please him and solace him to whom he giveth it And if the Receiver take the Gift gladly and thankfully than the courteous Giver setteth at naught all his Cost and all his Travel for joy and delight he hath for he hath pleased and solaced him that he loved Plentuously and fully was this shewed Think as Wisely of the greatness of this Word Ever For in that was shewed an high knowing of Love that he hath in our Salvation with manifold joys that followen of the Passion of Christ One is that he joyeth that he hath done it in deed and he shall no more suffer That other is that he hath therewith bought us from endless Pains of Hell An other is that he brought us up into Heaven and made us for to be his Crown and his endless Bliss The Tenth Revelation The xxjv Chapter WIth a good chear our good Lord looked into his side and beheld with joy and with his sweet looking he led forth the understanding of his Creature by the same Wound into his side within And there he shewed a fair and delectable place and large enough for all Mankind that shall be saved and rest in Peace and in Love And therewith he brought to mind his dear Worthy Blood and his precious Water which he let pour out for Love And with the sweet beholding he shewed his blessed Heart cloven in two and with his enjoying he shewed to my understanding in part the blessedful Godhead as far forth as he would at that time strengthen the poor Soul for to understand as it may be said that is to mean the endless Love that was without beginning and is and shall be ever And with this our good Lord said well blessedfully Low how I love thee as if he had said My Darling behold and see thy Lord thy God that is thy Maker and thy endless joy See thine own Brother thy Saviour my Child behold and see what liking and bliss I have in thy Salvation And for my love | i e. rejoyce enjoy with me And also to more understanding this blessed Word was said Loe how I love thee as if he had said Behold and see that I loved thee so much or that I died for thee that I would die for thee And now I have died for thee and suffered willingfully that I may And now is all my bitter Pain and all my hard Travel turned to everlasting joy and bliss to me and to thee How should it now be that thou shouldest any thing pray me that liked me but if I should full gladly grant it thee for my liking is thy Holiness and the endless joy and bliss with me This is the understanding simply as I can say of this blessed Word Loe how I loved thee This shewed our good Lord to make us glad and merry The Eleventh Revelation And the xxv Chapter ANd with this chear of mirth and joy our good Lord looked down on the right side and brought to my mind where our Lady stood in the time of his passion and said Wilt thou see her And in this sweet Word as if he had said I wot well that thou wilt see my blessed Mother for after my self she is the highest Joy that I might shew thee and most liking and worship to me and most she is desired to be seen of all my blessed Creatures And for the marvellous high and singular Love that he hath to this sweet Maiden His blessed Mother our Lady Saint Mary he sheweth her bliss and joy as by the meaning of this sweet Word as if he said Wilt thou see how that I love her that thou might joy with me in the Love that I have in her and she in me And also to more understanding this sweet Word our good Lord speaketh in Love to all Mankind that shall be saved as it were all to one Person as if he said Wilt thou see in her how thou art loved for thy Love I have made her so High so Noble so Worthy And this liketh me And so will I that it do thee For after himself she is the most blessedful sight But hereof am I not learned to long to see her bodily Presence while I am here but the vertues of her blessedful Soul her Truth her Wisdom her Charity whereby I am learned to know my self and reverently dread my God And when our good Lord had shewed this and said this Word Wilt thou see her I answered and said Yea good Lord grant Mercy Yea good Lord if it be thy Will Oftentimes I Prayed this and I * i e. thought went to have seen her in bodily liking but I saw her not so And Jesu in that Word shewed me a Ghostly sight of her right as I had seen her before litle and simple right so he shewed her then High and Noble and Glorious and pleasing to him above all Creatures And so he will that it be known that all those that like in him should also like in her And to more understanding he shewed this example as if a man love a Creature singularly above all Creatures he will make all other Creatures to love and to like that Creature that he loveth so much And in this Word that Jesu said Wilt thou see her methought it it was the most liking Word that he might give me of her with the Ghostly shewing that he gave me of her For our Lord shewed me nothing in special but our Lady Saint Mary and her shewed three times The first was as she conceived The second as she was in her Sorrow under the Cross And the third was as she is now in Liking Worship and Joy The Twelfth Revelation The xxvj Chapter ANd after this our Lord shewed him more glorified as to my sight than I saw him before wherein I was learned that our Soul shall never have rest till it come into him knowing that he is full of joy homely and courteous and blessedful and very Life Oftentimes our Lord Jesu said I it am I it am I it am That is highest I it am that thou lovest I it am that thou likest I it am that thou servest I it am that thou longest I it am that thou desirest I it am that thou meanest I it am that is all I it am that Holy Church Preacheth thee and Teacheth thee I it am that shewed me before to thee The Number of thy Words passeth my Wits and understanding and all my Mights for they were in the highest as to my sight For therein is comprehended I cannot tell what but the joy that I saw in the shewing of them passeth all that Heart can think or Soul may desire And therefore these Words be not declared here but every man after the Grace that God giveth him in understanding and longing receive them in our Lords meaning The Thirteenth Revelation The xxvij Chapter ANd after this our Lord brought to my mind the longing that I had to him before and I saw nothing
in fulhead that is to say in his own Likeness For notwithstanding that our Lord God dwelleth now in us and is here with us and * i e. embraceth colleth us and becloseth us for tender Love that he may never leave us and is more near to us than Tongue may tell or Heart may think Yet may we never stint of mourning ne of weeping nor of seeking nor of Longing till when we see him clear in his blessedful chear For in that precious sight there may no Woe abide nor Weal fail And in this I saw matter of Mirth and matter of Mourning Matter of Mirth that our Lordour Maker is so near to us and in us and we in him by faithfulness of keeping of his great goodness Matter of Mourning for our Ghostly eye is so blind and we so boarn down with Weight of our deadly flesh and Darkness of sin that we may not see our Lord God clearly in his blessedful chear No and because of this Darkness scarce we can believe or * i e. think trowe his great Love and our Faithfulness of keeping And therefore it is that I say we may never leave off Mourning ne Weeping This Weeping meaneth not all in pouring out of tears by our bodily eye but also to more Ghostly understanding for the | i e. natural kindly desire of our Soul is so great and so unmeasurable that if it were given us to our joy and our comfort all the * i e. nobleness nobly that ever God made in Heaven and in Earth and we saw not the fair blessedful chear of himself yet should we never leave mourning ne of Ghostly Weeping that is to say of painful Longing till when we see verily the fair blessedful chear of our Maker And if we were in all the pain that heart may think or tongue may tell and we might in that time see his blessedful chear all this pain should us not grieve Thus is that blessedful sight end of all manner of pain to Loving Souls and fulfilling of all manner of joy and bliss And that shewed he in the high marvellous Words where he saith I it am that is highest I it am that thou lovest I it am that is all It longeth to us to have three manner of knowings The first is that we know our Lord God The second is that we