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 BV825 ,B39 1840 
 Bayard, Samuel, 1767-1840. 
 Letters on the sacrament of 
 the Lord's supper. 
 
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RECOMMENDATIONS. 
 
 We arc pleased to learn that a new edition of " Letters 
 on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,'^ by Samuel Bay- 
 ard, Esq., a ruling- elder in the Presbyterian Church at 
 Princeton, New Jersey, is called for. It was first pub- 
 lished about sixteen or seventeen years ago, and was re- 
 garded as a very useful present to that portion of the reli- 
 gious community, for the benefit of wJiich it was intended. 
 The work being now out of print, the venerable author 
 has been requested to allow- a new impression for public 
 use. We are pleased to find that he has agreed to comply 
 with this request, and that a revised and improved edition 
 may soon be expected to issue from the pres». We can 
 freely recommend this manual as, in our oi>Jfiion, adapted 
 to do much good. V^ 
 
 SAMUEL MILLER. 
 
 JAMES CARXAHAN. 
 
 A. ALEXANDER. 
 
 B. H. RICE. 
 
 The following is an extract from a review of Judge 
 Bayard's " Letters on the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup- 
 per," by the Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, editor of the Chris- 
 tian Advocate, {see vol. i. p. 180.) 
 
 In relation to this work on the Sacrament, this able 
 reviewer observes — " It is a book which, in our judgment, 
 is not only calculated to make the reader think favourably 
 of the writer, but one that may be, and we trust will be, 
 read with great personal benefit by all who peruse it. Take 
 it altogether, (and we mean that it peculiarly needs to be so 
 taken,) and it is calculated to promote the scriptural edifi- 
 cation of professors of religion, of the most established 
 standing within the Christian Church. It is calculated to 
 warm their hearts, to enliven their devotional feelings, 
 and to give tJiem a deep and tender sense of their obliga' 
 tions. To those for whom it was specially and immedi- 
 ately intended, to such as are unduly fearful of approach - 
 
 9, 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 
 
 ing- the Lord's table, and to all yoiin^ communicants, it is 
 fitted to be still more useful. They will, we should suppose, 
 be hardly able to read it without sensible and lasting bene- 
 fit. To their perusal we cordially recommend it." 
 
 At the close of his remarks, the reviewer, after point- 
 ing out certain errors, which he hopes in a second edition 
 will be corrected, says : 
 
 " We have pointed out these errors, or what we esteem 
 such, in hopes that if a second edition of this work should 
 be called for, the author may be induced carefully to re- 
 vise the whole. So good a book as we consider this to 
 be, ought to be rendered as perfect as the author can 
 make it." 
 
 Extract of a letter from the Rev. Dr. Samuel B. Hoio, 
 Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Churchy at New Bruns- 
 ii;ick, to the Rev. B. Rice, D. D. 
 
 Rev. and Dear Sir: — During the late revival in the 
 congregation of which I am Pastor, I found great assist- 
 ance from " The Letters on the Lord's Supper, by S. 
 Bayard, Esq.," a ruling elder in your church. They give 
 that information which it is important for young converts 
 to receive, and were very useful in removing unnecessary 
 doubts. I understand that the work can with difficulty 
 be procured, and that nearly all, if not all, the first edi- 
 tion, is sold. Will you pardon, my dear sir, the liberty I 
 take in dropping to you a few lines, to ask whether Mr. 
 Bayard cannot be induced to publisli a second edition. 
 By so doing, I think he would benefit the Church, and aid 
 the cause of true piety. You will much oblige me if you wiU 
 present this subject to Mr, Bayard. In my humble opin- 
 ion, the favourable reception which the book has already 
 experienced, its real excellence, and the commendation 
 which has been bestowed on it by competent judges, not 
 only warrant, but call for another edition. 
 
 With the highest esteem and respect, 
 Yours truly, 
 
 SAMUEL B. HOW. 
 
LETTERS 
 
 sJ^^n^^^i^ 
 
 SACRAMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 v^' 
 
 BY SAMUEL BAYARD, Esq. 
 A Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Congregation at Princeton, X. J. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND IMPROVED. 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 AN APPENDIX. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 WILLIAM S. MARTIEN. 
 
 1840. 
 
^JJu^*v^ 
 
 Entered according- to the act of Congress, in the year 
 1639, by William S. Martien, in the office of the 
 Clerk of the District Court, for the Eastern District 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface. . . . . . 17 
 
 Introduction. . . . . 19 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 Obstacles to making an open profession of Christianity, by 
 participating of the Lord's Supper. - 25 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 The solemnity of this ordinance — held in the highest rev- 
 erence by the great body of professing Christians. 27 
 
 Letter III. 
 
 Whether the will of God in regard to this ordinance is 
 clearly announced. .... 29 
 
 Letter IV. 
 The origin of this ordinance, divine. - - 32 
 
 Letter V. 
 
 Other grounds of obligation — the infinite love and conde- 
 scension of the Saviour — our own happiness. 37 
 
 Letter VI. 
 
 The circumstances in which this ordinance was insti- 
 tilted. ..... 40 
 
 Letter VII. 
 
 Christians in tlie first age of the Church observed this 
 ordinance with delight. - . . 43 
 
 Letter VIII. 
 
 Objections to receiving this ordinance — want of due pre- 
 paration — this difiiculty removed. - - 45 
 
 Letter IX. 
 
 Other objections urged against partaking of the Lord's 
 Supper. - . - - - 51 
 
14 CONTENTS. 
 
 Letter X. 
 
 The same subject continued. - - - 56 
 
 Letter XI. 
 
 A passage from the 6th chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to 
 the Hebrews, 4th, 5th and 6th verses explained. 61 
 
 Letter XII. 
 
 A third passage alarming to timid Christians from St. 
 Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, (chapter x. 26, 27.) ex- 
 plained. ... - - 68 
 
 Letter XIII. 
 The nature of the unpardonable sin explained. 72 
 
 Letter XIV. 
 
 On the several descriptions of persons who ought not to 
 be admitted to this ordinance. - - 77 
 
 Letter XV. 
 General scruples suggested and removed. - 85 
 
 Letter XVI. 
 
 Further difficulties suggested — Ignorance of the nature 
 and origin of this ordinance. - - 90 
 
 Letter, XVII. 
 
 An historical review of the circumstances that led to the 
 institution of the Passover. - - 96 
 
 Letter XVIII. 
 The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be considered as 
 the Christian Passover. - - - 100 
 
 Letter XIX. 
 
 The nature and design of the Lord's Supper further illus- 
 trated. - - - - - 107 
 
 Letter XX. 
 
 The subject of Sacrifice and atonement further consi- 
 dered. - - - - • 115 
 
 Letter XXI. 
 On the necessity of the Lord's Supper. - 121 
 
 Letter XXII. 
 The benefits of the Lord's Supper considered. 120 
 
CONTENTS. 15 
 
 Letter XXIII. 
 The same subject continued. - - 136 
 
 Letter XXIV. 
 
 On the duties to be observed prior to an admission to the 
 Lord's Supper. - - . . 142 
 
 Letter XXV. 
 
 Duties incumbent on professing Christians at the Lord's 
 Table. . - . . 147 
 
 Letter XXVI. 
 
 Duties subsequent to a participation of the Lord's Sup- 
 per. . . . - . 153 
 
 Letter XXVII. 
 This subject pursued. - - - 161 
 
 Letter XXVIII. 
 
 The subject resumed. The necessity of adding watchful- 
 ness to prayer. - - - - 169 
 
 Letter XXIX. 
 
 On the benefits and consolations attending the worthy 
 celebration of this ordinance. - - 177 
 
 Letter XXX. 
 
 A short recapitulation of the substance of the preceding 
 letters. - - - - - 185 
 
 A Prayer. ... - - 197 
 
 A Prayer, by Rev. John Logan. - - 201 
 
 Appendix. ..... 207 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The first edition of this work met the approba- 
 tion of some of the first theologians in the United 
 States — of the late learned and liberal Rector of 
 St. Mary's Church of Burlington, Dr. Charles H. 
 Wharton ; of Drs. Green, Miller, and Alexander, 
 of the Presbyterian Church ; of Dr. Samuel B. 
 How, of the Dutch Reformed Church ; and also 
 of the late excellent John Jay, and Robert Troup, 
 pious and judicious Episcopalian laymen; whose 
 favourable opinion ought to be decisive on any 
 work they have read with attention. 
 
 In the present edition such parts of these letters 
 as were not approved by Dr. Green in liis review 
 of this work, have been omitted, excepting what 
 relates to the " unpardonable sin." On this sub- 
 ject the author has ventured to difi'er from his 
 venerable friend, and believes that the current of 
 authority, the opinions of the most eminent of 
 modern commentators, are clearly accordant with 
 the sentiments on this subject stated in the letters 
 on the Sacrament. His views on this point will 
 be found in the Appendix to this work. 
 
 The main design of these Letters, the object 
 
18 PREFACE. 
 
 chiefly for which they were written was, to encou- 
 rage and persuade timid, hesitating and desponding 
 converts, particularly the young, to " come boldly 
 to the tlirone of grace that they might obtain mercy, 
 and find grace to help in time of need." 
 
 That they have been attended with this happy 
 effect in many instances, the author has had the 
 satisfaction to learn from various quarters. Heaven 
 grant that the same blessed result may attend the 
 publication of the present edition. 
 
 The reader will find nothing sectarian in this 
 work. It is calculated for orthodox Christians of 
 every denomination. It is hostile to the opinions 
 of the Unitarian and Socinian, of Neologists and 
 Rationalists; of all who deny "the Lord who 
 bought them," and of all who disbelieve the doc- 
 trines of Christ's divinity ; of his meritorious 
 death, and his imputed righteousness. On these 
 points, the author most heartily agrees with the 
 sentiments of Professor Hodge, in his admirable 
 work on the Epistle to the Romans. 
 
 These sentiments have not been adopted without 
 much attention and close examination; but after a 
 careful perusal of the Scriptures for more than half 
 a century, the author (now in his seventy-third 
 year) finds himself more confirmed in his judg- 
 ment that they are, beyond all doubt, the pure and 
 genuine doctrines of the sacred Scriptures. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The following Letters are intended, not for the 
 information of the learned, but for the assistance 
 of plain serious Christians. They are designed to 
 assist persons whose piety is associated with that 
 tenderness of conscience, which deters them from 
 coming to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, by 
 suggesting scruples that have no just foundation in 
 the sacred Scriptures. Persons of this character, 
 whose reading has been almost exclusively con- 
 fined to the Bible, and to a few books of a practi- 
 cal nature, are often led into a misapprehension of 
 the true meaning of some difficult passages in the 
 sacred volume, from not having access to the 
 means of correct information. They are perhaps 
 anxious to conform to an acknowledged duty ; but 
 think it safer to abstain, than to encounter the 
 perils which they apprehend from an unworthy 
 participation of this sacred ordinance. To relieve 
 minds of this description, from scruples, at once 
 painful and unfounded, was the chief motive that 
 led to the composition of the following letters. 
 But this is not the whole that has been here 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 attempted. The investigation of the true meaning 
 of certain passages in the Epistles of St. Paul, has 
 led to a statement of the obligations which should 
 influence all true believers, to obey the injunction 
 of our Lord in coming to this ordinance. It has 
 led also to a designation of several classes of per- 
 sons, whose principles or deportment, do, or ought 
 to exclude them from this feast of love. A view 
 is then taken of the nature and design of this 
 Sacrament, and some observations added on the 
 duties it exacts, the benefits it confers, and the 
 consolations it is calculated to produce. 
 
 Such is the aim of the following work. Should 
 it have the effect of dissipating the doubts and 
 scruples even of a small number of pious, but 
 timid believers ; should it but in a few instances, 
 serve to enlighten and edify intelligent and devout, 
 though unlearned readers, it will amply repay the 
 research and labour it has occasioned. 
 
 Nor let it be deemed presumptuous in a layman 
 to undertake a task which many may be disposed 
 to think belongs exclusively to professed theolo- 
 gians. Had the work been intended only for 
 professors or students of theology, this objection 
 would have been just and valid ; but as it is design- 
 ed for the use of classes of Christians, who have 
 neither the means of obtaining that diversified 
 knowledge which lies scattered over the pages of 
 learned commentators, nor leisure, from the neces- 
 sary business of life, to remove their doubts, this 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 circumstance it is hoped will apologize for the 
 present undertaking. 
 
 There is, however, a better reason for such a 
 work, than even the one now assigned. On the 
 subject of religion, with many persons the pro- 
 ductions of a layman have more influence than 
 those of a clergyman. The one writes, they say, 
 from professional interest or prejudice ; but the 
 other must write or speak on this subject from 
 personal conviction, or from sincere attachment to 
 the cause. 
 
 An excellent writer in defence of revealed reli- 
 gion, in speaking of Mr. Wilberforce's " Practi- 
 cal Fieiv,'' observes: "If we had a number of 
 such able and faithful labourers in the cause of 
 Christianity, among the laiti/, much good might 
 be expected to result from their endeavours. Men 
 of this description are peculiarly called upon in 
 the present day, when infidelity is making such 
 rapid advances, to exert themselves in every possi- 
 ble ivay, to stop the torrent of iniquity, which is 
 ready to bear dov/n all before it."* 
 
 And elsewhare,t he urges this point more 
 warmly. " Learned laymen especially," says he, 
 *' should come forward in vindication of the gos- 
 pel; since every thing which proceeds from the 
 clergy on religion, is supposed to spring from a 
 self-interested source. Wilberforce has done him- 
 
 * Simpson's Plea for Religion, p. 247. t Page 33L 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 self much honour. He is a bold and able advo- 
 cate for a much injured cause. No less so, is 
 Mrs. Hannah Moore. She is a credit to her sex, 
 and a blessing to her country. It is scarcely pos- 
 sible, however, for authors on this subject, to be 
 too numerous. We are not wanting in clerical 
 writers, but those who have treated on subjects 
 purely religious, among other ranks of society, 
 are comparatively few." 
 
 In accordance with the foregoing extract, from 
 the Rev. Mr. Simpson's " Plea for Religion," are 
 the following just and striking observations, taken 
 from an excellent discourse, by the Rev. Dr. 
 Green, late president of New Jersey College. In 
 his sermon on " The union of piety and science," 
 he observes : 
 
 " But I fear I have referred too much to the 
 clergy, in what I have said. It is the union of 
 science with piety in the laity, which often has an 
 influence not less propitious in the promotion of 
 religion, as w^ell as in the concerns of civil society. 
 Removed from all suspicion of professional mo- 
 tives, of all zeal to support that which supports 
 himself, when a layman of genius and erudition, 
 who is also distinguished for piety, comes forward 
 to plead the cause of religion, he does it with 
 immense advantage. 
 
 " The fact itself goes far to shut the mouth of 
 infidelity. It can no longer utter the stale cry of 
 ' priestcraft ;' or, ♦ the man is following his trade. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 and writing for his bread.' One secular man of 
 great parts and learning may, on this account, 
 serve the cause of Christ, beyond many in the 
 sacred office. Who can estimate the evils that 
 have been prevented, and the good that has result- 
 ed, from such men appearing on the side of reli- 
 gion, as Grotius and Boyle, and Hale and Selden, 
 and Newton and Pascal, and Boeriiaave and Addi- 
 son, and Euler, and Haller, and Johnson, and 
 Bonnet, and Beattie, and Jones, and the titled 
 Teignmouth, more truly ennobled by his office 
 and services, as president of the British and Fo- 
 reign Bible Society, than if a crown had been 
 added to his coronet. 
 
 " But in characters of far less eminence than 
 these, in common cases, where liberally minded 
 and liberally educated laymen are noted for piety, 
 their example and influence are often inestimably 
 precious. At the bar, on the bench, in the camp, 
 in the navy, or in the compting-house, they may 
 do more good than many, who enter the sacred 
 desk:' 
 
 In Europe, many laymen, eminent for their 
 piety and their learning, have already maintained 
 the cause of revealed truth, with intelligence and 
 zeal. In the United States, a very small number 
 of this description have as yet arisen, since from 
 colonists we became an united and independent 
 nation. But the time is fast approaching, when 
 pious laymen, obtaining leisure by the accumula- 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tion of property, and emulous of the example of 
 such men as Locke, of West, of Addison, of Wil- 
 berforce, or of Teignmouth, we trust will come 
 forward, in defence of that system of revealed 
 truth, which constitutes the chief happiness of the 
 present life, and is the pledge of surer and higher 
 felicity in the life to come. Already in the ranks 
 of sacred literature, we recognize the venerable 
 names of a Boudinot, a Galloway, and a Thomson. 
 Pursuing their footsteps, may numbers of Ameri- 
 can laymen regard it as their highest honour to 
 serve the cause of religion by their pen, as well 
 as by their example; remembering that "they 
 that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the 
 firmament; and they that turn many to righteous- 
 ness, as the stars for ever and ever." 
 
SACRAMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 My Dear Friend — I sincerely sympathize with 
 you in your present difficulties. That you have 
 long cherished a desire to partake of the Lord's 
 Supper ; that you have felt it a duty to obey the 
 solemn injunction of that Saviour who said "Do 
 this in remembrance of me ;" that you have anx- 
 iously sought by inquiry, by reading, and by 
 prayer, to overcome those obstacles that have op- 
 posed your taking a place at the table of the Lord 
 among his professed disciples, I have no reason to 
 doubt. Still, however, you hesitate. You cannot 
 come to the resolution of making a public profes- 
 sion of your faith, by a participation of those em- 
 blems which "show forth the death" of your 
 ascended Saviour. You postpone the discharge of 
 this important duty, I know, not from any want of 
 respect to the ordinance ; not from contempt of the 
 authority that enjoins it; nor from any doubt of 
 its salutary influence on the temper and conduct of 
 real Christians; but from a diffidence of your own 
 state ; from a dread of " eating and drinking" tm- 
 worthily^ and thus of incurring greater guilt than 
 by abstaining altogether from the ordinance. Your 
 scruples, you say, are confirmed by the evident 
 
26 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 meaning of certain passages in the writings of an 
 inspired apostle ; and until your views on these 
 subjects are changed, you contend, that consistently 
 with the light you now enjoy, and the regard you 
 owe to the dictates of conscience, you cannot ven- 
 ture publicly to array yourself under the banner of 
 the cross. 
 
 I must acknowledge, my dear friend, that your 
 scruples are not groundless. That you should 
 hesitate and consider well a subject that concerns 
 your everlasting welfare ; that you should cau- 
 tiously enter on a path from which you cannot re- 
 cede without injury to your character, and much 
 personal suffering; this is not a matter of surprise; 
 and that you should misapprehend certain passages 
 of Scripture which for ages have been a stumbling 
 block to multitudes of sincere, but unenlightened 
 Christians, is more a subject of regret, than of 
 wonder. 
 
 The apostle Peter himself, speaking of some 
 passages in the writings of the apostle Paul says, 
 " as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of 
 these things ; in whii-h are some things hard to he 
 understood, which they that are unlearned and 
 mistable wrest, as they do also the other Scrip- 
 tures, unto their own destruction." (2 Pet. iii. 16.) 
 
 On a subject so inieresting to your peace of 
 mind you ask my assistance. It is a request that 
 I cannot refuse, however imperfect my information, 
 or however slender my qualiticalion for the task 
 may be. I cannot decline contributing according to 
 the measure of my ability, whatever may have a 
 tendency to promote ynur spiritual welfare. My 
 hope and prayer is, that the seed, although sown 
 by an unskilful hand, may spring up in your own 
 heart, and in the hearts of others, and may bear 
 fruit, "some an hundred fold, some sixty, and 
 some thirty." I am yours, &c. S. B. 
 
THE lord's supper. 27 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 My Dear Friend — The ordinance of the Lord's 
 Supper, is indeed a solemn rite : it has always 
 been so regarded since its first institution. The 
 primitive Christians considered it as a test of dis- 
 cipleship. For centuries after their Lord's ascen- 
 sion, they commemorated his sufferings and his 
 love, in this sacred ordinance, with the return of 
 every Lord's day. It served to awaken their zeal, 
 to confirm their faith, and to sustain their fortitude, 
 amidst the dangers that encompassed them ; and 
 in the prospect of those sufferings, and of that mar- 
 tyrdom, which at many periods was the inevitable 
 consequence of a public profession of Christianity. 
 This orditiance, though rejected by some religious 
 denominations, and too mucli neglected by indi- 
 viduals who call themselves Christians, is still enti- 
 tled to the highest veneration of all devout believers. 
 But you inquire, " Is a participation of it essential 
 to salvation? do we forfeit heaven by refusing to 
 partake of this ordinance ?" Assuredly not. It is 
 nowhere asserted in the Scriptures that without 
 such participation, we cannot be saved. Our 
 Divine Legislator has not put this rite on tlie same 
 footing with Repentance, Faith, and Obedience. 
 Yet unquestionably, great guilt may be incurred 
 by refusing obedience to the command that enjoins 
 it. " If any man love me," says the Saviour, " he 
 will keep my commandments." The servant who 
 knew his Lord's will, and did it not, was to be 
 beaten with many singes. " Therefore," says the 
 apostle James, '*to him Xh-^i knoweth to do good 
 and doeth it no^ to him it is sm." (James iv. 17.) 
 We shall be judged without doubt according to 
 the measure of light we have enjoyed. If but one 
 talent has been confided to us, we shall not be 
 
28 THE SACRAMEiNT OF 
 
 required to account for the use of ten. If the love 
 of " God manifest in the flesh," so clearly set forth 
 in this sacred institution, is often presented to our 
 view ; and if at the same time we have the oracles 
 of truth in our hands to consult and study; if to 
 these be added, public instruction from the autho- 
 rised ministers of the gospel, and the opportunity 
 of consulting able expounders of the Scripture; and 
 if, notwitstanding all these aids, we refuse to in- 
 quire into our duty, or to obey, when we have un- 
 derstood it; can we persuade ourselves that we 
 are altogether guiltless ? I must confess that there 
 is some apology for those who sin through defect 
 of light, or of understanding. The apostle Paul 
 acknowledges that although he " was a blasphemer 
 and persecutor and injurious," yet he obtained 
 mercy, because " he did wignorantly in unbelief." 
 (1 Tim. i. 13.) But where an enjoined duty is 
 neglected, or a known commandment is wilfully 
 disobeyed, such disobedience obviously merits re- 
 prehension or punishment. Even to an earthly 
 parent or magistrate, would not such a disposition 
 be considered as clear evidence of a refractory 
 spirit, and call for punishment at once prompt and 
 effective 1 
 
 And will any one cherish the sentiment, that 
 because our Sovereign Legislator and Judge is be- 
 yond our view, he knows not our thoughts or 
 actions, and will not bring us into judgment 
 for what we now do ? Can we recognize his om- 
 niscience, and not feel persuaded that while he 
 approves every act of faitli and obedience, he will 
 also mark with disapprobation every refusal of 
 obedience to his commands ; every instance of dis- 
 respect to his authority ; and every act of hostility 
 to his government? However merciful and gra- 
 cious he may be, it is to the penitent, to the humble, 
 and obedient, that his mercy is peculiarly promised. 
 
THE lord's supper. 29 
 
 Let no one then incur guilt by voluntarily diso- 
 beying a known command of a Divine Legislator. 
 *' The will of God," says the learned and excel- 
 lent Archbishop Newcombe,* ^^ externally declared^ 
 is a sufficient ground of moral obligation to all his 
 creatiwes,^^ " because an all-wise and absolutely 
 perfect being can only will what is right. A clear 
 perception of duty must likewise induce an obliga- 
 tion on every intelligent being ; for God has so 
 framed all such that they are a law to themselves, 
 thus binding them to a particular mode of conduct, 
 which is ultimately God's act and will, made 
 known in a different manner." I remain truly 
 yours. 
 
 LETTER m. 
 
 My Dear Friend — The first great question then 
 to be settled is — Has " the will of God been exter- 
 nally declared" in regard to this ordinance, so as 
 to leave no doubt of its being a divinely appointed 
 institution ? 
 
 To be fully satisfied on this subject, it is only 
 necessary to have recourse to the account given of 
 it by three of the evangelists, and by the apostle 
 Paul. St. Matthew, who was himself an eye wit- 
 ness of all that passed at the institution of this rite, 
 after relating the manner in which our Lord cele- 
 brated the Jewish Passover with his disciples, 
 says, (ch. xxvi. 26.) " And as they were eating, 
 Jesus took bread and blessed (God) and brake and 
 gave to his disciples, and said, take, eat; this is 
 my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, 
 
 * See observations on our Lord as a Divine Instructor, 
 page 33. 
 
30 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it : for 
 this is my blood of the New Testament, (or cove- 
 nant) which is shed for many, for the remission of 
 sins." 
 
 St Mark's account of the institution is in these 
 words : " And as they did eat, Jesus took bread 
 and blessed and brake it, and gave to them and 
 said, Take, eat ; this is my body. And he took 
 the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it 
 to them, and they all drank of it. And he said 
 unto them. This is my blood of the New Testament, 
 (or covenant) which is shed for many." 
 
 In St. Luke's gospel, the following account is 
 given: — "And he (Jesus) took bread, and gave 
 thanks, and brake it, and gave to them, saying, 
 This is my body which is given for you : this do 
 in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup 
 after supper, saying. This cup is the New Testa- 
 ment (or covenant) in my blood which is shed for 
 you." — St. Paul's account of the institution is re- 
 corded in 1 Corinthians, xi. 23. " For I have 
 received of the Lord, that which also I delivered 
 to you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in 
 which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he 
 had given thanks he brake it, and said. Take, 
 eat; this is my body which is broken for you: 
 this do in remembrance of meJ'^ After the same 
 manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, 
 saying " this cup is the New Testament (or 
 covenant) in my blood : this do ye, as oft as 
 ye drink it, in remembrance of me." " For," 
 adds the apostle, " as often as ye eat this bread, 
 and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death 
 till he come." 
 
 After attentively comparing these several ac- 
 counts of the first institution of the Lord's Supper, 
 who can doubt of its divine original ? who can 
 reasonably imagine that it was not intended as a 
 
THE lord's supper. 31 
 
 perpetual memorial of the example, the precepts, 
 the sufferings, but above all, of the atoning death 
 of our blessed Redeemer? 
 
 It is true that two of the evangelists, (Matthew 
 and Mark,) omit the injunction of our Lord — 
 "This do in remembrance of me." But it is re- 
 corded by St. Luke, whose gospel was composed 
 several years after the publication of the two for- 
 mer, and who states in his preface that he had 
 " a perfect understanding of all things from the 
 very first," communicated to him by those " who 
 from the beginning were eye-witnesses of the 
 word." And St. Paul who wrote his first epistle 
 to the Corinthians about thirty years after the 
 death of our Lord, and who received his knowledge 
 of the institution, as he assures us, from the Lord 
 Jesus himself, repeats the injunction from the Sa- 
 viour, as well after drinking wine, as after eating 
 bread, in memory of him. The declaration of the 
 apostle that " as oft as we eat this bread and drink 
 this cup, we do show the " Lord's death till he 
 come," evidently shows that the ordinance was 
 not only administered to the Corinthians thirty 
 years after the ascension of our Lord ; but that it 
 was intended that it should be continued to the 
 end of time. 
 
 Let it not then be imagined, that this ordinance 
 was of a temporary nature ; that our Lord's injunc- 
 tion was addressed to his immediate followers, 
 and not to his disciples through the successive pe- 
 riods of time, till his second advent. I know that 
 there is a very respectable denomination of Chris- 
 tians who maintain this doctrine. But with equal 
 justice might they urge that all the divine com- 
 mands, all the moral discourses, the instructive 
 parables, and rich consolations addressed to his 
 disciples at different times during his public min- 
 istry, were also intended only for his immediate 
 
32 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 followers. This is a conclusion they would reluc- 
 tantly admit, neither will the great body of Chris- 
 tians of other denominations admit, that from the 
 very origin of Christianity to the present day, the 
 believers in Divine Revelation, would almost with 
 one consent have agreed to observe as a sacred in- 
 stitution, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, had 
 they not been assured that it was a Divine appoint- 
 ment, and of perpetual obligation. I am truly 
 yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 My Dear Friend — Having now come to the 
 conclusion that this holy ordinance is of divine 
 origin ; and that the continuance of it was enjoined 
 by our Lord as a memorial of his perfect example 
 in life, and of his atoning death on the cross ; the 
 next important subject for our consideration is, the 
 obligation under which his followers are laid, to 
 obey his commands. " This do in remembrance 
 of me," is not a mere recommendation; it is not a 
 matter of advice, which we are allowed to follow 
 or reject, according to the suggestions of our own 
 fancy, or the inclination of our own wills. It is 
 imperative and obligatory on all who acknowledge 
 themselves to be Christians in fact as well as in 
 na)7ie. 
 
 To this injunction we owe a prompt obedience 
 on various grounds — 1. It is from the Creator ^ 
 the Universe. "In the beginning" says St. John 
 " was the Word, and the Word was with Godi 
 and the Word was God: all things were made b^^i 
 him, and without him was not any thing made tha| 
 was made." (John chap. i. 1 — 3.) — The apostl 
 Paul declares (Eph. iii. 9.) that " God created a" 
 
THE lord's supper. 33 
 
 things by Jesus Christ;" "by whom also he 
 made the worlds." (Heb. i. 2.) And the same apos- 
 tle more fully slates; "For by h\m{J€si(S Christ) 
 were all things created that are in heaven and that 
 are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 
 thrones or dominions or principalities or powers ; 
 all things were created by him and for him." 
 (Coloss. i. 16.) 2. This command is from that 
 Supreme Legislator, whose will is a rightful law 
 to every created intelligence. " There is one 
 lawgiver" {or Legislator as in the French version) 
 says the aposUe James, " who is able to save and 
 to destroy." (James iv. 12.) 
 
 In the bosom of every rational being wlio has 
 attained the age of moral agency, he has implanted 
 the principle of conscience, which under the gui- 
 dance of the understanding is a rule of action. 
 ''For" — says the apostle Paul in his epistle to the 
 Romans, (chap. ii. 14, 15.) "when the Gentiles 
 which have not the law, do by nature the things 
 contained in the law, these having not the law, are 
 a laiv to themselves : which show the work of 
 the law written in their hearts ; their conscience 
 also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean 
 while accusinsr, or else excusins^ one another." 
 
 But not willing to leave his creature man to the 
 guidance of the light of nature, he mercifully, 
 through the agency of his servant Moses, super- 
 added the moral law, as contained in the ten com- 
 mandments. In the writings of inspired men, from 
 the giving of the law at mount Sinai, until his ad- 
 vent on earth, he has added many illustrations of 
 this moral code. But while on earth, he epitomized 
 the commandments and reduced them to two plain 
 injunctions ; Supreme love to God, and ^just re- 
 gard/or our fellow creatures. 
 
 On these two, he declares, " hang all the law 
 and the prophets." His commands and instruc- 
 
34 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 tions while on earth, though delivered with infi- 
 nite meekness and condescension, were delivered 
 with authority: "The people were astonished at 
 his doctrine; for he taught them as one having 
 authority, and not as the Scribes." (Matt. vii. 28, 
 29.) 
 
 When the Gospel was first preached, its pro- 
 gress was rapid, but it was among " the poor of 
 this world, who were rich in faith." Centuries 
 elapsed before its rules became the law of states 
 or kingdoms. Eventually, however, the " stone, 
 cut out of the mountain without hands, brake in 
 pieces" the great image composed of iron, brass, 
 gold, silver and clay ; subdued the immense Ro- 
 man Empire ; and has ever since been gradually, 
 according to the sure word of prophecy, (Dan. ii. 
 35.) gaining new additions — till at length it shall 
 " become a great mountain and fill the wdiole 
 earth." 
 
 3. But it is not merely in our relations to him 
 as our Creator and Supreme Lawgiver, that we 
 owe him respect and obedience. Our obligations 
 are increased from our relations to him as our 
 Preserver and Bedeemer. He not only has given 
 us existence ; to most of our race he has made that 
 existence a blessing. He has endowed us with 
 rational faculties, given us wisdom above the 
 brutes that perish. He has made us but a little 
 lower than the angels. He has made all nature 
 "beauty to the eye, and music to the ear." He 
 supplies us with our daily food, our raiment, our 
 shelter and our friends. The light that cheers us, 
 the air that refreshes, the fruits that nourish us, 
 all are his gifts, and to him are we indebted for 
 present blessings, and for every hope that irra- 
 diates the path of life. 
 
 But our obligations do not end here. He has 
 higher claims to our love and our obedience. He 
 
THE lord's supper. 35 
 
 is our Redeemer from the guilt and misery of sin. 
 He has "bought us with a piice.'' (1 Cor. vi. 
 20.) — He has " redeemed us from the curse of the 
 law." (Gal. iii. 13.) 
 
 In him " we have rede?nption ihrough his blood, 
 the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches 
 of his grace," (Eph. i. 7—14.) We are " redeem- 
 ed not with corruptible things, but wMth the pre- 
 cious blood of Christ." (1 Pel. i. 18, 19.)—" Thou 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" say the 
 glorious host of heaven. (Rev. v. 9.) 
 
 By nature we are the slaves of Satan ; but our 
 blessed Redeemer has rescued us from this bon- 
 dage, and brought us into the liberty of his gospel. 
 By adoption he has made us " heirs of an in- 
 heritance that is undefiled and that fadeth not 
 away." 
 
 How immeasurable are the obligations he thus 
 confers ! The burdened conscience is relieved. 
 The heart that has been penetrated with a keen 
 sense of remorse, for unpardoned sins, finds in the 
 sacrifice of Immanuel an all sufficient atonement, 
 a perfect satisfaction to Divine Justice — and a 
 "Way of reconciliation opened to the Father of 
 Mercies. 
 
 4. But a further obligation is laid on professing 
 Christians to obey the injunctions of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by a reference to the future. He 
 is the appointed Judge of the Universe and has 
 promised e/e?'?2«/ ///e as the reward of obedience to 
 his commands, ^fter the lapse of a few more 
 centuries, when the present economy shall have 
 accomplished the ends for which it was designed, 
 " these heavens, (we are assured) will vanish 
 as a scroll, and this earth with all things on it, 
 shall be burnt up." Then shall " The Son of Man 
 come in his glory, and all his holy angels with 
 him ; and then he shall sit on the throne of his 
 
36 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 glory. Before him shall be gathered all nations ; 
 and he shall separate them one from another, as a 
 shepherd divideth the sheep from the goals. He 
 shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats 
 on the left." (Matt. xxv. 31. — Luke ix. 26, &c.) 
 ** God hath appointed a day in which he will 
 judge the world in righteousness by that man 
 whom he hath ordained." (Acts xvii. 31.) "God 
 shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ." 
 (Rom. ii. 16.) " The Lord Jesus shall judge the 
 quick and dead at his appearing and his kingdom." 
 (2 Tim. IV. 1.) 
 
 Let us be impressed with this solemn truth, 
 that our rightful Lawgiver, who, while on earth, 
 where he celebrated his last passover and had 
 broken bread, said to his disciples — "take, eat; 
 this is my body ; this do in remembrance of me," 
 will be our final Judge, who will array us before 
 his bar, to receive from his righteous award, " ac- 
 cording to our deeds, whether they have been good 
 or evil." And let us further call to mind in con- 
 nexion with this awful fact, the assurance that 
 " the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from 
 heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, 
 taking vengeance on them that know not God, 
 and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting 
 destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
 from the glory of his power." (2 Thes. i.7,8,9.) 
 A full belief of these momentous passages of sacred 
 Scripture, we may suppose, would leave no room 
 for hesitation, whether we should, or should not 
 obey a known injunction of our Divine iVIaster. 
 When he sent forth his disciples to preach to the 
 Jewish nation, he said to them, " Into whatever 
 city or town ye shall enter and they shall not re- 
 ceive you, nor hear your zvords^ when ye depart 
 shake off the dust of your feet. Verily 1 say unto 
 
THE lord's supper. 37 
 
 you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, 
 than for that city." (Matt. x. 11, 14, 15.) 
 
 " Knowing the terrors of the Lord we persuade 
 men," says an inspired apostle. (2 Cor. v. 11.) 
 Let no one then who professes to believe in di- 
 vine revelation, lightly disobey what an almighty 
 Saviour has enjoined. Let all who consider that 
 eternal life, which is the promised recompense of 
 obedience, is an object deserving their highest re- 
 gard, reflect well on the obligations under which 
 they lie to the Lord Jesus, as their Creator, Le- 
 gislator, Preserver, Redeemer, and their final 
 Judge; — and in reference to the account they 
 will have to render at his bar, and to the punish- 
 ment which disobedience will then incur, let them 
 appreciate the iniinile importance of cheerfully 
 obeying his precepts and injunctions. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 My Dear Friend — Beside the grounds of obli- 
 gation to obedience which have been already sta- 
 ted, there are others which ought powerfully to 
 influence an intelligent and moral being. The in- 
 finite condescension and love of our exalted Sa- 
 viour should penetrate the heart of his followers 
 with the most ardent gratitude. " Although in the 
 form of God, he thought it not robbery to be 
 equal with God ; but made himself of no reputa- 
 tion, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and was made in the likeness of men ; and being 
 found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself 
 and became obedient unto death, even the death 
 of the cross." (Philip, ii. 6, 7.) And " though 
 he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, 
 
38 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 that ye, throiiffh his poverty might be made rich." 
 (2 Cor. viii. 9.) 
 
 And for this unspeakable condescension what 
 return does lie claim ? He claims the love and 
 gratitude, and obedience of his followers. " If ye 
 love me," said he to his immediate disciples, 
 " keep my commandments." (John xiv. 15.) " He 
 that hath my commandments, and keepelh them, 
 he it is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me, 
 shall be loved of my Father, and I will manifest 
 myself to him. (John xiv. 21, 22, 23.) "He that 
 loveth me not, keepelh not my sayings." 
 
 In the exercise of love, of graliliide, and obedi- 
 ence to the Divine Author of our relio-ion, his 
 professed followers will consult at once their high- 
 est interest, and their purest happiness. " In his 
 favour is life." (Psal. xxx. 5.) " His loving kind- 
 ness is better than life." (Psal. Ixiii. 5.) There 
 can be no greater good than to secure the appro- 
 bation of the Supreme Being. In ten thousand 
 ways he can either bless us, or render us mise- 
 rable, even in the present life; and our future des- 
 tiny rests altogether on his sovereign will. 
 
 A judicious author* before quoted, observes on 
 this subject, " that our liOrd not only convinces 
 our reason that we ought to obey him ; he like- 
 wise influences our will and affections by motives 
 excellendy adapted to our nature. He leads us to 
 a grateful obedlenre by exhibiting to us, both the 
 wonders of God's love, and his own no less asto- 
 nishing acts of love, in assuming our nature and 
 laying down his life for us ; and he gives us a 
 most affecting inducement to observe his laws 
 when he says. Ye are my friends, if ye do what- 
 ever I command you." (John xv. 31.) 
 
 We should regard with utter aversion and dis- 
 
 * Archbishop Newcombe. 
 
THE lord's supper. 39 
 
 gust, a child who repaid the care and affection of 
 a wise and tender parent with ingratitude and dis- 
 respect. We should esteem that person a dis- 
 grace to his species, who for favours, great, 
 repealed, and lasting, made no return to his bene- 
 factor but neglect or contempt. But what are all 
 the care and tenderness of our earthly parents 
 compared with those of our Father in heaven? 
 and what the highest favours, y;e can receive from 
 an earthly benefactor, compared with that "peace 
 of God which passeih all understanding," that 
 faith, and hope, and joy, which are the fruits of 
 the Holy Spirit, ami tlie purchase of a Saviour's 
 death ? 
 
 It was the sentiment of the wisest philosopher 
 of Pagan antiquity, that " if virtue could appear 
 on earth, in a human form, she would attract uni- 
 versal esteem and love." 
 
 Christians know that virtue, far transcending 
 the highest conceptions of the heathen sage ; 
 that perfect excellence has appeared in the Per- 
 son of the Lord Jesus ('hrist. But what was his 
 reception even among llie chosen seed of Abra- 
 ham ? "He came to his own (^dominions] but 
 his own [peculiar people] received him not." 
 (John i. 11.) He was neixlecied, despised, per- 
 secuted, slandered, and tiually put to an excruciat- 
 ing death by sinners whom he came to redeem 
 from the guilt and slavery of sin. 
 
 But although the JhwIsIi nation rejected their 
 rightful Sovereign, he had a chosen {i^w, who lis- 
 tened to his insiruciious, who obeyed his com- 
 mands, and humbly endeavoured to copy his 
 example. They hesitated not, daily to take up 
 their cross, and to follow their Master through good 
 report and evil report; and in many instances 
 calmly encountered death, in attestation of their 
 
40 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 faith in his doctrines, and of their devotion to his 
 cause. 
 
 Happy were it for the professed followers of 
 this Divine Teacher, could they observe every 
 command he has left for their direction. Could 
 they often call to remembrance what he has done 
 and suffered for them ; and thus be enabled to 
 serve him with their time and talents, their souls 
 and bodies, which is nothing more than " a rea- 
 sonable service." 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 My Dear Friend — Having contemplated the ob- 
 ligations that should influence believers in divine 
 revelation to obey the solemn injunction of our 
 Lord, often to commemorate his compassion, his 
 sufferings, and his death ; and having stated some 
 of the leading motives that should prompt us to 
 the discharge of this duly; let us for a moment 
 pause, and looiv back to the hour when our Lord 
 celebrated his last passover with his disciples, and 
 to the circumstances under which this ordinance 
 was instituted. 
 
