The Temple of God.
AND later on Julian wrote, “My loving Lord opened the eyes of my spirit, and showed me, as it were, my redeemed soul. I saw it as a land stretching far and wide, as it were a boundless world, and a kingdom of eternal blessedness.
“And at the same time I beheld it as a city of fair glory. And there, sitting in His robes of solemn state, beautiful and glorious, was the Lord Jesus, Who is God and man―sitting in the rest and peace eternal into which He entered from the cross and rave.
“For His Manhood sits at rest in the rest of His Godhead, ruling and giving, out of the fullness of His riches, to the soul who adores Him. And the place into which the Lord Jesus has entered, even the soul redeemed, is His eternal house, from which He will nevermore depart through the endless ages, for it is His abiding-place forever and forever.
“And herein did the Lord show to me the blessed gladness which He had in creating the soul of man. For therein did He rejoice with everlasting joy, seeing from the beginning that which would be His delight throughout the eternal years. All things which He has made declare His glory, but it was taught me as in a picture, how a man may be led throughout the fair kingdom of a king, and shown his stately cities, and his wealth, and the rich array of his servants, and his castles, and his towers. And seeing all these things, he wonders and admires, but at last he is taken to the golden palace where the king himself is reigning in his glory, and he knows that this must be the highest and the fairest place, because the king is there.
“So did I understand that the soul can find no rest in the things that are beneath it, and when it turns from these things to behold itself, it sees itself no more, for God is there, and all the temple is filled with His glory.
“God the Creator dwells in the temple He has made. And the radiance of the light, and the clear shining of this blessed city, is the glorious love of the Lord our God.
“What then can make us more to rejoice in God, than the knowledge that He rejoices in us, above and beyond all the works of His hands? For the soul redeemed is the most precious jewel, the fairest in the eyes of God.
“And He would have us therefore to be abiding in the glorious heights above the low places of the earth, and their vain cares and troubles, rejoicing with Him where He is for evermore. And God would have us to see and to delight in this, whilst we are here below; for this is pleasing to Him, and profitable to ourselves.
“And the soul that thus beholds Him in His glory, is changed into the same image from glory to glory; and the rest and peace of God become our rest and peace, for we abide in Him.
“And the Lord, having shown me these things, spike sweetly to my heart, without a voice, but as heart speaketh to heart; and He said, ‘Know that all this is not a dream, but receive it and believe it, and keep thyself in this love, and strengthen thyself therewith, and comfort thyself thereby. So shalt thou overcome.’
He meant that I should receive and believe and remember His blessed sufferings whereby the enemy is overcome, and that I should understand that all the teaching and the strength which had been granted me were not for me alone, but for my fellow Christians also.
“He had not said to me, ‘Thou shalt not be troubled, thou shalt not suffer, thou shalt walk in an easy path;’ but he had said, ‘Thou shalt not be overcome.’ When we look at our God, we cannot fall; and when we look at ourselves, we cannot stand.
“He is here for us alone, and if I turn away from Min through sin, or unbelief, or worldly distractions, I leave my Lord standing alone, a guest without honor.
“From this time I had a great longing that God in His goodness would release me from this earthly life. For had I known no other sorrow in this than that I am absent from Him, it seemed to me this absence was more than I could endure. And this made me sad, and filled me with a yearning desire. And my evil heart struck upon this rock, so that I became weary of living and of working.
“And then did my beloved Lord answer me, that He might strengthen me, and make me patient, saying, ‘Soon shalt thou be taken away from all thy sorrow, and all thy sickness, and all thy weariness, and all thy pain, and thou shalt come up hither, and thou shalt have Me for thine exceeding great reward, and thou shalt be filled to overflowing with joy and blessedness, and thou shalt nevermore suffer, nor be sick, nor be grieved, nor have need of aught; but thou shalt have eternal joy and gladness. Why then shouldest thou be unwilling to suffer a while, if it is My will, and for My glory?’
“So did I see that all our life and our longing down here, is but as the point of a needle; and when in one moment we pass from sorrow into blessedness, sorrow will be as naught. This book was begun through God’s gift and grace, and it may be He would have me write yet more. But when He had taught me all these things, I had oftentimes a longing to know what was the purpose of the Lord therein.
“And for more than fifteen years I had this longing, till at last He spake the answer to my soul, saying, ‘Why desirest thou to know what was the object of thy Lord in teaching thee thus? Know then assuredly, Love was His object. Who showed thee these things? Love. Why did He show them to thee? Out of love. Hold this fast, and thou shalt learn yet more and more. But never to all eternity shalt thou learn aught beside.’”