moment, whenever or wherever he may have the opportunity to hear it again.

The God of the Bible is the God of providence. And there is often an affecting analogy between facts which we now observe, and notable facts in the early history of the church, as recorded in the sacred book. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, after that wonderful interview with God, his face shined in a manner that was marvellous, and it continued thus to shine till the day of his death. I have thought of this, when meditating on the unquestionable fact, that those who were brought so near to God in this great revival of 1800, and had granted to them such clear vision of Jehovah's holy character, and of that Mediator whose name is "Wonderful," and whose death purchased redemption for men, had a striking peculiarity instamped on their prayers, which continued through all the remaining part of their earthly pilgrimage.

The following letter from Dr. Baxter, written at that day, is exceedingly valuable. I give it to the reader, as it contains a picture of the times drawn by the hand of a master. Through the entire prime of his life, the writer ranked among the very first ministers in the Presbyterian church. For many years, he was president of Washington College, at Lexington; and at the time of his death, he was professor of theology in the Union Theological Seminary, Virginia.

Letter from the Rev. George Baxter to the Rev. A. Alexander, dated Washington Academy, Virginia, January 1, 1802.

"Rev. and Dear Sir,

"I now sit down, agreeably to promise, to give you some account of the revival of religion in the

state of Kentucky. You have, no doubt, heard already of the Green River and Cumberland revivals. I will just observe, that the last summer is the fourth since. the revival commenced in those places; and that it has been more remarkable than any of the preceding, not only for lively and fervent devotion among Christians, but also for awakenings and conversions among the careless; and it is worthy of notice, that very few instances of apostasy have hitherto appeared. As I was not myself in the Cumberland country, all I can say about it is from the testimony of others; but I was uniformly told by those who had been there, that their religious assemblies were more solemn, and the appearance of the work much greater, than what had been in Kentucky: any enthusiastic symptoms which might at first have attended the revival had greatly subsided, whilst the serious concern and engagedness of the people were visibly increased..

"In the older settlement of Kentucky, the revival made its first appearance among the Presbyterians, last spring. The whole of that country, about a year before, was remarkable for vice and dissipation; and I have been credibly informed that a decided majority of the people were professed infidels.

During the last winter, appearances were favorable among Baptists, and great numbers were added to their churches. Early in the spring, the ministrations of the Presbyterian clergy began to be better attended than they had been for many years before; their worshipping assemblies became more solemn; and the people, after they were dismissed, showed a strange reluctance at leaving the place: they generally continued some time in the meeting-houses, in singing or in religious conversation.

"Perhaps about the last of May or the first of June, the awakening became general, in some congregations, and spread through the country in every direction, with amazing rapidity. I left that country about the first of November, at which time this revival, in connection with the one in Cumberland, had covered the whole state, excepting a small settlement which borders on the waters of Green River, in which no Presbyterian ministers are settled, and I believe very few of any denomination. The power with which this revival has spread, and its influence in moralizing the people, are difficult for you to conceive, and more difficult for me to describe. I had heard many accounts, and seen many letters, respecting it, before I went to that country; but my expectations, though greatly raised, were much below the reality of the work.

"The congregations, when engaged in worship, presented scenes of solemnity superior to what I had ever seen before; and in private houses it was no uncommon thing to hear parents relate to strangers the wonderful things which God had done in their neighborhoods, whilst a large circle of young people would be in tears. On my way to Kentucky, I was told by settlers on the road, that the character of Kentucky travellers was entirely changed, and that they were now as distinguished for sobriety as they had formerly been for dissoluteness; and, indeed, I found Kentucky the most moral place I had ever been in: a profane expression was hardly heard, a religious one seemed to pervade the country, and some deistical characters had confessed that, from whatever cause the revival might originate, it certainly made the people better.

"Its influence was not less visible in promoting a

friendly temper: nothing could appear more amiable than that undissembled benevolence which governs the subjects of this work. I have often wished that the mere politician or Deist could observe with impartiality their peaceful and amicable spirit. He would certainly see that nothing could equal the religion of Jesus for promoting even the temporal happiness of society. Some neighborhoods, visited by the revival, had been formerly notorious for private animosities; and many petty lawsuits had commenced on that ground. When the parties in these quarrels were impressed with religion, the first thing was to send for their antagonists; and it was often very affecting to see their meeting: both had seen their faults, and both contended that they ought to make concessions; till at last they were obliged to request each other to forbear all mention of the past, and to act as friends and brothers for the future.

"Now, sir, let modern philosophists talk of reforming the world by banishing Christianity, and introducing their licentious systems; the blessed gospel of our God and Savior is showing what it can do. Some circumstances have concurred to distinguish the Kentucky revival from most others of which we have had any account; I mean the largeness of the assemblies on sacramental occasions, the length of time they continued on the ground in devotional exercises, and the great numbers who have fallen down under religious impressions. On each of these particulars I shall make some remarks.

"With respect to the largeness of the assemblies: It is generally supposed that at many places there were not fewer than eight, ten, or twelve thousand people.

At a place called Caneridge meeting-house, many were of opinion there were, at least, twenty thousand there were one hundred and forty wagons which came loaded with people, besides other wheel carriages: some persons had come two hundred miles; the largeness of these assemblies was an inconvenience; they were too numerous to be addressed by one speaker; it therefore became necessary for several ministers to officiate at different stands: this afforded an opportunity to those who were but slightly impressed with religion to wander to and fro between the different places of worship, which created an appearance of confusion, and gave ground to such as were unfriendly to the work to charge it with disorder. Another cause, also, conduced to the same effect. About this time, the people began to fall down in great numbers under serious impressions; this was a new thing among Presbyterians: it excited universal astonishment, and created a curiosity which could not be restrained. When people fell, even during the most solemn part of divine service, those who stood near were so extremely anxious to see how they were affected, that they often crowded about them so as to disturb the worship. But these causes of disorder were soon removed; different sacraments were appointed on the same Sabbath, which divided the people; and the falling down became so familiar as to excite no disturbance. In October, I attended three sacraments: at each there were supposed to be between four and five thousand people, and every thing was conducted with strict propriety. When persons fell, those who were near them took care of them, and every one continued quiet until the worship was concluded.