 See the blessed Saviour surrounded by his 
 apostles, with whom he had most intimately asso- 
 ciated, during the short period of his public minis- 
 try. They had left their little all to follow him; 
 they had seen h.is miracles; they had shared his 
 persecutions by the .Jewish Priesthood. Some of 
 ihem had beheld his transfiguration on Mount Ta- 
 bor ; all had henrd him "speak as never man 
 spake ;" and they iiad cherished the expectation 
 that it was he who at " this time would have re- 
 stored the kingdom to Israel," (Acts i. 0.) and 
 
THE lord's supper. 41 
 
 have established a kingdom of transcendent power, 
 and unlimited extent. From this select and at- 
 tached band, the Saviour was now about to be 
 parted. He knew what sorrow would fill their 
 hearts ; he was aware of his approaching agony 
 in the garden of Gethsemane ; he foresaw that on 
 that very night he would be betrayed by one dis- 
 ciple, that on the morrow be denied by another, 
 (the most ardent, and intrepid of the whole,) and 
 finally be deserted by all : that on the morrow 
 he would be dragged before a prejudiced and im- 
 placable Sanhedrim ; before a corrupt heathen 
 judge, that he would be insulted, slandered, ex- 
 posed to the rude violence of an infuriate popu- 
 lace : that for six hours he would be suspended on 
 a cross, agonized with pain, and be the subject of 
 unfeeling mockerj" ; that he would be beset by 
 the powers of darkness, and be forsaken of his 
 Heavenly Father. Yet with all these tremendous 
 sufferings in immediate prospect, behold him 
 calmly sitting at supper with his disciples, con- 
 descendingly washing their feet, and comforting 
 their depressed minds. Under circumstances so 
 solemn and affecting, he institutes this solemn 
 ordinance ; he takes bread, breaks it, and says, 
 "take, eat; — do this in remembrance of me." 
 After my departure celebrate this feast ; regard it 
 as the seal and pledge of my love to you, and 
 while you eat and drink, say, this is the memorial 
 of the infinite compassion of our ascended Lord. 
 During my residence on earth I have given you 
 daily proofs of my confidence and regard. Leaving 
 the glory I had with the Father before the foun- 
 dation of the world, I have assumed a mortal form ; 
 I have sojourned with you, encompassed by in- 
 firmity and suflering ; have lived poor and neglect- 
 ed ; yet I have passed my days on earth in healing 
 the sick, instructing the ignorant, restoring sight 
 
 4 
 
42 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 to the blind, and life to the dead. But now the 
 hour is at hand when you will see me agonized 
 and prostrate. This is the hour of darkness and 
 distress. To-morrow suspended on the cross, I 
 must finish the -work of expiation, and go to my 
 Fatlier in Heaven. But, " Let not your hearts 
 be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in 
 me." As I have led you, instructed and comfort- 
 ed you hitherto, I will not leave you fatherless. 
 " In my Father's house there are many mansions ; 
 I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come 
 again to receive you, that where I am, ye may be 
 also." In the mean time I leave you one com- 
 mand ; it is plain, it is easy. It puts the seal on 
 my past benefits, and is the pledge of greater 
 blessings in reserve. It will serve to awaken in 
 your memories all I have said and done for you. 
 " Take this bread, eat; it is the emblem of my 
 body that to-morrow v/ill be broken for you, on 
 the cross. Take this cup ; drink ye all of it : it 
 is the emblem of my blood, that to-morrow will 
 be shed for you, for the remission of sin. — Do 
 this in remembrance of me ; for as oft as ye do 
 this, ye will show forth my death, with all the 
 blessings connected with it, until I shall come 
 again in the glory of my Father and with the holy 
 angels, to judge the universe." And is it possi- 
 ble that any heart, susceptible of gratitude or at- 
 tachment, can resist an appeal so tender, so affect- 
 ing? You have long hesitated, my dear friend, to 
 obey this dying command of your Divine Master. 
 But can you still delay ? In the contemplation 
 of such exalted love as that of our blessed Re- 
 deemer, at this awful moment, are you not al- 
 most compelled to exclaim — " Yes, dearest Lord, 
 I submit. I have too long postponed obedience to 
 thy kind injunction. I will remember thee. I will 
 recall thy many proofs of goodness through my 
 
THE LORD S SUPPER. 43 
 
 past life. I will read the history ol" thy love to 
 sinners. I will remember thy life of suffering, and 
 thy death of torture. I will remember the great, 
 and all sufficient sacrifice thou hast made for the 
 sins of the world, and with thy bright example in 
 view, and often calling to mind the instructive les- 
 sons thou hast given to thy followers, I will hum- 
 bly endeavour to pursue the path thou hast marked, 
 till my race on earth is finished ; when, through 
 thy grace, I shall hope to reach those mansions 
 above, which thou hast gone before to provide for 
 thy sincere disciples." 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 My Dear Friend — To a mind that thinks cor- 
 rectly, and to a heart that is rightly disposed, the 
 performance of a known duty is at once a privi- 
 lege and a pleasure. We delight to anticipate the 
 wishes of those v.diom we truly love. Sincere 
 affection makes the discharge of the severest 
 duties easy and pleasant. The celebrated iMrs. 
 Howe used to say in speaking of her deceased 
 father — " That she would have preferred death, to 
 his displeasure." — When the disciples of our Lord, 
 at the well near Samaria, pressed him to take food, 
 "My meat,"" he replied, "is to do the will of 
 him that sent me, and to finish his work." (John 
 iv. 34.) Let tlie timid believer once come to the 
 resolution of enlisting under the banner of the 
 cross, and of submitting to the discipline of the 
 gospel, and he will, through the grace that will be 
 afforded, in answer to prayer, find "the yoke" of 
 his Saviour e«si/, and his "burden light." It is 
 delightful to go back to the first ages of Chris- 
 tianity, and to see with what cheerfulness, with 
 
44 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 what undaunted firmness, the early disciples, in 
 obedience to the injunction of their Lord, cele- 
 brated the Sacrament of his Supper. 
 
 Shortly after his ascension, St. Luke informs 
 us (Acts ii. 44, 46, 47.) that " all that believed 
 were together, and had all things common, — 
 and they continuing daily with one accord in the 
 temple, and breaking bread from house to house, 
 did eat their meat (food) with gladness and sin- 
 gleness of heart, praising God, and having favour 
 with all the people." 
 
 The same sacred historian informs us (Acts xx. 
 7.) that " upon the first day of the week, when 
 the disciples (at Troas) came together to break 
 bread, Paul preached to them," &c. It was long 
 the practice of these ancient believers to celebrate 
 this festival of love with the return of every Lord's 
 day. They attached much importance to it. It 
 was considered as the evidence of their faith in 
 Christ, and their union to him as the Captain of 
 their salvation. It was the " sacramentum " — the 
 oath of their allegiance to him ; and the refusal to 
 partake of this ordinance was regarded as an abju- 
 ration of his cause and interest. 
 
 How often, during those sanguinary persecutions 
 which the church witnessed in its infant state, were 
 the disciples of Christ compelled to worship in 
 secret apartments, in caverns, and in solitudes. 
 Here they listened to the instructions and exhorta- 
 tions of their pastors ; here they read or heard the 
 history of their ascended Lord ; here they solaced 
 each other with the assurance of his presence and 
 his favour, and if called to undergo torture, or to 
 die as martyrs, that he would assist them to " en- 
 dure suffering as good soldiers, and when dis- 
 missed from the present warfare, that he would 
 receive them to a crown of glory in the heavens." 
 
 Here they sung hymns to his praise, and cele- 
 
THE LORD*8 SUPPER. 45 
 
 brated his redeeming love by partaking of the me- 
 morials of his sufferings and death. 
 
 Here too they prayed and gave thanks : then by 
 the hands of their presbyters or deacons, were the 
 emblems of the Lord's death distributed to the as- 
 sembly. 
 
 Happy age of the Church ! Happy even amidst 
 privation and contempt. The disciples then "re- 
 joiced in hope, and were patient in tribulation," 
 (Rom. xii. 12.) "Though troubled on every side, 
 yet not distressed ; perplexed, but not in despair; 
 persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not 
 destroyed." (2 Cor. iv. 8, 9.) Although by the 
 unbelieving world they might sometimes be es- 
 teemed "sorrowful,'' they were always rejoicing; 
 " though poor, yet making many rich; having no- 
 thing, yet possessing all things." (2 Cor. vi. 10.) 
 
 No arguments, no exhortations were necessary 
 to persuade these early disciples to partake of this_ 
 edifying and consoling ordinance. The duty was 
 to them a privilege. It was discharged without reluc- 
 tance ; and from a conviction of the happy fruits 
 that were produced by partaking of it, frequently 
 and devoutly. Let the example of these primitive 
 believers, my dear friend, often be recalled to 
 memory. Think of their faith, their firmness, and 
 their piety ; until catching the same spirit, you 
 come to this resolution, that with the assistance of 
 the Spirit of truth you will " go and do likewise." 
 
 LETTER VHL 
 
 My Dear Friend — You acknowledge the weight 
 of the obligation, and motives to obedience, stated 
 in the preceding letters. You admit that Chris- 
 
46 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 tians are obviously deficient in respect and grati- 
 tude to their Redeemer, if they wilfully neglect to 
 comply with his injunction, or abstain from insti- 
 tutions of his appointment. Still however, you 
 excuse your own delay in coming to his table, 
 by alleging your unprepared state for this solem- 
 nity. 
 
 On this subject it is of great importance to form 
 a correct opinion. Have you then ascertained, on 
 scriptural grounds, what is the preparation that is 
 indispensable to a worthy communion ? Do you 
 imagine that nothing short of a state of sinless per- 
 fection, will authorize an attendance on the Lord's 
 Supper? If so, you may indeed despair of ever 
 being suitably prepared. We are assured, on the 
 highest authority, that "there is not a just man 
 upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." 
 (Eccles. vii.) In the heart of the holiest saint, 
 how much indwelling corruption still exists I No, 
 my friend, you must be content to come just 
 as you are. The Lord Jesus "came not to call 
 the righteous, but sinners to repentance." You 
 must come in the exercise of faith, and of repent- 
 ance, and relying on the assistance of Divine grace ; 
 with a fixed resolution to conform in your life and 
 conversation with the rules of the gospel. Avail- 
 ing j'ourself of all the aids prescribed for advan- 
 cing in holiness ; namely, prayer, meditation, 
 study of the sacred Scriptures, and self-examina- 
 tion, you have no ground for apprehension that the 
 blessing of Heaven will be withheld from the use 
 of these appointed means. 
 
 But you object — "After using the means, how 
 shall I ascertain with any certainty that I am quali- 
 fied for an admission to this solemn ordinance? I 
 see many attend it without scruple, whose lives 
 are in truth a libel on the profession they make. 
 They must be grossly deceived in regard to their 
 
THE lord's supper. 47 
 
 own state ; and I ask myself, may not this in like 
 manner be the case with myself?" 
 
 My brother, while we avoid presumption we 
 should study not to err from excess of caution. If 
 all Christians were to reason thus, how thin would 
 the ranks of openly professed followers of the 
 Lord Jesus then be ! 
 
 Though your life is below the standard of the 
 gospel, it is stained by no crime. You are not 
 grossly ignorant. You are not an unbeliever in 
 Divine Revelation. You do not wilfully indulge 
 in any known sin. Come then, not rashly, but 
 with humility, and with a firm resolution, (aided 
 by strength from above,) that in obedience to your 
 Saviour's dying command, you will commemorate 
 his death, by a frequent attendance on this conso- 
 latory ordinance. 
 
 " There are many truly devout persons, who 
 deal more seriously with themselves than with any 
 one else, and from dejection or mistaken notions of 
 duty, some are disposed to render this Sacrament a 
 mean of melancholy and discouragement, instead 
 of consolation and thanksgiving ; they consider 
 themselves as the chief of sinners, though they 
 cannot fix on any great crime of which they have 
 been guilty ; and in consequence of this impres- 
 sion, lose that cheerfulness of mind, and those 
 pleasures which the gospel is calculated to impart." 
 
 To such persons we may say, if men had been 
 perfect, the death of Christ would have been un- 
 necessary. The means of grace are appointed for 
 our advancement in holiness; the best of men 
 have their infirmities ; but the infirmities and weak- 
 nesses to which pious persons are exposed are 
 their grief, and against them they zealously contend. 
 This ordinance is appointed to establish their faith, 
 and to subdue every sin ; such persons Christ 
 affectionately invites to come to him for relief. 
 
48 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 *' Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest."* 
 
 AVhen in obedience to our blessed Lord's com- 
 mand, we assemble around his table, and eat and 
 drink the appointed emblems of his broken body 
 and shed blood, we are then hy faith to feed on his 
 spiritual body, and spiritually to drink his blood. 
 We are to resort to our heavenly Father, through 
 our Divine Intercessor, for true wisdom to en- 
 lighten our minds, and for sincere love to warm 
 our hearts. " God is light, "and " God is love," 
 and we most resemble him, when we make the 
 greatest advances in knowledge and true holiness. 
 That " faith, that works by love, and purijies the 
 hcarij^^ is the instrument that procures the spiri- 
 tual food that must nourish our souls, and preserve 
 them in continual health and vigour; but we ought 
 to bear in mind that " faith without works is 
 dead." (James, ch. ii. 17, 20.) We are to be 
 *' doers of the word and not hearers only ; de- 
 ceiving our ownselves." (James ch. i. 22.) We 
 are to " let our light so shine before men, that 
 others seeing our good works, may glorify our 
 Father who is in Heaven." (Matt. v. 16.) It is 
 in short our duty, to make a public profession of 
 our faith in Christ, wherever circumstances will 
 authorize the step. Not that we are to be os- 
 tentatious ; not that we should make a parade of 
 our faith, but on the other hand we are not to 
 yield to a false shame, and refuse openly to ac- 
 knowledge that best of masters, who encountered 
 disgrace, poverty and death itself, to purchase for 
 his followers a heavenly inheritance. The early 
 disciples were often summoned before Jewish 
 councils and Heathen magistrates, and command- 
 ed under the severest penalties to renounce their 
 
 * Puncan's Devout Communicant. 
 
THE lord's supper. 49 
 
 faith in Christ. Those who avowed themselves 
 to be his followers were styled Confessors, To 
 those who should thus adhere to the cause of 
 Christianity in defiance of contempt, of torture 
 and of death, the highest rewards were promised; 
 while such as should shrink from this public 
 avowal, are menaced by our Lord with being dis- 
 owned by him, before an assembled universe. 
 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me," says 
 our Divine Instructor, " before men, him will I 
 confess also before my Father which is in heaven ; 
 but whosoever shall deny me before men, him 
 will I also deny before my Father which is in 
 Heaven." (Matt. x. 32. Or as recorded by the 
 evangelist Luke, (ch. xii. 8.) " Whosoever shall 
 confess me before men, him shall the Son of man 
 confess before the angels of God." On another 
 occasion, our blessed Lord, " when he had called 
 the people, with his disciples,'' said to them, 
 •' Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me 
 and of my words in this sinful and adulterous 
 generation ; of him also will the Son of man be 
 ashamed when he cometh in the glory of the Fa- 
 ther with the holy angels." (Mark viii. 38.) 
 
 " What can we think of those," says the vene- 
 rable Dr. Adam Clarke, " who call themselves 
 Christians, and very seldom or never, are found 
 at the Lord's table ? They are either despisers or 
 neglecters of the dying words and command of 
 their Lord, and are unworthy of the benefits re- 
 sulting from a due observance of this divine ordi- 
 nance. If the omission of a prescribed duty be a 
 sin against God — and who dares deny it? then 
 these are sinners against their own souls. Every 
 soul who wishes not to abjure his right to the 
 benefits of Christ's passion and death, should 
 make it a point with God and his conscience, to 
 partake of this ordinance at least four or six times 
 
50 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 in the year, and continue thus to show forth the 
 Lord's death till he come." 
 
 The apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans, 
 (ch. X. 9.) has this encouraging assurance: "If 
 thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 
 Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath 
 raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved ;" — 
 "for," he adds, (ch. x. 10.) "with the heart 
 man believeth unto righteousness, and with the 
 mouth confession is made unto salvation." Such 
 is the encouragement held out to believers to make 
 an open profession of their faith ; and such too 
 are the awful consequences that will follow their 
 wilful neglect of this duty. On the other hand, I 
 shall add two passages of Scripture of tremendous 
 import. Heaven grant that the consideration of 
 them may leave a powerful and durable impres- 
 sion on your heart; " See that ye refuse not him 
 that speaketh. For if they escaped not, who re- 
 fused him that spake on earth ; much more shall 
 not we escape, if we turn away from him that 
 speaketh from heaven." (Heb. xii. 25.) " For if 
 tlie word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every 
 transgression and disobedience received a just re- 
 compense of reward ; how shall we escape, if we 
 neglect so great salvation ? (Heb. ii. 2, 3.) 
 
 Under a confident assurance then of being re- 
 cognized by the Sovereign of the Universe, before 
 the holy angels, if we openly profess our faith in 
 Christ, before men; and of being disowned by 
 him in Heaven, if we refuse to acknowledge his 
 authority on earth; what sincere believer in Di- 
 vine Revelation can hesitate a moment on the 
 course he should pursue? — Immortal glory on the 
 one hand; rejection from the presence of our as- 
 cended Redeemer on the other. — Oh, who would 
 doubt, or pause in a case so plain ! 
 
THE lord's supper. 51 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 My Dear Friend — You admit that your judg- 
 irient is convinced on the subject of your duty — 
 that you ought without delay to make an open 
 profession of your faith in Christ ; but that you 
 have still scruples that you cannot subdue. — That 
 had the institution of the Lord's Supper remained 
 on the footing on which it is placed in the gospels, 
 you would have had no just ground for hesitation 
 or delay ; but that certain passages in the writings 
 of the apostle Paul, especially some that may be 
 found in the 11th chap, of his first epistle to the 
 Corinthians, and in the 6th and 10th chapters of 
 his epistle to the Hebrews, are calculated to ex- 
 cite the dread of limorous believers; and you 
 doubt not, " have deterred many others as well as 
 yourself, from asking admission to this solemn or- 
 dinance." 
 
 There is certainly much apparent ground for 
 your scruples, according to the phraseology of our 
 common version of the Bible ; and without a due 
 consideration of the circumstances under which the 
 epistles in question were written. But I trust 
 you will find that your difficulties will vanish 
 when you come to understand the true import of 
 those passages of Scripture to which you have re- 
 ferred. 
 
 On this subject let us turn to some of the ablest 
 expounders of the New Testament: to writers 
 whose lives were passed in the study of the origi- 
 nal languages in which the sacred Scriptures were 
 composed, and whose talents, learning, and judg- 
 ment are entitled to our highest confidence and 
 respect. 
 
 Dr. Macknight, who is perhaps the ablest 
 
52 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 commentator who has written on the apostolical 
 epistles, and who was eminently skilled in the 
 Greek language, gives the following paraphrase of 
 those two verses in the 11th chap, of St. Paul's 
 first epistle to the Corinthians, which in our 
 common translation have always worn the most 
 terrifying aspect. 
 
 1 Cor. chap. xi. ver. 27. — Common transla- 
 tion — " Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, 
 and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall 
 be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 
 
 PARAPHRASE. 
 
 " So then, whoever shall eat this bread and 
 drink this cup of the Lord unworthily — either by 
 eating it as a common meal — or as the bond of a 
 faction — or to promote some worldly purpose ; 
 shall be guilty of profaning the symbols, of the 
 body and blood of the Lord." 
 
 Text in the common version — Verse 29th. 
 " For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eat- 
 eth and drinketh damnation to himself, not dis- 
 cerning the Lord's body." 
 
 DR. MACKNIGHT's PARAPHRASE. 
 
 *' For he that eateth the Lord's Supper impro- 
 perly, subjects himself to punishment; because 
 he does not discriminate the symbols of the body 
 of the Lord from common bread and wine, de- 
 signed for the nourishment of life.'' 
 
 On tlie word translated ^^ damnation, ^^ Dr. 
 Macknight has the following note. 
 
 " * Drinketh punishment.^ That this is the sig- 
 nification of ' krima' — (here translated ' damna- 
 tion'' in the common version of the Bible) is plain 
 from the following verse, where the Corinthians 
 
THE lord's supper. 53 
 
 are said to be visited with sickness, debility and 
 death, for eating unworthily. Besides, Krima is 
 often used in the New Testament to denote 
 punishment, as in Matt, xxiii. 14. Rom. xiii, 2. 
 James iii. I. and 1 Pet. iv. 17." 
 
 Dr. Doddridge in a note on this word, in his 
 Family Expositor, makes the following remark : 
 
 " I think it" says he, " the most unhappy mis- 
 take in all our version of the Bible, that the word 
 Krima, is here translated ' damnation.'' It has 
 raised a dread in tender minds which has gready 
 obstructed the comfort they might have received 
 from this ordinance — The apostle afterwards says, 
 * we are judged'' — that is, as he afterwards ex- 
 plains it, ' we are corrected, that we may not be 
 condemned;' which plainly shows the judgments 
 spoken of, might he fatherly chastisements. This 
 sin, (as sin,) does indeed expose us to condemna- 
 tion, should God be extreme to mark it, as an 
 irreverent behaviour under any ordinance, does ; — 
 but it is superstition to set this at so vast a dis- 
 tance from all the rest as many do." 
 
 The Greek word " A>i??i«," having in many 
 instances without due consideration, been rendered, 
 by the word '■'•damnation'" in our common ver- 
 sion of the Bible, and in other places by the word 
 " condemnation," it is a matter of no little impor- 
 tance to persons not skilled in the Greek tongue, 
 to know what is the true meaning of this very for- 
 midable word. 
 
 It is derived from the Greek verb " Krino'^ to 
 judge, and it has been incorrecdy translated by 
 the English word " damnation,'''' in the following 
 passages of the New Testament. In 1 Cor. ch. 
 xi. 29.— Matt, xxiii. 14. — Mark xii. 40.— Luke 
 XX. 47. — Rom. iii. 8 and xiii. 2. But in various 
 other passages, it has been rendered into English 
 
54 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 by the word judgment, or condemnation, as in 
 Rom. ch. V. 16. " For the judgment (Kmna) 
 was by one unto condemnation,'' {Katakrirna,) or 
 according to Dr. Macknight's more accurate trans- 
 lation. ''" For verily the sentence was for one 
 offence to condemnation:'' on which he has the 
 following note. 
 
 " The original word ' Krima' signifies the sen- 
 tence of a judge, especially a sentence of con- 
 demnation." 
 
 So again in St. Luke's gospel (ch. xxiv. 20.) 
 " And how the chief priests and our rulers deli- 
 vered him to be condemned {Krima) to death :" 
 and again in ch. xxiii. 40. *' Dost thou not fear 
 God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" 
 {Krima.) In like manner in the gospel according 
 to Matthew (ch. viii. 2.) " for with vj\\2.i judgment 
 [Krima) ye judge, ye shall he judged," (the same 
 verb.) 
 
 In our common version of the New Testament, 
 is the following passage (Rom. iii. 8.) 
 
 *' And not rather, (as we be slanderously re- 
 ported, and as some affirm that we say,) let us do 
 evil that good may come ; whose damnation is 
 just." 
 
 Thus rendered by Dr. Macknight;:— " And not 
 add, as we are slanderously reported to practise, 
 and as some affirm we order" — " Certainly let us 
 do evil that good may come ;" of these, the con- 
 dcmncdion is just." 
 
 In like manner in Rom. ch. xiii. 2. are these 
 words. 
 
 " Whosoever resisteth ihe power, resisteth the 
 ordinance of God; and they that resist shall 
 receive to tliemselves damncttion." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. Macknight:—" Where- 
 fore he that setteth "himself in opposition to the 
 
THE lord's supper. 55 
 
 power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they 
 who resist, shall procure jmnishment {Krima) to 
 themselves." 
 
 Dr. Campbell, one of the most accurate and 
 judicious writers, and one of the most profound 
 Greek scholars, who has at any period written on 
 the Sacred Scriptures, in his admirable translation 
 of the New Testament, uniformly translates the 
 Greek word " Krima,'' by the English words 
 '^ 'punishment, or condemnation ^ 
 
 In his note on Mark ch. xii. 40. he has the fol- 
 lowing just and striking observation: 
 
 " But this word damnation, is confined to the 
 punishment of Hell, to which the impenitent will 
 hereafter be condemned. I think it unwarranta- 
 ble in a translator, to limit the words of the sacred 
 penmen to this meaning, when neither the terms 
 used, nor any thing in the context, can be said to 
 limit them." 
 
 "The phrases '• Krisistees Gehennees,andaion- 
 ios KrisiSy'' the literal sense of which is, ' the 
 punishment of Hell' and ' eternal punishment,'' 
 are the only terms in the gospel which may be 
 rendered ' damnation f and even in these I think 
 it preferable, for an obvious reason, to use the 
 periphrasis (circumlocution) of the sacred writer. 
 By * the frequent, unnecessary, and sometimes 
 censurable recourse of translators to the terms, 
 ' damned,' ' damnation,' and ' damnable,' and 
 others of a like import, an asperity is given to the 
 language of most modern translators of the New 
 Testament, which the original evidently has not." 
 And in his note on Mark xvi. 16. the same 
 learned writer observes, " the term ' damned' 
 with us relates solely to the doom which shall be 
 pronounced on the wicked at the last day. This 
 cannot be aflirined with truth of the Greek word 
 ' Katakrino,' which corresponds exactly with 
 
56 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 the English word ' condemn.'* " Messrs. Beauso- 
 bre and L'Enfant, in their French version of the 
 New Testament, uniformly translate the Greek 
 word " A7im«," condemnation^ and in their re- 
 marks on the memorable passage in the epistle to 
 the Corinthians which has led to the present inves- 
 tigation, they observe, that "St. Paul's expres- 
 sions in 1 Cor. ch. xi. 29. are lively, but figu- 
 rative,'''' and refer for explanation of them, to 
 Levit. xxii. 2. &c. I remain truly yours. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 My Dear Friend — The incorrect translation of 
 the Greek word " Xrima,^^ which occurs in the 
 29th verse ch. xi. of St. Paul's First Epistle to 
 the Corinthians, having occasioned so much mis- 
 conception, and excited so much groundless dread 
 among persons of tender consciences, who were 
 disposed, nay, anxious to partake of the Lord's 
 Supper; I cannot think you will regret obtaining 
 further light on the subject, by the perusal of the 
 opinions of able and learned Theologians on this 
 passage. For your satisfaction, I will extract 
 some explanatory remarks from two eminent au- 
 thors, whose writings are much esteemed. 
 
 The first passage I shall copy, is from the cele- 
 brated " Elements of Theology," by the Bishop 
 of Lincoln. 
 
 In his observations on the following extract 
 from the 25th Article of the Church of England, 
 " But they that receive them, (the Sacraments) 
 2inworthilij, purchase to themselves damnation, as 
 St. Paul says;" our author has these remarks; 
 
 " The passage here referred to, is the following, 
 and it relates to the Lord's Supper only. ' For 
 
THE lord's supper. 57 
 
 he that eatelb, (fee' (1 Cor. ch. xi. 29.) It is 
 material to observe that the word ' damnation,'' at 
 the time the Bible was translated, meant no more 
 than condemnation, any sentence of punishment 
 whatever; without a particular reference to the 
 eternal torments to which the impenitently wick- 
 ed will be consigned at the last day ; and that St. 
 Paul in the above passage does not refer to that 
 dreadful punishment, appears from the following 
 verse, ♦ for this cause many are weak and sickly 
 among you, and many sleep;^ " that is, are dead. 
 
 '« The Corinthians had been guilty of great 
 abuses in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, and 
 the damnation which they thereby brought on 
 themselves, was, as we learn from St. Paul, weak- 
 ness, sickness and death ; that is, temporal punish- 
 ments only, and not eternal damnation^ 
 
 " This is also evident from the 82d verse, where 
 it is said " But when we "d^xQ judged, we are chas- 
 tened of the Lord, that we should not be condem- 
 ned with the world;" that is, when we are punish- 
 ed in this manner in the present life, vve are 
 chastened by our Heavenly Father, that we may 
 be brought to a sense of our duty, and by re- 
 forming ourselves, may avoid that condemnation 
 which the impenitent world will suffer in a future 
 state. Tiie word " Krima''' used by St. Paul in 
 this passage, occurs frequently in the New Testa- 
 ment, but in no one instance does it exclusively 
 signify the sentence of eternal punishment. It is 
 sometimes translated judgment; as, ' the time is 
 come that judgment [Krima) must begin at the 
 house of God:" (I Pet. iv. 17.) and sometimes it 
 is rendered *• condemncdion ;"* as when one of the 
 malefactors who was crucified with our blessed 
 Lord, rebukes the other in these words, ' Dost 
 thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same 
 condemnation?^ i^Krima.) It is evident that in 
 
 5 
 
58 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 these passages, eternal damnation could not have 
 been meant. When therefore it is said that by 
 *' unworthily receiving the Lord's Supper, men 
 purchase for themselves damnation ;' the mean- 
 ing is, that by so doing they are guilty of a great 
 sin, and are therefore liable to punishment from 
 God ; but this like other sins may be repented of, 
 and forgiven through the merits, and for the sake 
 of the blessed Redeemer. In a note to the fore- 
 going, the Bishop of Lincoln adds: ' It is much 
 to be feared that the expression " we eat and drink 
 our own damnation^''^ in our communion service, 
 deters many persons from participating of the 
 Lord's Supper ; and therefore I recommend to 
 clergymen, occasionally to explain to their con- 
 gregations the meaning of the original passage 
 from which it is taken, as well as the sense of the 
 word damnation, when our Bible was translated. 
 That the compilers of our Liturgy did not intend 
 to apply the word " damnation'^ any more than 
 St. Paul, the w^ord " Krima'''' to eternal punish- 
 ment, is evident from what follows, viz. ' We 
 kindle God's wrath against us; we provoke him 
 to plague us with divers diseases, and sundry 
 kinds of death.' " 
 
 The only other extract I shall make on this im- 
 portant passage (1 Cor. ch. xi. 20.) is from the 
 learned and venerable Mr. Stackhouse.* I give it 
 at large because I think it is more clear and satis- 
 factory than I have met with in any other writer. 
 
 " In order," says he, " to know the true meaning 
 of the words of the apostle, it will be necessary to 
 observe that in the primitive church it was usual 
 for every one as he was able and disposed, to bring 
 to the religious assemblies, provisions for a com- 
 mon entertainment." Out of these provisions a 
 
 * See his Body of Divinity. 
 
THE lord's supper. 59 
 
 convenient portion was set apart to be consecrated 
 for the blessed Sacrament. This Sacrament was 
 in some churches celebrated before, in others after, 
 the feast of love, (as that entertainment was used 
 to be called,) but in all places, they were both 
 celebrated in company with each other. The de- 
 sign of these feasts was, to express friendship and 
 concord, and to show that Christians esteeemed 
 themselves one family, and one body ; to be a 
 comfort to the poor whose necessities were thus 
 relieved at the public expense ; and to speak the 
 charity and condescension of the rich, who thus 
 declared their poorer brethren in all Christian pri- 
 vileges, fellow members and equal with the great- 
 est. These voluntary contributions were styled 
 oblations, because every contributor was under- 
 stood to devote what he brought to a religious use, 
 and to divest himself of all manner of properly in 
 it. And therefore as these entertainments were 
 designed for the whole body of believers, every one 
 who came to the communion had a right to share 
 alike, though all did not contribute alike ; nay, 
 though the circumstances of some were so strait 
 that they could not contribute any part at all." 
 
 "Now when this party was broken in upon, 
 when every one would take upon him to eat at his 
 own time, in separate company, and in proportion 
 to his ov/n bringing; the rich met, and excluding 
 the poor from what should have been the common 
 entertainment, after much riot and excess, they 
 went to the Sacrament in no small disorder. One 
 was hungry, having eaten nothing at all; and 
 others drunken, having feasted intemperately ; and 
 so the poor were despised and neglected. This 
 the apostle condemns as a gross profanation of 
 that solemn institution, at the participation where- 
 of they behaved with as little reverence as if they 
 had been at a common meal. This is the eating 
 
60 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 and drhiking which he calls unworthy, for which 
 he pronounces them, ' guilty of the body and 
 blood of the Lord," and tells Ihem that they incur 
 the judgment of God. For that the word ' A>i- 
 2»«,' which our translators render damnation, does 
 not here signify eternal misery, or that which is 
 elsewhere termed the damnation of Hell, but only 
 a temporal judgment and chastisements, in order 
 to the prevention of eternal condemnation, is evi- 
 dent from what follows. " For this cause, many 
 are ' weak and sickly among you, and many 
 sleep ;' that is, for this irreverence, God hath sent 
 among you several diseases of which many have 
 died. Wherefore my brethren, says the apos- 
 tle ' when ye come together to eat,' (viz. at 
 these love feasts) ' tarry one for another; and if 
 any hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not 
 together unto judgment." The crime for which 
 the Corinthians were censured by the apostle, was 
 then clearly, the irreverent ahd disorderly partici- 
 pation of the Sacrament ; and their punishment 
 was those temporal diseases, and other chastise- 
 ments which God inflicted on them for their irre- 
 verence and contempt." 
 
 " And now," adds our author, " is it not clear 
 as the light, that in a church like ours, where the 
 consecrated elements are distributed as nigh to 
 the primitive institution as can be imagined, the 
 unwurthiness charged upon the Corinthians nei- 
 ther is, nor can possibly be ours. And if so, it 
 follows that those texts of St. Paul are perverted 
 to a very wrong use, when they are m.ade a pre- 
 tence for keeping from the holy table, the persons 
 whose present circumstances have no manner of 
 affinity with them." 
 
 From the foregoing illustrations, I trust my 
 friend, that you must be satisfied in regard to the 
 meaning of the word damnation as used by the 
 
THE lord's supper. 61 
 
 apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians xi. 29. Further 
 quotations would only be a tax on your patience. 
 
 I have been anxious, by what 1 have given from 
 learned men, to remove a false impression respect- 
 ing the text in question, under a full persuasion 
 that I should thus obviate a most formidable scru- 
 ple, and remove a stumbling block, which has had 
 a very unhappy influence on many young and 
 timid converts; a difficulty which has deterred 
 thousands from partaking of a Sacrament, that is 
 calculated to impart the liveliest joy to a true peni- 
 tent, and to atlbrd solid consolation under the 
 pressure of affliction, and at the close of every be- 
 liever's life. I remain very truly yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 My Dear Frie^jd — A second passage in the 
 writings of the apostle Paul, which you say has 
 given you m.uch uneasiness, and which you think 
 is calculated to excite the apprehensions of timid 
 converts, is contained in the sixth chapter of the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews, in the 4th, 5th, and 6th, 
 verses. The words are as follow: *' For it is 
 impossible for those who were once enlightened, 
 and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were 
 made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted 
 the good word of God, and the powers of the 
 world to come ; if they shall fall away, to renew 
 them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to 
 themselves the son of God afresh, and put him to 
 an open shame." 
 
 The meaning that has too frequently been at- 
 tached to- this passage is in substance, that they 
 who have once been convinced of sin, who have 
 seen the necessity of a Saviour, who have made 
 an open profession of their faith in him, especially 
 
62 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 by a participation of the Lord's Supper, and have 
 afterwards relapsed into former habits of impiety 
 or vice ; may be said to have " crucified afresh the 
 Son of God, and put him to an open shame,'* 
 and cannot be *' renewed to repentance," but have 
 been guilty of " an unpardonable sin," 
 
 This passage in the epistle to the Hebrews, has 
 been the subject of much discussion among Theo- 
 logians, and is one on which there has existed 
 considerable diversity of sentiment. Instead of 
 venturing any opinion of my own, on a matter so 
 controverted, I shall endeavour to collect and exhi- 
 bit what appears to be the soundest construction 
 given by some of our most intelligent commen- 
 tators. 
 
 The pious and learned Burkitt, thus explains 
 the passage.* 
 
 By the " enlightened," here understand those 
 that were baptized and embraced Christianity. 
 The ancients called, baptism^ illumination; and 
 baptized persons, the enlightened ; because of the 
 divine illumination which was conveyed to the 
 minds of men by the knowledge of Christianity. 
 By " tasting of the heavenly gift, and being made 
 partakers of the "Holy Ghost;" understand such 
 as had not only heard of the extraordinary gifts of 
 the Holy Ghost, but who had some experience of 
 them, themselves ; as also of the spiritual benefits 
 conferred upon them in baptism, by the Holy 
 Spirit. By " tasting of the good word of God," 
 understand some relish of the truth and goodness 
 of the gospel, some pleasure in entertaining it, by 
 reason of the gracious promises of eternal life con- 
 tained in it. 
 
 The gospel that proclaimed remission of sins 
 was a " good word." This good word they saw 
 
 * See Burkitt on the New Testament in loco. 
 
THE lord's supper. 63 
 
 by miracles, tongues, and prophecy, and so could 
 not but be convinced of the truth of it. 
 
 " The powers of the world to come," that is, 
 *' the powers of the gospel age," for the world to 
 come, in the language of the prophets, signifies 
 the times of the Messiah; and thus " the powers 
 of the world to come" are the miraculous powers 
 of the Holy Ghost, bestowed on men, in order to 
 the propagation of the gospel. Such were the 
 gifts of healing, of casting out devils, working mi- 
 racles, &LQ,. 
 
 Others by " tasting of the powers of the world 
 to come," understand, some apprehensions of the 
 resurrection and future judgment with affections 
 suitable thereto. " Now concerning these," says 
 the apostle, " if they fall away," that is, if they 
 shall apostatize from this profession, in conse- 
 quence of their love to the present world, or from 
 fear of persecution and sufferings ; if they shall 
 relapse either to heathenism or to Judaism, it is 
 impossible to renew them again to repentance;" 
 that is, it is a thing very difficult, hardly to be 
 hoped for, that such wilful apostates should be 
 restored again by repentance, " seeing they cru- 
 cify to themselves afresh the Son of God, and put 
 him to an open shame;" that is, they virtually and 
 in effect crucify him over again inasmuch as in 
 them lies; for by denying and renouncing him, 
 they declare him to be an impostor, and conse- 
 quently worthy of death. So that the plain sense 
 of these words seems to be this : " If those who 
 are baptized and have received the doctrines of the 
 gospel, and are endowed with the gifts of the Holy 
 Ghost, shall yet after all, apostatize from Christi- 
 anity, it is very difficult, and next to impossible, 
 to recover such by repentance, seeing they are 
 guilty of as great a crime, as if in their own per- 
 
§^ THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 SOUS they had put to (iealh, and ignominiously 
 used, the Son of " God." 
 
 An exposition corresponding in substance with 
 the foregoing, from Mr. Burkilt, I extract from Mr. 
 Stackhouse's Complete Body of Divinity.* After 
 transcribing tlie passage now under consideration, 
 this learned theologian says : " We must remem- 
 ber, 1. That it is very usual in Scripture to express 
 that by impossible, which is extremely difficult, or 
 impossible for human strength, unassisted by divine 
 grace, to accomplish. Thus in the case of rich 
 men's entering into the kingdom of heaven, (Matt. 
 xix. 26.) our blessed Saviour explains himself 
 by saying that, though the thing be impossible 
 with regard to the temptations such persons are 
 liable to, and their natural inability to resist them, 
 *' yet the things that are impossible with men, are 
 possible with God ;" (Luke xviii. 27:) that is, he, 
 by the prevailing influence of his grace, may wean 
 their hearts from the world, and enable them to 
 overcome their darling inclinations. And in like 
 manner though men who resist and quench the 
 Holy Spirit, by sin, cannot renew themselves, yet 
 God can give them the heart, and power of re- 
 pentance and renovation ; and therefore the word 
 impossible here, is not to be taken in a strict and 
 rigorous, but in a comparative sense only." 
 
 2. " That these texts in the Hebrews, relate not 
 to every sort of wilful offenders, but to such only 
 as revolt and JJij off entirely, from the faith of the 
 gospel. For this reason they are branded with 
 the name of adversaries, such as "crucify the 
 Son of God afresh," as trample him under foot, 
 '• count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, 
 and do despite to the Spirit of grace." And these 
 men to be sure it is impossible to renew, while 
 
 * See page 555. 
 
THE lord's supper. 65 
 
 they continue in their apostasy ; because they have 
 cast off their only remedy. Faith^ we all know, 
 is the indispensable condition of pardon ; but this 
 they have rejected and disclaimed, and consequently 
 are not within the covenant, nor under the influence 
 of grace; they have denied the Lord that bought 
 them, they have renounced the whole religion of 
 Christ, and therefore cannot reap any benefit from 
 the sacrifice of that blood which they esteem com- 
 mon, and no sacrifice at all ; or from the merits of 
 him whom they tread under foot, as if he were 
 still dead, and lying in the grave, and consequently 
 account him a vile miscreant and impostor." 
 
 " But the case is far different with those who 
 are engaged in a sinful course, and yet have not 
 made such dangerous defection, or thrown ofT the 
 profession of Christianity. They may see their 
 folly, and acknowledge the merit of their Saviour's 
 atonement; they may comply with the good mo- 
 tions of the Spirit which they have loo long resisted, 
 though they have not formally done public despite 
 to him. There is a mighty difference between 
 walking unworthy of the Christian profession, and 
 being open and avowed adversaries to it; between 
 a conversation, unbecoming the gospel, and prin- 
 ciples that professedly overthrow it; and conse- 
 quently those passages of Scripture which strike at 
 one of these, and declare it incapable of forgive- 
 ness, need not, must not be applied to the other, 
 so as to exclude from it all hope and comfort, a 
 case so very unlike it." 
 
 To fortify the foregoing explanation from Mr. 
 Stackhouse, I subjoin an extract from the commen- 
 tary and notes of tlie learned and judicious Dr. 
 Mack night. 
 
 His commentary on this passage from the 6th 
 chap, of Hebrews is as follows: 
 
 " For it is impossible for us to restore a second 
 
66 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 time by repentance, those who have been once en- 
 lightened by believing the gospel, and have tasted 
 of the heavenly gift of freedom from the yoke of 
 the law of Moses, and from the grievous supersti- 
 tions of heathenism, which is bestowed on Jews 
 and Gentiles under the gospel, and have been made 
 partakers of the gifts of the Holy Ghost at their 
 baptism, and have perceived the excellence of 
 the word of God, the doctrines and promises of the 
 gospel, and have seen the efficacy of the powers of 
 the gospel dispensation, in reforming sinners, and 
 yet have renounced the gospel in the imagination 
 that Jesus was justly punished with death as an 
 impostor ; crucifying a second time in their own 
 mind, and making a public example of the Son of 
 God, by inwardly approving of, and consenting to 
 his punishment." 
 