know our self what we are by him in kind and in grace The third is that we know meekly that our self is against our sin and against our feebleness And for these three was all this shewing made as to my understanding The Lxxij Chapter ALL this blessed teaching of our Lord God was shewed by three parts that is to say By bodily sight and by Word formed in my understanding and by Ghostly sight For the bodily sight I have said as I saw as truly as I can And for the Words I have said them right as our Lord shewed them me And for the Ghostly sight I have said some deal but I may never full tell it And therefore of this Ghostly sight I am stirred to say more as God will give me grace God shewed two manner of sickness that we have That one is unpatience or slouth for we bear our travel and our pain heavily That other is despair or doubtful dreed as I shall say after Generally he shewed sin wherein all is comprehended but in special he shewed none but these two And these two are it that most travelleth and troubleth us as by that our Lord shewed me Of which he will we be amended I speak of such men and women that for Gods Love hate sin and dispose them to do Gods Will Then by our Ghostly blind-head and bodily heaviness we are most enclining to this And therefore it is Gods will that they be known and then should we refuse them as we do other sins And for help against this full meekly our Lord shewed the patience that he had in this hard Passion And also the joy and the liking that he hath of that Passion for Love And this he shewed in Example that we should gladly and easily bear our pains for that is great pleasing to him and endless profit to us And the cause why we are travelled with them is for unknowing of Love Though the Three Persons of the blessed Trinity be all even in the self The Soul took most understanding in Love yea and he will in all thing that we have our beholding and our enjoying in Love And of this knowing are we most blind For some of us believe that God is All mighty and may do all and that he is All wisdom and can do all But that he is All Love and will do all there we fail And this unknowing it is that most letteth Gods Lovers as to my sight For when we begin to hate sin and amend us by the ordinance of Holy Church yet there dwelleth a dread that letteth us by the beholding of our self and of our sin afore done And some of us for our every day sins for we hold not our promise nor keep our cleanness that our Lord setteth us in but fall oft-times into so much wretchedness that shame it is to say it And the beholding of this maketh us so sorry and so heavy that unneths we can see any comfort And this dread we take sometime for a meekness but it is a foul blindness and a wickedness And we cannot despise it as we do another sin that we know which cometh through lack of true Judgment and it is again truth For of all the properties of the blissedful Trinity it is Gods will that we have most Faithfulness and Liking in Love for Love maketh Might and Wisdom full meek to us For right as by the courtesie of God he forgetteth our sin after the time that we repent us So will he that we forget our sin as against our unskillful heaviness and our doubtful dreads The Lxxiij Chapter FOr I understood four manner of Dreads One is dread of a | i e. fright fray that cometh to man suddenly by frailty This dread doth good for it helpeth to purge man as doth bodily sickness or such other pain that is not sin for all such pains help man if they be patiently taken The second is dread of pain whereby man is stirred and waked fro sleep of sin For man that is hard of sleep of sin he is not able for the time to receive the soft comfort of the Holy Ghost till he hath undertaken this dread of pain of bodily death and of Ghostly Enemies And this dread stirreth us to seek Comfort and Mercy of God And thus this dread helpeth us as an entry and ableth us to have contrition by the blissedful touching of the Holy Ghost The third is doubtful dread Doubtful dread is as much as it draweth to despair God will have it turned in us into Love by true knowing of Love that is to say that the bitterness of doubts
understand that the best deed is well done and so well as the best deed that is done and the highest so well is the least deed done And all in the Property and in the Order that our Lord hath it ordeined tofore without beginning For there is no Door but he I saw full truly that he changed never his purpose in no manner of thing ne never shall without end For there was nothing unknown to him in his rightful Ordinance fro without beginning And therefore all thing were set in order ere any thing was made as it should stand without end and no manner of thing shall fail of that Point for he hath made all thing in fulhead of Goodness And therefore the blessed Trinity is ever full pleased in all his Works And all this shewed he full blessedly meaning thus See I am God See I am in all things See I do all things See I never left my hands of my Works ne never shall without end See I lead all thing to the end that I ordaine it to for without beginning by the same Might Wisdom and Love that I made it with How should any thing be amiss Thus mightily wisely and lovingly was the Soul examined in this Vision Then saw I verily that me behoveth needs to assent with great Reverence and Joy in God The Fourth Revelation The xij Chapter ANd after this I saw beholding the body plentuously bleeding in seeming of the scourging as thus The fair Skin was broken full deep into the tender flesh with sharp smitings all about the sweet Body The hot blood ran out so plenteously that there was neither seen Skin ne Wound but as it were all blood And when it came where it should have fallen down there it vanished Notwithstanding the bleeding continued a while till it might be seen with advisement And this was so plentuous to my sight that me thought if it had been so in kind and in substance for that time it should have made the Bed all on blood and have passed over all about Then came to my mind that God hath made Waters plentuous in Earth to our service and to our bodily ease for tender Love that he hath to us But yet liketh him better that we take full holsomely his blessed Blood to wash us from sin for there is no Liquor that is made that liketh him so well to give us For it is most plentuous as it is most precious and that by the vertue of the blessed Godhead and it is our own kind and blessedfully overfloweth us by the vertue of his precious Love The dear worthy blood of our Lord Jesu Christ also verily as it is most precious as verily it is most plentuous Behold and see the vertue of this precious plenty of his dear worthy Blood It descended down into Hell and brake her Bonds and delivered them all that were there which belongeth to the Court of Heaven The precious plenty of his dear worthy Blood overfloweth all Earth and is ready to wash all Creatures of sin which be of Good-will have been or shall be The precious plenty of his dear worthy Blood ascendeth up into Heaven in the blessed Body of our Lord Jesu Christ And there is in him Bleeding Praying for us to the Father and is and shall be as long as us needeth And evermore it floweth in all Heaven enjoying the Salvation of all Mankind that be there and shall be fulfilling the number that faileth The Fifth Revelation The xiij Chapter ANd after or that God shewed any words he suffered me to behold him a conveniable time And all that I had seen and all the understanding that was therein as the simpleness of the Soul might take it Then he without voyce and opening of Lips formed in my Soul these Words Herewith is the fiend overcome This Word said our Lord meaning his blessed Passion as he shewed before In this our Lord shewed a part of the fiends malice and fully his unmight for he shewed that the Passion of him is the overcoming of the fiend God shewed that the fiend hath now the same malice that he had before the Incarnation and also sore he travelleth And as continually he seeth that all Souls of Salvation escape him Worshipfully by the vertue of his precious Passion and that is his sorrow and full evil is he ashamed For all that God suffereth him to do turneth us to joy and him to shame and pain And he hath as much sorrow when God giveth him leave to Work