Our Lord will we know four manner of goodnes that He doith to us; and how we neede the lyte of grace to knowen our synne and febilnes, for we arn nothing of ourselfe but writchidnes, and we may not know the horribilnes of synne as it is. And how our enemy would we should never know our synne til the last day, wherfore we arn mekil bowndend to God that shewith it now. Seventy-eighth chapter.
The Fourfold Goodness of Our Lord
Our Lord mercifully shows us our sin by His light, and He wills us to know that He is our ground, He keeps us in sin, He shows us we go astray, and He waits to unite us.
Our Lord, out of His mercy, shows us our sin and our feebleness through the sweet, gracious light of Himself; for our sin is so vile and horrible that He, in His courtesy, will not show it to us except by the light of His grace and mercy.1 It is His will that we know four things: the first is that He is our ground, from whom we have all our life and our being.2 The second is that He keeps us mightily and mercifully while we are in our sin and among all our enemies who are fiercely set against us; we are in all the more peril because we give them occasion for it and don't know our own need. The third is how courteously He keeps us and makes us aware that we are going astray. The fourth is how steadfastly He waits for us and does not change His countenance, for He wills that we be turned and united to Him in love as He is to us.3
The Path of Humble Knowing
Through the gracious sight of our sin, we are brought to shame and brokenness, and by contrition and grace we are healed and united to God, a breaking and healing meant for all, from the highest to the lowest.
And so by this gracious knowing we can see our sin in a way that helps us, without despair. For truly we need to see it, and by that sight we will be made ashamed of ourselves and broken down as regards our pride and presumption.4 For we truly need to see that of ourselves we are nothing at all but sin and wretchedness.✦ And so by the sight of the lesser part that our Lord shows us, the greater part, which we do not see, is wasted away.5 For in His courtesy He measures the sight He gives us, because it is so vile and so horrible that we could not endure to see it as it is.6 And by this humble knowing, through contrition and grace we will be broken from all things that are not our Lord, and then our blessed Savior will perfectly heal us and unite us with Him.7 This breaking and this healing our Lord means for humankind in general.8 For the one who is highest and nearest to God may see himself sinful and needy, just as I do. And I, who am the least and lowest of those who will be saved, may be comforted with the one who is highest.
The Gift of Self-Knowledge
Our Lord lovingly teaches us the necessity of self-knowledge, despite our tendency to be distracted by joy, and shows that our spiritual enemies want to hide our sin from us until the end, but God in mercy reveals it now, binding us to gratitude.
So our Lord has united us in charity when He showed me that I would sin.9 And because of the joy I had in beholding Him, I didn't readily attend to that showing, and our courteous Lord stopped then and would not teach me further until He gave me grace and the will to pay attention. And from this I was taught that though we are highly lifted up into contemplation by the special gift of our Lord, yet we must also have knowledge and sight of our sin and our frailty. For without this knowing we cannot have true meekness, and without this we cannot be saved. And I also saw that we cannot have this knowing from ourselves, nor from any of our spiritual enemies, for they do not wish us so much good. For if it were according to their will, we wouldn't see it until our ending day. So we are deeply bound to God that He Himself wills, out of love, to show it to us in the time of mercy and grace.
Read the original Middle English
Our Lord of His mercy shewith us our synne and our febilnes be the swete gracious lyte of Hymselfe, for our synne is so vile and so horrible that He of His curtesee will not shew it to us, but be the lyte of His grace and mercy. Of four things it is His will that we have knowing: The first is that He is our ground of whom we have all our life and our being. The second, that He kepith us mytyly and mercifully in the tyme that we arn in our synne and monge all our enemies that arn full fel upon us; and so mekil we arn in the more peril, for we geven hem occasion therto and kno not our owne nede. The third is how curtesly He kepith us and makith us to knowen that we gon amyss. The fourth is how sted fastly He abidith us and chongith no chere, for He will that we be turnyd and onyd to Him in love as He is to us.
And thus be this gracious knoweing we may seen our synne profitably without despeir. For sothly us nedith to seen it, and be the syte we shall be made ashamd of ourselfe and broken downe as anempts our pride and presumtion. For us behovith verily to seen that of ourselfe we arn ryte nowte but synne and wretchiddnes. And thus be the syte of the less that our Lord shewith us, the more is wastid which we se not. For He of his curtesye mesurith the syte to us, for it is so vile and so horrible that we shuld not enduren to seen it as it is. And be this meke knowing, thus throw contrition and grace we shall be broken fro all things that is not our Lord, and than shall our blissid Saviour perfectly helyn us and one us to Him.
This breking and this helyng our Lord menith be the generall man. For he that is heyest and nerest with God, he may seen himselfe synnefull, and nedith, with me. And I that am the lest and lowest of those that shall be save, I may be comfortid with him that is heyest. So hath our Lord onyd us in charite whan He shewid me that I shuld synne. And for joy that I had in beholdyng of Him, I entend not redily to that shewing, and our curtis Lord stynte then, and wold not ferther tech me till that He gave me grace and will to entenden. And hereof was I lerid thow that we be heyly lifted up into contemplation be the special gift of our Lord, yet us behovith nedis therwith to have knoweing and syte of our synne and our febilnes. For withouten this knowing we may not have trew mekenes, and without this we may not be savid. And also I saw that we may not have this knowing of ourselfe, ne of none of all our gostly enemies, for thei will us not so mekil good.
For if it wer be their will, we should not seen it into our endyng day. Than we be mekil bounden to God that He will Himselfe for love shewen it us in time of mercy and grace.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rom.7.24 — Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Notes
- 1 ↩Middle English "curtesee" is Julian's distinctive term for God's gracious courtesy; kept as "courtesy" rather than flattened to mere politeness.
- 2 ↩"Ground" preserves Julian's metaphysical sense of God as the foundation/source of being, not merely soil or basis in a casual sense.
- 3 ↩"Chongith no chere": Middle English "chere" means countenance/bearing; the sense is that God does not alter His loving face toward us. "Onyd" is Julian's unitive verb (made one); rendered "united."
- 4 ↩anempts (anent) rendered as 'as regards'; concerning our pride and presumption.
- 5 ↩ME 'wastid' taken as destroyed/diminished: seeing the lesser measure of sin God shows wastes the greater unseen remainder (pride/self-regard). Alternative readings of 'wastid' are possible.
- 6 ↩curtesye kept as 'courtesy', Julian's distinctive term for God's gracious, measured kindness.
- 7 ↩throw = through; one us = unite us / make us one with Him (Julian's 'oning').
- 8 ↩enm 'generall man' rendered as humankind in general (Julian's usual collective sense), not a particular individual.
- 9 ↩enm 'onyd...in charite' kept as united in charity (theological virtue of oneing), not generic friendliness.
Revelations of Divine Love (Showings) companion
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