who have had a religious educa- | rious work of man's redemption, tion, constitute the greater pro- opens to them with such clearness, portion. that they can no more bear it than Mofes could a fight of God's glory. Sometimes a confideration of the danger of finners, their infinite hardness and stupidity, and the certainty of their being brought into judgment, is more than their natures can bear. Sometimes they fall instantaneoufly. - However those who fall may be affected, they never lofe their fenfes. Their minds appear to be more active than ever, and all their powers seem intent upon the things of religion and the interests of eternity. They are never in fo good a fituation to receive instruction. Their minds are fixed, and their memories uncommonly retentive. - Many of them speak in broken accents and half expreffions, in their affection. Generally according to the nature of their feelings. Begging for mercy, deprecating wrath, groaning under fin, calling upon perishing finners, or giving glory to God. Those who are still, when they recover fufficiently to be able to speak, commonly speak then. It makes very little difference what is the time or occafion. The impulse appears to be irrefistible. And fome persons will speak for some time, and speak to admiration. It seems almost, not from the manner, but from the truths they utter, as if they had been to the invisible world. - The ministers uniformly inculcate the idea that there is no religion in merely falling down. Indeed it appears to be nothing more or less than the effect of the affection of the mind.-Many, very many have been the attempts to account for this extraordinary work, on natural principles; but all have been in vain. All agree, The great inquiry in New England is, why do they fall? For five weeks that I was in that quarter, I took great pains to enable myself to answer this inquiry. I can say a little, but perhaps it will not be fatisfactory. You observe there are two kinds of characters who are subjects of this affection. Those who are Christians, and those who are not. It will be prefumed, of course, that their views and feelings are very different. Unrenewed finners, when they fall, generally are impressed merely with a fense of their fin and danger. A fenfe of the weight of fin, the wrath of God, the certainty of his vengeance, and the pains of hell, when brought feelingly to their view, come upon them with a load too great to be borne. They shrink, and fink under its weight. Is this a matter of surprise? Is it not rather to be wondered that awakened finners ever can fupport themselves? Sometimes however they are struck down as if with a ftroke of divine power, without much previous reflection. Chrif tians, when they are led to a feeling sense of the goodness and mercy of God, of his long fuffering and patience, of their extreme ingratitude, their great abuse of privileges, the danger of their being deceived in their hope, the solemn account which they must render to an omniscient Judge, and their just expofure to eternal death, they find themselves unable to sustain the preffure of truth, but must yield to its weight. Sometimes a view of the glories ❘ of the divine character, the wonders of fovereign grace, the riches ❘ of the Saviour's love, and the gle. friends and foes, whenever they become eye witnesses, that it is a reality, and not feigned; nothing which is the effect of defign in the subject. That is indeed placed beyond all doubt. Divine Providence feems to have fingularly ordered events, in fuch a manner as to confound and effectually disap. point all attempts which have been made to account for this work from natural causes. Many who have made the attempt have them selves fallen, and become subjects of what they before termed a delufion. No causes have been affigned, which have not been demonstrated by facts, to be trifling and abfurd. It belongs to us in these things to be modeft, and not to defpife and disbelieve, if " there are fome things hard to be understood." I will conclude this fubject by observing, that I firmly believe this to be a confpicuous and glorious work of divine grace; and that thousands of immortal fouls, the fubjects of it, will adore the riches of divine mercy, thro' eternity. May the Lord of all grace carry on his work glorioufly, to the honor of his great name, and the enlargement of Zion! quiry of fome amongst us what shall we do to be faved? But what of all appears most fingular to people from New-England is the falling down. Some appearto be as it were faint, but most are seized with a kind of convulfions, some to a very great degree. Some are in that fituation longer, some shorter than others, no two alike. Yet after recovering they appear to have received no injury from being held to prevent struggling; and although entirely helpless, they have a retentive memory and have a full knowledge of all that is faid or going on near them. Youngerly people feem generally to be the fubjects of the awakening, and fome children of eight or ten years of age. Some have. immediate relief, others are in great agonies of mind for many days. ous. People in general are seriMay Zion rejoice! Pray for us. The prayer of the righteous availeth much. The great Jehovah will do as he hath determined. May his will be done, and in humbleness of mind may we refign ourselves into his hands! INSTALLATION. ON the 19th of October last, the Rev. SETH WILLISTON, Mif fionary from Connecticut, was installed in the paftoral office over the church in Lifle, State of NewYork, with a referve for the prefent, of half the time to labor in WE had seventy persons at tended a conference the other evening. Mr. Badger was with us. Such scenes I never saw before. ❘ the service of the Missionary Soci ety of Connecticut. The public fervices of the day were performed in the followingorder. The Rev. Mr. Darrow of Homer made the first prayer; the Rev. Mr. Chapin of Jericho preached the fermon from Acts xx. 31, and alfo The Lord of all will do just as he pleases. Many are very thoughtful, some are struck down. Jehovah appears to be riding forth in many places conquering and to conquer. In many parts of Peanfylvania the awakening is very powerful, and of late it is the in. I made the confecrating prayer; 3. Thy hand, when hardest trials came, 4. Oh, let me to thy gracious hand rife, If, Lord, thou judge it beft; Thy prefence in the fiercest sterm Shall calm my fears to reft. 7. If earthly comforts be denied, 8. There, when this dream of life is paft, ASPASIO. * Several of the leading thoughts of this 2. When guilt depress'd my fpirit low, bymn are barrozved from anetber, publish Thy mercy rais'd me up; And shall I let thy promise go, And caft away my hope? ed in the Magazine for March, 1803, entitled " Jefus the Chriftian's refuge in trouble." 