as when he worketh not And that is for he may never do as ill as he would for his might is all locked in God's hand but in God may be no wrath as to my fight For our good Lord endlesly having regard to his own Worship and to the profit of all them that shall be saved with Might and Right he withstandeth the reproved the which of malice and of shrewdness busie them to contrary and do against God's will Also I saw our Lord scorning his malice and naughting his unmight And he will that we do so For this fight I laught mightly and that made them to laugh that were about me and their laughing was a liking to me I thought that I would that all my even Christen had seen as I saw then should all they have laughed with me but I saw not Christ laughing But well I wot that sight that he shewed me made me to laugh For I understood that we may laugh in comforting of our self and joying in God for the fiend is overcome And there I saw him scorn his malice it was beholding to my understanding into our Lord that is to say an inward shewing of * i. e. truth sooth fastness without changing of cheere For as to my sight it is a worshipful property that is in God which is durable And after this I fell into a sadness and said I see three things Game Scorn and Earnest I see Game that the fiend is overcome And I see Scorne that God scorneth him and he shall be scorned And I see Earnest that he is overcome by the blessedful Passion and Death of our Lord Jesu Christ that was done in full great earnest and with sad Travel And there I said that he is scorned I meant that God scorneth him that is to say for he seeth him now as he shall do without end for in this God shewed that the fiend is damned And this meant I there I said he should be scorned For I saw he shall be scorned at Doomes-day generally of all that shall be saved to whose Salvation he hath had great envy for then he shall see that all the Woe and Tribulation that he hath done them shall be turned into encrease of their joy without end And all the Pain and the Sorrow that he would have brought them to shall for ever go with him to Hell The Sixth Revelation The xiv Chapter ANd after this our Lord said I thank thee of thy Service
that greatly pleaseth God and also meekly taketh bodily sickness of Gods sending Also Sorrow and Shame outwardly with reproof and despite of the World with all manner of Grievance and Temptations that we be cast in Ghostly and Bodily Full preciously our good Lord keepeth us when it seemeth to us that we be near forsaken and cast away for our sin and for we see that we have deserved it And because of the Meekness that we get thereby we be raised full high in Gods sight by his Grace And also whom our Lord will he visiteth of his special Grace with so great Contrition and also with Compassion and true longing to God that they be suddenly delivered of Sin and of Pain and taken up to bliss and made even with Saints By Contrition we be made clean by Compassion we be made ready And by true Longing to God we be made worthy These be three means as I understood whereby that all Souls come to Heaven that is to say that have been Sinners in Earth and shall be saved For by these Medicines behoveth that every sinful Soul be healed though that he be healed his Wounds be seen before God not as Wounds but as Worships And so on the contrariwise as we be punished here with Sorrow and with Penance we shall be rewarded in Heaven by the courteous Love of our God Almighty that will that none that come there leese his Travel in any degree For he beholdeth sin as Sorrow and Pains to his Lovers in whom he assigneth no blame for Love The meed that we undertake shall not be litle but it shall be high glorious and worshipful and so shall all shame turn to Worship and to Joy For our courteous Lord will not that his Servants despair for oft failing ne for grievous falling for our falling letteth not him to Love us Peace and Love is ever in us being and working but we be not ever in Peace and in Love But he will we take heed thus that he is ground of all our whole Life in Love And furthermore that he is our everlasting Keeper and mightily defendeth us against all our Enemies that be full fell and full fierce upon us And so much our need is the more for we give them occasion by our falling The xl Chapter ANd this is a sovereign Friendship of our courteous Lord that he keepeth us so tenderly whiles we be in our sin And furthermore he toucheth us full privily and sheweth us our sin by the sweet light of Mercy and Grace But when we see our self so foul then we wene that God were wrath with us for our sin Then be we stirred of the Holy Ghost by Contrition into Prayer and desire amending of our self with all our Might to slack the Wrath of God unto the time we find a rest in Soul and softness in Conscience And then hope we that God hath forgiven us our sin and it is true And then sheweth our courteous Lord himself to the Soul merrily and of full glad chear with friendfully welcoming as if it had been in Pain and in Prison saying thus My dear Darling I am glad thou art come to me in all thy Woe I have ever been with thee and now seest thou me loving and we be oned in Bliss Thus are sins forgiven by Grace and Mercy and our Soul Worshipfully received in Joy like as it shall be when it cometh into Heaven as oftimes as it cometh by the gracious Working of the Holy Ghost and the vertue of Christs Passion Here understood I verily that all manner of thing is made ready to us by the great Goodness of God so far forth that what time we be our self in Peace and in Charity we be verily safe But for we may not have this in fullhead while we be here therefore it befalleth us ever to live in sweet Praying and in lovely Longing with our Lord Jesu for he longeth ever for to bring us to the fulhead of Joy as it is before said where he sheweth the Ghostly Thirst But now because of all this Ghostly Comfort that is before said if any Man or Woman be stirred by Folly to say or to think Ob. If this be true then were it good for to Sin to have the more meed or else to charge the less to sin Sol. Beware of this stirring for truly if it come it is untrue and of the Enemy For the same true Love that toucheth us all by his blessed Comfort the same blessed Love teacheth us that we shall hate sin only for Love And I am sure by my own feeling the more that each kind Soul seeth this in the courteous Love of our Lord God the lother is him to sin and the more he is ashamed For if it were laid before us all the Pain that is in Hell and in Purgatory and in Earth to suffer it rather than sin we should rather choose all that Pain than sin For sin is so vile and so mickle for to hate that it may be likned to no Pain which Pain is not sin And to me was shewed none harder Hell than sin for a kind Soul hateth no Pain but sin for all is good but sin and naught is evil but sin And when we give our intent to Love and Meekness by the working of Mercy and Grace we be made all Fair and Clean. And as Mighty and as Wise as God is to save Man as willing he is For Christ himself is ground of all the Laws of Christen Men and he taught us to doe Good against Evil. Here we may see that he is himself this Charity and doth to us as he teacheth us to do For he will that we be like him in whole-head of endless Love to our self and to our even Christen No more than his Love is broken to us for our sin no more will he that our Love be broken to our self nor to our even Christen but nakedly hate sin and endlesly love the Soul as God loveth it Then should we hate sin like as God hateth it and love the Soul as God loveth it for these words that God said is an endless Comfort I keep thee full truly The Fourteenth Revelation The xlj Chapter AFter this our Lord shewed for Prayer In which shewing I saw two Conditions in our Lords meaning One is rightful Prayer Another is * i e. sure siker trust But yet oftentimes our trust is not full for we be not sure that God heareth us as we think for our unworthiness and for we feel right naught for we be as barren and as dry oft-times after our Prayers as we were before And thus in our feelling our folly is cause of our Weakness For thus have I felt by my self And all this brought our Lord suddenly to my mind and shewed these Words and said I am ground of thy beseeking First it is my will that thou have it And sithen I make thee to will it And sithen I make thee to beseek it and
