rent, with an affectionate fenfe of I remember thefe things, I pour our filial relation and dependence? out my foul in me, for I had gone Knowledge and love make spirits bleft, Knowledge their food, and love their reft." And as the duties of focial worfhip in a special and powerful manner, tend to open these truths to the view of the mind, and to infix their genuine impreffions warm upon the heart of the true worshipper he rejoices and bleffes God for his infinite wisdom and goodness manifefted in the inftitution. He feels an indiffoluble attachment to the fervice-a warm and fenfible delight in the duty. Witnefs the example of the man after God's own heart. In what language of devotion and zeal does he exprefs his defire towards the houfe of his God, and his delight in attending the duties of focial worship! "I was glad, when they faid unto me let us go into the house of the Lord." (Pfalm cxxii. 1.) "When The fame views, feelings and God is the former of our bodies *It is believed by many that the word even, inferted in this place by the tranflators of the Bible, ought to have been omitted; and this idea is fully adopted by the writer. That fparrows and fwallows fhould build their nefts, and lay their young upon the altars of facrifice is at beft a very incongruous fuppofition. But with the omiffion of one word, the fenfe is plain and natural, and by a very animated apoftroPfalmift towards the worship and fer phe expreffes the fervent zeal of the vice of the Temple. C of his hands. Tho' he needeth | joined the fervice of the lips.- 66 fay unto him take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, fo will we render the calves of our lips." To the fame point of instruction we read in the 50th Pfalm, last verse " Whofo offereth praise, glorifieth me." And the apostle improves the redeeming mercy and grace of God, as the higheft and not our fervices, yet in his infinite wisdom he hath feen fit to enjoin them. He directs us in the manner of their performance, and in infinite condefcenfion is pleased to accept them, through the mediation of his Son. And he requires us not only to worship him in humble heart fincerity, in fpirit and in truth; but enjoins the fervice of the whole man.-Both foul and body are to be active inftruments of his glory-actively and jointly employed in the folemn exercife of his worship, and confecrated to his fervice. For, though the duty of prayer and praife, effentially confift in the temper and views of the heart, difpofing the foul to cry after God-to draw near to him as a child, in the exercise of repentance, faith, hope, joy, confidence and truft-yet in the complete exercife of worship, of focial worship, in aftrongeft argument to enforce the fpecial manner, there must be an duty of universal dedication in the offering up of the defires of our worship and fervice of God. "Ye hearts in words, outwardly ex- are not your own for ye are bought preffive of our internal feelings and with a price; therefore glorify views. The heart and voice muft God in your body and in your spiunite in the fervice, and murit which are God's." Thus "with tually confpire in the worship of the heart man believeth unto right. God. For tho' bodily exercife, eousness, and with the mouth confeparately confidered, profiteth lit- feffion is made unto falvation." tle, and the outward form of prayer, without the fpirit of it in the heart, is but a vain oblation, a prostitution of the duty, and a folemn mockery of God; yet we may fay of these two parts of worfhip, as the Saviour, in his reproof of the hypocritical Jews, expreffes himfelf concerning the effentials and ceremonials of the law "These things (the weightier matters of the law) ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other (the circumftantials) undone." So the fpirit of prayer in the heart, muft not be wanting in every true worshipper; and with this must be The faculty of speech is a diftinguishing excellency in man, beftowed by the beneficent author of nature for the most wife and important ends. Hereby we are enabled not only to communicate our thoughts and feelings to one another refpecting the things of time, but we inquire and learn the way of everlasting falvation-hold bleffed communion with the Father of our Spirits, and unite our hearts with our voices, in focial homage, to worship, praife and glorify the God that made us,Therefore it is that the tongue or faculty of fpeech is ftiled the glory of the human frame, and is expreffed by this animated figure in va rious paffages of the writings of David. "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth." (Pfalm xvi. 9.) that is, my tongue declares my joy in God. "To the end that my glory, (that is my tongue) may fing praise to thee and not be filent." (Pfalm xxx. 12.) "Awake up my glory, awake pfaltery and harp." (Pfalm lvii. 8.) and in Pfalm cviii. 