Synne in the chosen soulis is dedly for a time, but thei be not ded in the syght of God; and how we have here matter of joy and moneing, and that for our blindhede and weyte of flesh; and of the most comfortable chere of God; and why these shewings were made. Seventy-second chapter.
Sin's Deadliness and the Blissful Countenance
Sin appears deadly to us, obscuring God's blissful countenance, yet in God's sight we are never dead; He holds us in love until we see Him fully.
But now I need to tell how I saw sin as deadly in the creatures who will not die for sin, but live in the joy of God without end. I saw that two opposites can never exist with God in the same place.1 The greatest opposites that exist are the highest bliss and the deepest pain. The highest bliss there is, is to have Him in the clarity of endless life—truly seeing Him, sweetly feeling Him, and having everything perfectly in the fullness of joy.2 And so the blissful countenance of our Lord was shown in pity, and in that showing I saw that sin is most contrary—so much so that as long as we're mixed with any part of sin, we'll never see clearly the blissful countenance of our Lord.3 And the more horrible and grievous our sins are, the farther we are for that time from this blissful sight. And therefore it often seems to us as if we were in peril of death, in a part of Hell, because of the sorrow and pain that sin is to us. And so, for that time, we are dead to the true sight of our blissful life. But through all this I saw truly that we aren't dead in the sight of God, and He never leaves us. But He won't have His full bliss in us until we have our full bliss in Him, truly seeing His fair, blissful countenance.4 For we are ordained for this by nature, and brought to it by grace.5 So I saw how sin is deadly for a short time in the blessed creatures of endless life. And the more clearly the soul sees this blissful countenance by the grace of loving, the more it longs to see it in fullness. For even though our Lord God dwells in us and is here with us, and He wholly embraces us and encloses us out of tender love so that He can never leave us, and is nearer to us than tongue can tell or heart can think, still we can never stop mourning or weeping or longing until we see Him clearly in His blissful countenance.✦6 For in that precious, blissful sight no woe can remain, and no joy can fail.7
Joy and Mourning in the Darkness of Sin
Our nearness to God gives joy, but our spiritual blindness and the weight of flesh cause mourning, a spiritual weeping that only the sight of God's countenance can end.
And in this I saw reason for joy and reason for mourning. Reason for joy, because our Lord, our Maker, is so near to us and in us, and we in Him — that is our assurance that we are kept by His great goodness. Reason for mourning, because our spiritual eye is so blind and we are so weighed down by our mortal flesh and the darkness of sin that we cannot see our Lord God clearly in His beautiful, blissful face.8 No — and because of this darkness we can hardly believe and trust His great love, our assurance that we are kept; and that is why I say we may never stop mourning or weeping.9 This weeping does not mean only the pouring out of tears from our bodily eye, but also a more spiritual understanding. For the natural desire of our soul is so great and so immeasurable that if all the nobility God ever made in heaven and on earth were given us for our solace and comfort, and we did not see the fair, blissful countenance of Himself, still we would not cease from mourning or from spiritual weeping—that is to say, from painful longing—until we truly see the fair, blissful countenance of our Maker.10 And if we were in all the pain that heart can think and tongue may tell, if in that time we could see His fair, blissful countenance, all this pain would not grieve us. Thus, that blissful sight is the end of every kind of pain for the loving soul, and the fulfillment of every kind of joy and bliss.
The Purpose of the Showings: Three Kinds of Knowing
The showing concludes by revealing that its whole purpose is to lead us into three kinds of knowing: knowing God, knowing ourselves in nature and grace, and knowing our sin and feebleness.
And He showed this in those high, marvelous words where He said, "I am He who is highest; I am He who is lowest; I am He who is all."11 We are meant to have three kinds of knowledge. The first is that we know our Lord God. The second is that we know ourselves—who we are through Him in nature and grace.12 The third is that we humbly know what we are regarding our sin and feebleness.13 And as I understand it, the whole showing was made for these three things.
Read the original Middle English
But now behovyth me to tellen in what manner I saw synne dedly in the creatures which shall not dyen for synne, but livyn in the joy of God withouten end. I saw that two contrareties should never be to God in one stede. The most contrious that arn is the heyest bliss and the depest peyne. The heyest bliss that is, is to have Him in cleerty of endless life, Him verily seand, Him swetely feland, all perfectly haveand in fulhede of joy. And thus was the blisfull cheere of our Lord shewid in pite, in which shewing I saw that synne is most contrarie; so ferforth, that as long as we be medled with ony part of synne, we shall never see cleerly the blisfull cheere of our Lord. And the horibler and the greivouser that our synnes bene, the deeper are we for that time fro this blisfull syte. And therfore it semith to us oftentimes as we wern in peril of deth, in a party of Hell, for the sorow and peyne that the synne is to us.