that should burn us all to death I asked them that were with me if they felt any stench they said nay they felt none I said Blessed be God for then wist I well it was the fiend that was come only to tempt me And anon I took me to that our Lord had shewed me on the same day with all the Faith of Holy Church for I beheld it as both in one and fled thereto as to my Comfort And anon all vanished away and I was brought to great rest and peace without Sickness of body or dread of Conscience The Lxviij Chapter ANd then our good Lord opened my Ghostly eye and shewed me my Soul in the midst of my heart I saw the Soul so large as it were and endless World and also as it were a blessed Kingdom And by the conditions that I saw therein I understood that it is a worshipful City In mids of that City our Lord Jesu very God and very Man a fair Person and of large stature Highest Bishop most Solemne King Worshipful Lord. And I saw him clothed solemnly in Worship he sitteth in the Soul even right in Peace and rest And he ruleth and giveth Heaven and Earth and all that is The Man-hood with the God-head sitteth in rest The God-head ruleth and giveth without any instrument or business And the Soul is all occupied with the blessed God-head that is sovereign Might sovereign Wisdom and severeign Goodness The place that Jesu taketh in our Soul he shall never remove without end as to my sight for in us is his homliest home and his endless dwelling And in this he sheweth the Liking that he hath of the making of mans Soul for as well as the Father might make a Creature and as well as the Son might make a Creature So well would the Holy Ghost that mans Soul were made and so it was done And therefore the blessedful Trinity enjoyeth without end in the making of mans Soul For he saw without beginning what should like him without end All thing that he hath made sheweth his Lordship as understanding was given in the same time by example of a Creature that is led to see great Nobleness and Kingdoms longing to a Lord. And when it had seen all the Nobleness beneath then marvelling it was stirred to seek up above to that high place where the Lord dwelleth knowing by reason that his dwelling is in the worthiest place And thus I understand truly that our Soul may never have rest in things that is beneath it self And when it cometh above all Creatures into it self yet may it not abide in the beholding of it self but all the beholding is blessedfully set in God that is the Maker dwelling therein for in mans Soul is his very dwelling And the highest Light and the brightest Shining of the City is the glorious Love of our Lord God as to my sight And what may make us more enjoy in God than to see in him that he enjoyeth in us highest of all his Works For I saw in the same shewing that if the blessed Trinity might have made mans Soul any better any fairer any nobler than it was made he should not have been full pleased with making of mans Soul But for he made mans Soul as fair as good as precious as he might make it a Creature therefore the blessed Trinity is full pleased without end in the making of mans Soul And he will that our hearts be mightily raised above the deepness of the earth and all vain sorrowes and enjoy in him This was a delectable sight and a restful shewing that is without end And the beholding of this whiles we are here it is full pleasant to God and full great speed to us And the Soul that thus beholdeth it maketh him like to him that is beholden and oned it in rest and in peace by his grace And this was a singular joy and bliss to me that I saw him sitting for the truth of sitting shewed endless dwelling And he gave me knowing truly that it was he that shewed me all before and when I had beholden all this with advisement then shewed our good Lords words full meekly without voice and without opening of lips right as he had done afore and said full sweetly Wit it now well it was no raving that thou sawest to day but take it and believe it and keep thee therein and comfort thee therewith and trust thereto and thou shalt not be overcome These last words were said for learning of full true | i e. assurance sikerness that is our Lord Jesu that shewed me all And right as in the first word that our good Lord shewed meaning his blessed Passion herewith is the fiend overcome right so he said in the last word with full true faithfulness meaning us all Thou shalt not be overcome And all this Learning and this true Comfort is general to all mine even Christen as it is aforesaid and so is Gods will And this word Thou shalt not be overcome was said full sharply and full mightily for sickness and comfort against all Tribulations that may come He said not thou shalt not be troubled thou shalt not be travelled thou shalt not be diseased but he said Thou shalt not be overcome God will that we take heed at this word and that we be ever mighty in faithful trusting in weal and woe for he loveth us and liketh us and so will he that we Love him and Like him and mightily trust in him and all shall be well and soon all was close and I saw no more after this The Lxjx. Chapter THe fiende came again with his heat and with his stench and made me full busie The stench was so vile and so painful and bodily heat also dreadful and travellous Also I heard a bodily talking as it had been of two bodies and both to my thinking talked at one time as they had held a Parliament with great business And all was soft whistering And I understood not what they said And all this was to stir me to dispair as methought seeming to me as they scorned | i e. praying bidding of Beads which are said * i e. hastily boystously with much failing of devout intending and wise diligence the which we owe to God in our prayer And our good Lord God gave me grace mightily to trust in him and to comfort my Soul with bodily speech as I should have done to another Person that had been travelled methought that business might not be likened to no bodily likeness The Lxx. Chapter MY bodily eye I set in the same Cross there I had seen in comfort afore that time My tongue with speech of Christs Passion and rehersing the Faith of Holy Church and my heart to fasten on God with all the trust and the might that I thought to my self meaning Thou hast now great business to keep thee in the Faith for that thou shouldest not be taken of thine enemies Wouldest thou
seeking into God for help again that for the beholding of other mens sin it maketh as it were a thick mist afore the eye of the Soul And we may not for the time see the Fair-head of God but if we may behold them with Contrition with him with Compassion on him and with Holy desire to God for him For without this it noieth and troubleth and letteth the Soul that behold them for this I understand in the shewing of the Compassion In this blessedful shewing of our Lord I have understanding of two Contrarious That one is the most Wisdom that any Creature may do in this Life That other is the most folly The most Wisdom is a Creature to do after the Will and the Counsel of his highest sovereign Friend This blessed Friend is Jesu and it is his Will and Counsel that we hold us with him and fasten us homely to him evermore in what state soever we bene For whether we be foul or clean we are ever one in his Loving For weal ne for woe he will never we flee him but for the change-ability that we are in our self we fall often into sin than have we this by the stirring of our Enemy and by our own Folly and Blindness For they say thus Thou wotest well thou art a Wretch a Sinner and also untrue for thou keepest not thy Covenant Thou promisest oftentimes our Lord that thou shalt do better and anon thou fallest again in the same namely in slouth and leesing of time For that is the beginning of sin as to my sight and namely to the Creatures that have given themself to serve our Lord with inward beholding of his blessedful goodness And this maketh us adread to appear afore our courteous Lord. Than is it our Enemy that will put us a back with his false dread of our Wretchedness for pain that he threateth us by for it is his meaning to make us so heavy and so sorry in this that we should let out of mind