(2) Mary started forward again and said: "My Lord, I understand what thou sayest. Concerning the solution of this word thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David in the eighty-fourth Psalm, saying: "'10. Grace and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other. "'11. Truth sprouted forth out of the earth, and righteousness looked down from heaven.' "'Grace' then is the light-power which hath come down through the First Mystery; for the First Mystery hath hearkened unto Pistis Sophia and hath had mercy on her in all her tribulations. 'Truth' on the other hand is the power which hath gone forth out of thee, for that thou hast fulfilled the truth, in order to save her out of the chaos. And 'righteousness' again is the power which hath come forth through the First Mystery, which will guide Pistis Sophia. And 'peace' again is the power which hath gone forth out of thee, so that it should enter into the emanations of Self-willed and take from them the lights which they have taken away from Pistis Sophia, that is, so that thou mayest gather them together into Pistis Sophia and make them at peace with her power. 'Truth' on the other hand is the power which went forth out of thee, when thou wast in the lower regions of the chaos. For this cause thy power hath said through David 'Truth sprouted out of the earth,' because thou wert in the lower regions of the chaos. 'Righteousness' on the other hand which hath 'looked down from heaven,'--it is the power which hath come down from the height through the First Mystery and hath entered into Pistis Sophia."

(1) And Mary answered and said: "My Lord, concerning the word which thy power hath prophesied through David: 'Grace and truth met together, righteousness and peace kissed each other. Truth sprouted forth out of the earth, and righteousness looked down from heaven,'--thus hath thy power prophesied this word aforetime about thee. "When thou wert little, before the spirit had

(46) It is the Firmament between the clear Deity and the corrupt Nature, which thou must break through when thou intendest to come to God; and it is that very Firmament which does not quite stand in the Wrath, neither is it altogether or perfectly pure; concerning which it is written, 'The very Heavens are not pure in the Sight of God.' And at the last Judgment-Day the Wrath will be purged from them. For it is written, Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my Word shall not pass away, says Christ. [Mark 13. 31.] [Matth. 24. 35.] [Job 15. 15.]

(58) And after this it shall be said to the holy in heaven That they should seek out the secrets of righteousness, the heritage of faith: For it has become bright as the sun upon earth, And the darkness is past.

(61) For great is the mercy of the Lord of Spirits, and He is long-suffering, And all His works and all that He has created He has revealed to the righteous and elect In the name of the Lord of Spirits.

(1) And John answered and said: "This is the word which thou hast said unto us aforetime: 'I have come out of the Height and entered into Sabaōth, the Good, and embraced the light-power in him.' Now, therefore, 'Grace and truth' which 'met together,'--thou art 'grace,' thou who art sent out of the regions of the Height through thy Father, the First Mystery which looketh within, in that he hath sent thee, that thou mayest have mercy on the whole world. 'Truth' on the other hand is the power of

(2) JOHN also came forward and said: "O Lord, bid me also speak the solution of the words which thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David." And Jesus answered and said unto John: "To thee too, John, I give commandment to speak the solution of the words which my light-power hath prophesied through David: "'10. Grace and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other. "'11. Truth hath sprouted forth out of the earth, and righteousness looked down from heaven.'" [paragraph continues] Sabaōth, the Good, which bound itself in thee and which thou hast cast forth to the Left,--thou the First Mystery which looketh without. And the little Sabaōth, the Good, took it and cast it forth into the matter of Barbēlō, and he made proclamation concerning the regions of Truth to all the regions of those of the Left. That matter of Barbēlō then it is which is body for thee to-day. "And 'righteousness and peace' which 'kissed each other,'--'righteousness' then art thou who didst bring all the mysteries through thy Father, the First Mystery which looketh within, and hast baptized this power of Sabaōth, the Good; and thou didst go to the region of the rulers and didst give unto them the mysteries of the Height; they became righteous and good. "'Peace' on the other hand is the power of Sabaōth, that is thy soul, which did enter into the matter of Barbēlō, and all the rulers of the six æons of Yabraōth have made peace with the mystery of the Light. "And 'truth' which 'sprouted forth out of the earth,'--it is the power of Sabaōth, the Good, which came out of the region of the Right, which lieth outside the Treasury of the Light., and which hath come into the region of those of the Left; it hath entered into the matter of Barbēlō, and hath made proclamation concerning the mysteries of the region of Truth. "'Righteousness' on the other hand which 'looked down from heaven,' is thou the First Mystery which looketh down without, as thou didst come out of the spaces of the Height with the mysteries of the Light-kingdom; and thou didst come down upon the light-vesture which thou didst receive from the hand of Barbēlō, which [vesture] is Jesus, our Saviour, in that thou didst come down upon him as a dove." It came to pass then, when John had brought forward these words, that the First Mystery which looketh without, said unto -him: "Well said, John, beloved brother."

