And instances have occurred, in which, from that swoon, there has been no recovery.

Nor can it be said that such cases occur only among the weaker and more nervous portions of the human family. All are excitable. They may differ as to the objects which excite, and as to the degree of excitement produced by any definite object; but still, let the subject be one about which their minds are deeply interested, and all are susceptible of intense excitement. The grave and steady citizen, in times of great political discussion, when he supposes the welfare of his country is dependent on the result of an election, becomes so deeply interested, that he loses his customary self-control. And when, at the close of a warmly-contested canvass, his party triumphs, he tosses his cap wildly in the air, or joins in the loud exultation.

History informs us, that in the time of the great South Sea speculation in England, many, overjoyed by their success, became insane. At the restoration of Charles II. a number of the nobility were so affected by the recovery of their titles and estates, that they became diseased, and in a short time died. Leo X. one of the most renowned occupants of the Papal chair, was so rejoiced by a victory somewhat unexpectedly gained over his enemies, that he sunk beneath the excitement. The heir of Leibnitz, the celebrated mathematician, on finding that a chest, filled, as he supposed, with papers, contained a large quantity of gold, became so excited by the discovery, that he was seized with a fatal disease of the heart. The celebrated Rittenhouse, Pennsylvania's earliest astronomer, was selected to observe the transit of Venus across the sun's disc, in order that the correctness of many of the astronomical calculations might be tested.

Having made

all necessary arrangements and calculations, he watched

.

earnestly for the expected transit; and when, at the calculated moment, he saw the dark boundary of the planet obscure the edge of the sun's disc, he was so overcome with emotion, that he swooned away, and his assistants were obliged to finish the observations. The immortal Newton, when he approached toward the completion of those calculations that demonstrated his discovery of the great laws of nature, and that gave him an imperishable name, and when he saw that his conjectures were about to be verified, was so deeply affected, that he was obliged to leave to others the work of completing his calculations. Near the close of the revolutionary war, the attention of Congress, and of the whole American people, was directed toward the armies of Washington and Cornwallis, and some movement was daily expected, having a powerful bearing upon our country's liberty. When the messenger arrived, bringing the joyful intelligence that Cornwallis had surrendered, the door-keeper of Congress fell dead upon the floor of

the hall.

If such, then, be the influence of joyful emotions, when arising from temporal subjects, will the effect be diminished by adding the revelation of the unseen and eternal? Can emotions, excited by a view of the majesty, holiness, wisdom, and compassion, of the eternal Jehovah, be less strong, than those excited by considering a small portion of the work of his hands? And is it unreasonable to expect, that the truths of Christianity will produce deep and powerful religious émotion? If an astronomer shall swoon, and a Newton sink overpowered by the discovery of some of the laws by which the Deity governs the material world; if Pope Leo should sink through joy at the triumph of his army, and a patriot die at the triumph of his country; if the unexpected inheritance of

a chest of gold, or the restoration of rank and estate, should destroy the action of vital organs; what shall be said of him on whose vision should burst the revelation of the laws of the Deity in the moral world; a full view of the riches of his grace in Christ Jesus, and of his amazing condescension and love in giving his Son to die to save a rebellious world fast sinking into destruction, and by his offers of mercy, and the influences of his Spirit, raising feeble, sinful man, to the throne of his glory, having first purified him from all iniquity? If natural emotion may be so intense that the soul and body cannot unitedly subsist, well may it be said of such a manifestation, "There shall no man see me and live."

As a general inference from this subject, we may notice what a sublime view is thus presented of the revelation contained in the word of God.

1. It is a system of truth; in which, directly or indirectly, each separate truth leads to the great commanding truth of the being and attributes of God. This is the substance of revelation; God displayed in creation, in government, and in mercy to man. All other statements are but as secondaries, revolving around their primary. The whole of revelation is such a view of the character of God as shall attract men to virtue, to happiness, and to glory. And as the character of God is infinite in its perfections, it can never be perfectly comprehended by finite minds. So much of the truth may be readily embraced as shall set man free from the power of other attractions, but there is still an inexhaustible remainder. The greatest minds may here be for ever engaged; intellect may learn much; prophets and kings may gaze with delight; and even angels shall desire to look into these sublime truths; but, like the

parallel lines of the mathematician, there may be eternal approximation without perfect attainment.

2. But revelation is not merely a system of sublime truth. It is truth so presented as to affect our sensitive nature. It is not abstract speculation alone that is employed; our affections, our sympathies, are all enlisted. It is a system intended to operate upon man. It operates, first, by presenting the grand, the lofty, the majestic attributes of the divine character. And as the contemplation of great characters, the association with the great personages of earth, inspire the soul with lofty sentiments and high purposes, so the revelation of God's majesty becomes a powerful cause of elevation to man. It is fixing in an immovable position a fulcrum which, more than the lever of Archimedes, shall move in elevating humanity toward the throne of God. It operates, secondly, by inspiring man with what is termed, technically, the sympathetic emotion of virtue. The performance of a brave, a noble, a patriotic, or a virtuous act, makes us desire to do the same. And when God reveals himself as a God of mercy, employing his omnipotence in acts of compassion, there is a voice that whispers to the heart, through every such manifestation, "Be ye merciful, even as I am merciful." As that mercy is over all his worksas his sunshine and showers fall upon all alike—as his Son suffered for all-so the compassion taught us is universal. The soul, under such influences, desires mercy upon all. It sends the Bible on the wings of the morning, carrying light and animation to the uttermost ends of the earth. It sends the missionary to bear the glad tidings of great joy, which warmed even angels' hearts, to those that sit in the valley and shadow of death. It school and founds the college, and seeks in every possible opens manner to benefit the race to which we belong, and

the

my

toward which God hath showed such amazing mercy. It operates, thirdly, by exciting gratitude and joy for personal salvation for pardon, for regeneration, and for adoption into the family of the Most High. The grateful soul is ready to exclaim, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me!" "What am I, and what is Father's house," that I should thus be the subject of divine love! And that gratitude and joy become vastly expanded by the reflection, that similar favor is showed to all our kindred and to all our race; that our fathers were the subjects of mercy, and our children, and our children's children, shall inherit the same salvation; that in every clime, tongue, kindred, and people, may be experienced the same joys of pardoning mercy. At such a view we may well exclaim with the Apostle, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" A fourth effect of such revelation is, that the soul desires to dwell constantly as in the presence of God. In him is all fullness-the treasures of wisdom and knowledge for the intellect, of grace and mercy for the soul. He becomes the Alpha and the Omega to the believing heart; and, as the Deity grants such personal communion, the soul becomes refined and purified. The world diminishes in value; eternity, with all its spiritual blessedness, gradually unfolds before the moral vision; and the limit of joy is only found in the necessity of fitness for duties here. There is no limit in the fullness, glory, and sublimity of the divine character. There is no limit in the willingness of God to impart, for "He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" There is no limit of power as to the agent, "For we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from