1. "O God, my heart is fixed, I will fing and give praife, even with my glory." ASAPH. (To be continued.) FOR THE CONNECTICUT EVAN- TH of renewing grace, yet charity will conclude, that among all who have come out, and openly acknowledged Chrift, there must be many, who are become the real fubjects of it. This cannot fail, of infpiring the minds of all the true lovers of Zion and the happiness of the fouls of men, with joy and confolation. It is an unfpeakably higher evidence of the goodness and mercy of God, and of his gracious pref ence, than the increase of corn and wine and oil. Although fuch influences are local, and though this confideration may cast a gloom on the circumstances of fuch places as are left in fecurity, yet, as the well-wishers of Zion do not confine their wishes to any particuHE publication of the vari- lar place or people, they do reous narratives of the reli-joice and will rejoice, that God's gious attention, which has prevail- work is proceeding in any place. ed, in many towns in this ftate, appears to me to be of excellent tendency; and calculated to afford important inftruction relative to many most interesting things, as well as to imprefs the reflecting mind with many important confiderations. In perufing them, my mind has been led to make many reflections. I have endeavored, in as concife a manner as I am able, to ftate the ufe and improvement which may be made of these extraordinary operations. 1. I think they are eminently calculated, to afford pleafure and joy to the minds of all well-wishers to Zion and the welfare of the fouls of men.-If credit is to be given to those narratives, we must confider fuch operations as terminating in the enlargement of the Church of Chrift and in multiplying witneffes for him. And, however inadequate men are, as to de termining, with abfolute certainty, how many are become the fubjects 2. The hiftory of the late a wakenings, is calculated to imprefs the mind, with a view and fenfe of the fovereignty of God, in the beftowment of the influences of his Spirit. In the late effufions of the divine Spirit, although many places have been vifited, yet it has been far from being univerfal or general. It has rained upon one place and not upon another. While the people in one place have been attentive, to a high degree, to fpiritual and eternal concerns, those of another, and perhaps, of an adjoining place, have been left in fecurity, and to dofe over the most important things. Now, why is one place vifited and another not! It cannot be fatisfactorily accounted for, from the external means which have been enjoyed; nor from any previous appearances, or predifpofing circumstances. All that can be faid in fuch a cafe is, what our Saviour observed on a fim was an ardent defire to hear the word, to have fermons multiplied, and frequent religious conferences inftituted People, at fuch a time, will inquire, and will attend on ilar occafion, "Even fo, Father, appears from the progress of the for fo it hath feemed good in thy work of God, in the various pla fight."And, the fovereignty of ces which are refpected in the narGod in fuch operations appears ratives. As foon as these wore not only in diftinguishing fome any appearances of the effufion of places from others, in the bestow- the fpirit, there was a proportionment of them, but in the diftinc-able engagedness to attend on ́tions which are made among indi-means. Public affemblies became viduals, in the fame place. Al-proportionably crowded ; and there though the attention, in many places, has been general, yet it has not been univerfal. Many individuals have been left in fecurity and inattention. And, among those who were awakened, it does not ap-means. pear, that it has been confined to fuch as human views would have fingled out as the favored objects, but fuch have been arrested, in many inftances, who were at the greatest remove from all ferious attention-fuch as have burlesqued and even wholly rejected Chriftianity, and have confidered fuch a wakenings, as the effect of enthufiafm and a diftempered imagination. In these refpects it appears, from the various narratives which have been given, that awakenings are at the fovereign difpofal of God. Although there are, doubt lefs, fufficiently ftrong reafons in the divine mind for doing as he does ; yet we have no other way to account for it, than by refolving it into the fovereignty of God. At fuch a time, a word faid, importing a doubt, whether it be the duty of unregenerate men to attend on means of grace, is in direct oppofition to the feelings of fuch as are awakened. However deficient they may be, as to the ftate of their minds, yet their minds are strongly impelled to an attendance on means. This is found to be an effect which univerfally attends the outpouring of the divine fpirit.