 Chapter 26 of Revelations of Divine Love, read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, the 12th Revelation, Chapter 26 It is I, it is I And after this our Lord showed himself more glorified as to my sight than I saw him before in the showing wherein I was learned that our soul shall never have rest till it cometh to him knowing that he is fullness of joy, homely and courteous, blissful and very life Our Lord Jesus often times said, I, it am, I, it am, I, it am, that is highest, I, it am, that thou lovest, I, it am, that thou enjoyest, I, it am, that thou servest, I, it am, that thou longest for, 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 and teacheth, I, it am, I, it am, that is highest, I, it am, that thou lovest, I, it am, that thou enjoyest, I, it am, that thou servest, I, it am, that thou longest for, I, it am, that thou desireest, I, it am, that thou meanest, I, it am, that is all, I, it am, that holy church preacheth and teacheth, I, it am, that is all, I, it am, that holy church preacheth and teacheth I it am that showed me here to thee. The number of the words passeth my wit and all my understanding and all my powers, and they are the highest as to my sight. For therein is comprehended, I cannot tell, but the joy that I saw in the showing of them passeth all that heart may wish for and soul may desire. For the words be not declared here, but every man after the grace that God giveth him in understanding and loving receive them in our Lord's meaning. CHAPTER XXVII Often I wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the beginning of sin was not hindered, for then, me thought, all should have been well. Sin is behovable, playeth a needful part, but all shall be well. After this the Lord brought to my mind the longing that I had to him afore, and I saw that nothing letteth me but sin. And so I looked generally upon us all, and me thought, if sin had not been, we should all have been clean and like to our Lord, as he made us. And thus, in my folly, afore this time often I wondered why, by the great foreseeing wisdom of God, the beginning of sin was not letted, for then, me thought, all should have been well. This stirring of the mind was much to be forsaken, but nevertheless mourning and sorrow I made therefore without reason and discretion. But Jesus, who in this vision informed me of all that is needful to me, answered by this word and said, It behoved that there should be sin, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. In this naked word, sin, our Lord brought to my mind generally all that is not good, and the shameful despite, and the utter norting that he bear for us in this life, and his dying, and all the pains and passions of all his creatures ghostly and bodily, for we be all partly norted, and we shall be norted following our Master Jesus till we be full purged, that is to say, till we be fully norted of our deadly flesh, and of all our inward affections which are not very good. And the beholding of this, with all pains that ever were, or ever shall be, and with all these I understand the passion of Christ for most pain and over-passing. All this was showed in a touch, and quickly passed over into comfort, for our good Lord would not that the soul were afeard of this terrible sight. But I saw not sin, for I believe it hath no manner of substance, nor no part of being, nor could it be known but by the pain it is cause of. And thus pain it is something as to my sight for a time, for it purgeth, and maketh us to know ourselves, and to ask mercy, for the passion of our Lord is comfort to us against all this, and so is his blessed will. And for the tender love that our good Lord hath to all that shall be saved, he comforteth readily and sweetly, signifying thus. It is sooth that sin is cause of all this pain, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. These words were said full tenderly, showing no manner of blame to me, nor to any that shall be saved. Then were it a great unkindness to blame or wonder on God for my sin, since he blameth not me for sin. And in these words I saw a marvellous high mystery hid in God, which mystery he shall openly make known to us in heaven, in which knowing we shall verily see the cause why he suffered sin to come, in which sight we shall endlessly joy in our Lord God. End of chapter 27. This recording is in the public domain. Chapter 28 of Revelations of Divine Love, read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes. Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. The thirteenth Revelation. Chapter 28. Each brotherly compassion that man hath on his fellow Christians with charity, it is Christ in him. Thus I saw how Christ hath compassion on us for the cause of sin, and right as I was a foe in the showing of the passion of Christ fulfilled with pain and compassion, like so in this sight I was fulfilled in part with compassion of all mine even Christians, for that well, well beloved people that shall be saved. For God's servants holy church shall be shaken in sorrow and anguish, tribulation in this world as men shake a cloth in the wind. And as to this our Lord answered in this manner, a great thing shall I make hereof in heaven of endless worship and everlasting joys. Yea, so far forth I saw that our Lord joyeth of the tribulations of his servants with roof and compassion, on each person that he loveth to his bliss for to bring them. He layeth something that is no blame in his sight, whereby they are blamed and despised in this world scorned, mocked and outcasted, and this he doeth for to hinder the harm that they should take from the pomp and the vain glory of this wretched life, and make their way ready to come to heaven, and upraise them in his bliss everlasting. For he sayeth, I shall holy break you of your vain affections and your vicious pride, and after that I shall together gather you, and make you mild and meek, clean and holy by oneing to me. And then I saw that each kind compassion that man hath on his even Christians with charity, it is Christ in him. That same norting that was showed in his passion, it was showed again here in this compassion, wherein were two manner of understandings in our Lord's meaning. The one was the bliss that we are brought to, wherein he willeth that we rejoice. The other is for comfort in our pain, for he willeth that we perceive that it shall all be turned to worship and profit by virtue of his passion, that we perceive that we suffer not alone but with him, and see him to be our ground, and that we see his pains and his norting passeth so far all that we may suffer, that it may not be fully thought. The beholding of this will save us from murmuring and despair in the feeling of our pains, and if we see soothly that our sin deserved it, yet his love excuseth us, and of his great courtesy he doeth away all our blame, and beholdeth us with ruth and pity, as children innocent and unloathful. CHAPTER XXIX How could all be well for the great harm that is come by sin to the creature? But in this I stood beholding things general, troublously, and mourning, saying thus to our Lord in my meaning, with full great dread, Our good Lord, how might all be well for the great hurt that is come by sin to the creature? And here I desired, as far as I durst, to have some more open declaring, wherewith I might be eased in this matter. And to this our blessed Lord answered full meekly, and with full lovely cheer, and showed that Adam's sin was the most harm that ever was done, or ever shall be, to the world's end. And also he showed that this sin is openly known in all holy church on earth. Furthermore he taught that I should behold the glorious satisfaction, for this amends-making is more pleasing to God and more worshipful, without comparison, than ever was the sin of Adam harmful. Then signified our blessed Lord thus in his teaching, that we should take heed to this, for since I have made well the most harm, then it is my will that thou know thereby that I shall make well all that is less. End of Chapter 29 This recording is in the public domain. Chapter 30 Of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 13th Revelation Chapter 30 Two parts of truth The part that is open, our Saviour and our salvation, and the part that is hid and shut up from us, all beside our salvation. He gave me understanding of two parts of truth. The one part is our Saviour and our salvation. This blessed part is open and clear and fair and bright and plenteous, for all mankind that is of good will and shall be is comprehended in this part. Here, too, are we bounden of God and drawn and counseled and taught inwardly by the Holy Ghost and outwardly by Holy Church in the same grace. In this willeth our Lord that we be occupied, joying in him, for he enjoyeth in us. The more plenteously that we take of this with reverence and meekness, the more thanks we earn of him and the more speed to ourselves. Thus we may say, enjoying our part of our Lord. The other part is hid and shut up from us. That is to say, all that is beside our salvation. For it is our Lord's Privy Council and it belongeth to the Royal Lordship of God to have his Privy Council in peace, and it belongeth to his Servant for obedience and reverence, not to learn wholly his Council. Our Lord hath pity and compassion on us, for that some creatures make themselves so busy therein, and I