 His notes on this passage are as follows: 
 *' For it is impossible to renew again by re- 
 pentance." — " The apostle does not mean that it 
 is impossible for God to renew a second time by 
 repentance an apostate, but that it is impossible for 
 the "ministers of Christ to convert a second time 
 to the faith of the gospel, one, who after being 
 made acquainted with all the proofs by which God 
 hath thought fit to establish (Mirist's mission, shall 
 allow himself to think him an impostor, and re- 
 nounce his gospel. The apostle knowing this, 
 was anxious to give the Hebrews just views 
 of the ancient oracles, in the hope that it would 
 prevent them from apostatizing^ " Seeing they 
 crucify to themselves the Son of God," &:c. Apos- 
 tates are said to crucify in their own mind the 
 Son of God, a second time, and to expose him 
 to infamy ; because by speaking of him as an im- 
 postor, and inwardly approving of the punishment 
 which was inflicted on him, they showed that 
 they would have joined his persecutors in putting 
 
THE lord's supper. 67 
 
 him to death, if they had had an opportunity to 
 do it. 
 
 On the authority of this text chiefly, the Nova- 
 tians exduded from their communion, those M'ho 
 in the time of the Diocletian persecution delivered 
 up their copies of the Scriptures, and renounced 
 the profession of the gospel. But the character 
 and circumstances of the apostates, of whom the 
 apostle speaks, were very different from the cha- 
 racter and circumstances of the apostates in the 
 Diocletian persecution. The Hebrew apostates 
 had seen the miracles of Jesus and his apostles, 
 and had been themselves partakers of the Holy 
 Ghost, and thereby had been enlightened, or per- 
 suaded to embrace the gospel ; yet through the in- 
 fluence of their passions and lusts, they had lost 
 their conviction of its divine original, and had re- 
 turned to Judaism ; and to vindicate themselves 
 had spoken of Jesus as an impostor, who was 
 justly put to death for his crimes. 
 
 Persons acting in this manner in opposition to 
 all the evidences of the gospel, could not in the 
 ordinary course of things be converted a secoyid 
 time to the Christian faith, because no further evi- 
 dence could be offered to ihem. Besides, their 
 apostasy proceeding from the corruption of their 
 hearts, was wilful. (Heb. x. 26.) The case of 
 the apostates in the Diocletian persecution was dif- 
 ferent. Through fear of torture they had deli- 
 vered up the Scriptures in token of their renounc- 
 ing Christianity. Yet being convinced of its truth, 
 they were still Christians in their hearts. Now, 
 however culpable these men may have been for 
 their cowardice and hypocrisy, there was nothing 
 in their case, as in the case of others, which made 
 it impossible for the ministers of Christ to per- 
 suade them to repent. The Novatians therefore 
 showed great ignorance, as well as great unchari- 
 
68 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 tableness in contending, that the apostle had de- 
 clared the repentance of such persons impossible, 
 and that for their sin, as for the sin of those men- 
 tioned, (Heb. X. 29.) no atonement was provided 
 in the gospel. 
 
 Dr. Macknight in his explanation of tlie pas- 
 sage under consideration, quotes the following 
 extract from Peirce, who in his note on this verse 
 says, 
 
 " The reason why our author speaks so severely 
 of such apostates may be taken partly from the 
 nature of the evidence which they rejected. The 
 fullest and clearest evidence which God ever de- 
 signed to give of the truth of Christianity, was 
 these miraculous operations of the Spirit ; and 
 when men were not only eye witnesses of these 
 miracles, but were likewise themselves empowered 
 to work them; and yet after all, rejected their 
 evidence, they could have no farther, or higher 
 evidence whereby they should be convinced ; so 
 that their case must in that respect appear despe- 
 rate. This may be partly owing to their putting 
 themselves out of the way of conviction. If they 
 could not see enough to settle them in the profes- 
 sion of the Christian religion, while they made a 
 profession of it ; much less were they like to meet 
 with any thing new, to convince and reclaim them, 
 when they had taken up an opposite profession, 
 and joined themselves to the inveterate enemies of 
 Christianity." 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 My Dear Friend — The last passage in the wri- 
 tings of the apostle Paul to which you refer, as 
 containing a doctrine calculated to excite the ap- 
 
THE LORD S SUPPER. 69 
 
 prehensions of timid Christians, and to keep them 
 at a distance from the table of communion, is the 
 following : (Heb. x. 26, 27.) 
 
 " For if we sin wilfully, after that we have re- 
 ceived the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth 
 no more sacrifice for sin ; but a certain fearful 
 looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, 
 which shall devour the adversaries." 
 
 The epistle from which these words are taken, 
 it will be remembered, was addressed to Jewish 
 converts, many of whom had witnessed the mira- 
 cles, and heard the discourses of our Lord while 
 on earth. Some had probably enjoyed the gifts 
 of the Holy Ghost, and might themselves have 
 been endowed with miraculous powers. Yet in 
 most of these converts from Judaism, from the in- 
 fluence of education and early prejudice, there 
 was a strong inclination to incorporate llie institu- 
 tions of Moses, with those of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Finding this to be impracticable, and 
 having every inducement which love of the ivorld, 
 a regard to the praise of me?!, the prospects of 
 favour and emolument from their civil rulers, on 
 the one hand; and fear of persecution, the dread 
 of obloquy, desertion of friends and relations, 
 the loss of reputation and property to encounter 
 on the other ; they were liable to yield to these 
 weighty considerations, which are too apt to sway 
 the popular m.ind. To prevent the influence of 
 these motives from drawing the first converts from 
 Judaism, back to a mere covenant of works, to a 
 system of ceremony which ahvays was a burden, 
 too heavy for the Jewish people, seems to have 
 been a consideration that powerfully impressed the 
 eloquent aposfle who composed this epistle. 
 
 From a collation of the sentiments of some of 
 our ablest Commentators, the following appears to 
 be their impression in regard to the passage above 
 
Tfll THE SACRAMENT OP 
 
 quoted. They seem to think that *' sinning wil- 
 fully" does not mean every intentional sin, but 
 sinning obstinately, perseveringly^ and malicious- 
 ly ; renouncing Christianity. 
 
 " After having received the knowledge of the 
 truth — " that is, after having made a public pro- 
 fession of Christianity, being baptised; and after 
 being admitted to the Holy Communion ; that if, 
 after such a profession, from fear of shame or suf- 
 fering, or from an undue love of the world, of its 
 honours, pleasures, or emoluments, we withdraw 
 from the household of faith, and attach ourselves 
 to the enemies of the gospel ; in such case we ex- 
 pose ourselves to "judgment and to tiery indigna- 
 tion ;" that is, to the just censure of the pious, and 
 to the displeasure of our almighty Judge. 
 
 " There remains no more sacrifice for sin :" 
 that is, God will not again send his Son, to suffer 
 and to die for sinners. He has been made, once 
 for all, an oblation for the sins of the world ; and 
 if his sacrifice is rejected, there is no ground for 
 apostates to hope for another. 
 
 The passage in question is thus explained by 
 Dr. Doddridge : 
 
 *' For if we sin wilfully, presumptuously, by 
 apostatising, 'after having received the knowledge 
 of the truth,' with such incontestible evidence and 
 power ; ' there remaineth no more sacrifice for 
 sin,' nor is it possible to find any atonement that 
 shall be efficacious, after having thus ungratefully 
 and wickedly disowned that, which God had ap- 
 pointed." 
 
 Dr. Macknight's remarks on the passage are as 
 follow : 
 
 "For if terrified by the evils that attend a pro- 
 fession of the gospel, we renounce it contrary to 
 our conscience, after having attained the knowledge 
 and belief of the gospel, there remaineth to such 
 
THE lord's supper. 71 
 
 persons no more sacrifice for sin, but some dread- 
 ful apprehension of the judgment remaineth, and a 
 punishment by fire, the effect of God's anger, to 
 devour all the adversaries of God, whether secret 
 or open." 
 
 His notes on this passage are as follow: viz. 
 
 Ver. 26. " If we sin wilfully, &:c." 
 
 "Many pious but weak Christians have been 
 greatly terrified by this text, not knowing that the 
 apostle speaks, not o^ ivilful sin in general, but of 
 deliberate apostasy manifested by the apostates for- 
 saking the Christian assemblies. For the descrip- 
 tion which the apostle hath given in ver. 29, of the 
 wilful sin of which he speaks, agrees only to de- 
 liberate apostasy, which in the first age was of so 
 heinous a nature, that Christ declared he would 
 deny the person before his Father, who should 
 deny him before men." (Malt. x. 33.) 
 
 "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." 
 
 " As the apostle in the former part of the epistle 
 had proved that the sacrifices of the law were all 
 abolished, and that the only sacrifice for sin re- 
 maining is the sacrifice of Ciirist, it follows, as 
 Peirce justly observes, that apostates who wilfully 
 renounce the benefit of that sacrifice, have no sacri- 
 fice for sin remaining to them." 
 
 Ver. 27. " But a certain fearful looking for of 
 judgment." 
 
 " Here the apostle lays it down as certain that 
 God will not pardon siimers without some sacrifice 
 or satisfaction. For otherwise it would not follow, 
 from there remaining no more sacrifice for sin, that 
 there must remain to them a dreadful expectation 
 of judgment, and fiery indignation which shall de- 
 vour the adversaries." 
 
 " This is an allusion to the fire that came out 
 from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and 
 fifty men who, on the rebellion of Korah, intruded 
 
72 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 themselves into the priests' office, and whose de- 
 struction is an emblem of the destruction of the 
 wicked bv fire at the day of judgment." (See 2 
 Thess. i. 7, 8.) I am truly yours, <fec. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 My Dear Friend — I had indulged the hope that 
 after the exposition given above, in relation to 
 those passages in the writings of "him who was 
 not a whit behind the chiefest of the apostles," 
 which have excited the apprehension of timid 
 minds, your scruples would have been remo- 
 ved, and you would have at once come, with- 
 out reluctance, to the sacramental table. Still 
 you object that from the perusal of the passages 
 that have been illustrated, if avowed followers of 
 Christ, after having made a public profession of 
 faith in the gospel, should relapse into former 
 habits of sin, the condition of such persons in 
 every point of view is worse than if they had 
 never made any profession of religion. And you 
 seriouslv ask, whether I do not think they would 
 be ffuilty of what is called " the unpardonable sin?" 
 From all the consideration and inquiry I have 
 been able to bestow on tb.is subject, 1 have drawn 
 the conclusion that no such sin can now exist; and 
 that the only sin of this description which ever did 
 exist, is what is styled in Scripture, "Blasphemy 
 against the Holy Ghost." This olTence appears 
 to have consisted exclusively, in maliciously and 
 wilfully imputing to the iniluence of Satan, those 
 miracles which were performed by our Saviour, 
 or by those of his followers who had this power 
 committed to them ; and that it was limited to the 
 
THE lord's supper. 73 
 
 period of our Saviour's ministry, and to the first ages 
 of the Christian church; when the extraordinary 
 gifts of the Holy Spirit were conferred on the fol- 
 lowers of Christ, as essential to the propagation 
 and establishment of his religion.* 
 
 By carefully observing the terms used by the 
 evangelists Matthew and Mark, in relation to this 
 sin, its nature and extent may be readily ascer- 
 tained. It appears that our Lord had just been 
 curing a demoniac who was at once blind and 
 dumb. This was a striking exhibition of his Di- 
 vine power, at which "all the people were so 
 amazed that they cried out, is not this the Son of 
 David?" 
 
 AVhen the Pharisees heard it, full of malice and 
 of envy, they said, " This fellow doth not cast out 
 devils but by Beelzebub the prince of devils." 
 Such w^as the tenor of their conversation with each 
 other. But our Lord "knowing their thoughts,'* 
 reasoned with them, and showed them how im- 
 possible, and how absurd it was, that the chief of 
 evil spirits could at one and the same time, show 
 a disposition t o do both good and evil ; that he 
 should be the instrument of inflicting diseases, 
 and at the same time of curing them ; and how 
 impossible it was that a kingdom so divided 
 against itself could stand. 
 
 After this our Lord concludes with assuring his 
 hearers, by way of inference from what he had 
 just been urging, " Wherefore, all manner of sin 
 and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but 
 the blasphemy (or false slander) against the Holy 
 Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." (Matt. xii. 
 31.) Or as it is recorded in the evangelist Mark, 
 *' All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of 
 men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall 
 
 * See Appendix on this subject. 
 6 
 
74 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 blaspheme ; but he that shall blaspheme against 
 the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is 
 in danger of eternal damnation." (Mark iii. 28, 
 29.) 
 
 Such are the circumstances which led our Lord to 
 declare in what that offence consisted which has 
 been denominated " the unpardonahle sin." 
 
 Many pious and learned men I know, have be- 
 lieved and taught that there are various acts which 
 men might commit, which because of their re- 
 semblance in point of aggravation, to the sin of 
 blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, must incur a 
 like punishment with that annexed to this oflence. 
 But this is mere matter of inference. There is 
 no authority for it in the sacred Scriptures. Be- 
 cause our Lord as Supreme Legislator has been 
 pleased to exclude one offence from the benefit of 
 pardon, here and hereafter, does it follow that any 
 human being, because of some fancied analogy^ 
 has a right to extend the same punishment to other 
 offences ? To do this he must violate the plain 
 declaration of our Lord himself, who assures us 
 " that cdl sin shall be pardoned to the sons of 
 men," this sin against the Holy Spirit, alone ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 You will perhaps remind me that the apostle 
 John in his first epistle (ch. v. 16.) expressly af- 
 firms that there is " a sin unto death." But 
 while this is freely admitted, he speaks of but 
 one sin of this description, and there seems to be 
 no good reason why the apostle did not allude to 
 the sin of which we have been speaking. This 
 passage from St. John is thus paraphrased by Dr. 
 Doddridge in his Family Expositor. " There is 
 * a sin unto death,' I mean such an apostasy from 
 Christianity as is attended with blaspheming the 
 operations of the Spirit of God, and ascribing 
 them to Satan." 
 
THE lord's supper. 75 
 
 Another learned commentator* on the New 
 Testament, in his exposition of these words, has 
 the following observations. " Now in the verse 
 before us he (the apostle) relates the benefits 
 which others receive by their prayers, as well as 
 themselves, assuring them that if any did pray for 
 an offending brother, they should be heard in what 
 they desired, unless the person they prayed for, 
 had sinned the unpardonable sin, the sin unto 
 death; by which we are to understand, apostasy 
 from the Christian religion unto idolatry ; as ap- 
 pears from the following words: 'Keep yourselves 
 from idols ;' which caution has no manner of de- 
 pendence on what went before, unless we under- 
 stand the sin unto death in this sense ; or if with 
 others, we call it 'the sin against the Holy Ghost,' 
 it comes to the same thing ; for what is that sin 
 but a renouncing of Christianity — denying the 
 truth of the Christian faith, after illumination and 
 conviction by the Holy Ghost, and maliciously 
 persecuting the sincere professors of it ?" 
 
 You ask " why it is that the sin of blasphemy 
 against the Holy Ghost should be so peculiarly 
 the object of the Divine displeasure, as to be put 
 beyond the reach of pardon, " either in this world 
 or in the world to come ?'' I answer that it is 
 probably because this sin above all others evinced 
 such a deep depravity of heart, so resolute a de- 
 termination to close the understanding against 
 light, and the conscience against conviction, that 
 no means short of a miracle could reclaim offend- 
 ers of this character. 
 
 They were eye-witnesses of the most astonish- 
 ing proofs of Divine power. Th^y saw the lame 
 walking, the dumb speaking, the sick healed, the 
 blind receiving sight, and the dead raised to life. 
 
 * Mr. Buxkitt. 
 
76 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 These were facts of which they could entertain 
 no doubt, and they were conscious that nothing 
 short of a divine and supernatural agency could 
 perform such miracles. But instead of yielding 
 to the evidence of their senses, and the conviction 
 of their understandings, they maliciously imputed 
 these astonishing effects to the influence of the 
 prince of demons ; thus making Christ and his 
 followers, confederates of Satan ; representing the 
 Christian religion as the contrivance of hell, and 
 the operations of ihe Spirit of God, as those of an 
 apostate angel. Prejudice so obstinate, and ma- 
 lignity so bitter, were evidently proof against all 
 instruction, and could be overcome only by a mir- 
 acle. There is no reason to believe that the Deity 
 ever constrains any one to believe against his 
 will. He "draws us with the cords of love:" 
 but when his gracious influence is resisted ; when 
 the "Spirit is quenched," he leaves the obdurate 
 heart to remorse and despair. "Ephraim is joined 
 to his idols, let him alone." 
 
 It is not improbable that this ofi'ence denomi- 
 nated " the sin unto death," may have been per- 
 petrated after the ascension of our Saviour, perhaps 
 until the entire cessation of miracles. When this 
 event took place, history does not satisfactorily 
 inform us. But from the concurrent testimony of 
 the ancient fathers of the Christian Church, it is 
 certain that miracles were performed for many 
 years after the death of the apostles, and their im- 
 mediate successors. Both Celsus and the Em- 
 peror Julian, enlightened, but obstinate infidels, 
 while they admitted the fact, in regard to the mira- 
 cles of our Lord and his disciples, maliciously 
 ascribed them to magiCj and to the influence of 
 the evil spirit. 
 
 Upon the whole then, my friend, you must per- 
 ceive how little foundation there is for the scruples 
 
THE lord's SLPPl^R. 77 
 
 you have indulged, and which have unhappily- 
 kept you so long at a distance from a sacrament, 
 which brings you into a most delightful commu- 
 nion with the professed followers of the blessed 
 Saviour. You see that " blasphemy against the 
 Holy Ghost" is the only sin that has been declared 
 to be beyond the reach of pardon ; that this offence 
 could only be committed prior to the cessation of 
 miracles ; and if pronounced to be " a sin unto 
 death," it was not from any deficiency of merit in 
 Christ to atone for it, nor of mercy in God to for- 
 give it ; but because it evinced such obdurate de- 
 pravity of heart, such perverse malignity, and such 
 incorrigible obstinacy, as rejected the last, and 
 only means of conviction and amendment ; and 
 consequently, (without a miraculous interference 
 of Divine power) put the offender beyond the 
 reach of repentance, or erf obedience, and conse- 
 quently of pardon. 
 
 I am with much regard, yours, &;c. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 My Dear Friend — While you admit generally, 
 the importance and necessity of making an open 
 profession of your faith, by joining in the com.- 
 munion of the Lord's table, you still continue to 
 entertain doubts of 3-our preparation for so solemn 
 an ordinance. You say, there are several descrip- 
 tions of nominal Christians, whom it is usual to 
 admonish, by no means to join in the celebration 
 of this holy sacrament ; and that from a careful 
 examination of your own character and state of 
 mind, you cannot flatter yourself with the persua- 
 sion of being as yet, duly prepared for an approach 
 to the table of communion. 
 
78 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 You therefore anxiously inquire, what are those 
 descriptions of character, which enlightened rea- 
 son, and the rules of sacred Scripture, exclude 
 from this feast of love ? 
 
 "No man," says Dr. Adam Clarke, "should 
 be permitted to approach the table, when not 
 known to be a steady, consistent character, or a 
 thorough penitent. If there be an indiscriminate 
 admission, there must be unworthy communicants, 
 who instead of receiving the cup of salvation, 
 will wring out the dregs of the cup of trembling ; 
 for we may rest assured that this ordinance is no 
 indifferent thing. Every soul that approaches it, 
 will either receive good, or evil from it. He will 
 retire a better, or a Avorse man. He will either 
 have an increase of Christ, or of Judas. On 
 him the Lord will graciously smile, or judicially 
 frown."* 
 
 There can be little doubt, I conceive, but that 
 the following classes are of the last description. 
 1. Professed Infidels, — persons who altogether 
 disbelieve the whole of divine revelation, or who 
 deny the divinity and mission of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Happily this class of individuals are at 
 present, neither so numerous, nor so distinguished, 
 as they were during the last century. There are, 
 however, many in every Christian community, 
 who if they do not, with daring effrontery, openly 
 espouse the cause of infidelity, yet insidiously 
 attack its fundamental doctrines, or treat with con- 
 tempt its professed followers. 
 
 Persons of this character, it would be profana- 
 tion to admit to the table of the Lord. Listead of 
 inviting such to partake of this ordinance, we 
 would say to them, "Beware, stand aloof, ap- 
 proach not a solemn rite which would only be the 
 
 * See Dr. Clarke's Discourses on the Eucharist, p. 86. 
 
THE lord's supper. 79 
 
 means of increasing your guilt, and adding to the 
 intensity of your future punishment. No, rather 
 go, repent, believe, and obey. Examine accu- 
 rately, and candidly, the nature and tendency, the 
 history and institution, the external and internal 
 evidence of Christianity ; and should it please hea- 
 ven to enlighten your conscience, and to renew 
 your heart, then come humbly, yet vi^ithout fear, 
 to this communion of saints ; and while angels in 
 heaven would rejoice at the conversion of one such 
 sinner, believers on earth would receive you to 
 their fellowship with cordial satisfaction." 
 
 2. A second class who without question should 
 always be admonished to abstain from this ordi- 
 nance are, tlie notoriously vicious and profane. 
 
 Christianity is not a mere matter of profession. 
 It enjoins good works as well as true faith. While 
 it assures us that " without faith it is impossible 
 to please God," (Heb. xi. 6.) it as plainly declares 
 that " without holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord." (Heb. xii. 14.) Speaking of the works 
 of the flesh, viz. of " murder, drunkenness, un- 
 cleanness, and such like," an inspired apostle says, 
 (Gal. V. 19, 20, 21,) " I tell you now, as I have 
 told you in time past, that they who do such 
 things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God." 
 And in his first epistle to the Corinthians, (chap. 
 V. 11.) he exhorts them in these words, "But 
 now I have written to you, not to keep company, 
 if any man that is called a brother, be a fornicator, 
 or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunk- 
 ard, or an extortioner ; with such an one, no not 
 to eat.'''' But on this subject little need be said, 
 inasmuch as it very rarely happens, unless from 
 some motive of ambition or interest, that persons 
 notoriously vicious, would ever ask admittance to 
 the table of communion. The palpable inconsist- 
 ency between the principles of the gospel and 
 
8Dr THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 their lives is such, as would expose them to the 
 just ridicule and contempt, even of their irreli- 
 gious associates, should they be able to overcome 
 the scruples of their own conscience, and the 
 dread of that punishment which they might ex- 
 pect, from an unworthy participation of this sol- 
 emn ordinance. 
 
 3. A third class of persons who unquestionably 
 ought to be excluded from the Lord's table, are 
 those who are grossly ignorant of the nature and 
 design of this institution. 
 
 Children, idiots, and persons who are deficient 
 in common understanding, are obviously included 
 in this class. All who are incapable, from any 
 cause, of " discerning the Lord's body,'' of stating 
 just reasons for wishing to be admitted to this privi- 
 lege, ought to be advised to wait until by prayer, 
 reading and reflection, they shall have obtained 
 right views of the ordinance. 
 
 Will it be said that ignorance of this sacred rite 
 is often rather a misfortune than a fault ? That 
 there are many instances of weak, uninformed, but 
 pious believers, who have faith, and love, purity 
 of heart, and correctness of deportment; but who, 
 from being denied the means of instruction, are 
 ignorant on this subject, and therefore ought not to 
 be excluded from this sacred institution. The 
 plain answer to this objection is, that persons of 
 this description, by proper attention and inquiry 
 can always obtain all the information absolutely 
 necessary for an admission to this ordinance. There 
 are few cases that can occur, where applicants of 
 this description will not derive much advantage by 
 delay; and where means of information are within 
 reach, and not sought for, or used, there can be no 
 reason for complaint, if the ivilfully ignorant are 
 excluded from the communion. 
 
 There are not a few who ignorantly or super- 
 
THE lord's SIPPER. 81 
 
 stitiously imagine, that there is a certain mysterious 
 ejlicacy in the ordinance itself, which will operate 
 a change on their heart; or that there is such a 
 degree of merit in obeying the injunction of our 
 Lord on this subject, as will insure his favour and 
 a title to eternal life. Others again imagine, that 
 the simple act of communicating, seals the pardon 
 of their offences, without any reference to previous 
 dispositions of heart, or to the subsequent tenor of 
 their life and conversation. Till persons of these 
 sentiments obtain juster views of this sacrament, 
 they ought undoubtedly to abstain from its celebra- 
 tion, however correct their outward deportment 
 may be, or whatever warmth of devotion they may 
 experience. 
 
 4. There is another class of persons who scruple 
 not to seek admission to this ordinance from mo- 
 tives of interest, or reputation^ but who should 
 assuredly be admonished to abstain from it. Such 
 are those, in some foreign countries, where it is 
 made a pre-requisite to filling a civil or military 
 office. How much this sacred institution is abused 
 by men of loose characters and habits, by making 
 it an instrument of accomplishing their interested 
 or ambitious views, it is needless to state. 
 
 But there are others, and of these not a few in 
 our own country, who from motives but a little 
 more elevated, solicit an admission to the Lord's 
 Supper. They reside perhaps in a neighbourhood 
 where religion is respected, where its professors 
 are persons of high character and influence, and 
 where reputation may be gained by an intimate 
 association with the religious part of society. They 
 accordingly persuade themselves that they are quali- 
 fied for the ordinance, and that their present interest 
 would be advanced by an admission to the com- 
 munion. To persons of this description I would 
 say, Ah my friends, in a transaction so important 
 
82 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 as that in which you are about to engage, be 
 cautious, reflect much, examine your motives, as 
 well as your life ; and let nothing short of love to 
 the Redeemer, a zeal for his cause and for the 
 welfare of your soul, influence you in this solemn 
 undertaking. 
 
 5. There is another class of wavering nominal, 
 half-tvay Christians, who sometimes seek admis- 
 sion to this ordinance. Their hearts are divided 
 between religion and the world. They make an 
 idol of riches, of reputation, or sensual appetite. 
 They wish to serve both God and mammon, be- 
 lieving that there is not all that impossibility of 
 uniting the two services, which our Saviour has 
 declared. They have been admitted into the Chris- 
 tian church by baptism, they have been educated 
 in its doctrines, they respect its institutions, and 
 wish to be considered as professors, so far as this 
 may consist with a supreme devotion to their tem- 
 poral interest. Persons of this class are certainly 
 in a crooked path. They are not in that " strait 
 and narrow way that leads to everlasting life." 
 Let them be decided, let them renounce either the 
 world, or heaven as their portion. "If the Lord 
 be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." 
 (1 Kings xviii. 2L) 
 
 Remember that " he that waverelh is like a wave 
 of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let 
 not that man think he shall receive any thing of 
 the Lord ; a double minded man is unstable in all 
 his ways." (James i. 6, 7, 8.) When your mind 
 is determined, and you have resolved to seek heaven 
 in preference to the world, then come, relying on 
 the influences of the Holy Spirit to aid your reso- 
 lution — then come, and partake without hesitation 
 of the emblems of redeeming love. 
 
 6. There is another class of persons who style 
 themselves rational and liberal Christians, who 
 
THE lord's supper. 83 
 
 ought not, consistently with the sentiments of our 
 church, or of any regular church in Christendom, 
 to be invited to the Lord's Supper. They reject 
 the doctrine of our Lord's divinity and atonement, 
 a doctrine that from the origin of Christianity to the 
 present day, has been held by the great body of 
 Christians as a vital and essentialarticle of faith. 
 They attend on this sacrament, as they celebrate 
 the era of their country's independence, the settle- 
 ment of a colony, or the birth-day of some distin- 
 guished character. They commemorate our Sa- 
 viour's life and virtues, the precepts he delivered, 
 and the example he has set. But here they stop. 
 They do not, in common with every other Chris- 
 tian denomination, regard the Lord Jesus as " the 
 Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the 
 world." They do not believe that "on him was 
 laid the iniquity of us all;" that " he was wounded 
 for our transgressions ;" that " he was bruised 
 for our iniquities;" that " the chastisement of our 
 peace was laid on him ;" and that " by his stripes 
 we are healed ;" that " his soul was made an offer- 
 ing for sin;" that "he bare the sin of many;" 
 that " his blood was shed for the remission of sin ;" 
 that " he died unto sin;" that he " gave himself 
 for our sins ;" that " he came to save sinners ;" 
 that " he purged our sins by his blood ;" that " he 
 appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of him- 
 self;" that "he bare our sins in his own body on 
 the tree ;" that " he is the propitiation for our sins 
 and for the sins of the whole world." When we 
 read such language as this in the charter of our 
 salvation, and when we find the apostle Paul de- 
 claring to the Corinthians, that by eating bread 
 and drinking wine in commemoration of the Re- 
 deemer, "ye do show forth the Lord's death till 
 he come," in what light are we to regard those 
 who deny the efficacy of that death, who consider 
 
84 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 the Son of God as a raere man, or at most, as a 
 very exalted super angelic Being? Surely there 
 would be no propriety in soliciting the attendance 
 of persons holding opinions like these, to a commu- 
 nion of love with Christians who hold the Lord 
 Jesus to have united in himself the divine and 
 human natures; and by his death on the cross to 
 have made a full atonement for the sins of all who 
 sincerely believe, and trust on him as the Saviour 
 of the world. 
 
 7. There is one other class of persons, and it 
 is the last I shall mention, who abstain from the 
 celebration of the Lord's Sapper, and whom it 
 would be very useless to invite to this ordinance. 
 It is that description of Christians who deny the 
 institution of any sacrament. In their zeal for the 
 establishment of a religion purely spiritual, they 
 seem almost to have forgotten that man is a com- 
 pound being, made up of matter as well as of spi- 
 rit. They say " God is a Spirit, and they who 
 worship him must worship him in spirit and in 
 truth." "Why then," they ask, "should we 
 make use of any external symbols whatever," to 
 commemorate the life or death of our Lord ? 
 
 The great body of the followers of Christ, 
 from the period of his ascension to the present 
 hour, have held the sacraments of baptism and 
 the Lord's Supper to have been instituted by our 
 Lord himself; and they have been continued with- 
 out interruption, and with scarce an exception, by 
 all denominations of Christians to the present day. 
 They are institutions admirably calculated for such 
 a compound creature as man. They strength- 
 en our faith by the aid of our senses, and are 
 attended by many and great benefits, as number- 
 less believers in all ages have felt and acknow- 
 ledged. 
 
 It is not my purpose in these letters to discuss 
 
THE LORD S SUPPER. 85 
 
 controverted points in theology. My aim is prac- 
 tical. I do not therefore pretend to answer the 
 objections that have been raised to the administra- 
 tion of the sacraments. They would lead into 
 too wide a field of discussion. I appeal to the 
 plain words of Scripture ; to the simple narration 
 of the evangelists and the apostle Paul ; and any 
 one who is disposed to controvert what they have 
 stated on this subject, would not probably be con- 
 vinced with any thing short of a new revelation. 
 *' If they hear not Moses and the prophets, nei- 
 ther will they be persuaded, though one rose from 
 the dead." (Luke xvi. 31.) 1 am yours truly. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 My Dear Friend — I have now stated under 
 seven different classes, as distinctly as I could, 
 those descriptions of persons who ought not, or 
 who need not, be invited to a participation of the 
 Lord's Supper. There can be no scruple in your 
 mind on the question of not being included in 
 either of these classes ; your only difficulty, is in 
 regard to your worthiness to approach the table of 
 communion. You admit that you have faith, but 
 but you say " it is weak ;" — that you have love to 
 the Saviour, and to all whom you believe to be his 
 rea/ disciples, but that "it is faint;''' — that you 
 truly repent of your past sins, but whether this 
 ♦' repentance is unto life," you cannot say. In 
 short you complain, that you fall so far short of 
 that Christian perfection, which the gospel ap- 
 pears to demand, that you are " therefore, in your 
 own apprehensions, unprepared to sit with the 
 
86 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 followers of Christ at the table of communion." 
 My dear friend, such scruples may be indulged to 
 an unreasonable extent. Unless confined within 
 the limits of reason and the prescribed rules of the 
 gospel, they would leave the communion table 
 with scarce an attendant. 
 
 It is a matter of much importance that every 
 sincere and penitent believer who has a desire to 
 commemorate the death of the Lord Jesus in this 
 solemn ordinance, should form correct opinions on 
 this subject. Is it then your idea that in order to 
 partake of the Lord's Supper, the applicant should 
 he perfectly faultless? Certain it is that no pro- 
 fessor can be too holy. But where is that human 
 being to be found who is ivithout sin? "If we 
 say, we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and 
 the truth is not in us." (1 John ch. i. 8.) There 
 is not a day, nor an hour of our lives, when in 
 the full exercise of reason, in which we do not 
 fall short of the requisitions of the divine law. 
 But this is by no means a substantial reason why 
 we should neglect this ordinance, any more than 
 other divine institutions. Our frailties and corrup- 
 tions should indeed humble us in our own esteem, 
 but not sink us into despondence. We should 
 resist and endeavour to subdue every irregular pas- 
 sion and habit. To our own most strenuous ex- 
 ertions, we should add prayer for the assistance of 
 the Spirit of truth. This aid has been promised 
 to all who will ask it in faith. Imperfect as our 
 graces and our obedience may be, we need not 
 fear a rejection from our heavenly Father, if we 
 come through him, who is " the way, the truth, 
 and the life." Our merciful Redeemer " knows 
 our frame, he remembers we are dust." The 
 heavenly *' treasure," he knows we have in 
 *' earthen vessels," and he will not assuredly ex- 
 
THE lord's supper. 87 
 
 act from such imperfect beings as we are, the 
 purity of angels. 
 
 In asking admission to the table of our Lord, it 
 is not that we may display our oivn righteousness, 
 but obtain pardon for our offences, and " grace to 
 help us in every time of need." We go not to 
 this ordinance to say with the Pharisee, " God, I 
 thank thee, that I am not like other men ;" but with 
 the humble Publican, to pray, '■'God he merciful to 
 me a sinner ^ To imagine that in order worthily 
 to partake of the Lord's Supper, we must he fault- 
 less, would be reasoning against the experience of 
 believers in every age. Neither Abraham, nor 
 David, nor Daniel, nor Job, under the old, nor the 
 apostles of our Lord themselves under the nez^ dis- 
 pensation, could lay claim to perfection. What 
 then are the indispensable qualifications for ad- 
 mission to the table of communion? To obviate 
 your difficulties, I will offer for your consideration 
 the sentiments ^ of some eminent divines on this 
 subject. 
 
 The qualifications for worthily receiving this 
 ordinance are thus epitomized in that admirable 
 summary of Christian doctrine, the Westminster 
 Assembly's Shorter Catechism. 
 
 *' It is required of them that would worthily par- 
 take of the Lord's Supper, that they examine them- 
 selves of their knowledge to discern the Lord's 
 body; of their faith to feed upon him ; of their re- 
 pentance, love, and new obedience; lest coming 
 unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to them- 
 selves." 
 
 Professor Osterwald says, in his excellent sum- 
 mary of Christian doctrine, " Every one who truly 
 believes in Christ, and repents of sin, and sincerely 
 wishes to advance in holiness, should partake of 
 
 * See Catechism for youth, page 195. 
 
88 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 this ordinance as one of the principal means of 
 advancing in the Christian life." 
 
 Dr. A. Clarke says, " It may be asked, who 
 then should approach this awful ordinance ?'* 
 
 "First, I answer, every believer in Christ Jesus, 
 who is saved from his sins, has a I'ight to come. 
 Such are of the family of God, and this bread be- 
 longs to his children. On this there can be but 
 one opinion. Second: Every genvime penitent is 
 invited to come, and consequently has a right, be- 
 cause he needs atoning blood; and by this ordi- 
 nance, the blood shed for the remission of sins, is 
 expressively represented. ' But I am not worthy,' 
 the convert will say. And who is ? There is not 
 a saint on earth, or an archangel in heaven who is 
 worthy to sit down at the table of the Lord. ' But 
 does not the apostle intimate that none but the 
 worthy should partake of it ?' No — He has said 
 nothing of the kind. He solemnly reprehends 
 those who eat and drink unworthily, but there is 
 an essential difference between eating and drinking 
 worthily, and being worthy thus to eat and drink. 
 
 " None therefore are excluded but the impeni- 
 tent, the unbelieving transgressor, and the profane. 
 Believers, however weak, have a right to come; 
 and the strongest in faith need the grace of this 
 ordinance. Penitents should come, as all the pro- 
 mises of pardon mentioned in the Bible are made 
 to such. None are ivorthy of the entertainment 
 (though all these will partake of it worthily,) but 
 it is freely provided by him, who is the Lamb of 
 God, who was slain for us, and who alone is 
 ivorthy to receive glory, majesty, dominion, and 
 power, for ever and ever."* 
 
 *' But," says another excellent writer,t " we may 
 
 * Discourse on the Eucharist, page 88. 
 t Dr. Duncan's Devout Communicant. 
 
THE lord's supper. 89 
 
 affirm with the greatest certainty, that no serious 
 person who sincerely wished and endeavoured to 
 communicate worthily, could communicate un- 
 worthily. For God accepteth a man according to 
 what he hath. For even when one who hath been 
 a stranger to religion, comes to the table of the 
 Lord with sorrow and contrition for sin, sincere 
 purposes of amendment, and of being answerable 
 to the death of Christ ; though his religion go no 
 further at present than honest purpose and inten- 
 tion, he communicates worthily. Every one who 
 sincerely repents of his past transgressions, and 
 carefully endeavours to bring his heart and life in 
 conformity to the gospel, is within the terms of 
 mercy ; and when he comes to the holy Sacrament, 
 in obedience to the command of Christ, as a mean 
 of improvement in holiness, though he be not puri- 
 fied to that degree he could wish, yet may he be 
 perfectly secure, that he cannot in any sense be 
 said to eat and drink unworthily, so as to ' be 
 guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, or to ' eat 
 and drink condemnation to himself.'" 
 
 *' Unworthy communicating must have been a 
 deliberate sin, not a sin of infirmity, otherwise it 
 would not have been so severely punished as it 
 was among the Corinthians, with bodily diseases 
 and death. Nor should it ever be forgotten, that 
 whatever was meant by recording the guilt and 
 danger of unworthy communicating, the apostle 
 could not have intended by it to terrify any person 
 from coming to the Lord's Supper, but only to 
 make Christians more circumspect in their ap- 
 proaches to it ; for in the very next words after 
 speaking of being ' guilty of the body and blood of 
 the Lord,' he adds, ' but let a man examine him- 
 self, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of 
 that cup.'" 
 
 Combining together the substance of what has 
 7 
 
90 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 been stated above, it cannot be difficult for any one 
 who is truly desirous of becoming a communicant, 
 to ascertain whether he is in a state that will autho- 
 rize his partaking M-ith propriety of this ordinance. 
 Let him ask himself as in the presence of God, 
 with reference to a final judgment, whether he sin- 
 cerely believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the 
 great sacrifice for human guilt, and trusts in his 
 righteousness and atonement for salvation; whether 
 he feels the love of Christ constraining him to 
 depart from what is evil, and to practice what is 
 good ; whether he sincerely repents of past offences 
 against God and man, whether he resolves, ( divine 
 grace assisting him) that he will conform in his 
 life and temper with the principles of the gospel ; 
 whether he believes the sacred Scriptures to be 
 given by divine inspiration, and regards them as 
 the infallible rule of his faith and practice. 
 
 Having these few plain principles for his guide, 
 and having resolved to pursue a conduct that will 
 correspond with them, he need not hesitate on the 
 question of enlisting under the banner of the 
 cross, assured that he will receive all that aid from 
 above, which will be necessary to " fight the good 
 fight of faith," and to " come off more than con- 
 queror through him that loved us." (Rom. viii. 
 37.) I remain as ever, respectfully yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XVL 
 
 My Dear Friend — I rejoice that your difficulties 
 begin to vanish ; that your scruples are in a mea- 
 sure removed, and that you have no longer those 
 appalling fears in relation to the consequences of 
 partaking of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
 without having attained that imaginary perfection, 
 
THE lord's supper. 91 
 
 which you once thought indispensable to the 
 worthy receiving of it. I am glad to find that 
 those expressions in the epistles of the apostle 
 Paul to the Corinthian and Hebrew converts no 
 longer make you " shudder ivith horror at the 
 bare contemplation of the penalties of an un- 
 worthy communion." Believe it, this ordinance 
 was never intended to be a stumbling block, or an 
 object of terror. It is a feast of love, it is a com- 
 munion of Christian sympathy. Like Jacob's 
 ladder, it is a delightful medium of intercourse 
 between heaven and earth. It often raises the 
 affections above terrestrial objects, and gives the 
 believer a foretaste of the joys of paradise. 
 
 Why then longer delay an approach to this sa- 
 cred ordinance ? You answer, that you cannot 
 venture in your present state of ignorance re- 
 specting this holy Sacrament ; that you doubt 
 whether you have that knoivledge of it, which 
 will enable you to " discern the Lord's body," 
 and you express an " anxious desire" to be better 
 informed respecting the nature, design, and bene- 
 Jits of this ordinance. On this subject, my dear 
 friend, much has been written, and there are many 
 excellent treatises, containing information far more 
 extensive than any thing I can pretend to offer. I 
 cannot however refuse the request you make, but 
 will cheerfully assist you by abridging within as 
 short a compass as I can, what I regard as most 
 important on this interesting subject, in those 
 books I have at hand. 
 
 In order fully to comprehend the nature and de- 
 sign of the sacred ordinance, the first inquiry to 
 which our attention should be directed is, the true 
 meaning of the highly figurative language which 
 our Lord uses in relation to it. 
 
 When he had "taken bread," says the evange- 
 list Mark, " he blessed, and brake it, and gave to 
 
^ THE SACRAMENT OP 
 
 them (the apostles) and said, take, eat, this is my 
 body. And he took the cup, and when he had 
 given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all 
 drank of it ; and he said unto them, this is my 
 blood of the Neiv Testament, (covenant,) which 
 is shed for many." 
 
