Study is like a winter sun that shines but does not warm, but meditation is like blowing up the fire, where we do not mind the blaze but the heat.
The perfect law of God requires only this: complete love without the least defect—all the heart, all the soul, and all the might. A corrupt grain makes the whole unacceptable, as one condition not observed forfeits the whole lease, though all the rest be kept. … […]
Fire is quenched by pouring on water or withdrawing fuel; so the Spirit is quenched by living in sin, which is like pouring on water; or not improving our gifts and grace, which is like withdrawing the fuel. Works, 9:491. Thomas Manton
The stronger the affections, the better the man acteth, with greater strength and vivacity; for they are the vigorous motions of the will.