thinking of its being a regenerating change: "In a moment, fhe 'faid, the heavy load of distress in my breaft, was all removed. A fweet peace filled my foul. I burft out in rapture, O God, I will for ever bow and refign myself up to her fifter under conviction, and hearing her converfe upon religion; and by a lecture meeting, which fhe had attended, in the neighborhood, which had been fet up after the commencement of the revival. For a few weeks she kept her con thee, a finner, as I am! O, Ivictions wholly to herfelf. She have need to be humbled before was afraid to be feen reading the thee! I have need to confefs my bible, or to have it known that the fins to thee, and to lie low before was concerned for the falvation of thee, guilty and vile as I am! her foul, left fhe should be derided But, while thus humble, and vile or be thought to pretend to more in my own eyes, my foul was fil- religion than other people. To led with unfpeakable joy-with hide her convictions from the eyes 'fuch happiness as I never before of the world, the spent all her experienced. My heart was fil-fpare time, in a chamber by herled with love and gratitude to 'God. I felt an unfpeakable delight in him. It feemed to me that I could never fufficiently praife him. This was the happi'eft day of my life. O, I never knew what happiness was before." The fame day greatly affected with what he had now experienced, the rode to fee one of her fifters, who lived feveral miles diftant; and as the rode, her mind was wholly engroffed with religion; and fhe relates, "It feemed to me, that I enjoyed more happinefs in half an hour, than I had ever enjoyed in my whole life before. The goodness and mercy of God, and the fufferings of Chrift for 'finners were a feast to my foul. I was happy to be alone. I felt humbled and unworthy; but I faw a fufficiency in Chrift, and felt that all the glory belonged to 'God." The experiences of another woman, about thirty years of age, were as follows. For feveral years paft fhe had rarely attended public worship any where. But, fhe was now aroufed to attend to divine things, by hearing much faid about the prefent revival of religion, in the parish ;-by feeing felf, in reading the bible and in prayer to God. For this purpose fhe fat up late, at night, and arofe at day light, in the morning. But the power of conviction increasing, her diftrefs compelled her to afk for inftruction and counfel. And though greatly burdened, at the time, fhe did this; yet, after hearing the great doctrines of the gof pel explained, fhe went away more forrowful than fhe came. The evening following fhe was ftruck with a ftill deeper fenfe of the greatnefs of her fins, and of the dreadful wrath of God, revealed from heaven against the ungodly, upon hearing a fermon upon thefe words, Rom. iii. 19. "Now we know that what things foever the law faith, it faith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be ftopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." While heating this fermon, fhe relates, "It feemed to me, juft as though I ftood before the judg ment feat of Chrift. I felt like a 'criminal. I never before had 'fuch an awful fenfe of the guilt of my fins, though my diftreffes had been very great. My mouth was ftopped, and I had nothing to fay for myfelf. Such was. the agony of my foul that I flept but little that night. The next day and night, and the following forenoon, I chiefly fpent in prayer to God, and in reading the bible. As I read 2 Cor. v. 17. "Therefore if any man be in Chrift he is a new creature; old things are paffed 6 away; behold all things are become new"-my mind was in a moft furprising manner brought to fubmit to God, and fuddenly impreffed with a delightful view of his great goodness and forgiving mercy, through the Lord Jefus Chrift. My troubled foul was ftrangely eafed of its forrows. For a few minutes a fweet calm, and a refignation to God's will followed, till my mind was filled with inexpreffible joy and rejoicing in God. It now feemed to me that I could not refrain from praifing God aloud. I longed to be by my felf, away from every body. I laid down the bible, and went out into the field, fpeaking the praises of God; and there every thing around me feemed to be "praising him. I now faw his goodness in the fpires of grafs ⚫ before me—in the trees-in the birds in the heavens-in the 'fhining fun-in the earth-in its abounding fulness of every thing for the use of man, and above all, in his long-forbearance to fuch a ⚫ finner as I had been. I feemed to be in a new world, fo different did every thing now appear, as flowing from the goodness of • God. For now his goodnefs appeared in every thing. O! How could I fin, as I have done, against a God of fuch infinite goodness! It feemed that God and Chrift could never be fuffi⚫ciently praised. I now wanted to have every body praise them. It seemed ftrange that my eyes had never been opened before. I now wondered how any body 'could live, without praifing God. O! How vile I felt before God, as a finner, dreadfully guilty and unworthy of his notice; and yet I felt unfpeakably happy in prailing him, as an holy and righteous God." This perfon for nearly a year has lived in a very high enjoyment of the confolations of religion. Apparently free from enthufiafm, her joys have