SERMON LVIII.

SUITABLENESS OF THE HOLY COMMUNION FOR PENITENT

SINNERS.

1 ST. TIMOTHY I. 15.

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners! this is the sum and substance of the Gospel. This is why it is such good tidings to fallen man. When we have fully mastered the meaning of these few words, we shall be possessed of a knowledge that is above price-which maketh wise unto salvation.

And yet who does not know this? There is not a child, above the very tenderest years, who will not be able to repeat the words before us. Still, though none of us are ignorant of the fact here declared, it may be a question if we have any of us enough meditated upon it. It may be a question whether we have yet found in this announcement all the comfort, all the encouragement, all the drawing of the heart to godliness, which it is

calculated to inspire. Like other weighty and comprehensive texts, this one from the very frequency of its repetition, has lost perhaps some of its power. It does not strike upon our ears, as it must have done upon his ears who heard it for the first time in this Epistle of St. Paul's. As it still strikes upon the ear of a newly converted heathen; or newly awakened sinner-upon one who finds in it, what he has long been seeking for in vain, a way of escape from the burden of his sins.

But let us put ourselves back to this man's standing point-to the time when we too were without hope and without God-let us think of ourselves as being—what we really are by nature-dead in sins, with the wrath of God hanging over us; let us remember how unable we are of ourselves to turn that wrath away, unable to rescue our souls from their bondage-and then, a new light is shed upon these words. They come to us as indeed a saying worthy of all acceptation, we catch at them eagerly, and are quick to see how exactly they meet our own particular want-Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief!

The

It would be easy for me to enlarge upon this text, and many parallel passages might be produced to enforce it. Thus-to take but a few of them. They that be whole, need not a physician, but they that are sick. . . . I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. I delivered unto you first of all, how that Christ died for our sins. Observe how all these texts speak the same thing. As if to secure this great foundation truth of our religion, from all shocks of doubt, and unbelief, care has been

taken to lay it firm. The faithful saying comes to us by the mouth of many witnesses. It is told us again and again in the Bible, that the mission of the Son of God, is the mission of a Saviour-that the Lord Jesus Christ took our flesh, and dwelt amongst us, and poured out His life upon the cross, with this one chief purpose before Him-to save sinners!

Such then is the doctrine of the text. In bringing it before you to-day, I shall endeavour to shew its connection with one most important, but much neglected ordinance of our Church, the Holy Communion.

I shall shew, brethren, that throughout the whole of that service, the point put most prominently forward, is ever this-the dying of the Lord Jesus upon the cross to save sinners.

Thus in the Exhortation--that part of the service, which we read so soon as the Communicants are conveniently placed for receiving the Holy Sacrament, we are called upon "above all things to give most humble and hearty thanks to God for the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ both God and man. Who did humble Himself even to the death upon the cross for us miserable sinners"--and further on, "to remember the exceeding great love of our Master and only Saviour Jesus Christ thus dying for us." After this we are invited to listen to "the comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn unto Him"first to His own words, His invitation to "all that travail and are heavy laden;" His statement of the cause for which He came into the world-and then to the words of His Apostles-what St. Paul saith, in the verse that

forms the text; and also what St. John saith-If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins!

Look again at the "Consecration prayer”-it is full of the sufferings of Christ upon the cross; and explicit in its declaration of the sufficiency of those sufferings. Observe, too, the words which are spoken to us by the Minister when he gives the bread and the wine into our hands-"Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee drink this in remembrance that

Christ's blood was shed for thee."

Again, after we have communicated, in the prayer that followeth the Lord's Prayer, we speak of Christ's death as the sole ground of our pardon-we pray that "through faith in His blood we may obtain remission of our sins." And lastly in the Doxology or hymn of praise at the end of our service, three several times do we invoke the Lord Jesus Christ by the title that was first given Him by John the Baptist, and which best sets forth His office towards men- "Thou that takest away the sins of the world!"

Now, brethren, if you have gone with me, it must be clear to you, that our Communion Service does in a very forcible and complete manner proclaim to us the death of Christ upon the cross for sinners.

You may hear a great many sermons on this awful topic, but none, I think, in which it will be more plainly, more unreservedly, more touchingly exhibited, than is done in the Holy Communion.

How strange then is it, that any Christian-any one one who sincerely believes in Jesus Christ, and trusts to

Him for being saved, should ever, without very urgent cause, forsake that comfortable service should get up and go away from our assembly, at that particular moment, when the Church's theme is "Christ crucified "— when if he would stay, and keep his place, he would hear words good for him to hear; words which at another time he delights to hear-words that speak of Redeeming love; of God's mercy to sinners; of His onlybegotten Son dying upon the cross, and of the innumerable benefits which by His precious blood-shedding He hath obtained to us!

But again. The service from which I have quoted so largely, speaks much of sinners-of our being unworthy through our manifold offences to offer unto God any sacrifice. It says nothing of good men or righteous men. There is not one word in it from end to end, to warrant us in saying that only very good and pious persons ought to come to the Lord's Table.

So far from it, those invited are the same whom the Lord invites everywhere in the Gospel-not the Pharisee, but the Publican-not the self-styled righteous, but the sinner. Not those who in their pride of heart think themselves better than their neighbour, and dwell complacently on their good works, but rather those who find in themselves nothing but unworthiness; who know themselves to be-not rich towards God-but poor indeed, with nothing on them, or in them, that may challedge His favour-wretched, blind, and naked-not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under His Table!

Do think of this, brethren-do think what sort of