Chapter 57

And anent our Substance He made us noble, and so rich that evermore we work His will and His worship. (Where I say "we," it meaneth Man that shall be saved.) For soothly I saw that we are that which He loveth, and do that which Him pleaseth, lastingly without any stinting: and [that by virtue] of the great riches and of the high noble virtues by measure come to our soul what time it is knit to our body: in which knitting we are made Sensual.

With regard to our Substance, he made us noble and so rich that we always do his will and worship him. (When I say "we," I mean those people who will be saved.) For I truly saw that we are what he loves and do what pleases him, forever and without stopping. We do this through the great riches and noble virtues given in measure to our soul when it is joined to our body. In this joining, we are made Sensual.

And thus in our Substance we are full, and in our Sense-soul we fail: which failing God will restore and fulfil by working of Mercy and Grace plenteously flowing into us out of His own Nature-Goodness.¹ And thus His Nature-Goodness maketh that Mercy and Grace work in us, and the Nature-goodness that we have of Him enableth us to receive the working of Mercy and Grace.

And so, in our Substance we are whole, but in our Sense-soul we fall short. God will restore us and make us whole where we fall short. He will do this through Mercy and Grace, which flow abundantly into us from his own natural goodness.¹ Thus, his natural goodness causes Mercy and Grace to work in us. The natural goodness we receive from him enables us to receive their work.

I saw that our nature is in God whole: in which [whole nature of Manhood] He maketh diversities flowing out of Him to work His will: whom Nature keepeth, and Mercy and Grace restoreth and fulfilleth. And of these none shall perish: for our nature that is the higher part is knit to God, in the making; and God is knit to our nature that is the lower part, in our flesh-taking: and thus in Christ our two natures are oned. For the Trinity is comprehended in Christ, in whom our higher part is grounded and rooted; and our lower part the Second Person hath taken: which nature first to Him was made-ready.² For I saw full surely that all the works that God hath done, or ever shall, were fully known to Him and aforeseen from without beginning. And for Love He made Mankind, and for the same Love would be Man.

I saw that our whole nature is in God. Within this whole human nature, he creates diverse beings who flow from him to do his will. Nature preserves them, and Mercy and Grace restore and fulfill them. None of them will perish. For our nature, which is the higher part, is joined to God in creation. And God is joined to our nature, which is the lower part, by taking on our flesh. Thus, in Christ, our two natures are united. For the Trinity is contained in Christ, in whom our higher part is grounded and rooted. And the Second Person has taken on our lower part, the nature first made ready for him.² For I saw with complete certainty that all the works God has done or ever will do were fully known and foreseen by him from before the beginning. He made Mankind for Love, and for that same Love he chose to become a man.

The next³ Good that we receive is our Faith, in which our profiting beginneth. And it cometh [out] of the high riches of our nature-Substance into our Sensual soul, and it is grounded in us through the Nature-Goodness of God, by the working of Mercy and Grace. And thereof come all other goods by which we are led and saved. For the Commandments of God come therein: in which we ought to have two manners of understanding: [the one is that we ought to understand and know] which are His biddings, to love and to keep them; the other is that we ought to know His forbiddings, to hate and to refuse them. For in these two is all our working comprehended. Also in our faith come the Seven Sacraments, each following other in order as God hath ordained them to us: and all manner of virtues.

The next³ good we receive is our faith, through which we begin to grow. Faith comes from the great riches of our nature-substance into our sensual soul. It is grounded in us through the natural goodness of God, by the working of mercy and grace. From faith come all the other good things by which we are guided and saved. For God’s commandments come to us through faith. We should understand them in two ways: we should know what he commands, so that we can love and obey it. We should also know what he forbids, so that we can hate and reject it. For these two things encompass all our actions. Through faith we also receive the Seven Sacraments, each following the others in the order God has ordained for us. Through faith we receive every kind of virtue as well.

For the same virtues that we have received of our Substance, given to us in Nature by the Goodness of God,—the same virtues by the working of Mercy are given to us in Grace through the Holy Ghost, renewed: which virtues and gifts are treasured to us in Jesus Christ. For in that same⁴ time that God knitted Himself to our body in the Virgin's womb, He took our Sensual soul:⁵ in which taking He, us all having enclosed in Him, oned it to our Substance: in which oneing He was perfect Man. For Christ having knit in Him each⁶ man that shall be saved, is perfect Man. Thus our Lady is our Mother in whom we are all enclosed and of her born,⁷ in Christ: (for she that is Mother of our Saviour is Mother of all that shall be saved in our Saviour;) and our Saviour is our Very Mother in whom we be endlessly borne,⁸ and never shall come out of Him.

The same virtues we received from our Substance, given to us in Nature by God's Goodness, are renewed in us through Grace. Mercy gives us these virtues through the Holy Ghost. These virtues and gifts are treasured for us in Jesus Christ. For at the very⁴ time God joined himself to our body in the Virgin's womb, he took our Sensual soul.⁵ In taking our Sensual soul, he held us all within himself and united the soul to our Substance. In this union he was perfect Man. For Christ is perfect Man, having united in himself each⁶ person who shall be saved. Thus our Lady is our Mother. We are all enclosed in her and born of her⁷ in Christ. (For she who is Mother of our Saviour is Mother of all who shall be saved in our Saviour.) And our Saviour is our true Mother, in whom we are endlessly carried⁸ and from whom we shall never come out.

Plenteously and fully and sweetly was this shewed, and it is spoken of in the First, where it saith: We are all in Him enclosed and He is enclosed in us. And that [enclosing of Him in us] is spoken of in the Sixteenth Shewing, where it saith: He sitteth in our soul.

This was shown abundantly, fully, and sweetly. It is spoken of in the First, where it says: We are all enclosed in him, and he is enclosed in us. And [his being enclosed in us] is spoken of in the Sixteenth Shewing, where it says: He sits in our soul.

For it is His good-pleasure to reign in our Understanding blissfully, and sit in our Soul restfully, and to dwell in our Soul endlessly, us all working into Him: in which working He willeth that we be His helpers, giving to Him all our attending, learning His lores, keeping His laws, desiring that all be done that He doeth; truly trusting in Him.

For it pleases him to reign joyfully in our understanding, rest peacefully in our soul, and dwell there forever. He works to draw us all into him. In this work, he wants us to help him by giving him all our attention, learning his teachings, and keeping his laws. He wants us to desire all that he does and to trust him truly.

For soothly I saw that our Substance is in God.⁹

For I truly saw that our substance is in God.⁹