Communion with Jesus

(John Fawcett, "Christ Precious")

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"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe." 1 Peter 2:7

Christ is precious to those who believe. They desire to have more and more daily acquaintance with Him, and to grow in the sweet and powerful experience of communion with Him. Let us suppose the true Christian, in his retired moments, addressing God in such manner as the following:

"You O God are . . .
  unchangeable in Your nature,
  glorious in Your essence,
  wonderful in Your perfections,
  wise in Your counsels,
  and holy in all Your works.
It is my greatest good and highest happiness, to enjoy Your favor and to behold Your glory. Permit me to say, with Your servant Moses, 'I beseech You, show me Your glory!' Show me the glory of Your wisdom, Your holiness, Your power, Your grace, and Your mercy in Christ Jesus. This will give me a distaste for the gaudy vanities of the present world. I shall then look with indifference on all that after which the covetous are eagerly panting. I shall then pity the ambitious, in their restless solicitude to make themselves great, and to obtain the veneration of their fellow worms. Your Divine beauty and infinite loveliness, as displayed in the glorious Mediator will . . .
  captivate my desires,
  inflame my love, and
  excite my joy and delight!

"A more intimate view of Your holiness will embitter every sin; and lead me in deepest humiliation, to abhor myself and repent as in dust and ashes. Give me such a sense of Your majesty, as may dispose my heart to reverence You supremely. Afford me such discoveries of Your omnipotence, Your love, and Your goodness, as may support my fainting heart under the toils of this warfare, and all the afflictions attending this state of mortality. Let the impressions which Your adorable perfections make upon me be deep and powerful, so as to transform my soul into Your own lovely and holy likeness. Thus by beholding Your glory, may I be changed into Your image.

"It is habitual, and not transient communion with Jesus, the Lord of glory-which alone will satisfy my desires, and produce those happy effects which I seek, of nearer conformity to Him in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. Communion with Christ will tend to . . .
  refine my understanding,
  rectify my soul,
  and purify my heart!

"Grant me, O Author of all good, by frequent converse with You, to have my affections spiritualized, that I may look with indifference on all other objects; and have my mind set on things above, not on earthly things. In fellowship with You, I shall find a source of delights infinitely superior to anything that this world can afford. For Your loving-kindness is better than life itself. You are the inexhaustible treasury of blessedness. O Lord God Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You."