and noble praises be offered to the Giver of eternal grace ! to him whose mercy is not like that of man ! to the God of all grace ! But how can I know that he pities rne with a mother's pity ? Oh speak ; has the prayer of the Most Righteous softened my Judge, and does he look on me with the pitying eye of parental love ? O Thou who art most merciful, cried Nathaniel, look down with an eye of compassion, and no longer hide thy cheering miles from the afflicted. Here he ceased. MESSIAH. BOOK Sir. Lazarus added, Thine afflictions, O sister, will soon end in complete felicity. Thou knowest not \vhat a pattern we have had of patience and resig- nation to God, and to whom we look up in the heaven of heavens ! I have been raised to life, yet wish, O Mary, to fall asleep with thec. The voice of death would to me be more melodious than the hallelujahs of the crowded temple. O Mary, our divine friend, our help in time of trouble, the blessed Jesus, who remitted sins, who raised the dead died -on the cross. He crucified ! Ho dead on the cross ! cried he, with fan I toting accents. Ye angels ! He crucified and dead ! O thou who hast permitted this, I bless and praise thee for all my sufferings, and fallow my deceased Lord ! Here her tongue failed, and the colour of death overspread her placid countenance. Lazarus laying his hand on her icy forehead said, O thou who art perfected in thy Redeemer's love, may this sleep convey thee among those who die in the Lord ! Be thou now horn to the day of light ! to eternal life ! My heart cleaves to thine, yet gladly do I sec the dissolution of this tabernacle, and thy departure to the hea- venly Canaan. O thou preserver of Israel ! sup- port her through the dreary valley, and bring hef to the land of felicity, where thou driest up every tear, where no complaint, no lamentation, inter- rupts (he grateful song of praise. To her be the sun of this earth extinguished. Thou death shed on her thy last slumber, and may her mortal frame rest in peace ! Receive her, O corruption, that her body may grow up to life ; a seed sown by the Lord for the great day of the harvest, when the reapers shall shout, and the trumpets sound, when the earth and the sea shall with a mighty noise BOOK XL THE MESSIAl!. 34* bring forth their dead; when the whole expanse of the heavens shall resound with the praises of the supreme Lord and Judge. Chebar seeing the triumph of death over Mary, was so transported with joy, that gentle murmurs, as at a remote distance, issued from his tremulous wings. They who were present knew not what it was they heard. Soon the seraph, touching his soul- animating harp, from its.enlivening strings struck such sounds of celestial harmony, that Mary raised herself and listened in an extasy, while Lazarus and Na- thaniel supported her feeble frame. The seraph now no longer trembled , but from the soft ih rilling strings, in sounds of inexpressible melody, poured the peace of God which passeth knowledge. The attentive soul of Mary was swelled with sensations be- fore unknown : thoughts new and sublime, in a soul ready to leave its corruptible dust, and to en- ter into eternal life. Thus was it with thee, holjr Ezekiel, in thy vision of the resurrection, when all around, the convulsed earth teemed with the awakening dead. The angelic harp, still continued its powerful sounds, diffusing into the almost dis- embodied^ soul a repose never tasted by any that returned to life. Now the celestial herald burst into louder and still louder strains, and tempests and earthquakes seemed to accompany the notes ; while the immortal, in the transports of inspiration rang to the resounding harp. Holy! holy! holy! is He who bled on Calvarv ! ^ Mary, sinking under the raptures which the celestial voice poured into her labouring heart, expired. Her brother sunk down by her, then grasping her clay-cold hand, and wiping away hi tears, said, Praise be to Him who has made death the way to life ! Glory be to the Giver of immor- tality ! Behold thou art now in the tents of peace. 350 THE MESSIAH. BOOK X1L yet thy soul shall not for ever remain alone ; for Ten this corruptible shall put on incorruption : the fair flower broken by the rude storm, shall, on the solemn morn of the resurrection rise in celestial lustre. Let us now commit the sacred dust to its kindred earth No, we will for a mo- ment forbear, and devoutly view this dear body that has just been crushed by the thunder of death, and will rise at the sound of the last trumpet. It will lie ripening through successive ages ! How mys- terious are the ways of the Eternal ! Thought is lost in astonishment ! When I would consider His ways I cannot pierce the dnrkness that sur- rounds them : yet if a glimpse of twilight breaks iut, I weep with joy, while conducted by the dawn, the harbinger of the joyful morn. With her it is now morning ! Oh receive my dear sister ! my last salutation, Maybe who now rests in his se- pulchre, bless thee ! The divine Jesus had already blessed her. A celestial body of radient lustre, hovered round Mary's soul, guided by the powerful hand ot creation. Environed with streams of felicity, she iirst cast a thought on the corpse she had left, exulting in her being freed from her encumber- ing clay ; and then in complete glorification, was filled with a lively sense of her beatitude. With extended arms she cried, O thou sleep of death ! thou summit of blessings ! Thou i& it possible, ye angels : is it possible, ye heirs of heaven, that I am blessed like you ? She was then silent. But soon closing her hands., she resumed, O thou first- horn of felicity ! thou Son of Eternal light, thou Holy One of God, is it possible that I am thus blessed? O . sweet fcrgetfulness of all my suf- ferings, come and infuse sensations of thy deiight- Cul repose ! No, forbear ; for to compare tho BOOK. XII. THE MESSIAH. 351 sufferings of the past life \vith everlasting joys, this plenitude of bliss is extasy. Ye vv ho uever fell, however hitppy in jour persevering obedience and purity unstained, know not the felicity of comparing the wretchedness of sin with the joys of this eternal life. Ye never wept such tears as Jesus the. God of loving-kindness now wipes from our eyes! Ye prophetic sensations with which I have oft been seized, I now with grateful thanks acknowledge, ye pointed out to me, hope in the heaven of hea- vens ! Oh I will rejoice in my past misery ! I will thank thee for all my sufferings ! Now my hopes are fulfilled ! In the days of my mortal life eve- ning succeeded evening till the last, when came the night of death. How swiftly they passed away, and now I awake in the morning of life. The dream which began with weeping, ended wich the tears of death ! the dream of life is now over, mid I am awaked * Once more shall I awake when my mouldering clay shall become incorruptible, and a more worthy habitation of its spiritual inha- bitant, and be resplendent even as the body of him by whom it shall be raised, who also died, was bu- ried, and will rise from the dead ! Mary then as- cended like the brightness of the morning, light as air, swift as thought, and as she passed, saw the wide creation opening to her view without end. Lazarus, filled with the most elevated, ideas of death, hasted back, in order to return to the mourn- ing disciples. On his approaching the house, one of the seventy ardently embracing him, related with extasy the wonders of the Lord which he himself had seen. On Lnzarnp's entering the gloomy hall, he found it still filled with sighs, on which bursting into and raising his eyes and hands to heaven, he S5S THE MESSIAH. BOOK XII. cried, O God of gods, reward him still farther -who in obedience to thy will, humbled himself, and submitted to the death of the cross ! \Vhere is the crown of the Conqueror of death concealed ? Let me see it, bloody as it is ! It is more dear to ine than the angels' shining crowns which I have seen from afar ! O thou mother of the divine Jesus J hear and raise thyself from this abyss of grief ; at his death the earth trembled ! Night covered the earth, and thou hast seen its terrors ! but thou knowest not how the heafens bore testi- mony to him. Behold in the court of the temple* the evening sacrifice awfully blazed in the midst of the gloom : the sacriiicers who stood at the altar trembled at the terrors of the too early night : the priests kneeled facing the door of the sanc- tuary, and looking towards the holy of holies, thanked the Avenger that Jesus had been put to death, when presuming to direct their wrathful eyes to the most holy place they beheld the veil of the temple instantly rent from the lofty roof to its lowest border ; the suppliants were overwhelmed with the terrors of the grave, which arrested all their powers, till fear and horror dispelling their lethargy, induced them to fly from death. Oh what heavenly consolation flows from the thought of the dear deceased, who while he was expiring on the cross, wrapped the earth in darkness, bad the rocks shake, and unveiled to the eyes of mortals his- tremendous glory. While he spake, the hearers sat in silent amaze- ment, yet little comfort penetrated their Dejected hearts. Thus the traveller in descending a steep and lofty precipice, beholds not the beauties of the clear smiling day in the flowery vale. In vain does its radiency spread through the illumined BOOK XII. THE MESSIAH. 355 proves, in vain it moves in the meandering stream : for his fears extend a cloud over all the beauties of spring. La/arus still observing their fixed sadness, thua affectionately resumed, Is it no consolation to you that God bears testimony to our dear decease^ Lord with such signs and wonders ? O let this bo a powerful consolation! Rejoice too>that Mary, the taught of God., and whom you loved will weep; no more ! . I-M.-B-I Magdalen now w ith tearless eyes hastily stepped up to him, and said, Thy words, like the. voice of an angel,, bring us comfort, and we will rcfccivq consolation from them ; for they are as refreshing as the breeze in parching heat. Thy celestial sUter is then gone to Christ ! Hast thou no more angelic words, no predictions of our death ? Thou wert once in the state of the dead, O haugt thou then no intimations whether thy friends would soon be discharged from this world of sorrow, soon be admitted to celestial joy ?.. O speak, if thou knowest, and no longer conceal from us, whe- ther this will soon be our blissful lot. He continu- ing silent, she resumed > Since our lives are to be lengthened, O thou heavenly Judge, whose judg- ments ere a great deep, may we live to see judg- ments accumulated on those who slew thine inno- cent, thy blameless Son ! Midnight had for some time spread its sable cur- tain. This when spent in prayer with Christ had "been as gladdening to his followers as the vernal day ; but under their present distress was fraught with images of terror ; and now the more terrible, as the voice of the divine Intercessor was silenced by death. Their lamentations gradually subsided, and alleviating tears no longer wetting their now dry eyes-; the weight of cold affliction iuamoveably 354 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIL oppressed their souls, while sympathy for theif sufferings dimme'd the eyes of the attending angels. Mean while Salem and Selith, John and Mary's angels, thus conversed : Though we, O Salem, know the glorious con- clusion of what appears so sorrowful, yet are we little less afflicted than they. They are mortal, and cannot, my celestial brother, know the joys that await them ; but wert thou to reveal thyself ar- rayed in splendor, and to shew them the happy issue of this maze of affliction, they would esteem it an illusive dream : their minds would be still fixed on the gloomy lahyrinth, which even over- comes me. I with serenity, O Selith, contemplate the divine plan, and thou art too deeply affected by compas- sion. I now acknowledge that thou suffcrest like man ; for when we are solely penetrated with hu- man sufferings, our thoughts resemble those that are human. The Most High afflicts in order to improve them, and to render them more happy than they could have been without drinking of the cup of sorrow, when at the time of rejoicing, the blessed shall be admitted to drink of the river of life. Celestial Friend, returned Selith, the griefs which rend the heart of the tender mother, too much overcloud me ; but Salem will forgive me. I saw her extreme anguish at the cross. Do thou kindly spread over her a healing sleep ; I will hover round her with reviving visions, and prevent the approach of new sufferings. Rest from pain has not yet been bestowed on he". O the raptures she will feel, when instead of still contemplating on death, she will awake to the joys which flow from God's right hand 1 While ilicy \vere thus conversing, a short sleep Book XII, THE MESSIAH. 