Chapter LXXVI
"The soul that beholds the fair nature of our Lord Jesus, it hates no hell but sin"
I SPEAK but little of reverent fear, for I hope it may be seen in this matter aforesaid. But well I know our Lord shewed me no souls but those that fear Him. For well I know the soul that truly taketh the teaching of the Holy Spirit, it hates more sin for vileness and horribleness than it does all the pain that is in hell. For the soul that beholds the fair nature of our Lord Jesus, it hates no hell but sin, as to my sight. And for that it is God's will that we know sin, and pray busily and travail earnestly and seek teaching meekly that we fall not blindly in it; and if we fall, that we rise readily. For it is the most pain that the soul may have, to turn from God any time by sin.
The soul that wills to be in rest when another man's sin cometh to mind, he shall flee it as the pain of hell, seeking to God for remedy, for help against it. For the seeing of other man's sins, it makes as it were a thick mist before the eyes of the soul, and we cannot, for the time, see the fairness of God, but if we may behold them with contrition with him, with compassion on him, and with holy desire to God for him. For without this it harms and tempests and hinders the soul that beholds them. For this I understood in the Shewing of Compassion.
In this blissful Shewing of our Lord I have understanding of two contrary things: the one is the most wisdom that any creature may do in this life, the other is the most folly. The most wisdom is for a creature to do after the will and counsel of his highest sovereign Friend. This blessed Friend is Jesus, and it is His will and His counsel that we hold us with Him, and fasten us to Him homely - evermore, in what state soever that we be; for whether we be foul or clean, we are all one in His loving. For well-being nor for woe He wills never we flee from Him. But because of the changeability that we are in, in our self, we fall often into sin. Then we have this doubting fear by the stirring of our enemy and by our own folly and blindness: for they say thus: You see well you are a wretched creature, a sinner, and also unfaithful.
For you keep not the Command; you promise often our Lord that you shall do better, and soon after, you fall again into the same, especially into sloth and losing of time. (For that is the beginning of sin, as to my sight, and especially to the creatures that have given them to serve our Lord with inward seeing of His blessed Goodness.) And this makes us afraid to appear before our courteous Lord. Thus is it our enemy that would put us aback with his false fear, by reason of our wretchedness, through pain that he threatens us with. For it is his meaning to make us so heavy and so weary in this, that we should let out of mind the fair, Blissful seeing of our Everlasting Friend.