1. A dove is without gall, and is harmless, and therefore represents the character of those born of the Spirit. 2. A dove bore the olive-branch to the ark, in token of God being reconciled. And by baptism we are reconciled to God. 3. A dove has seven qualities, resembling the Spirit’s sevenfold gifts. These are,— (1) It moans instead of warbling; this represents the spirit of holy _Fear_. (2) It is a gentle bird, and is offered in sacrifice; thus representing the spirit of _Piety_. (3) It is granivorous, not carnivorous; thus it shadows forth the spirit of _Knowledge_. (4) It dwells in the clefts of the rock; thus exhibiting the character of the spirit of _Fortitude_. (5) It brings up the young of others; thus showing forth the spirit of _Counsel_. (6) It rends not what it eats, but swallows whole; a type of the spirit of _Understanding_. (7) It dwells beside waters; thereby exhibiting the marks of the spirit of _Wisdom_. All these points are drawn out at length, and examined minutely; Scripture is tortured to illustrate them, and illustrations of a most unsuitable nature are brought to bear upon them. It will be seen from this abstract, how thoroughly unprofitable the sermons of Jean Raulin prove to be; they bear the character of playing and trifling with Scripture and with the most sacred subjects, and it is sad to think that a good and blameless man, such as he was, should have degraded the ministry of God’s Word to a mere tissue of Sunday puzzles. Raulin delighted in far-fetched similes, and in tracing out types beyond all limits of endurance. That of the dove was sufficiently extravagant, but what can we say to his working out the details of the parable of the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, in such a manner as to make the little fishes resemble the faithful in the Church, because, (1) Fish have their eyes at their sides, and so can always see about them; and faithful Christians are ever watchful. (2) Fish advance in the water by wagging their tails; and good Christians have to advance by remembering the end of all things!! (3) Little fish are eaten by big fish, and so of the faithful it is said, “Men shall devour you.” Occasionally Jean Raulin tells a story to enliven his discourse—stories in the pulpit were in vogue then—and these anecdotes and fables are often exceedingly good and pointed, but they are most unsuited to a sermon. On one occasion, when preaching on the corruptions in the Church, and declaiming against the way in which the clergy condoned moral sins of the blackest dye, but showed the utmost severity when the slightest injury was done to the temporal welfare of the Church, he illustrated his subject by a story to this effect: