As this doctrine is throughout an argument against itself, it will only be necessary to offer a few remarks on the words of Scripture, which are adduced to support it. The words of our Saviour, in the distribution of the bread and wine, were, "This is my body," and "This is my blood." It is contended that these expressions are to be intepreted literally. Why they should be thus interpreted, it is hard to see. In the institution of the Jewish rite which has just now been noticed, it is said, this is the Lord's Passover; but it has never been asserted, I believe, that the paschal lamb was Jehovah in the act of passing over the houses of the Israelites. And yet the rule of literal interpretation requires such a meaning. Again; we must make thorough work in this kind of interpretation. If we believe that the bread in the communion is the body of Christ, we must also believe, that it was so at the time of the first celebration; and that it

left hand, and round about itself. That the same thing, at the same time, should move to and from itself, and lie still; or that it should be carried from one place to another through the middle space, and yet not move. That it should be brought from heaven to earth, and yet not come out of heaven, nor be at all in any of the middle spaces between heaven and earth. That to be one should be to be undivided from itself, and yet that one and the same thing should be divided from itself. That a thing may be and yet be nowhere. That a finite thing may be in all places at once. That a body may be in a place and have there its dimensions, and colour, and all other qualities, and yet that it is not in the power of God to make it visible and tangible there, nor capable of doing or suffering any thing. That there should be no certainty in our senses, and yet that we should know something certainly, and yet know nothing but by our senses." After enumerating several other contradictions, he adds, "All these, and many others of the like nature, are the unavoidable, and most of them the acknowledged consequences of your doctrine of transubstantiation, as it is explained one way or the other by your Schoolmen." The Religion of Protestants a safe way to Salvation, chap. iv. sec. 46.

was not only his body, but his crucified body, for Jesus said, "This is my body which is broken for you." Is it probable that the twelve disciples regarded the bread which they ate as the mangled body of their Master, while they saw him living and unhurt before them?

The simple truth is, that in the whole compass of language, there is not a more common figure than that which authorizes us to say, such a thing is such another thing, when we mean that it represents the other thing.

The doctrine of Luther on this subject, is not in the least degree better than that of the Catholics. He taught that the real body and blood of Christ were united with real bread and wine in the Sacrament; and he called this doctrine consubstantiation. The great reformer did nothing by this change, but deprive himself of the advantage of the words of Scripture. Jesus certainly did not say, "This is my body united with bread," and "This is my blood united with wine."

Leaving these perversions, let us return to the plain and scriptural account of the Lord's supper. The bread and wine of the Communion are symbols of the body and blood of Christ; and we partake of them in remembrance of him.

With this view of the nature and design of the rite, I shall proceed to consider its efficacy and obligation.

SECTION IV.

Efficacy and Obligation of the Lord's Supper.

THIS division of our subject is inseparably connected with the last. The efficacy of the Lord's Supper is to be determined from its nature and design-from what it is

adapted, and what it was intended to effect. This is so evident, that it admits of no question; and this being granted, it follows most certainly and undeniably, that if in its nature and design it is a commemoration of our Saviour, and nothing more, all that can be advanced concerning its efficacy, must rest on this view of it, and on this alone. As soon as we come to talk of a design which was never expressed, of influences which were never promised, and of effects which were never intimated, by Jesus or his apostles, at that moment do we forsake the only true guide on this subject, which is the Scriptures, and enter a labyrinth of error and darkness.

To inquire, therefore, what is the efficacy of the communion, is to inquire what effects will naturally be produced by a solemn remembrance of our Lord.

The bread which we eat, in partaking of his Supper, represents his body which was broken on the cross; the wine which we drink, represents his blood, which was shed for the remission of sins. His death is thus forcibly impressed on our minds; the affecting circumstances which accompanied it are vividly painted to our imagination; the unfeeling, traitorous disciple, who came in the dead of night, at the head of a band of ruffians, to seize him in the garden of Gethsemane; the false, malicious, frivolous testimony, upon which he was condemned; the indignities, blows, and tortures, which were heaped on him in the palace of the high priest; the infuriate multitude, thristing for his blood, and clamouring for his crucifixion in the judgment hall of Pilate;—the awful scene of that ignominious death; the innocent sufferer, stretched upon the cross between two thieves; the soldiers and the crowd below him, for the forgiveness of whom, even at that hour, he prayed; the exclamation of bitterness which nature would extort from him; his

burning thirst; his dying words;-the darkness; the earthquake; the dead who had long slept, coming forth from their open graves into the world of living men ;—all these circumstances and events connected with the last moments of him whose death we commemorate, pass in sad procession before us.

But we cannot reflect on these mournful scenes, without also reflecting that they took place to serve one great end-which is our salvation. We do not think of our Master's death, without also thinking of the purposes for which he died. In the natural course of human sympathy, we are strongly affected by a review of his sufferings; but this is not all-our hearts are still more deeply touched, when we consider, that it was for our sakes he bore them. We hasten from the cross to the tomb; where we are told by two angels of light, that our Lord is not there, but is RISEN! His ignominous crucifixion becomes closely united in our thoughts with his glorious resurrection; and our souls are lifted up to the heaven, to which he has ascended, and the contemplation of God, to whose right hand he is exalted. The most lively gratitude is excited by the momentous and affecting truth, that Jesus labored thus incessantly, and suffered thus severely, to redeem us from the wretched slavery of sin, to lead us out from the thick shades of ignorance, and guide us to the path of safety and happiness; to furnish us with hopes and consolations, which should direct and animate our holy endeavors, support our fortitude in the trials of life, preserve us steadfast amid its changes, strengthen us under the burthen of its woes, heal our spirits when wounded and our hearts when broken, wipe away our tears, hush our repinings, and lead us through all the vicissitudes of a fleeting world, to another and a brighter, which will never pass away,

The stated commemoration of our Lord would, however, be little better thau useless, if it produced nothing

brance of me."

but feelings and reflections, But this can hardly be the case. Feelings and reflections like those which I have described, are almost necessarily practical. We cannot be the disciples of Christ, unless we receive his instructions; he cannot be our Saviour, unless we obey his laws. We cannot become the heirs of his promises, unless we perform the conditions which are annexed to them. Therefore, if true gratitude for the blessings purchased by his death, finds its way into our bosoms, it must be accompanied by a desire to deserve them; and this desire will be the same as a determination to discharge our duty, as it is laid down to us in his Gospel. "This is my body," says Jesus, "which is given for you; this do in rememWhile we eat therefore, of the symbol of that body, and remember with sympathy the circumstances of his death, we remember also that it was for our sakes he suffered, and resolve that for us he shall not be crucified in vain, but that we will strive with all our energies to make ourselves worthy of the immortality which he has revealed, and to add to the number of those who shall sit down with him in the kingdom of his Father. "This cup," he adds, " is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you ;"-or, in other words, "This wine represents the blood which is shed to confirm the new covenant of God with man, and to finish the new dispensation of mercy which is offered to you and to the world." While, therefore, we drink that wine, we remember the blameless victim whose blood it signifies, and dedicate our hearts and lives to the sacred cause of truth, which he died to promote, and the exercise of that holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

If such be the efficacy of the Lord's Supper, arising from its nature and design, as a commemoration of his labours, sufferings, and death, it will be easy to determine what is its obligation; for when we inquire into the duty