 About a year prior to the institution of this Sa- 
 crament, our Lord addressing himself to a mixed 
 assembly of Jews, referring no doubt to his ap- 
 proaching death on the cross, says, " I am the 
 bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never 
 hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never 
 thirsty And immediately after he says, *' verily, 
 verily, 1 say unto you, he that believeth on me, 
 hcUh everlasting life. I am that bread of life ; T 
 am the living bread that came down from heaven. 
 If a man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever, 
 and the bread that I will give him is my flesh, 
 which I will give for the life of the world. The 
 Jews therefore strove among themselves saying, 
 how can this man give us his flesh to eat ? Then 
 Jesus said to them, verily, I say unto you, except 
 ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his 
 blood, ye have no life in you. \Yhoso eateth my 
 flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; 
 not as your fathers did eat manna in the wilder- 
 ness and are dead : he that eateth this bread 
 shall live for ever." 
 
 This language is highly figurative ; but it is 
 deeply interesting. Literally to eat the flesh and 
 drink the blood of the Saviour, we know is an 
 impossibility. When he brake the bread before 
 his apostles and said, " this is my body," they 
 could not have misunderstood him. His body 
 was then before their eyes unbroken, and entire. 
 When he took the cup and said, " this is my 
 blood of the New Testament, which is shed for 
 many," it was most evident to the senses of the 
 
THE lord's supper. 93 
 
 apostles, that not a drop of his blood had then 
 been shed. They must have considered these 
 emblems as signifying events that were to happen. 
 
 In like manner when he said to his disciples, 
 *' I am the door ;" "I am the good Shepherd;" 
 " I am the vine ; ye are the branches ;" he spoke 
 according to the figurative style of speech, then 
 so common throuorhout the East. On some occa- 
 sions this language appears to have been too am- 
 biguous for the apprehension of his hearers. As 
 when he said, (probably pointing to his own 
 body,) " Destroy this temple, and in three days I 
 will raise it up." The .Tews mistaking his mean- 
 ing replied, " Forty and six years was this temple 
 in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three 
 days ?" " But he spake," says the evangelist, 
 *' of the temple of his body." In like manner he 
 was misapprehended by the woman of Samaria, 
 when he conversed with her respecting the living 
 water which he should give, of which whoever 
 should drink, would never thirst again. So also, 
 after the remarkable discourse recorded in the 6th 
 chapter of St. John's gospel, many of his disci- 
 ples are said to have gone back, and walked no 
 more with him. Happily for believers at subse- 
 quent periods, the meaning of our Lord needs not 
 to be misunderstood, where he discourses of " eat- 
 ing his flesh, and drinking his blood." 
 
 By this metaphorical language, he designed no 
 doubt, to instruct us, that hy faith we are to feed 
 on him ; that by meditating devoutly on his death 
 and resurrection, we should thence derive that 
 knowledge, and kindle those affections, which 
 are necessary for the life and nourishment of our 
 souls ; that in his death we are to contemplate the 
 sacrifice made for our guilt, and the means of re- 
 conciliation, and peace with our heavenly Father ; 
 that here we have a 'pledge of our own resurrec- 
 
94 THE SACRAMENT Of 
 
 tion, and of our admission to the paradise of God, 
 when removed from this scene of temptation, of 
 suffering, and sin ; that from the contemplation of 
 his atoning death, our souls are to be nourished 
 with that hope and faith, that will enable us to 
 overcome the world, and tliat will continue till the 
 close of life, a never-failing source of the most 
 precious, and heart-soothing consolations. Such 
 are the views which Christians in the first ages of 
 the church had of these memorable words of our 
 Lord. 
 
 Tertullian thus explains them : — " In order," 
 says he, " to have life, we must seek the word 
 that was made flesh. We must feed on it by 
 hearing, we must masticate it by meditation, and 
 digest it by/<:n7/i." 
 
 Origen says, that the words above quoted from 
 the evangelist John, are " the letter that kills, if 
 taken in a literal sense ;" and St. Augustine ob- 
 serves, " that whenever the words of our Lord 
 appear to enjoin the commission of a crime, when 
 taken in a literal sense, we should understand 
 them figuratively ;'' and brings as an example, 
 the words already referred to. 
 
 An ingenious author, who published a few years 
 since a treatise* on the Lord's Supper, has endea- 
 voured to illustrate this figurative language of our 
 Lord, in two dialogues between a father and his 
 son. He maintains that by "eating the flesh, and 
 drinking the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ," is 
 meant " the soul's subsisting on his divine love, 
 and divine ivisdom; and that these divine prin- 
 ciples are intended to be received by man, who 
 for that end is endowed with the two receptive 
 
 * See a Tract entitled the " The True End and Design 
 of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper." By John 
 Clowe, Rector of St. John's Church, Manchester. 
 
95 
 
 faculties, the ivill and the understanding; the will 
 to receive love^ and the understanding to receive 
 vjisdom; and that whoever thus receives love and 
 wisdom^ at the same time, receives Jesus Christ 
 and his lifs, and together therewith all the bles- 
 sings of redemption." 
 
 In support of this opinion he states that God is 
 declared by an inspired apostle, to be "/ot'e," and 
 that our Lord proclaimed himself to be, " the light 
 of the world ; that we are taught that " man 
 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
 that proceedeth out of the mouth of God';" that 
 we are instructed, " to labour not for the meat that 
 perisheth, but for that which endureth to everlast- 
 ing life;" that our Lord pronounced a blessing on 
 those who '■'"hunger and thirst after righteousness," 
 and declared that it was "Azs ineat to do the will 
 of him who sent him :" that in these words we are 
 taught plainly what those good and substantial ob- 
 jects are, that yield wholesome nourishment to the 
 spirit ; that they are the divine love and divine 
 ivisdom of Jesus Christ and his word. All the 
 good7iess and truth of God, therefore, whether 
 manifested in his word, or in his works, is the 
 proper and wholesome food of man's spirit."* 
 
 The preceding observations I trust will be con- 
 sidered as sufficiently explanatory of our Lord's 
 meaning, at the first institution of his Supper, 
 when he said of the bread, " this is my body; take, 
 eat;" and of the wine, "this is the New Testa- 
 ment in my blood; drink ye all of it:" or as he else- 
 where declares, " my flesh is meat indeed, and my 
 blood is drink indeed." These material emblems 
 were certainly intended to signify that spiritual 
 food, which when received by faith, nourishes the 
 soul to everlasting life. I am yours, very truly. 
 
 *^ee Clowe's Treatise on the Sacrament, p. 30, 34. 
 
96 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Mr Dear Friend — Having in a former letter col- 
 lected within as short a compass as I could, con- 
 sistently with perspicuity, the account of the origi- 
 nal institution of the Lord's Supper, as recorded by 
 three evangelists, and the apostle Paul; and having 
 in my last letter endeavoured to explain the figura- 
 tive language used by our Lord himself, in relation 
 to this ordinance, I proceed, in conformity with 
 your request, to illustrate more fully its nature and 
 design. 
 
 As this sacrament was instituted on the very 
 night on which the Jewish Passover was annually 
 observed ; as it resembles it in many striking par- 
 ticulars; and as it appears evidenUy to have been 
 designed as a substitute, in place of the Mosaic 
 rite, we shall find it instructive and useful, to re- 
 ►view the circumstances and design of this ancient 
 ceremony. 
 
 Four hundred and thirty years had now elapsed 
 from the calling of Abraham, and two hundred 
 and fifteen from the migration of the children of 
 Israel, to the land of Egypt. Within this period, 
 the memory of Joseph and of his services had no 
 doubt been lost. Tlie descendants of himself and 
 of his brethren, remained a distinct people. Their 
 occupation was principally grazing, which was 
 held in great contempt by the Egyptians. The 
 Israelites were accordingly treated witii great cruelty 
 by their masters. But though oppressed, they in- 
 creased in number with such astonishing rapidity, 
 that the king of Egypt became fearful, lest in case 
 of war between him and any of the neighbouring 
 kings, these strangers might join his enemies ; and 
 " so get them up out of the land." He therefore, 
 ** set task masters over them, to afflict them with 
 
THE lord's supper. 97 
 
 burdens ; and made them serve with rigour." He 
 *'made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in 
 mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service 
 in the field — all their service was with rigour." 
 (Exod. i. 14.) But as these despised strangers 
 continued to multiply notwithstanding the oppres- 
 sion they underwent ; the king of Egypt proceeded 
 one step further in crueUy, and passed an edict, 
 directing all the male Hebrew children to be put 
 to death. To give effect to this law, he ordered 
 all his own people saying, " Every (Jewish) son 
 that is born, ye shall cast into the river; but every 
 daughter ye shall save alive." (Exod. i. 22.) 
 
 Under circumstances of such enormous cruelty 
 on the part of the oppressors, and of intolerable 
 misery on the part of the oppressed, Jehovah 
 took compassion on the children of Israel, and de- 
 termined to deliver them by the agency of his 
 servant Moses. Accordingly he appeared to this 
 chosen instrument, saying, I have surely seen the 
 affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and 
 have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters, 
 for I know their sorrows, and I am come down to 
 deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians, and 
 to bring them up out of that land, unto a good land, 
 and a large ; unto a land flowing with milk and 
 honey. Come now therefore, and I will send thee 
 unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my 
 people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 
 (Exod. iii. 7, 10.) 
 
 Moses, at the command of God, went accord- 
 ingly to Pharaoh, to persuade him to let the chil- 
 dren of Israel depart peaceably from his territory. 
 But the king's heart was hardened by avarice. He 
 had found the service of the Israelites too profitable 
 to be gratuitously surrendered. He accordingly re- 
 fused to let them go. But the measure was al- 
 ready determined by unerring wisdom, and almighty 
 
99 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 power insured its accomplishtxient. Various plagues 
 were miraculously inflicted on him and on his peo^ 
 pie, to subdue their opposition. They still how- 
 ever resisted, till finally at the command of God, 
 his own, and the first-born of the whole nation of 
 the Egyptians, were slain in one night by a de- 
 stroying messenger from heaven. When this tre- 
 mendous blow was struck, the children of Israel 
 were specially exempted from its effects. While 
 the first-born of their oppressors were destroyed, 
 theirs were continued in life. In commemoration 
 of so signal a deliverance, the feast of the Passover 
 was instituted. 
 
 This rite was to be perpetual. " Thou shalt 
 therefore keep this ordinance," says the almighty- 
 Lawgiver, to Moses, " in his season from year to 
 year," " thou shalt observe this thing as an ordi- 
 nance to thee and to thy ^ons forever; and it shall 
 be for a sipi unto thee, upon thy hand, and for a 
 memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law 
 may be in thy mouth ; for with a strong hand hath 
 the Lord brought thee out of Egypt." 
 
 The manner in which this ordinance was kept, 
 was as follows. " On* the tenth of the month 
 Nisan, (which answers to our March) every family 
 in Israel, (or if the family was too small, two 
 neighbouring families joined together,) was di- 
 rected to take a male lamb, or kid (for the origi- 
 nal signifies either,) under a year old, and ivithout 
 blemish. This was to be shut up until the four- 
 teenth day of the month, when it was to be killed 
 in the evening." 
 
 " They were then to take a bunch of hyssop, 
 and dipping it in the blood, they were to strike it 
 on the two side posts, and the upper door posts, 
 of every house where they ate it ; and so not stir 
 
 * See Stackhouse, p. 375, 
 
THE lord's supper, 99 
 
 out till morning. This lamb was to be dressed 
 vj/wle; roasted, not boiled, because roasting was a 
 speedier way of dressing it. But it was to be 
 roasted thoroughly, because it was all to be eaten; 
 not a bone of it was to be broken ; and if any 
 remained it was to be burned ; for it was forbid- 
 den to suffer this sacred victim to putrefy. It 
 was to be eaten standing, and in haste; to repre- 
 sent the circumstances of persons just beginning 
 a journey ; with hitter herbs, to recall the bitter 
 servitude of Egypt; with unleavened bread, in 
 memory of their deliverance being so sudden that 
 they had not time to leaven their bread for their 
 journey. It was necessary that not less than ten, 
 (as Josephus informs us) nor more than twenty 
 should celebrate this feast together." 
 
 By some of the early fathers of the Christian 
 church, the very form of benediction and praise 
 which was anciently used in the celebration of this 
 solemnity, has been preserved. " Blessed,"* said 
 the observers of this rite, " be the Lord, the Sove- 
 reign of the world, who has redeemed us from 
 Egypt — us, and our fathers ; and who has com- 
 manded us this night to eat a lamb and unleav- 
 ened bread." 
 
 It was their practice during the days of unleav- 
 ened bread, to invite the nearest relations to the 
 feast, and at the close of the same, the best bread 
 was brought, which the master of the family 
 broke, and distributed to each of his guests. In 
 doing this he said, " This is the bread of affliction 
 which our fathers ate in Egypt." He then took 
 the cup of v/ine, of which after he had drunk, all 
 the company who had been circumcised, drank 
 also. He then returned thanks, after which he 
 recalled to their remembrance the circumstances of 
 
 * See Durand sur la Sainte Cene. p. 150. 
 
100 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 their deliverance from Egyptian servitude ; and 
 they closed the ceremony with a hymn, or psalm. 
 
 Justin Martyr has preserved the ancient for- 
 mula of the Passover as used by the Jews in 
 the time of Esdras. " This pas sover,^^ said they, 
 *' is our Saviour and Refuge — sio^nifying without 
 doubt, that these were the symbols of their servi- 
 tude and deliverance — and not literally, that the 
 bread of affliction was their Saviour and Refuge." 
 
 I am yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 My Dear Friend — Having taken a view of the 
 leadino; circumstances connected with the Jewish 
 Passover, let us view it in connexion with those 
 that accompanied the institution of the Lord's 
 Supper. That our Lord intended this ordinance 
 to be a substitute for the Mosaic rite, there can be 
 little doubt ; and that there are many striking points 
 of resemblance between the two institutions, seems 
 to be equally clear. 
 
 The apostle Paul in his first epistle to the Co- 
 rinthians (ch. V. 7, 8.) says, " purge out therefore 
 the old leaven^ that ye may be a new lump, as ye 
 are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is 
 sacrificed for us ; therefore let us keep \\\q feast , 
 not with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; 
 but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and 
 truth." And the apostle Peter in his first epistle, 
 speaks of " the sprinkling of the blood of Christ," 
 and again, of our being " redeemed by the pre- 
 cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blem- 
 ish, and without spot." (1 Pet. i. 19.) 
 
 It will be at once gratifying and instructive to 
 
THE LORD S SUPPER. 
 
 101 
 
 recapitulate some of the most striking coincidences 
 between the Jewish and the Christian passover. 
 
 1. The Jewish passover 
 was first celebrated on the 
 night previous to the depar- 
 ture of the children of Is- 
 rael, from Egypt. 
 
 They were both instituted on the same day of 
 the month and the year. 
 
 The Lord's Supper was 
 first celebrated on the very 
 eve of his crucifixion and 
 departure from this world, 
 to his native Heaven. 
 
 2. The paschal lamb, 
 used on these occasions was 
 to be without " blemish or 
 spot." 
 
 3. This lamb was to be 
 slain on the 14th day of the 
 month Nisan, about the be- 
 ginning of the evening sac- 
 rifice, (namely from three 
 to five o'clock, agreeably to 
 our reckoning of time.) 
 
 4. The blood of the pas- 
 chal lamb was to be sprin- 
 kled on the door posts, of 
 the houses of the Israelites. 
 
 5. Every member of a 
 Jewish family was com- 
 manded to eat the flesh of 
 the paschal lamb. 
 
 6. No part of the pas- 
 chal lamb was suffered to 
 become putrid ; what was 
 not eaten was to be consu- 
 med with fire. 
 
 7. The paschal lamb was 
 roasted entire — not a bone 
 of it was to be broken. 
 
 Our Lord is referred to, 
 as such a lamb, by St. Peter 
 in the passage cited above. 
 
 Our Lord expired about 
 the 9th hour, says the evan- 
 gelist — that is about three 
 o'clock, according to our 
 time. 
 
 Thus our Lord's blood is 
 styled by an apostle, " the 
 blood of sprinklings that 
 speaketh better things than 
 that of Abel," and again 
 he says, " having our hearts 
 sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science." (Heb. X. 22. xii. 
 24.) 
 
 So our Lord directs all 
 his followers spiritually to 
 eat his flesh, as a condition 
 of inheriting eternal life. 
 
 So our Lord's body, agree- 
 ably to prophecy, was not 
 permitted to see corruption. 
 
 So not a bone of our Lord 
 was broken on the cross; 
 while tlie limbs of both of 
 those who were crucified 
 with him, were broken. 
 
102 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 8. The Jews did not cele- 
 brate the passover as a com- 
 mon meal. Ten or more 
 always assembled for the 
 purpose, and partook of it 
 with solemnity, as a me- 
 morial of their deliverance 
 from the servitude of Eg-ypt. 
 
 9. The Jews celebrated 
 their passover with unlea- 
 vened bread. 
 
 10. The symbols used in 
 tlie passover were bread and 
 wine, and bitter herbs. 
 
 11. No person could par- 
 take of the paschal lamb, 
 unless he had first been cir- 
 cumcised. 
 
 12. The Jews were di- 
 rected to observe the pass- 
 over "forever " that is, so 
 long as their economy should 
 last. 
 
 13. It always was, and 
 still is the practice of the 
 Jews, before and after the 
 celebration of this rite, to 
 give thanks. 
 
 So also it has been the 
 constant practice of Chris- 
 tians to celebrate this ordi- 
 nance together, in memory 
 of their deliverance from 
 the greater servitude of sin. 
 
 Christians are admonish- 
 ed to " keep their feast, not 
 wath the old leaven of ma- 
 lice or hypocrisy ; but with 
 the unleavened bread of sin- 
 cerity and truth.'''' 
 
 Christians use the same 
 emblems, but their bitter 
 herbs are penitence and hu- 
 mility. 
 
 So among Christians no 
 person can be properly ad- 
 mitted to the Lord's Sup- 
 per, unless subsequently to 
 being baptised. 
 
 Christians are directed to 
 celebrate the Lord's Supper, 
 as a memorial of Christ's 
 death, "until lie shall come 
 again'''' to judgment, 
 
 So our Saviour, Avhen he 
 had taken bread, blessed^ 
 (not the bread, but) God : 
 hence this sacrament has 
 been called by Christians, 
 the Eucharist ; that is, an 
 ordinance in which God is 
 blessed, or praised. 
 
 *' The many resembling circumstances, real and 
 verbal, abundantly show, (says Dr. A. Clarke,) 
 thet the ho/y Eucharist was in a great measure 
 copied from the paschal feast, and was intended 
 lo supply its place, only heightening the design, 
 and improving the application." 
 
 The great object of both the institutions, is, to 
 
THE lord's supper, 103 
 
 serve as a memorial of a great deliverance ; the 
 one from temporal, the other from spiritual and 
 eternal servitude. 
 
 The coincidences we have noticed above are 
 certainly very striking. But it is obvious how 
 much superior of the two, is the Christian ordi- 
 nance in simplicity, as well as in the objects it is 
 intended to commemorate. 
 
 Under the Mosaic dispensation, there were many 
 feasts and ceremonies ; but none were regarded as 
 so solemn, or so binding on the people, as those of 
 circumcision and the passover. In place of the 
 former, under the Christian dispensation, baptism 
 has been introduced, and in place of the latter, the 
 LonVs Supper. It is so called from being the last 
 meal our Saviour ate with his apostles, prior to 
 the termination of his ministry on earth. It is also 
 called a sacrament, from the Latin word sacra- 
 7nentum, which signifies the military oath taken 
 by the Roman soldiers, when they enlisted under 
 their commanders. 
 
 The \evyform and matter of this oath, (as taken 
 by the solders of Republican Rome) are both pre- 
 served in Polybius ; and a careful view of them 
 cannot fail to cast much light on the subject now 
 under consideration. In giving an account of the 
 manner of raising, embodying and enrolling the 
 Roman troops he observes, that when all the 
 arrangements were made, and the different compa- 
 nies formed, the Chiliarch, or military tribune, 
 selecting a proper person from all the rest, pro- 
 pounded to him the sacr amentum, or oath of fidelity 
 and obedience, by which he bound himself, " sub- 
 missively to obey and perform whatever was com- 
 manded by the officers, according to the uttermost 
 of his power." *'The rest all coming forward 
 one by one take successively the same oath, that 
 
104 THE SACRAMENT OP 
 
 they would perform every thing according to what 
 the first had sworn."* 
 
 *' Under the Imperial form of government, the 
 Roman soldier," (says Mr. Gibbon,) " in his first 
 entrance into service, had an oath (sacramentu)n,) 
 administered to him with everv circumstance of 
 solemnity. He promised never to desert his stand- 
 ard, to submit his own will to the commands of 
 his leaders, and to sacrifice his life for the safety 
 of the emperor and the empire."! So also the 
 Roman historian Pliny, in his letter to the emperor 
 Trajan states, that the Christians in his province 
 [Bilhynia,J " when they came together on a set 
 and solemn day, (probably the Lord's day,) having 
 sung a hymn, bound themselves by an oath, (se ob- 
 stringere Sacramento,) not to commit any wicked- 
 ness," &c. 
 
 When Cataline, the famous Roman conspirator, 
 was making his arrangements to usurp the supreme 
 authority of Rome ; having assembled his asso- 
 ciates and made a speech to them, he is said to 
 have bound his fellow conspirators by an oath,X 
 and to have obliged them to drink wine, mingled 
 with human blood, handed round in bowls ; which 
 when they had done, as was the practice at sacred 
 solemnities, he disclosed his plans to them ; that 
 so, conscious to themselves of so foul a fact, they 
 might be more faithful to each other.'' It seems 
 from this allusion to the practice at sacred solemni- 
 ties, that it was customary on some occasions, for 
 the people to mingle the blood of the victim, with 
 the wine then used. 
 
 As an emblem of the blood of the " Lamb that 
 
 * Dr. A. Clarke on the Eucharist, page 77. 
 t See Gibbon's Decline and Full of the Roman Empire, 
 Vol. 1, page 16. 
 
 X Sallust Bel. Cat. Sect. 3. 
 
THE lord's supper. 105 
 
 taketh away the sins of the world," Christians take 
 the sacramental wine, as directed by their Master, 
 and all drink of it, as a sacred pledge of their attach- 
 ment and fidelity to him, and to each other. 
 
 This ordinance is also called the communion, 
 inasmuch as it is the medium of communion be- 
 tween God and the soul ; and of that intimate and 
 affectionate communion, which ought to subsist 
 between fellow Christians. "The cup of blessing 
 which we bless," says the apostle Paul, " is it not 
 the communion of the blood of Christ? the bread 
 which we break, is it not the communion of the 
 body of Christ?" (1 Cor. x. 16.) 
 
 " In celebrating this ordinance," says an eloquent 
 divine,* " we are not only more closely cementing 
 the ties of nature and the bands of friendship among 
 ourselves, but we are extending our cominunion to 
 the church of Christ universal; we are stretching 
 out the hand of fellov/ship over continents, over 
 oceans, to give the salutation of brotherly love, to 
 all who love our Lord Jesus : and to invite men of 
 all colours, and of all languages, to cast in their lot 
 among us, and to take shelter with us, under the 
 shadow of this 'great rock in a weary land;' to 
 repose with us amidst the ' trees of life, whose 
 leaves are for the healing of the nations.' ' But 
 is not our communion also with the Father, and 
 with his Son Jesus Christ?' Is it not with them 
 who are drinking new wine in our Father's king- 
 dom ; with the spirits of just men made perfect; 
 with those whom on earth we have loved ; with 
 those who have often eaten and drunk with us at 
 the table of the Lord ; and with whom we hope to 
 eat and drink at the table that is above, sitting 
 down with them, and with Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven? Delightful re- 
 
 * See Hunter's Sacred Biography, vol. iv. page 166. 
 
106 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 flection ! The employments of earth and heaven 
 are the same; the animating principle, the spirit of 
 love, the subject of their praise, and the source of 
 their joys are the same." 
 
 It is also styled a covenant. Thus our Lord 
 when he instituted the ordinance says, " This cup 
 is the new Testament — (or more properly the new 
 covenant,) in my blood." (Matt. xxvi. 29.) In like 
 manner baptism is denominated by the apostle 
 Peter, "The answer (that is, the engagement, or 
 pledge,) of a good conscience towards God." (I 
 Pet. iii. 21.) 
 
 By theologians, this sacrament is generally styled 
 a sign^ or seal of the covenant between God and 
 the believer. " On our part," says Bishop Gib- 
 son, "it is pleading before God the merits and 
 efficacy of Christ's death for the pardon of our past 
 sins, and for grace to avoid them for the time to 
 come ; and on God's part, it is a conveying and 
 sealing of those benefits to every penitent and faith- 
 ful receiver." •" " The Lord's Supper," says Mr. 
 Willison,t " is called a seal of the covenant of 
 grace, because like a sealed charter it confirms and 
 assures to us the certainty of the covenant and all 
 its promised blessings — that God, in and through 
 Christ is willing to be a God to us, and to take us 
 for his people." 
 
 Perhaps it may more correctly be viewed as a 
 permanent memorial of the ratification of that new 
 alliance — (as it is uniformly called in the French 
 translation of the New Testament,) between God 
 and man, to which the apostle Paul refers in his 
 epistle to the Hebrews, as having been promised 
 by God to the Jews at the advent of the Messiah. 
 " This is the covenant, (the alliance ov agreement) 
 
 * See Gibson on the Sacrament, &c. p. 26. 
 tSee Young Communicant's Catechism, p. 21; 
 
THE lord's supper. 107 
 
 I will make with them, after those days, saith the 
 Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts ; and 
 in their minds I will write them, and their sins and 
 iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. x. 16.) 
 Such is the substance of the new covenant, (or 
 alliance,) of which the apostle has given merely 
 an epitome, and which you will find more fully 
 stated by the prophet Jeremiah, (chapter xxxi. 
 31 — 35.) Of this new covenant, the Lord's Sup- 
 per may properly be considered as a token, or me- 
 morial. 
 
 Thus when God made a covenant with Noah, 
 that he would no more deluge the earth with water, 
 he appointed the rainbow as a " token," or memo- 
 rial, of this agreement ; so that whenever after- 
 wards beheld, it might remind Noah and his pos- 
 terity, of the Creator's promise." (Gen viii. 8 — 
 18.) So also when God instituted the rite of cir- 
 cumcision, he declared to Abraham that it should 
 be a token, (or memorial,) of his covenant, that he 
 should be " the father of many nations ; that he 
 would be a God to him, and to his seed after him ; 
 and that he would give them the land of Canaan 
 for an everlasting possession." (Gen. xvii. 1 — 9.) 
 
 But this subject requires further illustration. I 
 will discuss it at greater length, when I come more 
 particularly to consider the nature of this ordi- 
 dance, as the memorial of a propitiatory sacrifice 
 made by the Lord Jesus Christ for human guilt. 
 
 I remain as ever, vours trulv. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 My Dear Friend — In order truly to " discern the 
 Lord's body" in this sacrament, it is indispensably 
 necessary to comprehend its nature and design. 
 
108 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 One excellent writer* thus describes it : " The 
 Lord's Supper is an ordinance of the gospel, ap- 
 pointed by Jesus Christ, to preserve in Christians 
 a perpetual remembrance of his death, and to make 
 us partakers of the benefits of it." Another di- 
 vinet says, " It is a religious eating of bread and 
 drinking of wine, according to Christ's institution 
 and example, in remembrance of his death and 
 sufferings for us." Professor Osterwald defines it 
 to be " a holy institution, in which Christians eat 
 bread, and drink wine, in remembrance of Jesus 
 Christ, and of his death." And Mr. Stackhouse 
 on this point, observes, " That we do therein 
 gratefully commemorate the sacrifice of Christ's 
 death, and by renewed acts of faith, present that 
 to God as our sacrifice, in the memorial of it, 
 which he himself hath appointed ; hereby con- 
 firming our covenant with God, and sharing in the 
 blessed effects of that death which our Lord suf- 
 fered for us. " 77^15," says our author, " is the 
 whole intention of the institution.^ ^X 
 
 In our inquiry into the nature of this ordinance, 
 it is obvious then that we must go one step higher, 
 and inquire into the origin of sacrifices. The 
 impression, which seems to have so generally ex- 
 isted, and which still exists, among mankind, that 
 the blood of victims must be shed to propitiate an 
 offended Deity, can be only rationally accounted 
 for, on the ground of its having been transmitted 
 by tradition from Noah, and his descendants. 
 
 The sacrifice of animals, as substitutes for hu- 
 man offenders, has been practised from the most 
 remote antiquity, and among the most enlightened 
 heathen nations, as well as among the Jews. This 
 is no matter of doubt. All nations seemed to have 
 
 * Bishop Gibson. t Mr. Willison's Catechism, p. 23. 
 
 t Stackhouse's Body of Divinity, p. 619. 
 
THE lord's supper. 109 
 
 acted on the principle staled by the apostle Paul, 
 that " without shedding of blood," there was " no 
 remission" (of sin.) But you w'\\\ ask, ivhence 
 this universal impression, this uninterrupted prac- 
 tice ? Setting aside the light of divine revelation, 
 this problem is not to be solved by the utmost 
 stretch of human reason or ingenuity. The ex- 
 istence and the continuance of sacrifices among 
 the Jews, we know, had a plain reference to the 
 great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross ; 
 and unconnected with that, they appear to be no- 
 thing but unmeaning ceremony, and cruel super- 
 stition. 
 
 Instead of resorting to commentators or to sys- 
 tematic treatises on theology, for the illustration 
 of the origin and meaning of sacrifices, I will 
 transcribe for your information some very striking 
 remarks on this subject, by the late pious and vene- 
 rable Dr. Boudinot. They are contained in a loose 
 manuscript, which I met with among his papers, 
 and which appears to be the substance of a letter 
 designed for the information of some friend, or re- 
 lative, who was desirous of joining in the com- 
 munion of the church. His remarks are as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 *' The whole plan of salvation for fallen man, 
 being founded on the sacrifice and atonement of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Person in the 
 adorable Trinity, it is necessary that the practical 
 nature of sacrifices before the incarnation, as used 
 by Jew and Gentile, should be understood. 
 
 " No sooner had man fallen, and become sepa- 
 rated from his Creator by wicked works, than the 
 glad tidings of a Saviour, to come in the flesh, 
 were revealed to him by the infinite mercy of 
 God. This was attended with the intimation of 
 the divine will, in what manner the promise should 
 be continued in the world, till verified by the ac- 
 
110 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 lual coming of the Messiah. This was to be, by 
 the blood of a victim offered on the altar, in their 
 public M'orship ; thus holding up to all mankind a 
 type of the sufferings and death of the incarnate 
 Messiah for the sins of man ; and thus, from the 
 exclusion of Adam from Paradise, establishing the 
 doctrine that ' without shedding of blood there was 
 no remission of sin.' 
 
 " This is apparent from Adam and Eve being 
 clothed in the skins of beasts, which could only 
 have been obtained from the beasts offered in 
 sacrifice. Shortly after we find Cain and Abel 
 offering their sacrifices at set times, or on the Sab- 
 bath. At this early period we find the perverse- 
 ness of the human heart, refusing obedience to the 
 will of God, and submission to his positive ordi- 
 nance. AVhile Abel, obedient to the divine com- 
 mand, and in full confidence of the promised 
 Saviour, offered a bloody victim, a lamb or a kid ; 
 Cain could not see why the labours of his hands 
 should not be equally acceptable with the firstlings 
 of Abel's flock ; and therefore refusing a compli- 
 ance with the positive ordinance of the Creator, 
 brought of the fruits of the earth, a bloodless 
 offering, merely of gratitude to God. 
 
 "It pleased God to make known his pleasure 
 by accepting Abel's offering, probably by fire from 
 heaven, consuming it; and to reject Cain's offer- 
 ing by taking no notice of it. Cain still obsti- 
 nately bent in opposition to the divine will, instead 
 of turning his vengeance on himself, and repenting 
 of his sins, revenged himself, by the murder of 
 his brother. Hence the apostle says, ' by faith 
 Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.' 
 From that time all nations, however ignorant of 
 their design, continued to offer daily sacrifices for 
 the forgiveness of sins. 
 
 "The Jewish nation alone preserved the spiri- 
 
THE lord's supper. Ill 
 
 tual meaning of this rite, and kept up the know- 
 ledge of the thing signified thereby. By this they 
 held up to view the coming of the promised Mes- 
 siah in the flesh ; that great sacrifice by which 
 ' life and immortality were to be brought to light,' 
 and repentance, and forgiveness of sins, granted to 
 all who should believe on him. In order there- 
 fore to understand the nature and design of the 
 Lord's Supper, it is necessary to know something 
 of the true object, prefigured by the sacrifice of 
 animals. We may learn the Jewish practice from 
 tlie Scriptures of the Old Testament. I shall cite 
 but a few texts. When Moses's father-in-law 
 came to him, ♦ he took a burnt-offering, and sacri- 
 fices for God.' ' And Aaron came, and all the 
 elders of Israel, to eat bread before the Lord.'' 
 (Exod. xviii. 12.) Saul and his servant met some 
 young women going to draw water, who told them 
 that Samuel was come to the city, and they asked 
 the maidens, ' is the Seer here ? And they an- 
 swered them and said, Behold he is before you, 
 make haste now, for he came to day to the city ; 
 for there is a sacrifice of the people to-day, in the 
 high-place. As soon as ye be come into the city, 
 ye shall straitway find him, before he go up to the 
 high-place to eat; for the people will not eat till 
 he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice.^ 
 (1 Sam. ix. 11, 12, 13.) 
 
 " While the Jews were in the wilderness, they 
 were not allowed to eat any meat at their private 
 tables, unless they had first sacrificed it to God at 
 the tabernacle. (Lev. xvii. 4, 5.) ' Whatsoever 
 man there be of the house of Israel, that killeth a 
 lamb or a goat, or an ox, within the camp, or 
 without the camp, and bringeth it not to the door 
 of the tabernacle, to offer an offering to the Lord, 
 blood shall be imputed to him.' So it is observed 
 by many of the Jewish authors, that God com" 
 
112. THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 manded at first that all which the Israelites did 
 eat, should be peace-offerings ; but when they 
 came into the land of Canaan, and were dispersed 
 to great distances, this was altered, (as in Deut. 
 xii. 21.) St Paul confirms this doctrine, " We 
 have an altar whereof they have no right to eat, 
 that serve the tabernacle," (or Jewish temple.) 
 (Heb. xiii. 10.) 
 
 The heathens in the worship of their deities did 
 the same. A learned Rabbi says, in speaking of 
 the heathen sacrifices, " In those ancient times, 
 whosoever sacrificed to idols, made ^ feast iqoon 
 the sacrifice.''^ This custom is often referred to, 
 in the New Testament. " For if any man see thee,''^ 
 says St. Paul, " which hast knowledge, sit at meat 
 in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of 
 him which is weak, be emboldened to eat those 
 things which are off'ered to idols ?" (1 Cor. viii. 
 10.) In another place, he says, *' Our fathers 
 were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and 
 in the sea ; (a type of our Christian baptism) and 
 did eat the same spiritual meat, (the manna,) and 
 did all drink the same spiritual drink;" (the water 
 that followed them from the rock,) typical of the 
 bread and wine in the Lord's Supper. These 
 feasts then were the proper sacraments, joined 
 with sacrifices. Thus it appears that both with 
 Pagans and .Tews, it was among their most solemn 
 rites to ']om feasting with sacrifices; and to eat 
 of those things that had been ofi'ered up. 
 
 This being the case, what infinite love does the 
 Saviour manifest to his people, in remembering 
 them in the midst of the agonies of the cross ; in 
 making such a glorious provision for their necessi- 
 ties, that, as he had offered himself once for all, a 
 sacrifice and oblation not to be repeated ; he should 
 permit them as it were, to feast continually on that 
 sacrifice in a spiritual manner, by adopting bread 
 
THE lord's supper. 113 
 
 and wine, not as his body and blood, which in 
 itself would have been impossible, but as striking 
 memorials of them ; that being spiritually receiv- 
 ed, they should have all the efficacy connected 
 with actually eating the sacrifice, and thereby 
 should become a blessed " feast of fat things," to 
 the nourishment and growth in grace of all his 
 servants in this vale of tears ; and moreover should 
 show forth his death to a guilty world, till his 
 second coming in glory. 
 
 The apostle assures us, (1 Cor. v. 7.) that 
 " Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us : there- 
 fore let us keep the feast with the unleavened 
 bread of sincerity and truth." So that by this we 
 are taught that the eating and drinking of the me- 
 morials of the body and blood of Christ, who was 
 offered up to God on the cross for us, is a real 
 commiunication in his death and sufl'erings. And 
 again, as all who ate of the sacrifice among both 
 Jews and Heathens were accounted partakers of 
 the altar, that is, of the sacrifice offered on the 
 altar; we are hence fully taught, that to eat and 
 drink the memorials of his body and blood, which 
 Christ has appointed by this positive institution, is 
 to be made partakers of his sacrifice oflfered up to 
 God for us ; in like manner as to eat of the Jew- 
 ish sacrifices under the law, was to partake in the 
 legal sacrifices themselves. So to eat of things 
 offered up in sacrifice to idols, in the apostle's 
 opinion, was, to be made partakers of the idol sac- 
 rifices, and therefore unlawful. For the things 
 which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to de- 
 vils, but ChrisVs body and blood were offered up 
 in sacrifice unto God ; and therefore they could 
 not partake of both together (innocently). *' Ye 
 cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of 
 devils ; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, 
 and the table of devils." 
 
114 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 The conclusion is therefore strong, that the 
 Lord's Slipper is the same thing among Christians, 
 in relation to the Christian sacrifice, that {he feasts 
 upon the legal sacrifices were among the Jews. It 
 is not a sacrifice or oblation renewed from time to 
 time ; but ,1 feast upon a sacrifice, already ofTered 
 up, and according to Tertullian, " not the offering 
 of something on an altar ; but the eating of some- 
 thing which comes from God's altar, and is set on 
 our tables." So St. Paul calls that of the Pagan, 
 instead of the altar of devils, the " table of de- 
 vils." 
 
 Wherefore we conclude, that the Lord's Supper 
 is an ordinance of the gospel, the same as bap- 
 tism, hearing the word, offering public homage 
 and adoration to the great Jehovah at the ap- 
 pointed time, and singing his praises ; calculated 
 to lead us to Jesus Christ, and make us partakers 
 in his atonement and intercession, being actually 
 thereby considered as his disciples; fighting under 
 his banner, and participating of himself in the sac- 
 rifice once ofi'ered up, for the sins of all men. By 
 this we become united to him through faith, and 
 live to his glory. 
 
 But it may be said, " who is sufficient for these 
 things?" and is there not danger of coming under 
 the condemnation mentioned by St. Paul ? This 
 depends on the spirit and temper of the worship- 
 per. If he comes with an hypocritical temper, in 
 order " to be seen of men," or allows himself in 
 the practice of any known and habitual sin ; if he 
 does not seek after the life of Christ in his soul, 
 and cherish a desire to be joined to the Lord; he 
 is not only in danger of, but certainly will incur 
 that guilt, in like manner as he would have done 
 in case of the like conduct in any other ordinance 
 of the gospel. We are expressly commanded 
 " whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, to 
 
THE LORD S SUPPER. 115 
 
 do all to the glory of God," If then we wilfully 
 neglect our duty, and instead of living agreeably 
 to the commands of our Lord, seek to live only 
 for ourselves, to gratify our pride, our sensuality, 
 or our covetousness ; our exclusion from heaven 
 is certain. But if we sin reluctantly, through 
 infirmity, or extreme temptation, and sincerely 
 repent of our sins, and do what we can, to avoid 
 future offences ; we are assured that " we have an 
 advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the 
 righteous;" and that " there is no condemnation to 
 them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
 the flesh, but after the Spirit." 
 I am yours trulv. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 My Dear Friend — After the foregoing interest- 
 ing article from the pen of the late venerable Pre- 
 sident of the American Bible Society, I know not 
 whether you will ask for further information on 
 the subject of the last letter. 
 
 As this is a matter of vital importance, lying, as 
 it certainly does, at the very foundation of the 
 Christian faith, and explanatory of the most solemn 
 ordinance of our religion; without carrying my 
 remarks to such an extent as might exhaust your 
 patience, I will present you with some further 
 illustrations of this interesting subject. 
 
 *' As the doctrine of the atonement and sacrifice 
 of Jesus Christ," says an elegant author,^ " is one 
 of the fundamental articles of our holy faith ; God 
 
 * Logan, vol. ii. p. 399. 
 
116 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 in the course of his wise providence had prepared 
 the world for its belief and reception. A sense of 
 guilt lying upon the mind, and the fear of punish- 
 ment from that Judge who will render to every 
 man according to his works, drove the sinner to 
 some expedient for atoning the wrath of an offend- 
 ed Deity. 
 
 **It is very extraordinary that among all the 
 people of the world, the method of making atone- 
 ment for sin was invariably the same. All the 
 nations of antiquity that are to be found in the 
 records of history, all the modern nations whom 
 recent discoveries have brought within the sphere 
 of our knowledge, however they may have differed 
 in customs and manners, have universally and 
 invariably agreed in making atonement for sin, by 
 offering sacrifices to the Deity. This fact is the 
 more extraordinary, as such a method of propitia- 
 tion is not founded in nature, is not the dictate of 
 reason, nor the result of any feelings of the human 
 frame. If we consult with reason, she v/ill tell us 
 that the Deity can never take pleasure in the tor- 
 tures, or in the blood of innocent animals ; reason 
 will tell us that it is impossible that the blood of 
 goats or of bulls, or the ashes of a heifer can avail 
 to satisfy divme justice, or purify the soul from 
 sin. A practice therefore so universal, not founded 
 in nature, nor deducible from reason, can be ac- 
 counted for no otherwise, than by considering it 
 as the remains of those ancient traditions delivered 
 to the descendants of Noah, and by them handed 
 down to succeeding ages. Here we cannot but 
 see the wisdom and watchful care of providence, 
 that whilst many other traditions perished in the 
 course of time, and are in the gulf of oblivion, this 
 was kept up entire, all over the world, in order to 
 prepare the nations for the reception of Chris- 
 
THE lord's stjpper. 117 
 
 tianity; which establishes the capital doctrine of 
 an atonement for sin, upon a sacrifice. 
 