355 alighted on John's tearful eye, which Salem per- ceiving, by adream, pregnant with bliss, filled his heart with extasy. He seemed to remove him to Lebanon, whose cedars waved their tops at his approach. The morning more beautifully arrayed in gold and purple than erer he had seen, shone through the branches of the dewy grove, while the purling of the brook in the vale below was as sweet as the music of the temple. Soon in louder strains resounded the ravishing harmony of the celestial harps and voices, chanting Happy son of the hea- venly mother, dry up thy tears ! Dry up thy tears, thou happy son of the heavenly mother ! The disciple seemed not to dry up his tears ! these the vision, brought by the seraph, could not yet suppress ; for even in sleep the briny stream ceased not to flow. The radient morn now ap- peared overcast, and the joint melody of the celes- tial harps and voices died away. Meanwhile the immortal seemed to convey him swiftly to the grove, where the astonished disciple saw men, with rage flaming in their eyes, hew down a cedar so large that Lebanon shook at its fall. The cedar was formed into a cross, awful sight ! but with pleased astonishment he saw it shoot forth palms. The icene of the disciple's vision was now removed from Lebanon to Eden, where he beheld a celestial glory that infinitely exceeded the splendor of gold and purple. He now heard more sublime choirs, and his heart was filled with the sweetest sensations THE END OF THE TWELFTH BOOK. A a THE 7 MESSIAH. ROOK XIII. THE ARGUMENT. Gabriel assembles the angels and the risen about the sepul- chre, where they wait the Messiah's resurrection. The emotions of Cneus, tiie Roman olhcer on guard. The soul of Mary, Lazarus's sister, comes into (ue assembly of the saints. Ohadilon, the angel of death, calls Satan, and Adramelcch, and orders them to leave the Dead Sea, and either to repair to Hell, or to the sepulchre. Satan determines on the latter, and Adramelech on the former, but after changing his resolution, dares not to put it in execution. The angel of death leares it to Abbadona either to come to the sepulchre or not, as he pleases. The glory of the Messiah descends from hearen. Adam and Eve pay their adorations: The Messiah rises from the dead. The acclamations of the angels and the rm:i. The seven martyrs, the sons of Thirza, sing a hymn of triumph. Some of the saints come down to him from the clouds, and at last Abraham and Adam. The soul of a Pagan brought before him, on which he judges the soul and disappears. Gabriel orders Satan to fly to hell. Some of the soldiers of the guard, and also Cneus, enter the assembly of the priests. Philo puts an end to his life, and Obaddon meeting his soul in Ge- henna, conducts it to hell. THE ancestors of the divine Jeaus rejoicing iu their being raised from the dead, remained iar the tombs in which they had slept, while the angels sought for those- yvho had been sanctified A a 2 358 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIIF. by the Redeemer : but often was their joy damped by grief, and oft they shook their purple wings, de- filed by the terrestrial air, as by the dust which rises from the foot of the traveller, Gabriel still continued at the sepulchre, and Eloa on one of the suns that revolve round in the heavens, waiting the descent of Christ's glory. But now the angel of the sepulchre soared up- ward through the creation, to behold the celestial signs of the resurrection. Long had he fixed his eye on an effulgent star which in its circular course shot by another ; at this sight the expect- ing seraph's eyes beamed a brighter fire ; he turo- ed ; his motion was as a storm ; his descent as lightning, and returning to the sepulchre, he called with a voice as loud as that of the forest- bending tempest, Come, ye celestials to the grave ! Thither the angels and patriarchs soon hasted, and soon was the sepulchre of the Chief among the dead, environed by an august company of celestial beings. Over the sepulchre, as in the center of the circle, sat Gabriel, on a golden cloud, introducing the souls of the redeemed into eternal life. But the angel of death, who in Jehovah's name had announced to Jesus the separation of his immortal essence from the body, now slowly moved to the sepulchre, and sunk into Gabriel's arms, saying, All around me is night. The earth trembles, and the darkness of the hill of death is deeper than the blackness of the midnight gloom. Never have my immortal powers failed in performing the com- mands of the great Jehovah, except in the last, under which I still faint. Renew my strength, thou ray of the Omnipotent, that soon issuing from the grave, will rise to the right hand of the Father ! The immortal then leaned on the rock> where rested the sacred body of Jesus. XIII. THE MESSIAH. 353 Ah, what sweet longings do I experience ! cried Abraham. How blissful the thought 1 I shall see him ! I shall see the Conqueror of Death, rise to immortal life ! Hallelujah J hallelujah ! hallelu- jah ! I shall see him as he is ! I shall see his body rise from the dead. Hallelujah t Mysotil shall rejoice in the Lord ! cried David. I shall rejoice on his ascending from the' sepulchre ! Ye pious, whose bodies still are dust, and ye who can never know corruption, jour joy cannot equal ours ! O what will Jesus experience ! He, the Sou of the Eternal Father ! He, who has felt more than the sufferings of mortality, and the terrors of death 1 O Asaph, added he, embracing him, the Saviour who suffered the painful death of the cross, will soon awake ! He then with inward joy fixed his longing eyes o.n his Redeemer's sepulchre : so a dying saint looks up to heaven, and from thence receives the rapturous assurance of the endless felicity that awaits him. Asaph steadily looking at the psalmist, caught his holy transports. David's countenance beamed encreased radiance : his breath was harmony : he soared aloft, the air resounded, and now he animates the harp, and the speaking instrument, though >rt unaccompanied with ^ords, diffused triumph : then fired with inspi- ration, both his voice and strings poured forth a stream of rapture. So the highly favoured apos- tle to whom tlic glories of the apocalypse were dis- played, beheld standing on the heavenly Sion a lamb covered with radieut wounds, and the rich blood of salvation ; round him was a great mul- titude rejoicing with the Father's name written their forehead. In their animating bands the resounded like the voice of thunder ; for the/ 560 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIIL sang "the Son whose radiant wounds beamed eternal life into the souls below. Joseph clothed with light, and bearing in his hand the triumphant palm, sang to his brother, who in his embraces had once poured forth a flood of joyful tears, O dearest Benjamin ! what raptures do I feel in recalling the hour when the Almighty Disposer of all events, permitted me, in my former state, to make myself known to thee ! But how infinitely superior is the celestial joy and pleasure and triumph for which we now with eager expec-r tation wait ! O thou Brother of the redeemed ! thou first among the heirs of light ! throw off the veil of blood and dust that covers thy face, and again shew thyself in glory! We thirst, we pant to behold thee with all thy radiant wounds, the Conqueror of Death. The reconciliation planned by the Father, and which thou hast accomplished, is of perpetual efficacy, and at length will arrive the joyfoi hour concealed from the earth, con- cealed^ven from the blessed host of heaven that hour when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come, and the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, shall be brought to the gracious Redeemer cru- cified for them ; when the Saviour, impatient of any farther restraint, will exclaim, lam Jesus ! The beloved weeping, will hang about his neck, and He distribute to them crowns and the festal robe of innocence. How will then the celestial messengers proclaim from star to star the resplen- dent lights that have issued from the depths of wisdom ! How will the adoring angels then bow before the Eternal Father ! O Primordial Source Af being ! O King who alone bast immortality ! praise, worship, and honour be to thy name for ever and ever ! BOOK XIII. THE MESSIAH. 361 The soft barp and sounding trumpet accom- panied the joyful song, and soft modulations audi- ble to the ears of the blessed alone. Not unani- mated flow the heavenly hymns : these are the rap- turous products of original inspiration, the first fruits of bliss and grateful triumph, to us unknown: yet they are sometimes heard by the dying, and accompany them into eternal life. Isaiah the pro- phet of the silent Lamb heard the seraphs, when far from the opening grave, they, covering their faces, sang Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory ! while their fervent voices shook the gates of the temple. Filled with the ravishing expectation of the Mediator's resurrection, the blessed continued ex- pressing- their sensations in vocal and instrumental harmony, sometimes in separate, and sometimes iu united melody : for as yet they felt not the silence of ipy, nor the raptures of mute felicity. Ezekiel descended from the clouds to a tomb on mount Olivet, and sang, I once saw in a vision dry bones scattered over the plain : at the command of the Lord of Life and Death, I bad them revive* they came together ; a rapid wind diffused life into the dead, and a host innumerable rose on their feet ! Still is my heart filled with transport at the idea of that wonderful sight. I myself have just been raised from the dead ! blessed, blessed be he by whom I am raised ! His body is not, as ours was, subject to corruption, and it will soon rise triumphant, the Conqueror of death. . Hail Thou who art the Resurrection and the Life ! Under thy shadow shall all in the heaven of heavens as- semble ! Death, the last of enemies, shall be des- troyed, and Thou wilt resign up the sovereignty to the Father, that God may be all in all. Hallelu- jah ! Joy glowed in the countenance of the ear S62 THE MESSIAH. Boos XIII. raptured prophet, and Gabriel turning as swift as thought from the grave to the transported Ezekiel, cried, with a voice like the roaring of the sea, Hallelujah ! God shall be all in all ! The sublime Isaiah then leaving the assembly of the blessed, descended to Golgotha and stood at the cross of the sacred dead. Daniel the favourite of the Most High, also quitted the assembly of the blessed, and stood at the cross, where with a psaltery in their hands they alternately sang : Here ! Here he was wounded for our transgres- sions, and with his stripes are we healed ! Ah, for our sakes was He wounded ! for our sakes was He bruised ! He submitted to chastise- ment that we might have pardon, and by His stripes are we healed ! He was oppressed and afflicted, vea He opened not his mouth ! As a lamb was He led to the slaughter ! From anguish and from judgment is He taken ; but soon will If.e awake to life, and who on earth or in heaven is able to make known the duration of liis felicity. He was cut off for the transgressions of his people, and as a criminal was he put to death ! Now is finished the sacrifice for sin. His seed shall be numerous as the drops of the morning dew, and shall live for ever ! By his heavenly wisdom shall the righteous ser- vants of God make many righteous, and the heirs of glory ; for the sins of the world hath he done away ! Who is he that came up from Cedron ? In the power of the divine strength he came to bear the sins of man ! It was Christ, a teacher of righteousness ! Christ mighty to save ! whose wounds trickled on this hill BOOK XIII. THE MESSIAH. 