"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, full securely keepeth us; and worketh therein a peace and
bringeth it to ease by grace, and accordeth it to God and maketh it
pliant.[1] 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 of failing of might, or of failing of
wisdom, or of 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 shewed He full
often in His lovely Regard of Ruth and Pity.[2] For the ground of mercy
is love, and the working of mercy is our keeping in love. And this was
shewed in such manner that I could[3] 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 in so 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 ceaseth.[4]
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 overpassing that which our longing and our travail
deserveth, spreading abroad and shewing the high plenteous largess[5]
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 overpassing.
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.
[1] "buxum" = ready to bend or obey.
[2] "lovely chere," loving Look. See li., lxxi., etc.
[3] "I cowth not a perceyven of."
[4] "But in all this the swete eye of pite and love cumith never of us,
ne the werkyng of mercy cesyth not."
[5] or largeness.