am sure if we knew how much we should please him and ease ourselves by leaving it, we would. The saints that be in heaven, they will to know nothing but that which our Lord willeth to show them, and also their charity and their desire is ruled after the will of our Lord, and thus ought we to will, like to them. Then shall we nothing will nor desire but the will of our Lord as they do, for we are all one in God's seeing, and here was I learned that we shall trust and rejoice only in our Saviour, blessed Jesus, for all thing. CHAPTER XXXI The spiritual thirst which was in him from without beginning, his desire in him as long as we be in need, drawing us up to his bliss. And thus our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts that I might make, saying full comfortably, I may make all thing well, I can make all thing well, I will make all thing well, and I shall make all thing well, and thou shalt see thyself that all manner of thing shall be well. In that he sayeth I may, I understand it for the Father, and in that he sayeth I can, I understand it for the Son, and where he sayeth I will, I understand it for the Holy Ghost, and where he sayeth I shall, I understand it for the unity of the Blessed Trinity, three persons and one truth, and where he sayeth thou shalt see thyself, I understand the warning of all mankind that shall be saved unto the Blessed Trinity. And in these five words God willeth we be enclosed in rest and in peace. Thus shall the spiritual thirst of Christ have an end, for this is the spiritual thirst of Christ, the love-longing that lasteth and ever shall till we see that sight on Doomsday. For we that shall be saved and shall be Christ's joy and his bliss, some be yet here and some be to come, and so shall some be unto that day. Therefore this is his thirst and love-longing to have us altogether whole in him to his bliss as to my sight, for we be not now as fully whole in him as we shall be then. For we know in our faith and also it was showed in all the revelations that Christ Jesus is both God and man, and anant the Godhead he is himself highest bliss and was from without beginning and shall be without end, which endless bliss may never be heightened nor lowered in itself. For this was plentiously seen in every showing, and specially in the twelfth, where he saith, I am that which is highest, and anant Christ's manhood it is known in our faith and also it was showed that he with the virtue of Godhead for love to bring us to his bliss suffered pains and passions and died. And these be the works of Christ's manhood wherein he rejoiceth, and that showed he in the ninth revelation where he saith, it is a joy and bliss and endless pleasing to me that ever I suffered passion for thee. And this is the bliss of Christ's works, and thus he signifies where he saith in that same showing, we be his bliss, we be his mead, we be his worship, we be his crown. For anant that Christ is our head, he is glorified and impassable, and anant his body in which all his members are knit, he is not yet fully glorified, nor all impassable. Therefore the same desire and thirst that he had upon the cross, which desire, longing and thirst as to my sight, was in him from without beginning, the same hath he yet, and shall have unto the time that the last soul that shall be saved is come up to his bliss. For as verily as there is a property in God of Ruth and Pity, so verily there is a property in God of thirst and longing, and of the virtue of this longing in Christ we have to long again to him, without which no soul cometh to heaven. And this property of longing and thirst cometh of the endless goodness of God, even as the property of Pity cometh of his endless goodness, and though longing and Pity are two sundry properties as to my sight, in this standeth the point of the spiritual thirst, which is desire in him as long as we be in need, drawing us up to his bliss, and all this was seen in the showing of compassion, for that shall cease on doomsday. Thus he hath Ruth and compassion on us, and he hath longing to have us, but his wisdom and his love suffereth not the end to come till the best time. End of chapter 31 This recording is in the public domain. Chapter 32 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The Thirteenth Revelation Chapter 32 There be deeds evil done in our sight, and so great harms taken, that it seemeth to us that it were impossible that ever it should come to good end. That great deed ordained by which our Lord God shall make all things well. One time our good Lord said, All things shall be well. And another time he said, Thou shalt see thyself, that all manner of thing shall be well. And in these two sayings the soul took sundry understandings. One was that he willeth we know that not only he taketh heed to noble things and to great, but also to little and to small, to low and to simple, to one and to other. And so meaneth he in that he sayeth, All manner of things shall be well. For he willeth we know that the least thing shall not be forgotten. Another understanding is this, that there be deeds evil done in our sight, and so great harms taken, that it seemeth to us that it were impossible that ever it should come to good end. And upon this we look, sorrowing and mourning therefore, so that we cannot resign us unto the blissful beholding of God as we should do. And the cause of this is that the use of our reason is now so blind, so low and so simple, that we cannot know that high, marvellous wisdom, the might and the goodness of the blissful trinity. And thus signifyeth he when he sayeth, Thou shalt see thyself, if all manner of things shall be well. As if he said, Take now heed faithfully and trustingly, and at the last end thou shalt verily see it in fullness of joy. And thus in these same five words aforesaid, I may make all things well, et cetera, I understand a mighty comfort of all the works of our Lord God that are yet to come. There is a deed the which the blessed trinity shall do in the last day as to my sight, and when the deed shall be, and how it shall be done, is unknown of all creatures that are beneath Christ, and shall be till when it is done. The goodness and the love of our Lord God will that we wit that it shall be, and the might and the wisdom of him by the same love will conceal it, and hide it from us what it shall be, and how it shall be done. And the cause why he willeth that we know this deed shall be is for that he would have us the more eased in our soul, and the more set at peace in love, leaving the beholding of all troublesome things that might keep us back from true enjoying of him. This is that great deed ordained by our Lord God from without beginning, treasured and hid in his blessed breast, only known to himself, by which he shall make all things well. For like as the blissful trinity made all things of naught, right so the same blessed trinity shall make well all that is not well. And in this sight I marvelled greatly and beheld our faith, marvelling thus. Our faith is grounded in God's word, and it belongeth to our faith that we believe that God's word shall be saved in all things. And one point of our faith is that many creatures shall be condemned, as angels that fell out of heaven for pride, which be now fiends, and man in earth that dieth out of the faith of Holy Church, that is to say, they that be heathen men, and also man that hath received Christendom and liveth un-Christian life, and so dieth out of charity. All these shall be condemned to hell without end, as Holy Church teacheth me to believe. And all this so standing, me thought it was impossible that all manner of things should be well, as our Lord showed in the same time. And as to this I had no other answer in showing of our Lord God but this. That which is impossible to thee is not impossible to me. I shall save my word in all things, and I shall make all things well. Thus I was taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly hold me in the faith, as I had a forehand understood, and therewith that I should firmly believe that all things shall be well, as our Lord showed in the same time. For this is the great deed that our Lord shall do, in which deed he shall save his word, and he shall make all well that is not well. How it shall be done there is no creature beneath Christ that knoweth it, nor shall know it till it is done, according to the understanding that I took of our Lord's meaning in this time. End of chapter 32. This recording is in the public domain. Chapter 33 Of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The Thirteenth Revelation Chapter 33 It is God's will that we have great regard to all his deeds that he hath done, but ever more it needeth us to leave the beholding what the deed shall be. And yet in this I desired, as far as I durst, that I might have full sight of hell and purgatory. But it was not my meaning to make proof of anything that belongedeth to the faith, for I believed soothfastly that hell and purgatory is for the same end that holy church teacheth. But my meaning was that I might have seen for learning in all things that belong to my faith, whereby I might live the more to God's worship and to my prophet. But for all my desire I could see of this right naught, save as it is aforesaid in the first showing, where I saw that the devil is reproved of God and endlessly condemned, in