been great in God, and in the Redeemer. She fpends a confiderable time daily in reading the bible and in prayer; vifits the fick with peculiar tenderness; and, at times, is greatly exercised for the falvation of others. When the confiders their finful lives against an holy God, and their danger of everlafting punishment, her heart melts for their falvation with the tendernefs of a friend, on beholding another's deftruction. Her diftreffes for the falvation of others have been fo great, that he hardly knows how to account for them, while, in respect to herself, she feels fo happy in the enjoyment of God. The fabbath is her delight, and hearing the gospel her sweetest enjoyment. The experiences of a man, about fixty years of age, of reputable character, who had been a regular attendant upon public wor fhip, and whofe morals, in the common ufe of the word, were good, were as follows.-Soon after this powerful work of God began among us, he was convinced of its being a divine work, and was excited to a diligent ufe of the means of grace. His mind was ftruck with a conviction that outward morality would not fave him from the condemning sentence of a broken law, tho' it be the dependence of too many: That, in his paft morality, he had been fo far from yielding an acceptable obedience to the law of God, that he stood before God condemned for innumerable tranfgreffions. He felt himself a miferable finner, in the hands of an holy and finpunishing God. His inward forebodings of eternal mifery, spring. ing from the wickednels of his own heart, awakened by the divine fpirit, took away all peace from his mind, and filled him with great foul diftrefs. He was now bowed down under a deep fense of his great guilt and ill defert in the fight of God, and felt his own depravity of heart and helpleffnefs as a finner to be fuch, that nothing could prepare him for the kingdom of glory, lefs than a change of heart, by the Holy Ghoft. While thus deeply diftreffed with a fenfe of his fin and danger, one fab bath morning on his way to meet ing, he relates, " My heart appeared to undergo an inftantaneous change, and I was fuddenly overpowered with a most affecting fenfe of God's holiness and juftice, which before I could • never fatisfactorily comprehend; of his readiness to pardon the ⚫ humbled finner; and of the glorious fufficiency there is in the Lord Jefus Chrif, for falvation. My views of divine things ⚫ were all charged in a noment. I now faw that I had never before, had any juft fenfe of the ⚫ righteoufnefs of God, nor of the way of falvation by Chrift. And tho' I felt vile, in my own eyes, and deeply humbled as a finner, my foul was filled with unfpeakable joy in God, and in the bieffet Redeemer. I had tho't ⚫ that before krew what happi nefs was; but the happiness I then enjoyed was of a different nature, and not to be compared with what I now felt, from the foul-fatisfying view I had of Chrift. A fenfe of what Chrift had done for finners, while it laid me in the duft, filled my heart with joy and praife. I had, alfo, fometimes thought that I had a just sense of my lit tleness before God, when I had compared myself to the smallest infect; but now I found my miftake, and faid, that I had never before had any just apprehenfion of my nothingness and unworthinefs before him. That was the happielt sabbath, and the happiest day of my life. My foul was filled with the fweeteft joy and rejoicing in God, and Chrift, and heavenly things." I fhall now conclude this narrative of individuals, with an ac count of the experiences of another man, of forty-five years of age. This man was greatly awake ned to attend to religion feveral weeks, before he let it be known, as he had an opportunity of hear ing the private inftruction given to his wife, who was, alfo, under conviction. When he informed me of his conviction, he was told how wicked and inexcufable finners are in delaying repentance the neceffity of regeneration-the fovereignty of God in it; and the importar ce of improving the prefent time to make his peace with God. His convictions fill continued to increafe for many weeks; and while fome, who had been awakened long after him, were now rejoicing in hope, his anxiety continued. This greatly difcouraged him, making him envious at thofe who had obtained a hope of themselves, and exciting in his mind hard thoughts of God. He was tempted to think, at one time, led with horror in reflecting upon my past abuse of divine mercies; and the danger of being left to be miferable for ever was fo ftrongly impreffed upon my mind, that it was almost infupportable." Having, one day, told him of the comforting hope of his wife, I asked him, how he could live any longer in impenitence, when fo many were brought home to God, and, now, his wife in particular; reminding him, that he must be fenfible he was to blame for living in impenitence: that it was wrong to caft the guilt of his fins upon God; and that the condemnation of the finally impenitent, after en that all his convictions were a delu. | fion; at another time that God was hard and unjust, fince he had not noticed his prayers and feek. ings, while others were regenera ted after lefs convictions than his ; and at another time, to believe all his prayers and feekings were in vain, and to desift from all