305 of death ! Whose blood, O heaven of heavens ! ran down on the altar of atonement ! His precious, his sacred blood, before whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father ! Now, now is transgression finished ! Righteous- ness and salvation shall flourish ! Praise him the great Accomplisher ? Praise him, for he is anoint- ed ! On this hill of death was the Holy One anoint- ed ! Hallelujah ! Transported with these ideas of the rising Vic- tim, the saints repeated, with a sound like that of breezes whispering through the tree of life, Yes, on this hill of death was the Holy One anointed ! Hallelujah ! The guard at the sepulchre was now relieved by another party who had seen Christ expire, the hills shake, and the rocks split- At the stone which closed the entrance stood the Roman band, with Cneus their commander, who soon became absorbed in thought. The silent night and silver moon led him to bewilder himself in an intricate maze of doubts, while he had no guide to direct his way. Leaning against the rock he said to him- self. Is he a Son of God ? Of what God ? Of the God of the Israelites ? Oh why do I doubt the greatness of Jupiter ? Why am I unwilling to believe that he whom this weak people call Je- hovah is worthy to be known ? How pusillani- mous is this fear of conviction ! How despicable does Jupiter appear ! How great Jehovah who stiles himself the God of gods, and by his actions realizes the august title ! Yet the Son of the great Jehovah was mortal ! but if he was no more than man, how could he be so great ? While be was thus absorbed in thought, a mes- senger thus addressed him ; Portia sends me to 364 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIII. know from thee, whether all be quiet at the se- pulchre, and whether any have assembled near the corpse : she at first thought to have come herself, but changed her mind. Cneus desired him to tell Portia that all was quiet, and that nobody had offered to come near the corpse. The messenger was then going, when Cneus calling after him, desired him to inform Portia, that whether Jesus would, or would not, rise again to life, was a subject that filled him with the greatest perplexity. Cneus again giving way to thought, said to himself, This lady is no less uneasy than I, about the issue of the mysterious history of this intombed sage. If he was not the Son of the Supreme God, it must be acknowledged that he was a pious man. The Supreme God, did I say ? that is denying Jupiter, and shall I place him beneath Jehovah, whom I know not. Jehovah's miracles seem to bear a far greater stamp of truth than those attri- buted to Jupiter, or rather have all the evidence of certainty. Had the conqueror of Israel invoked Jupiter, the image of that. God, like that of Dagon, would perhaps have fallen to the ground, and from his impotent hand would have dropped the useless thunder ! Ah, what thoughts are these ! What constrains me to renounce him I have worshipped, and to sacrifice him to this tremendous, this un- known God, whose voice I feel speaking irresistibly in the most secret recesses of my heart ? O thou whom I ardently pant to know, make thyself known to me ! Thus he mused with uplift eyes, till his head unk down on his breast. Ah why, added he, did not I see this pious man perform his miracles ? Why did 1 neglect hearing his instructions ? He is now dead, and incapable of conveying them. O thou unknown ! my soul bewilders itself in quest BOOK XII! THE MESSIAH. SG5 of thee ! Oh that I could understand the instrao tions of thy prophets ! Oh that the veil that hides them from mine eyes was removed ! At the very cross I might have asked him some important questions : but now he is silent. But will he continue so for ever ? Can the dead revive ? The holy man himself assured his followers that he would. This his enemies say, and hence we are placed to guard his body. Should he not return to life, his history, instead of rewarding my enqui- ries with divine knowledge, will be all inexplicable darkness. Thus Cneus bewildered himself in the dark path to the Deity, no helping hand yet leading him to the heights of wisdom. Now into the exalted assembly of the risen the angel Chebar brought the lovely soul of Mary* who slid with a silver sound from an ctherial cloud. Benoni received her, saying, O Mary, thou didst not see the Redeemer die, but thou shall see him rise from the dead. By the bloat) of the Lamb hast thou overcome, take therefore (he psaltery, and be thou one of the celestial choir. May 1 pre- sume, said she, to mingle with the glorious host, on whom, for ages past, crowns and palms have been conferred ? O Benoni, how happy am I ! What mercy has the gracious Author of Life and Death shewn in chusing the hour of my decease ! I shall in this blessed assembly see the Redeemer rise from the dead ! Admit me among you, ye saints of God ! Ye brethren of Christ ! my brethren and my beloved, for ever receive me ! for the Fa- ther of Mercies, who has shewn favour both to you and me, hath sent me ! O ye celestial community, . the triumphant bridegroom's bride, we "here feel a repose hitherto unknown, joys of which we had not before the least distant idea ! How freely do we here drink of the river of Life ! Oh with what 560 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIII. transcendent faculties, fitted for tasting the bliss of salvation, hast thou enriched the souls whom Thou hast called to imierit Thy glory ! A bliss of per- petual duration ! We shall be ever with Thee the object of our love ! W hat joyful thanks, what rapturous praise should we offer Thee, for this ex- falie prospect? I am lost in wonder, love, and grateful transports ! Thy bounty knows no end ! it is infinite and everlasting like thyself ! Trembling she ceased, filled with unutterable joy. The enraptured circle of the heirs of life, then sang to their accompanying harps, He is infi- nite t Infinite is the Father of existence and love ! Sooner will tbe New Earth be involved in night, and the New Heavens in gloom, than the overflow- ing stream of thy mercies fail to refresh the thirsty soul ! Behold its spring rises at the foot of the throne, and falls from the empyrean heaven, from earth to earth into regions luminous and obscure. The blessed hear the sound, the sons of light hear it round the worlds, and flock to feed on raptures ! O ye redeemed, ye brethren of the deceased, delay not, but haste to the stream of felicity ! Ye who come with trembling feet have a Helper to support you, even he who with broken heartstrings, loudly cried, It is finished. As the spent labourer after a toilsome day, resigns himself to sleep, so the migh- ty One slumbers in the sepulchre ; the Lion of Juda slumbers in the shade ! Hadst thou, O hell, drank less of the cup of vengeance thou wouldest be silent, lest the Mighty One who sleeps should awake, and rise from the concealing tomb : but lie will rise even to the right hand of the Father, and the incased Lamb shall tread thee under his feet. Thy aeserts shall become more dreary, ami thine abysses sink deeper under the terrible steps of the iuceused Lamb, BOOK XIII. THE MESSIAH. 367 At these words Obaddon, the "\npcl of dealh, rose from the sepulchre, and left the holy assembly, in order to fulfil the orders he had received, which were, that when the assembly of the saints should denounce the judgmeuts of hell to be at hand, he should haste to Satan and Adramelech, who were confined in the Dead Sea. He wrapped himself iu thick darkness, and standing on t.l.e shore called up the accursed. With the noise of a storm they stood before him. The angel of death then threvr aside the darkness with which he was encompassed, except that on his front, which still retained the gloom of a thunder-cloud, spreading before him to the Dead Sea. Satan now summoning up his en- feebled powers, thus addressed Obaddon : Happy, almost almighty slave, what tidings hast thou brought ? To thy foul slanders, for ages past, said the angel of death, no answer have I returned. He who was dead and is alive orders ye instantly to fly into the abyss, or to attend me to the hill \vhere he was crucified. Near that hill of death he rises. No longer than I brandish this flaming sword shall ye see him ! Then he shall wound thy head ! Abhorred sinner he demands not thy wor- ship ! Thou art unworthy ! if ye follow not me, remain here, or fly to hell, where hissing, mockery, and the roar of loud laughter await ye ! for many of your followers saw how at Eloa's first command ye fled. Satan cast at him a furious look, yet stood aloof; for from Obaddon's sword streamed expanding flames. The foe both to God and Satan tore up the fragment of a rock, and dashing it against his own forehead, stamped on the fallen shivers, and began to blaspheme the Eternal ; but soon his im- pious tongue was made to cease. Choose, I say, exclaimed the angel of death, sheathing hi flam- S<38 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIII. ing sword in clouds of smoke : but they still hesitated. Now Abbadona drew near, and as he passed along, cast his eyes on Adramelech and Satan, fearless of their rage and vindictive pride. Then approaching nearer to the angel, thus spake : Thou thou art a messenger of vengeance, yet, O angel of God ! thou art not insensible to pity. AJJay not I, since it is permitted to these rebellious, see the diviue Messiah rise ? How can I presume that I shall be allowed the honour of worshipping him ? No., welcome, welcome shaji be the invisi- ble, the omnipotent band, that shall strike both me . and them to the dust, might I but see the Redeemer, the Conqueror rise, Satan indignant heard, and with stammering rage, cried, Thou slave of hell and not of God ! ibou of slaves the most wretched Him the angel of death, with rapid speech, instantly interrupted. Satan, in my presence, be thou silent. For thee, Abbadona, I have no orders. How long thou art permitted to remain on earth, I know not ; nor whether thou wilt be allowed to see the resurrec- tion of the Lord of Life and Glory. I can only inform thee, I hat his sepulchre is encompassed by hosts of angels, and by the righteous, by his power, called forth from the grave. As to these accursed, they are allowed to see him, that his triumph over them may begin with punishing their impious guilt and obdurate pride. lu this, Abbadona, tlvou hast no concern : but deceive not thyself, Ibou canst not yjew him with the joy of the re* deemed. No, not with transport, Abbadona ; Dot with joy : yet let me see him, let me see him. . Abject slave as thou art, cried Adramelech to tbe angel of death, thou mentionedst the name of BOOK. XIII. THE MESSIAH. 