which sight I understood as to all creatures that are of the devil's condition in this life, and there in end, that there is no more mention made of them afore God and all his holy than of the devil, notwithstanding that they be of mankind, whether they be christened or not. For though the revelation was made of goodness in which was made little mention of evil, yet I was not drawn thereby from any point of the faith that the holy church teacheth me to believe, for I had sight of the passion of Christ in diverse showings, the first, the second, the fifth, and the eighth, wherein I had in part a feeling of the sorrow of our Lady and of his true friends that saw him in pain, but I saw not so properly specified the Jews that did him to death. Notwithstanding I knew in my faith that they were accursed and condemned without end, saving those that converted by grace, and I was strengthened and taught generally to keep me in the faith in every point, and in all as I had before understood, hoping that I was therein with the mercy and the grace of God, desiring and praying in my purpose that I might continue therein unto my life's end, and it is God's will that we have great regard to all his deeds that he hath done, but evermore it needeth us to leave the beholding what the deed shall be, and let us desire to be like our brethren which be saints in heaven, that will write nought but God's will, and are well pleased both with hiding and with showing. For I saw soothly in our Lord's teaching the more we busy us to know his secret counsels in this or any other thing, the Father shall we be from the knowing thereof. End of chapter 33 This recording is in the public domain. Chapter 34 Of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The Thirteenth Revelation Chapter 34 All that is speedful for us to learn and to know fall courteously will our Lord show us. Our Lord God showed two manner of secret things. One is this great secret counsel with all the privy points that belong there too, and these secret things he willeth we should know as being but as hid until the time that he will clearly show them to us. The other are the secret things that he willeth to make open and known to us, for he would have us understand that it is his will that we should know them. They are secrets to us, not only for that he willeth that they be secrets to us, but they are secrets to us for our blindness and our ignorance. And thereof he hath great Ruth, and therefore he will himself make them more open to us, whereby we may know him and love him and cleave to him. For all that is speedful for us to learn and to know fall courteously will our Lord show us. And of that is this showing with all the preaching and teaching of Holy Church. God showed full great presence that he hath in all men and women that mightily and meekly and with all their will take the preaching and teaching of Holy Church. For it is his Holy Church, he is the ground, he is the substance, he is the teaching, he is the teacher, he is the end, he is the mead for which every kind soul travaileth. And this of the showing is made known and shall be known to every soul to which the Holy Ghost declareeth it. And I hope truly that all those that seek this he shall speed, for they seek God. All this that I have now told and more that I shall tell after is comforting against sin. For in the third showing when I saw that God doeth all that is done I saw no sin, and then I saw that all is well. But when God showed me for sin then said he all shall be well. End of chapter 34 this recording is in the public domain. Chapter 35 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 13th Revelation I desired to learn assuredly as to a certain creature that I loved. It is more worship to God to behold him in all. And when God Almighty had showed so plentiously and joyfully of his goodness I desired to learn assuredly as to a certain creature that I loved if it should continue in good living which I hoped by the grace of God was begun. And in this desire for a singular showing it seemed that I hindered myself for I was not taught in this time. And then was I answered in my reason as it were by a friendly intervener take it generally and behold the graciousness of the Lord God as he showeth to thee. For it is more worship to God to behold him in all than in any special thing. And therewith I learned that it is more worship to God to know all thing in general than to take pleasure in any special thing. And if I should do wisely according to this teaching I should not only be glad for nothing in special but I should not be greatly distressed for no manner of thing for all shall be well. For the fullness of joy is to behold God in all for by the same blessed might, wisdom and love that he made all thing to the same end our good Lord leadeth it continually and there too himself shall bring it and when it is time we shall see it and the ground of this was showed in the first revelation and more openly in the third where it saith I saw God in a point all that our Lord doeth is rightful and that which he suffereth is worshipful and in these too is comprehended good and ill for all that is good our Lord doeth and that which is evil our Lord suffereth I say not that any evil is worshipful but I say the sufferance of our Lord God is worshipful whereby his goodness shall be known without end in his marvellous meekness and mildness by the working of mercy and grace rightfulness is that thing that is so good that it may not be better than it is for God himself is very rightfulness and all his works are done rightfully as they are ordained from without beginning by his high might his high wisdom his high goodness and right as he ordained unto the best right so he worketh continually and leadeth it to the same end and he is ever full pleased with himself and with all his works and the beholding of this blissful accord is full sweet to the soul that seeth by grace all the souls that shall be saved in heaven without end be made rightful in the sight of God and by his own goodness in which rightfulness we are endlessly kept and marvellously above all creatures and mercy is a working that cometh out of the goodness of God and it shall last in working all along as sin is suffered to pursue rightful souls and when sin hath no longer leave to pursue then shall the working of mercy cease and then shall all be brought to rightfulness and therein stand without end and by his sufferance we fall and in his blissful love with his might and his wisdom we are kept and by mercy and grace we are raised to manifold more joys thus in rightfulness and mercy he willeth to be known and loved now and without end and the soul that wisely beholdeth it in grace it is well pleased with both and endlessly enjoyeth End of Chapter 35 This recording is in the public domain Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The Thirteenth Revelation Chapter 36 My sin shall not hinder his goodness working a deed shall be done as we come to heaven and it may be known here in part though it be truly taken for the general man yet it excludeeth not the special for what our good Lord will do by his poor creatures it is now unknown to me our Lord God showed that a deed shall be done and himself shall do it and I shall do nothing but sin and my sin shall not hinder his goodness working and I saw that the beholding of this is a heavenly joy in a fearing soul whichever more kindly by grace desireeth God's will this deed shall be begun here and it shall be worshipful to God and plentiously profitable to his lovers in earth and ever as we come to heaven we shall see it in marvellous joy and it shall last thus in working on to the last day and the worship and the bliss of it shall last in heaven for God and all his holy ones for ever thus was this deed seen and understood in our Lord's signifying and the cause why he showed it is to make us rejoice in him and in all his works when I saw his showing continued I understood that it was showed for a great thing that was for to come which thing God showed that he himself should do it which deed hath these properties aforesaid and this showed he well blissfully signifying that I should take it myself faithfully and trustingly but what this deed should be was kept secret from me and in this I saw that he willeth not that we dread to know the things that he showeth he showeth them because he would have us know them by which knowing he would have us love him and have pleasure and endlessly enjoy in him for the great love that he hath to us he showeth us all that is worshipful and profitable for the time and the things that he will now have privy yet of his great goodness he showeth them close in which showing he willeth that we believe and understand that we shall see the same verily in his endless bliss then ought we to rejoice in him for all that he showeth and all that he hideeth and if we steadily and meekly do thus we shall find therein great ease and endless thanks we shall have of him therefore and this is the understanding of this word that it shall be done for me meaneth that it shall be done for the general man that is to say all that shall be saved it shall be worshipful and marvellous and plenteous and God himself shall do it and this shall be the highest joy that may be to behold the deed that God himself shall do and man shall do right naught but