REFLECTIONS

His Sweet Love And Presence

“Look up to Him and love Him! O, love and live.

I dare not say but my Lord Jesus hath fully recompensed my sadness with His joys, my losses with His own presence. I find it a sweet and rich thing to exchange my sorrows with Christ’s joys, my afflictions with that sweet peace I have with Himself.

Let us be glad and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord, for faith had never yet cause to have wet cheeks and hanging-down brows, or to droop or die: what can ail faith, seeing Christ Himself (with reverence to Him be it spoken) to be commanded by it; and Christ commandeth all things. Faith may dance because Christ sings; and we may come in the quire (choir) and lift our hoarse and rough voices, and chirp, and sing, and shout for joy with our Lord Jesus.

Christ and His cross together are sweet company, and a blessed couple. My poison is my palace, my losses are rich losses, my pain easy pain, my heavy days are holy and happy days. I may tell a new tale of Christ to my friends.

This soul of ours hath love, and cannot but love some fair one; and O, what a fair One, what an only One, what an excellent, lovely, ravishing One is Jesus.

I am in as sweet communion with Christ as a poor sinner can be; and am only pained that He hath much beauty and fairness, and I little love; He great power and mercy, and I little faith; He much light and I bleared eyes.

My counsel is, that ye come out and leave the multitude and let Christ have your company. Let them take clay and this present world who love it: Christ is a more worthy and noble portion: blessed be those who get Him.

My dear brother, let God make of you what He will, He will end all with consolation, and He shall make glory out of your sufferings; and would ye wish better work?

I find Christ the most steadfast friend and companion in the world to me now: the need and usefulness of Christ is seen best in trials. O, if He be not well worthy of His room!  Lodge Him in house and heart.”

-From The Loveliness Of Christ  Extracts from the Letters of Samuel Rutherford by Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)  Selected by Ellen Lister  Published by The Banner Of Truth Trust  Carlisle, PA  2007