to the Corinthians, whether ye be in the faith. This direction could not, I think, have been given to persons, who were supposed, by him who gave it, to know themselves to be Christians. Of course, when they were admitted into the Church of Christ, they were not admitted, because they knew themselves to be Christians, but because they had a fair hope, or a preponderating, rational persuasion, that this was their character. But St. Paul received these Christians into the Church upon a plan, which was accordant with their duty. Of course, it is accordant with our duty to become members of the Church, whenever such a persuasion becomes the standing view of our own minds. Of the same nature, is the di

rection immediately following this; Prove your ownselves.

The same is also implied in the succeeding question, Know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is formed in you, except ye be reprobates: adoxo, unapproved.

Of the same nature is the direction given to this Church, 1 Cor. xi. 28. But let a man examine himself; and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. This direction is plainly given to professing Christians, to enable them to determine whether they are worthy communicants at the table of Christ. But no such examination would be necessary for those, to whom the Apostle wrote, if, at their admission into the Church, they knew themselves to be saints; for every saint is, essentially, a worthy communicant.

By a rational, preponderating, persuasion, I intend such an one, as is the result of repeated, thorough, solemn, self-examination, aided by a faithful resort to books, which exhibit the genuine evidences of piety, and by the advice of wise and good men, particularly ministers of the Gospel. He who does not, in a case of this magnitude, seek for all these, is regardless of his own well-being.

SERMON CLXI.

THE EXTRAORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE. THE LOrd's supper. DISPOSITION WITH WHICH IT IS TO BE ATTENDED; AND MOTIVES TO THE ATTENDANCE.

MARK XIV. 22-25.—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, which is shed for many. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.

IN the preceding discourse, I proposed to consider, 1. The Nature, and,

II. The Design, of this ordinance;

III. The Qualifications necessary for attendance upon it;
IV. The Disposition with which it is to be attended; and,

V. The Motives to this attendance.

The three first of these heads were considered in that discourse. I shall now proceed,

IV. To consider the Disposition with which this ordinance is to be attended.

By this, I mean that state of mind, with which a person, generally qualified in the manner, described under the preceding head, should

celebrate this ordinance.

This Disposition is directly indicated by the injunction, This do in remembrance of me. It will not be supposed, that Christ directed us merely to remember him on this occasion; or to remember him with indifference; or distrust; or opposition; or disrespect. The very idea, both of enjoining, and of voluntarily engaging in, a commemoration, supposes, that there is something great, or good, in that which is commemorated. Whenever a person is formally and solemnly made an object of commemoration, it is of course implied, that the commemoration is an intentional honour to his character; and that those, who thus honour him, regard him with sincere affection and respect.

Such being plainly, and pre-eminently, the nature of this religious rite, we become deeply interested to inquire, What are especially the constituents of that Disposition, which we ought to experience, while celebrating this ordinance in remembrance of our Saviour?

To this inquiry, I answer,

1. We are to remember Christ in this ordinance with Admiration.

Every thing, pertaining to the character of this Glorious Person, is fitted to awaken this emotion of the mind. Beside the incomprehensible mysteries of his original character; his Incarnation, his Life, his Death, his Love for mankind, his propitiatory sacrifice of Himself, his Resurrection, his Exaltation, and his Intercession, are all marvellous beyond measure: and are investigated by angels with astonishment and rapture. Hence his Character is declared by the Prophet Isaiah, and summed up by himself, when he appeared to Manoah and his Wife, in that remarkable name Wonderful. This singular character, containing in itself, a combination of all that is great and good, is presented to us in the most affecting manner at the sacramental table; and demands of us the highest exercise of religious admiration. This exercise of the

Christian Spirit is formed by the union of wonder, reverence, and delight; wonder, excited by the greatness of the things which are done; reverence for the exalted character, displayed in doing them; and delight in the manifestations, which they contain of mercy and goodness, and in the benefits, flowing from them to the innumerable multitude of the First-born. At the sacramental table, the whole character of Christ is brought before our eyes. We behold him here in the act of giving his life a ransom for many. Again his Body is broken; again his Blood is poured out; for the sins of men. His compassion for this ruined world is presented to us in living colours. We cannot fail to remember who it was, that thus loved us, and gave himself for us. We cannot fail to remember, that He, who was the Brightness of the Father's Glory, and upheld all things by the word of his power, by himself purged our sins; and then sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. We cannot but call to mind, that by Him, whom we here follow to the Cross, all things were created, that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers; that all things were created by him, and for him; that he is before all things; and that by him all things consist. We cannot fail to recollect, that He is now head over all things unto the Church; having a name, above every name, which is named in this world, or in the world to come; reigning in a Kingdom which is an Everlasting Kingdom: and ruling with a dominion which shall know no end. We cannot fail to realize, that the day is approaching, in which he will come in the clouds of Heaven, with power and great glory, with the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God; will summon the dead from their graves; will sit on the Throne of Judgment, and pronounce the final doom of angels and of men while from his face the Heavens and the Earth will flee away; and no place be found for them any more. This is the wonderful Person, whose sacrifice of himself is symbolized on the altar of Christians; whom we there behold bleeding, broken, dying, and consigned to the grave. This condescension was exercised, this humiliation was undergone, from the love,

wherewith he loved the Church, and gave himself for it. Who, that has any share of the heavenly spirit, can fail to exclaim, in unison with the heavenly host, Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing: for He hath redeemed us to God, by his Blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hath made us Kings, and Priests, unto God, even his Father. To Him be Glory, and Dominion, for ever and ever. Amen.

