mental of producing this change; though certain it is, that whe ever it takes place, it is the gospel, in distinction from the law, that accomplishes it. As it is not a common thing, to say the least, for men to know, with absolute assurance, the precise period of their conversion, so they cannot ordinarily determine what particular part of divine truth was then directly before the mind; but if it were possible to ascertain, they would doubtless always find that it had a more or less intimate connection with the cross of Christ.

3. There is moreover an agency of the Spirit in the whole progress of the soul in holiness. Says the Apostle to the Thessalonians, "We are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning, chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." The regenerating act leaves the soul far from a state of perfect holiness. The general current of its desires and purposes is changed; but notwithstanding this change, the Christian finds a law in his members warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin. Hence there is much to be done subsequently to his regeneration, to prepare him for heaven; and in every part of this work, the Spirit has a more or less direct agency. Sometimes he is to be reclaimed from a course of backsliding; sometimes to be fortified against the influence of temptation; sometimes to be stimulated to great and arduous enterprises; now there is to be enkindled a spirit of elevated devotion, and now a spirit of stirring ac tivity; but in all this, and in all which belongs to the work of sanctification, a divine influence is to be exerted. All the various powers of the soul-the conscience-the willthe affections-the whole spiritual man-are to be brought into exercise, according to the particular end which the Spirit may design to accomplish. And so also every part

of revealed truth-the law and the gospel, and each particular doctrine of the gospel, are used by this divine agent in carrying forward his work. And thus the whole man becomes more and more pure, until he reaches at last the fulness of the stature of a perfect person in Christ.

I have thus given you what I suppose to be a scriptural view of the agency of the Spirit, in respect to a single individual, who finally reaches heaven. Now what I have here described in respect to a single case, takes place, in a revival of religion, in many cases. Many sinners are the subjects of conviction and conversion; and God's people are advanced in the spiritual life. Nevertheless there are some points of view in which the divine agency in a revival deserves to be more particularly contemplated.

In every revival we are distinctly to recognise the sovereignty of God. As this is displayed in the influence by which a single soul is converted, it certainly is not less manifest in those copious showers of influence by which hundreds are converted. He who causes it to rain on one city and not on another, directs the motion of those clouds in the spiritual world from which descend the blessings of reviving and quickening grace. "The wind bloweth, where it listeth; and thou hearest the sound thereof; but canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth. So every one that is born of the spirit." And so too is every revival of religion.

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There is one grand principle of our nature, which the Holy Spirit makes great use of in a revival, that is not brought into exercise in a single conversion; and which perhaps more than any thing else, distinguishes the character of his agency in two cases-I mean the principle of sympathy. The operation of this principle is familiar to us all in the common intercourse of life. You all know what

it is to have a fellow-feeling;-to be affected by the affection of another with feelings correspondent with those you witness in him. Who, for instance, has not been made to feel joyful, merely by coming in contact with those whose countenances have worn the aspect, and whose conversation has breathed the spirit of joy? And who has not felt his heart melting with sorrow, and even his eyes suffused with tears, merely from being cast into a scene in which there were bleeding hearts and streaming eyes? Now this principle with which we are all so perfectly familiar in common life, is brought into exercise with great effect in a revival of religion. A brother, for instance, sees a sister, or a husband a wife, or a parent a child, weeping under a sense of sin; and inquiring, it may be with agony, in respect to her salvation. That brother, or husband, or parent, must be destitute of all natural sensibility, not to be moved by such a spectacle. But the first exercise of the soul in such a case will not be repentance-it will not be conviction; but it will be simply a fellow-feeling for a beloved friend in distress. Now it is acknowledged that there is no natural affinity between this state of mind and religion; nevertheless, the former constitutes a happy preparation for the latter, and often the first step towards it. For how natural for the sinner to inquire at such a moment, whether there be any adequate cause for this distress; and how probably will the answer to this inquiry bring up the solemnities of eternity before the mind, and set the conscience at work; and then the dream of thoughtlessness is interrupted, and the cord which binds the soul to the world is loosed; and having advanced so far, there is reason to hope that he will hold on his way, till he comes into the marvellous liberty of a child of God. The same principle is often brought into exercise in the worshipping assembly. Let there be that deep and awful solemnity pervading a

congregation that is induced by the special presence of the Spirit of God; let there be many countenances and many eyes that shall betray a deep, though silent anxiety; and believe me, every anxious countenance, every fixed eye, will preach; and it will utter a mysterious language that will not improbably waken up the sensibilities of the careless sinner; and this will naturally serve to open his ear to God's truth; and thus conviction may take the place of sympathy, and in the train of that may soon follow the clean heart and the right spirit. I know, brethren, that this is a true description of the manner in which many a sinner has passed from thoughtlessness to alarm; from darkness to light. And I doubt not that the same principle is often brought into exercise in advancing the believer's sanctification; especially in rousing him from spiritual sloth, and in stirring him up to a higher tone both of feeling and of action.

Let no one dream that there is any thing in this, which casts suspicion on the reality, or derogates from the dignity of a revival of religion. I repeat, mere sympathy is not religion; though no doubt it is sometimes mistaken for it. It has no one of all the ingredients of religion; and may exist, and does exist, in connection with rank hatred and bitter opposition to the gospel. Nevertheless, it is an original principle of human nature, which, when operating on other subjects than that of religion, is considered amiable and even noble; and wherefore is it that, in respect to this, it degenerates into a pitiable weakness? It is manifestly adapted to bring men to a sense of religion; and why should not the Holy Ghost use it for the accomplishment of that end? There is yet another influence which the Spirit renders subservient to sustaining a revival of religion-I mean that of example. There is no department of human action in which this influence is not powerfully realized; and there

is as little mystery in respect to the manner in which it operates in a revival as any where else. Here are individuals becoming impressed with religious truth, and inquiring what they shall do to be saved, and actually believing on the Lord Jesus Christ that they may be saved. How natural that this fact should speak to the consciences of others, not merely through sympathy, but through the understanding, and thus put them upon a course which will terminate in genuine conversion. Besides, every one knows that one of the most formidable obstacles to entering on a religious life is a false shame—a dread of being singular; but in a revival the current of example is in favor of religion; and the anxious sinner has nothing to fear from the shafts of ridicule being pointed at him; or if they are pointed at him, they fall powerless at his feet. It is not uncommon on these occasions for men of great worldly influence and distinction to come out from the world, and openly proclaim themselves on the Lord's side; and every such event almost of course makes an impression upon many minds; and others in the same walks of life, who have been accustomed perhaps to regard religion as a matter chiefly for the lower classes, are waked up to serious reflection; and begin to conclude that it is at least worth while to inquire whether that which receives the sanction of the intelligent, and the learned, and those who are best qualified to judge, may not be a serious, reality. And this may lead to examination; and examination to conviction; and conviction to an actual renovation of heart. The history of revivals records many facts, like the cases which I have here supposed; and I should hazard little if I were to say that there are probably individuals before me whose hearts are full of Christian joy and hope, who refer their first religious impressions to the influence of example in the midst of some revival of religion. I hardly need add that there is no natural connection between such an influ