Communion with Jesus by John
Fawcett Yes, He is very precious to you who believe." 1 Peter
2, verse 7. Christ is precious to those who
believe. They desire to have more and
more daily acquaintance with Him, and to grow in the sweet
and powerful experience of communion with Him. Let us suppose the
true Christian, in his retired moments, addressing God in such
manner as the following, You, O God, are unchangeable in Your
nature, glorious in Your essence, wonderful in Your perfections,
wise in Your counsels, and holy in all Your works. It is my greatest
good and highest happiness to enjoy your favor and to behold
your glory. Permit me to say, with your servant
Moses, I beseech you, show me your glory. Show me the glory
of your wisdom, your holiness, your power, your grace, and your
mercy in Christ Jesus. This will give me a distaste
for the gaudy vanities of the present world. I shall then look
with indifference on all that after which the covetous are
eagerly panting. I shall then pity the ambitious
in their restless solicitude to make themselves great and
to obtain the veneration of their fellow worms. Your divine beauty
and infinite loveliness, As displayed in the glorious mediator, Will
captivate my desires, inflame my love, And excite my joy and
delight. A more intimate view of Your
holiness will embitter every sin and lead me, in deepest humiliation,
to abhor myself and repent as in dust and ashes. Give me such
a sense of Your majesty as may dispose my heart to reverence
You supremely. Afford me such discoveries of
your omnipotence, your love, and your goodness, as may support
my fainting heart under the toils of this warfare and all the afflictions
attending this state of mortality. Let the impressions which your
adorable perfections make upon me be deep and powerful, so as
to transform my soul into your own lovely and holy likeness. Thus, by beholding your glory,
may I be changed into your image. It is habitual and not transient
communion with Jesus, the Lord of glory, which alone will satisfy
my desires and produce those happy effects which I seek, of
nearer conformity to Him in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Communion with Christ will tend
to refine my understanding, rectify my soul, and purify my heart. Grant me, O Author of all good,
by frequent converse with you, to have my affections spiritualized,
that I may look with indifference on all other objects, and have
my mind set on things above, not on earthly things. In fellowship with you, I shall
find a source of delights infinitely superior to anything that this
world can afford. For your lovingkindness is better
than life itself. You are the inexhaustible treasury
of blessedness. O Lord God Almighty, blessed
is the man who trusts in You. This Puritan devotional has been
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