TUESDAY.
Heavenly Glory,— The Place and Company.
I. Imagination would torture itself in vain to conceive the glory, the beauty, and the happiness of heaven. " O Israel," exclaimed an enraptured prophet, "O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of His possession!" (Baruch iii. 24.) This is that city which St. John describes in his Apocalypse. Its gates are pearl, it is surrounded by walls of jasper, and its foundations are of the most precious stones. The city itself and the streets are of pure gold: "The city needeth not the sun nor the moon to shine in it, for the Lamb is the lamp thereof." (Apoc. xxi. 18.) Cry out with the Psalmist, 44 How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts, my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord." (Ps. lviii. 2.)
II. The company which the blessed will enjoy will be a great source of happiness. " There will be" there, " a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and people, and tongues." (Apoc. vii. 9.) There will be an immense number, without any dissension; distinction of degrees without envy; free communication without confusion. There we shall enjoy our friends in perfection. If it be pleasure in this life to converse with learned, amiable, and affectionate companions, how much greater will be the satisfaction to associate with angelic spirits, endowed with every kind of science and virtue, and to live forever in the company of patriarchs and prophets, of apostles, martyrs, confessors, and virgins, and all the other saints of heaven?
III. How vile and contemptible every earthly object
