WITH fair faith they choose the Beloved above all worldly possessions; not for them is there hope of joy in clinging to this transient life. Thus the righteous man wins through lifelong effort unending joy, a home in heaven with the King of kings.
There the righteous, after their period of exile, shall be enringed with their own deeds, the works they have wrought; these are the noble and winsome plants with which the wild bird surrounds his own nest, so that it suddenly vanishes in flame, shrivels under the sun, and himself with it, thence receiving life anew after the burning is overpast.* In like manner every one of human kind invested with flesh shall be once more young and comely, if so be he bring it to pass of his own choice that the mighty King of glory is gracious unto him in that assembly. Then those holy spirits shall chant aloud; the righteous souls, pure and elect, shall raise a song, voice after voice lauding the majesty of their King; they shall mount to glory with the rich incense of their good deeds. The spirits of men shall be cleansed, brightly purified by the burning of fire.
abridged
It may seem at first sight that this the late-mediaeval doctrine of Purgatory, but on closer inspection it is entirely different (and much harder to monetise). Cynewulf does not imagine a place called Purgatory, and whatever this fire may be — the fire is no more literal than the nest, and the reference to the sun suggests he is thinking of the blaze of the Sun of Righteousness in Malachi 4:2, cf. Revelation 21:23 and Revelation 22:5 — it burns not the man as a punishment but the man’s works as part of his glorious rebirth. The mediaeval Purgatory was a prison to spend as little time in as possible; Cynewulf’s nest is a snug little home to rejoice in. For a similar bonfire of a man’s works, see 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, which emphasises the need to make sure that after the fire we are left with materials fit for building mansions in the New Creation.