Over the fea; the fea his rod obeys; On their imbattel'd ranks the waves return, Safe towards Canaan from the fhore advance Through the wild defert, not the readiest way, War terrify them inexpert, and fear Return them back to Egypt, choofing rather To noble and ignoble is more fweet Untrain'd in arms, where rafhnefs leads not on. In the wide wilderness, there they shall found The pot was crafed is in Chaucer. See 216. -- not the readieft way, &c.] It is remarkable, that here Milton omits the moral caufe (tho' he gives the political) of the Ifraelites wand'ring forty years in the wilderness, and this was their poltron mutiny on the return of the fpies. He omitted this with judgment, for this laft fpeech of the Angel was to give fuch a representation of things, as might convey comfort to Adam: otherwife the ftory of the brazen ferpent would have afforded noble imagery. Warburton. 215 223 216. Throug not the readies, For Exod. XIII. 17, 18. Í pass when Pharaoh bad let the pe go, that God led them not through way of the land of the Phila although that was near. That the nearest way from Egypt to C naan, and was a journey of above three days, as Philo fr others fay of ten. But certainly was no great way, for the fans Jacob went it often to and fro. St Bishop Patrick. For God faid, L peradventure the people repent, they fee war, and they return to Eg But God led the people about, thru the way of the wilderness of the Reddi 227.-28 Through the twelve tribes, to rule by laws ordain'd: od from the mount of Sinai, whose gray top hall tremble, he descending, will himself n thunder, lightning, and loud trumpets found, ▸rdain them laws; part fuch as appertain To civil justice, part religious rites of facrifice, informing them, by types 230 and fhadows, of that deftin'd Seed to bruife That Mofes might report to them his will, Without mediator, whofe high office now And all the prophets in their Of great Meffi'ah fhall fing. age the times Thus laws and rites Establish'd, fuch delight hath God in men Obedient to his will, that he vouchfafes Among them to fet up his tabernacle, The holy One with mortal men to dwell: 240 245 Of cedar, overlaid with gold, therein 230 An ark, and in the ark his testimony, The records of his covenant, over these foretel, And all the prophets &c.] Acts III. 22, 24. For Mofes truly faid unto the fathers, A prophet fhall the Lord your God raife up unto you of your brethren, like unto me-yea and all the prophets from Samuel, and thofe that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewife foretold of thefe days. 255. Sev'n lamps as in a zodiac reprefenting The heav'nly fires;] That the feven lamps fignified the feven planets, and that therefore the lamps flood flopewife, as it were to exprefs the obliquity of the zodiac, is the glofs of Of Jofephus, from whom probably author borrow'd it. Jofeph. Ant Lib. 3. c. 6 & 7. and De Bel. Ju Lib. 5. c. 5. See likewife Mede' Difcourfe roth. upon the feven Arch Angels. Mr. Hume quotes likewile the Latin of Philo to the fame par pofe: Myfticè candelabrum hoc lep fidum imago erat fphæra te luftris, five feptem planetarum. T bernaculum typus mundi. Sandun fanétorum, typus cœli empyrei ba torum. See Cornelius a Lapide up Exod. XXV. 31. 258. Save when they journey.) The a cloud covered the tent of the car gregation, and the glory of the Lad f two bright Cherubim; before him burn 255 ve when they journey, and at length they come, onducted by his Angel to the land romis'd to Abraham and his feed: the rest 260 Were long to tell, how many battels fought, Tow many kings deftroy'd, and kingdoms won, r how the fun fhall in mid Heav'n ftand ftill day entire, and night's due courfe adjourn, Ian's voice commanding, Sun in Gibeon ftand, 265 nd thou moon in the vale of Aialon, "ill Ifrael overcome; fo call the third ed the tabernacle. And Mofes was able to enter into the tent of the gregation because the cloud abode reon, and the glory of the Lord ded the tabernacle. And when the ud was taken up from over the bernacle, the children of Ifrael went ward in all their journeys. But if e cloud were not taken up, then they urneyed not, till the day that it was ken up. For the cloud of the Lord as upon the tabernacle by day, and e was on it by night, in the fight all the boufe of Ifracl, throughout l their journeys, Exod. XL. 34 &c. Thus it was in all places wherever ey came: and this is what Milton From fays in fhort, the cloud was over the tent by day, and the fire (call'd here a fiery gleam) by night, when they journey'd not. He takes no notice how it was when they did, which this text (for the infinite beauty of it we have given it at length) explains: The cloud was then taken up; How then? the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night, chap. XIII. 21. Other armies pitch their enfigns when they incamp, and lift them up when they march. So does the Lord of hofts leading forth his people. From Abraham, fon of Ifaac, and from him 270. Here Adam interpos'd.] Thefe interpofitions of Adam have a very good effect, for otherwife the continued narration of the Angel would appear too long and tedious. 274. Mine eyes true opening,] For that was a falfe promife which the Serpent had made, Gen. III. 5. Your eyes fhall be open'd &c. 277. His day,] An allufion to that of our Saviour, John VIII. 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to fee my day; and he faw it, and was glad. 283. So many laws argue fo many fins] This fcruple of our first father, and the reply of the Angel are grounded upon St. Paul's Epittles, and particularly thofe to the Romans, Galatians and Hebrews, 276 Favor as the reader, who is at all conve fant with these facred writing, wil eafily perceive. It would be us and verfe for every expreffion: h minute and tedious to quote chapte the reader may peruse the following texts, and compare them with or author. Wherefore then fermeth the law? it was added because of tra greffions. Gal. III. 19. I had m known fin but by the law: But i taking occafion by the comman wrought in me all manner of deeds of the law there fall pifcence. Rom. VII. 7, 8. By be justified in his fight, for by the law is the knowledge of fin. Rom III. 20. If the blood of buib ai of goats fantlifeth to the purifug the flesh, how much more jbail is blood of Chrift, who through the e nal Spirit offered himself without a to God, purge your confcience from dead works? Heb. IX. 13, 14. is not poffible that the blood of bala |