HERE BEGINNETH THE THREE AND TWENTIETH CHAPTER
How God will answer and purvey for them in spirit, that for
business about His love list not answer nor purvey for
themselves
AND truly an we will lustily conform our love and our living, inasmuch as in us
is, by grace and by counsel, unto the love and the living of Mary, no doubt but
He shall answer on the same manner now for us ghostly each day, privily in the
hearts of all those that either say or think against us. I say not but that
evermore some men shall say or think somewhat against us, the whiles we live in
the travail of this life, as they did against Mary. But I say, an we will give
no more heed to their saying nor to their thinking, nor no more
cease of our ghostly privy work for their words and their thoughts, than she
did--I say, then, that our Lord shall answer them in spirit, if it shall be
well with them that so say and so think, that they shall within few days have
shame of their words and their thoughts.
And as He will answer for us thus in spirit,
so will He stir other men in spirit to give us our needful things that belong
to this life, as meat and clothes with all these other; if He see that we will
not leave the work of His love for business about them. And this I say in
confusion of their error, that say that it is not lawful for men to set them to
serve God in contemplative life, but if they be secure before of their bodily
necessaries. For they say, that God sendeth the cow, but not by the horn. And
truly they say wrong of God, as they well know. For trust steadfastly, thou
whatsoever that thou be, that truly turnest thee from the world unto God, that
one of these two God shall send thee, without business of thyself:
and that is either abundance of necessaries, or strength in body and patience
in spirit to bear need. What then recketh it, which man have? for all come to
one in very contemplatives. And whoso is in doubt of this, either the devil is
in his breast and reeveth him of belief, or else he is not yet truly turned to
God as he should be; make he it never so quaint, nor never so holy reasons shew
there again, whatnot ever that he be.
And therefore thou, that settest thee to be
contemplative as Mary was, choose thee rather to be meeked under the wonderful
height and the worthiness of God, the which is perfect, than under thine own
wretchedness, the which is imperfect: that is to say, look that thy special
beholding be more to the worthiness of God than to thy wretchedness. For to
them that be perfectly meeked, no thing shall defail; neither bodily thing, nor
ghostly. For why? They have God, in whom is all plenty; and whoso
hath Him--yea, as this book telleth--him needeth nought else in this life.