Hence, we shall no longer be tossed to and fro by every wind of passion, nor by the vicissitudes of present time. We shall no longer, as now, be joyful one day, and then be cast down and sorrowful on the next; in the enjoyment of perfect health one day, and racked with the pangs of disease on the next; enjoying the society of our fellow-beings one day, and finding it intolerable on the next; overflowing now with devotion and the love of God, and then ready to abandon His service in disgust. We shall become immutable, and therefore when millions of ages have rolled by, we shall still be enjoying the same happiness as we did when the vision of God first flashed upon tour souls.
2. But there is a second defect which, even if we were immutable ourselves, would prevent our earthly happiness front being permanent, and it is this: the objects from which we derive our happiness are also subject to change. Their beauty fades away; they lose their freshness, and along with it the power of making us happy. It was this defect which marred the happiness of Solomon. His position and circumstances placed within his reach all the pleasures which the heart of man can enjoy here below. He was a king, a husband, and a father; he was filled with a wisdom greater than ever was vouchsafed to any other man. He built temples and cities; he was visited by kings and queens, admired and almost worshipped as a god, on account of the magnificence with which he was surrounded; and yet he was not happy. But listen to his own confession, and ponder it well: "I heaped together for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces; . . . and I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired, I refused them not: and I withheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and delighting itself in all the things I had prepared. And when I turned myself to all the works which my hands had wrought, and the labors wherein I had labored in vain, I saw in all things vanity, and vexation of mind, and that nothing was lasting under the sun."*
* Eccl. ii.
Here is the confession of the wisest of men—a man who tasted more of this world's happiness than any other; and he found it imperfect, and even vexatious, because "nothing was lasting under the sun."
But this is not all. Creatures not only change, fade away, and lose their power of giving us pleasure, but they may even turn against us, and, after having been almost a heaven to us, become a very hell, by the addictions and woes they bring upon us. This is especially the case if the object of our happiness is a human creature. Look at the dissensions and quarrels among friends and relatives, who once loved each other so well. Look at the almost incredible number of divorces which take place nearly every day. They tell us that the happiness which comes to us from human creatures is not lasting, because man is mutable. Take the virtuous and unfortunate Catherine of Aragon as an illustrious example. When Henry married her, he certainly made her happy at first. But as time rolled on, he changed in her regard. His love grew cold; he gradually despised her, took away from her the title of queen, banished her from his presence, and married another woman! What a terrible reverse of fortune! He, who at first had been her joy, changed and became the cause of her deepest sorrow and wretchedness.
Oh, how differently shall we fare in our heavenly home! For the objects of our love there are not mutable, as in this world. He who is the very source of our exceeding happiness, is the eternal, immutable God. When He shall have united us to himself, and made us "partakers of the Divine Nature," he never will change in our regard, tire of us, despise us, and cast us away from him, as creatures do. No, never, never. The bare thought of such a misfortune would spread a shade of gloom on the bright faces of the blessed. Once united to Him in the Beatific Vision, he will love us forever more. Never can there come a day when He will frown upon us, and make us feel that his love for us has grown cold. No, never, never. Never will there come a day when His divine beauty will fade away, or when he will lose his power of making us happy, as is the case with the creatures that now surround us; and therefore we shall never see the day when our happiness will change, or cease to exist.
But there is still more. Not only is God immutable, and therefore unable to change in our regard, but all the companions of our bliss have also become immutable in their love for us. Hence, there never will come a day then we shall see ourselves despised and even hated by our fellow-creatures, as so often happens in this world. All those defects which now make us so unamiable will be totally removed by our union with God, and no one will ever see anything in us but what is good and deserving of love. From this it follows, that even the happiness which comes to the blessed from creatures is permanent—eternal.
3. Let us now pass to the third defect of all earthly happiness. Even if both we and the objects which make us happy were immutable, our blessedness could not be lasting, because death, inexorable death, must eventually tear us away from them, or tear them away frown us. All earthly happiness, glory, and greatness end in death. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die,"* it follows that all, both great and small, must eventually see the end of all that makes life bright and desirable according to nature. All must die, and no one can take along with him his glory or earthly happiness; for, as the Holy Ghost tells us: "Be thou not afraid, when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased. For when he shall die, he shall take nothing away; nor will his glory descend with him."+
* Heb. ix. 27.
+ Ps. xlviii.
Where is now the happiness and the glory of those mighty kings and queens who were once surrounded with all the magnificence of this world? The grave answers: "It is no more." Where is now the glory of those mighty conquerors, who placed their supreme happiness in subjugating nations to their sway, in making widows and orphans, and in spreading devastation and ruin wherever they went? It is no more! We can say of them, in the words of the royal Prophet: "I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus. And I passed by, and lo! he was not: and I sought him: and his place was not found."* Death laid its cold hand upon them, and put an end to their earthly happiness.