aversion; after ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a thousand times a thousand years, my pleasure and joy shall be just as fresh, just as agreeable as at the very first moment of my entry into heaven. “I shall be satisfied when Thy glory shall appear!” My memory, my understanding, my will, my whole soul shall be filled with joy; all that I shall there remember, all that I shall know and understand, all that I shall wish and desire shall fill me with delight, and my joy no man shall take from me.
The consideration of this joy should make us think lightly of all difficulties. My dear brethren, if there were no other joy to expect in heaven but that which the human soul experiences, as we have been meditating (although that is after ail only a small matter when compared to the happiness that results from the vision of God), would it not be well worth our while to work hard for it even till the last day? And could any good work seem too difficult to us, when we consider the glory and happiness it will bring us in heaven? Or could any one say that the commandments of God are too hard to keep when we know that the faithful observance of them will open to us heaven with all its joys? Eh! “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us;”[1] no pain, or labor, or trouble of this short time is worthy of being named when we consider the future glory that is promised us for it. Therefore let us with King David make this resolution: “I have inclined my heart to do Thy justifications forever, for the reward.”[2] My heart, O God! is like a pair of scales; if I put on one side the eternal reward and the unspeakable joys of the memory, understanding, and will, and on the other all the good works, mortifications, acts of self-denial, troubles, and adversities of this life, the latter would be lifted up as if filled with nothing but feathers. Therefore I will incline my heart to do Thy justifications forever, for the reward.
Conclusion to serve God with our whole hearts. Yes, O my God! most generous in Thy rewards for good works, such is my firm resolve! No time shall seem too long for me to spend serving Thee zealously so long as I receive the promised reward, even if I have to wait many hundred years for it. Now I will amass a treasury of good works and merits, the remembrance of which shall be a source of joy to me for all eternity; now I humbly submit my understanding to the service of the