the blessedful beholding of our everlasting Friend The Lxxvj. Chapter OUr good Lord shewed the enmity of the fiend whereby I understood that all that is contrarious to Love and to Peace it is of the fiend and of his party And we have of our feebleness and our folly to fall And we have of mercy and of grace of the Holy Ghost to rise to more joy And if our enemy ought winneth of us by our falling for it is his likeness he leeseth many times more in our rising by charity and meekness And this glorious rising it is so great sorrow and pain to him for the hate that he hath to our Soul that he brenneth continually in envy And all this sorrow that he would make us to have it shall turn into himself And for this it was that our Lord scorned him and shewed that he shall be scorned and this made me mightily to Laugh Then is this the remedy that we be a known of our Wretchedness and flie to our Lord For ever the more needier that we be the more speedful it is to us to touch him and say we thus in our meaning I know well that I have deserved pain but our Lord is Almighty and may punish me mightily and he is all Wisdom and can punish me wisely and he is all Goodness and loveth me tenderly And in this beholding it is speedful to us to abide for it is a full Lovely meekness of a sinful Soul wrought by Mercy and Grace of the Holy Ghost When we will wilfully and gladly take the scourging and the chastising that our Lord himself will give us and it shall be full tender and full easie if we will only hold us pleased with him and with all his Works For that Penance that man taketh upon himself it was not shewed me That is to say it was not shewed me specified but this was shewed specially and highly and with full lovely chear that we should meekly and patiently bear and suffer that Penance that God himself giveth us with mind of his blessed Passion for when we have mind of his blessed Passion with Pitty and Love Then we suffer with him like as his Friends did that saw it And this was shewed in the xiijth neer at the beginning where it speaketh of Pity for he saith Accuse not thy self that thy Tribulation and thy Woe is all thy default For I will not that thou be heavy ne sorrowful undiscreetly for I tell thee howsoever thou do thou shalt have Woe And therefore I will that thou wisely know thy Penance which thou art in continually and that thou meekly take it for thy Penance And then shalt thou truly see that all this living is Penance profitable This Place is Prison This Life is Penance and in the remedy he will that we enjoy The Remedy is that our Lord is with us keeping us and leading into fulhead of joy for this is an endless joy to us in our Lords meaning that he that shall be our bliss when we are there he is our Keeper while we are here our Way and our Heaven in true Love and faithful trust And of this he gave understanding in all and namely in shewing of his Passion where he made me mightily to choose him for my Heaven Flee we to our Lord and we shall be comforted touch we him and we shall be made clean cleave we to him and we shall be sure and safe from all manner of perils for our courteous Lord will that we be as homely with him as heart may think or Soul may desire But be we ware that we take not so retchesly this homely-head for to leave courtesie for our Lord himself is sovereign homely-head and so homely as he is as courteous he is for he is very courteous And the blessed Creatures that shall be in Heaven with him without end he will have them like to himself in all thing and to be like to our Lord perfectly it is our very Salvation and our full bliss And if we wote not how we shall do all this desire we of our Lord and he shall Learn us for it is his own liking and his Worship Blessed mote he be The Lxxvij Chapter OUr Lord of his mercy sheweth us our sin and our feebleness by the sweet gracious sight of himself For our sin is so foul and so horrible that he of his curtesie will not shew it us but by the Light of his Mercy Of four things it is his Will that we have knowing The first is that he is the ground of whom we have all our Life and our Being The second is that he keepeth us mightily and mercifully in the time that we are in our sin among all our Enemies that are full fell upon us And somuch we are in the more peril for we give them occasion thereto and we know not our own need The third is how curteously he keepeth us and maketh us to know that we go amiss The fourth is how
needeth but also he doth all that is Worshipful to our joy in Heaven And there I say he abideth us moaning and mourning It meaneth all the true feeling that we have in our self in Contrition and in Compassion and all moaning and mourning for we are not oned with our Lord and such as is speedful it is Christ in us And though some of us feel it seldom it passeth never fro Christ till what time he have brought us out of all our Woe For Love suffereth him never to be without pity And what time that we fall into sin and leave the mind of him and the keeping of our own Soul then beareth Christ alone all the charge of us And thus standeth he moaning and mourning Then Longeth it to us for reverence and kindness to turn us hastily to our Lord and let him not all alone he is here alone with us all that is to say only for us he is here And what time I be strange to him by sin despair or slouth then I let my Lord stand alone in as much as he is in me And thus it fareth with us all which be sinners But though it be so that we do thus oftentimes his goodness suffereth us never to be alone but lastingly he is with us and tenderly he excuseth us and ever keepeth us from blame in his sight The Lxxx. Chapter OUr good Lord shewed him to his Creature in diverse manner both in Heaven and in Earth But I saw him take no place but in mans Soul He shewed him in Earth in the sweet Incarnation and his blessed Passion and in other manner he shewed him in Earth where I said I saw God in a point And in other manner he shewed him in Earth thus as it were a Pilgrimage that is to say he is here with us leading us and shall be till when he hath brought us all to his bliss in Heaven He shewed him diverse times raigning as it is aforesaid but principally in mans Soul He hath taken there his resting place and his Worshipful City out of which Worshipful * i e. scat See he shall never rise ne remove without end Marvellous and solemn is the place where the Lord dwelleth And therefore he will that we readily entend to his gracious touching more enjoying in his whole Love then sorrowing in our often fallings For it is the most worship to him of any thing that we may do that we live gladly and merrily for his Love in our Penance for he beholdeth us so tenderly that he seeth all our Living here to be Penance For kind Longing in us to him is a Lasting Penance in us which Penance he worketh in us and mercifully helpeth us to bear it for his Love maketh him to Long his Wisdom and his Truth with his rightful-head maketh him to suffer us here And in this manner he will see it in us for this is our kindly Penance and the highest to my sight For this Penance cometh never fro us till what time that we be fulfilled when we should have him to our meed And therefore he will that we set our hearts in the over-passing that is to say fro the pain that we feel into the bliss that we trust The Lxxxj. Chapter BUt here shewed our courteous Lord the moaning and the mourning of our Soul meaning thus I wot well thou wilt live for my Love merrily and gladly suffering all the Penance that may come to thee But forasmuch as thou livest not without sin therefore thou art heavy and sorrowful And if thou mightest live without sin thou wouldest suffer for my Love all the Woe that might come to thee and it is sooth But be not too much agrieved with sin that falleth to thee against thy will that is not maliciously And here I understood that the Lord beheld the Servant with Pity and not with blaim for this passing Life asketh not to Live all without sin He Loveth us endlesly and we sin customably and he sheweth it us full mildely and then we sorrow and mourn discreetly turning us into the beholding of his mercy cleaving to his Love and to his Goodness seeing that he is our Medicine witting that we do nothing but sin And thus by the meekness that we get in