 " Not only were sacrifices in general use among 
 the heathen ; but also among the most celebrated 
 nations of antiquity, illustrious personages had 
 arisen, who, inspired with generous patriotism, 
 had in cases of danger and calamity devoted them- 
 selves to certain death to save their country. These 
 self-devoted heroes, these martyrs to the good of 
 mankind, were held in admiration by their coun- 
 trymen, first in the song of praise, and highest in 
 the temple of fame. 
 
 *' After the publication of Christianity, it was no 
 difficult task to transfer the praise and veneration 
 which was paid to these temporal deliverers, to 
 that Divine Lover of mankind, and Redeemer of 
 our race ; who offered up himself a sacrifice for 
 our sins, and died for the happiness of the world. 
 Hence the atonement requisite for the sins of the 
 world was finished. 
 
 " More than seven hundred years before our 
 Lord's appearance on earth, the evangelical pro- 
 phet Isaiah had foretold his sufi'erings and death, 
 as well as the purposes for which they were 
 intended, that ' his soul [or life] was to be made 
 an offering for sin,' that he was ' to bear the sin of 
 many,' that he was to be ' wounded for our trans- 
 gressions and bruised for our iniquities,' and that 
 ' with his stripes we were to be healed ;' that he 
 was to be ' brought as a lamb to the slaughter,' 
 that he was to be 'cut off, out of the land of the 
 living,' and to be ' stricken for our transgressions.' 
 So that if we would form just ideas respecting the 
 great sacrifice thus offered by the Son of God, we 
 should endeavour fully to understand the nature 
 and design of the sacrifices which the ancient Jews 
 offered to God for the sins they might commit. 
 
118 THE SA.CRAMENT OF 
 
 " The sacrifices of this description were styled 
 sacrifices either of expiation, or of propitiation; 
 at once to cancel past offences, and to render the 
 Deity propitious to the oflfender. 
 
 " Such seems to have been the aim of the dif- 
 ferent ceremonies prescribed to the Jews. They 
 brought the victim to the altar. He who presented 
 the offering, put his hand on its head, thus to sig- 
 nify, that it took his place, that, so to speak, it 
 bore his sins, which he then confessed. The vic- 
 tim was then slain, and its blood sprinkled on the 
 altar. This was intended as a most impressive 
 emblem, and an authentic confirmation of the 
 acknowledgment of the person making the offer- 
 ing, (or of the priest in his name,) that he deserv- 
 ed the severest punishment, that of death itself, 
 which an innocent victim suffered in his place. 
 These sacrifices were then solemn acts of humilia- 
 tion, by which the offenders expected to deprecate 
 the indignation of God, and once more obtain his 
 favour ; intimating at the same time that they were 
 pledged to evince the sincerity of their repentance, 
 by a life of piety and virtue. Hence it is clear, 
 that the intention of these services was, to impress 
 on the mind of the worshipper those truths which 
 form the basis of all true religion ; namely, that 
 God in his nature is just and holy, that sin exposes 
 the offender to his just displeasure, and that the 
 only means of averting this, is by sincere repen- 
 tance, by a humble confession of our offences, and 
 by ardently imploring the Divine forgiveness and 
 compassion." 
 
 After this explanation we cannot be much at a 
 loss in regard to the meaning of the sacred authors 
 when they speak of the death of Jesus Christ for 
 our sins. It is in substance, that God, who was 
 willing to receive into favour our oflending race, 
 
THE lord's supper. 119 
 
 in his"infinite wisdom, in order to show them that 
 he would receive only those who should return to 
 him with all their heart, sent his own Son into 
 this rebellious province of his empire, to suffer, 
 and to die on the cross, for the expiation of their 
 sins, and as the medium of reconciliation between 
 offending man, and his offended Creator; and that 
 our Divine Master having graciously agreed to 
 suffer and to die in our behalf, has thus become 
 an all-sufficient sacrifice for the salvation of the 
 human race. In this view, liave the writers of the 
 New Testament invariably presented this subject; 
 and if this be not decidedly their meaning, the 
 clear, unequivocal import of these sacred records, 
 then human language has no signification, and can- 
 not be relied on, as the expression of thought, or 
 the means of conveying knowledge to the human 
 intellect. 
 
 When the holy Baptist, the predicted " fore- 
 runner" of the long expected Messiah, first beheld 
 hitn, " whose shoes' latchet" he thought himself 
 " unworthy to unloose," he exclaimed, "Behold 
 the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of* 
 the world." (John i. 29.) 
 
 And St. Paul declares that " we are justified 
 freely by his grace through the redemption that is 
 in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth as a 
 propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare 
 his righteousness for the remission of sins that are 
 past, through the forbearance of God ; that he 
 might be just, and the justifier of him M'ho believ- 
 eth in Jesus." (Rom. iii. 23— 26.j " For the law 
 of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me 
 free from the lavv^ of sin and death ; for what the 
 law could not do, in that it was weak through the 
 fle^sh ; God sending his own Son, in the likeness 
 of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the 
 
120 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 flesh." (Rom. viii. 2, 3.) "In whom (Jesus 
 Christ) we have redemption through his bloody 
 the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of 
 his grace." (Eph. i. 7.) " Who his own self," 
 says the apostle Peter, " bare our sins, in his own 
 body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, 
 should live unto righteousness : by whose stripes 
 ye were healed." (1 Pet. ii. 24.) In like man- 
 ner the apostle John declares, " The blood of 
 Christ cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John i. 7.) 
 "And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not 
 for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
 world." (1 John ii. 2.) 
 
 These passages from the New Testament, show 
 us, not only why the death of Christ is exhibited 
 as a sacrifice, but why he is represented as our 
 atoning Priest, who has once for all, offered him- 
 self as a ivhole burnt-offering, for the sins of man- 
 kind. 
 
 " I am the good Shepherd," says our Divine 
 Teacher. " The good shepherd giveth his life for 
 the sheep ; therefore doth my Father love me, be- 
 . cause I lay down my life, that I might take it 
 ao-ain. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it 
 down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and 
 I have power to take it again. This command- 
 ment I have received of my Father." (John x. 
 11 — 17.) " The Son of man," he says on another 
 occasion, " came not to be ministered unto, but to 
 minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." 
 (Matt. XX. 28.) So the apostle Paul exhorts his 
 Ephesian converts, " Walk in love, as Christ also 
 hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an 
 offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smel- 
 ling savour." (Eph. v. 2.) 
 
 1 remain as ever, very truly yours. 
 
THE lord's supper. 121 
 
 PARAPHRASE 
 
 Of Hebrews, chap. iv. 14, to the end. 
 
 Where high the heavenly temple stand?, 
 The house of God, not made with hands, 
 A great High-Priest our nature wears, 
 The guardian of mankind appears. 
 
 He who for men, their surety stood, 
 And poured on earth his precious blood, 
 Pursues in Heaven his mighty plan ; 
 The Saviour and the friend of man. 
 
 Tho' now ascended up on high, 
 He bends on earth a Brother's eye. 
 Partaker of the human name. 
 He knows the frailty of our frame. 
 
 Our fellow sufferer yet retains 
 A fellow feeling of our pains. 
 And still remembers in tlje skies 
 His tears, his agonies, and cries. 
 
 In every pang that rends the heart. 
 The man of sorrows had a part ; 
 He sympathizes with our grief. 
 And to the sufferer sends relief 
 
 With boldness therefore at the throne. 
 Let us make all our sorrows known, 
 And ask the aids of heavenly power 
 To help us in the evil hour. 
 
 LETTER XXL 
 
 My Dear Friend — I trust from what has now 
 been slated, you will consider yourself as suffi- 
 ciently informed, in regard to the nature and de- 
 
 9 
 
122 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 sign of the Lord's Supper. Let us next bestow a 
 few thoughts on the necessity of this sacrament, 
 and on the peculiar suitableness of the emblems 
 used in its celebration. 
 
 Its necessity arises from the constitution of our 
 nature. We are a compound of matter and of 
 spirit. The union between these is so close, that 
 the one cannot be affected without a sensible in- 
 fluence on the other. If the bodily system in 
 general be enfeebled by disease, or the nerves de- 
 ranged by fever, or any other cause, the mind par- 
 takes of the effects, and loses the full exercise of 
 its powers. So if the mind be agitated by any 
 violent passion, or the faculties be applied too 
 long, and too intensely, to any subject, the health 
 of the body is impaired, or prostrated. It is diffi- 
 cult to estimate aright the power of sympathy. 
 Our feelings are affected most powerfully, by the 
 occurrence of circumstances which remind us of 
 past events, in which we have taken a deep in- 
 terest. 
 
 After losing a very dear friend, the sight of 
 other friends, with whom that friend has been ac- 
 customed to associate, of the books read, or of 
 letters written, by the deceased, naturally brings 
 back the image of the friend whose loss we mourn, 
 strongly to our recollection ; and awakens all the 
 grief we have felt at the first moments of sepa- 
 ration. 
 
 " There is in souls a sympathy with sounds, 
 And as the mind is pitched, the ear is pleased. 
 Some chord in unison with what we hear 
 Is touched within us, and the iieart replies. 
 Wherever I have heard 
 A kindred melody, the scene recurs, 
 And with it, all its pleasures and its pains."* 
 
 * Cowper's Task, Book VI. 
 
THE lord's supper. 123 
 
 The same is the law of our nature in regard to 
 sights. The recurrence of a scene similar to one 
 we have before witnessed, will restore the re- 
 membrance of the first, with all its minutest cir- 
 cumstances. Such is the case also where some 
 apposite and striking memento has been left, that 
 is calculated to awaken in the memory, or heart, 
 ideas or feelings, which it was thought useful to 
 cherish. 
 
 " We are so formed by the author of our exist- 
 ence, that the memorial of a friend who is no 
 more, and the token of love that is past, has a won- 
 derful power over our affections. The sliglitest 
 circumstance that recalls a departed friend, awakens 
 the sensibility of the soul. The smallest relic ac- 
 quires a value. A robe, a book, a ring, or a por- 
 trait, calls up a history on which the heart delights 
 to dwell."* 
 
 Considerations like these show us the impor- 
 tance of enlisting the senses, the sympathies and 
 the affections of the heart, all on the side of piety. 
 The great mass of mankind are governed more by 
 their feelings, than their judgment. And our all- 
 wise Creator " knowing our frame," and remem- 
 bering that we are not pure intelligences, but com- 
 posed of an animal, as well as a spiritual nature, 
 most mercifully has accommodated his instruc- 
 tions and his institutions to our actual condition. 
 Without doubt he might have communicated by 
 intuition, or by inspiration, whatever knowledge 
 lie might have thought needful for our present 
 state. But facts show us that such was not his 
 will. He has left us to the direction of our own 
 minds, enlightened by his word and his Spirit, 
 and subject to all the influence which our senses, 
 or our affections, may have on our deportment. 
 
 * Logan, vol. ii. page 354. 
 
124 THE SACRAMEXT OF 
 
 The symbols used in the celebration of the 
 Lord's Supper, are of that description which is 
 calculated to affect our senses, and through them, 
 our hearts and our lives. Hence we infer the 
 necessity of using material emblems in the cele- 
 bration of this ordinance. These symbols in many 
 respects, are peculiarly suitable, and signiticant. 
 They are simple, and they are easy of acquisition 
 in almost every part of the globe. They are not 
 so costly, as to be beyond the reach of the poorest 
 of the flock of Christ. They are higlily expres- 
 sive, and admirably calculated to serve as the 
 memorials of what they were designed to recall to 
 the remembrance of believers. 
 
 Although there appears to be no natural resem- 
 blance between broken bread, and a lacerated 
 human body, or between wine and human blood; 
 yet by associating the circumstances under which 
 the Lord's Supper was instituted, with the sym- 
 bols which w^ere then used, and have ever since 
 been used, in its celebration, the heart will neces- 
 sarily be much aff'ected through the senses, the 
 memory, and imagination. 
 
 The simple elements used in this ordinance, are 
 impressive from the relation they exhibit between 
 our bodily and spiritual wants. As bread and wine 
 nourish and strengthen the animal system, when 
 used in moderation; as they sustain life, and give 
 energy to all the powers and faculties of our nature ; 
 so the atoninof sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, when 
 viewed aright, nourishes our souls with heaven- 
 ly food. It becomes "meat indeed, and drink 
 indeed," to our spiritual nature. It strengthens 
 our faith, it animates our hope; " for we are saved 
 by hope," (Rom. viii. 24.) It confers present 
 peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost ; fills 
 the heart with the most elevating sensations, and 
 
THE lord's supper. 125 
 
 prepares it for the pure and permanent enjoyments 
 of heaven. 
 
 These simple emblems are not intended to re- 
 fresh the body, but to nourish the soul. The feast 
 to which we are invited is altogether of a spiritual 
 nature. It is a feast on a sacrifice. It is a feast 
 of love. By the influence of memory and imagi- 
 nation, the soul is carried back to the first era of 
 Christianity. Like a monument of marble or of 
 brass, this ordinance exhibits to the senses of the 
 believer, the deeply tragical and interesting cir- 
 cumstance of its first institution. Looking back 
 through the telescope of faith, which brings these 
 distant objects near to our contemplation, we see 
 our Divine Master surrounded with his litde group 
 of affectionate, but timid disciples, apprising them 
 of his approaching sufferings, but mingling conso- 
 lations with his afflicting predictions ; and when 
 he gave them the broken bread, and handed them 
 the sacramental cup, solemnly, but kindly charg- 
 ing them, *' Do this in remembrance of me." We 
 can almost imagine we hear him thus addressing 
 his disciples; "Behold me, who in a few hours 
 will be suspended on a cross, dying a death of 
 shame and of agony, the peculiar punishment 
 of wicked slaves, or of abandoned malefactors. 
 Behold me the jest of the insulting priest; in 
 punishment associated with the outcasts of society; 
 rejected of men, and forsaken of God. All this I 
 suffer innocendy, to expiate the sins of the world, 
 and to renew the alliance between my Father and 
 his offending creatures. Of this great sacrifice, let 
 these simple emblems be constant memorials, until 
 I come again in all the glory of my Father, and 
 with the holy angels to judge the universe." Let 
 then all the true disciples of this Divine Teacher, 
 to the end of time, " do this in remembrance of 
 
126 TKE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 him;" for '< so oft as they eat this bread, and drink 
 this cup, they do show forth their Lord's death 
 till he come." 
 
 We can form some faint idea of the reasonable- 
 ness of complying with this injunction, by imagin- 
 ing how deeply we should feel indebted to a fel- 
 low mortal who at the hazard only of his own, 
 should have saved the life of a beloved friend or 
 relative of ours. What deep and lasting gratitude 
 should we feel for such an exertion ? What suit- 
 able returns could we ever make to such a bene- 
 factor? Yet in the case of our Redeemer, it is not 
 a fellow mortal; it is the Sovereign of men and of 
 angels, for whom and by whom all things were 
 made ; who, leaving the glories of heaven, con- 
 descended to assume a human form, to bear our 
 sins in his own body on the tree, to lead a life of 
 poverty, neglect and suffering, and to die the death 
 of a malefactor in order to atone for human guilt, 
 and to give all who believe on him, an assured title 
 lo everlasting happiness. It is this august per- 
 sonage who says, " Do this in remembrance of 
 me." Christians, in celebrating this ordinance, 
 should remember not only what our blessed Lord 
 has already done for them, but what he has also 
 promised to do. " Whosoever shall eat my flesh, 
 and drink my blood," says the Divine Teacher, 
 *' I will raise him up at the last day." (John vi. 
 54.) Wliile the bread and the wine are presented 
 to our view in this sacrament, we should recollect 
 the promise of our Lord, just recited. His resur- 
 rection is a sure pledge of our own. " Those who 
 sleep in Jesus, God will surely bring with him," 
 when he comes to judge the world. 
 
 How precious is this hope to the true believer! 
 When he looks around, and sees one friend after 
 another dropping into the grave ; when he calls to 
 mind how many fellow communicants, with whom 
 
THE lord's supper. 127 
 
 he has surrounded the table of his Master, have 
 gone to their eternal home; and in connexion with 
 these mournful recollections, when he realizes the 
 certainty of his own decease, and the total uncer- 
 tainty of the period of this event, he is consoled 
 with the promise of his Divine Master, with the 
 certain prospect of soon rising to life, under cir- 
 cumstances infinitely more delightful, than those 
 in which he is now placed. He may indeed say 
 with the patriarch Jacob, " I die;" but he knows 
 that he does not die for ever; and wiih Job he can 
 exclaim, " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and 
 that he shall stand on the earth at the latter day." 
 (Job xix. 25.) 
 
 Let corruption then be my portion, let this frail 
 tent sink into ruins. It will not continue so long. 
 After a short repose in the gi'ave, it will rise again, 
 arrayed in imperishable beauty, and assimilated to 
 the glorified body of the Son of God. " This cor- 
 ruptible shall put on incorruption ; and this mor- 
 tal shall put on immortality." Death will be dis- 
 armed of his sting, and be " swallowed up in vic- 
 tory." How soothing are thoughts like these to 
 the humble Christian, who feels the extreme pre- 
 cariousness of human life, and realizes his certain, 
 and perhaps speedy departure, from the present 
 life ! His heart is a stranger to anxiety, he has 
 made his peace with God ; and through that great 
 sacrifice, offered once for all by the Lord Jesus, he 
 hopes for happiness without measure, and without 
 end. 
 
 Although our Divine Master has submitted to 
 death for our sakes, yet "now is Christ risen 
 from the dead, and become the first fruits of them 
 that slept." (I Cor. xv. 20.) He rose as the 
 representative of his people, as the leader of an 
 innumerable multitude who shall follow him into 
 the heavens. Hence we are said to " be begotten 
 
128 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 again by the resurrection of Christ from the dead," 
 to be made alive with Christ, to be risen with 
 him, and to sit with him in heavenly places. 
 
 " Our salvation is every where ascribed in 
 Scripture to the death and sufTerings of our Sa- 
 viour ; but his resurrection was proof that the 
 sacrifice which he offered was accepted by God, 
 and that the price he paid was available for our 
 recovery. By his suffering unto death, we were 
 freed from condemnation ; but our freedom was 
 not made manifest, till he arose from the grave. 
 His resurrection then is the basis of the whole 
 Christian institution, and the ground of our faith, 
 and hope in him." 
 
 " Although he had declared that he was offered 
 up as a sacrifice, and to give his life a ransom for 
 many ; if he had never appeared again, how should 
 we have known that the sacrifice was accepted, or 
 that the ransom was paid? But when he burst 
 the bands of death and rose victorious from the 
 tomb, then it was manifest he had finished the 
 work, which the Father gave him to do. When 
 he arose, and brought back with him the pardon 
 which he had sealed with his blood; when, instead 
 of executing wrath upon his enemies, he sent 
 again the offer of peace and reconciliation, and 
 took upon himself to be their chief intercessor, as 
 he already had been their sacrifice ; what room 
 was there to doubt the efficacy of his death, the 
 efficacy of which had been so undeniably con- 
 firmed by his resurrection ? 
 
 "Here then we may hail the completion of that 
 plan, by which the world was to be redeemed. 
 Our great High-Priesl has now offered up the sac- 
 rifice that was requisite for the salvation of the 
 world. The wrath of God is atoned, the guilt of 
 sin is taken away, peace is ratified, and sealed be- 
 tween God and man ; and there is joy in heaven 
 
THE lord's SL'PPER. 129 
 
 over the redeemed upon earth. That this sacri- 
 fice was acceptable and meritorious in the sight of 
 God, he hath testified unto all men by raising his 
 Son from the dead ; by exalting him to his own 
 right hand, and committing to him the sceptre of 
 Providence, for the government of the universe."* 
 Thrice happy then are those who when they 
 surround the table of their Lord, and receive there 
 the emblems of his death, remember his resurrec- 
 tion also, and in that, the certain assurance of 
 their own. " Happy those who live here with an 
 eye raised to immortality, and whose principal 
 business in this world is to lay up a sure treasure 
 for that which is to come. Such souls are supe- 
 rior to the events of this uncertain state, their prize 
 is beyond time, and their views are habitually di- 
 rected to it. That day which shall bring despair 
 to those who have forgotten the end of their being, 
 and the grandeur of their destination, shall be to 
 them a day of humble, but complete triumph. 
 Then shall they see Jesus, the faithful, and the 
 true witness, and shall enjoy the glor}' he has pro- 
 mised to his followers. Then transformed into 
 the likeness of their Divine Redeemer, in soul and 
 in body, they shall shine throughout eternity, like 
 the brightness of the firmament, and like the stars 
 for ever and ever."t I am yours very truly. 
 
 LETTER XXIL 
 
 My Dear Friend — Having contemplated the na- 
 ture and design of the Lord's Supper, let us next 
 turn our attention to the benefits which ought to 
 follow, and which usually do accompany its cele- 
 
 * Logan. t McClaine. 
 
130 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 bration. That it is one of the most effectual 
 means of grace, that it is the seal of adoption into 
 the family of Christ, that it unites us to him by 
 the strongest ties, and promotes sanctity of heart 
 and life, is not a matter of doubt or of contro- 
 versy. But on the other hand, that in many in- 
 stances it is observed rather under erroneous and 
 superstitious views, than conformably to its true 
 design, cannot be questioned. 
 
 It has been maintained by some learned men, 
 that " the present remission of sins is annexed to 
 this Sacrament." " This," Mr. Knox contends, 
 " is the doctrine of the English Church and of 
 every church which has received the apostles' and 
 the Nicene creeds ; that it was the doctrine of the 
 primitive churches, even of the churches over 
 which St. Paul presided; that it is the express lan- 
 guage of Scripture ; that St. Paul and his con- 
 verts actually did obtain present pardon ; that it is 
 implied in the notion of justification ; that it is 
 supposed in the daily use of the Lord's prayer; 
 that it is expressly the annexed benefit of one Sa- 
 crament tints to wash for the present remission of 
 sins, and therefore, if in the other we drink the 
 * blood shed for the remission of sins,' we do in 
 that also receive the same benefit."* And hence 
 says Mr. Knox.t "I have no reluctance in declar- 
 ing, that when a poor dying mortal humbly de- 
 sires to receive the holy Sacrament, the minister 
 may administer it without scruple or strlct7iess of 
 examination, (which time and circumstances hardly 
 will permit): and if he is in an error, he will be 
 pardoned by the God of mercy." 
 
 * He refers to three Sermon?, preached by Bishop 
 Cleaveland, at Oxford, which he says prove these points 
 satisfactorily. 
 
 + See Knox on the Lord's Supper, page 117. 
 
THE lord's supper. 131 
 
 This is a doctrine which the members of Re- 
 formed Protestant churches, will but in few in- 
 stances admit at the present day.* That this rite 
 is a 7nemorial of the death of Jesus Christ, and if 
 received hy faith, will have a tendency to exalt the 
 Christian character, and to promote the happiness 
 of the recipient, here and hereafter, no well in- 
 formed believer will deny. But in this case it is 
 not the ordinance, but the antecedent graces, faith, 
 repentance and love, to which remission of sins is 
 annexed. 
 
 As ihis sacrament is an institution of divine 
 appointment, there can be no question of its effi- 
 cacy, as a mean of grace. It is a memorial ad- 
 dressed to our senses, intended powerfully to re- 
 call to our minds a crucified Saviour, with all his 
 countless benefits. When the Israelites, in their 
 journey through the wilderness, murmured and 
 rebelled against the authority of their Almighty- 
 Sovereign, he sent fiery t serpents among them to 
 punish their rebellion. For such as were humbled 
 and confessed their guilt and folly, he provided a 
 mean of relief, intended at once for the restoration 
 of health, and for the trial of their faith. He direct- 
 ed a brazen serpent to be made, and set up to view. 
 
 * Chatelain on Spiritual Healing, vol. ii. p. 89. — This 
 " healing," he says, " is universal. Every kind of crime 
 and offence is pardoned in this holy ordinance.'''' After 
 cautioning his hearers against an abuse of this doctrine, 
 the preaclier adds : " I then repeat, the pardon which Jesus 
 Christ offers in this holy sacrament, to the worthy commu- 
 nicant, is an vniversal pardon, which extends to every de- 
 scription of crime and offence." " There is then, I say, 
 no sinwhich Jesus Clirist is not disposed to forgive, on re- 
 pentance — none that is beyond the limits of the mercy of 
 God." 
 
 t Probably so termed from their appearance, or from 
 the inflammation, and sensation of burning, which may 
 have attended their bite. 
 
132 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 Every person after having been bitten by one of 
 those venomous reptiles, however near to death, 
 who should look to the brazen emblem set up by 
 Moses, was instantly restored to health. 
 
 This type of a crucified Saviour, is expressly 
 referred to by our Lord, and applied to himself, in 
 his conversation with Nicodemus. "And as Mo- 
 ses," says he " lifted up the serpent in the wilder- 
 ness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, 
 that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." (John iii. 14, 15.) Here 
 it was not the mere circumstance of lookiiiQ- on this 
 emblem, but the principle within; — it was that 
 faitli, that trusted in the appointed mean of safety. 
 So the Lord's Supper, though not of itself the 
 immediate instrument of a sinner's salvation, is 
 nevertheless a memorial and pledge of that cove- 
 nant between the Creator and the creature, which 
 secures to the latter ail the blessings promised in 
 the gospel. Its immediate tendency, when rightly 
 received, is to increase and strengthen the great 
 principles of faith, repentance and charity. 
 
 1. It is the appointed mean for increasing our 
 faith. It holds up to our view, the " Lamb of 
 God, slain from the foundation of the world." It 
 exhibits to our senses " the evidence of things not 
 seen," and strengthens in our bosoms that Divine 
 principle, which is " the substance of things hoped 
 for." 
 
 We are naturally incredulous of whatever has 
 not come within the scope of our own observation 
 or experience. Our faith often requires the as- 
 sistance of our senses. Aided by these, we obtain 
 a clear and more impressive view of spiritual ob- 
 jects, than when seen abstractedly from sense. 
 When therefore the soul, in this ordinance sees 
 through the simple emblems of bread and wine, 
 the broken body and shed blood of a Saviour, it 
 
THE lord's supper. 133 
 
 beholds in a more lively manner the unbounded 
 love and compassion of God. " Hungering and 
 thirsting after righteousness," it there feeds on the 
 *' bread of life," it drinks the life-giving blood of 
 the Redeemer, and is strengthened and nourished 
 by the blessed repast. These simple elements 
 become the means of imparting spiritual health 
 and vigour. The mind, the affections, and the 
 conscience, all feel their influence. Then anxieties 
 are relieved, fears are dissipated, and the mind is 
 composed. The world is overcome, with all its 
 attractions, its honours, its wealth, and its plea- 
 sures. These illusive objects lose their influence 
 on the heart. They are no longer regarded as the 
 portion of the soul. The worthy communicant 
 having his eye intenfly fixed on " a crown of 
 righteousness" in the heavens, "fights the good 
 fight of faith," with unshaken firmness. He holds 
 up the shield of faith to protect him from the 
 envenomed darts of sin, and going on from strength 
 to strength, he looks forward to the close of his 
 warfare, in the assured hope of victory through 
 him who "loved us, and gave himself for us." 
 
 2. This ordinance has a tendency to strengthen 
 our repentance. Faith and repentance are said to 
 be " twin graces, and can never be separated. 
 True faith leads to repentance, and true repentance 
 includes faith." The Sacrament of the I^ord's 
 Supper has a powerful influence, on both of these 
 Christian graces. The devout communicant, when 
 he beholds " evidently set before him," the em- 
 blems of the dying love of his Redeemer, not only 
 realizes, and firmly believes in the great sacrifice 
 once oflTered up for human guilt; but he is led to 
 inquire the cause. " Was it to expiate my sins, 
 as well as the sins of the world," he exclaims, 
 "that the Son of God came down from heaven, 
 and died on a cross ? Was a price of such infinite 
 
134 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 value, paid for the redemption of my soul? Oh 
 how shoukl I then abhor every description of sin 
 against God ; how sincerely ought I to repent of 
 past transgressions; and how cautiously should I 
 abstain in future from every 'appearance of evil,' 
 that would lead me again to offend the best of 
 benefactors, and to ' crucify afresh the Son of 
 God!'" 
 
 3. Another benefit resulting from this ordinance, 
 is the tendency it has to promote mutual affection 
 among professing Cliristians. It is a feast of love, 
 a communion of kindness and affection; and is 
 calculated to unite Christians by the strong ties of 
 undissembled friendship. " See how these Chris- 
 tians love each other," was the remark of heathens, 
 in the first ages of Christianity. " By this,'' says 
 our Divine Master, " shall all men know that ye 
 are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 
 (John xvi. 34, 35.) " This is my commandment, 
 that ye love one another, as I have loved you." 
 (John XV. 12 — 17.) "Let all bitterness," says 
 an inspired apostle, " and wrath, and anger, and 
 clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from 
 you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to an- 
 other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even 
 as God for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." 
 (Eph. iv. 31, 32.) And in another epistle he 
 enjoins on his converts, " Let love be without dis- 
 simulation. Be kindly affectioned one to another, 
 with brotherly love; in honour preferring one an- 
 other." (Rom. xii. 9, 10.) 
 
 This mutual affection so strictly enjoined by 
 our Divine Master, and his apostles, is not an im- 
 practicable duty. It is enforced, not merely by 
 commandments or exhortation, but by example. 
 Our Lord might well in this respect, as in all 
 others, charge us " to follow him," for he loved us 
 while we were yet enemies. His incarnation, his 
 
THE lord's supper. 135 
 
 instructions, his sufferings, his miracles, and his 
 death, all are evidence of a transcendant, an un- 
 paralleled love ; as far beyond all precedent, as it 
 is beyond the reach of complete imitation. 
 
 So among the first converts to Christianity, 
 what love and harmony, what confidence and union 
 prevailed ! Although " not many wise men after 
 the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble," were 
 at first called, (1 Cor. i. 26.) yet so rich were 
 those primitive Christians in faith, so "kindly 
 affectioned," that they sympathized with each 
 other in all their sufferings. All distinctions ari- 
 sing from rank, from talents, and from wealth, dis- 
 appeared among them. Alihough " being many," 
 they considered themselves as "one body in Christ 
 Jesus, and every one, members one of another." 
 (Rom. xii. 5.) " All that believed were together, 
 and had all things common ; and sold their pos- 
 sessions and goods, and parted them to all men, 
 as every man had need; and they continuing daily 
 with one accord in the temple, and in breaking 
 bread, from house to house ; (that is, celebrating 
 this ordinance in their religious assemblies, then 
 only held in private houses,) did eat their meat 
 (food) with gladness, and singleness of heart, 
 praising God, and having favour with all the peo- 
 ple." (Acts ii. 44, 45, 46, 47.) What a picture 
 of mutual kindness, of union, of sympathy, of 
 compassion and social enjoyment, does this short 
 account of the first Jewish converts give to the 
 reader ! Such also were the blessed effects of 
 Christianity among those early heathen disciples, 
 to whom the gospel was first preached. 
 
 Pliny* the Roman governor of Bithynia, in his 
 famous letter to the Emperor Trajan respecting 
 the Christians in his province, says, "They were 
 
 * See Plin. Epist. Lib. x. Epist. 97. 
 
136 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 accustomed on a set, solemn day, (probably the 
 Lord's day) to meet together, and oblige them- 
 selves by a sacrament (an oath) not to commit any 
 wickedness, but to love each other as brethren, 
 and to live together as friends." 
 
 And how admirably calculated is the Lord's 
 Supper to produce these effects among professing 
 Christians ! Sitting around the same table, join- 
 ing in the same solemn covenant, enlisting under 
 the same great Captain of their salvation, having 
 one faith, seeking the same inheritance above ; 
 their aims, their hopes, their exercises being the 
 same ; how can they regard eacli other with any 
 sentiment but that of affection ? And much to be 
 pitied is that communicant, who can sit down at 
 tliis feast, with sentiments of hatred, of malice, or 
 revenge toward a fellow believer. This would 
 indeed be to partake very unworthily of this sa- 
 cred ordinance. I remain as ever, yours truly. 
 
 LETTER XXIIL 
 
 My Dear Friend — A fourth benefit resulting from 
 the participation of this Sacrament is, its tendency 
 to give a decided, and a favourable cast to the cha- 
 racter of the communicant. So long as the mmd 
 is halting between two opinions ; so long as the 
 affections are divided between two objects ; so long 
 as God and Mammon alternately govern the heart; 
 so long the character will be wavering and un- 
 steady. But when once the resolution is taken in 
 favour of religion, and an open profession of it 
 is made ; then the very fear of bringing a blot on 
 the Christian character, the very regard to con- 
 sistency of profession and deportment, has a pow- 
 erful influence on every well regulated mind. The 
 
THE lord's supper. 137 
 
 believer will naturally reflect, that after enlisting 
 under the banner of the cross ; after entering into 
 a solemu covenant with his Saviour; after having 
 publicly taken an oath of allegiance to his Sove- 
 reign ; then to prove unfaithful to his cause, to dis- 
 obey his commands, and to be cold or unfriendly to 
 his fellow soldiers, in this sacred warfare, would 
 exhibit at once impiety to God, and subject him to 
 disgrace and contempt, in the eyes of every intel- 
 ligent spectator. 
 
 5. Another very important benefit resulting from 
 the worthy participation of this ordinance is, a 
 sense of pardoned sin, and an exemption from the 
 pangs of remorse. 
 
 The Deity has implanted in man a principle, 
 which we term conscience, and which sits in the 
 bosom of the largest portion of mankind, as a 
 judge over the thoughts of the heart, and the ac- 
 tions of the life. It is that sense, which not only 
 (with the assistance of the understanding) decides 
 on what is right or wrong, but in the one case, it 
 approves and promotes happiness, and in the other, 
 disapproves, and makes the ofl'ender wretched. It 
 is that sense, by which we apprehend the nature 
 and the pleasures of holiness, by which we per- 
 ceive and abhor moral turpitude or evil. It is the 
 helm that guides our frail bark through the stormy 
 ocean of life. 
 
 It is either an angel of light, guiding us and 
 cheering us, in our passage to the shores of im- 
 mortality; or it is an avenging demon, armed with 
 a whip of scorpions, to punish our aberrations 
 from duty, and to show us the inseparable con- 
 nexion that subsists between crime and misery. 
 Frail and fallen as we arejiwe can no more com- 
 mit moral evil without suffering, than we can re- 
 ceive a wound, or have a limb dislocated, without 
 pain. Sin is as deadly a poison to the soul, as the 
 
 10 
 
138 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 Sting of the most venomous insect, or the bite of 
 a serpent is to the human body. No man can 
 commit a crime, without inflicting a wound on his 
 conscience that will leave a durable pain. The 
 impression on the moral faculty, will remain like 
 a scar on the body, often till the close of life. It 
 is true that conscience may sometimes be lulled to 
 sleep by the opiates of infidel principles, or by the 
 ingenuity of perverted reasoning ; but it will not 
 sleep for ever. It will awake sometimes w^hen 
 least expected, in the hour of adversity or afflic- 
 tion; and it will " bite like a serpent, and sting 
 like an adder." It will pursue the criminal like a 
 spectre. It v/ill haunt his thoughts by day, and 
 his dreams by night. It wfll often destroy his 
 relish for every pleasure, and make life itself an 
 intolerable burden. Look at the first murderer, 
 Cain. Sensible of his crime, he imagined that 
 *' every one who found him, would slay him." 
 Look at Belshazzar amongst his wives, his princes, 
 and his guards. While quaffing wine, in honour 
 of his gods, in the consecrated vessels pillaged 
 from the temple of the living God, he sees a hand, 
 unconnected with any visible body, writing his 
 sentence on the wall. His spirit sinks within 
 him, his countenance is changed, his knees trem- 
 ble, conscience upbraids him ; and while the pro- 
 phet denounces his doom, he believes, and trem- 
 bles, and despairs. 
 
 It is true indeed that amidst health and pros- 
 perity, while surrounded with honours, or when 
 immersed in business, the voice of conscience may 
 for a while be stifled ; but on the bed of sickness 
 or of death, it will often, exert a tremendous en- 
 ergy. " The spjrit -of>a:,man may sustain his 
 infirmities (of ■ body) ,v,hutT -a wounded spirit, (a 
 heart lacerated. by->remocs&) who can bear?" 
 "There is no escaping from a guilty mind. You 
 
THE lord's supper. 139 
 
 can escape some evils by mingling in society, you 
 can avoid others by retiring into solitude ; but this 
 enemy, this tormentor within is never to be avoi- 
 ded. If you retire into solitude, it will meet you 
 there. If you mingle in society, it will go with 
 you there. It will mar the entertainment, and dash 
 the untasted cup from your trembling hand. The 
 Almighty appointed it his vicegerent in the world. 
 He invested it with his own authority, and said, 
 * Be thou a God over man.' Hence it has power 
 over the course of time. It can recal the past, it 
 can anticipate the future. It reaches beyond the 
 limits of the globe. It visits the chambers of the 
 grave. It reanimates the bodies of the dead, ex- 
 erts a dominion over the invisible regions, and 
 summons the inhabitants of the eternal world, to 
 haunt the slumbers, and shake the hearts of the 
 wicked."* 
 
 Of what infinite importance is it then, that every 
 one should be at peace with conscience ! How 
 dreadful, to have this impartial judge, converted 
 into an avenging foe, to have it like a devouring 
 vulture, without intermission preying on our vitals, 
 and destroying the very elements of life and joy! 
 
 But how is the guilty offender to escape the 
 pangs of an accusing conscience ? The gospel 
 unfolds the plan. It directs the guilty soul to " the 
 blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things 
 than the blood of Abel." It points to the cross, 
 to the great sacrifice made once for all, to expiate 
 the guilt of the world. The penitent believer is 
 assured of pardon, and that his peace is ratified 
 with his offended Sovereign. His mind lately 
 agonized with remorse, nov/ obtains a calm and 
 uninterrupted repose. Assured that " there is joy 
 in heaven over one sinner that repenteth," he 
 
 * Logan. 
 
140 THE SACRAMENT OP 
 
 abandons his sins and his fears together, and hears 
 his Divine Master addressing him in words like 
 tJiese, " Son be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven 
 thee." This inestimable boon, this sense of par- 
 doned sin, this release from the corrosion of re- 
 morse, is one of the delightful benefits resulting 
 from a worthy participation of the Lord's Supper. 
 6. The last benefit I shall mention, to be derived 
 from this Sacrament, when properly received is, 
 the consolation it affords to believers, at the close 
 of life. 
 
 Great caution however should be used here to 
 avoid relying on it as any thing more than an ap- 
 'pointed mean, as an institution calculated to im- 
 press the mind with suitable dispositions, and to 
 call forth into lively exercise those graces which 
 are inseparably connected with future happiness. 
 There is nothing in the Scriptures that can justify 
 the belief, that independently of this influence, 
 there is any peculiar efficacy in the ordinance 
 itself, or merit in the persons by whom it is ad- 
 ministered, which should induce the ^^ present 
 remission of sin." At the same time, it is ad- 
 milted to be a very solemn, and most consolatory 
 ordinance, especially in the prospect of our ap- 
 proaching dissolution. 
 
 When this Sacrament was first instituted by our 
 blessed Lord, it was with immediate reference to 
 his own death, " He knew," says the beloved 
 disciple, " that his hour was come, and that he 
 should depart out of this world unto the Father." 
 (John xiii. I.) " With desire," said our Lord him- 
 self, " have I desired to eat this passover with 
 you before I suffer." (Luke xxii. 15.) So com- 
 municants, while they celebrate the death of their 
 divine leader, are powerfully reminded of their 
 own decease. Looking back to the ases that have 
 elapsed since the appearance of their Lord in the 
 
THE lord's supper. 141 
 
 flesh, they recal the many generations of believers 
 that have passed away. Even within the short 
 compass of their own lives, they perhaps recollect 
 many beloved friends with whom they once were 
 accustomed to surround the table of their Divine 
 Master. Their bodies are now sleeping in the 
 dust; but their spirits it is hoped, at this moment, 
 are feasting with angels, and with the Redeemer 
 himself, around a heavenly table. Communicants 
 are thus reminded of their own dissolution; they 
 are detached from the world ; they feel its vanity. 
 They rise superior to its amusements, its cares, its 
 temptations, and its trials. A holy calm, a secret 
 thrill of joy, a delightful anticipation of future 
 bliss, occupy the bosoms of devout communicants, 
 while thoughts like these arise in their minds. 
 *' What a privilege is this blessed Sacrament! 
 Here we commemorate the death of our Divine 
 Redeemer. By this, he made atonement for our 
 sins. By this he has taken away ' the sting of 
 death' from all his followers. We now celebrate 
 this feast of love, perhaps for the last time. Be- 
 fore the return of another season, some of us may 
 be numbered widi the dead. If so, ought we not 
 to regard this sacred ordinance as our Saviour's 
 pledge, that on quitting this communion on earth, 
 we shall hold a nearer communion with him above? 
 Is not this an earnest of the joy he has in reserve 
 for his followers in heaven? And can we, ought 
 we, with these views, to dread the approach of our 
 last hour? Will not that hour which breaks the 
 tie that binds the soul to earth, release it, so that 
 it may rise, and reach the beatific vision of the 
 adorable Redeemer?" 
 
 By reflections like these, the devout and worthy 
 communicant finds how admirably calculated the 
 celebration of the Lord's Supper is, to prepare the 
 goul for quitting its tenement of clay with dignity 
 
142 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 and composure; nay, for triumphing over death 
 and the grave. In the anticipated joys of heaven, 
 he may exclaim with the apostle Paul, " Oh death 
 where is thy sting? Oh grave where is thy victory! 
 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is 
 the law; but thanks be to God, who giveth us the 
 victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 
 XV. 55, 56, 57.) 
 
 I am with much regard Yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 My Dear Friend — I rejoice to hear that after 
 much serious reflection, and after humbly soliciting 
 divine aid in a matter of so much importance, you 
 have concluded finally to make an open profession 
 of your faith in Christ, by partaking of the Sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's Supper. In this resolution 
 may you be supported ; and when the approaching 
 solemnity is past, may you enjoy the fruits of this 
 act of obedience, not merely in the present life, 
 but throughout the ages of an immortal existence. 
 