369 Eloa. Yes, I go to hell, but woe be to him who there presumptuously dares to mock at me ! I'll bury him under rocks heaped on rocks. Then turn- ing to Abbadona, added, Why dost thou not follow me, thou most abject of angels ? now no longer an angel but a servile spirit. Thou fearest and art not deceived, that I will bind thee with adaman- tine chains to the lowest step of my throne, on which I will sit resting my foot on thy neck. But first thou shalt fall a sacrifice on that hill to thine abject servility. Abbadona trembling; with indignation, answered, with a look of sadness, It is riot thy storming words, thou apostate, that terrify me ! but that the righteous spirits, the angels, and the great Je- hovah are mv foes, and them I fear. He (hen turned aside, and Adramelech fled. I follow thee, aid Satan to the angel of death, stammering with rage, while the gloom on his forehead, marked with the scars of thunder, encreased as he followed. They spread their wings, xvhile Abbadona at(*>d wrap- ped in perplexity and suspense. Adramelech now suddenly turned, revolving in his obdurate heart a blasphemy as black as hell, which he resolved to pour forth with a loud voice, in the midst of the h< I will plainly lay before you the several reasons which move me to differ from you : but ye, the disciples of Jesus, surely give uo credit to the ' ME MESSIAH. BOOK XIV. fables. Thus saying, he returned to his scat. Now to the floods of joyful tears which had issued from the eyes of the devout women, succeeded gentle and silent drops of pity. Faint with joy, with pallid cheek, trembling lips and faultering tongue, Mary Magdalen now entered among the weeping sisters, and, with a vojce of mingled transport and terror, exclaimed, He is risen ! He is risen ! She then 'seeming ready to faint, John took hold of her, and she stood leaning on him. Lebbcus soon recovering from his amazement, said to her,, Hast thou like- wise seen the angels ? I have seen, said she, not only the angels, but himself. Here every eye was raised towards heaven, except those of the incre- dulous Thomas, who, with austere coldness, said. They who can so far deceive themselves as to think they see angels, may imagine that they see him. Ah Didymus, answered Mary, blushing, What have we what has the blessed Jesus done to thee ? These eyes saw him ! at his feet they wept ! James, looking at her with equal respect and astonishment, asked if he had a celestial lustre. He approached, said she, as a man, but with such sweetness and dignity in his countenance as I never saw before ; no, not even in himself. Peter, whose mind was distracted by numerous doubts, now drew near to her, aud when the tumult of his mind allowed him to give vent to his thoughts, he trembling said, Didst thou like- wise hear his voice ? Yes, Simon, said she, I heard the divine voice of the risen Jesus. Ah, what did he say ? returned Peter. I feel, but am unable to express the grace which accompanied the words he uttered, replied Mary. His voice was affectionate as when, bleeding on the cross, he cried, BOOK. XiV. THE MESSIAH. 39) Father forgive them they know not \vhat they do ' Ah Mary ! were the words he uttered. I knew him ! I was in heaven ! Rahhoni ! was all I could say. I fell down before him : with trem- bling hands I grasped his feet. Oh, what a look of kindness accompanied his words, v. hen he said, Hold me not ! Thou shalt see me again. I have not yet ascended to my Father. Goto my brethren, and tell them, I go to my Father, and your Father ! to my God and your God ! The mother of Christ, who had hitherto hung down her head, now raised her brightening e^es, and looking with amiable softness on Mary Mag- dalen, arose ; then leaning on some of the assembly, walked up to that beloved woman, and taking her by the hand, with a benevolent look, and the soft- est voire, thug addressed her : Hast thou also seen Christ, and heard his voice ? Thou hast seen and heard my Son ! but may I, added she, casting her eyes around with heavenly meekness, may I still cull him my Son ? Thine eyes, my dear Mary, tell wt I may : but had he still the marks of the nails ? Here, turning aside, she wept. Weep not, blessed mother of the divine Jesus, said Magdalen, pressing her hand ; he is risen from the dead. Indeed, I did not observe the marks of the nails ; for, dis- ordered with my joy, I saw little put his face. Mine eyes were fixeci^on the grace, the celestial grace, which shone in his countenance, while he stood before me amidst the cool vapours of the morning, and the dawn's increasing light. The Saviour's mother ceasing to weep, now took Mag- dalen by both her hands, and looked up to heaven, then dropping them, stepped backward, and view- ing her with tender admiration, said, O happy ihou ! thou hast seen Christ, and heard his ? oice ? MESSIAH. BOOK XIV. The more early witnesses, who at first went with her, filled with joy, now gathered about her, and mentioned their being favoured first with the sight of the angels, and then of the Lord himself. Didymus then coming up, said, Hast thou also, Mary Magdalen, seen angels ? My sight of the an- gels, said she, was very imperfect, mine eyes heing dimmed with weeping: but suddenly turning about, I perceived somebody, whom I supposed to be the gardener, and whom I did not know, . till he called me by my name. So you scarce saw him whom you term immortal, said he ; You did not imme- diately know him, and at first took him for the gar- dener ? The others say he was clothed as he Used to be. So then the gardener's clothes were such as lie used to wear. And how many of these angels did you see ? I saw two, she answered. The others, he rejoined, first saw one, then two others. Here turning fronrher, he walked away. Magda- len then raising her eyes to heaven, exclaimed, O thou tender mother, and ye the disciples of the Lord, how great is his error ! Leave me, Thomas, in possession of my happiness. I will hereafter an- swer thee. She then led away the mother of Je- sus, in order to hold some joyful converse with her. The heart of Cephas being still torn with doubts, and the affecting words, Tell it to the disciples, and to Peter, sounding perpetually in his ears, he left the assembly, and went out to indulge his melan- choly thoughts, resolving to walk towards Galilee ; but. restless and undetermined, he left the road, and went to the sepulchre. The sight of the empty tomb filled his mind with fresh agitations : Ex- ecrable deed ! said he, to take him from this de- cent burial place, the gift of pious respect, and perhaps to bury him amidst villains ! What un- BOOK. XIY. THE MESSIAH. 293 worthy treatment ! Ah infernal Malice thou hast chained thy end, and Joseph's successful petition to Pilate has been frustrated ! The few tears of joy, vhich mingled with our streams of sorrow, wer shed in vain : for how can I believe that he i risen from the dead t Deceived by the illusions of grief, these pious women imagine that they hav< seen him risen ! and I have denied myself the trans- porting joy of closing with their raptures ! Awful cross ! added he, lifting his eyes towards that saddening object ; too loudly dost thou bear wit- ness to his death, and both heaven and earth have heard thy testimony ! He died ! He died on thee ! We are told that thou my Lord hast been seen again ! O that this were true, and that I might see thee raised from the dead ! I shall, but it will not be till I see thee on the throne of the Eternal. Why shrinkest thou back, O my soul ! at this only rest ? Thy prayers and tears have been heard, and thy Judge lias cast a gra- cious eye on thy heart-felt repentance ; but thou darest not yet rejoice ! Still stands the cross, the dreadful witness of his death ! the hill, the rocJc, and the sepulchre, shaken by the divine power ! No, I cannot presume to hope that I shall again tee my Lord ! Such was his impassioned soliloquy, after which he again surveyed the open sepulchre. Soon he perceived at a small distance from the tomb, Mag- dalen, prostrate on the ground, and leaning on her right arm, Mary ! Mary Magdalen ! called the disconsolate disciple. On hearing his voice sht arose and coming to him, they thus conversed i. Ah happy woman ! doat thou still believe that thou hast seen him ? O Simon, where thon sawesl me kneel, there he stood ! O Mary, lift up thin* and behold the crow on which he died f Yl S94 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIV. Simon, he is risen ! he is risen from the dead ! Mary, I conjure thee by the living God, tell me, did those eyes which now see me standing before thee Whether mine eyes saw him ! cried she, interrupting 1 him : Yes, I protest by the Eternal Source of'Truih, that mine eyes have seen the glory of Christ, that mine ears have heard the voice of the Son of God, and that I felt the joys of heaven ! Here a silent pause ensued, till Peter said, Withdraw, thou blessed woman, and lea v c me go down and leave them. Oh fly not, thou beloved ! fly not, said Peter. The Lord \vili also have mercy oil thee. I, Thomas, doubted too ; yet how gracious has he been to me ! But who are they that are walking at a distance ? Mv eyes deceive me, if they be not Matthias and Cleo- phas. Stay with us, rny friend, and be a partaker of the ineffable joys that have been imparted to us. The same transcendent joys await thee. But who is he that is joining them from yonder grove ? I do not know him. What a noble appearance ha 5 that stranger ! Dost thou know him, Thomas ? See with what veneration they salute him. He is now speaking. Indeed, Peter, I know him not, said Thomas ; but I have scarce ever seen a man of luch an unaffected dignity. Peter replied, I wish they would come to us ; the path now brings them nearer, but those palms will soon deprive us of their sight. Behold, with what majestic gravity, ming- led with a manlv sweetness, he seems to attend lo it what they say. Perhaps they are giving him an account of the crucifixion of our Lord. May not it be one of the angels who was seen at the sepul- chre ? How art thou mistaken ! returned Thomas. He is a man, yet his appearance _is nobler than tht of 340 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIV. other men. -O Thomas ! said Peter, thou art a stranger to the sweet conjectures of joy. What thou feetest I have experienced. How little did I hope to see Jesus, when in the deepest anguish, I raised ray languid eyes to the cross, and instantly saw him standing alive before me. Thus, O Tho- mas ! joy did not deceive me. But grief did, said Thomas hastily. Peter mildly answered, The Lord will have mercy on thee ! God will have mercy on me, he returned ; but as for the divine Messiah, He, like most of the prophets, has been put to death. Here he shed tears and was silent. Cleophas and Matthias had now reached the umbrageous palms. From their leaving Jerusalem, till their being joined by the stranger, they had conversed on the astonishing subject of Christ's not being found in the sepulchre, and thus con- tinued their discourse. Thou canst not conceive, laid Cleophas, the malice of the priests, or their rage at not being able to hinder Joseph's placing him in his tomb. They doubtless gained the Roman officer, and prevailed on him to take out the body, and inter it among the remains of the wretches that lie buried on the hill. But, O Cleophas ! what dost thou think of the angels at the sepulchre ? Has melancholy Matthias deceived all our friends ! -Why, Cleophas, should sorrow make them see angels ? Why should it not rather represent frightful forms, as the ghosts of executed malefactors, or that of the unhappjr Judas ? Cleophas, starting back, answered, My beloved fellow-disciple, satisfy me only with respect to one doubt. How is it that our Master himself doe* not appear ? How should I know an angel ? and should I know him, how could I know that hr XIV. THE MESSIAH. 