"The love that hath redeemed all worlds[6]
All worlds must still redeem;
But mercy cannot justice rob— 530
Or where were Elohim?
Freedom—man's faith, man's work, God's grace—
Must span the great gulf o'er;
Life, death, the guerdon or the doom,
Rejoice we or deplore."
Still rang that voice, when sudden rose
Aloft a towering form,
Proudly erect as lowering peak
'Lumed by the gathering storm;
A presence bright and beautiful, 540
With eye of flashing fire,
A lip whose haughty curl bespoke
A sense of inward ire.
"Send me!"—coiled 'neath his courtly smile
A scarce concealed disdain—
"And none shall hence, from heaven to earth,
That shall not rise again.
My saving plan exception scorns[7].
Man's will?—Nay, mine alone.
As recompense, I claim the right 550
To sit on yonder Throne!"
Ceased Lucifer. The breathless hush
Resumed and denser grew.
All eyes were turned; the general gaze
One common magnet drew.
A moment there was solemn pause—
Listened eternity,
While rolled from lips omnipotent
The Father's firm decree:
"Jehovah, thou my Messenger[8]! 560
Son Ahman, thee I send;
And one shall go thy face before,[9]
While twelve thy steps attend.
And many more on that far shore
The pathway shall prepare,
That I, the first, the last may come,
And earth my glory share.
"After and ere thy going down,
An army shall descend—
The host of God, and house of him 570
Whom I have named my friend[10].
Through him, upon Idumea[11],
Shall come, all life to leaven,
The guileless ones, the sovereign sons,
Throned on the heights of heaven.
"Go forth, thou Chosen of the Gods,
Whose strength shall in thee dwell!
Go down betime and rescue earth,
Dethroning death and hell.
On thee alone man's fate depends, 580
The fate of beings all.
Thou shalt not fail, though thou art free—
Free, but too great to fall.
"By arm divine, both mine and thine,
The lost thou shalt restore,
And man, redeemed, with God shall be,
As God forevermore.
Return, and to the parent fold
This wandering planet bring[12],
And earth shall hail thee Conqueror, 590
And heaven proclaim thee King."
'Twas done. From congregation vast,
Tumultuous murmurs rose;
Waves of conflicting sound, as when
Two meeting seas oppose.
'Twas finished. But the heavens wept;
And still their annals tell
How one was choice of Elohim,
O'er one who fighting fell.
—-