the sight of our sin faithfully knowing his everlasting Love him thanking and praising we please him I love thee and thou lovest me and our love shall never be departed on two and for thy profit I suffer And all this was shewed in Ghostly understanding saying this blessed word I keep thee full * i e. surely sikerly And by the great desire that I saw in our blessed Lord that we should Live in this manner that is to say in Longing and enjoying as all this Lesson of Love sheweth Thereby I understand that all that is contrarious to this it is not of him but it is of Enmity And he will that we know it by the sweet gracious Light of his kind Love If any such Liver be in Earth which is continually kept from falling I know it not for it was not shewed me But this was shewed that in falling and in rising we are ever preciously kept in one Love by which we were ehosen before others from all eternity For in the beholding of God we fall not And in the beholding of our self we stand not And both these be * i e. true sooth as to my sight But the beholding of our Lord God is the higher †i e truth soothness Then are we much bound to him that he will in this Living shew us this high soothness And I understood whiles we be in this Life it is full speedful to us that we see these both at once For the higher beholding keepeth us in Ghostly joy and true enjoying in God That other that is the lower beholding keepeth us in dread and maketh us ashamed of our self But our good Lord will ever that we hold us much more in the beholding of the higher and not leave the knowing of the Lower into the time that we be brought up above where we shall have our Lord Jesu to our meed and be fulfilled of joy and bliss without end The Lxxxij Chapter I Had in party touching sight and feeling in three properties of God in which the strength and the effect of all the Revelation standeth And it were seen in every shewing And most properly in the Twelfth where it saith oftentimes I it am The properties are these life love and light In life is marvellous homeli-head In love is gentle courtesie And in light is endless kindness These three properties were seen in one goodness into which goodness my reason would be oned and cleaving to with all the mights I beheld with reverent dread and highly marvelling in the sight and in feeling of the sweet accord that our reason is in God understanding that it is the highest gift that we have received and it is grounded in kind Our Faith is
IN this same time that I sawe this sight of the head bleeding our good Lord shewed a Ghostlie sight of his * i. e friendly homelie loving I saw that he is to us all thing that is good and comfortable to our help He is our Clothing that for Love wrappeth us and windeth us †i. e. embraceth halseth us and all becloseth us hangeth about us for tender Love that he maie never leave us And so in this sight I saw that he is all thing that is good as to my understanding And in this he shewed a litle thing the quantitie of a Hasel-Nutt lying in the palme of my hand as me seemed and it was as round as a Ball. I looked theron with the eie of my understanding and thought What may this be and it was answered generallie thus It is all that is made I marvelled how it might last For me thought it might sodenlie have fallen to naught for litlenes And I was answered in my Understanding It lasteth and ever shall For God loveth it And so hath all thing being by the Love of God In this litle thing I sawe three Propeties The first is that God made it The second is that God loveth it The third is that God keepeth it But What beheld I therein verilie the Maker the Keeper the Lover For till I am substanciallie united to him I maie never have full rest ne verie blisse that is to saie that I be so fastned to him that there be right nought that is made betweene my God and mee This litle thing that is made me thought it might have fallen to nought for litleness Of this needeth us to have knowledge that us liketh naught all thing that is made for to love God and have God that is unmade For this is the cause which we be not all in ease of Heart and Soule For we seeke here rest in this thing that is so litle where no rest is in and we know not our God that is all Mightie all Wise and all Good for he is verie rest God will be known and him liketh that we rest us in him For all that is beneath him sufficeth not us And this is the Cause why that no Soule is in Rest till it is * i. e emptied naughted of all things that are made When she is wilfullie naughted for love to have him that is all then is she able to receave Ghostlie rest And also our good Lord shewed that it is full great pleasure to him that a seelie Soule come to him naked plainlie and homelie For this is the kind dwelling of the Soule by the touching of the Holie Ghost as by the understanding that I have in this shewing God of thy goodnes give me thy self for thou art enough to me And I may aske nothing that is lesse that may be fullie Worship to thee and if I aske any thing that is lesse ever me wanteth But onlie in thee I have all And these wordes of the Goodnes of God be full love-some to the Soule and full nere touching the Will of our Lord for his Goodnes fulfilleth all his Creatures and all his blessed Works without end For he is the endlesse head and he made us onlie to himselfe and restored us by his precious Passion and ever keepeth us in his blessed Love and all this is of his Goodnes The vj. Chapter THis shewing was given to my understanding to learne our Soule wisely to cleave to the Goodnes of God and in that same time the custome of our Praier was brought to my mind how that we use for unknowing of Love to make many meanes Then sawe I verilie that it is more worship to God and more verie delight that we faithfullie pray to himself of his Goodnes and cleave therto by his Grace with true understanding and stedfast beleif then if we made all the meanes that heart may think For if we make all these meanes it is too litle and not full Worship to God But in his Goodnes is all the whole and there faileth right nought For thus as I shall saie came to my minde in the same time We Pray to God for his Holie flesh and for his precious Blood his Holie Passion his deare worthie Death and worshipfull Wounds for all the blessed kindenes and the endles Life that we have of all this it is of the Goodnes of God and we Praie him for his sweet Mothers Love that bare him and all the helpe that we have of her it is of his Goodnes And we Praie for his Holie Crosse that he died on and all the helpe and all the vertue of that we have of that Crosse it is of his Goodnes And on the same wise all the helpe that we have to special Saints and of all the blessed Companie of Heaven the deare worthie Love and the Holy endles Friendship that we have of them it is of his Goodnes For the meanes that the Goodnes of God hath ordeined for to helpe us be full faire and many Of which the chiefe and principall meane is the blessed * i. e. humanity kind that he took of the Maiden with all the meanes that went before and come after which be longing to our Redemption and to our endless Salvation Wherefore it pleaseth him that we seeke him and Worship him by Meanes Understanding and knowing that he is the Goodnes of all For to the Goodnes of God is the highest Praier and it cometh down to us to the lowest partie of our neede it quickneth our Soule and maketh it live and makes it to waxe in Grace and Vertue it is nearest in kind and readiest in Grace For it is the same Grace that the Soule seeketh and ever shall till we know our God verilie that hath us all in himself beclosed A man goeth upright and the Soule of his body is * i. e. Enclosed sparred as a purse full faire and when it is time of his necessity it is opened and sparred againe full | i e. seemly honestlie And that it is he that doth this it is shewed there where he saith He cometh downe to us to the lowest part of our need For he hath no despite of that he made ne hath he no disdaine to serve us at the simplest office that to our bodie longeth in kind for love of the Soule that he made to his own likenes For as the Bodie is cladd in the Cloath and the Flesh in the Skinn and the Bones in the Flesh and the Heart in the bulke so are we Soule and Bodie cladd and enclosed in the Goodnes of God Yea and more * i. e. truely homelie for all they vanish and wast away the Goodnes of God is ever whole and more nere to us without any comparison For truelie our Lover desireth that the Soule cleave to him with all the mightes and that we be evermore cleaving to his Goodnes for of all thing that heart can thinke it pleaseth