sin then signifyeth our Lord God thus as if he said behold and see here hath thou matter of meekness here hath thou matter of love here hath thou matter to make naught of thyself here hath thou matter to enjoy in me and for my love enjoy thou in me for of all things therewith mightest thou please me most and as long as we are in this life what time that we by our folly turn us to the beholding of the reproved tenderly our Lord God toucheth us and blissfully calleth us saying in our soul let be all thy love my dear worthy child turn thee to me I am enough to thee and enjoy in thy saviour and in thy salvation and that this is our Lord's working in us I am sure the soul that hath understanding therein by grace shall see it and feel it and though it be so that this deed be truly taken for the general man yet it excludeeth not the special for what our good Lord will do by his poor creatures it is now unknown to me but this deed and that other aforesaid they are not both one but two sundry this deed shall be done sooner and that time shall be as we come to heaven and to whom our Lord giveth it it may be known here in part but that great deed aforesaid shall neither be known in heaven nor earth till it is done and moreover he gave special understanding and teaching of working of miracles as thus it is known that I have done miracles here afore many and diverse high and marvellous worshipful and great and so as I have done I do now continually and shall do in coming of time it is known that afore miracles come sorrow and anguish and tribulation and that is for that we should know our own feebleness and our mischiefs that we are fallen in by sin to meeken us and make us to dread God and cry for help and grace miracles come after that and they come of the high might wisdom and goodness of God showing his virtue and the joys of heaven so far as it may be in this passing life and that to strengthen our faith and to increase our hope in charity wherefore it pleaseth him to be known and worshipped in miracles then signifyeth he thus he willeth that we be not born over low for sorrow and tempests that fall to us for it hath ever so been a fore miracle coming End of chapter 36 this recording is in the public domain Chapter 37 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 13th Revelation Chapter 37 In every soul that shall be saved is a godly will that never assented to sin nor ever shall for failing of love on our part therefore is all our travail God brought to my mind that I should sin and for presence that I had in beholding of him I attended not readily to that showing and our Lord full mercifully abode and gave me grace to attend and this showing I took singularly to myself but by all the gracious comfort that followeth as ye shall see I was learned to take it for all mine even Christians all in general and nothing in special though our Lord showed me that I should sin by me alone is understood all and therein I conceived a soft dread and to this our Lord answered I keep thee full surely this word was said with more love and secureness and spiritual keeping than I can or may tell for as it was showed that I should sin right so was the comfort showed secureness and keeping for all mine even Christians what may make me more to love mine even Christians than to see in God that he loveth all that shall be saved as it were all one soul for in every soul that shall be saved is a godly will that never assented to sin nor ever shall right as there is a beastly will in the lower part that may will know good right so there is a godly will in the higher part which will is so good that it may never will evil but ever good and therefore we are that which he loveth and endlessly we do that which him pleaseth this showed our Lord in showing the wholeness of love that we stand in in his sight yea that he loveth us now as well while we are here as he shall do while we are there for his blessed face but for failing love on our part therefore is all our travail End of Chapter 37 this recording is in the public domain Chapter 38 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 13th Revelation Chapter 38 in heaven the token of sin is turned to worship Examples thereof also God showed that sin shall be no shame to man but worship for right as to every sin is answering a pain by truth right so for every sin to the same soul is given a bliss by love right as diverse sins are punished with diverse pains according as they be grievous right so shall they be rewarded with diverse joys in heaven according as they have been painful and sorrowful to the soul on earth for the soul that shall come to heaven is precious to God and the place so worshipful that the goodness of God suffereth never that soul to sin that shall come there without that the which sin shall be rewarded and it is made known without end and blissfully restored by over passing worship for in this sight mine understanding was lifted up into heaven and then God brought merrily to mind David and others in the old law without number and in the new law he brought to my mind first Mary Magdalene Peter and Paul and those of Ind and Saint John of Beverly and others also without number how they are known in the church in earth with their sins and it is to them no shame but all is turned for them to worship and therefore our courteous Lord showeth it thus for them here in part like as it is there in fullness for there the token of sin is turned to worship and Saint John of Beverly our Lord showed him for rightly in comfort to us for homeliness and brought to my mind how he is a dear neighbor and of our knowing and God called him Saint John of Beverly plainly as we do and that with a most glad sweet cheer showing that he is a full high saint in heaven in his sight and a blissful and with this he made mention that in his youth and in his tender age he was a dear worthy servant to God greatly God loving and dreading and yet God suffered him to fall mercifully keeping him that he perish not nor lost no time and afterward God raised him to manifold good grace and by the contrition and meekness that he had in his living God hath given him in heaven manifold joys over passing that which he should have had if he had not fallen and that this is sooth God showeth in earth with plenty of miracles doing about his body continually and all this was to make us glad and merry in love End of Chapter 38 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 39 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The Thirteenth Revelation Chapter 39 Sin is the sharpest scourge by contrition we are made clean by compassion we are made ready and by true longing towards God we are made worthy Sin is the sharpest scourge that any chosen soul may be smitten with which scourge thoroughly beateth man and woman and maketh him hateful in his own sight so far forth that after a while he thinketh himself he is not worthy but has to sink in hell till that time when contrition taketh him by touching of the Holy Ghost and turneth the bitterness into hopes of God's mercy and then he beginneth his wounds to heal and the soul to quicken as it is turned unto the life of Holy Church The Holy Ghost leadeth him to confession with all his will to show his sins nakedly and truly with great sorrow and great shame that he hath defiled the fair image of God then receiveth he penance for every sin as enjoined by his doomsman that is grounded in Holy Church by the teaching of the Holy Ghost and this is one meekness that greatly pleaseth God and also bodily sickness of God's sending and also sorrow and shame from without and reproof and despite of this world with all manner of grievance and temptations that we be cast in bodily and ghostly Fall preciously our Lord keepeth us when it seemeth to us that we are near forsaken and cast away for our sin and because we have deserved it but because of meekness that we get hereby we are raised well high in God's sight by his grace with so great contrition and also compassion and true longing to God then they be suddenly delivered from sin and from pain and taken up to bliss and made even high saints by contrition we are made clean by compassion we are made ready and by true longing toward God we are made worthy these are three means as I understand whereby that all souls come to heaven that is to say that have been sinners in earth and shall be saved for by these three medicines it behoveth that every soul be healed though the soul be healed his wounds are seen for God not as wounds but as worships and so on the contrary wise as we be punished here with sorrow and penance we shall be rewarded in heaven by the courteous love of our Lord God Almighty who willeth that none that come there lose his travail in any degree for he beholdeth sin as sorrow and pain to his lovers to whom he assigneth no blame for love the mead that we shall receive shall not be little but it shall be high glorious and worshipful and so shall shame be turned to worship and more joy but our courteous Lord willeth not that his servants despair for often nor for grievous falling for our falling hindereth not him to love us peace and love are ever in us being and working but we be not always in peace and in love but he willeth that 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 our enemies that beful fell and fierce upon us and so much our need is the more for