cation.

This fickleness, which so stubbornly clings to us in our present
state of existence, and which puts an end to so many of our joys, is
entirely removed by our union with God in the Beatific Vision. "We
shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as he is." One of the
essential attributes of God is immutability, or the total absence of
change, or even of the power to change. He is the selfsame forever.
He is, as St. James beautifully expresses it, "The Father of lights,
with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration."* By our union
with Him we are "made partakers of the Divine Nature," and
consequently, of the divine immutability. Our natural fickleness will
die in our temporal death, never to rise again, and our whole nature
will be clothed with immutability, and remain the selfsame forever.

* James i. 17.

Hence, we shall no longer be tossed to and fro by every wind of
passion, nor by the vicissitudes of present time. We shall no longer,
as now, be joyful one day, and then be cast down and sorrowful on the
next; in the enjoyment of perfect health one day, and racked with the
pangs of disease on the next; enjoying the society of our
fellow-beings one day, and finding it intolerable on the next;
overflowing now with devotion and the love of God, and then ready to
abandon His service in disgust. We shall become immutable, and
therefore when millions of ages have rolled by, we shall still be
enjoying the same happiness as we did when the vision of God first
flashed upon tour souls.

2. But there is a second defect which, even if we were immutable
ourselves, would prevent our earthly happiness front being permanent,
and it is this: the objects from which we derive our happiness are
also subject to change. Their beauty fades away; they lose their
freshness, and along with it the power of making us happy. It was
this defect which marred the happiness of Solomon. His position and
circumstances placed within his reach all the pleasures which the
heart of man can enjoy here below. He was a king, a husband, and a
father; he was filled with a wisdom greater than ever was vouchsafed
to any other man. He built temples and cities; he was visited by
kings and queens, admired and almost worshipped as a god, on account
of the magnificence with which he was surrounded; and yet he was not
happy. But listen to his own confession, and ponder it well: "I
heaped together for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings