Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich

Lhe Seventy-first Chapter

In these six words that followeth, where he saith, € Take it;’ his meaning is to fasten it faithfully in our heart; for he will it dwell with us in faith into our lives end, and after in fulhead of joy, wiling that we have ever faithful trust of his blessedful promises, knowing his goodness. For our faith is contraried in diverse manner, by our own blindness, and our ghostly enemies within and without. And therefore our precious Lover helpeth us with ghostly light, and true teaching, on diverse manner within and without, whereby that we may know him. And therefore in what manner that he teacheth us, he will that we perceive him wisely, receiving him sweetly, and keep us in him faithfully. For above the faith is no goodness kept in this life, as to my sight. And beneath the faith is no health of soul. But in the faith there will our Lord we keep us: for we have by 188

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THE SEVENTY-FIRST CHAPTER,

his goodness and his own working to keep us in | the faith. And by his sufferance through ghostly enmity we are assaid in the faith, and made mighty. For if our faith had not enmity, it should | deserve no weed, as by the understanding that | I have in our Lords meaning. Glad and merry, | and sweet, is the blessedful lovely chear of our Lord to our souls; for he beheld us ever living in love-longing. And he will our soul be in glad chear to him, to yield him his meed. And thus I hope with his grace he hath, and more shall, draw the utter [outer] chear to the inner, and make us all at one with him, and each of us with other in true lasting joy that is Jesu. I have meaning of three manner of chears of our Lord: the first is chear of passion, as he shewed whiles he was with us in this life dying. And though this beholding be mourning and swemful, yet it is glad and merry; for he is God. The second manner of chear it is pitty, and ruth, and compassion: and this sheweth he to all his lovers, with sikerness of keeping that hath need to his mercy. The third is the blissedful chear as it shall be without end. And this was oftenest shewed, and longest continued. And thus in the time of our pain and our woe, he sheweth to us chear of his passion and his cross, helping us to bear it by his own E blessed vertue. And in time of our sinning, he 189

THE SIXTEENTH REVELATION.

sheweth to us chear of ruth and pity, mightily keeping us, and defending against all our enemies. And these two be the common chears which he sheweth to us in this life, therewith medling the third: and that is his blessed chear like in party as it shall be in heaven; and that is by gracious touching of sweet lightning of ghostly life, whereby that we are kept in true faith, hope, and charity with contrition and devotion, and also with contemplation, and all manner of true joyes and sweet comforts. The blessedful chear of our Lord God worketh it in us by grace. But now me behooveth to tell in what manner that I saw sin deadly, in the creatures which should not die for sin, but live in the joy of God without end. I saw that wo contraries should not be together in one steed. The most contrarious that are, is the highest bliss, and the deepest pain. The highest bliss that is, is to have God in clerity of endless light, him verily seeing, him sweetly feeling, him all peaceable having in fulhead of joy: and thus was the blessedful chear of our Lord God shewed — in party [? pity]. In which shewing I saw that sin was the most contrary, so far forth that, as long as _ we be medled with any part of sin, we shall never . see clearly the blessed chear of God. And the | horriblier, and the grievouser that our sins be, the | ! deeper are we for that time fro this blessed sight. | 190

THE SEVENTY-FIRST CHAPTER