3*1 was sent by the Eternal ? Ah, my dear frjeud,were he risen, would he not himself appear to us ? for we knew him. But, O Cleophas, consider, Did not Ma-ry believe Gabriel ? she consequently knew an angel : and what but truth can come from those exalted spirits who attend at the throne of God ? Do we deserve that he himself should appear to us ? Did not we, when Gethsemaue resounded with the tumults of his outrageous enemies, fly with the rest of the apostles ? and, Where wer we when his dreadful sentence was pronounced ? We were far from him, and fur from him too, when he was bleeding on the cross. I lament, like thee, Matthias, our base ingratitude. Can we ever deserve that he should appear to us ? If he i* risen, and should appear, it would be only from compassion, and to banish our sorrow. Yet still, O Cleophas ! thou doubtest. Thou knowest Matthias, that I conceal none of my thoughts from thee ; and when I attentively contemplate these things, I believe : but when the anxiety of hope, and fear, and expectation ; and when the joy, the heavenly joy of seeing him again agitate my soul, then indeed I doubt. Matthias here giving him au aflectionate look, said, Thou dear friend, did we realty see him, our rapturous joy would give us a foretaste of the bliss of heaven, a joy too great for utterance A sight of Jesus would carry with it a stronger conviction than the light of truth dis- covered by speculation. O that be would appear, said Cleophas, and by his graceful presence heal our torturing doubts ! They had now passed through the shade of a projecting precipice, aod the winding road brought them to a side view of a gentle slope, which led up to -the summit of the hill; and there they perceived a ptrsoo of a noble and snoat graceful 402 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XlY. appearance advancing; towards them, with a slow pace, as deeply engaged in serious thought. Let us walk, slower said Cleophas; for the stranger will perhaps accompany us. His wisdom and knowledge may afford us consolation under our present perplexity. Alas ! of what advantage, said Matthias, will his wisdom beto us, if he makes not Jesus the subject of his discourse ! The stranger now coming up, gave them a kind salutation, which they respectfully returned. He desired to know whither they were going ; and be- ing answered to Emmaus: he asked if they would accept of his company ; for he also was going thither. They assured him that they should re- ceive the favour with pleasure. The stranger then asked the subject of their discourse, observing, that he had taken notice of their being filled with grief, and that their thoughts seemed to be employed on some important subject. Alas ! what can we talk of? said Cleophas. Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things that have come to pass there ? What things ? said the stran- ger. Oh hast thou alone not heard of Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people? Our priests inflamed by the rage of hell, seized him and led him up tr Pilate, who, though a heathen, was unwilling to condemn him. I scarcely dare to mention the dreadful death he suffered (hey crucified him ! Alas ! we trusted that it was he who should have redeemed Israel. . It is ROW the third day since these things came to pass, and early this morning some devout women who went to the sepulchre found not his body ; but came trembling to us, saying that they had seen a vision of angels, who told them that he is living. Some of those that were with us also went to the sepulchre, and fouixi BOOK. XIV. THE MESSIAH. 402 it open, and the body gone, even as the woman ha;l said. They were now come among the shady palms, when the traveller looking- upon them with awful dignity, addressed them in the majestic voice of truth: Ye simple and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken ! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and then to enter into his glory } With astonishment they looked at each other, and then upon him. Theif eyes, before dim, now sparkled with joy and eager expectation, yet he had only begun to manifest his power and to shew then! the triumph of truth. As a rising storm at first blows with restrained voilence, and sweeps not through the whole forest, the foilage still rests Oti the trees, and the rays of the sun penetrate through the gathering clouds. Thus began his sublirn discourse, and soon he led them into the depths of revelation, in which the divine speaker explained the prophecies in relation to the Messiah with such clearness and strength of conviction, that they could no longer with-hold their assent. Thus through the forest rushes the increasing storm, the trees wave their heads, the thunders roar, the condensed cloud* successively pour floods on floods down the moun- tains. At length the two disciples, spent with fatigue, stood wiping the sweat from their glowing faces, and said, O Man of God, though tbou art unknown to us, we behold thee with reverence ; and acknow- ledge thee to be divine. Let us stop here, and rest our weary limbs by the side of this cooling stream. They then seated themselves on the grass, the two disciples facing the heavenly stranger, whose speech now became more sweet ; for h Discoursed of the love of the Son of God to man, d THE MESSIAH. HOOK XIV. and the love of man to him. They now thought of the good Shepherd's death, with minds more composed, cheered with heavenly comfort. As after the heat of the scorching- sun, the cool twilight refreshes the weary, so were they refreshed with elevated joy. Me now asked them whether they loved the Messiah ! They both, as with one mouth, answered, How can AVC avoid loving him i But did you always love him ? Alas ! we for- sook the Lamh of God, when he was led to the slaughter. Now ye know that for your sakes he willingly died, would you die for his ? We hope, O thou beloved stranger, we hope, that God would enable us to die for him. But be not thou dis- pleased with us ; it is with reverence we speak, Is be risen from the dead ? Thou knowest all that re- lates to him : tell us then, O thou Man of God, may \^e rejoice in the happiness of as;ain seeing Christ our Lord ? The stranger re turned, Joseph's brethren did not know him, till in the blissful hour of joy, unable longer to conceal himself, he burst into tears. So saying, lie arose and turned from them. They followed him with a mixture of joy and solicitude, Imagining that he rhiffht possibly be their Lord himself, or an angel ; and coming up to him, said. Permit us, who reverence and love thee more than we can express, to ask, Who thou art ? Oh ! who art thou, our divine teacher ? We dare not presume to embrace thee ; but tell us, Art thou one of the angels that were seen at the sepulchre ? Come and embrace me he kindly returned. They long embraced him : long hung on his neck and wept. Emmaus being now in view, he said, Bre- thren, I go to my friends. My way lies through Emmaus, Oh stay with us, the day is far spent, and the evening is at hand, said they, each holding HOOK XLt. THE MESSIAH. 405 wne of his hands. Let me go, he returned, -mv friends live at a distance and expect me. With them, O Man of God ! said they, thou art always ; and thou canst not but perceive that our hearts are already thine. Oh remain with us, for why shouldest thou expose thyself to the perils of the night ? Tell us something more of Jesus ! O stay with us. With a look of the sweetest benevolence, he answered, I will stay, my brethren. Cleophas thanked him, not in words, but by the joy which shone in his countenance, and hasted before to pre- pare- for his reception. Cleophas, for that is my companion's name, said Matthias, has a cottage at Emmaus ; before it is a clump of trees, and a limpid brook winds amidst their refreshing shade. He hastes to prepare some food that he may cheer our hearts with his slender store. What a delightful evening is this, after such days of anguish ! We return our joyful thanks, that thou wilt stay with us, and condescend to Belter thyself under the lowly roof of simplicity. Jesus when he lived, was like thee, the friend of man. He humbled himself in the dust yet was rich in wisdom ; but of Jesus I will now be silent : he was above all ; for on him the angels attended ; yet the cause of his poverty appeared to be more astonishing than his poverty itself : but thus was accomplished the purposes of infinite wisdom. O that I might live with thee, thou man of God ! that from thy lips I might be taught how best to serve the heavenly Redeemer ! For the most affectionate, and noble thanksgivings are due to our gracious Lord, who has redeemed us from sin, and loved us even to the death of the cross ! They now drew near to the dwelling of Cleo- phas, whom they saw fetching water for their drink from the brook, and then washing herbs iu p d tf 406 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIT. the cooling siream ; but seeing Matthias and tli* beloved stranger approach, be rar. up to them, Welcome, dear Man of God ! said he, may the blessings with -which thou art accompanied enter with thee under my roof. On their entering the house, Cleophas speedily spread the table with all the plenty his store afforded, milk, hotieyv tigs, bread and a little wine. They novr sat down to the table, the stranger facing the two disciples, when viewing them with a look of solemn benignity, he took the bread, and Hfting up his eyes towards heaven,, gave thanks. His countenance, his voice, his gesture, instantly resembled those of Jesus. They looked at him, they looked at each other trembling, while he aaid, We thank thee, O Father, foe the gifts thou hast graciously bestowed on us. Though to many they appear small, yet are they produced by the same paternal, almighty power that created the tieavens. Overcome with joy they sunk down a- doring, while he continued, Praise be to thee, thou graciously sent forth the sun to give us light, and inoon and stars for our hours of rest ! and adored be thy goodness, thou hastprovidedour daily bread I They now rose, and he breaking the bread, gave it to th(Mu. They took it with still stronger emo- tions of joy, and looking at him endeavoured to speak ; but their hearts were too full to allow them to give utterance to their thoughts. Now again, lurning his eyes towards them, he blessed them, and disappeared from their sight. They started and went out, searching for him ; but he being not to be found, they returned with their uiiuds still filled with joy. INovv, O Cleophas, cried Matthias, we hav seen him ! We have seen him ! He is risen ! I am in heaven, and no longer belong to this earth ' Oh I am in heaven ! Cleophas, suuk ( ////// uMttarituji h liu btvDjtylfs. "Bria XIV. THE MESSlAn. on his breast, then cried, O Matthias, did not our hearts burn within us, when, as we passed along the way, he spake of God, and revealed to tis the Scriptures ? But let as haste back. They then both took their staves and departed. While they were on their way from Emmaus, Peter and Thomas were in close conversation. Conceal, O Thomas, said Peter, conceal thy doubts, and continue not thus tfl disturb our faith. Quench not the weak spark within usi they would blaze up to heaven, and thou woirldst extinguish them. Then Simon, ans\vere I am pleased with. I now love nothing more than/ death and the grave. If the earth would receive me into iti peaceful bed, I should no longer be the BOOK XIV. THE MESSIAH. 