The Blessedness of Those who Love Jesus

oops...this one should've been first.

from The Christians Reasonable Service by Wilhelmus á Brakel

How blessed are you who love Jesus, for God loves you! “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father” (John 14:21); “For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me” (John 16:27). The Lord Jesus loves you: “He that loveth Me...I will love him” (John 14:21). If you are loved by God and the Lord Jesus, They will accomplish in you all that proceeds from eternal love. Would God then not behold the beloved of His soul, deliver them from all that would harm them, and provide for them in all their necessities? “Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and Thy glory above all the earth; that Thy beloved may be delivered: save with Thy right hand” (Ps. 108:5–6); “For so He giveth His beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:2). The rendering of the Statenvertaling differs significantly from the KJV. It reads as follows: “Het is alzo, dat Hij het zijnen beminde als in de slaap geeft.” Literally translated this reads, “He gives it to His beloved as during their sleep.”

Oh, how great is that good which the Lord will give to His beloved! “I...will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21); “We will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23); “That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance” (Prov. 8:21). God's heart is inclined toward you, God's eye is upon you, God's hand is for you, and all discomforts come upon you in love (Rev. 3:19)—all things must work together for you for good (Rom. 8:28). All that is subservient to your salvation and can satisfy you is intended for you (1 Cor. 2:9). Of you it may be said, “Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy
help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!” (Deut. 33:29). The very zenith of your felicity is love itself and the privilege to love eternally—without end to remain satisfied with the immediate manifestations of love, and the mutual enjoyment of love with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.