BAXTER'S DYING THOUGHTS. 173 more is God, even infinite life, and light, and love, to the blessed world above. Doth it not draw out thy desires to think of going into a worldof love? When love will be our region, our company, our life; more to us than the air is for our breath, than the light is for our sight, than our food is for our life, than our friends are for our solace ; and more to us than we are to ourselves. O ex- cellent grace of faith which doth foresee, and blessed word of faith that doth foreshow, this world oflove ! Shall I fear to enter where there is no wrath, no fear, no strangeness, nor suspicion, nor selfish separation, but love will make every holy spirit as dear and lovely to me as myself, and me to them as Ìtovelyas themselves, and God to us all more amiable than ourselves and all ; where love will have no defects or distances, no damps or discouragements, no discontinuance or mixeddisaffection ; but as life will be without death, and light without darkness, (a perfect, everlasting day.of glory,) so will love be without any hatred, unkindness, or allay. As many Coals make one fire, and many candles conjoined make one light, so will many living spirits make. one life, and many illuminated, glorious spirits, one light and glory, and many spirits, naturalized into love, will make one perfect love of God, and be loved as one by God forever; for all the body of Christ is one: even here it is one in initial union of the Spirit, and relation to one God, and Head, and Life, (1 Cor. xii. throughout ; Eph. iv. 1 -17.) and shall be presented as beloved and spotless. to God, when the great marriage day of the Lamb shall come; Eph. v. 24, 25, &too Rev. lxxi. and xxii. Hadst thou not given me, O Lord, the life of nature, I should have had no conceptions of a glorious, everlasting life : but if thou give me not the life of grace, I shall have no sufficient delightful inclination and desire after it. Hadst thou not given me sight and reason, the light of nature, I should not have thought how desi- rable it is to live in the glorious light and vision ; but if thou give me not the spiritual illuminationof a seeing faith, I shall not yet long . for the glorious light, and beatific vision. Hadst thou not given me awill and love, Which is part of my very nature itself, I could not have tasted how desirable it is to live in'a world of universal, perfect, endless Iove but unless thou also shed abroad thy love upon my heart, by the Spirit of Jesus, the great medium of love, and turn my very nature or inclination into divine and holy love, I shall not long for the world of love. Appetite follow- eth nature: O! give me not only the image and the art of god- liness ; the approaches towards it, nor only some forced or un- constant acts ; but give me the divine nature, which is holy love, and then my soul will hasten towards thee, and cry, ' How long, O Lard, how long! 0 come, come quickly, make no delay.'
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