Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1821-12-18

pulse, refused to dwell upon any thing
of terrestrial nature The God who
holds the desdnies Of worlds in His
hands, containing myriads of intellectual
beings, all alike the objects of His care,
for some moml nts was the sole object Of
contemplation
oAll knowinrg-ail unknown and yet well
known,
Near though remote. and, though untathom'd,
felt!
And, though Invisible, forever seen!
And seen in all --
Each flower, each leaf
How shall name Thee?-IIow my labof1nS
Heaves underneath the thought, too big for
birth ~
----" Mighty cahsc
Of causes mi ghty Causehncaused Sole root
OF nature, that luxuriani growth Of God!,
---" Father of these light millions OF the
night, ...l
Of which the least, full Codhead had pro-
clam'd,
And thrown the gazer onhis knee"
How awful was this hour. Abstracted
from the world around me, all my pow
ers were lost in the contemplation Of
Deity. Descending from this lofty sum
nit, where the soul caught fire from the
altar of God, my mind was tuned to the
.A~...,~,,, efdevo'ivr" s'~.-aAa ! =, The
voices of m;ny were heard. They
echoed through the grove, and were car
ried off in p easing melody on the waves
of the surrounding waters. Among
others the pices Of mourning sinners,
we're mingl ID with the ardent interces-
sions of COTS people. The song of trl-
rmph heightened the melody, and gave
= zest to thf pleasure of contemplation.
The only Interruption TO this pleasure
vas, the ybice of mirth and blasphemy
rom the mouths Of some sons Of bclial,
who occasionally approached the sacred
encamrrnent. A sense of their unhappy
state served to moderate my JOY, and to
excite an involuntary sigh, on account Of
the folly and madness of thoughtless
men. What pity that any should SO
Ear forget their true dignity as to sport
With sacred things, and make the wor-
ship of God an opportunity for accumu-
Iating wealth ! The thought, that proba-
lily some Of these mistaken men might
Jet become objects of the divine dis
pleasure, spread temporary gloom over
he clear sky now Illuminated by the ra-
liant beams from The Sun of Righteous
less. This, however, could not last
ing. Bodies do not tend to the centre
~ the inscrutable law of grayilation more
orcibly, than mind, touched by the at
racting love of Jesus Christ, moves to-
Yards the heavenly world, and rests, al
most with equal tranquility, as the ocean
when unmoved by breath Of wind.
Pursuing, therefore, the train OF
bought, first excited by that Spirit which
,rea,hed into man a living soul, | began
0 estimate the amount of good which
night res alt from this meeting. The
evils, as they originated from
he depraity of man, and were brought
ITO operation by those uniriendly to the
ause of p etv, l could not charge to the
cconnt o Camp Meetings. Upon a
air estinition, therefore, these subtract
,othing from the total amount Of good.
3D,l had hardly begun the calculation,
shen Messenger brought the heart
.heering Intelligence of the conversion
# some youths, who had been long
trugglint under the mighty load Of sin.
They wGe now cmancipa,ed. Here,
hen, arc more immortal souls to be
aiken INTO the account. How shall !
make the estimate? BY what rule shall
calculate? The svorh of a soul is to
,e the first thing to estimate. But,
Knowest thou the Importance of soul i'm
mortal! M
behold the midnight glory worlds on worlds
AMAZING pomp"
One soul outweighs them all ~
If this be so, who can estimate the
Whole amount of good, when scores OF
hesc immortal souls are brought to a
aving knowledge Of the truth? Baflled
hus in my attempts to ascertain the bcne-
it which mightresult from these solemn
exercises, after leasting awhile upon the
bought Of their etdrnalIy praising God
or having attended this meeting, l re-
ired, about 9 O'Clock in the morning, to
est; but the mind was too eager to suf-
err 6 balmy sleep" to sever the chain OF
now stretching around the en-
1t had already been ascertaincd that a
number Of those who had become the
subjects of converting grace, were the
children of pious parents. With the
consent Of their parents they had come
o this meeting, and were now prepared
o return, and "tell how great things the
Lord had done for them The work,
,owever, was not eonfned to these
VI any stout-hcarted sinners were brought
4 u n Tow