§ 10. (1.) Love is the first affection to be excited in heavenly contemplation. The object of it is goodness. Here, Christian, is the soul-reviving part of thy work. Go to thy memory, thy judgment, and thy faith, and from them produce the excellencies of thy rest; present these to thy affection of love, and thou wilt find thyself, as it were, in another world. Speak out, and love can hear. Do but reveal these things, and love can see. It is the brutish love of the world that is blind; Divine love is exceeding quick-sighted. Let thy faith take hold of thy heart, and shew it the sumptuous buildings of thy eternal habitation, and the glorious ornaments of thy Father's house, even the mansions Christ is preparing, and the honors of his kingdom; let thy faith lead thy heart into the presence of God, and as near as thou possibly canst, and say to it, "Behold the Ancient of Days, the Lord Jehovah, whose name is, I AM: This is he, who made all worlds with his word, who upholds the earth, who rules the nations, who disposes of all events, who subdues his foes, who controls the swelling waves of the sea, who governs the winds, and causes the sun to run its race, and the stars to know their courses: This is he, who loved thee from everlasting, formed thee in the womb, gave thee this soul, brought thee forth, shewed thee the light, and ranked thee with the chief of his earthly creatures, who endued thee with thy understanding, and beautified thee with his gifts, who maintains thy life and all its comforts, and distinguishes thee from the most miserable and vilest of men. O here is an object worthy thy love! Here shouldst thou even pour out thy soul in love! Here it is impossible for thee to love too much! This is the Lord who hath blessed thee with his benefits, _spread thy table in the sight of thine enemies, and made thy cup overflow_! This is he whom angels and saints praise, and the heavenly host for ever magnify!" Thus do thou expatiate on the praises of God, and open his excellencies to thine heart, till the holy fire of love begins to kindle in thy breast.
§ 11. If thou feelest thy love not yet burn, lead thy heart farther, and shew it the Son of the living God, whose name is, _Wonderful_, _Counsellor_, _the mighty God_, _the everlasting Father_, _the Prince of Peace_; shew it the King of saints on the throne of his glory, _the First and the Last_; _who is, and was, and is to come_; _who liveth, and was dead, and behold, he lives for evermore_; _who hath made thy peace, by the blood of his cross_, and hath prepared thee with himself an habitation of peace; His office is the great Peace-Maker; His kingdom is the kingdom of peace; His gospel is the tidings of peace; His voice to thee now is the voice of peace: Draw near and behold him. Dost thou not hear his voice? He that bid Thomas come near, and see the print of the nails, and put his finger into his wounds; He it is that calls to thee, "Come near and view the Lord thy Savior, _and be not faithless, but believing; Peace be unto thee, fear not, it is I_." Look well upon him. Dost thou not know him? It is he that brought thee up from the pit of hell, reversed the sentence of thy damnation, bore the curse which thou shouldst have born, restored thee to the blessing thou hadst forfeited, and purchased the advancement which thou must inherit for ever. And dost thou not yet know him? His hands were pierced, his head, his side, his heart were pierced, that by these marks thou mightest always know him. Dost thou not remember when he _found thee lying in thy blood, and took pity on thee, and dressed thy wounds, and brought thee home, and said unto thee, Live_? Hast thou forgotten since he wounded himself to cure thy wounds, and let out his own blood to stop thy bleeding? If thou knowest him not by the face, the voice, the hands, thou mayest know him by the heart; that soul pitying heart is his; it can be none but his: Love and compassion are its certain signatures: This is he, who chose thy life before his own; who pleads his blood before his Father, and makes continual intercession for thee. If he had not suffered, what hadst thou suffered? There was but a step between thee and hell, when he stept in, and bore the stroke. And is not here fuel enough for thy love to feed on? Doth not thy throbbing heart stop here to ease itself, and, like Joseph, _seek for a place to weep in_? Or do not the tears of thy love bedew these lines? Go on then, for the field of love is large; it will be thy eternal work to behold and love; nor needest thou want work for thy present meditation.