"Our Lord looked unto His [wounded] Side, and beheld, rejoicing....
_Lo! how I loved thee_"
Then with a glad cheer our Lord looked unto His Side and beheld,
rejoicing. With His sweet looking He led forth the understanding of His
creature by the same wound into His Side within. And then he shewed a
fair, delectable place, and large enough for all mankind that shall be
saved to rest in peace and in love.[1] And therewith He brought to mind
His dearworthy blood and precious water which he let pour all out for
love. And with the sweet beholding He shewed His blessed heart even
cloven in two.
And with this sweet enjoying, He shewed unto mine understanding,
in part, _the blessed Godhead_, stirring then the poor soul[2] to
understand, as it may be said, that is, to think on,[3] the _endless_
Love that was without beginning, and is, and shall be ever. And with
this our good Lord said full blissfully: _Lo, how that I loved thee,_
as if He had said: _My darling, behold and see thy Lord, thy God that
is thy Maker and thine endless joy, see what satisfying and bliss I
have in thy salvation; and for my love rejoice [thou] with me._
And also, for more understanding, this blessed word was said: _Lo,
how I loved thee! Behold and see that I loved thee so much ere I died
for thee that I would die for thee; and now I have died for thee and
suffered willingly that which I may. And now is all my bitter pain and
all my hard travail turned to endless joy and bliss to me and to thee.
How should it now be that thou shouldst anything pray that pleaseth me
but that I should full gladly grant it thee? For my pleasing is thy
holiness and thine endless joy and bliss with me._
This is the understanding, simply as I can say it, of this blessed
word: _Lo, how I loved thee._ This shewed our good Lord for to make us
glad and merry.
[1] See note on the passage in li., "long and broad, all full of
endless heavens"; "He hath, beclosed in Him, all heavens and all joy
and bliss."
[2] See xiii., "the simplicity of the soul."
[3] MS. "that is to mene the endles love."
_THE ELEVENTH REVELATION_