(63) And splendid in every secret thing is Thy power from generation to generation, And Thy glory for ever and ever: Deep are all Thy secrets and innumerable, And Thy righteousness is beyond reckoning.

(151) I knew of myself what ye thought, But I desired that ye should speak it; As this boasting of yours is very improper, So shall my mercy be shown to prevail over my wrath: O angels, in order to show forth that prevailing, I inspired that pretension to cavil and doubt; If you say your say, and I forbear to punish you, My mercy equals that of a hundred fathers and mothers; Their mercy is as the foam of the sea of my mercy; It is mere foam of waves, but the sea abides ever!

(47) Now that Impurity in that Heaven is the Wrath; but the Purity is the Word of God, which he once spoke, saying; 'Let the Water under the Firmament be separated from the Water above the Firmament.' And that Word stands, and is comprised in the Firmament of the Water, and holds the outward Water, together with the Earth, captive or fixed. The Gate of the Deity. Observe here the hidden Mystery of God. [Gen. 1.]

(26) I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

(3) It came to pass then, when the First Mystery had heard Matthew speak these words, that he said: "Well said, Matthew, and finely, beloved. This is the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered." And the First Mystery continued again and said: "'1. I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast received me, and thou hast not made glad my foes over me. "'2. O Lord, my God, I cried up unto thee, and thou hast healed me. "'3. O Lord, thou hast led up my soul out of hell; thou hast saved me from them which have gone down into the pit.'"

(5) I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

(164) Which is a very great Mystery, and has been also kept Secret from all Men since the Beginning of the World till now: Which I will demonstrate and describe plainly in its due Place. Now observe the Form and Position of Heaven.

(1) God's mercy is known through the fruits thereof, But who save God knows His essence? No one knows the very essence of God's attributes A child knows naught of the nature of sexual intercourse, Except what you tell him, that it is like sweetmeats. Yet how far does the pleasure of sexual intercourse Really resemble that derived from sweetmeats? Nevertheless the fiction produces a relation Between you, with your perfect knowledge, and the child; So that the child knows the matter by a similitude,

(107) And after that there shall be still more unrighteousness than that which was first consummated on the earth; for I know the mysteries of the holy ones; for He, the Lord, has showed me and informed me, and I have read (them) in the heavenly tablets.

(2) come upon thee, whilst thou wert in a vineyard with Joseph, the spirit came out of the height and came to me in my house, like unto thee; and I had not known him, but I thought that thou wast he. And the spirit said unto me: Where is Jesus, my brother, that I meet with him?' And when he had said this unto me, I was at a loss and thought it was a phantom to try me. So I seized him and bound him to the foot of the bed in my house, until I went forth to you, to thee and Joseph in the field, and I found you on the vineyard, Joseph propping up the vineyard. It came to pass, therefore, when thou didst hear me speak the word unto Joseph, that thou didst understand the word, wert joyful and saidest: 'Where is he, that I may see him; else I await him in this place.' And it came to pass, when Joseph had heard thee say these words, that he was startled. And we went down together, entered the house and found the spirit bound to the bed. And we looked on thee and him and found thee like unto him. And he who was bound to the bed was unloosed; he took thee in his arms and kissed thee, and thou also didst kiss him. Ye became one. "This then is the word and its solution. 'Grace' is the spirit which hath come down out of the height through the First Mystery, for it hath had mercy on the race of men and sent its spirit that he should forgive the sins of the whole world, and they should receive the mysteries and inherit the Light-kingdom. 'Truth' on the other hand is the power which hath sojourned with me. When it had come forth out of Barbēlō,

