Centuries of Meditations

67

There I saw Moses blessing the Lord for the precious things of Heaven, for the dew and for the deep that coucheth beneath: and for the precious fruits brought forth by the Sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon: and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills; and for the precious things of the earth, and fulness thereof. There I saw Jacob with awful apprehensions admiring the glory of the world, when awaking out of his dream, he said, How dreadful is this place. This is none other than the House of God, and the Gate of Heaven. There I saw God leading forth Abraham, and showing him the stars of Heaven; and all the countries round about him, and saying, All these will I give thee, and thy seed after thee. There I saw Adam in Paradise, surrounded with the beauty of Heaven and Earth, void of all earthly comforts, to wit, such as were devised, gorgeous apparel, palaces, gold and silver, coaches, musical instruments, &c; and entertained only with celestial joys, the sun and moon and stars, beasts and fowls and fishes, trees and fruits, and flowers, with the other naked and simple delights of nature. By which I evidently saw that the way to become rich and blessed was not by heaping accidental and devised riches to make ourselves great in the vulgar manner, but to approach more near, and to see more clearly with the eye of our understanding, the beauties and glories of the whole world: and to have communion with the Deity in the riches of God and Nature.