Centuries of Meditations

98

It makes him sensible of the reality of Happiness: it feeds him with contentment, and fills him with gratitude, it delivers him from the love of money which is the root of all evil, it causes him to reign over the perverse customs and opinions that are in the world: it opens his eyes, and makes him to see men’s blindness and errors. It sateth his covetousness, feedeth his curiosity and pleaseth his ambition. It makes him too great for preferments and allurements. It causeth him to delight in retirement: and to be in love with prayer and communion with God. It lifteth him up above men’s scandals and censures. It maketh him zealous of the salvation of all. It filleth him with courage on the behalf of God. It makes him to rejoice in a present, visible, immovable treasure to which the rest of the world is blind, and strengthens his faith and hope of Invisible. Yea it makes him wise, and many invisible joys doth he see in this. Glory and Dominion are invisible joys. And so is that great interest a man hath to all Kingdoms and Ages, which a true possessor of the World is more sensible of, than of his houses and lands. It makes him meek in pardoning all injuries, because he is above the reach of all his enemies: and infinitely secure in the midst of his fruitions. How great a thing is the enjoyment of the world, how highly to be esteemed and how zealously to be thirsted after, that eminently containeth all these! Verily it is a Thing so Divine and Heavenly, that it makes vices and virtues almost visible to our very eyes.