48. "Mercy and Grace: which have two manners of working in one love " (Observations (regarding certain points in the foregoing fourteen Revelations)) (Revelations of Divine Love) (Julian of Norwich)

BUT our good Lord the Holy Ghost, which is endless life dwelling in our soul, full securely keeps us; and works therein a peace and brings it to ease by grace, and accords it to God and makes it pliant.

And this is the mercy and the way that our Lord continually leads 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 forgives He in us. For wrath is not else but a forwardness and a contrariness to peace and love; and either it comes 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 showed He full often in 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 shown 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 works in keeping us, and mercy works turning to us all things to good. Mercy, by love, suffers 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 ceases.

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 belongs to the Motherhood in tender love; and grace is a worshipful property which belongs 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 deserves, spreading abroad and showing the high plenteous largess of God's royal Lordship in His marvellous courtesy; and this is of the abundance of love. For grace works our dreadful failing into plenteous, endless solace; and grace works our shameful falling into high, worshipful rising; and grace works our sorrowful dying into holy, blissful life.

For I saw most surely that ever as our contrariness works to us here in earth pain, shame, and sorrow, right so, on the contrary wise, grace works 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 has 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.