of endless cleanness wide and side fairer and richer than was the cloathing which I saw on the Father for that cloathing was blew And Christs cloathing is now of fair seemly | i e. mixture medelour which is so marvellous that I can it no descrie for it is all of very Worship Now sitteth not the Lord on Earth in Wilderness but he sitteth on his rich and noble Seat which he made in Heaven most to his liking Now standeth not the Son before the Father as a Servant before the Lord dreadfully cloathed in party naked but he standeth before the Father even right richly cloathed in blissful largeness with a Crown upon his head of precious richness For it was shewed that we be his Crown Which Crown is the Fathers joy the Sons Worship the Holy Ghosts liking And endless marvellous bliss to all that be in Heaven Now standeth not the Son before the Father on the left side as a Labourer but he sitteth on the Fathers right hand in endless rest and peace But it is not meant that the Son sitteth on the right hand beside as one man sitteth by another in this Life For there is no such sitting as to my sight in the Trinity but he sitteth on his Fathers right hand that is to say right in the highest nobility of the Fathers joy Now is the Spouse Gods Son in peace with his loved Wife Which is the fair Maiden of endless joy Now sitteth the Son very God and very Man in his City in rest and in peace which his Father hath dight to him of endless purpose And the Father in the Son And the Holy Ghost in the Father and in the Son The Lij Chapter ANd thus I saw that God | i e. rejoyce enjoyeth that he is our Father and God enjoyeth that he is our Mother And God enjoyeth that he is our very Spouse and our Soul his loved Wife And Christ enjoyeth that he is our Brother And Jesu enjoyeth that he is our Saviour These be five high joyes as I understand in which he will that we enjoy him praising him thanking him loving him endlesly blessing all that shall be saved for the time of this Life we have in us a marvellous | i e. mixture medelour both of weal and of woe We have in us our Lord Jesu Christ up-risen and we have in us the wretchedness and the mischief of Adams falling dying By Christ we be lastingly kept and by his gracious touching we be raised into very trust of Salvation And by Adams falling we be so briken in our feeling on diverse manners by sin and by sundry pains In which we be made dark and so blind that unneths we can take any Comfort But in our meaning we abide God and faithfully trust to have Mercy and Grace And this is his own working in us and of his Goodness openeth the eye of our understanding by which we have sight some time more and sometime less | i e. according as after that God giveth ability to take And now we be raised into that one and now we are suffered to fall into that other And thus is that medle so marvellous in us that unneths we know of our self or of our even Christen in what way we stand for the marvellousness of this sundry feeling But that each holy assent that we assent to God when we feel him truly willing to be with him with all our heart with all our Soul and with all our might And then we hate and despise our evil stirring and all that might be occasion of sin Ghostly and Bodily And yet nevertheless when this sweetness is hid we fall again into blindness and so into Woe and Tribulation on diverse manners But then is this our comfort that we know in our Faith that by the vertue of Christ which is our Keeper we assent never thereto But we grudge there against and endure in pain and in woe praying into that time that he shewed him again to us And thus we stand in this medelour all the dayes of our Life But he will we trust that he is lastingly with us and that in three manners He is with us Heaven very man in his own person us up-drawing And that was shewed in the Ghostly thirst And he is with us in Earth us leading and that was shewed in the third where I saw God in a point And he is with us in our Soul endlesly | ie dwelling wonning ruling and guiding us And that was shewed in the xvjth as I shall say And thus in the Servant was shewed the blindness and the mischief of Adams falling And in the Servant was shewed the Wisdom and the Goodness of Gods Son And in the Lord was shewed the rewth and the pity of Adams Woe And in the Lord was shewed the high nobility and endless Worship that mankind is come to by the vertue of the Passion and the Death of his dear worthy Son And therefore mightily he enjoyeth in his falling for the high raising and fulhead of bliss that mankind is come to over-passing that we should have had if he had not fallen And thus to see this over-passing nobility was my understanding led into God in the same time that I saw the Servant fall And thus we have matter of mourning for our sin is cause of Christs pains and we have lastingly matter of joy for endless Love made him to suffer And therefore the Creature that seeth and feeleth the working of Love by Grace hateth nought but sin for of all thing as to my sight Love and Hate be hardest and most unmeasurable contraries And notwithstanding all this I saw and understood this in our Lords meaning that we | i e. can may not in this Life keep us from sin all holy in full cleanness as we shall be in Heaven But we may well by Grace keep us fro the sins which would lead us to endless pain as Holy Church teacheth us and eschew Venial reasonably * i e. according to up our might And if we by our blindness and our wretchedness any time fall that we readily rise knowing the sweet touching of Grace and wilfully amend us upon teaching of Holy Church after that the sin is grievous and go forth with God in Love And neither on that one side fall over low enclining to despair ne on that other side be over richless as we | i e. cared not give no force But meekly know our feebleness witting that we may not stand the twinkling of an eye but with keeping of Grace and reverently cleave to God in him only trusting For otherwise is the beholding of God and otherwise is the beholding of Man For it longeth to man meekly to accuse himself and it longeth to the proper Goodness of our Lord God courteously to excuse man And these be two parties that were shewed in the double chear in which the Lord beheld the falling of his loved Servant That
now fro this time evermore be so busie to keep thee from sin this were a good and a soveraign occupation For I thought faithfully were I safe from sin I were full safe from all the fiends in Hell and enemies of my Soul And thus he occupied me all that night and on the morrow till it was about prime day And anon they were all gone and passed and there left nothing but stink and lasted still a while and I scorned him And thus was I delivered of him by the vertue of Christs Passion for therewith is the fiend overcome as our Lord Jesu Christ said afore In all this blessed shewing our good Lord gave understanding that the sight should pass Which blessed shewing the Faith keepeth with his own good will and his grace for he left with me neither signe ne token whereby I might know it But he left with me his own blessed word in true understanding bidding me full mightily that I should believe it and so I do Blessed mote he be I believe that he is our Saviour that shewed it and that it is in the Faith that he shewed And therefore I love it ever joying and thereto I am bound by all his own meaning with the next words that follow Keep thee therein and comfort thee therewith and trust thereto Thus I am beholding to keep it in my Faith For on the same day that it was shewed what time the sight was passed as a wretch I forsook it and openly I said that I had raved Then our Lord Jesu of his mercy would not let it perish but he shewed it all again within my Soul with more fulhead with the blessed Light of his precious Love saying these Words full mightily and full meekly Wit it now well it was no raving that thou saw this day as if he had said for the sight was passed from thee thou lost it and could or might not keep it But wit it now that is to say now thou seest it This was said not only for the same time but also to set thereupon the ground of my Faith where he saith anon following But take it and learn it and keep thee therein and comfort thee therewith and trust thereto and thou shalt not be overcome The Lxxj. 