-----------------------------------------------

Jesus, the Lord, Enthroned on High
Author: Unknown Tune: Doxology
1. Jesus, the Lord, enthroned on high,
To Thee we look, to Thee we cry;
We long to see Thy glorious face,
And sweetly sing Thy matchless grace.
2. Thou hast redeemed our souls from death,
And blessed us with a living faith;
Dear condescending God, appear
And bless us with a holy fear.

3. Dear Father, bless us with Thy grace,
While traveling through this wilderness;
And in Thy gospel let us see
A glimpse of love, a glimpse of Thee.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Grand Secret!
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that HE loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
1 John 4:10
Deal much and closely with a crucified Savior! This is the grand secret of a constant ascending of the affections to God. If you find it difficult to comprehend the love of God towards you - then read it in the cross of His dear Son!
Dwell upon this amazing fact, drink into this precious truth, muse upon it, ponder it, search into it, pray over it, until your heart is melted down, and broken, and overwhelmed with God’s wondrous love to you in the gift of Jesus!
Oh, how will this rekindle the flame that is ready to die in your bosom! How it will draw you up in a holy and unreserved surrender of body, soul, and spirit! Deal much with Jesus!
Whenever you detect . . .
a waning of love,
a reluctance to take up the daily cross,
a shrinking from the precept - go immediately to Calvary!
Go simply and directly to Jesus! Get your heart warmed with ardent love by contemplating Him upon the cross - and soon will the frosts that gather round it melt away, and the congealed current shall begin to flow!
“Who loved me - and gave Himself for me!” Galatians 2:20
--Octavius Winslow

--------------------------------

Desires after Christ!
“This is my beloved, and this is my friend.” Song of Songs 5:16
“Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee!” Psalm 73:25
Christ is the very essence of all delights and pleasures - the very soul and substance of them! As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the meeting-place of all the waters in the world - so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet!
Are our desires for Christ ARDENT? Has Christ the supreme place in our hearts? Do we esteem all things but dung that we may win Christ and be found in Him?
Are our desires for Christ UNIVERSAL? Is everything about Christ desirable in our eyes? The hypocrite is for a divided Christ. The true believer loves . . .
both His government and His grace,
both His sovereignty and His mercy,
both His Lordship and His priesthood.
Do our desires after Christ lead us to EFFORT - to use all the means of grace to accomplish His will? He is revealed in His Word - do we read it? He is preached in the gospel - do we hear it? He will be found by those who seek Him - do we earnestly seek Him? Are our desires after Christ PERMANENT - or only a sudden fit of emotion, fear or impulse? If our hearts and our longing for communion with Him - we will only be satisfied when we awake with His likeness. Nothing that this world affords can possibly take us from this goal!
Do our desires after Christ spring from a DEEP SENSE OF OUR NEED of Christ? Has conviction of sin opened our eyes . . .
to see our misery,
to feel our burden of sin,
to understand our inability, and
to make us sensible that the only remedy
lies in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Bread and wine are made necessary by hunger and thirst. Christ is only precious to those who need Him!
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early:.” Isaiah 26:9 --John Flavel