 You wish to know however, " if there are not 
 some peculiar duties to which your attention should 
 be directed, prior to the celebration of this sacra- 
 ment?" Without doubt there are. The apostle 
 Paul in his First Episde to the Corinthians, re- 
 commends to those who are desirous of partaking 
 worthily of this ordinance, that they should " ex- 
 amine themselves, and so eat of that bread and 
 drink of that cup." Hence the duty of self- 
 examination preparatory to an admission to the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 The Westminster Assembly of Divines in their 
 Shorter Catechism, thus state the qualifications 
 respecting which, all persons who offer themselves 
 
THE lord's supper. 143 
 
 as candidates for the holy communion, should ex- 
 amine themselves closely and impartially. " It is 
 required of them that would worthily partake of 
 the Lord's Supper, that they examine themselves 
 of their knowledge to discern the Lord's body; of 
 their faith to feed upon him; of their repentance, 
 faith, and new obedience; lest coming unworthily, 
 they eat and drink judgment to themselves." 
 
 In the Catechism of the Reformed Dutch Church, 
 the preparatory questions on which communicants 
 should satisfy themselves are these: 1. " Whether 
 they abhor themselves for their sins, and humble 
 themselves before God on account of them. 2. 
 Whether they believe and trust that all their sins 
 will be forgiven for Christ's sake. 3. W^hether 
 they have a sincere resolution henceforward to 
 walk in all good works." 
 
 In the Catechism of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church what is required of those who come to 
 the Lord's Supper, is thus slated : " That they 
 examine themselves whether they repent them 
 truly of their former sins; steadfastly purposing to 
 lead a new life; have a lively faith in God's mercy 
 through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of 
 his death, and be in charity with all men." 
 
 "I pretend not," says a learned French divine,* 
 " to repeat all the apostle has said on this subject, 
 (the Lord's Supper) but shall content myself with 
 remarking that these words, ' let a man examine 
 himself^ signify not merely the exercise of me- 
 mory, in recalling the past and present state of his 
 heart and life ; but it directs (as the original im- 
 ports,) such a trial of the character, as that which 
 is made of metals, by which the dross is separated 
 from the ore. The meaning of the apostle must 
 then be, that every one should cultivate those dis- 
 
 * Mallet, 
 
144 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 positions of mind and heart, which would fit him 
 for the solemn transaction in which he is about to 
 engage. This is without doubt the duty of every 
 communicant, w^io wishes to draw closer those 
 ties that unite him to his God and Saviour.'* 
 
 One of the most interesting moralists of the 
 present day, (Mrs. Hannah More,) in her admira- 
 ble treatise on Practical Piety, has an essay on 
 self-examination, every sentence of which con- 
 veys instruction ; but as it would be tedious to 
 copy the whole, I shall select a few of the most 
 striking passages for your perusal and edification. 
 
 " We should examine" she says, " not only 
 our conduct, but our opinions ; not only our faults 
 but our prejudices; not only our propensities, but 
 our judgments. Our actions will be obvious 
 enough; it is our intentions which require the 
 scrutiny. These we should follow to their re- 
 motest springs; scrutinize to their deepest recess- 
 es ; and trace through their most perplexing wind- 
 ings : and lest we should in our pursuit, wander 
 in uncertainty and blindness, let us make use of 
 that guiding clew, which the Almighty has fur- 
 nished by his word, and by his Spirit, for conduct- 
 ing us through this labyrinth. ' What I know not, 
 teach thou me,' should be our constant petition in 
 all our researches." 
 
 " Nor must this examination be occasional, but 
 regular. Let us not run into long arrears, but 
 settle our accounts frequently. Little articles will 
 run up to a large amount if they are not cleared 
 off. Our deadness in devotion, our eagerness for 
 human applause, our care to conceal our faults 
 rather than correct them ; our negligent perform- 
 ance of some relative duty, our inconsideration, 
 our driving to the extreme limits of permitted in- 
 dulgences; let us keep these, and all our numerous 
 items in small sums. Let us examine them while 
 
THE lord's supper. 145 
 
 the particulars are fresh in our memory ; otherwise 
 however we may flatter ourselves that lesser evils 
 will be swallowed up by the greater, we may find 
 when we come to settle the grand account, that 
 they will not be less remembered for not having 
 been recorded." 
 
 In order rightly to practise this duty, our author 
 insists that " no principle, short of Christianity, is 
 strong enough to impel us to a study so disagree- 
 able as that of our faults. Our corruptions foster 
 this ignorance. To this, they owe their undis- 
 puted possession of our hearts. Of Christianity, 
 humility is the prime grace; and this grace can 
 never take root and flourish in a heart that lives in 
 ignorance of itself, if we do not know the great- 
 ness and extent of our sins; if we do not know the 
 imperfection of our virtues; the fallibility of our 
 best resolutions ; the infirmity of our purest pur- 
 poses; we cannot be humble; and if we are not 
 humble, we cannot be Christians." 
 
 *' Self-examination" (says Huet,) " should be 
 directed by the solid principles of religion. The 
 word of God is the rule wliich must decide on the 
 conformity of our thoughts, our afiections, and 
 our actions with our duty. The study of the heart 
 should extend to all those secret motives, which, 
 however they may elude the public eye, can be 
 known only by close and impartial inspection. 
 Self-examination embraces all those determinations 
 of the will, all those aff'eclions of the heart, and all 
 those motives to action, M'hich give a complexion 
 to the life and character. We should reflect often 
 and with immediate application to ourselves, on 
 the various relations we sustain to God, and to our 
 fellow creatures, and on the duties which these re- 
 lations enjoin, as well as on what regards our own 
 selves." 
 
 ^' One who would obey the precept of St. Paul 
 
146 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 on this subject, and who would obtain an assur- 
 ance, that he had a right to apply to himself all 
 those promises, of which the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper is a pledge, should often review 
 his life and bring his heart to a strict account for 
 all he had done or said, from the first dawn of rea- 
 son, and of moral agency. A Christian, who feels 
 deeply the importance of the apostle's injunction, 
 will often be led to inquire, Why has God placed 
 me in the world, and in his church ? Is it not that 
 I might consecrate to him all the powers of my 
 mind, and all the affections of my heart? And 
 how have I fulfilled the object of my creation? Do 
 I cherish that love to my Redeemer which should 
 ever characterize his followers? Do I study /ws 
 will rather than my ov;n? Do I aim at following 
 his example, and in all things study to obey his 
 commands? Are my motives pure? Do I seek his 
 glory as my chief object? Have I made the cir- 
 cumstances in which I have been placed, the 
 means of moral improvement and of further ad- 
 vancement in holiness ? If wealthy, have I contri- 
 buted as I ought to the relief of the worthy and 
 suffering poor, or have I expended my riches only 
 in sensual indulgence, in luxury and ostentation? 
 If in moderate, or indigent circumstances, have I 
 murmured and repined ? Have I been tempted to 
 arraign the dispensations of heaven, and to com- 
 plain of the lot assigned me ? Or on the other 
 hand, have I with humble resignation looked up 
 to my beneficent Creator, even under his severest 
 frowns, and thankful for the commonest bounties 
 of his providence, cast all my cares on him, as- 
 sured of his constant protection here, and of finally 
 obtaining admittance to his kingdom above?" 
 
 Such are some of the subjects on which every 
 person, who has in contemplation, an approach to 
 the table of the Lord, should often, and very closely 
 
THE lord's supper. 147 
 
 interrogate himself. The duty of self-examination 
 is one that can never be safely neglected. Its ad- 
 vantages are many and great. It leads to vigilance, 
 to true knowledge of ourselves, to purity of heart 
 and manners, to peace of mind, to the favour of 
 God, to the purest happiness in the present life, 
 and to the firm persuasion, of inheriting, through 
 the grace of the Lord Jesus, endless felicity, in 
 that which is to come. I remain yours truly. 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 My Dear Friend — The gratitude you express for 
 the feeble assistance I have been enabled to afford, 
 is far beyond my desert, and expectation. From 
 the views you have been enabled to take of the 
 nature and design of the Lord's Supper, of the 
 obligations under which all real Christians lie, to 
 partake of this sacrament, and of the weakness of 
 those objections that so often prevent sincere be- 
 lievers from coming to this ordinance, it is truly 
 gratifying to learn that you have derived light, en- 
 couragement, and relief. 
 
 T rejoice to hear, that after having endeavoured 
 faithfully to examine yourself, and to ascertain 
 your duty, (heaven permitting) it is your intention 
 on the next Lord's day, to unite with the church, 
 in commemorating the dying love of your gracious 
 Redeemer. If *' there is joy in heaven over one 
 sinner that repenteth," there cannot be less joy 
 above, over one lamb that has long kept aloof from 
 the fold of Christ, being restored, and brought 
 under the more immediate care of the great Shep- 
 herd of souls. Go my Christian brother, go to 
 the home of this good Shepherd. There you will 
 find safety and comfort. Ilad you been the vilest 
 
148 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 prodigal that ever left a kind father's embrace; had 
 you reveled with swine, and fed on the husks of 
 iniquity ; still you might in the exercise of faith, 
 repentance, and love, calculate en a cordial wel- 
 come to his table on earth, and throusfh his inter- 
 cession, to his Father's temple on high. But 
 when you go to this sacred feast you ask, " are 
 there not duties peculiar to that occasion ? are 
 there not meditations and recollections, appro- 
 priate to this solemn ordinance?" I grant there 
 are. But on this subject, difTerent communicants 
 indulge very different views. As you very mo- 
 destly ask assistance here, I can only suggest some 
 hints in regard to the train of thought, which I 
 should think it profitable to pursue. 
 
 I would then recommend to you as far as you 
 possibly can, to abstract your mind from all the 
 cares and solicitudes of life ; to collect your wan- 
 dering thoughts, and fixing them intently on the 
 objects represented by the material emblems pre- 
 sented to your senses, endeavour to hold a close 
 communion with the Father of your spirit, through 
 the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Remember the love of God, that transcendent 
 love which prompted him to send his well beloved 
 Son into the world, to die for sinners such as 
 yourself; that, as if nothing less would awaken 
 our love and gratitude to him, he adopts ns as 
 children, he receives us, all worthless, and pollu- 
 ted as we are, into communion with himself, he 
 pardons our offences, he sends his Holy Spirit into 
 our hearts to sanctify our affections, to communi- 
 cate peace, and consolation, and joy, as an earnest 
 of belter joys above. Wiien surrounded with 
 trials, he supports us; in affliction he sustains us; 
 in darkness and doubt, he enlightens our path. 
 He illumines before us even the valley of the 
 ghadow of death, and directs our hopes to that 
 
THE lord's supper. 149 
 
 imperishable bliss in the heavens, which is beyond 
 the reach of accident or change. 
 
 While at the table of your Divine Master, you 
 will also recollect his infinite grace and conde- 
 scension ; that "though he was rich, yet for our 
 sakes he became poor ; that we througli his pov- 
 erty might be rich:" (2 Cor. viii. 9,) that he "so 
 loved us, as to give himself for us an offering and 
 a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savour." 
 (Eph. V. 2.) Looking back to the birth of time, 
 to the fall of our first parents, and the promise of 
 the great Deliverer, your mind can retrace the 
 various types and figures, under which he was 
 presented to the faith, and hope of ancient be- 
 lievers, prior to the Mosaic dispensation. Follow- 
 ing the course of lime, you will call to remem- 
 brance the brazen serpent in the wilderness ; the 
 sacrifices of the law; the manna from heaven; the 
 living water from the rock ; the predictions of the 
 prophets, becoming clearer and more distinct, until 
 after an interval of more than five hundred years, 
 the Baptist, the morning star of the gospel dis- 
 pensation, appeared to awaken the attention of the 
 world to the rising of the Sun of righteousness. 
 Then there was joy among the angels of God. 
 They hailed the advent of the promised INIessiah. 
 They proclaimed " Glory to God in the highest; 
 on earth peace, and good will to men." Then 
 good old Simeon was heard to exclaim, "Lord, 
 now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for 
 mine eyes have seen thy salvation." 
 
 Next, your eye will be more pointedly fixed on 
 the " Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of 
 the world." You will trace him from his man- 
 ger, through a life of poverty, of suffering, and 
 neglect, to that mournful night, when he first in- 
 stituted the ordinance you so shorUy expect to 
 celebrate. You will listen to his last exhortations 
 
150 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 and prayers ; you will follow him to the garden 
 of Gethsemane ; there you will behold his tears 
 and his bloody sweat; you will recall his agony 
 and his resignation ; you will trace him to the 
 Jewish Sanhedrim, to the bar of Pilate, and finally 
 to his cross. Behold he bleeds ! he cries, " It is 
 finished." He expires ! For three hours univer- 
 sal darkness prevails. The veil of the temple is 
 rent, the earth is convulsed, while the spectators 
 of this awful scene return to Jerusalem, smiting 
 their breasts with horror and consternation. But 
 soon a brighter scene appears ; you behold the 
 great Redeemer bursting the bands of death, re- 
 viving the hopes of his dejected disciples, ascend- 
 ing in their presence to heaven; leaving them an 
 assurance of sending down the Holy Spirit, as 
 their comforter and guide. 
 
 You will naturally, my friend, after dwelling on 
 these scenes, pursue the history of the Church of 
 Christ, through subsequent ages to the present 
 day, and mark the care of the Lord Jesus in al- 
 ways preserving a chosen few, who have held his 
 doctrines, maintained his institutions, and endea- 
 voured closely to follow his example. 
 
 From the present period of general light, and of 
 evangelic eflbrt, let your viev/s be extended to the 
 time when " the heathen shall be given to the Sa- 
 viour as an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth for a possession." And looking still 
 further you will soon reach the age of millennial 
 glory, and the final consummation of all things. 
 You will, in the exercise of faith, behold " the 
 heavens passing away as a scroll, and the elements 
 melting with fervent heat." You will see the 
 once crucified Redeemer, coming on the clouds of 
 heaven, surrounded by innumerable hosts of an- 
 gels. You will see the dead arise, the universe 
 assembled, the tribunal of the Judge, the books 
 
THE lord's supper. 151 
 
 opened, and the final separation of the righteous 
 and the wicked. You will meditate on the solemn 
 sentence of eternal justice, to be passed on each 
 son and daughter of Adam. To those on his right 
 hand, " Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
 the kingdom prepared for you, from the founda- 
 tion of the world." To those on the other, 
 " Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
 prepared for the devil and his angels." 
 
 In the anticipation of this solemn scene, you 
 will naturally ask yourself, '*what will then be 
 tny destiny ? Shall I be on the right hand of my 
 Judge, shall I hear his approving sentence ? or 
 shall I forever be excluded from his presence and 
 kingdom ?" Oh how solemn the thought ! — how 
 deeply interesting this final scene ! 
 
 But while with your fellow Christians, you are 
 surrounding the table of your Divine Master; 
 while the emblems of his broken body, and shed 
 blood, are presented to view; while recalling the 
 perfect example of the blessed Saviour, with all 
 those instructive lessons, and rich consolations he 
 has bequeathed to his disciples; Avhile you feel 
 that you are now admitted to a more intimate com- 
 munion with this " King of kings," and like the 
 beloved apostle, are reposing on his bosom ; or 
 like the penitent Mary, bathing his feet with your 
 tears ; then is the moment for presenting those 
 petitions which are nearest to your heart. " My 
 faith is weak," you will say; " Lord, help my 
 unbelief. My repentance is transient, it is super- 
 ficial. Oh that my head were waters, and mine 
 eyes a fountain of tears. My heart is hard, my 
 temper unchastened. I love the world, its plea- 
 sures, its honours, or its vanities, too much. Oh 
 for purer affections, for greater love to God, and to 
 my fellow men ! Oh for a greater detachment 
 from the world, for more ardent desires of increas- 
 
152 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 ed holiness, and a nearer conformity to the exam- 
 ple of my Redeemer." 
 
 Or have you some dear friends or relations, 
 parents, brothers, sisters, or more distant kindred, 
 who have never been brought to right views on 
 the subject of religion? Now is the time to inter- 
 cede for such. Say to your Divine Master, " Sa- 
 viour of my soul ! Oh hear me in behalf of these 
 precious friends. Let these objects of my ten- 
 derest affection, experience the efficacy of thy 
 love. Penetrate their hearts by thy grace, call 
 them from the world, unite them to thyself, show 
 them in what true happiness consists, convince 
 them that separate from thee, it were better they 
 had never been born. Oh sanctify them by thy 
 Spirit, and make them fellow-heirs with thy true 
 disciples, of that inheritance in the heavens, which 
 thou hast in reserve for all who love thee truly, 
 and prove their love by their obedience." 
 
 Think too, my Christian brother, while at your 
 Master's table, of that better feast above, to which 
 the hopes of behevers should constantly be direct- 
 ed. Say to yourself, " the present is a communion 
 of love ; but it is a faint emblem of that more inti- 
 mate communion which the ' spirits of the just 
 made perfect,' enjoy with their Redeemer on high. 
 Here I am a stranger, and a sojourner. I am in a 
 state of exile from my Father's house. But soon 
 the ' earthly house of this tabernacle will be dis- 
 solved.' May I then rise to ' a house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens.' At the close 
 of my present existence, may I be able to say 
 with the great apostle, ' I am now ready to be 
 offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 
 I have fought the good fight, 1 have finished my 
 course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is 
 laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which 
 the Lord the righteous Judge will grant me at that 
 
THE lord's supper. 153 
 
 day; and not to me only, but to all them also that 
 love his appearing.' " 
 
 I remain as ever, very truly yours. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 My Dear Friend — I do most sincerely congratu- 
 late you on the step you have taken, on the choice 
 you have made, on the covenant you have now 
 publicly sealed, and acknowledged. Having par- 
 taken of the emblems of a dying Saviour's love, 
 having enlisted under his standard, and taken him 
 as the Captain of your salvation, never hereafter 
 for an instant forget that the vows of God are upon 
 you, and that you have by a solemn sacrament, 
 professed your allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Among the ancient Romans, " after their troops 
 were levied/' says a celebrated French historian,*^ 
 " every soldier took an oath to the consuls, or tri- 
 bunes, by which they engaged, to assemble at the 
 consuVs order, and not to quit the service ivithout 
 his permission ; to obey the orders of the officers^ 
 and to do their utmost to execute them; not to 
 retire either through fear, or to fly from the 
 enemy ; and not to quit their rank.'" " This," 
 adds the historian, " was not a mere formality, nor 
 a ceremony purely external. It w^as a very seri- 
 ous act of religion, sometimes attended with terri- 
 ble imprecations, which made a strong impression 
 on the mind ; and was judged absolutely and indis- 
 pensably necessary, and without which the soldiers 
 could not fight against the enemy." 
 
 In like manner, Christians, who come to the 
 Sacrament of the. Lord's Supper, should oonsider 
 
 * Rcllin's Ai'ts and Sciences, vol. i. page 310. 
 11 
 
154 THE SACRAMEiNT OF 
 
 themselves as soldiers of the cross. They have 
 chosen their leader, under whose guidance they 
 hope to pass through the wilderness of the present 
 life, in their march to the heavenly Canaan. They 
 owe him unreserved confidence, devoted attach- 
 ment, and unlimited obedience. Having taken 
 " the sword of the Spirit," having put on the " hel- 
 met of salvation," having received " the shield of 
 faith," and being shod with " the preparation of 
 the gospel," they have one plain path of duty 
 prescribed; to march forward, not in their own 
 strength, but sustained, and guided, by their great 
 leader, to that victory of which they are assured, 
 through the resisdess energy of their Almighty 
 Sovereign. 
 
 In this w^arfare, my friend, you are not to expect 
 a perfect exemption from all " hardship." This 
 you are " to endure as a good soldier of Christ." 
 You have " taken his yoke upon you ;" but even- 
 tually you will find it "easy;" "his burden," 
 will by habit, become more and more "light." 
 Though called to take up your cross daily, and to 
 crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts ; yet 
 with every act of self-denial, or mortification, you 
 will find an attending consolation, that will more 
 than compensate for every sacrifice you are called 
 to make. 
 
 In pursuing your journey, you may be scorched 
 by the burning rays of passion, or temptation ; but 
 while passing over this sterile region, you may 
 calculate on a supply of heavenly manna to satisfy 
 your hunger, and on a refreshing stream from the 
 " Rock" Christ Jesus, to allay your thirst. You 
 may often be lost and bewildered in your march, 
 but you will have your Saviour " as a pillar of 
 cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night," to 
 guide your v/anderings. You may be annoyed 
 by fiery serpents ; but rememher the *' brazen ser- 
 
THE lord's Supper. 155 
 
 pent," and through this type, look to him who 
 was "lifted up" on the cross, to expiate the sins 
 of the world. 
 
 Do not expect because you have taken the livery 
 of Christ, that you are to be exempt from trials 
 or afflictions. These are often sent in kindness. 
 " Whom the Lord loveth, he chastenelh." But 
 amid your severest sufferings, remember that you 
 have a compassionate Friend above, who will not 
 suffer you to be tried beyond what you are able to 
 bear, and with every trial, will grant you the con- 
 solation of his grace. Having nov/ made a public 
 profession of your faith in Christ, you ask whether 
 there is any test by means of which you can obtain 
 satisfactory assurance of your having partaken 
 worthily of the Lord's Supper? 
 
 On this subject the most perfect Christian on 
 earth may sometimes entertain doubts : for he feels 
 himself to be imperfect; constantly liable to sin, 
 whenever exposed to temptation. He is sensible 
 of much indwelling corruption, and comparing 
 himself with the perfect standard of the law of 
 God, he has daily something to repent of. Still, 
 however, possessing an honest and ardent desire 
 to overcome every temptation, if he finds his love 
 to God, and to his fellow creatures strengthened, 
 and that he is making some progress in the path 
 of holiness ; he may conclude that he has not com- 
 muned unworthily. 
 
 When our blessed Lord was cautioning his dis- 
 ciples to beware of those false teachers, " who 
 came in sheep's clothing, but were inwardly, 
 ravening wolves," he gave a sure criterion by 
 which to distinguish a true disciple from a false 
 one. " Ye shall know them," said he, " by their 
 fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
 thisdes ? Even so every good tree bringeth forth 
 good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil 
 
156 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, 
 neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
 By their fruits ye shall know them." (iNIatt. vii. 
 12 — 23. John xv. 36.) To these fruits, the apos- 
 tles of our Lord, in the episdes addressed to the 
 churches which they had planted, make frequent 
 allusion. " The fruit of the Spirit,^' says the apos- 
 tle Paul, " is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gen- 
 tleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. 
 Against such there is no law." (Gal. v. 22.) 
 And again, " The fruit of the Spirit is in all good- 
 ness, righteousness and truth." (Eph. v. 9.) So 
 also, *' By him, (Jesus Christ,) let us offer the 
 sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the 
 fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name." 
 (Heb. xiii. 15.) 
 
 Let it then be your constant endeavour, after a 
 season of communion, 'very closely to compare 
 your conversation and deportment, with the per- 
 fect standard of the gospel. Although you cannot, 
 in this state of probation, attain to sinless perfec- 
 tion, yet if you are sensible of warmer zeal in the 
 service of God, of greater affection for your fellow 
 creatures, but more especially for those who are 
 of "the household of faith;" if you find Uiat the 
 power of evil propensities is subdued; that pride, 
 anger, revenge, covetousness, vanity, with every 
 unlawful desire, are brought under the controul of 
 conscience and the judgment; if you find yourself 
 more indifferent about those concerns of time, 
 which in any degree interfere with the interests of 
 eternity; that you have "all peace and joy in 
 believing;" then rest assured that fruits like these, 
 can only spring from the soil of a "good and 
 honest heart," animated by true faith. 
 
 Remember too, from the warfare in which you 
 have engaged there is no desertion, without dis- 
 grace. It will be expected of you always to be 
 
THE lord's supper. 157 
 
 pressing forward. The life of a Christian is a 
 conliniml ascent. Having " put his hand to the 
 plough, he is not to look back." Although every 
 Christian is not expected to hold the first rank in 
 the church of Christ, all are to press forward to- 
 wards perfection. In the rank and station in 
 which their Master has placed them, it is their 
 duty to remain, and there to fight manfully, until 
 he shall call them to another. Your resolution 
 should be the same with that of the apostle Paul : 
 *' I count not myself to have apprehended, (that 
 is, I have not reached the object of my pursuit;) 
 but this one thing I do, forgetting those things 
 which are behind, and reaching forward to those 
 things which are before, I press toward the mark, 
 for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
 Jesus." 
 
 There is no remaining stationary in the Chris- 
 tian life. We are on a stream that will bear us 
 rapidly down, if we indolently fold our arms, 
 through a false security, in our character and pro- 
 fession. Unless we vigorously exert our powers 
 to make advances in the Christian life, we shall 
 unquestionably recede. If we bury our talent in 
 the earth, we shall assuredly incur the censure of 
 our Judge at last, and the punishment allotted to 
 the " unprofitable servant." ** The path of the 
 just is as the light, v.hich shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day." " Be thou faithful unto 
 death,'^ says the Alpha and Omega — " and I will 
 give thee a crown of life." (Rev. ii. 10.) 
 
 But you ask again my friend, " Whether there 
 are not certain renewed obligations^ under which 
 believers bring themselves, by an attendance on 
 the Lord's Supper?" That there are such, appears 
 to be the general opinion of Theologians; though 
 we find nothing very expressive on this point in 
 the New Testament. The duties resulting from a 
 
158 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 participation of this ordinance are rather matters of 
 inference, than of positive commandment. 
 
 " Every person, however, who sits down at the 
 table of ths Lord, after a serious recollection of all 
 his past mercies, should devote and consecrate 
 himself unto God. Take him for your portion ; 
 place your happiness in his favour; receive your 
 daily bread from him as his gift; pay for every 
 mercy the tribute of praise ; live not upon the 
 creature without God, but endeavour to enrich and 
 sweeten created comforts, by communion with 
 God, Resolve to serve him with your body and 
 spirit which are his ; serve him sincerely, resolv- 
 ing that nothing shall have quiet possession of 
 your heart, or indulgence in your life, that is con- 
 trary to his will. Serve him with zeal, espouse 
 his interest, plead his cause, and esteem it your 
 honour, if by your authority, by your talents, by 
 your substance, you can promote his glory. Put 
 your trust in his providence. You are yet in the 
 body, liable to all the vicissitudes of this mortal 
 state. Be persuaded of the infinite wisdom, and 
 all sufficiency of God. Let him dispose of you 
 freely. Resist excessive anxiety and fear, and op- 
 pose to all the gloomy horrors of a fruitful appre- 
 hension, the shield of faith in Almighty strength, 
 which is able to bear you up superior to every trial 
 and to every enemy. Do in every state of difficulty, 
 as the prophet Isaiah, in the name of God, invites 
 tlie people of Israel to do on the approach of public 
 judgment, (Isaiah xxvi. 20:) 'Come, my people, 
 enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors 
 about thee : hide thyself as it were for a little mo- 
 ment, until the indignation be overpast.' "* 
 
 In answer to the following question, viz.' — 
 *' Under what obligations do professing Christians 
 
 * Witherspoon. 
 
THE lord's supper. 159 
 
 come, when they celebrate the Lord's Supper?" 
 Professor Osterwald in his Catechism, gives the 
 subjoined answer: " They solemnly declare them- 
 selves to be the disciples of Jesus Christ, they 
 engage to live and die in the profession of his reli- 
 gion, to be governed in all their principles and 
 conduct by the rules of the gospel, and ' denying 
 ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live soberly, 
 righteously, and godly, in the present world.' " 
 (Tit. ii. 12.) 
 
 It is not unusual with devout communicants, on 
 returning from this sacred ordinance to feel their 
 minds more elevated and composed, their faith 
 more lively, their hopes of future happiness more 
 confirmed, and their love to God, and their be- 
 nevolence to man, called into more vigorous exer- 
 cise. When Moses came down from mount Sinai, 
 after holding converse with the Deity, " The skin 
 of his face shone," so that he was obliged to veil 
 his countenance, in order to conceal its brightness 
 from the people. In like manner, when the first 
 martyr Stephen, stood before the Jewish Sanhe- 
 drim in defence of his faith, his visage glowed 
 with a splendour, more than human; "For all 
 that sat in the council looking steadfastly on him, 
 saw his face, as it had been the face of an angel." 
 (Acts vi. 15.) In the same manner, though in a 
 far inferior degree, will the aspect, the manners, 
 the whole deportment of those, who have been at 
 a sacramental feast, show, that " they have been 
 with Jesus;" that they have caught a portion of 
 his spirit, and are resolved, so far as human frailty 
 will permit, to obey his precepts, and follow his 
 commands. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour immediately after his re- 
 surrection, was pleased to make himself known to 
 two of his disciples returning from Jerusalem to 
 Emmaus, "in the breaking of bread." But no 
 
160 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 sooner had he vanished from their sight, than they 
 exclaimed, " Did not our hearts burn within us, 
 while he talked with us by the way, and while he 
 opened to us the Scriptures?" 
 
 How often in like manner, is the Lord Jesus 
 made known, more clearly and delightfully to the 
 believing soul, in the broken bread exhibited at 
 the table of communion ! Although he is far re- 
 moved from human view, yet beheld through the 
 medium of faith, which brings heavenly objects, 
 otherwise invisible, distinctly before the vision of 
 the soul, he attracts the most perfect love, and in- 
 spires the most elevating and consolatory hopes. 
 Though raised " far above all principality and 
 power, and might, and dominion, and above every 
 name that is named, not only in this world, but in 
 that which is to come;" (Eph. i. 21.) yet as the 
 omniscient God, he knows every event, and every 
 thought that exists throughout the universe. Seat- 
 ed on his throne of unlimited power, he dispenses 
 the graces of his Spirit, and the blessings of his 
 gospel to the penitent, and the humble. In some 
 favoured moment, while the Christian is at the 
 table of his Lord, if he can catch but a solitary 
 glimpse of the Divine glory, if but a ray descends 
 on his heart from the splendours of the third hea- 
 ven, if in the exercise of an ardent love to his 
 Redeemer, he can feel that love reflected into his 
 own bosom, for " love,* and love only, is a loan 
 for love ;" to what a height will he feel himself 
 raised above the cares, and the vanities, the 
 frowns, and flatteries of the present state ! Buoy- 
 ant with the hope of a purer happiness than earth 
 can boast, he pursues his duty with cheerfulness, 
 and supports the pains and infirmities of nature 
 with resignation. " Justified by faith, he has peace 
 
 * Dr. Young. 
 
THE lord's supper. 161 
 
 with God, through the Lord Jesns Christ." Grate- 
 ful for the smallest bounties of Providence, he en- 
 dures the privations of life with composure. 
 Having his eye always directed to the retributions 
 of eternity, his mind becomes ardently engaged in 
 ** looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious 
 appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ." I am trulv yours. 
 
 LETTER XXVIL 
 
 Mv Dear Friend — My last letter stated very 
 generally some of those renewed obligations under 
 ■which every communicant is brought, by an ad- 
 mission to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 
 This subject is deeply interesting, and may be 
 advantageously pursued somewhat more in detail. 
 A venerable theologian,* states the following 
 as the duties subsequent to a participation of this 
 solemn ordinance : " An increase of all those pious 
 inclinations and affections, which were then kin- 
 dled at the altar of the Lord, a cherishing of those 
 influences of ^race, which descended on our hearts 
 in this communion, a watchful care and endeavour 
 in our lives, to approve ourselves in some mea- 
 sure worthy of the great honour and favour of 
 being admitted to so near an approach to God : a 
 pursuance of those resolutions, and a performance 
 of those vows and engajjemenls, which we made 
 on that solemn occasion ; and finally, a fixed and 
 permanent consideration that by the breach of such 
 resolutions, and the violation of such engagements, 
 our sins v/ill be aggravated, and our guilt in- 
 creased ; and that by the relapse of our souls into 
 
 * Stackhouse, p. 625, 
 
162 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 SO grievous a distemper, our spiritual strength will 
 be sadly impaired ; and consequently our comforts 
 abated, shaken, and our eternal state very much 
 endancrered." 
 
 O 
 
 These views of duty are general; let us endea- 
 vour to state more precisely, the duties v/hich 
 appear to follovv^ an admission to the Lord's table. 
 The first I shall mention, is improvement in know- 
 ledge. In order to " discern the Lord's body," 
 in this sacred ordinance, knowledge is indispen- 
 sable. That know^ledge can best be obtained by 
 a diligent perusal of the sacred Scriptures. These 
 should constitute a part of the daily reading of 
 every worthy communicant. Other books may be 
 read for amusement, for general instruction, and as 
 useful auxiliaries to the sacred volume, but this 
 should be like our daily bread. It is that which 
 must supply nourishment to the soul, and which 
 alone can give us just ideas of our duty, and of 
 the way to heaven. 
 
 "Formerly,'' says M. Durand,* "Christian 
 families were accustomed to draw riches both new 
 and old from this sacred repository. Believers 
 were anxious to enjoy the consolations of the 
 Bible. They read it daily, they read it with 
 attention, with humility and veneration. The 
 father rehearsed to his children the wonders of the 
 Most High. He conversed of his miracles, of his 
 testimonies, and of his goodness. And what pre- 
 cious fruits resulted from these exercises. The 
 children early learnt to know the God of their 
 father. The sweet fragrance of the gospel was 
 diffused through the family, and the church uni- 
 versally felt its influence. Oh happy days ! when 
 shall we have their return. If we but knev/ the 
 gift of God, if we knew what nourishment a hun- 
 
 * Vol. i. page 64, 
 
THE lord's supper. 163 
 
 gr/ soul derives from an attentive perusal of the 
 sacred vokinie ; we siiould not then be substituting 
 in its place, those light and dangerous books, cal- 
 culated more to amuse, than to instruct, which are 
 the cause of so many miseries to individuals, and 
 to the Church." 
 
 But to a diligent study of the Scriptures, we 
 should add increased reflection on the important 
 matter they contain. " Search the Scriptures," was 
 the advice of our Lord to those incredulous Jews, 
 who doubted his mission, and adhered to the Mosaic 
 economy; but the precept is no less obligatory on his 
 professed followers. We are not however, merely 
 to search them, but to meditate (Tim. iv. 15.) 
 upon them. We are to reflect on them as the ap- 
 pointed means of conviction, of conversion, and 
 of progressive improvement, in every Christian 
 grace and virtue. The Jews at Berea to whom 
 Paul and Silas preached, were applauded as being 
 " more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that 
 they received the word with all readiness of mind, 
 and searched the Scriptures daily, whether these 
 things were so." (Acts xvii. 11.) And our Di- 
 vine Master, in his last intercessory prayer for his 
 disciples, says, "Sanctify them by thy truth; thy 
 word is truth'' That word is calculated to con- 
 vey light to the mind. It directs the conscience, 
 and furnishes the best motives to regulate the de- 
 portment of believers. It strengthens their faith, 
 nourishes their hope, enlarges their charity. In a 
 word, it is like their daily food, which must be 
 digested by frequent meditation, before it can in- 
 vigorate, and support the spiritual part of our 
 nature. 
 
 How express and solemn were the injunctions 
 of God by his servant Moses, on the Jewish na- 
 tion, to remember and obey the commandments he 
 had given them ; and how admirable were the 
 
164 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 means ordered to produce this effect ! " Ye shall 
 diligently keep the commandments of the Lord 
 your God and his testimonies, and his statutes 
 which he hath commanded you. And thon shalt 
 teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt 
 talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and 
 when thou walkest by the way, and when thou 
 liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou 
 shalt bind them for a sign on thine hand, and they 
 shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou 
 shalt write them on the posts of thy house, and on 
 thy gates." (Deut. vi. 7, 8, 9—17.) Joshua is 
 directed by God, " to meditate upon the book of 
 the law, day and night." And the Psalmist says, 
 *' I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect 
 to thy ways. I will meditate of all thy works, 
 and talk of thy doings." (Psalm cxix. 15: Ixxvii. 
 12.) Such were the injunctions of God, to Old 
 Testament saints, and such was their practice. 
 Happy were it for Christians in the present day, 
 if they more diligently read, and more profoundly 
 reflected on those sacred records, which are calcu- 
 lated to make those who study them aright, " wise 
 unto salvation." 
 
 But to reading and reflection we must add 
 •prayer to God, in order that his word may have 
 full efficacy on the heart and life. 
 
 The good seed although sown on good ground, 
 will not spring up and bear fruit abundantly, with- 
 out the dews of heavenly grace ; without the 
 animating influences of the Holy Spirit. Prayer 
 is the aj)pointed medium of intercourse with hea- 
 ven. It is the vital breath of devotion. It ascends 
 to God from the altar of a devout heart, as naturally 
 as incense from those altars that were eonsecr^ed 
 to his worship under the ancient dispensation. 
 
 It is a duty positively enjoined. " Ask," says 
 our Divine Lawgiver, " and ye shall receive ; seek 
 
THE lord's supper. 165 
 
 and ye shall find ; knock and it shall be opened to 
 you." (Malt. vii. 7.) " Be careful for nothing," 
 says an apostle, " but in every thing by prayer and 
 supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests 
 be made known to God." (Phil. iv. 61.) And for 
 our encouragement in prayer we are assured that 
 "all things whatsoever we shall ask in prayer, 
 believing, we shall receive." (Matt. xx. 21.) 
 
 " Prayer was appointed to convey 
 
 The blessings God designs to give ; 
 Long as they live, should Christians pray, 
 For only while they pray, they live. 
 
 'Tis prayer supports the soul that 's wealT, 
 Tho' thought be broken, language lame ; 
 
 Pray, if thou canst, or canst not speak ; 
 But pray with faith in Jesus' name. 
 
 Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw. 
 
 Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw ; 
 Gives exercise to faith and love. 
 
 Brings every blessing from above." 
 
 Private prayer in a peculiar manner is enjained 
 by our Lord. " When thou prayest," says he, 
 " enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut 
 thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, 
 and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward 
 thee openly." (Matt. vi. 6.) These precepts were 
 supported by his own example. What he enjoin- 
 ed, he practised himself. On one occasion, " ris- 
 ing up a great while before day, he went out and 
 departed to a solitary place, and there prayed." 
 (Mark i. 35.) At another time, " when he had 
 sent the multitude away, he went up unto a moun- 
 tain to pray, and was there alone." (Luke vi. 12.) 
 And on another occasion, " he withdrew himself 
 into the wilderness, and prayed." (Luke v. 6.) 
 
 Prayer is at once a duty and a privilege. It is 
 
166 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 the homage we render to God ; in which we ac- 
 knowledge our dependence on him, and the obli- 
 gations we owe him. It is an act of humiliation, 
 in which we confess our offences against his laws, 
 our subjection to his authority, our un worthiness 
 and depravity. It is the appointed mean of ma- 
 king known our wants to our Father in heaven, 
 not to inform him, but that we ourselves may be 
 suitably impressed with the sense of our depend- 
 ence on him, for every blessing we enjoy. It is 
 not to instruct him in the number and aggravation 
 of our sins; but that we ourselves may feel their 
 weight and malignity, and be induced to quit the 
 path of e'vil, for that of uprightness. It is, tliat in 
 confessing our transgressions, we may obtain par- 
 don for past offences, and strength to overcome 
 every subsequent temptation. 
 
 In approaching the throne of the Deity in 
 prayer, professing Christians should endeavour 
 always to remember that they cannot come with a 
 reverence too profound, or a humility too deep. 
 How august is that Being to whom our addresses 
 are made ! No less than the Creator and Sove- 
 reign of the universe. It is he who " walkelh in 
 the circuit of lieaven," and fills the immensity of 
 space.' " He laid the foundation of the eai'th ; and 
 the heavens are the work of his hands. The sea 
 is liis, he made it, and his hands formed the dry 
 land. He hath measured the waters in the hollow 
 of his hand, and meted out the heaven with a span, 
 and comprehended the dust of the earth in a mea- 
 sure." " In his hand is the soul of every living 
 thing." " Who is like unto thee," mighty Jeho- 
 vah ! " glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, 
 doing wonders." (Exod. xv. 11.) 
 
 On the other hand, what are we, wretched 
 worms of the dust ; frail, erring, and depraved 
 mortals, offending daily against the greatest of 
 
THE lord's supper. 167 
 
 Beings, and the best of Fathers ; slaves of sin, 
 whose desires and aims all seem to be confined to 
 the transient and uncertain possessions, pleasures, 
 and honours of the present state ; the sport of evil 
 passions, and often the willing subjects of the arch 
 enemy of God and man ! 
 
 In truth, by nature we are very frail, and con- 
 stantly exposed to error and suffering. Our exist- 
 ence, our enjoyments, our hopes of future happi- 
 ness, all depend on the Being we address. Let 
 him but withdraw his supporting hand for a mo- 
 ment, and we return to that state of non-existence, 
 from which, by his goodness, we first came into 
 beins. If his blessino- on our industry or enter- 
 prise is withheld, we are reduced to poverty and 
 want. His are our health, our friends, our repu- 
 tation, our social and domestic comforts. All are 
 his gift, and all are liable to be taken from us at 
 his pleasure. Can we then too humbly acknow- 
 ledge our dependence on him, especially when we 
 approach him in acts of worship ? 
 
 But our prayers in order to obtain the objects of 
 our desires, should be presented in the name, and 
 through the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ; 
 they should be fervent, sincere, in a firm trust in 
 God, importunate, and for such things, as upon 
 the whole, are for our best interest, and agreeable 
 to the will of God. And if made willi dispositions 
 like these, we may rest assured that our prayers 
 will be answered. We may lawfully ask for pros- 
 perity, for health, for long life, as well for our- 
 selves, as for those whom we love ; but whether 
 all these, or any of them will be for our ultimate 
 good, is better known to God, than to ourselves. 
 They should therefore be asked, with entire sub- 
 mission to his unerring determination. " Thy 
 will, and not ours, Oh Father, be done on earth, 
 as it is in heaven." 
 
168 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 Yet there are some things for which we may 
 ask with confidence and fervour ; knowing that 
 they are unquestionably in conformity with the 
 Divine will and perfections. We may importu- 
 nately ask for the enlightening and sanctifying 
 influences of his Holy Spirit ; for he has promised 
 to bestow these on all, who ask them with sin- 
 cerity. We may solicit the pardon of sin, the 
 increase of faith, and all the blessed fruits of righte- 
 ousness. We may ask for exemption from suffer- 
 ing, affliction, and temptation, beyond what we 
 are able to endure; and should we through igno- 
 rance or infirmity, be induced to ask for any thing 
 inconsistent with our highest interest here or here- 
 after, we should even pray that our requests may 
 be refused. 
 
