The Spirit as in Christ

And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him,” — Matt, iii. 16.

with the Spirit. Yet there is a differ-

: ence in their beginnings. The Spirit of the Old Testament comes out from the darkness; it has to form the light by which we are to see it. But the Spirit of the New comes from light already created; it descends from the opened heavens. The Spirit of the Old Testament moves on the face of troubled waters; the Spirit of the New alights and reposes on the calm bosom of the Son of Man. No wonder the Spirit of the New Testament is like a dove; it has itself found peace in the heart of its own creation; it has reached in the soul of Jesus its Sabbath of rest.

Spirit divine, we are glad that Thou hast found rest. Long hast Thou waited to find it on the bosom of Thy creation. The earth could not give it, the sea could not give it; the plant could not give it, the beast of the field could not give it. For a moment it seemed as if Thou hadst found it in the Eden of humanity, but the dream faded; there was no love there sacrificial enough to meet Thy love. And so Thy way was still through the sea and Thy path through the deep — trackless, homeless, friendless. But now at last Thou hast foundahome. There has come a pure soul worthy of Thy habitation and Thou hast entered in. Thou beholdest at length the mirror of Thyself, the image of Thy beauty, the reflex of Thy love. Thou receivest at length the joy of communion — a joy that hitherto Thou hast given but never shared. Thou hast broken at length the solitude of unequalled greatness and hast found the man that is Thy fellow. Heaven and earth have met together and the middle wall of partition is destroyed that made Thy heart so long alone. Well mayest Thou come in the form of a dove, for Thou hast found the olive branch of peace; the Son of Man hath given Thee rest.