further fee kings, fince God was a fove. reign and unchangeable being. But, by this refolution he could not abide. The power of God was too great for him; for his convictions returned with double force upon his mind. They compelled him to an earneft attendance to fecret prayer to reading the fcriptures, and to hearing the gofjoying the privileges of the prefent pel, which affected his mind with a deep fense of the danger and evil confequences of living in fin and impenitence to advanced life. "I now, faid he, faw the danger of abufing the calls of God in early life, left we should be given over to hardness of heart, in advanced age. I wished to warn ⚫ all young people not to neglect ⚫ offered mercies, as I had done, left like me, when further advanced in life, they should cry ⚫ and seek to God, and not be heard. For, it now feemed to me, that the reason why God had not heard me was, because I had lived fo long in impeni ⚫tence. I was particularly dif day, would be peculiarly aggra vated. He has ince told me the effects of this converfation. "I never, faid he, felt so envious as I did when you told me of my wife's hope. I hated myself and every body elfe. And when you told me of my inexcufa• bleness after all my strivings, I hated fuch difcourfe, while my 'confcience convinced me that it 6 was right; for my distress now increased, and feemed to be more than I could live under. I had before felt, as though I 'fhould fink under my convictions; but now I felt, as though they would kill me, fuch appeared to be the dreadful hardness and wickedness of my heart. I was ftrongly tempted to put an end to my life, to get out of my 'prefent mifery; but inftantly thought this temptation must be from the Devil, who was now uniting with my wicked heart to destroy me, and refift treffed, in reflecting upon my past abuse of the Chriftian fabbath, and neglect of the public 'worship of God, and wished to exhort both old and young, not to abuse these privileges as I had ⚫ done. Instead of becoming better, or finding grace, as I had long expected, I now appeareded it with abhorrence, while a to myself to grow more and more fenfe of having for a moment in hardened in fin; and to be fur-dulged fuch a wicked thought ⚫ther than ever from the kingdom covered me with fhame and con⚫ of God. O! My foul was fil-fufion. I could no longer find abhorrence of all fin. And after this calm defcribed, the following doxology was brought to my remembrance with great power and fweetnefs, ease. That was a fleepless night. By reafon of my horrors of foul, I arose the next morning two or three hours before day, pained with dreadfully wicked and tormenting thoughts--with hard thoughts of God, and diftreffing thoughts of my own ' wretchedness. Such horror and mifery were before me, that it feemed as tho' the very thoughts of them would take my life away. Full of difpairing agony, I arofe from my chair, and went through the room where my bible lay; and turning my eyes upon it, with hatred and malice I took it up to put it out of my fight for ever, refolving to pay 6 no more attention to it; for a moment giving myself up to utter defpair. But, in this conflict, my heart failed me. I returned to my chair again, and, in unspeakable agony of foul, ⚫ was now convinced of the dread ful enmity of my heart against • God. I felt my helpless condition as a finner, and faw that • God only was able to change my heart. For about an hour [ ⚫ continued in earnest cries to God for falvation. I felt guilty and felf-condemned, and that God would be just in punishing me with everlasting deftruction, even though he were to fave all the rest of mankind; being con• vinced that his mercies were his ' own, and that he had a right to bestow them on whom he pleafed. My diftrefs forced me to cry aloud-O, Lord Jefus, have mercy on me now, or Iperish forev. er! O! Now I feel the need of Je fus! My mind was immediately relieved. A fweet calm followed, for about twenty-four hours, in which I felt a full refignation to the will of God, and a real "To God the Father, God the Son, "And God the Spirit, three in one ; "Be honor, praife and glory given, "By all on earth and all in heaven." 'Hereupon my mind was filled with inexpreffible joy and delight in the Trinity. I faid to myfelf, what have I been about, that I have not been praifing God before. My joys continued to increase for about three weeks, feeling a moft lively sense of my own unworthiness in the fight of God, and of the all-fufficiency of his grace, through Jefus Chrift, for pardon and falvation. I now seemed to feel sweetly refigned to the will of God in all things-in fickness, or in health, or in any other thing that God 'fhould fee fit to bring upon me. I rejoiced that he was God, and juft fuch a God as he is. This confideration, above all others, gave me inexpreffible fatisfaction in him. And I now found great delight, in joining with my family in prayer, a duty which I had all my life neglected against the dictates of my conIcience." In the preceding narrative of individuals, I have, for the convictions which preceded the fake of brevity, described only their comforts, and the holy exercifes of mind, which, fhortly after, followed it; for many religious exercifes of heart in their perfebeen mentioned. verance, might otherwife have |