It is the tendency of love to
excite in the mind many thoughts about the beloved object. A right knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ will fill the mind with thoughts and meditations
concerning Him, so as to excite the affections to cleave to Him
with delight. A discovery of the glory of His
person, of the perfection of His atoning sacrifice, and of
the fullness of His grace, must inspire the heart with love to
Him. Yes, he is very precious to you
who believe." It is much to be lamented that those who profess
a sincere attachment to the Redeemer should have their thoughts so
little employed about him. Where a multitude of worldly
cares, desires, fears, and hopes prevail in the mind, they cumber
and perplex it so as to bring on a great disinclination to
spiritual meditation. The advice of the Apostle Paul
is of great importance in this case. If you then are risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits
at the right hand of God. Set your affection, your mind,
your thoughts, on things above, not on things on the earth. But
earthly and sensual affections fill the hearts and heads of
men with multitudes of thoughts concerning those objects on which
they are fixed, so as to leave no room nor any inclination for
spiritual and heavenly thoughts. Shall not my thoughts, says the
believer, be frequently employed in meditating on the love of
that infinitely glorious person to whom I am indebted for deliverance
from the greatest misery, and for all the hope I have of being
one day advanced to everlasting glory and felicity? He poured
out his holy soul in agonies, under the curse of the avenging
law, to make me a partaker of eternal blessedness. He perfectly
fulfilled the precepts of that holy law that I, by His obedience,
might be made righteous. This glorious and adorable Redeemer
thought upon us long before the foundations of the world were
laid. He bore us on His heart when
He hung on the cross, when He was torn with wounds and racked
with pain, when He poured out His dying groans and spilt His
blood. He remembers us now when He is
exalted at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, and
will never, never forget us through all the ages of eternity. Surely, then, we ought to think
of Him. impressed with a sense of His
everlasting kindness, we should be ready to say, as the captives
in Babylon concerning their beloved city Jerusalem, If I forget you,
O blessed Jesus, let my right hand forget its skill. May my
tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you,
if I don't make you my highest joy. What holy transports of
soul, what divine delights have many Christians experienced in
meditating on the glories of the Redeemer? Ascending the mount
of contemplation, their souls have taken wing and explored
the height and the depth, the length and breadth of the love
of Christ which passes knowledge. they have seen, by the eye of
faith, that He is infinitely lovely in Himself, that He is
the admiration of angels, the darling of heaven, and the delight
of the Father. They have viewed Him in the brightness
of His ineffable glory, clothed with indescribable majesty and
honor. They have been transported with
the smiles of His countenance, And said of Him, He is the chief
among ten thousand, And altogether lovely. They have also considered
their own unworthiness and said, Can such a wretch as I be the
object of His love? So vile a worm, so unprofitable
a creature, so great a sinner, one so deserving of His everlasting
abhorrence, has He loved me so as to give Himself for me? Oh, what marvelous kindness is
this! Is my worthless name written
in His book of life? Am I redeemed by His blood, renewed
by His Spirit, beautified with His loveliness, and clothed in
His righteousness? Oh, wonder of wonders! How can
I forbear to love this adorable Savior? Can I withhold my choicest
affections from Him? Ah, no, had I a thousand lives,
a thousand souls, they would all be devoted to Him. You tempting vanities of this
base world, You flattering honors, You deceitful riches, adieu! Jesus is my all, He is my light,
my life, My unfailing treasure, my everlasting portion. Nothing
below the skies is deserving of my love. precious Redeemer. In You the boundless wishes of
my soul are filled. I long to leave this tenement
of clay and to rest in the bosom of Your love forever. My meditation
of Him shall be sweet." Psalm 104 verse 34. This Puritan devotional has been
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