that we give them occasion by our falling End of Chapter 39 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 40 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 13th Revelation Chapter 40 True love teaches us that we should hate sin only for love To me was showed no harder hell than sin God willeth that we endlessly hate the sin and endlessly love the soul as God loveth it This is a sovereign friendship of our courteous Lord that he keepeth us so tenderly while we be in sin and furthermore he toucheth us full privily and showeth us our sin by the sweet light of mercy and grace but when we see ourselves so foul then wean we that God were wroth with us for our sin and then are we stirred of the Holy Ghost by contrition into prayer and desire for the amending of our life with all our might to slacken the wroth of God unto the time we find a rest in soul and a softness in conscience Then hope we that God hath forgiven us our sins and it is true and then showeth our courteous Lord himself to the soul well merrily and with glad cheer with friendly welcoming as if it had been in pain and in prison saying sweetly thus my darling I am glad thou art come to me in all thy woe I have ever been with thee and now seeest thou my loving and we be wonned in bliss thus our sins forgiven by mercy and grace and our soul is worshipfully received in joy like as it shall be when it cometh to heaven as often times as it cometh by the gracious working of the Holy Ghost and the virtue of Christ's passion here understand I in truth that all manner of things are made ready for us by the great goodness of God so far forth that what time we be ourselves in peace and charity we be verily saved but because we may not have this in fullness while we are here therefore it falleth to us ever more to live in sweet prayer and lovely longing with our Lord Jesus for he longeth ever to bring us to the fullness of joy as it is aforesaid where he showeth the spiritual thirst but now if any man or woman because of all this spiritual comfort that is aforesaid be stirred by folly to say or to think if this be true then were it good to sin so as to have the more mead or else to charge the less guilt to sin beware of this stirring for verily if it come it is untrue and of the enemy of the same true love that teaches us that we should hate sin only for love I am sure by my known feeling the more that any kind soul seeth this in the courteous love of our Lord God the loater he is to sin and the more he is ashamed for if afores were laid together all the pains in hell and in purgatory and in earth death and other and by itself sin we should rather choose all that pain than sin for sin is so vile and so greatly to be hated that it may be likened to no pain which is not sin and to me was showed no harder hell than sin for a kind soul hath no hell but sin and when we give our intent to love and meekness by the working of mercy and grace we are made all fair and clean as mighty and as wise as God is to save men so willing he is for Christ himself is the ground of all the laws of Christian men and he taught us to do good against ill here may we see that he is himself this charity and doeth to us as he teacheth us to do for he willeth that we be like him in wholeness of endless love to our self and to our even Christians no more than his love is broken to us for our sin no more willeth he that our love be broken to our self and to our even Christians but that we endlessly hate the sin and endlessly love the soul as God loveth it then shall we hate sin like as God hateeth it and love the soul as God loveth it and this word that he said is an endless comfort I keep thee securely End of Chapter 40 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 41 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 14th Revelation Chapter 41 I am the ground of thy beseeching After this our Lord showed concerning prayer in which showing I see two conditions in our Lord signifying one is rightfulness, another is sure trust but yet often times our trust is not full for we are not sure that God heareth us as we think because of our unworthiness and because we feel right naught for we are as barren and dry often times after our prayers as we were of four and this in our feeling our folly is cause of our weakness for thus have I felt in myself and all this brought our Lord suddenly to my mind and showed these words and said I am ground of thy beseeching first it is my will that thou have it and after I make thee to will it and after I make thee to beseech it and thou beseechest it how should it then be that thou should not have thy beseeching and thus in the first reason with the three that follow our good Lord showeth a mighty comfort as it may be seen in the same words and in the first reason where he saith and thou beseechest it there he showeth his full great pleasantce and endless mead that he will give us for our beseeching and in the second where he saith how should it then be etc this was said for an impossible thing for it is most impossible that we should beseech mercy and grace and not have it for everything that our good Lord makeeth us to beseech himself hath ordained it to us from without beginning here we may see that our beseeching is not cause of God's goodness and that showed he sooth fastly in all these sweet words when he saith I am the ground and our good Lord willeth that this be known of his lovers in earth and the more that we know it the more should we beseech if it be wisely taken and so is our Lord's meaning beseeching is a true gracious lasting will of the soul wand'd and fastened into the will of our Lord by the sweet inward work of the Holy Ghost our Lord himself he is the first receiver of our prayer as to my sight and taketh it full thankfully and highly enjoying and he sendeth it up above and seteth it in the treasure where it shall never perish it is there for God with all his holy continually received ever speeding the help of our needs and when we shall receive our bliss it shall be given us for a degree of joy with endless worshipful thanking from him full glad and merry is our Lord of our prayer and he looketh thereafter and he willeth to have it because with his grace he maketh us like to himself in condition as we are kind and so is his blissful will therefore he saith thus pray inwardly though they think if it savour thee not for it is profitable though thou feel not though thou see not yea though thou think thou canst not for in dryness and in barrenness in sickness and in feebleness then is thy prayer well pleasant to me though thee think if it savour thee not but little and so is all thy believing prayer in my sight for the mead and the endless thanks that he will give us therefore he is covetous to have us pray continually in his sight God accepteth the good will and the travail of his servant howsoever we feel wherefore it pleaseth him that we work both in our prayers and in good living by his help and his grace reasonably with discretion keeping our powers turned to him till when we have him that we seek in fullness of joy that is Jesus and that showed he in the fifteenth revelation farther on in this word thou shalt have me to thy mead and also to prayer belongeth thanking thanking is a true inward knowing with great reverence and lovely dread turning ourselves with all our might unto the working that our good Lord stireth us to enjoying and thanking inwardly and sometimes for plenteousness it breaketh out with voice and sayeth good Lord I thank thee blessed mayst thou be and sometime when the heart is dry and feeleth not or else by temptation of our enemy when it is driven by reason and by grace to cry upon our Lord with voice rehearing his blessed passion and his great goodness and the virtue of our Lord's word turneth into the soul and quickeneth the heart and entereth it by his grace into true working and maketh it pray right blissfully and truly to enjoy our Lord it is a full blissful thanking in his sight End of Chapter 41 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 42 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 14th Revelation Chapter 42 Prayer is a right understanding of that fullness of joy that is to come with accordant longing and sure trust Our Lord God willeth that we have true understanding and specially in three things that belong to our prayer The first is by whom and how that our prayer springeth by whom he showeth when he sayeth I am the ground and how by his goodness for he sayeth first it is my will The second is in what manner and how we should use our prayer and that is that our will be turned unto the will of our Lord enjoying and so meaneth he when he sayeth I will make thee to will it The third is that we should know the fruit and the end of our prayers that is that we be one and like to our Lord in all things and to this intent and for this end was all this lovely lesson showed and he will help us and we shall make it so as he sayeth himself Blessed may he be for this is our Lord's will that our prayer and our trust be both alike large for if we trust not as much as we pray we do not full worship to our Lord in our prayer and also we tarry and pain ourself the cause is as I believe that we know not truly that our Lord is the ground on whom our prayer springeth and also that we know not that it is given us by the grace of his love