that sublime event can be demonstrated by no other proof than that of a present resurrection from the death of sin, and a vigorous walking in newness of life. There must be, at all events, this first resurrection, whatever the disputes, whatever the decision with regard to any other. If, through grace, we are partakers hereof, we may, without too curiously prying into things on which scripture speaks most obscurely and enigmatically, leave ourselves in the keeping of a covenant Father, assured that when Christ shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

A Sermon

DELIVERED BY THE REV. J. STRATTON, AT PADDINGTON CHAPEL.

55th PSALM and 6th verse.-" And I said, Oh, that I had wings. like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest!”

How vain and contradictory are the feelings of the human mind! at one period our prospects are like a cloud, and then again, shortly after, joy shines upon us like the sun! There is a summer and a winter, a day and a night, a seed time and a harvest time, in our experience, as well as in nature! And the seasons, through all generations, have exemplified this, and they stand before us in Holy Scripture for our admonition and encouragement. Take David for an example:-it was a joyful morning when he looked upon the sanctuary, and said, " One thing have Ï desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple;" and it was not long after this, when, looking round on his palace and on his family with the overflowings of a grateful heart, he asks, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits; I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord." But, ere long, a tempest had arisen, and a cloud had overshaded him, and he was inwardly moved at the visitations of God's providence, and he utters this pathetic exclamation :-" Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would 1 flee away, and be at rest!"—so feeble a creature, you see, is man! Happy is it for us that there is One Being in the universe, of whom it may be asserted with truth, that there is no variableness, nor even the shadow of turning, with Him." But the exclamation of the text has often been uttered on wrong occasions, and in the little disappointments and fluctuations of life; in circumstances totally insignificant, many a peevish (shall I say Christian?) yes! many a peevish Christian has exclaimed, "Oh! that I had wings like a dove," when, if these wings had been given them, instead, perhaps, of realizing the

wished-for enjoyment, they would have sunk down into worse despondency than before; and yet there are periods and seasons in which these feelings may be excited, and it will be my object to point out, in the

1st place. The situation that is supposed;

2dly. The desire that is expressed; and

3dly. The reasons why it should not be realized.

First, we notice the situation that is supposed when the Psalmist wishes that he " had the wings of a dove!" A man surrounded by the troubles of life, I mean those cares and perplexities which press down upon the shoulders of some habitually, but upon the shoulders of all at times. One man is cast down and depressed by the embarrassments of business-another with his familyanother is moved at the unexpected changes that are taking place in the world, so that darkness beclouds his path, and he knows not in what direction to move; and there are instances in which the feelings are more particularly alive to circumstances of this order, and in the perplexity of them, they know not which way to turn or where to look for encouragement:-the spirit, therefore, in this state of things is ready to exclaim, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, then would I flee away, and be at rest!" and believe me, there may be embarrassments, even of this description, where you and I may least expect to find them. I have known some families which, at a distant view, seemed to be happiness itself, and I have fancied that a little Eden was enjoyed in their habitation on earth, but upon a nearer view it has proved the truth of that scriptural sentiment, "Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward," and the same thing will apply to individuals! We have known persons whose cup of blessedness seemed to be full and overflowing, and we imagined they possessed all that earth could wish, and when we have conversed with them particularly, we have found there was a thorn in the bosom which we did not see before, and they were ready, perhaps, to exclaim, in the language of our text, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away, and be at rest!"

This desire may sometimes arise from a pious motive, as well as from the peevishness and fretfulness I have been describing. Who does not remember that the Saviour warns us against the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, as being snares of the grand enemy of souls; and in that state which I am supposing, it often happens that communion with God is, in some degree, suspended! there is a want of that liveliness and vigour in the duties of religion which had once been possessed; and the individual, sensible of the feebleness of his devotion, has said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest!" Let me put a second case, and that is the treachery of praise. We cannot live without friendship, at least, I pity the man who can;

it is the charm and the solace of human life, and ecstatic are some of those moments when all the emotions of the bosom are described with affection and confidence to a friend; and if there be such an individual, such a selfish and solitary creatnre, who is a stranger to these emotions, he ought to be excluded from society and shut up by himself; and, indeed, we find that men of this order generally exclude themselves from society, and from the enjoyment of social intercourse! It is reported of one of the most distinguished poets of our own age, that when a faithful and favorite dog expired, he placed this epitaph upon its tomb:-" I had but one friend, and here he lies."-Ah! pitiable being! then indeed he must have been wretched! And who does not willingly turn aside from such a picture, and think with sympathy and pleasure on that affectionate union which is recorded in the Old Testament of David and Jonathan,-" Very pleasant hast thou been to me," he exclaimed, when his friend was dead, "very pleasant hast thou been to me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women!" And yet closely united as these friends are, are they not often dashed in pieces! David himself mourns very pathetically on this very thing in the Psalm from which the text is taken, and the verses seem to be composed in especial allusion to it, for he says, "it was not an enemy that reproached me, then I could have borne it; neither was it he that hated me who did magnify himself against me; but it was thou, a man, mine acquaintance, my equal, my guide, my own familiar friend! We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in company! And do you not recollect that our blessed Lord underwent an affliction of the same order;-if David had to weep over the treachery of his friend, Christ endured a pang more acute, and a pungency of grief more intense and severe, when Judas betrayed Him with a kiss! It was the hand of a faithless friend which inflicted the wound upon his heart, and placed the crown of thorns upon his head, and which finally saw Him, mangled and torn, nailed to the cross! How true it is, that "cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and that maketh flesh his arm," and whose heart departeth from his God. When the painfulness of such treachery is felt, who would not cry out, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest!"

