Tribute from a Piper nerd

From Lessons at the Cross: or Spirtual Truths by Samuel Hopkins, 1864

God is the Life of the soul. There in the soul is God loved, God adored, God as the focal point, God as the center, and the aspiration of all its affections; full of joy when full of God. All the powers and desires of the soul are framed and fitted for God. The eyes of the heart are widened by the affectionate perception of God.

But God is known only through the Son. Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God and the soul receives it's food, light, joy, and "the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Christ." His Son is the brightness of the Father's Glory and the express image of His Person. Christ is Bread to the soul and Life to the body.

As our souls pursue His Son in our affectionate perception of His excellence and we eagerly search into His glory, we find Life, Righteousness, Redemption, Wisdom, and Sanctification. Our spiritual vision is attuned to the Beauty of Christ. Our spiritual appetite is whetted for that Bread. We are Home when our affections are lavished on Christ alone.