for if we knew this it would make us to trust to have of our Lord's gift all that we desire for I am sure that no man asketh mercy and grace with true meaning but if mercy and grace be first given to him but sometimes it cometh to our minds that we have prayed long time and yet we think to ourselves that we have not our asking and herefore should we not be in heaviness for I am sure by our Lord signifying that either we abide a better time or more grace or a better gift he willeth that we have true knowing in himself that he is being and in this knowing he willeth that our understanding be grounded with all our might and all our intent and all our meaning and in this ground he willeth that we take our place and our dwelling and by the gracious light of himself he willeth that we have understanding of the things that follow the first is our noble and excellent making the second our precious and dear worthy again buying the third all thing that he hath made beneath us he hath made to serve us and for our love keepeth it then signifyeth he thus as if he said behold and see that I have done all this before thy prayers and now thou art and prayest me and thus he signifyeth that it belongeth to us to learn that the greatest deeds be already done as holy church teacheth and in the beholding of this with thanking we ought to pray for the deed that is now in doing and that is that he rule and guide us to his worship in this life and bring us to his bliss and therefore he hath done all then signifyeth he thus that we should see that he doeth it and that we should pray therefore for the one is not enough for if we pray and see not that he doeth it it maketh us heavy and doubtful and that is not his worship and if we see that he doeth and we pray not we do not our debt and so may it not be that is to say so is it not the thing that is in his beholding but to see that he doeth it and to pray for with all so is he worshipped and we spared all things that our Lord hath ordained to do it is his will that we pray therefore either in special or in general and the joy and the bliss that is to him and the thanks and the worship that we shall have therefore it passeth the understanding of creatures as to my sight for prayer is a right understanding of that fullness of joy that is to come with well longing and sure trust failing of our bliss that we be kindly ordained to maketh us to long true understanding and love with sweet mind in our saviour graciously maketh us to trust and in these two workings our Lord beholdeth us continually for it is our due part and his goodness may no less assign to us thus it belongeth to us to do our diligence and when we have done it then shall us yet think that it is not and sooth it is for if we do as we can and ask in truth for mercy and grace all that faileth us we shall find in him and thus signifyeth he where he saith I am ground of thy beseeching and thus in this blessed word with the showing I saw a full overcoming against all our weakness and all our doubtful dreads end of chapter 42 this recording is in the public domain Chapter 43 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich The 14th Revelation Chapter 43 Prayer unites the soul to God Prayer oneeth the soul to God For though the soul be ever like to God in kind and substance restored by grace it is often unlike in condition by sin on man's part Then is prayer a witness that the soul willeth as God willeth and it comforteth the conscience and enableth man to grace and thus he teacheth us to pray and mightily to trust that we shall have it for he beholdeth us in love and would make us partners of his good deed and therefore he stireth us to pray for that which it pleaseth him to do for which prayer and goodwill that we have of his gift he will reward us and give us endless mead and this was showed in this word and thou beseechest it in this word God showed so great pleasantce and so great content as though he were much beholden to us for every good deed that we do and yet it is he that doeth it because that we beseech him mightily to do all things that seem to him good as if he said what might then please me more than to beseech me mightily, wisely and earnestly to do that thing that I shall do and thus the soul by prayer accordeth to God and when our courteous Lord of his grace showeth himself to our soul we have that which we desire and then we see not for the time what we should more pray but all our intent with all our might is set wholly to the beholding of him and this is an high unperceivable prayer as to my sight for all the cause wherefore we pray it it is wanded into the sight and beholding of him to whom we pray marvellously enjoying with reverent dread and with so great sweetness and delight in him that we can pray right nought but as he stirreth us for the time and will I what the more the soul seeth of God the more it desireeth him by his grace but when we see him not so then feel we need and cause to pray because of failing for enabling of our self to Jesus and when the soul is tempested troubled and left to itself by unrest then it is time to pray for to make itself pliable and obedient to God but the soul by no manner of prayer maketh God plant to it for he is ever alike in love and this I saw that what time we see needs wherefore we pray then our good Lord followeth us helping our desire and when we of his special grace plainly behold him seeing none other needs then we follow him and he draweth us unto him by love for I saw and felt that his marvellous and plentiful goodness fulfileth all our powers and therewith I saw that his continuant working in all manner of things is done so goodly so wisely and so mightily that it overpasseth all our imagining and all that we can wean and think and then we can do no more but behold him enjoying with an high mighty desire to be all one done to him centred to his dwelling and enjoy in his loving and delight in his goodness and then shall we with his sweet grace in our own meek continuant prayer come unto him now in this life by many privy touchings as sweet spiritual sights and feeling measured to us as our simpleness may bear it and this is wrought and shall be by the grace of the Holy Ghost so long till we shall die in longing for love and then shall we all come unto our Lord our self clearly knowing and God fully having and we shall endlessly be all had in God him verily seeing and fully feeling him spiritually hearing and him delectably in breathing and of him sweetly drinking and then we shall see God face to face homely and fully the creature that is made shall see and endlessly behold God which is the maker for thus may no man see God and live after that is to say in this deadly life but when he of his special grace will show himself here he strengtheneth the creature above itself and he measureeth the showing after his own will as it is profitable for the time End of Chapter 43 Chapter 44 of Revelations of Divine Love read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich and end certain points in the foregoing 14 revelations Chapter 44 God is endless sovereign truth wisdom love not made and man's soul is a creature in God which hath the same properties made God showed in all the revelations often times that man worketh ever more his will and his worship lastingly without any stinting and what this work is was showed in the first and that in a marvellous example for it was showed in the working of the soul of our blessed lady St Mary that is the working of truth and wisdom and how it is done I hope by the grace of the Holy Ghost I shall tell as I saw Truth seeeth God and wisdom beholdeth God and of these two cometh the third that is a holy marvellous delight in God which is love where truth and wisdom are verily there is love verily coming of them both and all of God's making for he is endless sovereign truth endless sovereign wisdom endless sovereign love unmade and man's soul is a creature in God which hath the same properties made and ever more it doeth that it was made for it seeeth God it beholdeth God and it loveth God whereof God enjoyeth in the creature and the creature in God endlessly marvelling in which marvelling he seeeth his God his Lord his Maker so high so great and so good in comparison with him that is made that scarcely the creature seemeth ought to the self but the clarity and the clearness of truth and wisdom maketh him to see and to bear witness that he is made for love in which God endlessly keepeth him End of Chapter 44 this recording is in the public domain Chapter 45 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich anent certain points in the foregoing 14 Revelations Chapter 45 All heavenly things and all earthly things that belong to heaven are comprehended in these two judgments God de-methals looking upon our nature substance which is ever kept one in him whole and safe without end and this doom is because of his rightfulness in the which it is made and kept and man judgeth looking upon our changeable sense soul which seemeth now one thing, now another according as it taketh of the higher or lower parts and is that which showeth outward and this wisdom of man's judgment is mingled because of the diverse things it beholdeth for sometimes it is good and easy and sometimes it is hard and grievous and in as much as it is good and easy it belongeth to the rightfulness and in as