Fly To Jesus
“FLY TO JESUS!”
(Isaiah 60:8)
“Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their lattices?”
The church, again, feels pleasure at the direction in which these doves move. “Who are these that fly as the doves to their windows?” Where should the dove fly to else but to its dovecot? The word means the dovecot, where the doves live, the little pigeon holes, into which the doves
enter and dwell. The joy of the church is, that the poor sinner does not fly to man, nor to the law, but flies to Christ, the dovecot! I an recollect when, like a poor dove, sent out by Noah from his hand, I flew over the wide expanse of waters, and hoped to find some place where I might rest my wearied wing. Up towards the north I flew; and my eye looked keenly through the mist and darkness, if perhaps it might find some floating substance, on which my soul might rest its foot, but it found nothing Again it turned its wing, and flapped it, but not so rapidly as before; across that deep water that knew no shore; but still there was no rest. The raven had found his resting-place upon a floating body, and was feeding itself upon the carrion of some drowned man’s carcass; but my poor soul found none. I went on: thought I saw a ship floating out at sea; it was the ship of the law; and I thought I would put my feet on its canvass, or rest myself on its
cordage for a time, and find some refuge. But ah! it was an airy phantom, on which I could not rest; for my foot had no right to rest on the law, I had not kept it, and the soul that keepeth it not must die, At last I saw the barque Christ Jesus-that happy ark, and I thought I would fly thither; but my poor wing was weary, and I could fly no further, and down I sank into the water; but as providence would have it, when my wings were flagging, and I dropped into the stream to be drowned, just below me was the roof of the ark, and I saw a hand put out from it, that took me, and said. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore I have not delivered the soul
of my turtle dove into the company of the wicked, come in, come in!” and then I found I had an olive branch in my mouth of peace with God and peace with man, plucked off with Jesus’ power Poor soul! hast thou found a resting-place in the ark? hast thou fled to thy window? or art thou, O
Ephraim, like the silly dove that hath no heart, that goeth down to Egypt, and resteth itself in Assyria? Oh, say thou, why is it that thou art looking for rest, where none can be found? There be many that say, “Who will show us any good? Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me!” That is the dove’s resting-place; that is his house, Have you found your home in Christ?