the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
John Gossner's Treasury
Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea pleasant. Song of Solomon 1:16. Oh how great Is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee. Psalms 31:19.
When God requires that we love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind. He does not demand too much. He deserves our love. We owe Him love above everything else. He alone is worthy of all our love. For there is nothing on us, nothing in us, nothing outside of us, above or beneath us; there is nothing in all the world, and in all the heavens, which His love, unmerited by us, has not created, given or promised us. If all this can not move us to love Him, then this fact alone, that He has sent to us Jesus, who blots out our sins, and is the fountain of eternal life, ought to be sufficient to present God to us as the most lovable one. It is this grace which gives to all other divine acts of love their true value. What would heaven and earth be to us if there were no Jesus, who reconciled us to God, justified, cleansed and sanctified us? Then we could neither enjoy God nor anything divine. We could not rejoice in any happiness if Jesus had not made us able to receive it. We were, and would remain, dead in sin. How shall they who are dead be able to love? how shall they be able to rejoice? Jesus being our life, He is also our joy, our love; we place nothing above Him. "Yes, my beloved," says the soul, "Thou art fair. Thou art pleasant. There is nothing fairer, nothing more pleasant than Thou art; for through Thee all that is fair becomes fair and all that is pleasant becomes pleasant. " But this mercy and love, this blessed knowledge is hidden. His lovableness and fairness are known only to the hearts who fear Him, that is His Word; who are anxious not to offend Him; who are concerned not to love anything outside of Him; who have given Him their whole heart because He has forgiven them all their sins and taken up His abode in their heart. These can not sufficiently rejoice in Him and love Him. Their love can never have its fill in Him. He appears to them ever more fair, ever more pleasant, the more they love Him. They find heaven, the highest happiness, in loving Him.
Fair is the sunshine.
Fairer the moonlight
And the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels in the sky.