2. We are to remember Christ in this ordinance, with GRATITude. That Gratitude is to be exercised towards every Benefactor, is a doctrine, readily acknowledged by all men. Hence, in every age, and in every land, where civilization has made even a moderate progress, testimonies of this emotion of the mind have been publicly given to those, who were esteemed public Benefactors. To Heroes and Statesmen; to those who have founded beneficent Institutions, or otherwise enlarged the means of relief, or enjoyment; nay, to such, as have merely increased the reputation of a people by efforts of ingenuity; to Philosophers, and Poets; statues have been set up; pillars raised; magnificent sepulchral monuments erected; days set apart to their honour; and festivals instituted in commemoration of what they had done. Yet how few of all these have been real Benefactors to mankind! How few of them have done that, which a wise man can approve, or a good man be willing to imitate? How few of them have been such, as a person of sobriety would cheerfully acknowledge as his own sons! How imperfectly do the best of them resemble HIM, who came to seek, and to save, that which was lost! How dimly, how interruptedly, does their Benevolence shine, in comparison with the effulgence of the Redeemer: arush-light trembling, and failing, in the beams of the Sun! At the same time, the Benevolence, which they really possessed, He gave them. The Benefiçence, which they wrought, he enabled them to accomplish. But neither the things which they have spoken, done, or suffered, nor the motives, which gave them birth, nor the consequences, which they produced, are to be thought of, when placed at the side of those, which are here presented to our view. All the writings of Philosophers, Poets, and Orators, are inestimably inferior in wisdom, and efficacy, to the single sermon of Christ on the Mount. A great part of the efforts of Statesmen, Heroes, and Patriots, have been nuisances to the world; and merely means of raising them to distinction and applause. The best of these efforts have been mingled with much folly, and much sin; and have terminated only in little and temporary good. In all, that Christ said, supreme wisdom shone; in all, that he did and suffered, supreme excellence. His efforts have accomplished the salvation of a world, and produced boundless good, to unnumbered millions of rational beings. Disinterestedness, immensely glorious, illumined his whole life; and encircled him on the Cross with intense and eternal splendour. No

thing so beautiful, so lovely, was ever before seen by the universe, or will be seen hereafter. With what emotions, with what praise, with what solemnities, ought he then to be commemorated by the race of Adam!

The solemnities, with which He is pleased to be commemorated, He himself has instituted in this ordinance; simple; obvious; easily comprehensible by the humblest intelligence; coming directly to the heart with a powerful, and undiminishing impression. When we assemble to celebrate these solemnities, all the great things, which I have specified, are set in full view before our eyes. They are all exhibited also, as done for us. Our souls were sinful, condemned, and lost, equally with those of others. We stood on the brink of perdition; and infinitely needed the cleansing of the Great sacrifice. There was not an eye to pity, nor an arm to save. We did not even wish, much less did we ask, for deliverance. At that terrible period, unsolicited, undesired, unwelcomed, this immensely glorious Benefactor stationed himself in the gap between us and ruin; and voluntarily became the Substitute for sinners. Then God said concerning the soul, Deliver it from going down to the pit; for I have found a Ransom. The guilt of our sins, this Divine Person washed away in his own blood. The impurity of our character, the root of bitterness, by which we were defiled, he destroyed for ever. The gates of hell, to all his sincere followers, he finally shut. The doors of Heaven, he opened with his own hand; destroyed the sting of death, and the victory of the grave; and disclosed the path from that dark and desolate mansion to the world of immortal glory. From this desolate mansion, He himself first trode that path; and went before to prepare a place for them in his Father's house. There, on a throne of glory high and lifted up, he intercedes for their protection from enemies, their deliverance from sin, and their perseverance in holiness unto the end. To them he calls from that happy world with the unceasing voice of boundless mercy, Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden; and I will give you rest. There he watches all their goings; and preserves their feet from falling, their eyes from tears, and their souls from death. There he marks all their weaknesses, temptations, dangers, and enemies; and says to each, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. Thence he stretches out his arm, takes them by the hand, and leads them onward in the path of Life. Their sighs he hears; their tears he numbers. Their frail, feeble attempts to serve him he records in the book of his remembrance. The bruised reed he suffers not to break, the flame that feebly trembles on the smoking flax, he suffers not to expire. Over every enemy he enables them finally to triumph, and from every danger to escape. Through the valley of the shadow of death he conducts them with safety and hope; and, supported by his rod and staff, brings them to the land of light and peace, which rises beyond it. There, purified from every stain, error, and imperfection, he ad