 It is not necessary that we should be very mi- 
 nute and particular, in our petitions to God. "He 
 knoweth what we need before we ask him; and 
 we are not heard for our much speaking." One 
 fervent sigh, one repentant tear, a cordial acknow- 
 ledgment of our dependence, a firm trust in his 
 goodness, though breathed in the silence of the 
 closet, or the solitude of the desert, will not escape 
 the notice of him, to whom every thought of the 
 Immblest worshipper is known. 
 
 It is of no small importance that we should have 
 stated times assigned for the discharge of this 
 duty; for although we may pray with as much ac- 
 ceptance in the forest, or the field, as in our 
 closets, or in the church; yet unless we make it a 
 rule to observe this duty, at stated seasons, we 
 shall relax in our attention, and lose that fervour 
 of devotion, which from the constitution of our na- 
 ture is preserved only by subjecting our minds to 
 the discipline of stated rules. 
 
 Never then my dear friend, suffer any worldly 
 business, or amusements, to interfere with this 
 
THE lord's supper. 169 
 
 sacred employment. Be fervent, be constant, be 
 sincere in this important duty, till it be exchanged 
 for the nobler exercise of praise in the temple 
 above, where, surrounded by angels and the spirits 
 of just men made perfect, you shall forever unite 
 with them in ascribing " blessing, and glory, and 
 wisdom, and thanksgiving, and power, and might, 
 unto our God for ever and ever." 
 I remain as ever, yours truly. 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 My Dear Friend — That the professed disciples 
 of Christ stand on higher ground than mere nomi- 
 nal Christians, is a matter too obvious for contro- 
 versy or doubt. They are "like a city set on a 
 hill that cannot be hid." They are styled in 
 Scripture, the " salt of the earth,'' and " the light 
 of the world." True it is, their light is borrowed. ^, 
 It is but the reflected rays of the great Sun of 
 Righteousness. Still they are commanded " to 
 let their light,'' however faint it may be, " so shine 
 before men, that others seeing their good works, 
 may glorify their Father who is in heaven." 
 Hence results a most important duty, which is 
 peculiarly obligatory on believers, who have made 
 an open profession of their faith in Christ. They 
 come under renewed obligations " to walk circum- 
 spectly ;" not only to pray, but to watch, lest they 
 fall into temptation. 
 
 When the labourer, whose industry and care 
 have procured him a decent competency, is by 
 some unexpected misfortune, reduced to his for- 
 mer narrow circumstaVi<^^'F, we sympathize in his 
 sufferings, much le^s^^^filuV we do in the misfor- 
 tunes of one, who fror«'aMuence-aiid ease, is re- 
 duced to penury and disri-ess. Such is the differ- 
 
 12 
 
170 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 ence between a Christian of high standing, who 
 has made a public avowal of his faith, at the table 
 of the Lord, and one who professes simply to be a 
 worshipper. When the former is guilty of any 
 departure from the strict rules of the gospel, his 
 conduct is censured with peculiar asperity, and the 
 inconsistency betw^een his profession and practice 
 is marked with shades more dark and offensive. 
 This conduct casts a Reproach on the Master 
 whom he has professed to follow. It induces a 
 suspicion on his fellow communicants. It con- 
 firms the unbelieving in their errors. " Wherein," 
 they exultingly ask, " are these professed followers 
 of Christ, better than ourselves? and if making an 
 open profession of faith, does not exalt and purify 
 the character, is it not better to keep aloof from an 
 ordinance so solemn as that of the Lord's Supper?" 
 How cautious then should all those be, " who 
 have named the name of Christ," who have pub- 
 licly avowed themselves to be his disciples, care- 
 fully " to depart from all iniquity." They should 
 watch their own heart most diligendy, since " out 
 ofitarethe issues of life." They should watch their 
 temper, lest by any sudden indulgence of anger, 
 resentment, or any other dangerous passion, they 
 should wound the peace of others, and their own 
 reputation. They should in youth, watch against 
 the allurements of pleasure, against excess in 
 amusements, in dress, in mirth, and in the indul- 
 gence of their appetites. In more advanced life, 
 they should watch against a too ardent pursuit 
 of gain, against an excessive desire of fame and 
 distinction, and against an extreme indulgence of 
 ease. At all times professed Christians should 
 set a watch over their lips. They should aim at 
 keeping their tongue, 'Mhat unruly member," in 
 constant subjection. The discord that is so often 
 produced in families, in neighbourhoods, and 
 
THE lord's supper. 171 
 
 among the most intelligent and exemplary mem- 
 bers of society, by indiscreet, or false reports and 
 surmises, should impress communicants with the 
 vast importance of watching against every " idle 
 word," that might injure the reputation, the peace, 
 or the usefulness of others. 
 
 Christians, who have made a profession of their 
 faith by partaking of the Lord's Supper, should 
 be extremely circumspect in the choice of their 
 society. The world very naturally forms its opi- 
 nion of individuals, by the character of their asso- 
 ciates. Persons of similar tastes and habits, are 
 known to be most fond of each other's society. 
 As the dissolute can take no pleasure in associating 
 with the virtuous, so there can be no congenial feel- 
 ing, no cordial union, between sincere believers, 
 and persons whose supreme affections are absorbed 
 by the present world. True it is, that the neces- 
 sary calls of business must and will render a daily 
 intercourse with worldly men indispensable ; but 
 this intercourse will usually cease with the busi- 
 ness that rendered it necessary. There will be no 
 close intimacy, no conformity of character, no 
 yielding of principle, on the part of the true Chris- 
 tian. Remembering the declaration of our Lord to 
 his disciples, " Ye are not of the world;" and the 
 advice of his apostle, " Be not conformed to this 
 world ;" he endeavours to keep himself aloof from 
 those snares and temptations, to which every be- 
 liever is exposed, who associates too intimately 
 with persons, whose habits or principles are very 
 dissimilar to his own. 
 
 Although conformity to the world, at the com- 
 mencement of Christianity, was a very different 
 matter from what it now is, in Christian countries; 
 yet the spirit of the precept is substantially the 
 same. Then indeed, to be " conformed to the 
 world" was to be the slave of idolatrv, and of the 
 
172 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 most degrading vices ; it was to worship the imagi- 
 nary deities, whose very service consisted in the 
 indulgence of appetites, which reduced man to a 
 level with brutes. Now from the diflusion of the 
 light of revelation, the disgusting superstitions of 
 Paganism have disappeared in many regions of 
 the globe; yet from the depravity of our nature, 
 the majority of men are ivicked. What is called 
 the vjorld? That portion of our race who have not 
 been enlightened by the truths of the gospel, who 
 pursue the wealth, the honours, or pleasures of 
 life, as their chief object, who concentrate their 
 views, and devote their supreme regard, to present 
 pursuits; forgetful, or negligent of the great end of 
 their being. Between such persons, and sincere, 
 devoted followers of the Lord Jesus, there is such 
 a diversity of feeling and pursuit, as precludes all 
 close and unreserved attachment and intercourse. 
 
 It is lamentable to reflect, that even among pro- 
 fessing Christians so many. have been found, who, 
 forgetting their obligations " to live righteously, 
 soberly, and godly," have, to the disgrace of the 
 Christian name, allowed themselves to indulge in 
 sensual pleasures to a criminal excess. Instead of 
 " avoiding the appearance of evil," they boldly 
 venture beyond the bounds of strict temperance 
 and discretion, wound their own reputation, and 
 their own peace, bring a reproach on religion, and 
 " crucify afresh the Lord who bought them." 
 
 To prevent consequences so painful, and so 
 disgraceful, precepts like the following were left 
 on the records of inspired truth. " Let your mo- 
 deration be known unto all men." (Phil. iv. 5.) 
 " Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess." 
 (Eph. V. 18.) "Take heed," said our Lord to his 
 apostles, "lest at anytime your hearts be over- 
 charged with surfeiting and drunkenness.^^ (Luke 
 xxi. 34.) " Let us walk honestly," said the apos- 
 
THE lord's supper. 173 
 
 tie Paul, ** as in the day; not in rioting and drun- 
 kenness, not in chambering' and wantonness ; but 
 put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not 
 provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." 
 (Rom. xiii. 13, 14.) 
 
 To violate the precepts we have just transcribed, 
 would be clear evidence of a criminal conformity 
 to the world. But there are cases in regard to 
 which, intelligent Christians may differ in opin- 
 ion. Under such circumstances, we must be gov- 
 erned by general rules, taking care not to let our 
 judgments be unduly warped by our prejudices, or 
 inclinations. The following rules may be found 
 useful to professing Christians, who are doubtful 
 of the line of conduct they ought to pursue, under 
 circumstances of peculiar temptation. 
 
 1. When they are invited to partake of plea- 
 sures not forbidden by any law, divine or human, 
 (the abuse of which renders them criminal,) al- 
 ways to keep ivithin, rather than to exceed the 
 bounds of moderation. 
 
 2. They should studiously avoid those amuse- 
 ments and pleasures, the direct tendency of which 
 is to excite passions or desires of a dangerous or 
 unlawful nature. 
 
 3. They should always be ready to sacrifice 
 even innocent pleasures, to the performance of a 
 known and important duty. 
 
 4. Amusements should always be regarded as 
 a relaxation, and not as a business. They should 
 be used as a restorative, and not as food. When- 
 ever therefore, they are pursued to the injury 
 either of the health, estate, or character, they be- 
 come criminal, and deserve censure. 
 
 In order to fortify the mind in adhering to the 
 rules here laid down, it will be useful to remem- 
 ber, that all excess tends to impair the faculties of 
 the mind, and the health of the body. Pleasure 
 
174 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 too frequently enjoyed, or pursued beyond the 
 bounds of moderation, enervates the whole sys- 
 tem, and degrades the character. Its efTects are, 
 to create a disgust for serious and useful pursuits. 
 By relaxing the nerves, it leaves the mind a prey 
 to melancholy, and in a state altogether unfit for 
 resisting the temptations of the world, unfit for en- 
 countering the inevitable pains and sorrows to 
 which human life is exposed, and more especially 
 for meeting the "last enemy, death," with com- 
 posure and triumph. 
 
 " A prevailing habit of dissipation," says Dr. 
 Maclaine, ■- " too great an attachment to the plea- 
 sures of sense, too frequent approaches to scenes 
 of luxury and frivolity, corrupt the taste for vir- 
 tuous enjoyment; for the pleasures of reason, 
 faith, and religious hope. They contract the mind, 
 and extinguish the mild flame of those pure and 
 elevated desires, which aspire after immortality, 
 and render its prospect delightful. There are, un- 
 happily, people in the world, who have scarce an 
 idea of any enjoyment beyond what the apostle 
 calls the " lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, 
 and the pride of life." Talk to such of future 
 happiness, of the dignity of a well regulated mind, 
 of the pleasures of order, sanctity, and benevo- 
 lence ; you might as well talk of sounds to the 
 deaf, or of colours to the blind. This can never 
 be the case with true Christians; yet even they 
 ought to be on their guard against all approaches 
 to such a state of degradation. For there is al- 
 ways more or less caution necessary, in the enjoy- 
 ment of sensible objects, which though innocent 
 in its nature, may be dangerous in its measure ; 
 and is always dangerous, when it is not counter- 
 balanced by pleasures and enjoyments of a nobler 
 kind." 
 
 * Discourse VI. page 115. 
 
THE lord's supper. 175 
 
 When urged by persons of a worldly character, 
 to engage in fashionable amusements, or in plea- 
 sures of a doubtful nature, professing Christians 
 should consider how far such indulgence would 
 consist with their religious character. Whether 
 acts of levity or dissipation would not prove a 
 stumbling block to others ; whether Christians are 
 not called to set an example of moderation and 
 self-denial, to a censorious world ; to cultivate pu- 
 rity of manners, to maintain a dignity, joined with 
 meekness of deportment, and by keeping aloof 
 from scenes of boisterous mirth, or intemperate 
 festivity, to be always prepared for those sudden 
 and serious changes in life, which fall to the lot of 
 the largest portion of the human race. Above all, 
 professing Christians should keep their eye in- 
 tently fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, the only 
 perfect model of character, that ever appeared on 
 earth. By obedience to his precepts, and by fol- 
 lowing his example, so far as is consistent with 
 human frailty, they would always be safe, and 
 would be daily laying a sure foundation for pre- 
 sent enjoyment and for never ending bliss. 
 
 But in studying to avoid a criminal conformity 
 to the world, Christians should be careful not to 
 fall into the opposite extreme. Seclusion from so- 
 ciety and its innocent enjoyments may be indulged 
 to excess. Many pious professors, by interdicting 
 to tliemselves and others pleasures not forbidden 
 by the word of God, and which become censurable 
 and injurious only by abuse, have made a religion, 
 intended to console and rejoice the heart, a system 
 of gloom and terror, especially to the young; and 
 have thus thrown a most formidable bar across the 
 path of sincere but timid piety. 
 
 Youth is the spring time of life. It is the sea- 
 son of hilarity, sometimes of giddy joy. Its ardour 
 may be controlled and turned into a right channel, 
 
176 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 but to extinguish it, would be like the extinction 
 of life. The adversary of souls never suggested a 
 more powerful, but delusive argument to the young 
 mind, against religion, than that it was adverse to 
 innocent pleasures. No sooner do young converts 
 begin to feel the hopes and joys of piety, than they 
 resign the inferior pleasures of sense, and retire 
 from the fascinating amusements of gay or fashion- 
 able life. 
 
 On this subject, an excellent author* before 
 quoted, remarks that, " as our Lord was so cau- 
 tious not to give his religion a disgusting appear- 
 ance, its true friends should follow his example: 
 not expecting in any man a deadness to human 
 society, and human enjoyments ; not exacting 
 austerities, which God has not commanded ; not 
 laying great stress on indifferent, or frivolous ob- 
 servances, which serve only to burden and disquiet 
 men ; not prescribing a particular kind of food, on 
 certain days, and at certain seasons, to all Chris- 
 tians, in all places ; but for the most part leaving 
 to general rules, and to private discretion, the total 
 and partial, the stated and occasional abstinence 
 from the law^ful gratification of our lav/ful appe- 
 tites." 
 
 Thus preserving a happy medium between the 
 levity of an unthinking world, and the solitude and 
 abstinence of a monastery; the prudent Christian 
 will hold the even tenor of his way, enjoying the 
 innocent pleasures of life without excess, and by 
 his moderation, temperance, and superiority to the 
 little passions which agitate the bustling sons of 
 earth, show that he has higher aims, more exalted 
 pleasures, and looks forward to the close of his 
 present career, as the commencement of more 
 
 * Dr. Newcombe's Observations on oiir Lord's conduct, 
 p. 885. 
 
THE lord's supper. 177 
 
 transporting, and infinitely higher delights, than 
 those of time and sense. 
 
 We have now taken a very brief view of some 
 of the renewed obligations under which professing 
 Christians come, in consequence of their admission 
 to the table of the Lord. Under this head we 
 might go into a consideration of the various duties 
 which they owe to God, their neighbour, and 
 themselves. But this M'ould embrace too wide a 
 field of discussion. It will perhaps be sufiicient 
 to remark, that in the discharge of these duties, 
 professing Christians should always be pre-emi- 
 nent. These are sacred duties; they are enjoined 
 by the authority of a Divine Lawgiver; they should 
 be performed from the most exalted motives; and 
 they have the promise of a reward, perfect in its 
 nature, and interminable in its duration. Go then, 
 professing believer, go from the table of your Mas- 
 ter into the world, armed with the panoply of hea- 
 ven. Fight the good fight of faith, assured that 
 when your combat is over, you will receive a 
 crown of righteousness from the hand of him, who 
 is at once the author and finisher of your faith ; and 
 that you will be admitted to dwell for ever in his 
 presence, where is " fullness of joy, and pleasures 
 that never end." I am truly yours. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 My Dear Friend — From the contemplation of 
 those peculiar obligations under which you have 
 recently come, by a participation of the Lord's 
 Supper, let me next lead you to a consideration of 
 some of the peculiar benefits and consolations 
 which ought always, and which do usually ac- 
 company the worthy celebration of this sacred 
 ordinance, 
 
178 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 Let the infidel and the devotee of the present 
 world allege with a like character of old, " It is 
 vain to serve the Lord ;" and contemptuously ask, 
 " what profit is there, that we have kept his ordi- 
 nances?" (Mai. iii. 14.) the sincere Christian 
 may reply in the words of the royal preacher; 
 " Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, (true 
 religion) and the man that getteth understanding; 
 for the merchandise of it is better than the mer- 
 chandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine 
 gold." (Prov. iii. 14. &:c.) Or he can reply in the 
 words of an inspired apostle, " godliness is profit- 
 able unto all things ; having promise of the life that 
 now is, and of that which is to come." (1 Tim. 
 iv. 8.) 
 
 Yes! blessed be God, the religion of Christ 
 was not intended to make us wretched here, and 
 to compensate us with proinises only, of a happi- 
 ness to come. We are not supported by hope 
 alone, to the exclusion of present enjoyment. 
 Were this strictly the case, and did we gain no- 
 thing at present by the service of God, beside the 
 assured prospect of perfect and endless felicity 
 hereafter; to such a being as man, whose life is a 
 vapour, and whose duration is a span, this reward 
 would be cheaply earned. It would be an ample 
 recompense for the pain, and sorrow, and toil of 
 many such lives as we pass on earth. But the 
 advantages of piety are not confined to the mere 
 anticipation of future bliss. They are realized in 
 the daily experience of a countless multitude of 
 professed Christians. The religion of Christ is 
 calculated to render mortals happy //ere, as well 
 as hereafter. Its tendency is to restore them to 
 that state of purity and happiness from which our 
 first parents fell ; and to make earth what Eden 
 once was, the scene of perfect order, holiness, and 
 
 joy. 
 
THE lord's supper. 179 
 
 " Godliness has promise of the life that now 
 is." It interdicts under the most awful sanctions, 
 all excess in the pursuit of pleasure, and every 
 abuse of those gifts of providence, that \yere in- 
 tended for our present support and comfort. It 
 forbids every departure from that moderate ex- 
 ercise of our faculties, and from that temperate use 
 of the blessings of providence, that are so essen- 
 tial to the true enjoyment of our existence on 
 earth. It commands us to *' put away all anger, 
 malice, revenge," and every other evil passion; 
 those inveterate enemies to substantial happiness. 
 It commands us to live peaceably with all men, 
 and by the exercise of universal benevolence, in 
 all the relations of life, to promote our own, while 
 we advance the felicity of others. It assures to 
 us the respect and esteem of the wise and good. 
 It extorts the approbation even of the irreligious. 
 Around all who are sincere and consistent in their 
 profession, and in the practice of the duties of re- 
 ligion, a protecting influence is cast, which turns 
 aside the shafts of envy and of slander. 
 
 True religion confers a solid peace of conscience. 
 It inspires a firm trust in God, a superiority over 
 the cares and anxieties of life, which no outward 
 circumstances can communicate. The melancholy 
 retrospect of a life spent in criminal pursuits, or 
 in the indulgence of every evil propensity; the 
 corrosion of remorse for time wasted, for talents 
 abused, for wealth prostituted, for opportunities of 
 improvement, or of doing good, irrecoverably lost, 
 do not rise up like spectres, to haunt the imagina- 
 tion, or disturb the repose of him, who has from 
 early life made religion his study and pursuit. No 
 appalling fears of death, or of future judgment, in 
 the hour of adversity, or on the bed of sickness, 
 torment him. Renouncing all trust in his own 
 merits, and confiding in the all-sufficient atone- 
 
180 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 ment of his Saviour, the penitent offender is as- 
 sured of the pardon of his sins, however numerous, 
 or aggravated, and firmly confides in the promise 
 of eternal truth, that when he quits this tabernacle 
 of clay, he will have a " mansion above, a house 
 not made Avith hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
 When the seeds of real piety take root in good 
 and honest hearts, they spring up like the flowers 
 of spring, and exhale and diffuse the most deli- 
 cious fragrance. They scatter benefits through 
 the domestic and the social circle. They bear 
 much precious fruit in the family, in the church, 
 and in the various relations of civil life. " In pu- 
 rity, temperance, and self-government," says Dr. 
 Blair, " there is found a satisfaction in the mind, 
 similar to what results from the enjoyment of per- 
 fect health in the body. A man is then conscious 
 that all is sound within ; there is nothinof that 
 gnaws his spirit, that makes him ashamed of him- 
 self, or discomposes his calm and orderly enjoy- 
 ment of life. His conscience testifies that he is 
 acting honourably. He enjoys the satisfaction of 
 being master of himself. He feels that no one 
 can accuse him of degrading his character by base 
 pleasures, or low pursuits; and he knows that he 
 will be honoured and esteemed by those whose 
 honour and esteem he would most desire ; all 
 which are sensations most pleasing and gratifying 
 to every human heart." 
 
 In regard to the acquisition of wealth, all other 
 things being equal, good men certainly have an 
 advantage over the wicked. They enjoy a more 
 general confidence. Important and lucrative trusts 
 are often confided to them, which are withheld 
 from others, who are not under the control of re- 
 ligious principle. Although as a genera/ principle, 
 *' time and chance happen alike to all men," yet 
 in many striking instances, do we see Providence 
 
THE lord's supper. 181 
 
 directing the affairs of pious characters, and crown- 
 ing their industry and enterprise with remarkable 
 success. 
 
 But it is not so much in the acquisition, as in 
 the enjoyment of property, that the difference is 
 seen between the sincere Christian and the devo- 
 tee of the world. The one considers himself only 
 as a steward of the bounties of heaven. When 
 therefore, he sustains a loss, he submits to it with 
 cheerfulness, believing the property bestowed, to 
 have been but a temporary loan, which he who 
 made, had a right to resume at pleasure. On the 
 other hand, the son of earth, regarding himself as 
 absolute proprietor of his possessions, feels every 
 loss with ten fold acuteness, from inattention to 
 the tenure on which every earthly possession is 
 held, and the right of him who gave, to take it 
 away, at any moment. 
 
 The pious man suffers not wealth to become an 
 idol. If denied him, or if taken from him by mis- 
 fortune, he looks 'up to heaven with thankfulness, 
 for the most humble enjoyments he may be allow- 
 ed to retain ; and represses every sigh of dissatis- 
 faction or complaint, over casualties or privations, 
 beyond his control. Not so with the man desti- 
 tute of religious principles. Under misfortune, he 
 is depressed and discontented. His vanity, his 
 avarice, or his ambition is wounded. " His gods 
 are taken from him, and what has he more?" He 
 sees not a Father's hand, in these untoward events, 
 chastening him for his good. He has no trust in 
 Providence, and derives no support from the as- 
 surance, that "all things work for good to those 
 that love God." Nothing is more true, than that 
 "the little which a rigiiteous man hath, is better 
 than the wealth of many wicked." He enjoys 
 his mediocrity with gratitude to the Giver, with 
 trust in his future goodness, and shares it cheer- 
 
182 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 fully and liberally, with those who have claims on 
 his care, or his benevolence. 
 
 But it is not on the deductions of his own rea- 
 son, or the flattery of his own illusive hope, that 
 the devout Christian rests. He has the sure word 
 of prophecy, the inspired oracles of divine truth, 
 as the foundation of his confidence. There he is 
 instructed, that " the Lord will not suffer the 
 righteous to famish;" (Prov. x. 3.") that "he that 
 walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly, bread 
 shall be given him, and his water shall be sure." 
 (Isaiah xxxiii. 15, 16.) He is enjoined by his 
 Saviour, not to indulge any undue anxiety about 
 food or raiment, as his " heavenly Father knoweth 
 that he hath need of these things ;" and by an 
 inspired apostle, to " let his conversation be with- 
 out covetousness;" to be "content with such 
 things as he has, and having food and raiment, 
 therewith to be content." (1 Tim. vi. 8. Heb. 
 xiii. 5.) 
 
 Promises and injunctions like these, drawn from 
 the sacred volume, have an authority, a weight, 
 and energy on the understanding and the heart, 
 which make the balance of comfort preponderate 
 in favour of the man who fears God, beyond that 
 of him who neither reads, nor respects the precepts 
 and promises of Divine Revelation. 
 
 But " godliness has promise of the life that now 
 is," pre-eminently under severe afHiciion. There 
 are evils for which wealth can purchase no remedy, 
 and over which, the tenderest sympathy can only 
 shed the unavailing tear. There are pains of body, 
 and anxieties of mind, beyond the control of any 
 human agency. What a scene of trial and misery, 
 is the life of the greatest portion of the human 
 family! But our sufferings do not always origin- 
 ate with, nor are they confined to ourselves alone. 
 Our sympathy with the alHictions of others often 
 
THE lord's supper. 183 
 
 becomes the source of our keenest angfuish. As 
 members of society, we feel for the sufferings of 
 the fatherless and the widow, for the destitute 
 and friendless children of poverty and want. As 
 Christians, we feel more acutely for the sufferings 
 of fellow Christians, v/ho are members of the same 
 household of faith. 
 
 But it is in our domestic circle, where our ten- 
 derest feelings are excited; it is here that the 
 deepest wounds are made on our hearts. Perhaps 
 a beloved and venerated parent, the stay, the guide 
 and solace of a large and affectionate family; per- 
 haps a dear, kind partner, who was the ornament 
 and support of the household ; a virtuous and pro- 
 mising son, or a lovely and dutiful daughter, is 
 torn from our affections, and hidden in the grave. 
 What a void is made in the family ! what a wound 
 is inflicted on the heart ! It is a wound which no 
 human physician can heal. Perhaps bv succes- 
 sive strokes, our earthly comforts are reft away, 
 till all the friends of our youth are gone, our early 
 attachments are dissolved, and we sojourn like 
 strangers on a foreign shore, amons" a new race of 
 beings, with whom we have no kindred feelings, 
 no attachments, no common interest. Life's best 
 joys seem to be extinct. Like weary travellers, 
 we long for repose, and we would prefer as our 
 highest boon, to lie down in the dust of death, till 
 the last trump shall summon ourselves and our 
 dear departed friends, from the slumbers of the 
 tomb to the tribunal of heaven. 
 
 Under such severe aiffictions, the hopes, and 
 promises of the gospel, are the only sources of 
 real consolation. While persons who have never 
 enjoyed these hopes, or rested on these promises, 
 are encompassed by a dark cloud of horror, or 
 despair, the true Christian is composed and cheer- 
 ful. Even when the waves of affliction threaten 
 
184 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 to overwhelm him, he triumphs in the assured 
 prospect of endless bliss. 
 
 *' Godliness has the promise of the lite that now 
 is." It has still another and triumphant advan- 
 tage to real Christians. When every other sublu- 
 nary joy is vanishing from his grasp, when neither 
 wisdom, nor wealth, nor honours, nor power, can 
 any longer yield comfort, or support; when he 
 stands on the verge of eternity, even to that dread, 
 dividing line, religion attends the true disciple of 
 the cross. What a contrast then exists between a 
 libertine and a devout believer! The one looks 
 back with sad regret on the past, reluctant and 
 trembling at leaving a world, to which he was 
 supremely attached ; and awfully apprehensive of 
 that unknown region to which he is hastening: 
 while the other, considering this world as a state 
 of exile from his Father's house, longs for the 
 moment when " this mortal shall put on immorta- 
 lity." To the one, death is an enemy, who will 
 always come too soon, come when he may. To 
 the other, he is a welcome messenger, sent by his 
 Lord to convey him to " a heavenly inheritance," 
 to joys that human language is too feeble to des- 
 cribe, and which the human mind is too narrow to 
 comprehend. 
 
 But " godliness has also promise of the life to 
 come." Its joys are not limited to the present life 
 only; they are commensurate with the being of 
 the soul. Nothing is more expressly, or more 
 certainly revealed, in the sacred Scriptures, than 
 the perfect and unchangeable happiness of the 
 truly pious, in a future world. 
 
 " Blessed," says our Divine Master, " are the 
 pure in heart, for theirs is the kingdom of hea- 
 ven." They are assured that they will in heaven 
 be considered, as " cliildren, and if children, then 
 heirs, heirs of God, and joint lieirs with Christ;" 
 
THE lord's supper. 185 
 
 *' heirs of salvation," " heirs of a kingdom which 
 God hath prepared for them that love him." They 
 will " rest from their labours, and their works do 
 follow them." " Mansions are prepared for them 
 in heaven." Nay, more, " eye liath not seen, nor 
 ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of 
 man the things which God hath prepared for them 
 that love him." " Beyond the grave, where the 
 hopes and the works of sinners shall for ever be 
 consumed, the fruits of piety will only begin to 
 ripen, and attain their complete perfection. The 
 primitive beauties, and the innocent delights of 
 paradise shall be restored with boundless increase 
 in that celestial Eden, into which Christ shall 
 transplant his redeemed followers, when he shall 
 create the universe anew."* 
 
 I remain as ever, very truly yours. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 My Dear Friend — It is now time to bring these 
 letters to a close. I have stated and answered 
 several of those objections which are too apt to 
 influence the minds of young and timid coaverts, 
 when they are invited and urged to become par- 
 takers of the Lord's Supper. I have explained 
 the nature and benefits of this ordinance. I have 
 considered also some of the obligations, under 
 which all sincere believers in revelation lie, to 
 make an open profession of their faith, at the table 
 of the Lord. I have considered the duties to be 
 performed, prior to taking this important step; the 
 views that should be cherished, while partaking of 
 this ordinance of love; the renewed obligations 
 
 * Dr. S. S. Smith. 
 13 
 
186 THE SACRA5fENT OF 
 
 under which communicants are brought to live 
 correspondentiy with the profession they have 
 made ; and the benefits and consolations which 
 usually accompany a worthy participation of this 
 holy sacrament. In bringing these letters to a 
 conclusion, it will be useful briefly to consider 
 and state some of the leading features of that dis- 
 pensation of infinite mercy, of which the Lord's 
 Supper is the most distinguished memorial. 
 
 When the birth of our blessed Lord was first 
 announced to the shepherds on the plains of 
 Bethlehem, the angel said to them, " fear not, for 
 behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
 shall be to all people." And how truly has the 
 gospel verified this angelic declaration ! It has 
 brought "life and immortality to light." When 
 the Saviour appeared to Saul on his way to Damas- 
 cus, part of the commission which he then gave to 
 this chosen apostle, whom he was about sending 
 to the Gentiles was, that he should " open their 
 eyes, and turn them, from darkness to light." And 
 the Evangelist Matthew, referring to a prophecy 
 of Isaiah, in relation to our Lord says, " the people 
 that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to them 
 which sat in the shadow of death, light is sprung 
 up." 
 
 Rightly to estimate the blessings of this light, 
 we should contemplate the deep, deplorable dark- 
 ness which rested on the whole earth, at the com- 
 mencement of our Saviour's ministry in Judea. 
 Let us turn to the records of antiquity at this period, 
 and what do we discover ? We see the light even 
 of natural religion almost extinct; the true God 
 among all nations (the Jews excepted,) altogether 
 unknown ; blind and abominable superstitions ; wor- 
 ship rendered to cruel, lascivious, and sanguinary 
 deities ; altars erected to beasts and reptiles, and 
 temples consecrated even to vice in various forms. 
 
THE lord's SUPPERc 187 
 
 Instead of acknowleclging one God, Pagan theology- 
 spoke only of Fortune, of Destiny, and the Fates. 
 It was conversant with omens, enchantments, and 
 lots. The laws of nature were despised. The 
 most unbounded licentiousness of manners pre- 
 vailed. The most disgusting vices were publicly 
 practised. In a word universal profligacy reigned, 
 and men seemed to emulate the brutes, in what- 
 ever w^as sensual and degrading; and demons, in 
 the indulgence of cruel and ferocious passions. 
 This picture is not drawn from fancy. It is from 
 facts stated by some of the most autiientic authors 
 of pagan antiquity. And how just the representa- 
 tion is, may be collected from that given by an in- 
 spired apostle, when writing to converts who 
 themselves, from their own observation or expe- 
 rience, could bear testimony to the truth of his 
 statement. 
 
 Speaking of the heathen world, in his Epistle 
 to the Romans, the apostle Paul says, that " pro- 
 fessing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 
 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God, 
 into an image made like to corruptible man, and to 
 birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things;" 
 *' who changed the truth of God, into a lie ; and 
 worshipped the creature, more than the Creator." 
 Hence he continues, "God gave them up to a 
 reprobate mind, to do things which are not con- 
 venient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, 
 fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malicious- 
 ness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, ma- 
 lignity : whisperers, backbiters, boasters, inventors 
 of evil things, disobedient to parents, without un- 
 derstanding, covenant-breakers, without natural 
 affection, implacable, unmerciful." What a de- 
 plorable, yet how just a picture of the state of the 
 world at the coming of our Lord ! 
 
 It is true, the Jewish nation were not plunged 
 
188 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 in a darkness equally deep and degrading. They 
 had a revelation from God. They had laws for 
 their government, consonant with the clearest rea- 
 son, and the purest morality, from this supreme 
 Legislator. They had prophets and judges, through 
 successive periods, sent to instruct them in their 
 duty, and to admonish them of their errors ; and 
 they had the book of the law, the written statutes 
 of Jehovah, as their monitor and guide. Still they 
 were in a state of great darkness, often breaking 
 the divine commandments, inclining to idolatry, 
 and to all the vices of their heathen neighbours ; 
 and so little enlightened in regard to a future state 
 of existence, that the whole Mosaic economy has 
 been viewed as a system of present rewards and 
 punishments, having no reference to the retribu- 
 tions of eternity. Its threats and promises, its 
 blessings and punishments, are all temporal. It 
 delighted the senses with the exhibitions of pomp- 
 ous ceremonies; and its stated ordinances, " pro- 
 fited little." It was only, to use the language of 
 the apostle Peter, " a light that shine th in a dark 
 place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise 
 in your hearts." (2 Pet. i. 19.) 
 
 At length, however, the Sun of Righteousness 
 arose on a benighted world, to chase away the 
 " gross darkness," that had settled on the nations. 
 Truly did he say of himself, " I am the light of 
 the world." At his appearance, what moral splen- 
 dours broke on the human mind. He revealed a 
 God, 'the Father of spirits, who claimed to be 
 worshipped " in spirit and in truth." He pro- 
 claimed the reign of heaven on earth, the restora- 
 tion of sinful man, to a state of holiness. The 
 King of Glory comes himself like a good shepherd 
 to seek and to save poor helpless sheep, that had 
 strayed from their masters fold. He comes to 
 publish grace, pardon, and peace. " Great is the 
 
THE lord's supper. 189 
 
 mystery of godliness ; God was manifest in the 
 flesh." The Lamb of God, by his own death ex- 
 piates the sins of the world. He gives his life a 
 ransom for the guilty. Heaven and earth are re- 
 conciled. The immortality of the soul is clearly 
 brought to light. The resurrection of the body, 
 the final judgment, the punishments of hell, and 
 the joys of heaven, are all unfolded and establish- 
 ed by the clearest evidence, on the basis of im- 
 mutable truth. 
 
 Such, in a very few words, is the nature of that 
 gospel, which the Son of God came to publish. Its 
 excellence consists in its tendency to enlighten the 
 mind, to purify the heart, to regulate the affections, 
 to give peace to the conscience, to prescribe just 
 rules of action, to inspire cogent motives for the 
 discharge of duty, to make us wiser, better, and 
 happier in the present world, and at the same time 
 to prepare us by the trials of life, for purer and 
 more permanent enjoyments in a future state of 
 being. 
 
 The excellence of the gospel consists not only 
 in its doctrines and its precepts, but in the record- 
 ed examples of wise and holy men, and above all, 
 in the finished example of the great Captain of 
 our salvation, who was made " perfect through 
 suffering," whose footsteps we are instructed to 
 follow, so far as the infirmity of our nature will 
 admit. It consists also in that assurance we have 
 of the influences of the Holy Spirit, to enable us 
 to discharge duties, which by our own unassisted 
 endeavours, we could never perform. And what 
 are the duties enjoined on the Christian disciple? 
 They are various, and are set forth in the gospel 
 of our Divine Master, clearly and fully. There 
 we are instructed in the duties we owe to God, to 
 our neighbours, and to ourselves. It supplies mo- 
 lives in abundance to guide us in our earthly pil- 
 
190 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 grimage. We are " to live," says an apostle, 
 *' soberly, righteously, and godly in the present 
 world, looking for that blessed hope and the glo- 
 rious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ." Thus will our hearts be a con- 
 tinual feast, and we shall sow our fruit in peace. 
 True believers will be sustained by the brightest 
 and loftiest hopes. They will quit this world 
 whenever the summons of Death shall come, to 
 rise at once to the " mansions" prepared by our 
 Lord in the third heavens, there to reign with him 
 through ages, without end. The blood of Christ, 
 shed for our offences, speaks better things than 
 that of Abel. His sacrifice has opened heaven to 
 all his true disciples, and He now holds in his 
 hands the crown he has reserved for all " who love 
 his appearing." Oh ! what sublimity, what gran- 
 deur ! What an ocean of kindness and love ! 
 
 In whatever view vv^e regard the gospel, it is an 
 economy of reconciliation and of grace. It is God 
 who at first created man in his own likeness ; and 
 it is God, who, through the ministry of his Son, 
 has " brought life and immortality to light." It is 
 God, who through the agency of the Holy Spirit, 
 regenerates the human soul. It is God, who v/ould 
 reinstate man in his original purity and happiness, 
 and wdio will through everlasting asfes, be his 
 chief good. 
 
 In contemplating so many proofs of the aston- 
 ishing goodness of our heavenly Father, who does 
 not see that " God is love?'''' Who does not see 
 and confess the divinity of that religion which, 
 beyond all doubt, must have come from him, and 
 which, w^ilh magnetic attraction, draws the repent- 
 ant and believing sinner to the Supreme, Triune 
 God? 
 
 The last circumstance we shall mention in proof 
 of the excellence of the gospel, is its tendency to 
 
THE lord's supper. 191 
 
 console the human heart under the strokes of ad- 
 versity, and at the termination of the present life. 
 The Grod of the gospel, is a God of compassion 
 and of love. " He is not willing that any one should 
 perish, but rather that sinners should return unto 
 him and live." Let a heart that has been formed 
 in the school of the gospel be subjected to the 
 trial of sickness, of persecution, adversity, de- 
 traction, or loss of friends; it will rise superior to 
 all these sufferings, and be able to say with the 
 apostle, " Yea, doubtless I count all things but 
 loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
 Jesus my Lord." 
 
 The religion of Christ is then the richest pre- 
 sent that heaven could make to man. It is benig- 
 nant in all its aspects. It enlightens the mind, it 
 purifies the affections and desires, and calms the 
 irregular passions. It promotes our health, our 
 reputation, our temporal interests, our present 
 peace, and our eternal welfare. It seals the par- 
 don of our sins and opens the gates of everlasting 
 happiness to the believing and penitent soul. 
 
 And now, my friend, in the review of this whole 
 subject, what are the conclusions we ought to 
 draw ? That to know God, to believe in his Son 
 our Lord, to do what he has commanded, to hope 
 and trust in him, and to follow his example, are at 
 once our duty, our privilege, and our recompense. 
 And how many motives unite to confirm our alle- 
 giance to our heavenly Sovereign ! — the horrors of 
 sin, the vanity of the world, the emptiness of plea- 
 sure, the disgrace, the weight, and pain of that 
 yoke, which the world imposes on its votaries. 
 And on the other hand, the loveliness, the plea- 
 sures and advantages of true piety ; " the peace 
 of God, which passeth all understanding," the 
 harmony of our affections, the repose of con- 
 science, the consolations of grace, the delightful 
 
192 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 prospects beyond the grave, the promise of end- 
 less glory, the opening gates of heaven, the splen- 
 dours of the new Jerusalem, its treasures, and its 
 joys; the everlasting presence of God himself, the 
 society of angels, and a re-union with those friends 
 whom on earth we have loved most dearly. 
 
 Such is the alternative presented to the choice 
 of intelligent, rational, immortal beings. Oh ! who 
 for a moment can hesitate which to choose — the 
 strait and narrow path that leads to heaven, or 
 the broad and downward road that conducts to the 
 abodes of despair, to " a night that never ends," 
 and where hope never comes ? 
 
 Are not these, motives that should animate our 
 devotion, increase our faith, and make us willing, 
 at any moment, " to depart, and be with Christ, 
 which is far better ? 
 
 Were the Christian religion nothing but the 
 child of human invention ; still, its doctrines and 
 its hopes are so rational and consoling, that they 
 would be incomparably preferable to every system 
 which infidelity ever conceived, or human inge- 
 nuity devised. Were Christianity but a waking 
 dream, it is so pleasing a dream, that reasonable 
 beings would choose to indulge it, infinitely rather 
 than to embrace the " sober certainty" of annihi- 
 lation. We should say with the first of Roman 
 orators, " Yes, if I am deceived in believing my 
 soul to be immortal, I am agreeably deceived, and 
 while I live, I wish no one to deprive me of 
 an error, which now constitutes my chief hap- 
 piness." 
 
 Were our faith always in lively exercise, how 
 precious would the gospel appear, contrasted with 
 all that this world co\ild bestow ! Is there any 
 comparison between the two as the portion of the 
 soul ? On the one hand, heaven and immortality; 
 on the other, the world and destruction I On the 
 
THE lord's supper. 193 
 
 one hand, pleasure without end, and happiness 
 beyond our present comprehension. On tlie other, 
 the extinction of being, and of hope, in the grave. 
 On the one hand, God in all his majesty, his glory, 
 and his grace. On the other, exclusion* from his 
 presence, "the blackness of darkness for ever;" 
 and confinement in that prison of despair, " where 
 the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." 
 
 If such, then, be the nature and effects of the 
 Christian religion, what are we to think of those 
 men, who by their writings, their conversation 
 and example, endeavour to check the progress of 
 the gospel, and to promote the cause of infidelity ? 
 Unhappy men! By the false principles you are 
 disseminating, you are robbing society of its 
 greatest treasures. You are destroying that which 
 calms our anxieties, which wipes away our tears, 
 which, in the midst of the severest trials, sheds a 
 light that cheers and supports the heart, which 
 despoils death of its horrors, and opens to the 
 view of faith and hope, the joys and splendours of 
 a heavenly inheritance. 
 
