hangings, fastened with cords of silk and of purple, which were put into rings of ivory, and were held up with marble pillars. The beds also were of gold and silver, placed in order upon a floor paved with porphyry and white marble, which was embellished with painting of wonderful variety.” Wine too was there in abundance, as suited the magnificence of the king, and it was of the best quality, while the attendants were the chief ministers of the king himself. And to what end all this profusion? “That he might show the riches of the glory of his kingdom, and the greatness and boasting of his power.”[1] Great and infinite God! wilt Thou then hereafter yield to Thy poor creatures, who can do nothing without Thee, in glory and magnificence? If Thy earthly vassals, who with all their pomp can only give us a dim idea of Thy heavenly splendor, if they in this vale of tears can afford such pleasures and delights to the senses according to the insignificant dignity of their persons, what wilt Thou do? What shall we have to see, to hear, to taste, to feel in Thy palace, where Thou wilt prepare a joyful and splendid feast for Thy dearest friends and children, to show the infinite, immense glory of Thy kingdom of heaven and the greatness of Thy divine power? Truly, my dear brethren, any effort of the imagination we can make here must fall far short of the reality. It is a God, the King and Monarch of all monarchs, of whose greatness there is neither end nor measure, who will in heaven display His splendor and magnificence, especially in the rewarding of His just servants. “I am…thy reward exceeding great.”[2] He says Himself. From this alone we can form some idea of the superabundance of the delights of the body in heaven. They must be joys beseeming and befitting the infinite majesty of God and the state of perfect happiness, and therefore joys with which no earthly pleasures can be compared; joys that shall delight the senses and feelings in the most perfect manner.
Indescribable shall be the pleasure of the eyes. And in the first place, besides the brightness and beauty of the heavenly palace, the eternal dwelling of God, and the proper home of happiness, which we have already often had as the subject of our meditations, oh, what beautiful and pleasing objects
- ↑ In vestibulo hortis et nemoris, quod regio cultu et manu consitum erat. Et pendebant cx omni parte tentoria ærei coloris, et carbasini, ac hyacinthini, sustentata funibus byssinis atque purpureis, qui eburneis circulis inserti erant, et columnis marmoreis fulciebantur. Lectuli quoque aurei et argentei super pavimentum smaragdino et pario stratum lapide, disposti erant, quod mira varietate picturra decorabat. Ut ostenderet di vitias gloriæ regni sui, ac magnitudinem atque jactantiam potentiæ suæ.—Esth. i. 5, 6, 4.
- ↑ Ego merces tua magna nimis.—Gen. xv. 1.