much as it is hard and grievous by reason of the sin beheld which showeth in our sense soul our good Lord Jesus reformeth it by the working of our sense soul of mercy and grace through the virtue of his blessed passion and so bringeth it to the rightfulness and though these two judgments be thus accorded and won'd yet both shall be known in heaven without end the first doom which is of God's rightfulness is because of his high endless life in our substance and this is that fair sweet doom that was showed in all the fair revelation in which I saw him assigned to us no manner of blame but though this was sweet and delectable yet in the beholding only of this I could not be fully eased and that was because of the doom of Holy Church which I had afore understood and which was continually in my sight and therefore by this doom me thought I understood that sinners are worthy some time of blame and wrath but these two could I not see in God and therefore my desire was more than I can or may tell for the higher doom was showed by God himself in that same time and therefore me behoved needs to take it and the lower doom was learned me afore in Holy Church and therefore I might in no way leave the lower doom then was this my desire that I might see in God in what manner that which the doom of Holy Church teacher is true in his sight and how it belongeth to me verily to know it whereby the two dooms might both be saved so as it were worshipful to God and right way to me and to all this I had none other answer but a marvellous example of a Lord and of a servant as I shall tell after and that full mystily showed and yet I stand desiring and will unto my end that I might by grace know these two dooms as it belongeth to me for all heaven and all earthly things that belong to heaven are comprehended in these two dooms and the more understanding by the gracious leading of the Holy Ghost that we have of these two dooms the more we shall see and know our failings and ever the more that we see them the more of nature by grace we shall long to be fulfilled of endless joy and bliss for we are made thereto and our nature substance is now blissful in God and hath been since it was made and shall be without end End of Chapter 45 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 46 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich Anent certain points in the foregoing 14 Revelations Chapter 46 It is needful to see and to know that we are sinners wherefore we deserve pain and wrath He is God, good, life, truth, love, peace His clarity and His unity suffereth Him not to be wrath But our passing life that we have here in our sense soul hath not what ourself is and when we verily and clearly see and know what ourself is then shall we verily and clearly see and know our Lord God in fullness of joy and therefore it behoveth needs to be that the nearer we be to our bliss the more we shall long after it and that both by nature and by grace we may have knowing of ourself in this life by continuant help and virtue of our high nature in which knowing we may exercise and grow by forwarding and speeding of mercy and grace but we may never fully know ourself until the last point in which points this passing life and manner of pain and woe shall have an end and therefore it behoveth properly to us both by nature and by grace to long and desire with all our might to know ourself in fullness of endless joy and yet in all this time from the beginning to the end I had two manner of beholdings the one was endless continuant love with secureness of keeping and blissful salvation for of this was all the showing the other was of the common teaching of holy church in which I was afore informed and grounded and with all my will having in use and understanding and the beholding of this went not from me for by the showing I was not stirred nor led therefrom in no manner of point but I had therein teaching to love it and find it good whereby I might by the help of our Lord and His grace increase and rise to more heavenly knowing and higher loving and thus in all the beholding me thought it was needful to see and to know that we are sinners and do many evils that we ought to leave and leave many good deeds undone that we ought to do wherefore we deserve pain and wrath and not withstanding all this I saw soothfastly that our Lord was never wroth nor ever shall be for He is God, good, life, truth, love, peace His clarity and His unity suffereth Him not to be wroth for I saw truly that it is against the property of His might to be wroth and against the property of His wisdom and against the property of His goodness God is the goodness that may not be wroth for He is not other but goodness our soul is one to Him unchangeable goodness and between God and our soul is neither wroth nor forgiveness in His sight for our soul is so fully one to God of His own goodness that between God and our soul might be wroth not and to this understanding was the soul led by love and drawn by might in every showing that it is thus our good Lord showed and how it is thus in the truth of His great goodness and He willeth that we desire to learn it that is to say as far as it belongeth to His creature to learn it for all things that the simple soul understood God willeth that they be showed and made known for the things that He will have privy mightily and wisely Himself He hideeth them for love for I saw in the same showing that much privity is hid which may never be known until the time that God of His goodness hath made us worthy to see it and therewith I am well content abiding our Lord's will in this high marvel and now I yield me to my mother, Holy Church as a simple child, Oith End of Chapter 46 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 47 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich Anent certain points in the foregoing 14 Revelations Chapter 47 We fail often times of the sight of Him and anon we fall into ourself and then find we no feeling of right naught but contrariness that is in ourself two things belong to our soul as duty the one is that we reverently marvel the other that we meekly suffer ever enjoying in God for He would have us understand that we shall in short time see clearly in Himself all that we desire and notwithstanding all this I beheld and marveled greatly what is the mercy and forgiveness of God for by the teaching that I had afore I understood that the mercy of God should be the forgiveness of His wrath after the time that we have sinned for me thought that to a soul whose meaning and desire is to love the wrath of God was harder than any other pain and therefore I took that the forgiveness of His wrath should be one of the principal points of His mercy but howsoever I might behold and desire I could in no wise see this point in all the showing but how I understood and saw of the work of mercy I shall tell somewhat as God will give me grace I understood this man is changeable in this life and by frailty and overcoming falleth into sin he is weak and unwise of himself and also his will is overlaid and in this time he is in tempest and in sorrow and woe and the cause is blindness for he seeth not God for if he saw God continually he should have no mischievous feeling nor any manner of motion or yearning that serveth to sin thus saw I and felt in the same time and me thought that the sight and the feeling was high and plenteous and gracious in comparison with that which our common feeling is in this life but yet I thought it was but small and low in comparison with the great desire that the soul hath to see God for I felt in me five manner of workings which be these enjoying, mourning, desire, dread and sure hope enjoying for God gave me understanding and knowing that it was himself that I saw mourning and that was for failing desire and that was I might see him ever more and more understanding and knowing that we shall never have full rest till we see him verily and clearly in heaven dread was for it seemed to me in all that time that that sight should fail and I be left to myself sure hope was in the endless love that I saw I should be kept by his mercy and brought to his bliss and the loving in his sight with this sure hope of his merciful keeping made me to have 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 manner of sight may not be continuant in this life and that for his own worship and for increase of our endless joy and therefore we fail often times of the sight of him and anon we fall into our self and then find we no feeling of right naught but contrariness that is in our self and that's of the elder root of our first sin with all the sins that follow of our contrivance and in this we are in travail and tempest with feeling of sins and of pain in many diverse manners, spiritual and bodily as it is known to us in this life End of Chapter 47 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 48 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich Anant certain points in the foregoing 14 Revelations Chapter 48 I beheld the property of mercy and I beheld the property of grace which have two manners of working in one love but our good Lord the Holy Ghost which is endless life dwelling in our soul falls securely keepeth us and worketh therein apiece and bringeth it to ease by grace and accordeth it to God and maketh it pliant and this is the mercy and the way