As my Eternal purpose hath decreed: Man shall not quite be lost, but sav'd who will, Yet not of will in him, but grace in me Freely voutsaft; once more I will renew [ 175 ] His lapsed powers, though forfeit and enthrall'd By sin to foul exorbitant desires;
This gives me much hope in God's insight and power regarding this whole breech by Satan.
Satan exalted sat, by merit rais'd [ 5 ] To that bad eminence;
Satan being 'exalted' and 'by merit raised' certainly seemsItalic** heroic here although we know he is not after-all, by being Satan and evil.
But far withinAnd in thir own dimensions like themselvesThe great Seraphic Lords and CherubimIn close recess and secret conclave sat [ 795 ]A thousand Demy-Gods on golden seats,Frequent and full. After short silence thenAnd summons read, the great consult began.
Just like a good comic book, let the next phase of the nefarious plot unfold with this cliff hanger to Book 2.
Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song,
To me, the challenge to "Invoke" is most tantalizing and this beckons me to comply.