Chapter 51 continues:
The wisdom of the Servant saw inwardly,
there was one thing to do
which should be to the worship of the Lord.
And the Servant, for love, having no regard to himself
nor to nothing that might befall him,
hastily he started and ran at the sending of his Lord,
to do that thing which was his will and his worship.
For he seemed by his outward clothing,
a continuant labourer of long time,
and by the inward sight
that I had of both Lord and Servant
it seemed he was a new one,
that is to say, new beginning to travail:
which Servant was never sent out afore.
There was a treasure in the earth which the Lord loved.
I marvelled and thought what it might be,
and I was answered in my understanding:
It is a food which is delectable and pleasant to the Lord.
For I saw the Lord sit as a man,
and I saw neither meat nor drink wherewith to serve him.
This was one marvel.
Another marvel was that this majestic Lord had but one servant,
and him he sent out.
I watched,
thinking what labour might the Servant do.
And then I understood
that he should do the greatest labour
the hardest travail:
he should be a gardener,
digging, ditching, toil and sweat,
turning the earth upside-down, seeking the deepness,
and watering the plants in time.
And I saw in this
that he should continue his travail
and make sweet floods to run,
and noble, plenteous fruits to spring,
which he should bring before his Lord
with which to serve him to his desire.
And he should never turn again
till he had prepared this food all ready
as he knew that it pleased the Lord.
And then he should take this food,
with the drink in the food,
and bear it full worshipfully afore the Lord.
And all this time I saw
the Lord should sit in the same place,
awaiting his Servant whom he sent out.
Yet I marvelled from whence the Servant came.
For I saw the Lord has within Himself endless life,
and all manner of goodness,
except for that treasure that was in the earth.
And that treasure was grounded in the Lord
in marvellous deepness of endless love,
but it was not complete for His worship
until the Servant had nobly prepared it,
and brought it before Him in his presence.
Original of above: And yet I merveylid from whens the servant came. For I
saw in the lord that he hath wythyn hymselfe endles lif and al manner of goodnes,
save that tresor that was in the erth, and that was groundyd in the lord in mer-
velous depenes of endles love. But it was not all to the worship till this servant
had dygte thus nobly it, and browte it aforn him, in hymself present.
[i.e. The Lord had created the treasure and committed it to His servant’s care, making the true treasure the servant’s care and nurture of it, and his presentation of it to Him.]
Without the Lord there was nothing but wilderness.
I did not fully understood what this example meant,
and wondered from where the Servant came.
In the Servant is seen two persons:
the Second Person in the Trinity,
and Adam.
That is to say, All-Man.
When I say the Son,
it means the Godhead
which is equal with the Father;
when I say the Servant,
it means Christ’s Manhood,
which is as Adam should be.
The nearness of the Servant shows the Sonship,
The standing on the left side shows Adam.
The Lord is the Father, God;
the Servant is the Son, Christ Jesus;
the Holy Ghost is mutual Love which is in them both.
When Adam fell, God’s Son fell:
because of the true union which had been made in heaven,
God’s Son might not be separated from Adam.
(For by Adam I understand All-Man.)
Adam fell from life to death,
into the gully of this wretched world,
and after that into hell:
God’s Son fell with Adam,
into the gully of the Maiden’s womb,
who was the fairest daughter of Adam;
and for this end:
to excuse Adam from blame in heaven and in earth;
and mightily He fetched him out of hell.
In the Servant’s wisdom and goodness is seen God’s Son;
In the poor labourer’s clothing
and the standing near the left side,
is understood the Manhood and Adam,
with all the mischief and feebleness that follows.
In this our good Lord shewed His Son and Adam as one Man.
The virtue and the goodness we have is of Jesus Christ,
the feebleness and the blindness we have is of Adam:
both showed in the Servant.
And thus hath our good Lord Jesus taken upon Him all our blame,
and therefore our Father neither may nor will
assign more blame to us than to His own Son,
dearworthy Christ.
Thus was He, the Servant, before His coming into earth,
standing ready before the Father in purpose,
until He would send Him to do that worshipful deed
by which mankind was brought again into heaven;
even though He is God,
equal with the Father in the Godhead.
But in His foreseeing purpose that He would be Man,
to save man in fulfilling His Father’s will,
so He stood before His Father as a Servant,
willingly taking upon Him all our charge.
Then He started readily at the Father’s will,
and soon fell full low, into the Maiden’s womb,
having no regard to Himself nor His hard pains.
The white tunic is the flesh;
its singleness shows there was nothing between Godhead and Manhood;
the straitness is poverty;
its great age is of Adam’s wearing:
the defacing: the sweat of Adam’s travail;
the shortness shows the Servant’s labour.
And thus I saw the Son declaring His purpose :
Lo! my dear Father, I stand before Thee in Adam’ tunic,
all ready to start and run:
I would be in the earth to do Thy worship when it is Thy will to send me.
How long shall I desire?
the Son truly understood when would be the Father’s will,
and how long He should desire:
that is to say, He knew it in the Godhead:
for He is the Wisdom of the Father;
so this question was in the Manhood of Christ.
For all mankind that shall be saved
by the sweet Incarnation
and blissful Passion of Christ,
is all the Manhood of Christ:
for He is the Head and we are His members.
To whom the day and time is unknown
when every passing woe and sorrow shall have an end,
and the everlasting joy and bliss shall be fulfilled.
All the Company of Heaven longs to see that day and time.
And all that shall be under heaven that shall come there,
their way is by longing and desire,
which was shown in the Servant’s standing before the Lord,
or in the Son’s standing before the Father in Adam’s kirtle.
For the longing and desire
of all Mankind that shall be saved
appeared in Jesus:
for Jesus is All that shall be saved,
and All that shall be saved is Jesus,
And all the Charity of God,
with obedience, meekness, patience and virtues
that belongs to us.
anthonyinuk 