41$ of misery, no longer lie m the depths of afflic- tion. () Thomas, my brother, raise thy head from the dust, look up to heaven, and learn to complain with fear and trembling- 1 As \ve should rejoice with fear, so should we complain. Who is he that has permitted misery ? Is it not he who has formed us for eternal life ? Ought thy vehement complaints to reach the ears of the Most High mingled with the joyful effusions of the adoring choirs, and their rapturous hallelujahs ? Cannot God deliver ? "Will he not deliver ? Learn with, fear, I repeat it, learn with trembling to mourn. When he, who is worthy of all praise, sends affliction, reverence, my brother, the heavenly mes- enger. O Joseph ! thou art a man after my own heart. While speaking of the Eternal, thy soul becomes inflamed. Thou hast felt holy joy, and hast been blessed with sorrow ; but never felt sorrow like mine. Alas ! if thou hadst, thou wouldst have sunk under it like me ! Speak then, O Thomas I and mention the burthen which presses thee down. \es, Joseph, it indeed presses me down. But where shall I begin ? Oh didst thou know the di- yine Jesus ? How long hast thou dwelt in Judea ? Only a few days. But messengers were conti- unally coming from Judea to the abodes of jojr where I dwell, and have spoke much of Jesus the Son of the Most High. At last we came down to see Jesus die and rise from the dead. Rise from the dead ! Who art thou, Jeph ? Who art thou ? Ah, Thomas, I had a faithful friend in Judea, from whom I was long separated. He left me iu Egvpt, and him God was pleased to restore to me, not, thou disciple, in the terrors of an earthquake, darkuess, and tempest, but coming from Cedrou, tit THE MESSIAH. BOOK XIV. amidst the whispers of the cooling breeze ; thus lie restored to me my,ever faithful, long lost, but everlasting friend. I must now leave thee, brother, but will come hack and see thee again, O Joseph, stay ? Where art thou, O Joseph ? Where art thou ! Have angels the sweet name of him who was the beloved of his father and of God ? Let me once more, O Joseph ; hear the sound of thy celestial voice. But thou art silent. May I call thee brother, as thou calledst me ? Thou art still silent. Where goest thou ? Art thou void of pity, or gone so far as not to hear me ? He is no angel ; for no angel could ever be so cruel ! But he lives in leave me. But say, oh say, who are ye ? A sensation such as I never felt before, eloateg my conceptions, and powerfully intimates to me that ye are immortals ; but i'a.in would I know it from yourselves ; for then no cloud will darken the dawning day which rises in my mind ; and may God reward you with, celestial knowledge ! With transport they looked at each other, and resolved to stay, saying, We will farther te^ch thee to offer up thy petitions to heaven. Then kneeling-, they repeated the Lord 'sprayer. No sooner had they concluded, than, lifting up her hands to hea- ven, she called out, and thine, O God, is the glory ! when instantly they were encompassed by a crles- tial effulgence, and the pilgrims rose radiant in the air among the shadowy palms, looking back with affectionate smiles on Portia, rejoicing in her silent joy. She remained kneeln/g, and, unable to rise, stretched out her arms towards them. Jemima soon disappeared, but Rachel awhile delayed. Down Portia's florid cheeks streamed her lively joy, and, light as the leaf raised by a cheerful gale, she rose from the earth, crying, Father, thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen ! Thus praying, she hasted back to the tiies of Jerusalem. Beor, a person of a gloomy mind, had retired from society, and plunged himself in solitude. The industrious artizan starts cheerfully from his bed at the dawn ; but he broke off his short sleep at ui seasonable midnight, and sat in his narrow man- sion by a glimmering light, like that of a sepulchral lamp. There must be misery, said he, and there- BOOK XV\ THE ME5SJUH. 44? fore some must he miserable. This is decreed by heaven, and we are obliged to bear it. Rut why are some excused from suffering this general lot, ani others, like me, ruled with a rod of iron ? Was not I born blind ; and dicM not long live in blind- ness ? 'Tis true, Jesus gave day to my eyes, ..nd to my soiil imparted a glimmering of himself, yet ij this now turned to night, for he is dead .Dread, ful night ! What avails the eye's transient day, when the soul wanders in a gloom dark as the valley of death ? O my eyes, lose your sight ! yc can no longer enjoy a view of the creation, nor re- joice in the radiant beams which vivify Sharon's flowers, and tke cedars of God ! More dark is now my blind soul, than before were these eyes! For, O ye angels, he is dead. W hiie he was thus giving vent to his lamentations, a man bowed down with age came in, and thus dis- coursed with him, O Beor ! hand me thy cup. More years have passed over my head, and muck greater have been my sufferings. Greater suffer- ings than mine ! answered Beor. Thou art indeed much older : take then my cup ; for I can more easily stoop to the brook. The stranger then asked for food, and Beor, shewing him bread, bad him take and eat. O Beor 1 said the old man, it gives me pleasure to find thee kind to others, though thou harclenest thy heart against thyself. Tknowthec, Beo; . for I was present when the creation was first exposed to thy view. If thou knowest me, said Beor, thou knowest the most sorrowful of men. The most sorrowful, as it is beyond my power to remove the cause of my dejection. Alas ! a wretchedness like mine would dispirit the most chearful. Was not I born blind ? end did I not thos continue during the roost valua- 448 THE MESSIAH. tfooK XV part of life - Besides, is not my mental blind- ness still greater, \vith respect to the knowledge of him whom God sent to perform the gracious mira- cle ? and will his death enlighten me with new knowledge ? Speak now, Didst thou ever know sor- xor like mine ? Have I not reason to fear that my being wretched from my birth is a proof that I shall be perpetually wretched ? for unremitting pain is a presage of that to come. Did not he, said the stranger, when thou didst leastexpect it, unveil to thee theporchof the sanctu- ary, this splendid earth ; its fulness of blessings, with its irradiating sun ? Thus he gave thee great- er joy than was ever felt by any who had always enjoyed their sight; and will not He, who is the Son of the Eternal, open to thee the future world ? Would this, Beor, be likewise wretchedness and the punishment of sin ? The God of Glory will pour his beams on thee ; Jesus will display them to thy mind ; for from thy birth thou wast chosen to be one of his witnesses. Such have been the deter- minations of the Eternal. Beor exclaimed, Thou leadest me into new depths of inquietude. Leave me as I am, sunk deep in the abyss in which I lie ! Wert thou even an an- gel of light, I would ask thee, how thou, though an immmortal, knowest the hidden secrets of the Most High ? can any thing more exceed the verge of human enquiry, than thine assertion, that the Almighty makes wretchedness a prelude to felicity. Is there then, O thou doubter, said the stranger, no everlasting reward ? And has not this eternal re- ward successive degrees rising; to the heaven of heavens ? Cannot God, cannot the immense Givei of every good, amply recompense sufferings under-? BOOK XV. THE MESSIAH. gone for his sake ? Thou stand est on the ocean and one small drop, thou particle of dust, can sa- ,tiate thee ! Venerable old raan, said Beor, thou revivest my heart. But, if such are God's dispensations, how dare I so far presume as to think myself one of the blessed, whom God loads with afflictions that they may receive a glorious, an inconceivable reward ? Thou art one of those ! resumed the "stranger, who was the patriarch Job. This I know. . Soou wilt thou know it thyself. I already see the crim- son blushes of the morning, bringing on an effulgent day. Let us ere it comes, kneel, that the Lord may find us praying. They sunk down and Beoc cried/ O Lord God merciful and gracious 1 if I am chosen to be afilicted, that thy mercy to me may be more illustrious, with a thankful heart, will I raise my head with thanks with thank? to heaven that thou hast covered my eyes with blindness, and my soul with the gloom of night ! For these mercies will I give thee eternal thanks ! Then shall my soul rise with triumphant joy, that thou O] God hast shewn such mercy ! O thou Preserver of men ! shall the darkness of my soul soon pass away ? O hope ! O new and heaven taught hope ! dost thou spring from the Lord ? Praised, O Father ! praised be thy glorious name for this bounty so full of grace! O Lord God merciful and gracious ! eternally blessed be thy glorious name ! thou madest me blind from my birth, thou hast sent me sufferings and tears, as divine messengers to instruct me ! Thou hast sent me perplexity, doubts, and melancholy, that I might have a more inward, a more humble sense of thy help ! But shall not I also thank thee, O Jesus, the Sent of God, the Helper in Judah ! THE MESSIAH. Boofc XT. Alas ! added lie, lowering bis voice, lie is dead. He lives ! He lives ! exclaimed Job, hastily rising from his knees covered with glory, He lives ! and as a witness that he lives, I Job, am raised from the dead ! Dostthou not believe that I have undergone greater sufferings than thee ? and whom did I find to pity me ? Beor strove in vain to raise his folded hands to heaven. As Moses on the day of battle lift up his arms while victory prevailed, and defeat attended their sinking, so Job kindly held up those of Beor, then jovfully took leave of him; who silently viewed him with a look of deep amaze- ment, Job ciying, Lo ! he was dead, but now liveth for evermore, and soon shall he ascend into the Heaven of heavens ! Here with solemn ges- ture he pointed with his radiant hand to heaven, adding, He himself has thus spoken of thee, He was not born blird on account of his own future gins, nor the past sins of his parents ; but to shew forth the glory of God. Thus he left Beor, who could scarce support his joy. Abraham and Moses soared to the roof of the temple, and looking down with intent eye on those vcho had resorted to the feast, to find one to whom they should appear. They observed Saul a young man whose heart was filled with fervent devotion, standing- by one of the pillars. His eyes beamed a fire sacred to Him who liveth and reigneth for ever. To this young man Moses and Abraham chose to appear, and the service of the temple being ended, they moved to attend him, when Gabriel hasting from Tabor's cloud capped summit, with effulgent flight, met them, and said, Ye fathers forbear; for to him the Lord himself will appear. Who, thou divine messenger, said they, is that exalted mortal with whom we tiro forbid *o on- BOOK XV. THE MESSIAH. 