Better than life!

(William Mason, "A Spiritual Treasury")

"Your steadfast love is better than life!" Psalm 63:3

Forsake all—and possess all. Give up all—and enjoy all.
This is the doctrine of Jesus—and the experience of true
believers. We overcome the world . . .
  by preferring the love of Christ to everything besides;
  by really tasting that the Lord is gracious;
  by truly feeling the comforts of His love;
  by actually partaking of fellowship with Jesus;
  by freely conversing with the Father of all consolations!
O how transporting to the heart! How ravishing to the soul!

With what holy indifference does the enraptured heart
look down upon the fleeting objects of time and sense!
The gilded toys of time—which so attract the views;
the glittering vanities of life—which so enslave earthly minds;
the empty shadows of sense—which so bewitch the heart;
yes, life itself, with all its comforts—what are all, compared
to one moment's enjoyment of the loving-kindness of the
Lord! They are as shadow compared to substance! In
worth, they are as but dust—compared to diamonds!

Saving faith brings the love of God—yes, the God of love
Himself into the sinner's heart! This changes a miserable
sinner—into a satisfied, holy, humble praiser of God. Thus
it is—when the soul has found Christ, who is its life, its
glory, its treasure, its heaven, its all.