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 willing 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 his goodness and his own working to keep us in the Faith And by his sufferance through Ghostly enmity we are | i e. tryed assaid in the Faith and made mighty For if our Faith had not enmity it should deserve no meed 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 * i. e. outward utter 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 | i. e. dark 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 ‑ i. e. sureness need to his mercy The third is the blissedful chear as it shall be without end And this was oftenest shewed 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 blessed vertue And in time of our sinning he 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 two 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 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 And therefore it seemeth to us ostentimes as we were in peril of Death and in a party of Hell for the sorrow and the pain that sin is to us And thus we are dead for the time fro the very sight of our blessedful Life But in all this I saw faithfully that we be not dead in the sight of God ne he passeth never from us but he shall never have his full bless in us till we have our full bless in him verily seeing his fair blessedful chear for we are ordained thereto in kind and getten thereto by grace Thus I saw how sin is deadly for a short time to the blessed Creatures of endless Life and ever the more clearly that the Soul seeth the blissful chear by grace of Loving the more it longeth to see it
most God and soonest speedeth For our Soule is so preciouslie loved of him that is highest that it over-passeth the knowing of all Creatures That is to saie There is no Creature that is made that may wit how much and how sweetly and how tenderlie that our Maker loveth us And therefore we may with his Grace and his helpe stand in Ghostlie beholding with everlasting marvailing in this high over-passing unmeasurable Love that our Lord hath to us of his Goodnes And therefore we may aske of our Lover with Reverence all that we will for our * i. e. naturall kindlie Will is to have God and the Good-will of God is to have us And we may never cease of willing ne of loving till we have him in fulhead of joy And then we may no more will for he will that we be occupied in knowing and loving till the time cometh that we shall be fulfilled in Heaven And therefore was this Lesson of Love shewed with all that followeth as you shall see for the strength and the ground of all was shewed in the first sight for of all things the beholding and the loving of the Maker maketh the Soul to seem least in his own sight and most filleth it with reverent dread and true meekness and with plenty of Charity to his even Christian The vij Chapter ANd to learn us this as to my understanding our good Lord shewed our Lady Mary in the same time that is to mean the high Wisdom and Truth that she had in beholding her Maker This Wisdom and Truth made her to behold her God so Great so High so Mighty and so Good This greatness and this | i. e. nobleness Noblety of her beholding of God fulfilled her of reverend deed And with this she saw her self so litle and so low so simple and so poor in regard of her God that this reverend Dread fulfilled her of meekness And thus by this ground she was fulfilled of Grace and of all manner of Vertues and passeth all Creatures And in all the time that he shewed this that I have now said in Ghostly sight I saw the bodily sight lasting of the plentuous bleeding of the head the great drops of Blood fell down from under the Garland like Pellots seeming as it had come out of the Veins And in the coming out they were brown red for the blood was full thick and in the spreading abroad they were bright red and when it came at the | i. e. forehead Brows there they vanished And notwithstanding the bleeding continued till many things were seen and understanded nevertheless the fair head and the lively head continued in the same beauty and liveliness The plentuous head is like to the drops of Water that fall off the evesing of an House after a great shower of Rain that fall so thick that no man may number them with any bodily Wit And for the roundness they were like to the Seal of her Ring in the spreading of the forehead These three things came to my mind in the time Pellets for the roundhead in the comming out of the blood the Scale of Herring for the round-head in the spreading the dropps of the evesing of an House for the plentuous head unnumerable This shewing was quick and lively and hideous and dreadful and sweet and lovely And of all the sight that I saw this was most comfort to me that our good Lord that is so reverent and dreadful is so homely and so courteous And this most fulfilled me with liking and sickness * i. e. in of Soul And to the understanding of this he shewed this open example It is the most worship that a solemn King or a great Lord may do to a poor Servant if he will be homely with him and namely if he shew it himself of a full true meaning and with a glad chere both in private and openly Then thinketh this poor Creature thus Lo what might this Noble Lord do more Worship and Joy to me than to shew to me that am so little This marvelous himeliness verily it is more joy and liking to me than if he gave me great gifts and were himself strange in manner This bodily example was shewed so high that this mans heart might be ravished and almost forget himself for Joy of this great homeliness Thus it faireth by our Lord Jesu and by us for verily it is the most joy that may be as to my sight that he that is highest and mightest nobliest and worthiest is lowest and meekest homliest and courtesiest And truly and verily this marvellous joy shall he shew us all when we shall see him And this will our good Lord that we believe and trust joy and like comfort us and make solace as we may with his Grace and with his Help into the time that we see it verily for the most fulhed of joy that we shall have as to my sight is this marvellous courtesie and homeliness of our Father that is our Maker in our Lord Jesu Christ that is our Brother and our Saviour But this marvelous Homlliness may no man know in this Life but if he have it by special shewing of our Lord or of great plenty of Grace inwardly given of the Holy Ghost but Faith and Belief with Charity deserve the meed and so it is had by Grace For in Faith with Hope and Charity our Life is grounded the shewing is made to whom that God will plainly teach the same opened and declared with many privy Points belonging to our Faith and Belief which be worshipful to be known And when the shewing which is given for a time is passed and hid then Faith keepeth it by Grace of the Holy Ghost unto our Lives end And thus by the shewing it is none other than Faith no less no more as it may be seen by our Lords meaning in the same matter by than it come to the last end The viij Chapter ANd as long as I saw this sight of the plentuousness of bleeding of the Head I might never stint of these Words Benedicite Dominis In which shewing I understood six things The first is the Tokens of the blessedful Passion and the plentuous shedding of his precious Blood The second is the Maiden that is his dear worthy Mother The third is the blessedful God-head that ever was and shall be all Mighty all Wisdom and all Love The fourth is all thing that he hath made for well I wote that Heaven and Earth and all that is made is great large fair and good but the cause why it sheweth so litle to my sight was for I saw it in the presence of him that is the Maker for a Soul that seeth the Maker of all thing all that is made seemeth full litle The fifth is that he that made all thing that is made for Love and by the same Love it is kept and shall be without end as it is before said The sixth is that God is all