And thus we arn ded for the tyme fro the very syte of our blisfull life. But in all this I saw sothfastly that we be not dede in the syte of God, ne He passith never fro us. But He shall never have His full bliss in us till we have our full bliss in Him, verily seand His faire blisfull chere. For we arn ordeynid therto in kinde, and gettyn therto be grace. Thus I saw how synne is dedly for a short time in the blissid creatures of endless life. And ever the more clerely that the soule seith this blisfull chere be grace of loveyng, the more it longyth to seen it in fullhede. For notwithstonding that our Lord God wonnyth in us and is here with us, and al He halsith us and beclosith us for tender love that He may never levyn us, and is more nere to us than tongue can tellen or herte can thynke, yet may we never stint of moning nor of weping ne of longyng til whan we see Him cleerly in His blissfull chere. For in that pretious blisfull syte there may no wo abiden, ne no wele failen.
And in this I saw matter of myrth and matter of monyng. Matter of myrthe, for our Lord, our Maker, is so nere to us and in us, and we in Him be sekirness of keping of His grete goodnes; matter of monyng for our gostly eye is so blinde and we be so born downe be weyte of our dedly flesh and derkhede of synne that we may not sen our Lord God clerly in His faire blisful chere. No, and because of this myrkehede unethes we can leven and trowen His grete love, our sekirness of keping; and therefore it is that I sey we may never stinten of moning ne of wepyng.
This weping meneth not al in poryng out of teares by our bodily eye, but also to more gostly understondyng. For the kindly desire of our soule is so gret and so onmesurable, that if it were goven us to our solace and to our comfort al the noblyth that ever God made in Hevyn and in erth, and we saw not the fair bliss full chere of Hymselfe, yet we shuld not stynten of moning ne of gostly weping, that is to sey, of peynfull longing, till whan we sen verily the faire blisfull chere of our Maker. And if we were in all the peyne that herte can thynke and tongue may tell, if we myten in that time sen his faire blisfull chere, all this peyn shuld us not agrevin. Thus is that blisfull syte end of all manner of peyne to lovand soule, and fulfilling all manner of joy and bliss. And that shewid He in the hey, mervelous words wher He seyd, I it am that is heyest; I it am that is lowist; I it am that is all.
It longith to us to have three manner of knowyngs. The first is that we knowen our Lord God. The second, that we knowen ourselfe, what we arn be Him in kinde and grace. The third that we knowen mekely what our selfe is anempts our synne and febilness. And for these three was all the shewing made, as to myn understondyng.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.2.9;Isa.64.4 — But as it is written: What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived—all that God has prepared for those who love him. Isa.64.4 — You meet those who rejoice and do righteousness; in your ways they remember you. But behold, you were angry, and we sinned — in those ways we have been for long, and can we be saved?
Notes
- 1 ↩enm 'stede' = place/stead; 'be to God' rendered as presence with/before God.
- 2 ↩enm 'cleerty' = clarity/clearness (beatific vision); participial chain 'seand/feland/haveand' kept as coordinated modes of possession.
- 3 ↩enm 'cheere/chere' is Julian's term for God's facial bearing/countenance, not mere cheerfulness; 'medled' = mingled/entangled.
- 4 ↩ME chere rendered as countenance: God's loving face/expression toward the soul, a key Julian term also used in the neighboring sections.
- 5 ↩kinde rendered as nature; gettyn therto be grace as brought to it by grace (attained/obtained by grace).
- 6 ↩halsith rendered as embraces; beclosith as encloses; moning as mourning (ME moan/lament).
- 7 ↩wele rendered as joy (ME weal/well-being paired with wo); failen as fail/fall away.
- 8 ↩"we in Him be sekirness of keping of His grete goodnes" is compressed ME: rendered as mutual indwelling constituting our assurance of being kept by His great goodness; "chere" kept as countenance (Julian's face/cheer of God).
- 9 ↩Opening "No" kept as Julian's emphatic particle (reinforcing the prior inability to see); "unethes" rendered scarcely; "leven and trowen" as believe and trust; "myrkehede" as darkness/murkiness.
- 10 ↩ME kindly here means natural / according to kind (our created nature), not modern kindly as gentle or friendly.
- 11 ↩Source I it am is Julian divine self-identification formula; rendered as solemn I am He who... to keep identity force without archaic I it am.
- 12 ↩ME 'kinde' rendered as 'nature' (Julian's nature/grace pairing); 'be Him' as 'by Him' (instrumental/causal).
- 13 ↩ME 'anempts' (anentes) rendered as 'concerning'; 'mekely' as 'humbly'.
Revelations of Divine Love (Showings) companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent