We must reverently mervelyn and mekly suffren, ever enjoyand in God; and how our blyndhede, in that we se not God, is cause of synne. Forty-seventh chapter.
Two Debts of the Soul
Julian introduces two essential duties of the soul: reverent marveling and meek endurance with joy in God.
Our soul owes two things.1 One is that we marvel reverently. The other is that we meekly endure, always rejoicing in God; for He wants us to know that in a short time we'll see clearly in Himself all that we desire.
The Puzzle of Mercy and Wrath
Julian wrestles with the relationship between God's mercy and wrath, unable to find the expected point in the showing.
And yet for all this, I looked and marveled greatly: What is the mercy and forgiveness of God? For by the teaching I had before, I understood that the mercy of God would be the forgiveness of His wrath after we have sinned. For it seemed to me that for a soul whose intention and desire are to love, the wrath of God would be harder than any other pain.2 And therefore I took it that the forgiveness of His wrath should be one of the principal points of His mercy. But no matter how much I looked and longed, I could not see this point in all the showing.3
The Works of Mercy
Julian resolves to speak of the works of mercy as God gives her grace.
But I will say something about how I understood and saw the works of mercy, as God gives me grace.
Man's Frailty and Blindness
Julian explains that man falls into sin through changeability and blindness, and that seeing God continually would prevent harmful yearnings.
I understood this: Human beings are changeable in this life, and through frailty and being overcome, they fall into sin. On their own, they are powerless and unwise, and their will is also overwhelmed, and at that time they are in tempest and sorrow and woe.4 And the cause is blindness, because they do not see God. Because if they saw God continually, they would have no harmful feeling, nor any kind of stirring of the yearning that serves sin.5 Thus I saw and felt at the same time; and it seemed to me that the sight and the feeling were high and plentiful, and gracious compared to our ordinary feeling in this life—and yet I thought it was only small and low compared to the great desire the soul has to see God.6
Five Spiritual Workings
Julian describes five inner workings—rejoicing, mourning, desire, dread, and sure hope—and how they are balanced by God's merciful keeping.
For I felt in myself five kinds of workings, which are these: rejoicing, mourning, desire, dread, and sure hope.7 Rejoicing — for God gave me understanding and knowing that it was Himself I saw. Mourning — and that was for failing.8 Desire — and that was that I might see Him ever more and more, understanding and knowing that we shall never have full rest until we see Him truly and clearly in Heaven.✦ Dread was because it seemed to me throughout that time that that sight would fail and I would be left to myself. Sure hope was in the endless love: I saw that I would be kept by His mercy and brought to His bliss. And the rejoicing in His sight, together with this sure hope of His merciful keeping, gave me feeling and comfort so that mourning and dread were not greatly painful. And yet in all this I beheld in the showing of God that this kind of sight of Him cannot continue unbroken in this life — and that for His own honor and for the increase of our endless joy.9
The Root of Our Trouble
Julian concludes that losing sight of God leads us to fall into ourselves, where we find only contrariety from original sin and its consequences.
And so we often lose sight of Him, and at once we fall back into ourselves, and then we find no feeling of what is right—nothing but the contrariety that is in ourselves, and that from the ancient root of our first sin with all that follows from our own contrivance; and in this we are troubled and tempest-tossed with the feeling of sins and of pains in many different ways, spiritual and bodily, as it is known to us in this life.1011
Read the original Middle English
Tweyn poynts longen to our soule be dett. On is that we reverently mervelyn. That other is that we mekely suffryn, ever enjoyand in God; for He will we wetyn that we shal in short tyme se clerly in Hymself al that we desire. And notwithstondyng al this, I beheld and mervelyd gretly: What is the mercy and forgivenes of God? For be the techyng that I had aforn, I understode that the mercy of God shuld be the forgevenes of His wreth after the tyme that we have synned. For methowte to a soule whose menyng and desire is to loven, that the wreth of God wer herder than any other peyne. And therfor I toke that the forgevness of His wreth shuld be one of the principal poynts of His mercy. But for nowte that I myte beholden and desyrin I could no se this poynte in al the shewyng.
But how I understode and saw of the werks of mercy I shal sey sumdel, as God wil geve me grace.
I understode this: Man is chongeable in this lif and be frelte and overcummyng fallith into synne. He is onmytye and onwise of hymself, and also his wil is overleyd, and in this tyme he is in tempest and in sorow and wo. And the cause is blindhede, for he seith not God. For if he sey God continuly, he shuld have no mischevous felyng, ne no manner steryng the yernyng that servyth to synne. Thus saw I and felt in the same tyme; and methowte that the syte and the felyng was hey and plentiuous, and gracious in reward that our commen felyng is in this lif, but yet I thowte it was but smal and low in reward of the great desire that the soule hath to sen God.
For I felt in me five manner of werkyngs, which be these: enjoying, morning, desir, drede, and sekir hope. Enjoyeng, for God gave me understondyng and knowing that it was Hymself that I saw. Morning, and that was for faylyng. Desir, and that was that I myte sen Hym ever more and more, understondyng and knowyng that we shal never have ful rest til we sen Hym verily and clerly in Hevyn. Drede was for it semyd to me in al that tyme that that syte shuld fayle and I ben left to myselfe. Sekir hope was in the endles love, that I saw I shuld be kept be His mercy and browte to His bliss. And the joyeing in His syte with this sekir hope of His mercyful kepyng made me to have felyng and comforte so that morneing and drede were not gretly peynfull. And yet in al this I beheld in the shewing of God that this manner syte of Him may not be continuant in this lif, and that for His owen worship and for encreas of our endles joy.
And therefore we failen oftentymes of the syte of Hym, and anon we fallen into ourself and than fynde we no felyng of ryth - nowte but contrarioust that is in ourselfe, and that of the elder rote of our first synne with all that followyn of our contrivans; and in this we arn traveylid and tempestid with felyng of synnys and of peynes in many dyvers manner, gostly and bodyly, as it is knowen to us in this lif.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1John.3.2 — Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Notes
- 1 ↩enm 'be dett' = by debt / as a debt: duties owed by the soul, not a financial debt.
- 2 ↩enm 'menyng' rendered as 'intention' (purpose/intent), not bare 'meaning'.
- 3 ↩enm 'for nowte that I myte beholden and desyrin' taken as concessive 'however much / for all that I might look and desire'; 'no se' = 'not see'.
- 4 ↩ME 'onmytye' read as 'unmighty' (powerless); 'overleyd' as 'overlaid/overwhelmed' (will pressed down), not merely covered.
- 5 ↩ME 'mischevous felyng' rendered as 'harmful feeling' (injurious/troubled interior sensation). 'steryng the yernyng' taken as stirring of the yearning that tends toward sin; syntax is slightly compressed in the source.
- 6 ↩ME 'in reward that/of' rendered as 'compared with' (regard/comparison sense), not recompense.
- 7 ↩ME morning here is mourning (grief/sorrow), not the time of day; confirmed by faylyng in s3 and morneing and drede in s7.
- 8 ↩faylyng = the failing/withdrawal of the sight of God (clarified by neighboring context and s5).
- 9 ↩ME worship here means honor/glory (His owen worship), not cultic worship alone.
- 10 ↩ME contrivans rendered as contrivance (our own inventing/devising of further sin). A nearby Julian term is contrarioust/contrariouste (contrariety); if a witness intends that sense here, the clause would mean “all that follows from our contrariousness.”
- 11 ↩ME ryth = right/rightness (what is upright or in order), not ‘rite’. Contrast with later chapters’ ryth so (= just so).
Revelations of Divine Love (Showings) companion
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