Communion with Christ

Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth: for Thy love is better than wine.
Song of Solomon 1:2

1. Such as have the least taste of Christ's love, are impatient and restless in their desires after the nearest fellowship and communion with Him. The Church here desires Christ's manifestation in the flesh, that she might enjoy him in a Gospel-dispensation, and have sweeter discoveries of His favour: so in like manner the Church of the New Testament, who did enjoy all the privileges of the Gospel; yet she goes higher in her affections, and desires Christ's last coming, that so she might enjoy Him in that heavenly and everlasting communion, which the saints shall enjoy hereafter.
2. Christ hath given more sweet and comfortable pledges of love and reconciliation to His people under the Gospel, than He did under the Law (Luke 10:24; Hebrews 12:18-20, 22; Ephesians 4:8).
3. The doctrine of the Gospel is very sweet and desirable (Hebrews 6:5; 1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 2:17).
4. Those strong desires and earnest longings of the faithful after Christ, flow from a principle of love (2 Corinthians 5:15; Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 11:4). Christ is the ocean of spiritual love, from whence we derive, and into which we return our love: so that our love proceeds from Christ's love; His love is as a loadstone, attractive, drawing our affections to Him; our love is as the reflecting back to Him again the beams of His own love.
5. The love of God in Christ is an infinite and a manifold love.(1) His electing love (Ephesians 1:4-6, 11).(2) His redeeming love, whereby He hath brought His from the bondage of sin into glorious liberty and freedom (Galatians 4:4; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6).(3) God's love of calling; the outward is a bare propounding of the Gospel; but the inward call is a spiritual enlightening, "to know the hope of His calling" (Ephesians 1:17). And that whereby the soul is made able to apprehend Him, of whom it is apprehended (Philippians 3:12).(4) God's justifying love, whereby He doth free and discharge His people from sin and death, and accounts them righteous in Christ.(5) His adopting love, whereby He accepts the faithful, unto the dignity of sons (John 1:12; Romans 8:17).(6) His sanctifying love, whereby He doth free believers from the filthiness of sin, and restore in them again the image of God, which con-sisteth of righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).(7) His glorifying love, whereby He lifts up His people unto that state of life and glory, and gives them an immortal inheritance, where all comfort, peace, and joy shall abound, and where they shall have the communion of the chiefest good, the love of God shining forth immediately upon their hearts.
(John Robotham.)

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