-Purfue fuch operations in every place where they exift, and this effect will be obferved. We must first banish fuch influences from a people, or they will attend on means. This may lead then to a remark, which ought to make the most painful and humiliating impreffions on the minds of fuch people and individuals as live in the neglect of the means of grace. It is a fure evidence, that God does pafs by them-that they are not even the fubjects of the common, awake 3. Another truth, which we can hardly fail of remarking, in the narratives of the late work of God, in different places, is this, that the awakening influences of the divine fpirit will excite the atten-ning influence of the divine fpirit tion of mankind to the means of falvation. However ftupid people were, antecedently, yet, they are no fooner awakened, or their minds impreffed with a sense of 4. Another important confidtheir danger, and of the impor-eration, which the narratives and tance of falvation, than they begin to read and pray and inquire on the fubject of falvation. This -They have theevidence in themfelves, and carry it with them, through the whole of their negligence and inattention. hiftories of the work of God, in different places, is calculated to inforce and illuftrate is, that, or dinarily, it is neceffary to regene-, uals have, who can continue to live in the neglect of the means of grace. They have no profpect, no reafon to expect to be the fubjects of renewing influence in that ftate. ration and converfion, that finners fhould be awakened to attend to the means of grace. Although it is not pretended, that means, on account of any innate energy in them, do regenerate men, or beget 5. Another truth which the nargrace in the hearts of finners; and, ratives under confideration tend to although regeneration is the work enforce is, that however neceffary of God, and the immediate effect it is to regeneration, that finners of his power, yet, it does appear, are awakened to attend to means; from fact and obfervation, that it yet there is no established connecis ordinarily neceffary to regenera- tion, between their attending on tion, that finners fhould be awaken-means, as they do attend, and reed to attend on means. This ap-generation.-In the bestowment of pears, from the revivals narrated, regenerating grace on those who in the various numbers in the Mag- are awakened, God exercifes the azine. Previously to the awaken- fame fovereignty, as he does in ings which have taken place, there giving the awakening influence of were no greater appearances of con- his fpirit to different people. God verfions than in other places: but, vifits fome places with the effufions in confequence of fuch awakenings of his fpirit, and paffes by others. and attention, the inftances have So it is among finners who are abeen multiplied. And thofe in- wakened to concern, and to at ftances have been confined, to fuch tend on means of grace and falvaas were awakened and excited to tion. Although it appears, that attend on means. Not an inftance awakening and attention are, orhas occurred among the inattentive. dinarily, neceffary to regeneraAnd this has been found to be tion; yet there is no certain contrue, generally, refpecting both pub- nection, between their attendance lic and private inftances of regen- on means and regeneration. God, eration. I do not fay, that God in his fovereignty, diftinguifhes cannot regenerate without firft fome, by giving them renewing awakening finners to attend on grace. This appears to be true, means; or that all are awakened from facts, as they are stated in to the fame degree, or for the the various narratives. Many there fame length of time; but it does are, who, after being awakened appear, as if a degree of awaken- to attend on means, gradually reing and a diligent attendance on turn to their former eafe, and carmeans were, ordinarily, neceffary ry not the leaft evidence of their to God's giving renewing grace to being the fubjects of grace. But, finners. It appears from fact, that as the apoftle James expreffes it, this is the ordinary way and fo," It has happened to them, according that there is ordinarily, no reafon- to the true proverb, The dog is turnable profpect that a work of grace ed to his own vomit again; and, will be begun in the hearts of fin- the fow that was washed, to her ners, 'till they are awakened to wallowing in the mire.” We are concern, and a diligent attendance not, therefore, to fuppofe, any to the means of grace. This leads certain connection between finners us to fee, what dark and difmal being awakened to attend on means profpects, fuch people and individ- and regeneration; while, on the |