1804 Donations to the Miffionary Society of Connecticut. Jan. 2. Mr. Thomas Williams, contributed in new fettlements D. C. 32.56 41 28 431 5 Avails of Dr. Strong's Sermon at the ordination A friend of Miffions, to purchase Books, 11 32 134 58 By Doctor Trumbull, 600 Addresies on Prayerand Family Religion. By Mr. Ruggles Humphrey, late of Simfbury, deceased, a Bequeft of fix, Dollars, annually. B On Moral Taste. Y moral taste is here meant a disposition of mind, or preparation of heart, to relish, or be disgusted with moral subjects. An attempt will be made to show that there is fomething in the human mind, of a moral nature, which bears a resemblance to the appetites of the body, by which men have a preparation to be pleafed or displeased with certain kinds of food, fruits or liquors. Moral subjects admit only of moral evidence, and not of mathematical demonstration; and when they are of an abstruse nature, fixed attention and careful illustration are necessary, that their evidence may be clearly manifested and suitably impressed. The subject to be now confidered, being of this nature, it is proposed to give a short differtation on the taste or appetites of the body, which may illustrate and affift in inquiring into the moral taste. 1. The univerfal experience and observation of mankind render it manifeft, that people are pleased by tasting certain kinds of food and fruits, and are disgusted with VOL. IV. No. 9. other kinds. Different men are pleased and disgusted with different things; so that what is agreeable to one is loathsome to another, and what one regards with indifference, is exquifitely relished by his neighbor. This also takes place among animals of every species; fo that they choose different kinds of food. Something similar operates as really in smelling and hearing, as in tafting. And from a like cause, people are led to prefer different employments, company and amusements. And this is so powerful, that those things which highly entertain some, do as strongly disgust others. 2. Experience and obfervation equally prove that the affections of being pleased or disgusted by certain things, are in a degree permanent, and continue the fame for years together, and frequently through life, when those things are applied to the taste; and that they never can be contemplated without fome degree of defire or abhorrence, accordingly as the taste is a preparation to be pleased or offended by them. There is however many times a gradual, and sometimes, by fome special Rr cause, a sudden change, by which some things which once pleased disguft, and which once disgufted please; and when the change has taken place, it continues as permanent as other appetites. - From these confiderations it seems to be evident, that there is a certain preparation in the organs of taste, fmell, &c., to be pleased or difpleased with certain objects of sense; because, wherever these objects are prefented, they uniformly produce those effects, unless some powerful cause prevents them. And this preparation of palate is by common confent called the taste or appetite. And men say, They always have an appetite for these things.' - The word taste is also used in a still more extensive sense, and we speak of a taste, not only for food, but for mufic, company, polite accomplishments, history and many other things; meaning a preparation to be pleased with them, and fuch a preparation as remains through life, or for a long time, and is proved by the uniform effects which they produce on every occafion, when those things occur. 3. This preparation to be so pleased or difpleased, tho' it remains in the palate continually, is never in exercise, unless the particular food or fruits, which excite pleafure or difpleafure, are tasted, seen, or at least tho't of. The appetite, or preparation of the organs of tafte lies dormant, and gives onc no defire, pleasure, pain or other affection, until called into action by the object by which it is prepared to be affected. may be but little affected. If in addition to this we expect to enjoy it foon, the appetite is still more affected. If it be bro't in fight, prepared to be eaten, if it be smelt and contemplated with undivided attention, there is a great affection of the organs of taste, and the defire is powerful. But it is only when actually received that the sensation is most exquifite. The appetite therefore is distinct from actually tasting the object, and from the pleasure or disgust it produces. It is the preparation, and these are the affections of the appetite. 5. There may be an appetite for two kinds of fruit, and the appetite for one of them may be much stronger than for the other. If both should be presented at the same time, and but one could be obtained, a decided preference might be given to one, because the organs of taste are adapted to be more exquifitely affected by one than by the other. Let one be a pomegranate and the other an orange, and I am unable to purchase but one. I should without hefitation purchase the pomegranate, for the sake of its taste, if both were presented at the fame time. But I have a defire for the orange also, and if I had the means, I would gladly procure both, and should eat both with pleasure. In certain circumstances however, my appetite would lead me to purchase the orange, in preference to the pomegranate. Let the orange be now prefent, and the pomegranate cannot be obtained within an hour: It is out of fight, tho' foon expected; but the orange is before me, I see it, I smell it, I contemplate it, my appetite is powerfully excited. 4. When the object of the appetite is prefented, then it acts, if nothing interferes, in proportion to its ftrength and the nearness of the object. If we but barely think of the object, the appetite | But the pomegranate being at a |