451 verse r Vender lies Damascus, said Gabnel, and thither, O distressed church of God ! will he, thins enraged persecutor, hasten. About him will ha gather troops that will second his rage with un- remitted fury ; when lo ! a sudden light from heaven will encompass him. He will see the Lord whom he persecuted : he will he convinced of his error, and will become a zealous disciple of the Redeemer. Gabriel ceased, and Abraham lifting up his hands, cried, O thou Accomplisher of all things ! to thy name all in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, shall bow, and every tongue confess thee to be Lord, to the glory of God the Father ! Their inward extasy suppressed their farther speech ; till at length Moses thus blessed the future disciple. The love of Christ and of the brethren reign in thee. Be thou enabled to cast down the powers that rise against the Lord. Be learned as man ; be learned as an angel. Let love likewise dwell in thee ; love hk* that of Christ, which is more valuable than the knowledge of mysteries dark and obstruse . The love of the brethren, which is mild, patient and kind, without envy or pride ; which no longer dis- turbs ; which sceketh not her own ; is not easily provoked ; thinketh no evil ; rejoices in the truth : beareth all things, endureth all things, hopeth aH things. This love be thine, the last born of grace among the holy messengers to whom Christ himself appears. Those who thus love shall be the mem- bers of the church above ; the spotless, the irre- proachable church which is the bride of the Lamb, and washed in his blooji ; in that blood which cries louder than that of Abel, but not for vengeance ; which calls louder than the hosts of Cherubim from Sinai, and all the thunders and trumpets of the G S THE MESSIAH. UCOK XV. mount of terror, but not for revenge. The patri- archs then soared up toTabor. Elkanan, Simeon's brother, together with hi* child-like guide, had, on the mournful evening when they left the mossy tomb, gone to Samma, w"ho, though a gloomy cloud hung over hi* agitated mind, received them with cordial frienship, which, with his pressing intreaties, induced thee to stay. As yet the report of Christ's resurrection was not confirmed, which Elkanan, Boaz, a,nd Joel lament- ed. They sat in Joel's fragrant ardour, iu the gar* den which his father, had given him, and. imagined that the effusions of their grief were only heard typ the moon in her nightly course ; but other hearers had asseembled in a silver cloud : tlje&e w.ere Simeon, Benoni, and Mary the sister of Lazarus. The la- mentations of the afflicted being, stopped by over- powering grief, Benoni said, I caa no longer forbear making myself known to my father and my brother, Have they not, said Simeon, drank enough of the bitter cup of affliction ? arc they not within reach. of the goal, and shall we not bring them the crown ? -Yes, we will, Benoniv O Mary ! follow us unseen, and thus partake of the delight of behold- ing their joy, Do thou, Benoni, invest thyself in a milder lustre, that they may not faint under the transporting vision. They then moved downward, The afflicted Sanqnuanow said, I.was at my son's sepulchre, thou at Simeon's : ah ! had we but been at the sepulchre of Jesus, we might, perhaps, if he be risen, have seen him riser-~But, O most gracious God ! wfoajt lustre is that which at a.djs* stance shines with such splendor ? O Lord God* merciful and gracious, continued he, behold it is a messenger from heaven ! What dost thou see ? said Elkanan, What seest thou, Joel? BOOK XV. THE MESSIAH, 455 me, that I may speak to the shining appearance Tell me, what dost thou see ? The form of a beautil ful youth, said Boaz, walking under the trees, and smiling at us. Thou bright appearance ! cried Elkanan, Who art thou ? A messenger of greater and more exalted salvation than thou canst conceive said the resplendent form Ah ! what voice is that > and what face is that I see ? It is Benoni ! cried Joel, sinking down. Benoni instantly stretche4 forth his helping Imnd, and raised him up, crying, My Brother ! Joel stammered forth his joy, cry- ing out, My brother ! my heavenly brother ! Here Joel called out, O Sam ma, my father ! and inclining on the old man's breast, kept up the flame of the vital lamp, and preserved him from fainting under his tearless extasy. He then led the old man to a mossy seat. Elkanan seated himself by him, saying, Now shall I go down in peace to the grave ; for though mine eyes have not seen thee, (5 thoii blegsed immortalM mine eyes have heard thy voice. Speak, oh speak to us, thou messenger of God ! * One greater will teach thee, said Benoni, when thou art more composed, and able to support his pre- sence. While they were speaking, Joel silently approach cd, and gathering flowers, strewed them on his bro- ther's steps, when Benoni, looking at him with a pleased eye, said Art thou able to support th jse)'f till Simeon appears ? Does then Simeon's soul, cried Elkanan, hover near me ? Be strong in the Lord Boaz, Samma, and Joel. Soon shall mine ear hear thee, my brother. Simeon, Simeon, come ! Mine eyes, my dear brother, cannot see thee : but soon I shall, when having passed through the night of death, I shall awake in light ! Invested with celestial splendor came Simeon, ad- vancing through the mild lustre of the moon. With 454 THE MESSIAH. BOOK XV. less terror they beheld his radiant form, than Beno- nfo unexpected brightness, and wifh great astonish- ment heard these important, words proceed from his lips. Jesus is risen from the dead ! and by his al- mighty power many of the righteous came forth from their graves ! He appears, and we also ap- pear ; but to those only whom he calls to work mi- racles, and to obtain the first celestial crowns and palms ! Yet the Redeemer ascends to his father's throne in triumph, and with the sound of a trumpet, to no less than five hundred believers will he shew himself at once. May ye be among the number ' May the Lord bless you with this favour ! Simeon, said Elkar.an, art thou risen before the great decisive day ? Ah how my heart pants to see thee '. But Jesus himself, O worse than blindness, I shall not see. But m> sorrow be dumb, fromtfce sacred hour in which Simeon sees and converses with me on Jesus, and his glory, be all complainiugg baniahed Five hundred at once ! How should I rejoice were I present, and to hear their trans- ports ! Majestthou Simeon discourse of thy heaven and its glories ! Not to those, said Simeon, who dwell in the dust. Such is the order of him who exalts and reward* according to the trial : who has separated worlds from worlds, and yet united them : who .in his in- finite plan of consummate salvation, Has united all the bounds of felicity : but compared to the bright display of the happiness of spirits, the sensitive crea- tion is but a shadow. The Most High builds on wretchedness towering joys joys to the very bless- ed unknown. Yet learn that all eternity cannot exhibit any thing more astonishing, more incon- ceiveable, than that one of the heights of the Me- diator's exaltation, has humiliation for its base ! But pry not into the important thought, & which fill* HOOK XV. THE MESSIAH, 455 the angels with wonder ! Know he whole of that happiness which God at present gives YOU ; the pure soul of Mary is present, and rejoices in your Here all with one voice cried out, Is the sister of Lazarus dead ? and does she rejoice in our jov ? We., Mary, added Samraa, also rejoice in thine. How have ye, blessed messengers, dried up our tears ! O Almighty Father ! thuu sendest to me my Benoni ! to Elkanan his brother ! and to Joel his dear brother ! added that affectionate youth. O God ! cried Samma, what a conclusion hast thou given to my grief ! How could I ever pre- sume to entertain such hopes ! "When my gloomy melancholy, that woe of woes, began, sensible of my wretchedness, all around me was darkness, per- plexity, and an unfathomable abyss. Futurity itself was a group of sable terrors ! Now rouse thyself, O reason ! Thou, my dear child ! I dashed against the rock, stained with thj blood ! Till this happy morning I expected to mourn the unnatural deed during my remaining life ! Yet this ends in celestial jov in the most blissful meeting ever known ! O Benoni ! my son Benoni ! who wast bruised by the bloody rock, how great has been the mercy of our heavenly Father to thee ' How great his mercy to me, who, through thee, has shewn me such favours ! I know that thou art going to leave me ; yet thy going will not be a departure ; for I shall ever have thee in n.ine eyes, arrayed as now, in celestial glory, an heir of heaven. But one request I have to make thee, O Benoni ! give me thy blessing. I, Samma, bless thee ! said Benoni, the son. the father ! and thy youngest son ! My first-born now, returned gamma, and elder than I elder in the days of 456 TUL MESSIAH. BOOK ( : , * eternity ! For thine is real life ! This is but a sleep, to which our last awakens us^ Benoni then with uplifted hands, and his ra- diance increasing as he spake, said, Ah soon may thy last day come., and gentle and soft as Simeon's dying- day ! Joel then added, I would likewise ask thy bles- sing, did I not fear that thou wouldst bless me with length of days. '!That O youth, cried Benoni, is fearing a great reward. The deeper a life of goodness strikes its root here, the higher shoots its top in heaven, and the wider spreads its leafy branches. Say, shall I now, my Joel, my brother, bless thee ? Joel kneeling, Benoni laid his hand on his glow- ing forehead, saving-, Receive the blessing of blessings, Eternal life be thine ! May God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lead thee to him ! They then disappeared ; ou which Boaz cried, O Elkanau, they are vanished ! and Joel rising, tjius expressed his grateful joy : O spotless spirit of Mary ! shouldst thou still remain on earth, con- vey to them our most lowly and most fervent thanks for their gracious appearance to us, their hea- venly discourse, and inestimable blessings. Thus spake the youth and sunk into his father's arms. The mother of Jesus was sitting on the lofty roof, with the sacred harp by her side. The sun was set,, and the evening star cheered the serene firmament. When behind the brook she beheld the appearance of a female pilgrim, who soon assuming an etherial form, soared aloft, and in celestial lustre alighted on the roof close by her. Amazement had now no longer place in the mind of the blessed Mary. She was sensible that it was either an angel, or a person raised from the dead ; |pr she had seen the risen body of her Son.- To BOOK XV. ME MESSIAH. 457 thee, the mother of the Lord, said the bright ap- pearance, I do not veil myself : for thou wilt soon shine with me before the throne ! I too, Mary, am a mother the mother of the obedient Abra- ham ; of the heavenly Enoch, who was exempted from lying in the grave. I am even she who brought, forth the Restorer of Innocence. I am the mother of mankind. And hither ani I come to join with ihcc in praise of thy Son, the great Emanuel. Mary and Eve, with alternate answers and re- plies, thus continued the discourse : I see, O joy unutterable ! the mother of Abel and of Cain ? But can I, O thou immortal ! Can I who have not tasted of death, sing with the mother of men ? But the Redeemer is the subject of our song. Begin then O Eve ! and teach me to of sing my exalted Son. Twice was I created by his power i He who was born of thee called me twice into life ! He, O mother ! was born, who created both thcc and me, and who formed the heavens ! lie who created the sun, the moon, and the stars, and formed even thee and me, O Eve ! was born. This was the hymn sung by the angels of God, when he was born in a stable. When the procession chanting hymns of praise, returned to heaven, the top of the tree of life waved, and the celestial spirits bowed in reverence to the new-born babe. He cried in a manger at Bethlehem. Yet before he wept, the angels had proclaimed his name, and called him Jesus. The cedars and the palms heard the name of Jesus ! Tabor, and thou bloody Golgotha, heard the name of Jesus ! The throne from which the Lord's anointed de- THE MESSIAH. BOOK XT. scended, and all the host of heaven., kneeling, heard his name ! O thou mother of men ! didst thou see my holy Son expire ! Didst thou hear him cry, It is finished 1 Didst thou hear him exclaim, O Father ! into thine hands I commend my spirit ! Ah I heard the words of eternal life ! I heard the players on the harps chanting forth (he praises of the exalted liedeeemer, when raising his head, he cried, it is finished ! and when lifting up his eyes to heaven, he added. Father into thine hands I commend my spirit ! Praise he to my Son who gave me to mourn ? Behold the hours of anguish are now become the subject of my joy 1 Blessed am I, who brought forth the Redeemer ( Blessed art thou, the mother of those lie has redeemed ! Blessed am I, formed in Paradise from a bone of Adam ! My dust has he awakened ! 