that our Lord continually leadeth us in as long as we be here in this life which is changeable for I saw no wrath but on man's part and that forgiveth he in us for wrath is not else but a forwardness and a contrariness to peace and love and either it cometh a failing of might or a failing of wisdom or a failing of goodness which failing is not in God but is on our part for we by sin and wretchedness have in us a wretched and continuant contrariness to peace and to love and that showed he full often his lovely regard of Ruth and pity for the ground of mercy is love and the working of mercy is our keeping in love and this was showed in such manner that I could not have perceived of the part of mercy but as it were alone in love that is to say as to my sight mercy is a sweet gracious working in love mingled with plenteous pity for mercy worketh in keeping us and mercy worketh turning to us all things to good mercy by love suffereth us to fail in measure and in as much as we fail in so much we fall and in as much as we fall in so much we die for it needs must be that we die as much as we fail of the sight and feeling of God that is our life our failing is dreadful our falling is shameful and our dying is sorrowful but in all this the sweet eye of pity and love is lifted never off us nor the working of mercy seeseth for I beheld the property of mercy and I beheld the property of grace which have two manners of working in one love mercy is a pitiful property which belongeth to the motherhood in tender love and grace is a worshipful property which belongeth to the royal lordship in the same love mercy worketh keeping, suffering, quickening and healing and all is tenderness of love and grace worketh raising, rewarding endlessly over passing that which our longing and our travail deserveeth spreading abroad and showing the high plenteous largeness of God's royal lordship in his marvellous courtesy and this is of the abundance of love for grace worketh our dreadful failing into plenteous, endless solace and grace worketh our shameful falling into high, worshipful rising and grace worketh our sorrowful dying into holy, blissful life for I saw full surely that ever as our contrariness worketh to us here in earth pain, shame and sorrow right so on the contrary wise grace worketh to us in heaven solace, worship and bliss and over passing and so far forth that when we come up and receive the sweet reward which grace hath wrought for us then we shall thank and bless our lord endlessly rejoicing that ever we suffered woe and that shall be for a property of blessed love that we shall know in God which we could never have known without woe going before and when I saw all this it behoved me needs to grant that the mercy of God and the forgiveness is to slacken and waste our wrath End of Chapter 48 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 49 of Revelations of Divine Love Read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich Anent certain points in the foregoing 14 Revelations Chapter 49 Where our Lord appeareth Peace is taken and wroth hath no place Immediately is the soul made at one with God and it is truly set at peace in itself For this was an high marvel to the soul which was continually showed in all the Revelations and was with great diligence beholden that our Lord God Anent himself may not forgive for he may not be wroth it were impossible For this was showed that our life is all grounded and rooted in love and without love we may not live and therefore to the soul that of his special grace seeeth so far into the high marvellous goodness of God and seeeth that we are endlessly warned to him in love it is the most impossible that may be that God should be wroth for wroth and friendship be two contraries for he that wasteeth and destroyeth our wroth and maketh us meek and mild it behoveth needs be that he himself be ever one in love meek and mild which is contrary to wroth For I saw full surely that where our Lord appeareth peace is taken and wroth hath no place for I saw no manner of wroth in God neither for short time nor for long for ensuth as to my sight if God might be wroth for an instant we should never have life nor place nor being for as verily as we have our being of the endless might of God and of the endless wisdom and of the endless goodness so verily we have our keeping in the endless might of God in the endless wisdom and in the endless goodness for though we feel in ourselves frail wretches, debates and strifes yet are we all manifold enclosed in the mildness of God and in his meekness in his benignity and in his graciousness for I saw full surely that all our endless friendship our place, our life and our being is in God for that same endless goodness that keep us when we sin that we perish not the same endless goodness continually treateth in us a peace against our wroth and our contrarious falling and maketh us to see our need with a true dread and mightily to seek unto God to have forgiveness with a gracious desire of our salvation and though we, by the wroth and the contrariness that is in us be now in tribulation, distress and woe as falleth to our blindness and frailty yet are we securely safe by the merciful keeping of God that we perish not but we are not blissfully safe in having of our endless joy till we be all in peace and in love that is to say full-pleased with God and with all his works and with all his judgments and loving and peaceable with our self and with our even Christians and with all that God loveth as love besiemeth and this doeth God's goodness in us thus sorely that God is our very peace and he is our sure keeper when we are ourselves in unpeace and he continually worketh to bring us into endless peace and thus when we by the working of mercy and grace be made meek and mild we are full safe suddenly is the soul one to God when it is truly peace in itself for in him is found no wrath and thus I saw when we are all in peace and in love we find no contrariness nor no manner of letting through that contrariness which is now in us nay, our Lord of his goodness maketh it to us full profitable for that contrariness is cause of our tribulations and all our woe and our Lord Jesus maketh them and sendeth them up to heaven and there are they made more sweet and delectable than heart may think or tongue may tell and when we come thither we shall find them ready all turned into very fair and endless worships thus is God our steadfast ground and he shall be our full bliss and make us unchangeable as he is when we are there end of chapter 49 this recording is in the public domain chapter 50 of Revelations of Divine Love read for LibriVox.org by David Barnes Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich and end certain points in the forgoing 14 Revelations chapter 50 the blame of our sin continually hangeth upon us in the sight of God the soul that shall be saved was never dead nor ever shall be dead and in this life mercy and forgiveness is our way and ever more leadeth us to grace and by the tempest and the sorrow that we fall into on our own part we be often dead as to man's doom in earth but in the sight of God the soul that shall be saved was never dead nor ever shall be but yet here I wandered and marveled with all the diligence of my soul saying thus within me good Lord I see thee that art very truth and I know in truth that we sin grievously every day and be much blame worthy and I may neither leave the knowing of thy truth nor do I see thee show to us any manner of blame how may this be for I knew by the common teaching of Holy Church and by my own feeling that the blame of our sin continually hangeth upon us from the first man unto the time that we come up into heaven then was this my marvel that I saw our Lord God showing to us no more blame than if we were as clean and as holy as angels be in heaven and between these two contraries my reason was greatly travailed through my blindness and could have no rest for dread that his blessed present should pass from my sight and I be left in unknowing of how he beholdeth us in our sin for either it behoved me to see in God that sin was all done away or else me behoved to see in God how he seeth it whereby I might truly know how it belongeth to me to see sin and the manner of our blame my longing endured him continually beholding and yet I could have no patience for great straits and perplexity thinking if I take it thus that we be no sinners and not blameworthy it seemeth as I should err and fail of knowing of his truth and if it be so that we be sinners and blameworthy good Lord how may it then be that I cannot see this true thing in thee which art my God my maker in whom I desire to see all truths for three points make me hardy to ask it the first is because it is so lower thing for if it were an high thing I should be a dread the second is that it is so common for if it were special and privy also I should be a dread the third is that it needeth me to know it as me thinketh if I shall live here for knowing of good and evil whereby I may by reason and grace the more dispart the messunder and love goodness and hate evil as holy church teacheth I cried inwardly with all my might seeking unto God for help saying thus ah Lord Jesus king of bliss how shall I be eased who shall teach me and tell me that thing me needeth to know if I may not at this time see it in thee