 Were the foundation of this noble superstructure 
 once imdermined, what restraint could be opposed 
 to universal profligacy? Where would be the secu- 
 rity of our free systems of government? Where 
 any longer the purity of our judicial tribunals, or 
 the peace and happiness of domestic life ? Where 
 any relief to the afflicted, or any solid comfort to 
 the desponding and the dying? 
 
 To adopt the language of an eloquent living 
 minister* of Jesus Christ, in speaking of the 
 Bible, as containing a record of divine truth, as 
 a revelation of the will of God, to our fallen 
 race : — " Of all the boons which God has bestow- 
 ed on this apostate and orphaned creation, we are 
 
 * The Rev. Henry Melville, of London, 
 
194 THE SACRAMENT OF 
 
 bound to say that the Bible, (viz. the religion of 
 Christ,) is the noblest and the best. We bring not 
 into comparison with this illustrious donation, the 
 glorious sun-light, nor the rich sustenance which 
 is poured forth from the store-houses of the earth; 
 nor that existence itself, which allows us, though 
 dust, to soar to a companionship with angels. 
 The Bible, (the Gospel,) is a developement of 
 man's immortality, the guide which informs him 
 how he may move off triumphantly, from a con- 
 tracted and temporary scene, and grasp destinies 
 of unbounded splendour — eternity his life-time, 
 and infinity his home. 
 
 " It is the record which tells us, that this rebel- 
 lious section of God's unlimited empire, is not 
 excluded from our jMaker's compassions ; but that 
 the creatures who move on its surface, though 
 they have basely sepulchred in sinfulness and cor- 
 ruption, the magnificence of their nature, are yet 
 so dear in their ruin, to him who first formed 
 them, that he hath bowed down the heavens in 
 order to open their graves. Oh ! you have only 
 to think, what a change would pass on the aspect 
 of our race, if the Bible were suddenly withdrawn, 
 and all remembrance of it swept away, and you 
 arrive at some faint notion of the worth of the 
 volume. Take from Christendom the Bible, and 
 you have taken the moral chart by which alone its 
 population can be guided. Ignorant of the nature 
 of God, and only guessing at their own immorta- 
 lity, the tens of thousands would be as mariners, 
 tossed on a wide ocean, without a pole star, and 
 without a compass. 
 
 " It were to mantle tire earth with more than 
 Egyptian darkness ; it were to take the tides from 
 the waters, and leave them stagnant — the stars 
 from our heavens and leave them in sackcloth, and 
 verdure from our vallies and leave them in barren- 
 
THE lord's supper. 195 
 
 ness. It were, to make the present all reckless- 
 ness, and the future all hopelessness. It were to 
 make this world the maniac's revelry, and then 
 the fiend's imprisonment. 
 
 " Such would be the consequence of annihilating 
 that precious volume which tells us of God and 
 Christ, and which unveils immortality, instructs 
 in duty, and woos to glory. Such is the Bible. 
 Prize it, ye who possess it. Study it more and 
 more. Prize it, as ye are immortal beings, as ye 
 are intellectual beings, for it ' giveth understanding 
 to the simple; to the afflicted, consolation; and to 
 the dying, a hope that maketh not ashamed.' " 
 
 Whenever then, my Christian friend, you are 
 summoned to the table of the Lord, endeavour to 
 forget your cares, your trials, and your sorrows ; 
 think rather of the short duration of the present 
 life; think of the grace which sustains your infir- 
 mities, of the pardon of your sins, through the 
 atoning death of Christ, of the immense weight of 
 glory that will be revealed in you hereafter, of the 
 crown of glory, of the sceptre of rigliteousness, 
 and the kingdom you will inherit, in virtue of the 
 promise, and through the infinite merits of the 
 Son of God. 
 
 Saviour of the world! Author and Finisher of 
 our faiih ! Behold us in mercy. Impart to us thy 
 grace, and when we meet around thy table, to 
 commemorate thy death, let us feel the blessed 
 assurance that our sins are forgiven. Send down 
 the Comforter into our hearts. Break every tie 
 that binds us too strongly to the world. Triumph 
 over every obstacle which opposes thy reign in 
 our hearts. Subdue our reluctant wills, warm our 
 cold hearts, say to us, respectively, "thy soul is 
 mine, it is the purchase of my blood, I will 
 cleanse it, I will save it." 
 
 And may "the God of peace that brought again 
 
196 THE SACRAMENT, &C. 
 
 from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ, that great 
 Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the 
 everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every 
 good work, to do his will; working in us, that 
 which is well pleasing in his sight." " Blessing, 
 and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and 
 honour, and power, and might, be unto our God 
 for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
197 
 
 A PRAYER. 
 
 Sovereign of the universe ! Source of life and 
 knowledge, and of happiness. Father, Son, and 
 Holy Spirit — the one eternal, incomprehensible, 
 unchangeable God, Thee we adore ! Thou art 
 justly entiUed to the homage, love, and obedience 
 of all thine intelligent creatures. In thee we live 
 and move and have our being. The heavens are 
 bright with thy glory, and every part of creation 
 proclaims thy wisdom, thy power, and thy good- 
 ness. Thou art light, and thou art love. There 
 is none like unto thee in Heaven above, or in the 
 earth beneath. Clouds and darkness are round 
 about thee, yet thou art seen in all the operations 
 of nature and of grace. Who by searching can 
 find out God — who can find out the Almighty to 
 perfection ? Thy greatness is unsearchable ; thy 
 throne is of old, and thou art the alpha and ome- 
 ga; from everlasting to everlasting, without varia- 
 bleness or shadow of turning. A thousand years 
 in thy sight, are but as yesterday when it is pass- 
 ed, and as a watch in the night. Thy knowledge 
 is infinite. Every thing in the universe is dis- 
 tinctly known to thee. Darkness hideth not from 
 thee ; the darkness and the light are both alike to 
 thee. 
 
 But Oh Heavenly Father, while we contemplate 
 and adore thy majesty, thy wisdom, and thy 
 power in the works of creation and providence, 
 we would with deep humiliation, confess our total 
 unworthiness of all the favours of thy beneficent 
 hand. We are the depraved children of apostate 
 parents. We depart from thee continually, the 
 fountain of living waters, and most ungratefully 
 hew out to ourselves cisterns — broken cisterns 
 
198 A PRAYER. 
 
 that can hold no water. We idohze the present 
 world, its riches, its honours, and its pleasures, 
 and forget the worship that is due to thee, the only- 
 living and true God. Not a day of our lives passes 
 in which we do not come short of our duty to 
 thee; and there is no language that so becomes 
 us, in our approach to thee, as that of the humble 
 Publican — " God be merciful to us sinners." Yet 
 notwithstanding our unworthiness; our sins of 
 omission and of commission; our depravity of 
 heart ; our neglect and forgelfulness of thee ; our 
 daily violations of thy just and holy laws ; yet thy 
 goodness to us is never interrupted. Thou makest 
 thy sun to shine and thy rain to fall on the just 
 and on the unjust. Thou providest our daily 
 food, and raiment, and shelter. Thou makest all 
 nature beauty to the eye and music to the ear. 
 Thy goodness is unbounded and never ceasing. 
 But there is one gift for which we know not how 
 to be sufficiently thankful. It is ihe gift of thine 
 only and well beloved Son, whom in thy infinite 
 compassion, thou didst send to our rebellious and 
 wretched world, that we might have redemption 
 through his blood, even the forgiveness of our 
 sins, according to the riches of his grace. Glory 
 to thee for this unspeakable favour, by which thou 
 hast made so many of our ruined race heirs of 
 God, and joint heirs with our Redeemer of an in- 
 heritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth 
 not away. And, blessed Jesus, who art one with 
 the Father and the Holy Spirit; by whom all 
 things were created that are in heaven, and on 
 eartli, visible and invisible ; in whom all fullness 
 dwells ; to thee is given of the Father all power 
 and dominion throughout the universe. We adore 
 and bless thee, that although possessing a glory 
 beyond the comprehension of feeble mortals, thou 
 didst condescend to stoop so low, as to assume 
 
A PRAYER. 199 
 
 our nature ; to live a life of suffering, of reproach, 
 of sorrow and persecution, and to die an igno- 
 minious and painful death on the cross, that thou 
 mightest by the sacrifice of thyself become the 
 propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, 
 but for the sins of the whole world. 
 
 We thank thee who art the light of the world, 
 for the rays of divine truth which have already been 
 diffused, and which are nov/ spreading throughout 
 the world; for having brought life and immortality 
 so clearly to light in thy gospel; for having given 
 ns the Holy Spirit in any measure, as our Com- 
 forter and our Guide to all truth; for having in 
 unspeakable compassion, borne our griefs and car- 
 ried our sorrows ; for having submitted to be 
 wounded for our transgressions and bruised for 
 our iniquities; for having poured out thy soul to 
 death for us sinners, having borne the sin of many 
 and made intercession for the transgressors. 
 
 We thank thee. Divine Teacher, for thy truly 
 instructive precepts and thy most perfect example; 
 but still more for the many precious promises thou 
 hast left on record, for the direction and consola- 
 tion of all who believe in thee ; for that peace 
 which passeih all understanding — thine own peace,, 
 such as the v\-orld can neitheir give nor take away, 
 and for the assurance that all things work to- 
 gether for good to them that love God, to them 
 who are called according to thy purpose. We 
 thank thee for the blessed prospect of inhabiting 
 those glorious mansions which thou hast gone to 
 prepare for tliy followers in the heavens, that 
 where thou art they may also be, and that the 
 dead who die in the Lord, shall rest from their 
 labours and their works shall follow them. 
 
 Thanks to thee also. Divine Lawgiver I for the 
 Sacraments of Baptism and the holy Eucharist— 
 the one typifying regeneration by the Holy Spirit, 
 
200 A PRAYER. 
 
 and the other a commemoration of thine own ex- 
 emplary life, and of thy most meritorious death. 
 And having now contemplated in the preceding 
 pages, the nature, the duty, the privilege, the bene- 
 fi-ts, and consolations of that sacred ordinance, insti- 
 tuted the night before thy death, in which, by the 
 eating of bread, and the drinking of wine, in 
 obedience to thy command, we do show forth thy 
 death until thou come a second time to judge the 
 world in righteousness; help us we pray thee to 
 discharge this high and solemn duty, acceptably 
 to thee, and usefully to our souls. While we par- 
 take of these sensible emblems of thy broken body 
 and thy shed blood, we devoutly pray that our 
 hearts may glow with love and gratitude to thee, 
 and with love to our fellow mortals. We pray 
 that as often as we eat of this bread and drink of 
 this cup, we may not eat or drink unworthily, but in 
 all our life and conversation may by faitli feed on 
 thee and be nourished, and prove that we are truly 
 thy disciples, looking for that blessed hope and 
 glorious appearance of the great God and our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. May we consider that we 
 are here sojourners and pilgrims, travelling to a 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, 
 a celestial mansion, where God shall wipe away all 
 tears; where there shall be no more pain, nor sor- 
 row, nor death ; where there is no night, and they 
 need not the light of the sun, for the Lord God giv- 
 eth them light, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
 
 Being redeemed bythe blood of our crucified 
 Lord, as of a lamb without blemish and without 
 spot, may we give diligence to make our calling 
 and election sure; adding to our faith virtue, and 
 to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge, temper- 
 ance, and to temperance, patience, and to patience, 
 godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and 
 to brotherly kindness, charity ; may these heavenly 
 
A PRAYER. 201 
 
 graces dwell in us richly that we be not barren, 
 nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 And while we thus pray for ourselves, we would 
 not forget our brethren of mankind. We pray that 
 the knowledge of the true God may cover the 
 earth as the waters cover the channels of the great 
 deep; that the Bible may be universally diffused 
 and read; that thy kingdom, dearest Lord! may 
 come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in 
 heaven. All these petitions we offer in thine 
 adored name ; and now to the King immortal, in- 
 visible, the only wise God, be honour and glory 
 for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 A PRAYER 
 
 By the late Rev. Mr. John Logan, minister of 
 Z>eith, in Scotland, after the administration of 
 the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Father Almighty ! we come again into thy 
 presence, with the voice of thanksgiving and of 
 praise, to worship at the footstool of thy throne. 
 May our prayers come up before thee, as the in- 
 cense of old ; and the lifting up of our hands, as 
 the evening sacrifice ! To all temples, thou pre- 
 ferrest the pure and humble heart; to all burnt- 
 offerings, t]ie sacrifice of prayer and of praise. 
 
 The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. 
 Thou dwellest not in temples made with hands. 
 The universe is the altar of God. Thy worship- 
 pers are, wherever are thy works : every knee 
 bends, and every tongue utters thy praise. Thou 
 lookest down from the height of heaven, upon all 
 the works of thy hands. Thou art clothed with 
 majesty, and dwellest in light. Thou art a God 
 
 U 
 
202 A PRAYER. 
 
 of pure eyes : Thou art glorious in holiness. 
 Thou lookest upon the sun, and it shineth not: 
 the heavens are not clean in thy sight. The 
 angels who surround thy throne continually wor- 
 ship thee, saying. Holy, holy, holy art thou, Lord 
 God Almighty ! the whole heavens, and the whole 
 earth are full of thy glory ! 
 
 Thy throne, O God, is forever : Thy dominion 
 ruleth over all: the sceptre of thy kingdom is alto- 
 gether a right sceptre. Thy tender mercies are 
 over all thy works. Thy goodness falls every 
 where like the dew, and extends like the beams of 
 the sun. Order and beauty attend thy steps : 
 mercy and love direct the whole train of thine ad- 
 ministrations. Thou lookest down upon the high- 
 est and upon the lowest of thy works : Thou 
 carest for the raven of the desert : Thou feedest 
 the fowls of the air when they cry unto thee. 
 Thou adornest the grass with green, and deckest 
 the lilies of the field with beauty superior to the 
 glory of kings. Thou hast created all beings at 
 first with a father's care, and thou dost still watch 
 over them with a father's eye. Thou, the Lord 
 Jehovah, rejoicest in thy works: and thy works, 
 O Lord Jehovah, rejoice in thee. Whatever hath 
 being blesses thee : whatever hath life sings thy 
 praise. Who is like unto the Lord our God, that 
 dwelleth on high ! 
 
 We, too, the children of men, desire to accord 
 with the rest of thy creation, to join in the joy of 
 universal nature, and to bear a part in the hymn 
 which the living world continually sings to thee. 
 Thou hast raised us above the animal creation : 
 Thou hast opened unto us the source of pure and 
 intellectual pleasure : Thou hast endowed us with 
 higher life than what pertains to the body ; and 
 set before us a better world than that which we 
 now inhabit. Thy goodness is new to us every 
 
A PRAYER. 203 
 
 day of our lives. Thou leadest us to the green 
 pastures, and by the still waters : Thou guardest 
 us from the arrow that flieth in darkness, and from 
 the destruction which wasteth at noon-day. The 
 lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places : the 
 sun doth not smite us by day, nor the moon by 
 niffht. The Lord buildeth the house: the Lord 
 keepeth the city. Blessed for ever be the name ot 
 the Lord : Because the Lord God Omnipotent 
 reigneth, let the isles be glad, and the inhabitants 
 of the earth rejoice. 
 
 But alas ! what is man, O Lord, that thou art 
 mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou 
 shouldst visit him. The child of the dust, whose 
 strength is weakness, whose wisdom is folly, 
 whose goodness is imperfection, whose life is 
 altogether vanity ! We behold the heavens, but 
 discern not him who stretched them over our 
 heads : we hear the voice, and speech, and lan- 
 guage of universal nature proclaiming the great 
 Creator : we hear the night speaking unto the 
 night, and the day reporting unto the day, telling 
 of him that made them, and vet we learn not to 
 know thee as we might, nor become wise unto 
 salvation. 
 
 Have mercy upon us, O God; not for our own 
 sakes, but for the sake of him whom thou lovest 
 always, our Advocate and Intercessor with thee. 
 Help, Lord, or else we perish: extend thy power- 
 ful arm, and snatch us from the devouring deep. 
 Reconcile us unto thyself, through the blood of 
 Jesus, whom thou hast set forth to be a propitia- 
 tion for the sins of the world ; who suffered for us 
 on the accursed tree, that he might bring us to 
 God, and purify us unto himself, a peculiar peo- 
 ple, zealous of good works. For his sake forgive 
 all our iniquities: receive us graciously, and love 
 us freely. See, O God, the contrition and repent- 
 
204 A PRAYER. 
 
 ance of our hearts. Hear the vows which this 
 day we have offered up at the table of a Redeem- 
 er. O our Father, receive again thy children unto 
 thee, who return with their whole heart, and 
 strength, and soul. Framer of the bodies which 
 now stand before thee ; Father of the spirits which 
 now ascend unto thee in prayer, take thine own 
 unto thyself. Our spirits magnify, and love, and 
 bless thee the Lord : as the hart panteth after the 
 water brooks, so pant our souls after thee, O God. 
 The desire of our hearts is unto thee, and to the 
 remembrance of thy name ! 
 
 May our purposes of amendment, and sincere 
 endeavours after purity of heart and life, be not 
 like the early cloud and dew, which soon pass 
 away and are no more ; but like the morning light, 
 which shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 day. Teach us to shun every temptation to sin : 
 may we neither sit in the chair of the scorner, nor 
 stand in the way of sinners, nor walk after the 
 counsel of the ungodly. May we study the laws 
 and commandments of our God : make them our 
 meditation by night, and our practice by day; that 
 we may be like trees planted by the rivers of wa- 
 ter, which yield their fruit in their season, and 
 whose leaf is ever green. Let not the course of 
 days, and months, and years, which we enjoy, 
 pass over us in vain, to rise up against us in sad 
 remembrance at the evening of life, and to fill our 
 departing hours with terror and remorse. Let not 
 the time of our pilgrimage in this world be one 
 vast blank, barren of improvement, and blotted 
 with conscious guilt; but may we pass the time 
 of our sojourning here in thy fear, daily abound- 
 ing in the graces of Christianity, and the fruits of 
 holiness, adding to our faith virtue, and one grace 
 to another, till we arrive at full conformity to thy 
 blessed image, and be partakers with the saints in 
 
A PRAYER. 205 
 
 light. May we be translated from the kingdom 
 of darkness, to the kingdom of thy Son, and be 
 entitled to all the privileges of the children of 
 God. 
 
 Bestow upon us that faith which purifieth the 
 heart and worketh by love. Grant unto us that 
 repentance from dead works to serve the living 
 God, which leadeth unto life, and is not to be re- 
 pented of. Fill our hearts with that charity which 
 is the bond of perfection, which suffereth long, 
 and is kind, which beareth all things, which hopeth 
 all things, and which endureth all things. Inspire 
 us with that wisdom which cometh from abov^e, 
 which is pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy and 
 of good fruits, without partiality, and without hy- 
 pocrisy. May we exercise at all times a con- 
 science void of offence towards God and towards 
 man, and have the testimony of our own hearts, 
 that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had 
 our lives and conversation in the world. 
 
 For these purposes, O God, inspire us with thy 
 spirit, and strengthen us with all might in the 
 inner man, that we may press forward to perfec- 
 tion. May we acquire that humility which after- 
 wards shall be exalted ; that mourning which shall 
 be comforted ; those penitential tears which shall 
 be changed into eternal consolations ; that con- 
 tempt of the world to which belongs the kingdom 
 of heaven ; that purity of heart which shall fit us 
 to see God, and perform all those works of mercy, 
 and labours of love, for which the kingdom of our 
 Lord was prepared before the foundations of the 
 world were laid. Grant that neither the splendour 
 of any thing that is great, nor the conceit of any 
 thing that is good within us, may ever withdraw 
 our eyes from looking upon ourselves as sinful 
 dust and ashes ; but that we may persevere with 
 patience and humility, and zeal, unto the end. 
 
206 A PRAYER. 
 
 Grant that when we shall depart from this life, we 
 may sleep in the Lord, and when the morning of 
 the resurrection dawns over the world, we may 
 lift up our heads with triumph, and rejoicing, re- 
 ceive the blessed sentence of those who having 
 done well are called upon to enter into their Mas- 
 ter's joy. 
 
 And now, our waiting eyes, O God, are to- 
 wards thee. May the words of our mouths, and 
 the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in thy 
 sight, O Lord our strength and our Redeemer. 
 All these our humble prayers, we offer up in the 
 name, and through the intercession of Christ, to 
 whom with the Father and Holy Spirit be all 
 praise and glory. Amen. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SIN UNTO DEATH. 
 
 The Christian Advocate, lately edited by the 
 Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, formerly President of the 
 College of New Jersey, contains a review (see 
 vol. i. p. 180,) of " Letters on the Sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper, by Samuel Bayard, a ruling 
 elder of the Presbyterian congregation at Prince- 
 ton." The Rev. Editor in his remarks on this 
 work, after some commendations, has also made 
 some strictures, which being just and proper have 
 not been overlooked or disregarded in the present 
 edition. 
 
 There is, however, one criticism, which if cor- 
 rect, is certainly contrary to the views of many 
 theologians ; some of whom are pre-eminently en- 
 titled to deference and attention. 
 
 The following passage in the Review is one in 
 which the reviewer and author do not agree. At 
 page 77, vol. i, of the Christian Advocate, the 
 reviewer says, "According to the doctrine con- 
 tained in the Letters on the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper, you see that blasphemy against 
 the Holy Ghost is the only sin that has been de- 
 clared to be beyond the reach of pardon, and that 
 
208 APPENDIX. 
 
 this offence could only be committed prior to lh€ 
 cessation of miracles." 
 
 *' From the conclusion stated at the close of this 
 sentence," says the editor of the Christian Advo- 
 cate, " we very seriously dissent. ^Ve know that 
 the opinion, thus expressed, is not altogether 
 novel; but it is in opposition to the sentiments of 
 the best commentators and divines. There is no 
 need, for the relief of tender consciences, to have 
 recourse to the supposition, that ' the sin inito 
 death'' cannot be committed since the cessation of 
 miracles. Abundant guards may be and have been 
 provided to preserve despondent minds, from in- 
 jury by a perversion of the terrific texts which 
 relate to this subject; but we think, that as the 
 representation is not true, viz. ' that it is impos- 
 sible that this sin should now be committed,' so 
 that such a representation may be practically dan- 
 gerous." 
 
 From the conclusion stated as the deliberate 
 opinion of the learned editor of the Christian 
 Advocate, some of the best and latest commenta- 
 tors on the sacred Scriptures " very seriously dis- 
 sent." The current of authority on this subject 
 is obviously against the " terrific" doctrine of 
 there being now, any sin that is beyond the reach 
 of pardon. If the doctrine maintained by President 
 Green, be indeed that of the Scriptures, whatever 
 painful sensations it might occasion to humble and 
 timid penitents; whatever gloom it might cast 
 over their minds, when under severe conviction of 
 sin, we should say receive it, believe it as revealed 
 truth ; but if it have no real foundation in the 
 sacred records, which can be shown conclusively, 
 why then burden the tender conscience of the 
 simple-hearted, unlearned convert witli a doctrine, 
 the tendency of which is to excite alarm, and 
 which leads to despondency. Experience proves 
 
APPENDIX. 209 
 
 that in very numerous instances, it " breaks the 
 bruised reed," and reduces minds already prostrate 
 under the conviction of past sins, to tlie borders of 
 despair; nay, on some occasions to partial insanity. 
 There is seldom a revival of religion in Protestant 
 congregations, in which there are not some cases 
 of persons, under deep conviction, who imagine 
 they have committed " the unpardonable sin." 
 
 It is not proposed in the present short discussion 
 to enter fully into this important subject. A few 
 extracts from the works of distinguished theolo- 
 gians, with some explanatory remarks will set this 
 matter in its true light. 
 
 The first remark that occurs, is, that there is no 
 such phrase in the Scriptures, as " the sin against 
 the Holy Ghost. ^^ There are several sins against 
 the Spirit. Such as "quenching the Spirit," 
 " lying to the Holy Ghost, and blasphemy against 
 the Holy Ghost." But the unpardonable sin as 
 stated in Matt. v. 31, 32, is confined to the case of 
 imputing our Lord's miracles, or those of his dis- 
 ciples, to the agency of Satan. The " sin unto 
 death," spoken of by the apostle John, (see 1 John 
 V. 16,) is a very different offence from the one de- 
 clared to be irremissible, as we shall see when 
 the subject is considered more closely. Care 
 should be taken not to confound these offences, 
 with each other, as has been too often done, the 
 one relating to and involving punishment here and 
 hereafter, while the other extends to this life 
 only and induces the penalty merely of temporal 
 death. 
 
 The learned and judicious Dr. Campbell, in his 
 translation of the Gospels, thus renders our Lord's 
 words, as recorded in the several evangelists, 
 Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 
 
 Matt. xii. 31, 32.- — " Wherefore I say unto you, 
 though every other sin and detraction in men is 
 
210 APPENDIX. 
 
 pardonable, their detraction from the Spirit is un- 
 pardonable, for whosoever shall inveigh against 
 the Son of man may obtain pardon ; but whosoever 
 shall speak against the Holy Spirit shall never be 
 pardoned, either in the present state or in the 
 future." 
 
 Again, in Mark iii. 28, 29, our Lord's words 
 are thus rendered, " Verily, I say unto you, that 
 though all other sins in the sons of men are par- 
 donable, and whatever detractions they shall utter, 
 whoever shall detract from the Holy Spirit shall 
 never be pardoned, but is liable to eternal punish- 
 ment." The evangelist adds, " He said this be- 
 cause they affirmed that he was leagued with an 
 unclean spirit." 
 
 Luke xii. 10: — "And whoso shall inveigh 
 against the Son of Man may obtain remission, 
 but to him that detracteth from the Holy Spirit 
 there is no remission." 
 
 Such is Dr. Campbell's version of the several 
 passages in the New Testament that relate to this 
 interesting subject. 
 
 The venerable Charles Thomson, secretary of 
 congress during our revolutionary war, who was 
 an eminent Greek scholar, and who for many 
 years devoted his time to the translation of the 
 sacred Scriptures, renders the twelfth chapter of 
 Matthew, verses 31, 32, as follows: "Therefore 
 I say unto you, that all manner of sin and slander 
 may be forgiven men, but this slanderous speak- 
 ing against the Spirit, is not to be forgiven men. 
 Even though one speak against the Son of Man, 
 it may be forgiven him, but whosoever shall speak 
 against the Holy Spirit, is not to be forgiven either 
 in the present age, or in that which is to come." 
 In a note, the translator adds, " That is, in the 
 age under the Mosaic law;" "or in that to come,'* 
 viz. the afre under the Messiah. 
 
APPENDIX. 211 
 
 Archbishop Tillotson, who is admitted to be a 
 very eminent theologian, discusses this subject at 
 large in his Seventeenth Sermon, vol. i. He 
 states the various opinions of other authors, and 
 then gives what he apprehends to be the true 
 meaning of our Lord's words on this subject, as 
 recorded by St. Matthew. From a full view and 
 consideration of this matter, he draws the follow- 
 ing result: " So that," he says, " the true nature 
 of this sin (against the Holy Ghost,) did consist 
 in a most malicious opposition to the utmost evi- 
 dence that could be given to the truth of any reli- 
 gion. And herein lay the greatness of their sin, 
 in resisting the evidence of those miracles, which 
 were so plainly wrought by the Holy Spirit, and 
 which though themselves saw, yet they malicious- 
 ly imputed to the devil, rather than be convinced 
 by them. And if this be the nature of this sin, as 
 I have declared, as it seems very plain that it is, 
 then I cannot see how any person noiv, is likely 
 to be in circumstances so as to be capable of com- 
 mitting it ; and being a sin of so heinous a nature, 
 and declared by our Saviour to be absolutely un- 
 pardonable, there is no reason to extend it beyond 
 the case to which our Saviour applies it. And no 
 person hath warrant to extend this sin any further 
 than this case; and without good warrant, it would 
 be the most uncharitable thing in the world to 
 extend it further." 
 
 And yet how many learned theologians, by con- 
 struction, do this " most uncharitable thing." 
 They charge the sacred text with a meaning 
 against its plain, obvious import, lest a contrary 
 " representation might be practically dangerous.''^ 
 
 Dr. Adam Clarke, one of the latest and most 
 distinguished commentators on the Bible, in a note 
 on the twelfth chapter of St. Matthew, verses 31, 
 32, has the following remarks: 
 
212 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. — Even 
 personal reproaches, revilings, persecutions against 
 Christ, were remissible, but blasphemy, or impi- 
 ous speaking against the Holy Spirit was to have 
 no forgiveness, i. e. when the person obstinately 
 imputed those works to the devil, which he had 
 the fullest evidence could be wrought only by the 
 Spirit of God. That this, and nothing else is the 
 sin against the Holy Spirit, is evident from the 
 connexion in this place ; and more particularly 
 from ^lark iii. 28, 29, 30. Here the matter is 
 made clear beyond the smallest doubt; the unpar- 
 donable sin, as some term it, is nether more nor 
 less than ascribing the miracles which Christ 
 wrought, by the power of God, to the spirit of 
 the devil. Many sincere people have been griev- 
 ously troubled with apprehensions that they had 
 committed the unpardonable sin; but let it be 
 observed, that no man who believes in the divine 
 mission of Jesus Christ, ever can commit this sin; 
 therefore let no man's heart fail because of it, 
 from henceforth and for ever." 
 
 The late Rev. Dr. Henry Kollock, for several 
 years Professor of Theology in the College of 
 New Jersey, in his sermon on " The sin against 
 the Holy Ghost," (vol. ii. serm. 52,) has the fol- 
 lowing very just and pertinent remarks: 
 
 *' This sin consists in ascribing the miracles 
 wrought by Jesus Christ through the power of the 
 Holy Ghost to the devil; while those who thus 
 blasphemed were actuated by envy, malice, pride, 
 and other malignant passions ; or spoke against 
 conviction, and the light of their conscience. This 
 definition is calculated to afford relief to those timid 
 consciences which are agitated with fear, lest they 
 have committed this crime. They form false no- 
 tions of it, and then give themselves up to despair. 
 Every gross sin committed against knowledge and 
 
APPENDIX. 213 
 
 conscience is not this sin ; nor every denial of 
 Christ's miracles; nor every denial of the divinity 
 and the personality of the Holy Spirit; nor every 
 blasphemous suggestion of Salan ; nor every sin 
 against grace received ; nor every malicious per- 
 secution of Christianity; nor every resisting, op- 
 posing, quenching the motions of the Spirit; for 
 many thousand persons who have committed these 
 sins, have afterwards repented and been forgiven, 
 have become ornaments of the Church on earth, 
 and received the crown of glory beyond the grave." 
 
 But it will be asked, " does not the apostle John 
 in his first epistle, (v. 16,) expressly declare that 
 ^ there is a sin iinto death?'' " And is not this the 
 sin against the Holy Ghost, which our Lord has 
 stated to be unpardonable? By no means. This 
 is a distinct and very different offence. 
 
 " To understand this," says Dr. Kollock, " you 
 must recall some circumstances in the history of 
 the primitive Church, which are frequently men- 
 tioned 'in the New Testament. At this period, 
 God frequently punislied with sickness and disor- 
 der, those who had violated their duty and fallen 
 into sin. I need produce no other example of this, 
 than the Corinthian Church, in which St. Paul 
 teaches us, there were many sick, and many dead, 
 because of their profanation of the Lord's Supper. 
 The case of Ananias and Sapphira is also di- 
 rectly in point. Here was a sin unto death, in 
 consequence of using deceit, in keeping back part 
 of the purchase money of an estate, professedly 
 sold for the purpose of aiding their fellow Chris- 
 tians, or as the apostle Peter styles the oflence, 
 ' for lying to the Holy Ghost,' " " The sin unto 
 death," says Dr. K., " spoken of by St. John, 
 has a reference to sundry offences called ' presump- 
 tuous sins,' under the Mosaic dispensation, for 
 which there was no sacrifice, but which were pun- 
 
214 APPENDIX. 
 
 ished with temporal deaths (See Num. xv. 30, 31: 
 Levit. XX. 10 : and 1 Sam. ii. 25. "1 
 
 Dr. Adam Clarke's comment on these words of 
 St. John, is as follows : 
 
 " The sin unto death means any case of trans- 
 gression, particularly of grievous backsliding from 
 the power and life of godliness which God deter- 
 mines to punish with temporal deaths while at the 
 same time he extends mercy to the penitent soul. 
 The case of the disobedient prophet (1 Kings xiii. 
 1 — 32) on this interpretation, is a case in point. 
 Many others occur in the history of the Church, 
 and of every religious denomination. The sin not 
 unto death, is every sin which God does not choose 
 thus to punish. I do not think this passage (in 
 St. John) has any thing to do with the sin against 
 the Holy Ghost. This we know, that any peni- 
 tent may find mercy through Jesus Christ, for 
 through him every kind of sin may be forgiven to 
 man, except the sin against the Holy Ghost, ivhich 
 I have proved that no man can now commit ^ 
 
 Dr. Kollock in his sermon on " the sin against 
 the Holy Ghost," states ^few from many reasons, 
 which prove that the passage from St. John has no 
 relation whatever to " the unpardonable sin." To 
 these reasons are subjoined the following remarks: 
 
 "Finally, the phrase is thus used in several 
 parts of Scripture. In a variety of places in the 
 Pentateuch, which we have translated, ' a sin wor- 
 thy of death,' it is in the original, ' a sin unto 
 death;' and in these places, there can be no ques- 
 tion, but the death was a temporal one. The 
 phrase then was familiar with the Jews, and when 
 used by a Jew in the New Testament, we must 
 annex to it that sense which it uniformly bears in 
 the writings of his countrymen. -Laying aside then 
 this verse in St. John as of no moment in the pre- 
 sent inquiry, we find that the only passages in 
 
APPENDIX. 215 
 
 Scripture which speak of the sin against the Holy 
 Ghost, are those contained in Matthew xii. 31, 32: 
 Mark iii. 23 : and Luke xiii. 10." 
 
 The following comment is taken from the lec- 
 tures of the excellent Dr. Porteus, late bishop of 
 London, on the gospel of St. Matthew. After 
 having given what he considers to be the true in- 
 terpretation of our Lord's words in regard to the 
 sin against the Holy Ghost, he goes on to say : 
 " From this interpretation, which I believe is 
 generally admitted to be the true one, it appears 
 that there is no just ground for the apprehensions 
 sometimes entertained by pious and scrupulous 
 minds, that they may themselves be guilty of the 
 sin here declared to be unpardonable — the sin 
 against tiie Holy Ghost ; for we see that it is con- 
 fined solely and exclusively, to the case before us ; 
 that is, to the crime of which the Pharisees had 
 just been guilty — the crime of attributing to the 
 agency of evil spirits those miracles which were 
 plainly wrought by the Spirit of God, and which 
 they saw with their own eyes." 
 
 The following is Dr. Doddridge's exposition of 
 Matt. xii. 31, 32: 
 
 " V/herefore I say unto you, (says our Lord) 
 that all their sins shall be forgiven to the children 
 of men, and even all the other blasphemies with 
 which they shall blaspheme ; but the blasphemy 
 against the Spirit of God, in this most glorious 
 dispensation of it, shall not be forgiven to those 
 impious and incorrigible men who shall dare to 
 impute to diabolical operation, those glorious works 
 of divine power and goodness. 
 
 *' And 1 add, that whosoever speaks a contemp- 
 tuous and impious word, even against the Son of 
 Man himself, while here on earth in this obscure 
 form, he may possibly be brought to repentance 
 for it, and so it shall be forgiven him ; and conse^ 
 
216 APPENDIX. 
 
 quently even your case, bad as it is, is not entirely 
 hopeless; but whosoever shall maliciously speak 
 any thing of this nature against the Holy Spirit, 
 when the grand dispensation of it shall open in 
 those miraculous gifts and operations that will be 
 attended with the most evident demonstrations of 
 this mighty power, it shall never be forgiven him 
 at all, either in this world or in that which is to 
 come, but he is obnoxious to eternal damnation, 
 and must irrevocably sink into it; nor will all the 
 grace of the gospel in its fullest display, afford a 
 remedy for so aggravated a crime, or furnish him 
 with means for his conviction and recovery. This 
 admonition he gives them with such repeated so- 
 lemnity, because they had maliciously said, ' He 
 has an unclean spirit, and performs these miracu- 
 lous works by the assistance of Beelzebub.' " (See 
 Mark iii. 30.) 
 
 The last quotation that will be made on this 
 subject, is from a late living author, a pious and 
 intellio^ent minister of the Church of England. '^ 
 
 " As many,'''' he says, " have, from an inaccu- 
 rate conception of this offence, lived for years in a 
 state of trouble and despondency, for which they 
 believed that neither earth nor heaven, neither time 
 nor eternity, contained a remedy; which fact the 
 experience of most Christians will corroborate." 
 He therefore discusses the subject more fully than 
 he would otherwise have done. We are obliofed 
 to omit many of his remarks on this sin ; but after 
 stating several things in which it does not consist, 
 he sums up by observing: " Were we asked dis- 
 tinctly in what it does consist, we should reply, 
 from an examination of the context, simply in as- 
 cribing the miracles of our Lord to the power of 
 
 * See Blount's Lectures on the History of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, vol. ii. p. 3*^ — 5 — 7. 
 
APPENDIX. 217 
 
 the Prince of darkness.''^ He adds however, " But 
 then we should gather from all the circumstances 
 of the case, this assurance — that although the sin 
 itsc/f probably may never be committed at the 
 present day;'' yet " the state of mind which led to 
 its committal, may not be so utterly unknown even 
 among ourselves, as men in the fullness of a spu- 
 rious charity are too apt to imagine." 
 
 " That this sin is unpardonable, we have the 
 authority of Christ himself. No sin can be for- 
 given without repentance; but repentance is the gift 
 of God, and for this, it will assuredly never be bes- 
 towed. The blasphemers of the Holy Ghost, 
 therefore by driving from them the only person 
 who could ' give repentance,' the only person who 
 conveys all the covenanted mercies of the God- 
 head, which are from the Father through the Son 
 and by the Holy Ghost, into the souls of his peo- 
 ple, seal themselves up under final and total apos- 
 tasy until the day of doom." 
 
 On a due consideration of the foregoing extracts 
 from the writings of some of the most learned 
 and judicious theologians, English and American, 
 not of one, but of various religious denominations, 
 the important question arises — Is the author of the 
 Letters on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or 
 the reviewer of this work, most correct in his 
 sentiments on this interesting subject? Whose "re- 
 presentation" is most agreeable to Scripture, and 
 whose views are likely to be most " practically 
 dangerous ?" 
 
 Does not the doctrine of our Lord's words beinsf 
 applicable only to the offence of imputing the mir- 
 acles wrought by the agency of the Holy Spirit, to 
 the influence of the Uvil One, tend to relieve tender 
 consciences from the dreadful apprehension of 
 having committed the unpardonable sin ? Or on 
 the other hand, by a mistaken construction of our 
 
 15 
 
218 APPENDIX. 
 
 Divine Legislator's words, shall any one venture 
 to assume the responsibrlity, of extending the 
 Tpeivdhy o( irremisslhillty^ to several other offences, 
 because of some imaginary resemblance in turpi- 
 tude, to that pronounced by our Lord to be unpar- 
 donable ? Are not the general spirit of the gospel, 
 many striking passages throughout the Bible, and 
 the obvious meaning of our Lord's words on this 
 subject, clearly adverse to such a construction? 
 
 On this point, the Rev. Editor of the Christian 
 Advocate, and the author of the Letters on the 
 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, cannot both be 
 right. There is no middle ground. We must, 
 by adopting one opinion, reject the opposite. 
 
 How then shall the unlearned ascertain the 
 truth ? Let them recur to the Bible, read, medi- 
 tate, and determine, and if they do err, let it be 
 on the side of mercy. Those who are most ex- 
 posed to suffer, from an erroneous application of 
 our Lord's words, should be the most assiduous 
 in getting a right view of this matter. 
 
 Our Divine Master was meek and compassion- 
 ate. His chief employment, while on earth, was 
 *' going about doing good." He never rejected 
 the penitent and believing sinner, whatever his 
 former sins may have been. He received and 
 pardoned " the chief of sinners;" the proud Pha- 
 risee, and the covetous Publican; the persecuting 
 Saul, and the woman who had been a notorious 
 sinner. May we not then hope, that, if the Rev. 
 Editor of the Christian Advocate, on further con- 
 sideration shall find, with the pious Bishop Por- 
 teus, that the construction here given of the sin 
 against the Holy Ghost, is ** the one now gene- 
 ralli/ admitted to be the true one,^^ he will add 
 the weight of his opinion to that of the respect- 
 able authors above cited, and thus sanction the 
 doctrine maintained in " the Letters on the Sacra- 
 
APPENDIX. 219 
 
 ment of the Lord's Snpper," on lliis important 
 point? Surely this construction is far less "prac- 
 tically dangerous," than the one which would 
 attach irremissibility to the many offences of 
 whicli weak mortals are capable, and which they 
 are often so strongly tempted to commit. 
 
 On further reflection, it is hoped, that the candid 
 Reviewer of the Letters on the Sacrament, will 
 yield to the conviction that the unpardonable sin 
 consists, " solely and exclusively," in imputing to 
 the agency of Satan those miracles which our 
 Lord and his disciples performed through the 
 power and influence of the Holy Spirit. As this 
 construction tends to convey peace and comfort to 
 mistaken, but timid penitents, to hearts of morbid 
 sensibility, labouring under the fearful apprehen- 
 sion of eternal reprobation, how desirable is it that 
 such hearts should be relieved from a dread, often 
 terminating in temporary insanity, and which is 
 not only "practically dangerous,'' but awfully so, 
 to numbers who have not access to those sources 
 of correct information, which would at once en- 
 lighten their minds, and calm their fears, on a sub- 
 ject of so deep interest, and such personal concern, 
 to every candidate for happiness here, and for 
 glory hereafter. 
 
 THE END. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
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 CAYLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S A