(1) come upon thee, when thou didst receive the baptism from John. 'Grace' then is the godly spirit who hath come upon thee; he hath had mercy on the race of men, hath come down and hath met with the power of Sabaōth, the Good which is in thee and which hath made proclamation concerning the regions of Truth. It hath said again: 'Righteousness and peace kissed each other,'--'righteousness' then is the spirit of the Light, which did come upon thee and hath brought the mysteries of the height, to give them unto the race of men. 'Peace' on the other hand is the power of Sabaōth, the Good, which is in thee,--he who hath baptized and hath forgiven the race of men,--and it hath made them at peace with the sons of the Light. And moreover as thy power hath said through David: 'Truth sprouted forth out of the earth,'--that is the power of Sabaōth, the Good, which sprouted forth out of Mary, thy mother, the dweller on earth. 'Righteousness,' which 'looked down from heaven,' on the other hand is the spirit in the height who hath brought all mysteries of the height and given them to the race of men; and they have become righteous and good, and have inherited the Light-kingdom." And it came to pass, when Jesus had heard Mary speak these words, that he said: "Well said, Mary, inheritress of the Light." And Mary, the mother of Jesus, again came forward, fell down at his feet, kissed them and said: "My Lord, my son and my Saviour, be not wroth with me, but pardon me, that I may once more speak the solution of these words. 'Grace and truth met together,'--it is I, Mary,

(54) 'And in those days shall punishment come from the Lord of Spirits, and he will open all the chambers of waters which are above the heavens, and of the fountains which are beneath the earth.

(2) "'1. Lord, give ear unto my supplication and let my voice reach unto thee. "'2. Turn not away thy face from me; incline thine ear unto me in the day when I am oppressed; quickly give ear to me on the day when I shall cry unto thee. "'3. For my days are vanished as smoke and my bones are parched as stone. "'4. I am scorched as the grass, and my heart is dried up; for I have forgotten to eat my bread. "'5. From the voice of my groaning my bones cleaved to my flesh. "'6. I am become as a pelican in the desert; I am become as a screech-owl in the house. "'7. I have passed the night watching; I am become as a sparrow alone on the roof. "'8. My enemies have reviled me all the day long, and they who honour me, have injured me. "'9. For I have eaten ashes instead of my bread and mixed my drink with tears, "'10. Because of thy wrath and thy rage; for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down. "'11. My days have declined as a shadow, and I am dried up as the grass, "'12. But thou, O Lord, thou endurest for ever, and thy remembrance unto the generation of generation[s]. "'13. Arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time is come to have mercy upon her; the proper time is come. "'14. Thy servants have longed for her stones, and will take pity on her land. "'15. And the nations will have fear of the name of the Lord, and the kings of the earth have fear of thy sovereignty. "'16. For the Lord will build up Zion and reveal himself in his sovereignty. "17. He hath regarded the prayer of the humble and hath not despised their supplication. "'18. This shall be recorded for another generation, and the people who shall be created will praise the Lord. "'19. Because he hath looked down on his holy height; the Lord hath looked down from the heaven on the earth, "'20. To hear the sighing of those in chains, to loose the sons of those who are slain, "'21. To proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem.' "This, my Lord, is the solution of the mystery of the repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered."