of spiritual sorrow and conscious guilt, hastening with messages of mercy towards the trembling and afflicted soul. How blissful the calm after such a conflict, when the Spirit testifies with ours, that we are the children of God; and the pledge of our eternal redemption is more precious to us than crowns and sceptres. Now we sit under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit is sweet to our taste. Now all the promises of Scripture are ours. The Bible appears to us a richly laden tree, extending its branches towards us. On us the dying eye of Jesus rests, when from the cross he casts a last trembling look upon the earth; on us he thinks, when he exclaims, 'I lay down my life for my sheep;' and to us his blood-stained arms appear extended, while stretched upon the tree. The consolation of reconciliation distils like honey, and diffuses itself through our inmost being; the peace of God encompasses us; the overcharged heart expands like the ocean; the blessed dove has deposited the olive branch in the ark.

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If we now reflect that the olive branch, whilst it is a symbol of victory and of triumph, is likewise a decoration of honor; and that Noah, to whom the dove brought the olive branch, was a type of Christ; we shall again perceive in this figure a trait of the Holy Spirit, by which its existence in the converted soul is verified. This heavenly dove also knows a worthy head for every crown and garland; and the ultimate design of all its operations is to glorify the Lord Jesus. It deprives the creature of all honor, to confer it on the Lord, and on him exclusively; it indelibly impresses this sentiment on the believing heart: Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for

thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake;' and it imparts to the mind, that holy frame, which makes it recoil from the slightest wish to magnify itself, as from an infernal spirit of rebellion. The Savior himself says the same of the Comforter: He shall testify of me.'

If then a spirit stir within you, whatever disguise it may assume, which tempts you to magnify yourselves, know that this spirit is not the dove. The dove will exalt the Savior only.

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II. Having thus glanced at the heavenly dove herself; let us now also listen to her voice: for her notes are wonderful and enchanting. The voice of the turtle,' says the Bridegroom to his Shulamite, is heard in our land;' and we say, God be praised. What discordant notes would have resounded through the world, if no spirit but that of man had ever prevailed in it. There has never been a time, in which this heavenly dove has been perfectly silent upon earth. Here or there, in gentle strains at least, she has ever caused her voice to be heard. That which at the time of the flood, spake by the mouth of Noah so warningly and so cheeringly to the hearts of sinners; that which, in the patriarchal world, proclaimed such glad tidings, and announced a day at which Abraham rejoiced; and that which spake by Moses of a prophet, whom the Lord would raise up, like unto him; that which on the hill of Bethlehem inspired the sweet strains of the royal bard; that which, by the voice of the prophets, pronounced such wonderful sayings, and revealed such sacred mysteries; tell me what was it? What else, my brethren, but the dove; what else but the dove of that Spirit which

searches even the deep things of God, and which resounds through all the promises. In the Bible, that tree of life, she sits upon every branch, and her voice may be heard in an endless variety of tone and modulation; - and those who have an ear for its melodies, know how affectingly and thrillingly she sometimes sings, how consoling and quickening her strains; so that the heart is penetrated, and almost dissolves in blissful

emotion.

The turtle dove is heard in our land; not in the Scriptures only, but also in the land of our hearts and here likewise her strains are harmonious, though varied. True it is, that other birds also coo therein, but the notes of the dove are easily distinguished. Dost thou hear, for instance, a spirit commend to thee any thing but Christ and his blood as the rock of thy salvation and the ground of thy hope; does it speak to thee of thy good qualities, of the powers that slumber within thee; close thy door against it. It is not the dove, but the raven. Does it cry, 'Peace, peace! there is no danger!' close thine ear; there is an infernal spirit near thee. Does it say, 'Hasten from Sodom, and save thy soul!' give ear to it, it is the dove. Does it tell thee, 'Thy sins are too great for thee, there is no mercy!' then arm thyself; it is the lion's roar. Does it cry, 'And if they be red like crimson, the blood of the Lamb will make them white as wool!' it is the dove. Does it say, 'First become worthy, reform thyself, then come to Jesus!' give it to the winds; it is an erring spirit. Does it say, 'Come as thou art, come boldly, for the Savior receives sinners,' listen to its voice; let it not be said to thee twice; for the turtle dove is heard in the land.

The voice of the sacred dove speaks to our hearts, and reverberates from thence in confessions, in exhorta-· tions, in prayer and praise; and thus again its voice is heard in the land. But is it always the voice of the dove that is thus heard? It is true, the raven voice of the old man sometimes imitates so successfully the voice of the dove, that it requires a fine and practised ear, to detect the raven's voice in such melodious sounds. Even mental conflicts and states of feeling occur, in which the Holy Spirit has not the slightsst share, and which must be entirely ascribed to nature, and not to grace; and yet they so strongly resemble the operations of the Spirit, that the clearest sight is often deceived, and the nicest discernment frequently baffled. Here the well-known event in the history of Jephtha, the hero of Gilead, occurs to me, who, after he had defeated and scattered the Ephraimites, took possession of the passages of Jordan, resolved that none of the fugitives should return alive to their native land. Aware, perhaps, of their conqueror's intention, but obliged to cross the river, or perish in the desert, they approach the ford, and deny that they are Ephraimites. They are put to the test, all of them are required to pronounce the word Shiboleth! but they said Siboleth : ' for they could not frame to pronounce it right;' and all were put to the sword. What a serious and important truth does this scene present to us. Before him who holds the.ford, beyond which lies the Canaan of God, all depends upon an apparent trifle. On the existence or non-existence of a something within us, irrespective of all other considerations, will it depend, whether we shall be permitted to pass over, or whether

cerner.

the sword of his indignation shall descend upon us. The spiritual resemblance between the man who is rejected, and the one who is accepted, may be as great as that between Shiboleth and Siboleth. Who can detect any material difference? But God is a keen disTo him the difference in the characters of the two men may be as decisive, as was to Jephtha that between Shiboleth and Siboleth, which marked the friendly Gileadite from the rebellious Ephraimite: Behold here two men. Both smite upon their breast, both weep, both call themselves the chief of sinners, and both are sinners. We see their tears, we hear their confessions. Both are afflicted, both complain. To us no difference is visible; we deem them both repentant sinners; and had we the crown of righteousness to bestow, we should invest them with the same decorations. Both appear at the passage of Jordan, both stand before the Judge: and behold! one only is crowned, and the other is lost. Gracious God! Why should this be? The one said Shiboleth, the other Siboleth. We observed it not; but the Lord is a nice discerner. Only Si instead of Shi, but the difference is sufficient to cause an eternal separation. The one smote upon his breast from fear, the other from love. Hell made the one to weep, the cross the other.. The complaint of the one was: Oh that I should have incurred such guilt! the complaint of the other was: Ah, that I should have caused thee, Lord Jesus, so much suffering! The one lamented the consequences of sin; the other, the transgressions themselves. Sin had not extorted a tear from the one, had it not rendered him miserable, for he thought but of his comfort; the other