41. Divine Comforter
Divine Comforter
DISAPPOINTED DOVE.—A boy who bad a dove so tame that it would perch upon his shoulder and take food from his hand, one day held out a tempting morsel, but, as the boy was in an illnatured mood, he closed his hand just as the dove was about to eat the food. The bird turned away disappointed. Again the boy held out his hand. The dove came forward timidly, but again the hand was closed. With drooping wings the dove went to the further corner of the room. Once more the hand was extended. This time the bird hesitated. Finally it came forward slowly, hesitatingly. It was just about to take the food when the hand was again closed. Then the dove spread its wings and flew away. The boy never saw that dove again.
VOICE WITHIN.—Varnier, in one of his wanderings, once found an old man who, though he could neither read nor write, had for years striven to live in communion with God. The aged man said: “I have felt all my life through, a voice within teaching me, and showing me the ways of God.” Let us heed this voice.
COMES AS BREEZE.—No doubt you have sat under the shade of some large tree on a summer’s day. Its long, drooping branches hung; motionless, there was not air enough stirring to move them. All at once there came a faint murmur, the leaves above your head moved by a gentle current of air; then the branches began to sway to and fro, the leaves all became in motion, and now a soft, rustling sound filled the air. A breeze of wind sprang up, and that was the cause of the motion in the tree over your head. So it is, at times, in the experience of all who are born of the Spirit; when in a state of spiritual stupor, scarcely able to think a good thought, with heart empty and mind empty, there comes the sound, the influence of the Divine presence. The tongue is loosened, we are enabled to sing, to pray, to speak. Before this divine breeze came we were dry, barren and sapless.
SILENT DEW.—Can I see the dew of heaven as it falls on a summer evening? I cannot. It comes down softly, gently, noiselessly and imperceptibly. But when I go forth in the morning after a cloudless night, and see every leaf sparkling with moisture, and feel every blade of grass damp and wet, I say at once, “There has been a dew.” Just so it is, with the presence and result of the Spirit in the soul of man.
MEASURE OF HIS GIFTS AND PRESENCE DIFFERS.—The Spirit of God is compared to light, and light can shine where it wills; but some substances are dull and thick, while others are clear. So there are men through whom His brightness does not shine. Again, mark the course of a river, note how it winds and bends in its course to the sea, through mountains and valleys. There is a reason for this, a cause for every bend and curve. It is owing to the particular lay of the land and the formation of the rocks and soil. So it would seem that the measure of the Spirit’s gifts and presence with some men is larger or smaller because of characteristics within themselves.
SPIRIT’S GENTLENESS.—It is curious to remark that wherever the Holy Ghost is spoken of in the Bible, He is spoken of in terms of gentleness and love. “We often read of “the wrath of God” the Father, as Romans 1:18; and we read of the wrath of God the Son, as Psalms 2:12, but we nowhere read of the wrath of God the Holy Ghost. Matthew 3:16 speaks of Him as a dove.