The love of God is life and rest to our souls; when the soul departs through death the body dies; but when God departs from the soul through sin, the soul dies. On the other hand, “God dwells in our hearts by faith” (Eph. iii. 17); He dwells in our souls by love, because the love of God is shed abroad in the hearts of the elect by the Holy Spirit (Rom. v. 5). There is no peace of mind without the love of God. The world and the devil are its greatest sources of trouble, but God is its true and highest rest. There is no peace of conscience except to those who are justified by faith; there is no true love of God except in those who have a childlike trust in God. Therefore let the love of ourselves, the love of the world, the love of the creature, die in us, that the love of God may dwell in us; and may God begin that love in us in this life, that He may perfect it in life eternal.  (Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations – IX: Loving God Alone, Repristination Press, p. 54)

What thy love is, that thou art; because thy love changes thee into itself; love is the very strongest bond, because the lover and the object loved become one. What is it that has joined together a righteous God and lost sinners, so infinitely removed from each other? Infinite love. And that the righteousness of God might not be rendered of no effect Christ interposed His infinite ransom. What is it, moreover, that unites those so far separated from each other, as God the Almighty Creator and a believing soul, the work of His hands? Love. In Heaven we shall be united to God in the very highest degree. Why? Because we shall love Him in the very highest degree. Love unites and transforms; if thou lovest carnal things, thou art carnal; if thou lovest earthly things, thou shalt become earthly. But flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. xv. 50). If thou lovest God and divine things, thou shalt become divine. The love of God is the chariot of Elijah ascending to heaven. The love of God is the delight of the mind, the paradise of the soul; it destroys the power of the world, conquers the devil, shuts the mouth of hell, and opens wide the gate of heaven. The love of God is the seal of God upon His elect and believing children (Rev. vii. 3). God will not acknowledge as His own in the last judgment, those who are not sealed with this seal. For faith itself, which is the sole means of our justification and salvation, is not genuine unless it shows itself by love (Gal. v. 6); it is not true faith unless it be also an unwavering trust, and such a trust is impossible without the love of God. A benefit is not recognized for which thanks are not rendered; we are not truly thankful to Him whom we do not love. If thy faith is genuine it will recognize the great benefits conferred by Christ, thy Redeemer; aye, it will recognize and render thanks; it will render thanks and it will love Him. (Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations – IX: Loving God Alone, Repristination Press, p. 52-53)

He loved us when we had fallen into sin; for it is because of His divine love, that He does not instantly deliver us over to death, when we transgress against Him, but patiently awaits our conversion. It is because of His divine love that above what we deserve, aye, even in very opposition to our just deserts, He is leading us to His heavenly mansions. Without the love of God never couldst thou come to a saving knowledge of God. Without that love all knowledge would be worthless; nay more, it would be harmful to thee. Why does love exceed the knowledge of all mysteries (1 Cor. xiii. 2)? Because the latter may be found even in the devil, but the former only in the godly. Why is the devil the most unhappy being? Because he cannot love the Highest Good. Why is God, on the other hand, the most happy and blessed of all beings? Because He loves all things, and takes delight in all the works of His own hands. Why is the love of God not perfected in us in this life? Simply because we love only as we know; and in this life we know only in part, and as in a riddle (1 Cor. xiii. 12). In heaven we shall be perfectly happy, because we shall love God perfectly, and we shall love Him perfectly because we shall know Him perfectly. But no one may cherish a hope of loving God perfectly in the future life, who does not begin to love Him in this life. The Kingdom of God must begin in the heart of man in this life, or it will never be consummated in the life that is to come. Without the love of God we have no desire for eternal life; and how then can we become sharers of that highest Good, if we do not love it, if we do not desire it, if we do not seek it? (Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations – IX: Loving God Alone, Repristination Press, p. 51-52)