1 ant the mother of the redeemed,, and thy mother, O Mary ! O thou first daughter of the creation, the risen daughter of the eternal life ! from thee is descend- ed the Eternal, whom Mary, a mortal, brought forth in a stable ! O thou parent of his mother ! celestial joys flow in upon me ! I sink in a flood of light I He has blessed me, and made me the heiress of heavenly felicity ! Before my hymn for my Beloved's benediction ascends to the throne, once more shall I see him in these fields of death ! I have seen the resplendent Gabriel who has told me that I shall once more behold him ! O mother hf Abraham, and my mother I sing thy Son's resurrection, when his head no longer sunk down pn the lofty cross ; his eyes were no longer closed, Jlis temples no longer pressed by the bloody crown a ^ When the thunder of Gud's omnipotent voic* BOOK XT, THE MESSIAH, 459 once more proclaimed, Let there be light, and there was light, then he arose ! Then sunk our harps : then sunk our palms. We shouted hallelujahs to God the Mediator ! our hallelujahs ascended like the roaring of the sea* Then the heavens and ihe earth were silent, till the martyrs sang triumphant hymns ; and soon Adam descending to the Media- tor, thus addressed him with an expressive voice, I swear by thee who liveth forever, that on the great day of the completion of all things, those who sleep shall awake and death shall be no more ! Ah his joyful call shall penetrate the partner in his inheritance ! Strew my grave with the flowers of the harvest. The seed sown by the Lord shall shoot forth and flourish ! Soon, O Mary ! shalt thou lie down in the sleep of death, that I may receive the mother of the Lord in the vale of peace ! In that blissful vale we may sing the Son who now from his throne dries up the tears of Christians, and silences the soft coimj Iain- ings of sorrow ! Behold He who bore the sins of ihe world is love ! He who took on him the griefs of Adam, and hung on Calvary, is love ! He is love, who unknown and despised, gave himself up to die as a sacrifice as a sacrifice for sin, while the archangels themselves were struck dumb with wonder ! Thus they sang. Eve then departed, and Mary's wondering eyes long followed her effulgent flight towards Tabor. The holy band now began to return to the mount of transfiguration, there to rejoice together in. the joy they, by their appearance, had infused into the hearts of mortals. As when twilight gives place to approaching night, the stars successively come forth from the immense creation, so assembled those re- splendent beings, and gradually over-spread the lacred mount, *60 THE 'ttfiSSUHf. -Boon XV. Cidli, Jarus's daughter, suit in an arbour on the roof of the house where she lived, observing the lustre of the rosy dawii. She had not seen her be- loved Semida, since he left her to visit his former grave. O guiltless love ! said she, for so I dare call thee, when wilt thou leave me ? If I was rais- ed from the dead, that I might solely consecrate myself to God, O love, lo me all pain, yet full of innocence J why dost thou stay with thine unremit- ting softness ! But if I am not raised to consecrate myself entirely to my Maker, how shall I know it ? Who will deliver me from this maze of doubt ? Cidli was then joined by one who- appeared to b6 a female pilgrim that came to the feast, and had been conducted to the roof by her mother. The pilgrim began, I have been seeking one of those who have testified the glory of Jesus : who, while in his state of abasement, raised to life the brother of Mary, the young men of Nain, and thyself. Thou hast heard of thine awakener's triumph over death ; but has the reproach reached thine ear, that many saints arose after his expiring on the cross, and appeared to the righteous who love him ? I love him I love him, O pilgrim ! cried Cidli, I* this report reallv true ? It will not be long, returned the pilgrim, before thou wilt be convinced by thine own experience. 'Tis said, that the righteous who are risen, will assemble on the mount of trans- figuraiion, and I will join the sacred assembly, with thee, who hast been raised from the dead. I, O pilgrim ! said Cidli, have been raised from the dead ; but am still mortal. Yet will I go with thee. Should we see any bright apparitions, thou wilt support my sinking spirits. The mother, Cidli, and the pilgrim then set out for Tabor. Seinida had by his meditations and his assiduous inquires after the Redeemer's resurrection overcome his doubts, and his heart rested io the firm belief of XV. THE MESSIAH. that glorious C"ent, so rich in blessings. His lore now returned, and Cidli f.ppearing created for him, fiis tenderness took possession of all his powers. I am in the midst of darkness, cried he, and who \villleadmethrough it? How shall I he certain, that my dearest Cidli, whom I love with a celestial flame, returns my passion ? Who will lead me to the lucid summit of joy, or sink me into the vale of sorrow ? But be still my grief. Yet how straige is my fate ! In the bloom of active life, I fell a victim to death. On my being again permitted to breathe the vital air, I imagined myself immortal; but how was I mistaken ! I found myself unhappy in not having exerted the utmost ardour in learning wisdom from him who died and rose again, that I might render it a seed for a blessed harvest, when time shall be no more. O thou who art raised from the dead ! before thou ascendest to the Fa- ther, call me to thee, that I may leam more of what thou hast termed the one thing necessary ? Here a stranger hastily coming up, said, O young man ! it is in thy power to assist me. Above the foot of mount Tabor, lies a man who appears grievously wounded by robbers. In the way sits one who seems blind and perishing with thirst, while no spring is near. In the way to him lies an old man, who, spent with fatigue, has fallen, and lies groaning on the rock. Pity also my weak- ness and thirst. Semida, with generous warmth, cried, Here is something for thyself, and the others. The rest of my store I'll reserve for the old man, who shall be my care. Go thou to the blind. Semida advancing to the old man, gave him bread, and the refreshing juice of the vine. Then raising him up, went to the pilgrim, to assist him ia succouring the blind, and promising to re* MESSIAH. BOOK XV. turn and conduct him to Jerusalem, hasted forward to ascend the mountain, light as the breath of the early dawn : but had scarce passed its foot, when he perceived Gidli between her mother and the pil- grim. A torrent of mingled joy and timidity rushed upon his mind, yet he proceeded with his unknown ?y.iide, who brought him to the man who had been -wounded, and lay a dismal spectacle, pale and covered with blood. They were binding up his wounds ; when Semida turning, saw Cidli approach, and she observing him employed in affording re- lief to the wounded traveller,, with a mixture of joy and melancholy, trembling passed by. Semida -with tremulous eagerness ran after her; but on his overtaking her, the passions that affected their minds obstructed their speech, and they s.tood gazing at each other in silence. When the female pilgrim bidding her not to stay, Semida cried, Must I again so soon part with my Cidli ? She then returning no other answer but a flood of tears, followed her guide. Semida, with his companion, remained comfort- ing the wounded traveller, Meanwhile two men, his brothers, came up, and all three expressing their warmest thanks for Semida's humanity, he, with the kindest wishes, took his leave. In proceeding up the mountain, said the stranger, we will take a shorter way than they have chosen, and will meet them at the summit. I will accom- pany thee, said Semida; but wilt thou return back with me ? The stranger answering that he should not return, Semida desired to know where he lived, on which the other returned that blissful was his home, and that heavenly friends expected him there. Talk not then of poverty, said Semida, since thou hast valuable friends to gladden thy life : let me know their names. The sirangef Boa* XiT. THE MESSIAH. with a look of complacency, said, these are some of my friends, and then mentioned several of the patriarchs and worthies of Israel. Semida viewed him with astonishment., and this was greatly in- creased, >vhen instantly he heheld his face glow with celestial beauty, and become resplendent. The more this increased, the more did a mixture of joy and fear spread paleness on Semjda's cheeks : but his immortal friend supported his trembling steps. , T ,.,, In the other path, the female pilgrim, who was cheerfully followed by the mother of Cidii, sudr denlv stopping and turning to her, said, My worthy friend, follow jne no farther ; for they only who are raised from the dea$, are allowed to appear at the Messiah's triumph. Must I then, said she, part from my Cidii, from whom I have, never yet been separated ? Oh soon, my heavenly daugft- ter, return, and rejoice thy mother,. Iby .relating what thou shalt now see. Qod grant ,,fjjat the glories thou "wilt behold, may heal all thine in* quietudes. Return towards Salem, said Megiddo the pilgrim, to the mother ; for thou wilt not soon see again thy happy daughter. My dear mother ! said Cidii, May the Lord be thy guide. Thou heavenly friend, let me soon return to embrace my mother ! They tenderly embraced, and then parting, the weeping eyes of the afflicted mother long followed them. As they drew near the summit of the mountain, Cidii, while absorbed in silent astonish- ment, saw at a distance in a grove of cedars, Semida with his companion, who now shone with all his splendor. Semida likewise perceived her. The two mortals stopt, walked forward, trembled and stopped again, while on either side radiant beings smiling, gathered round them. Oh how 464 tHE MESSIAH. BOOK XV. though yet unknown, shone the old man, the blind, ^and the wounded traveller with his brethren ! The celestials around them increased in number and effulgence. No words can express the transports of the loving pair. They gazed around filled with wonder, then downward casting their humble eyes, strove to speak, but their trembling words stopped in the midst of their broken utterance, How great was their joy and fear when environed by the ineffable splendor, and the soft, sweet-sound- ing benedictions of the immortals near them ! They approached each other. Then expressed their thoughts, and, happy pair ! their glorification began and was soon complete. They then flew into each others embraces, now no longer liable to a separation. To meet again, O thou loving ! to meet again, when with the dust of one the dust of the other rests ! was Cidli's thought; but it was only a dream of Cidli's joy. She now shed other tears ; but it was only for Semida's joy she wept. THE END OP THE FIFTEENTH BOOK- University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. 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