Revelations of Divine Love · 69 of 127 · tr. Grace Warrack

Chapter LI-a

"He is the Head, and we be His members." "Therefore our Father nor may nor will more blame assign to us than to His own Son, precious and worthy Christ" And then our Courteous Lord answered in shewing full mistily a wonderful example of a Lord that hath a Servant: and He gave me sight to my understanding of both.

Which sight was shewed doubly in the Lord and doubly in the Servant: the one part was shewed spiritually in bodily likeness, and the other part was shewed more spiritually, without bodily likeness.

For the first [sight], thus, I saw two persons in bodily likeness: that is to say, a Lord and a Servant; and therewith God gave me spiritual understanding.

The Lord sitteth stately in rest and in peace; the Servant standeth by afore his Lord reverently, ready to do his Lord's will.

The Lord looketh upon his Servant full lovingly and sweetly, and meekly he sendeth him to a certain place to do his will.

The Servant not only he goeth, but suddenly he starteth, and runneth in great haste, for love to do his Lord's will.

And anon he falleth into a slade, and taketh full great hurt.

And then he groaneth and moaneth and waileth and struggleth, but he neither may rise nor help himself by no manner of way.

And of all this the most mischief that I saw him in, was failing of comfort: for he could not turn his face to look upon his loving Lord, which was to him full near,—in Whom is full comfort;—but as a man that was feeble and unwise for the time, he turned his mind to his feeling and endured in woe.

In which woe he suffered seven great pains.

The first was the sore bruising that he took in his falling, which was to him feelable pain; the second was the heaviness of his body; the third was feebleness following from these two; the fourth, that he was blinded in his reason and stunned in his mind, so far forth that almost he had forgotten his own love; the fifth was that he might not rise; the sixth was most marvellous to me, and that was that he lay all alone: I looked all about and beheld, and far nor near, high nor low, I saw to him no help; the seventh was that the place which he lay on was a long, hard, and grievous [place].

I marvelled how this Servant might meekly suffer there all this woe, and I beheld with carefulness to learn if I could perceive in him any fault, or if the Lord should assign to him any blame.

And in sooth there was none seen: for only his goodwill and his great desire was cause of his falling; and he was unlothful, and as good inwardly as when he stood afore his Lord, ready to do his will.

And right thus continually his loving Lord full tenderly beholdeth him.

But now with a double manner of Regard: one outward, full meekly and mildly, with great ruth and pity,—and this was of the first [sight], another inward, more spiritually,—and this was shewed with a leading of mine understanding into the Lord, [in the] which I saw Him highly rejoicing for the worshipful restoring that He will and shall bring His Servant to by His plenteous grace; and this was of that other shewing.

And now [was] my understanding led again into the first [sight]; both keeping in mind.

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Themes

Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The divine is depicted with human characteristics and emotions, such as the Lord sitting 'stately,' looking 'lovingly and sweetly,' and feeling 'ruth and pity.'

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Bhaktisoteriology

The path of loving devotion and self-surrender to a personal deity as itself sufficient means of liberation — the Gita's 'to those constantly devoted, I come forward as their deliverer,' Kabir's and the Sant poets' love-religion, the devotional stream that parallels Sufi love-mysticism. Distinct from mystical_union (the resulting state), fana_annihilation (the ego's unmaking at the path's end), ladder_of_love (eros staged toward Beauty), and prayer (the practice of address): bhakti names devotion as the soteriological road itself.

The servant's motivation is described as 'love to do his Lord's will,' highlighting loving devotion and self-surrender as the driving force of the relationship.

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The passage emphasizes that the Lord 'full tenderly beholdeth' the suffering servant and rejoices in the 'worshipful restoring' He will bring about through His grace.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

The servant's suffering is described as a 'failing of comfort' and a turning away from the Lord, rather than an active punishment for sin, as the text notes 'there was none seen [fault]' in the servant.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is portrayed as a dynamic, responsive personal reality who actively watches, feels pity, and rejoices in the restoration of His servant.

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Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The servant's greatest pain is described as 'failing of comfort' because he cannot turn his face to look upon his loving Lord, representing a felt exile from the divine presence.

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Related passages · 10 parallels

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