The Heavenly Dove
‘‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him.” John i:32.
OH’E figure of motherhood referred to in the last chapter suggests the oldest emblem of the Comforter in the Bible, the figure of the dove. We find it in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis, ‘‘The Spirit of God was brooding upon the face of the waters’’ (R.V.). The metaphor here is obviously that of the mother bird, slowly and patiently incubating her brood. The Holy Spirit is the great Mother heart and Source of life both in the physical, intellectual and spiritual world and is here bringing into being the vital forces and the living organisms of the new earth. The figure finely represents the patient love of the Holy Ghost in brooding over the darkness of the human soul and bringing to birth the first throbs of spiritual life.
Perhaps there is no figure in the natural world more touching than that of the mother bird, patiently brooding through the long days and the lonely nights with no sign of responsive life over the cold and silent germs beneath her wings, and then rejoicing over the little fledglings and nurturing them with infinite tenderness until they are strong enough to be independent of her care. Surely this is a divine type of that infinite love that seeks the lost soul, that waits through long rejection and cold insensibility, until at last the first spark of heavenly life appears and the spirit is born from above in conviction, conversion and trust.
The same ancient figure also sets forth the processes and the operations of the Spirit in every new experience of our Christian life in leading us into the revelation of our sinfulness and the experience of His sanctifying grace. The Spirit has often to brood long over the dark waters of our sinful hearts. And in the equally distinct and divine process of quickening our mortal bodies and revealing in us the healing power of Christ we must learn to expect the same gradual processes and the same patient and untiring love.
The most pronounced suggestion of this beautiful figure of the Spirit is peace. The Dove is ever the emblem of peace. The Holy Spirit comes to us as the pledge of peace with God through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was beautifully set forth in the ancient story of the return of Noah’s dove to the ark with an olive branch in its mouth as proof that the judgment was past and that God was again ready to meet men in reconciliation and grace. The Holy Spirit brings that deeper peace which comes from heart union with God Himself and the indwelling of the Comforter in the sanctuary of the soul.
The charm of this heavenly peace is that it is not dependent upon outward conditions, but is often most manifest when every circumstance is disturbing and distracting. A competition was once held for a prize to be given to the most original allegorical painting of peace. One artist brought a landscape of exquisite beauty and tranquillity, the limpid lake, the softly flowing brook, the green fields with cattle and sheep feeding on the rich pasture, luxuriant trees with birds singing in the branches and children playing under their shadow, while soft fleecy clouds sailed across the blue expanse and flung their changing shadows on the mountainsides. It was indeed a perfect picture of peace under normal conditions. But the painting that won the prize was very different. It represented a naked rock in midocean with wild tempests beating around it and the surf tossing high about its base while a ship in distress was seen driving before the fierce hurricane, and the clouds were black and angry with the fury of the storm. But in the center of the picture that naked rock was seen to divide near the summit, and, in its cleft, a dove was calmly dropping into her nest and spreading her soft wings above her little brood, safe and quiet amid all the fury of the elements. That is “the peace which passeth all understanding,” and is above all reasoning or understanding.
‘There is a peace that cometh after sorrow,
Of hope abandoned not of hope fulfilled;
That looks not out upon a glad to-morrow But on a tempest which His hand has stilled.
“A peace that dwells in solitude secluded,
From every storm and strife of passion free;
Tis not the peace that over Eden brooded
But that which triumphed in Gethsemane.”
It was as a dove that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. This must ever make the emblem of the dove peculiarly dear to every Christian heart. The same baptism that fell upon the Master awaits all His followers who yield themselves, like Him, in full consecration to the will of God. How gently that baptism fell! As truly and fully we also may receive the descending Dove who is more willing to become our Guest than we can be to receive Him.
Holy Ghost, I bid Thee welcome,
Come and be my holy Guest,
Heavenly Dove, within my bosom
Make Thy home and build Thy nest.