reasonableness and necessity; will give us the highest idea of the dignity and importance of virtue, by reflecting that it was the work of the Son of God himself to establish it in the world, and that he condescended not only to teach it by his precepts, but also to enforce it by his example.

When we commemorate him in his other great character of a Mediator; if we consider the gracious method, by which God has effected our redemption by sending his son into the world, this will naturally excite our gratitude, and engage the more generous affections of the heart in his service; the love of God which is the great principle of obedience, will take deep root in our breast, in proportion as we contemplate this stupendous act of mercy; and the love of Christ will constrain us, when we reflect on the labors and sufferings which he underwent for our sakes.

If we consider the sacrifice of Christ, which wè here commemorate, in another view, as a monument of God's hatred to sin; what can strike us with a stronger conviction of its danger, or more effectually deter us from its commission, than the reflection, that the blood of Christ was, in the wisdom of God's government, thought necessary for its expiation?

When we consider likewise this Sacrament as a profession of our common christianity, as a declaration of our Union in one common religion, under Christ our head; what can more powerfully engage us to mutual love and charity, than this spiritual

communion with, this sacred relation to each other? The pardoning grace of God, which is here represented to us, must excite us to forgive every one his brother his trespasses; His universal love for mankind, shewn in our redemption, must root out every degree of contempt and malice towards those for whom Christ died; and we cannot duly reflect on any part of his dispensation, without feeling more sensibly the force of that exhortation of the Apostle; "beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one "another."

Thus then is this Institution (which is, indeed, the great token and badge of our christian profession, and the standing memorial of the death of our Lord, unto the end of the world) every way calculated to, remind us of the all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ, the foundation of all our hopes of pardon and forgiveness; to signify to us the efficacy and necessity of the Holy Spirit of God to assist us in our duty, and enable us to work out our salvation; to promote the great interest of religion, and the practice of every virtue; to animate our faith and hope, and to strengthen every good resolution, and confirm every principle of obedience. It was ordained, as we are taught in our Catechism, "for the continual remembrance of "the sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the "benefits which we receive thereby:" to be a perpetual sign of the covenant, which God, through'

the merits and sufferings of his Son, made with mankind; a solemn memorial of our blessed Savior's death and passion; and a token of the communion of christians with their great Lord and Master, and of their union one with another. Hence it plainly appears, that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was instituted to be a perpetual, token of the new covenant, which God made with us in the blood of Christ our Mediator; whereby he has engaged for his Son's sake, provided we perform the conditions necessary on our part, to be merciful to our sins; to receive us into this favor; to give us the assistance of his Holy Spirit to direct our conduct, and to enable us to proceed in our christian course; and finally, to confer on us the happiness of eternal life in another, and a better world, even in the mansions of the heavenly Canaan.

But in what particular manner the assistance of the Holy Spirit is conveyed to us, the scriptures have no where explained to our curiosity. Men have sometimes, from a mistaken zeal for the honor of this Institution, thought that they could never say too much of it, and have consequently ascribed to it a power and efficacy, which seem quite foreign to its nature, and of which the scriptures have not made the least mention. They have even supposed a plenary absolution and pardon for all our sins to be actually conveyed by it; and this opinion has by. degrees crept into many of our TREATISES upon this.

subject; an opinion, than which, none can be more dangerous to christians, because there is none which is more erroneous.

The Institution of the Lord's Supper is a positive institution, deriving no force or obligation from its own intrinsic nature, but merely from the will and 'authority of Him who appointed it. And however pleasing and acceptable to its divine Author the faithful and due observance of it may be, yet it never was, and in the nature of things, never could be made, the absolute condition of divine acceptance, or the meritorious cause of obtaining a remiss on of sins.

However important and obligatory, it is but one instance of obedience among many others, which form the whole compass of our duty; it is but one branch of religious service, reasonably binding itself' upon us as the disciples of a divine and heavenly teacher, but not more binding than that, which arises from our original condition, as the creatures of an Almighty Father, and the worshippers of an Almighty God. The system of gospel duty is a system of collective, universal, virtue and good works; and the terms of acceptance therein proposed are no less than a sincere and actual proficiency in the whole scheme of evangelical righteousness. No one virtue can there give a man a title to the rewards of that covenant, or confer a security of the divine favor ; no punctuality in the discharge of any one duty can compensate for a deficiency or neglect of others.

Our character and title, as good christians, to the felicities of heaven depend, therefore, on the whole of our behavior, taken in one general and comprehensive view.

To magnify then any one duty beyond its proper measure; to give it an efficacy and operation, which can belong only to a regular system of good practice, is evidently to contradict the gospel; to set up terms of acceptance which it knows nothing of; and, under the color of reverence for this particular Institution, to subvert the whole charter of salvation, which is offered only upon the actual amendment of our lives, and the sincere performance of all the commands of Christ.

The real Benefits, which result from a worthy reception of this ordinance, are "the strengthening and refreshing of our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the Bread and Wine;" that is, as our bodies receive strength and refreshment, in a natural way, by bread and wine, so will our faith, in a spiritual way, by a devout commemoration of the passion of Christ. By gratefully remembering what he suffered for us, we shall be excited to a greater abhorrence of sin, which was the cause of his sufferings. Every time we partake of this Sacrament, we take a fresh oath, as it were, to our leader; and, like faithful soldiers, should be animated anew, by his example, to persevere in that spiritual conflict, in which, under him, we are engaged.