126 BAXTER'S; DYING THOUGHTS. iii. And I shall have a special love to the holy society, the tri- umphant, universal church, consisting of Christ, angels, and saints, as they are specially amiable in the image and gloryof .God.. God himself loveth them more than his inferior, works ; that is, his essence, which is love, and bath no degrees or change, loth send forth fuller streams of good upon them, or maketh them better and happier than the rest. And my love will imitate the love of God, in my capacity. And if societies on earth, more holy and wise than others, though imperfectly, are very amiable, what then will the heavenlysociety be? Of this I .spake before, (of knowing them.) 1. Think here, O my soul, how, sweet a state unto, thee it will be to love the Lord Jesus, thy glorified Head, with perfect love ! When the glory of God, which shineth in him, will feast thy love with full and everlasting pleasure, the highest created perfection of power, wisdom, and goodness, refulgent in him, will not give leave to thy love to cease, or intermit, or abate its fervor. When thou shalt see in the glorifiedchurch the precious fruits of Christ's redemption, grace, and love, this also will feed thy love to him, from whom this heavenly glory cometli. And when thou shalt feel thyself possessed of perfect happiness, by his love to thee; will not this also do its part, Yea, the remembrance of all his former love, what he did for thee, and what he did in thee here on earth; how he called thee with an holy calling; how he washed thee in his blood from all thy sins; howhe kindled in thee those desires which tended to that perfect glory ; how he renewed thy nature; how he instructed, and guided, and preserved thee from thy childhood ; and how many and how great sins, enemies, dan- gers and sufferings, he saved tbee from ; all this will constrain thee everlastingly to love him. Thus, (though he give the kingdom to the Father, as ceasing his mediatory, healing, saving work of acquisition,) he will be to thee the Mediator of fruition. God in him will be accessible, and condescend to a suitable communion with us John xvii. 24. And as Christ is thy life, radically and efficiently, as' he is the Giver of grace and Spirit of love, so he will be objectively thy life, as he is lovely, and it will be formally thy life to love him, and God in him, forever. 2. Think, also, O my soul, how delectable it will be to love (as well as to know) those angels that most fervently love the Lord ! They will be, lovely to thee as they have loved thee, and more as they have been lovers and benefactors to the church and to mankind; but far more as they, are so many refulgentstars,; which continually move and shine, and burn in purest love to their Creator. O, blessed difference between that amiable, society'of holy spirit§; and this dark, mad,, distracted, wicked world ! Hero
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