being so plainly told of it, and the conviction he had thereby of Jesus's being privy to his thoughts. Nevertheless, so did Peter, though a much better man, sin against warning; and this knowledge and belief in us, does not restrain us, in various instances, from sinning against him.

Ver. 26. This is my body - Represents my body broken; and eating it, is, in effect, eating my body, and thereby having communion with, and life by me. O! taste and see how gracious the Lord is. Turn the eye of thy soul this way. Admire this great, crowning work of the Saviour, in which he has contrived and appointed the means of changing our souls into his own nature, in the same manner as our bodies are nourished by, and have the nature of, that which they feed upon; but with this difference, that in corporal eating, the body changes the food into its own substance, and in this spiritual eating we are changed into the nature of the food. O Jesus, wonderful in thy love, the Giver and the gift, increase our faith in thee; give us a hunger and thirst for thee; give us thyself, or we die.

Ver. 27. Drink ye all of it-You, and all others, that are my disciples, to the world's end. You, who hear this. These are Christ's words to you.

Ver. 28. For this is my blood of the New Testament — By which it is purchased, sealed, and ratified. Testament and covenant, both: testament, as we are confirmed by it in a state of sonship, and as conveying our inheritance to us: covenant, as it is a declaration of the means, by which that inheritance is to be secured.

Which is shed for many-For many effectually, when seen and trusted in as the blood of atonement.

-For the remission of sins. This is properly Gospel comfort, and life from the dead to a soul awakened to a sense of sin. Blessed be God!

Ver. 29. Until that day, when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Who can tell what that new wine will be? Not the delights of sense; though the senses are here made our instructors, to give us some faint conception of the joys of heaven. The expression of "drinking it new" seems to be taken from the festivity and rejoicing at the time of the vintage. But, observe, he says "with you." What a sweet meditation it is, whenever you partake of the sacrament of his body and blood, to think that you will as surely be admitted to the joy of feasting with him in his Father's kingdom!

LECTURE.

You have heard to-day that our Lord, a little before his death, instituted the sacrament of the supper; and at the same time explained the nature of it to his disciples, by telling them that the bread which he put into their hands was his body; and the cup which he gave them, with a charge that they should all drink of it, was his blood of the New Testament, shed for many for the remission of sins. And that we might have no doubt concerning the intent of the command, or whether it was given only to the disciples then present, St. Paul tells us plainly that it is a "showing the Lord's death till he come," 1 Cor. xi. 26, and, therefore, to continue always in force, and be observed by all Christians to the end of the world, as a standing memorial, or perpetual declaration of the virtue of his death, and of their faith in it. Which may also be assuredly gathered from the very words here made use of, namely, that the cup is his blood of the New Testament, shed for the remission of sins. For who are they in any age who do not want forgiveness? Let all who know they do, be very thankful to

Christ for appointing this means of bringing his death to their remembrance, and setting it as it were continually before their eyes; and that you may perform this sacred action to the benefit of your souls, and to the end for which it was ordained, be careful to understand the meaning of it. Christ said to the disciples, he says to you, if you would be entitled to that high and happy name, Take, eat, this is, or represents, my body, given, broken, pierced, nailed to the cross, sacrificed for you; he says, Drink ye all of this cup, for it is the New Testament, or God's covenant of peace to you, in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins; for as many as gladly accept the benefit therein declared and offered to them; for all believers.

You see then, that whatever preparation, whatever other disposition or qualification may be necessary or proper, when you come to this sacrament, the great point is faith in the death of Christ, as that "whereby alone we obtain remission of our sins, and are made partakers of the kingdom of heaven;" and that as it was appointed to remind us of this joyful and most interesting article of our religion, and keep us stedfast in the profession of it, so it can be effectual to none but those who believe that Christ died for their sins, and come there in humility to have a sense of the pardon of them renewed and confirmed. Has he done great things for us? Has he delivered us from the punishment of our sins, and reconciled us to God, by taking the curse of them upon himself? He would have it believed; he would have it remembered; he has contrived a way to fix our attention upon it, and have it always kept in mind; he would not suffer us to entertain a thought that salvation is by any work of our own; he has here put the matter beyond all dispute; it is by the pardon of our sins, and pardon by the shedding of his blood.

Believe this, and then take, and eat the bread, which is a lively sign, or speaking picture of his crucified body, and drink of the cup to which he invites you, in full assurance that, as he has declared it to be for the remission of sins, it can never fail of its effect. Think and do what else you will, if you rest your souls for pardon and life upon any thing but Christ crucified, if this great truth of Scripture is not always uppermost in your minds, and especially at the time of receiving the sacrament, that we are saved, one and all, because Christ died for us, you do not discern the Lord's body; you do not understand why you take it; you are not believers.

Do not think that, because I mention faith in Christ's death, as the great point which you are to keep steadily in view, and build your hope and comfort upon as Christians, that I am advising and encouraging you tɔ come to the sacrament without a proper frame of mind in other respects; for, indeed, and in truth, a right faith is a right frame of mind, and one cannot be separated from the other. The right faith is, that we believe and confess, on the warrant of God's word, that Christ, by his one offering of himself, made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; but there is no way of coming to this faith but by a penitent acknowledgment of our sins, and of the vengeance which is due to them, with a will to forsake them, and an earnest desire to keep mercy by keeping the commandments, and living unto him that died for us. When we know and believe that we are redeemed by the precious blood of the Son of God, and see, in the glass of his sufferings, what a depth of evil there is in sin, and how dreadfully it was punished in the * person of Christ, we can never be such rebels to him, nor such enemies to our own peace, as to retain a love for it. When we consider the love of God and of Christ

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in our redemption, and that this sacrament is both the sign and seal of it, not only representing, but actually conveying all the benefits of Christ's passion to every worthy receiver, we must either be totally ignorant of our condition in sin, or dead to all sense of gratitude, if we do not find it to be the kindling of our love to the Author of so great a deliverance. When we remember that we come there as sinners for a pardon, and to have our ten thousand talents forgiven, it will strongly incline us to forgive and live in charity with all the world, and fill us with everlasting shame and confusion, if we are not transformed into the likeness of that mercy by which we live. I say, this faith of itself, wherever it is a true work, will be the right temper of our minds, our greatest security against sin, a most prevailing reason for fidelity and dutiful subjection to the Saviour, and our best preparation for a worthy partaking of his most blessed body and blood. Let it be our prayer to be always kept in a sacramental frame, self-emptied, believing, rejoicing, adoring, thankful; that we may so profess our faith in Christ, as to live up to it, and always so receive the sacrament, as to be strengthened by it in faith, love, and obedience.

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PRAYER.

Blessed be thy name, O Jesus, and blessed be thy goodness for reconciling us to God, by the offering of thy crucified body, and washing us from our sins in thy blood. We beseech thee to confirm us in this faith, and to work in us, more and more, a lively sense of that peace of God which passeth all understanding. That it might be assured, ly believed, and always remembered, as the ground of our hope and rejoicing, thou didst institute the sacrament of thy body and blood, and therein continually representest thyself to us in the very act of suffering and dying for