are all stronger. What heroes do we not find amongst them! who think themselves equal to every encounter ; who know nothing of fear and caution; whom no enemy can make tremble, no danger appals; and who would disdain to look for help in circumstances ever so perilous. They think to vanquish empires by the strength of their arm; to seize the promises as a prey ; with the right hand of their own righteousness to stop the lion's mouth; to extinguish the fires of the last judgment with self-acquired virtues; and to escape the edge of the sword by their own wisdom and dexterity. Of all this, like dreamers, they think themselves capable, through the power of their own might. Yea, what cowardly fugitives are we, when contrasted with those giants in virtue, who think to scatter their enemies like chaff; that sin, the world, and the devil, with every other bitter foe, shall fall before them; whilst we prepare for instant flight, if we but hear the distant roar of the approaching lion. We venture on no contest alone; but as soon as the trumpet of conflict sounds, seeks protection behind the shield of our champion. They display a more heroic spirit; and, proudly scorning all support, rush, as if invulnerable, into the hottest fire of temptation; and, though vanquished, exult in the glory of falling on the scene of conflict, the field of honor. Such honor we disclaim. Anakim, such giants and lions. speaks of breastplates and armor; shield, and the sword, with which we are equipped; and, judging from this description, we might be taken for wonderful heroes. But such is not his meaning.

We are not such St. Paul, indeed, of the helmet, the

As a dove escaped from the hawk, and safe in the shelter of her covert, may be said to be armed against her foe, and to be covered with helmet and shield; in the same sense are we renowned in many parts of Scripture as formidable, as cased in armor, and terrible as an army. But like the dove, our entire strength and invincibility consists in flight, and in taking refuge; for we are defenceless in and by ourselves, and it has happened to us as it once happened to Saul-the Philistines have stripped us of our armor, and have deposited it in the house of Ashtaroth. Do Satanic temptations assail us? We hasten to Him who will be our house and our refuge, and there we are found secure. Do we hear the devil roar? We venture not to encounter him, well knowing it would be rushing immediately into his jaws. We cling to the Savior, and a wall of fire compasses us around. If the lusts of the flesh revive and stir within us—unlike those who strive to conquer them. by firm resolves, and other self-devised expedients-we quickly fly to him who is our shield. And scarcely have we beheld his bleeding wounds, scarcely stammered forth a single 'Lord Jesus,' when the victory is ours; while they, with all their panoply of self-will and self-exertion, sink deep into the mire. This is our method, and it is that of the dove. We by no means enter into any conflict; we seek our salvation solely in flight. Jesus is our armor: the shield that protects us; the helmet that screens us; the sword that defends, and the fortress that encircles us.

Doves, it is well known, love their accustomed dwelling-place. And would we ascertain whether we be

long to the spiritual swarm of doves, we must minutely examine how we feel in the world, whether pleasure or pain; for by this we may know it. If we are the doves of Christ, born of him, we feel pain, anxiety, and fear, wherever he is not; and as this must ever be the case, it is impossible to experience the delights and comforts of home in worldly society, or in worldly pursuits; on the contrary, we are uneasy and straitened, the heart is oppressed, and lifts its wings to seek a purer atmosphere. As a child among strangers is alarmed, and ceases not to inquire for its mother; and as the soul of an exile swells with inexpressible longings after the land which gave him birth; so feel the doves of Christ in the air of this world. Nay, in it they cannot live nor endure to the end; they must continually ask for their mother, and are no where so happy as in the air which encircles the mountains of Jerusalem. In the world ye shall have tribulation,' says Christ; this is one of the most infallible marks of a state of grace.

Whilst we are speaking of doves, some one amongst you may perhaps be reminded of the ancient well known, and so called carrier pigeon, and inquire whether there are no points of resemblance between spiritual doves, and them? Undoubtedly there are. They both are able to return to their homes, wherever placed. They have a free passage; and are ever willing to them the burdens and messages of strangers. carry with

When the fiery serpents came upon idolatrous Israel, the people themselves venture not before the Lord with their complaints, but applied to Moses to intercede for

them; and he flew up to the house of the Lord, and poured the distress of Israel into the ears of an all merciful God; thus Moses became the carrier dove of his people. So David flew for Solomon, Lot for Zoar, Daniel for Jerusalem, and Job for his children-ascended on the wings of prayer, and brought the suit of those for whom they went forth before the Father's throne. And when Jeroboam besought the man of God to pray that his withered hand might be restored; and Darius entreated the Jews to pray for the King's life; and Simon requested the Apostles to pray, that none of the things which he had threatened might come upon him ; -then the man of God, the Jews, and the Apostles were employed as carrier doves, to bring the affairs of those, who have themselves no wings, into the Father's house. O all ye winged souls, who know the way above, and have free ingress and egress through the blood of Christ; disdain not ye likewise, to be the flying post between heaven and earth, and willing interposers between your brethren, who have as yet neither wings nor voice, and God. Carry not only your own burdens before the throne of grace, but likewise those of strangers. To be a dove of Christ; to have unrestrained access to Him, as to our house; to receive from his hand daily and hourly supplies of grace and mercy, and to drink of the pure fountains of Israel-truly this is a happy state! O that God would form all our souls in this dovelike manner, to this dovelike state.

But to return to our text. My dove,' says the Lord. Where is this dove now to be found? where is her place? Ezekiel once speaks of doves of the mountains,

all of them mourning for their iniquity. Shall we meet our dove there? No; once, it is true, she may have had her seat amongst them, mourning and sighing with them, in ashes; but now she has soared upwards from this gloomy region and vale of tears, and dwells elsewhere. Isaiah beholds from a great distance a whole swarm of doves flying as a cloud. Is ours perhaps amongst them? No, our dove has already reached the windows, towards which they are only flying. Noah's first dove, as you know, fluttered restlessly over the surface of the waters, and found no resting place. So flutter many. Does our dove re semble Noah's? Not at all: our dove has found restfor the sole of her foot, and the olive tree on whose crown to alight. She is in the clefts of the rock. 'My dove is in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs,' says the Lord. Now behold this weak and defenceless bird, seated proudly and securely in her rock, like a king in his castle, or a chieftain in his camp, bidding defiance to the whole world. No fowler can reach, no hawk penetrate her dwelling; no serpent cast its venom so high; and though the beasts of prey that roam the valley, howl amongst themselves, the dove in her fortress can laugh and look calmly down upon the tumult. Clouds roll their thunders over them: but she has no fear. Lightnings flash fiercely around; but the rock is not melted in this fire. Mountains sink before the storm, and mighty forests are laid waste; but the foundations of her house stand fast.

The dove then dwells in the clefts of the rocks. If we now abandon the figure, and judge the subject spirit

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