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But even admitting that friends continued faithful, they must retire from us at death, which dissolves all ties, even those of the most pure, sincere, and unalterable love and friendship! Who hath not lost a friend! Have you never stood at the brink of that grave in which was deposited all that remained of one tenderly dear to you, and in the moment when a father or a mother -a sister or a brother-have been conveyed to the silent tomb, have you not thought within yourself, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, that I might flee away and be at rest!" I would soon be

where they are! How my soul yearns to rejoin them!-this world, this vain empty world, what hath it now for me!

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This is the second cause; let me now notice a third, and that is the pains of bodily affliction. Do any of you know what it is in the morning to say, "Oh, that it were night!" and in the evening 'to say, Oh, that it were morning!" Do you know what it is for the body to be racked with pain and tortured by disease ;-to have the countenance overspread with sorrow-the languid eye and the parched lip. Who can wonder that at such a period we should say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away, and be at rest!" And this may result, not only from the pains and agony that may be rendered, but also from the consciousness of being totally useless in this world, or of being troublesome to those by whom they are surrounded; and notwithstanding the tenderness and affection of relatives, who feel a mournful pleasure in attending to their necessities, yet it is but a small alleviation to the sufferings of the individual, and he cries out with bitterness, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest.” I do not mean to sanction such a temper as this-far be it from me. The principles of the Gospel will enable us to triumph in the midst of all these tribulations, convinced that they work patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in the heart; and I do not know a more pleasant part of a minister's duty than that of visiting sick beds, when he sees these powerful influences produced by the doctrines of the gospel. When he can perceive that the power of religion is more eminently felt, when the love of God is more abundantly enjoyed, when the consolations of the Spirit, in their largest measures and in their richest extent, are poured into the soul: moments such as these there have been, when the exclamation of David has returned again, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest!"

I shall mention but one thing more, and that is the conflict which is sustained between the flesh and the Spirit. This alludes to that darkness and sorrow which is purely and exclusively spiritual and perhaps there may be some present, who make a mock of these things, but many, nay most of God's children have experienced them; however, if they have safely passed through the storm, and are now securely riding at their anchors, they will have learnt to sympathize with those who are still buffetted about by it and to pity them from their very hearts :-for I believe that there is no trouble like that of the soul in anguish; like that of the wounded,—the troubled,—the broken,-the bleeding-spirit! Let me explain myself still more fully-have you ever been in this state-anxious to pray-and you could not-when your heart has been hard and insensible; when you "would do good, but evil is present with you”—when the flesh was vigorously lusting against

the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. This was Paul's feeling when he exclaimed "Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death." I say then, that in the darkness which I am describing, in that bitterness and anguish of feeling, of which the pious mind is often susceptible,—and when it contemplates the uninterrupted joys, and the unspeakably blessed expectations of the heavenly world-wonder not that the exclamation should be heard, that the soul should breathe forth its earnest desire in the words of our text "Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away and be at rest.”

This brings me to the second division of our subject.-The desire which under these circumstances is expressed-I imagine in the first place, that this refers to solitude and retirement; for it is immediately added "Lo, then would I wonder far off and remain in the Wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest." People in the active scene of life are apt to think, if the embarrassments and turmoil of business could be given up, and they could retire to comparative independence, then that all would be at rest, and the spirit must be contented and easy! Ah, gross deception! I have known persons, in this situation, who have uttered the exclamations of my text, and who when they had entered upon the retirement and seclusion they sighed for, have found themselves more sorrowful aud miserable than before. I have known cases in the present age (not to refer to generations that are past) in which men have retired to convents and women to nunneries; thinking when thus secluded from the world-away from all the harassing cares of life, they must be happy; but they have found out their mistake, they have soon found out that they have committed an egregious error, and I will tell you why; they had placed their enjoyments in a wrong object -they were seeking it from a source that would never supply it. You will never be at rest, you will never realize that tranquillity and joyfulness after which the psalmist sighs in my text, until you are experimentally acquainted with Christ,-the efficacy of his blood, to atone for sin,-the perfections of his righteousness for your acceptance before God-and till you are holding daily private and personal communion with Him:-therefore no person whatever can realize this happiness until they are led to seek it from its proper source!

Secondly, perhaps there is an allusion in these words to the harvest, and blessedness of his expectations, in heaven, and perhaps when real Christians employ this language they usually refer to the exaltation and glory of the celestial state! how happy and delightful in the midst of all the trials of life,-or the treachery of friends, or the painfulness of affliction,-or the sorrows of the conflict-to look forward to that place where we shall see our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as He is, clothed with white garments, having golden harps in our hands, and be led to the fountains of living waters by the Lamb himself, God wiping away all