who have had a religious education, conftitute the greater proportion.

rious work of man's redemption, opens to them with fuch clearness, 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 hardnefs and ftupidity, and the certainty of their being brought into judgment, is more than their natures can bear. Sometimes they fall inftantaneoufly. 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 feem intent upon the things of religion and the interefts of eternity. They are never in fo good a fituation to receive inftruction. Their minds are fixed, and their memories uncommonly retentive.-Many of them fpeak 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 perifhing finners, or giving glory to God. Thofe who are ftill, when they recover fufficiently to be able to fpeak, commonly fpeak then. It makes very little difference what is the time or occafion. The impulfe appears to be irrefiftible. And fome perfons

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 myfelf to anfwer this inquiry. I can fay a little, but perhaps it will not be fatisfactory. You obfervé there are two kinds of characters who are fubje&s of this affection. Thofe who are Christians, and thofe who are not. It will be prefumed, of course, that their views and feelings are very different. Unrenewed finners, when they fall, generally are impreffed merely with a fenfe 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 fhrink, and fink under its weight. Is this a matter of furprife? Is it not rather to be wondered that awakened finners ever can fupport themselves? Sometimes however they are ftruck down as if with a ftroke of divine power, without much previous reflection. Chrif tians, when they are led to a feeling fenfe of the goodness and mercy of God, of his long fuffer-will speak for fome time, and speak ing and patience, of their extreme ingratitude, their great abuse of privileges, the danger of their being deceived in their hope, the folemn account which they must-The minifters uniformly inculrender to an omnifcient Judge, cate the idea that there is no reand their juft expofure to eternal ligion in merely falling down. death, they find themselves unable Indeed it appears to be nothing to futain the preffure of truth, more or lefs than the effect of the but must yield to its weight. affection of the mind.-Many, Sometimes a view of the glories very many have been the attempts of the divine character, the won- to account for this extraordinary ders of fovereign grace, the riches work, on natural principles; but of the Saviour's love, and the gle- all have been in vain. All agree,

to admiration. It feems almoft, not from the manner, but from the truths they utter, as if they had been to the invifible world.

fionary from Connecticut, was inftalled in the paftoral office over WE had feventy perfons at- the church in Lifle, State of Newtended a conference the other eve- York, with a reserve for the prefning. Mr. Badger was with us. ent, of half the time to labor in Such fcenes I never faw before. the fervice of the Miffionary SociThe Lord of all will do juft as he ety of Connecticut. The public pleases. Many are very thought- fervices of the day were performed ful, fome are ftruck down. Je-in the following order. The Rev. hovah appears to be riding forth Mr. Darrow of Homer made the in many places conquering and to firft prayer; the Rev. Mr. Chaconquer. In many parts of Penn- pin of Jericho preached the ferfylvania the awakening is very mon from Acts xx. 31, and alfo powerful, and of late it is the in- made the confecrating prayer ;

2. When guilt deprefs'd my spirit low, hymn are borrozved from anether, publi

Avails of Dr. Strong's Sermon at the ordination

of Rev. Thomas Robbins,

A friend of Miffions, to purchafe Books,

By Doctor Trumbull, 600 Addreffes on Prayer and Family Religion.

By Mr. Puggles Humphrey, late of Simafbury, deceased, a Bequeft of fix Dollars, annually.

B

On Moral Tafle.

Y moral tafte is here meant a difpofition of mind, or preparation of heart, to relifh, or be difgufted with moral fubjects. An attempt will be made to fhow that there is fomething in the human mind, of a moral nature, which bears a refemblance to the appetites of the body, by which men have a preparation to be pleafed or difpleafed with certain kinds of food, fruits or liquors.

Moral fubjects admit only of moral evidence, and not of mathematical demonftration; and when they are of an abftrufe nature, fixed attention and careful illuftration are neceffary, that their evidence may be clearly manifefted and fuitably impressed. The fubject to be now confidered, being of this nature, it is propofed to give a fhort differtation on the taste or appetites of the body, which may illuftrate and affift in inquiring into the moral taste.

1. The univerfal experience and obfervation of mankind render it manifeft, that people are pleafed by tafting certain kinds of food and fruits, and are disgusted with VOL. IV. No. 9.

other kinds. Different men are pleafed and difgufted with different things; fo that what is agreeable to one is loathfome to another, and what one regards with indifference, is exquifitely relished by his neighbor. This alfo takes place among animals of every fpecies; fo that they choose different kinds of food. Something fimilar operates as really in smelling and hearing, as in tafting. And from a like cause, people are led to prefer different employments, company and amufements. And this is fo powerful, that those things which highly entertain fome, do as ftrongly difguft others.

2. Experience and obfervation equally prove that the affections of being pleafed or difgusted by certain things, are in a degree permanent, and continue the fame for years together, and frequently through life, when thofe things are applied to the tafte; and that they never can be contemplated without fome degree of defire or abhorrence, accordingly as the tafte is a preparation to be pleafed or offended by them. There is however many times a gradual, and fometimes, by fome ipecial

Rr

may be but little affected. If in addition to this we expect to enjoy it foon, the appetite is ftill more affected. If it be bro't in fight, prepared to be eaten, if it be fmelt and contemplated with undivided attention, there is a great affection of the organs of tafte, and the defire is powerful. But it is only when actually received that the fenfation is moft exquifite. The appetite therefore

the object, and from the pleafure or difguft it produces. It is the preparation, and these are the affections of the appetite.

caufe, a fudden change, by which fome things which once pleafed difguft, and which once difgufted please; and when the change has taken place, it continues as permanent as other appetites.-From thefe confiderations it seems to be evident, that there is a certain preparation in the organs of tafte, fmell, &c., to be pleafed or difpleafed with certain objects of fenfe; because, wherever thefe objects are prefented, they uni-is diftinct from actually tafting formly produce thofe effects, unlefs fome powerful caufe prevents them. And this preparation of palate is by common confent called the taste or appetite. And men fay, They always have an appetite for thefe things.'-The word tafte is also used in a still more extenfive fenfe, and we fpeak of a taste, not only for food, but for mufic, company, polite accomplishments, hiftory 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 thofe things occur.

3. This preparation to be fo pleafed or displeased, tho' it remains in the palate continually, is never in exercife, unless the particular food or fruits, which excite pleafure or difpleafure, are tafted, feen, or at least tho't of. The appetite, or preparation of the organs of tafte lies dormant, and gives one no defire, pleasure, pain or other affection, until called into action by the object by which it is prepared to be affected.

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

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 fame time, and but one could be obtained, a decided preference might be given to one, because the organs of tafte 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 fhould without hefitation purchase the pomegranate, for the fake of its tafte, if both were prefented at the fame time. But I have a defire for the orange alfo, and if I had the means, I would gladly procure both, and fhould 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 fee it, I fmell it, I contemplate it, my appetite is powerfully excited. But the pomegranate being at a