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pursue shadows, and pour his love on perishing trifles. And art not thou, my soul, blame-worthy here, that art busied every day about vanities, but cold, key-cold, in love to the Perfection of beauty."

Surely the angels of light, and the spirits of just men made perfect, are surprised to see the expectants of the same glory, deluded, charmed, and enchanted with perishing vanities, and not enraptured with the Chiefest among ten thousand. The inhabitants of the better country despise our sin-burnt beauties, and worm-eaten excellencies; yea, they would blush to mention our delights, or to take up the object of our love in their lips. What would a seraph care for the sceptre of a terrestrial empire? or a glorified saint for the government of an earthly kingdom? And why should I, then, care so much for less things, who, in my expectations, am travelling to the same place, and rising to the same glory?

May I, then, for a moment draw aside the curtain of time, glance into the other world, and get a glimpse of the object of my love. Ah me! the vision is too bright, the glory too refulgent for my feeble sight! See all the heavens enlightened with his glory; crowned with majesty divine, he fills his lofty throne, and sways the sceptre far through all existence. See seraphim and cherubim bow before him, and mighty angels fall prostrate at his feet. Yea, see him in thy nature stand and plead for thee, not forgetful of thy need, nor deaf to thy distress, amidst his boundless glory. See approaching myriads, even the ransomed nations, sick of love, adore him in unutterable strains. And why dost thou not love him? Thou canst not doubt his power, for he is God; nor his compassion, for he is man; nor his salvation, for

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he is God-man in one person. All heaven is eternally enamoured with him; and it would be rebellion to bid them lift their love, and lay it on any other. The Father loves him, angels love him, saints love him; and it is pleasant in the eye of God that the excellency of all fulness should dwell in him. Under how many ties am I to love him! for what he hath been, what he is, and what he will be to me; for what he hath done, what he is doing, and what he will do for me. Before he made the world my salvation was secured in the sure decree; thus with an everlasting love he loved me; and why with lovingkindness should not I be drawn? Then he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the sons of men.

Again, I should love him for what he is. But here words cannot express my thoughts, nor my thoughts my subject. He is the mighty God, on my side! The Creator of both worlds, for me! His perfections are infinite, innumerable, and eternal; he is self-existent, self-sufficient, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, unchangeable, and independent. He is holy, just, and good, merciful, faithful, long-suffering and compassionate. In a word, God is love; and love begets its like in the soul of every saint, who is filled with wonder at the person of Immanuel, who is every thing that they or I can need. He satisfies every longing desire, performs every endearing office, as prophet, priest, and king; fills every tender relation, as kinsman, friend, brother, father, husband. Love shall be the subject of my song for

ever.

Again, I should love him for what he will be to me. Now, he will be my God even unto death;

my shield and sun in the dark vale of dissolution. He will bring me into the palace of the King, with joy on every side; will be my temple in the highest heavens, and my portion through the endless ages of eternity.

Likewise, how should I love him for what he has done, is doing, and will do to me !-For me he hath done great things, whereof my soul is glad. He has, by making his soul an offering for sin, satisfied justice, magnified the law, removed my guilt, and reconciled my soul to God.-For what he is doing : He is appearing in the presence of God for me, pleading my cause, interceding on my behalf, and offering my prayers with his own incense at his Father's throne. He is ordering all things well for me, perfecting what concerns me, hearing my petitions, marking my requests, numbering my groans, telling my wanderings, and putting my tears into his bottle; and, as my feeling High Priest, sympathizing with me in all my afflictions.-Lastly, for what he will do: but who, besides thee, O God! knowest what thou hast laid up for those that wait on thee? Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor can the most capacious soul conceive, of that abundant bliss, which only can be revealed in the enjoyment, and known in the possession. O happy day! when I shall put off mortality, and this clay-tabernacle, and join the shining assembly of sinless adorers, whom he feeds and feasts with the fatness of the higher house, satisfies with his likeness, replenishing every power with his plenitude, and ravishing the whole soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Come, then, my soul! look from the height of perishing things to the mount of God, where every

soul glows with sacred love, and dwells among the assimilating flames. Didst thou see a man of threescore years chasing flies and feathers, like the child of three, what wouldst thou think of him? And while the world is thy chase, what, O my demitted soul! shall I conclude of thee? Ransack the whole creation of God, and see if all its excellencies together can vie with one ray of his glory, one beam of his love then let his love to thee constrain thy love to him, and thus begin the work of heaven on earth.

The perfection of bliss in heaven shall consist in the perfection of love, for love is the sum of felicity. Take away love from heaven, heaven could no more boast of its unbounded bliss. Life, light, love, are the trinity of perfection, and the perfection of the adorable Trinity. Of all the heavenly graces, love only returns to heaven, without any change, but of putting on perfection, and casting out fear. To dwell in love, and to dwell in God, cannot be separated; and the more I dwell in love, the nearer I dwell to God below; and when at last I rise to the highest degrees of love, I shall arrive at the nearest communion with God.

Roll on, ye longed-for days, and come, thou everlasting dawn, that I may plunge into this sea of bliss, this ocean of eternal love, and know what it is to love him to the full, whom here I scarcely dare al lege I love.

MEDITATION XXVIII.

LOVE IN GOD.

LOVE in the saints is a noble grace, but superlatively glorious in God. On it angels look, and admire; and I should look, and adore. Every thing in God has the majesty of a God. Hence his mercy is in the heavens; his truth reacheth to the clouds; his justice is like the mountains; his judgments are a great deep; his pity is like that of a father; his patience great to a miracle; he is ready to forgive; his goodness is abundant unto all; and his love, in height, breadth, depth, and length, past knowledge. Although the mercy-seat that dwells so long between the cherubim of gospel-grace shall in a little be turned into the fiery throne of judgment, and long-abused patience into indignation and wrath; when the royal signet, that sealed the salvation of thousands, shall stamp the irreversible doom of an unbelieving world; yet love in God shall undergo no change. Here, it shines as the morning-star, through the scattered clouds; there, as the noon-day sun, in the illuminated regions of glory.

"From everlasting to everlasting," is the epithet of love. A love without beginning and without end, gives a bliss without limits and bounds. This amazing love of God produces a sweet similitude in the love of his saints; so that, as the one measures with the existence of God, from everlasting to everlasting, the other measures with the existence of the new creature, from the hour of conversion to all eternity. Their gifts shall end, their graces change, faith be turned into vision, hope into fruition; but love shall neither

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