Time is short, and eternity is long! Yet, in this short
time, I must prepare for long eternity! O! what a duration is before me! But
what a foolish infatuation is within me—that I should mind the trifling
things of time, and forget the great concerns of eternity! Truly, when I
compare eternity and time, I am astonished that eternity does not swallow up
time in my concerns and meditations. With what deceptive phantasies and
delusive dreams—are we entertained here—in comparison to that divine
understanding, intuitive knowledge, spiritual discoveries, vigor and
activity of soul, we shall be possessed of, when we awake to immortality,
from all the slumbers of a transitory life!
And yet, (woe is me!) am I not more anxious to grow in
earthly things—than to grow for heaven? Will not the fear of temporal losses
outweigh the joy I should have in believing? While God and glory have a
passing meditation in my heart, have not the vanities of the world a
permanent mansion? Does not worldly sorrow take deeper root in my soul, than
spiritual joy? And, were my thoughts counted up—most would be spent on
earthly vanities—while sacred things have scarcely a concern! Is this, alas!
the behavior of a candidate for bliss—the practice of an expectant of glory?
One thinks least on what he loves least. O mournful
conclusion! that I love God least, since he is least in my thoughts! But let
me rise in my contemplation, and see the celestial multitudes, dwelling in
the full display of his glory, possessed of pleasures as free as the
fountain whence they flow, and full as their unlimited desire. Their souls
are replenished with the most refined satisfaction, sacred delight, and
substantial joy. What a magnificent assembly are the inhabitants of the
better country! wearing crowns, holding scepters, reigning on thrones,
walking in white, exalted in their natures, their conceptions bright, their
visions cloudless, their thoughts elevated, their songs transporting, their
happiness confirmed, their love burning—and all their powers entranced
forever!
Seeing such, and much more, (for eye has not seen, ear
has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man to conceive what
God has laid up for those who love and fear him,) is the happiness of the
triumphant throng, who have the substance, marrow, and essence of bliss—it
is no wonder to see the saints setting their affections on the things above,
and longing to join the happy company.
What, then, though it be a steep ascent to the mount of
God, since verdant arbors, and a blooming paradise, are on the summit of the
hill. A prospect of the heavenly state might make me lie, without repining,
in the dungeon of a prison, until the very moment I were brought to the
palace. What though I bear my cross until the day I wear the crown? What
though I die daily, until Christ, with whom my life is hid in God, appears,
and I appear with him in glory? Should anything below concern him, who has
his eternal portion above? Should the pleasures of the world, which are but
painted clouds, and airy appearances, entice him; or the troubles of the
world terrify him, who is in a little while, to take his eternal farewell of
both? Let adversities keep close at his heels, heaven has an open door for
him, into which, while they must stand outside; he shall enter inside, and
remember his misery no more. Hence let it be my daily study to walk in the
view of a world to come, until that happy day when, (O wondrous word!) I
shall enter into the joy of my Lord!