And what sweet delight does St. Paul take in mentioning the very name of Christ? How does he dwell upon it in long sentences, and loves to repeat the blessed sound! How often does he rejoice in the hope of dwelling with him hereafter, and persuades the Colossians, in this context, to be much with him here; ver. 1. If ye are risen with Christ, and have derived a quickening virtue from him to work a divine life in you, let your affections ascend above, where Christ your life is. Is not a man, whose very soul and life is wrapped up in honour and ambition, desirous ever to be near the court! His life flourishes under the sunshine of the prince’s eye, and therefore he would fain dwell there. Does not the covetous wretch love to be near his hoards of gold or silver? He has put up his life in his bag, among his treasures, and he is not willing to be far distant, nor long separated from them. Whatever a man lives upon, he would willingly be ever near it, that so he may have the pleasure of feeding upon what is his greatest delight, and be refreshed and nourished by that which he feels to support him. Now, what honour is to the ambitious, what money is to the covetous, what all the various delights of sense are to the men of carnal pleasure; that is God to the saint, that is Christ Jesus to the christian; and therefore he is ever desirous of such further manifestations of God and Christ, that may invigorate his spiritual life, and give him the pleasing relish of living. Then a man feels that he lives, when he is near to the spring of his life, and derives fresh supplies from it every moment. Thence it is, that in every distress or danger, the saints fly to God for refuge and relief: He is their great _hiding place_; Ps. xxxii. 7. And Christ Jesus is represented in prophecy under the same character; Is. xxxii. 2. This man, in whom the _Godhead dwells bodily_, shall be a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest. The name of God in Christ, _is a strong tower; the righteous run into it_, to hide themselves, _and are safe_; Prov. xviii. 10. Their life is in God, in the keeping of Christ, and they can defy deaths and dangers, when their faith is strong, and their thoughts are fixed above.