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whelm them with the thunders of his wrath. Quite the contrary. He seeks, by every means, to wipe away the tears of his afflicted children, to inspire them with confidence in the faithfulness of Jehovah; and repeatedly says to them, Weep not, there are gifts also, even for the backsliding-nay, and perhaps bestows upon them unusual consolations; if therefore the dove be in truth the significant emblem of faithful love, it is the appropriate symbol of the Comforter. Of all birds, the dove is the cleanest and most delicate. In filthy places she will not abide. Thus it is with the Comforter. Many of you are ready to exclaim, but our hearts-are they not filthy? Indeed there is no deficiency of impurity there. But, let it be remembered, the dove is not at rest within them. Is she not incessantly engaged in detaching and expelling, in sweeping and garnishing? Her habitation must be cleansed, and she would never have entered it, but for the certain prospect of eventually rendering it completely pure and free from taint. If there be a spirit within you that can be at ease in the midst of impurity, and that can endure iniquity, be assured this spirit is not the dove. Where the dove resides, there is a constant conflict in the soul against the seed of the serpent-a holy and zealous desire to root up every thorn, and to consume it with fire. This dove, saith St. Paul, lusteth against the flesh, and the flesh against the dove, and there is a constant warfare. Where the Spirit dwells, the heart becomes the arena of strife; for this Divine warrior rests not till he has bruised the head of the last serpent within us, and destroyed the last cockatrice egg. How sensitive is this heavenly dove! Of the dove it is said, that the feather of a falcon, or

hawk, is sufficient to make her flutter and tremble. Thus it is with the Spirit in our hearts: if but the slightest impure thought arises within us, he is at once in emotion. Horror seizes him, and he casts the abomination from him with disgust and indignation. Are you sensible of the existence of such an uncompromising enemy to impurity within you?-then rejoice, for the dove is there.

The dove is gentle, and it is in this respect likewise a striking image of the Spirit of grace. In the form of a dove the Spirit descended upon Jesus. It was said of. him," He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.' When the village of Samaria had refused to receive the Lord, and the two sons of thunder angrily exclaimed, 'Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did!' Jesus turned and rebuked them, and said, 'Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.' The Spirit of Christ is like a gentle dove. It judgeth not, thinketh no evil; when reviled, it revileth not again, and is not so ready to call down fire from heaven. Where it enters, it introduces the dispositions of the dove. How could it be otherwise? It makes us feel that we are miserable sinners, and convinces us that free grace alone can save us. This humbles, silences, and renders us indulgent and mild. Then we willingly cease from censuring others; we behold not the mote in our brother's eye, on account of the beam in our own eye. It is unhappily true, that the children of God do not unfrequently give way to

anger, jealousy, and a censorious spirit, and all traces of the dove are obscured. But on such occasions it is not the dove that stirs within us, but the Leviathan of the old man, that has again caused his voice to be heard ; it is not Jacob, but Esau with his rough skin, that is indeed mortally wounded within us, though he has not yet ceased to breathe. It is the flesh, and not the Spirit. The Spirit is grieved; it upbraids and chastens us, and grants us no peace, till we are humbled and repentant. Thus it is evidently a dove-a spirit of peace and love, mild and gentle.

Already in the history of the creation, as we have seen, the Holy Spirit is presented to us under the similitude of a bird-no doubt the dove. The Spirit of God, it is said, brooded upon the face of the waters, as a bird broods with extended wings upon its eggs. This figurative expression indicates that the Spirit also took part in the creation; that it formed the was te and void, and waste gave shape and beauty to the earth. And spiritually, the Spirit is incessantly executing the same work in the human mind. While the heart is still as chaos, a world ruined by Satan, waste and void, and shrouded in the darkness and blindness of unbelief, the Spirit, impelled by love, descends and overshadows it, as it overshadowed the Virgin. Now the command goes forth, 'Let there be light!' and there is light. We look down into the dark abyss of our desolate condition, and shudder with horror. The light is separated from the darkness. We perceive what we should be and what we are not. We learn to jndge spiritually, and to discern good and evil according to the rule of God's law. And God calls the light day, and the darkness night.

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fore we are aware, the light of a new life has sprung up within us, which scatters and expels the darkness of the old; and the evening and the morning are the first day. Under the wings of the plastic breath of the Comforter, this spiritual creation advances steadily towards perfection. The desolate soil thirsteth for grace, and is refreshed with the verdure of a new creation. The sacred flowers of faith and love spring up. A new world is called into existence. The morning stars extol the power of grace, and the inward spiritual man, renewed in the image of Christ, walks with delight in the blissful paradise of communion with his God. The Spirit moved on the face of the waters.' Thus it is still in the spiritual world. Many waters rise upon the believing soul; but the Spirit breaks through them all, maintains the ascendency, and sustains the life it has imparted. The sensuality of our sinful nature may be accounted as one of these waters. How frequently do its waves swell tumultuously; but the Spirit still moves above them. It resembles oil, which always floats upon the surface of water. Our sins of weakness may likewise be accounted a water. When we fall, the oil sinks; yet it is but for a moment. Behold the tears of Mary Magdalen, and of Peter after his fall! The oil rises to the surface; the Spirit again moves upon the face of the waters! The afflictions which befall us may likewise be numbered amongst the waters which rise upon the soul. When they break in upon us, we are alarmed; we tremble and are dismayed. A raging flood overwhelms the soul, and the spirit is in the deep. But it is soon otherwise. Reflection comes, we bend the knee, and sigh, Lord help!' We throw ourselves

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upon the tender mercy of the Eternal Father; hope revives, and we ask our soul, Why art thou cast down?' We believe, submit, and are again comforted. The waters are forced back, the Spirit soars above them. Worldly thoughts, and the cares of time, may also be accounted waters. How frequently do they overwhelm the soul like a mighty torrent, and keep it groveling in this lower sphere. But the dove soon ascends out of these tempestuous billows; and with a tranquil mind, with an unconstrained and elevated spirit, we are enabled to rejoice in the midst of the tumult. Thus the dove is never prevented from moving on the face of the waters, and in every conflict is the last on the field.

When, however, the Scriptures speak of the Holy Spirit as a dove, the allusion is especially to the dove of Noah, that wished-for messenger bearing the symbol of peace and of joy; and it is his office of Comforter, of which we are more particularly reminded by this delightful figure, than of any other of his works and offices. When the Savior testifies of the Spirit, 'He shall take of mine, and shew it unto you,' does he not designate him as the dove which shall bear the olive branch to the ark of the New Testament Church. The Spirit is the appropriator, the sealer of that which the Son has wrought out for us. What was outwardly prepared, he applies inwardly; with the fruit of the cross he nourishes the heart; he causes the living waters of the fountain opened to spring up within us, and he conveys the blood of the lamb, as a blood-sprinkling, into the innermost soul. Oh what a delightful, welcome vision, is this heavenly dove, when it appears unexpectedly with expanded wings above the swelling billows

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