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they impart spiritual life and comfort to the believer, and cheer and animate his soul through all the trials, temptations, and conflicts from within and without, with which he is beset in this his day? In themselves considered they cannot, but in reference to Christ by faith, as considering the infinite merit, and extreme importance to us of his atonement, it is of great comfort and encouragement to the soul of every believer. Christ in this also set us an example, by blessing or asking a blessing upon it. By blessing it which is peculiar to himself as head of the church, and therefore not to be imitated by any as thinking to impart that sanctification to the host used, which Christ hath imparted to his own body. By asking a blessing upon it which it is our duty by faith in his name to implore, as knowing that he who sanctified his own body for the sake of his people, will sanctify the bread and wine the emblems of his body and blood, as far as we faithfully and piously do receive the same. 2ud. It is to be received with thankfulness. Thus Christ as an example for us, took the cup and gave thanks. And thus also we, when we partake of that part of the Lord's Supper which is an emblem of the blood of Christ, washing away our sins, are to give thanks unto God that by the shedding of Christ's blood once for all, he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified, in which number we hope and pray to be, and for which end we sit down to the table of our Lord, to express our faith on his merits,

and to shew unto his followers also that we desire to be of their number. It remains lastly to express the peculiar privileges of those who thus spiritually drink the blood of Christ. If those who drink not of this, have no life, those it may be presumed who do drink it shall live for ever, and in fact this is the sum and conclusion of the whole; "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal

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life, and I will raise him up at the last day," vi. 54. Though all mankind indiscriminately will be raised up from the dead at the day of judgment, yet the faithful alone will be raised up in a peculiar and happy sense of the word. St. Paul affirms, as if for the consolation of believers, "The dead in "Christ shall rise first," 1 Thess. iv. 16. and whatever might be the precise meaning which St. Paul meant to convey in his words, and which we cannot divine exactly after the lapse of so many hundred years; yet we may affirm some honorable distinction, to be conferred on God's people alone was intended. Something of this sort is also set forth in the Book of Revelations: " I saw the souls of them "that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had "received his mark upon their foreheads or in "their hands: and they lived and reigned with "Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the "dead lived not again, until the thousand years "were finished. This is the first resurrection.

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"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the "first resurrection," Rev. xx. 4, 5 and 6. But without arguing any thing as to the previous time of the resurrection of saints, before that of the wicked being summoned to appear to receive a final condemnation, it appears at the last day that the righteous will peculiarly be raised to spiritual life with those enjoyments which are alone to be found in the immediate presence of God.

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8th. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, say unto you, Ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you for him hathi God the Father sealed. John vi. 26, 27.

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So dreadfully depraved is the human mind, and so ready to pervert the noblest institutions and the best blessings, that we need often to be reminded of the spirituality of those appointments, which are settled in the decrees of Heaven: and often more especially so in the grand affair of salvation, where man is ever ready to mix his own works, with the meritorious offices of the Son of God. Hones. seal and depraved appetite have alike erred in this, though by the grace of God not to equal lengths nor consequently to equal danger. The honést zeal of Peter led him to abuse one of the sacraments of Christ's appointment." And supper being ended,-Jesus

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riseth from supper, and laid aside his garment, "and took a towel and girded himself. After that "he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash "his disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel "wherewith he was girded? Then cometh he to "Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord "dost thou wash my feet. Jesus answered and "said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now: "but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter (with

"more zeal than faith) saith unto him, Thou shalt "never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I "wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Peter felt the rebuke, but not fully seeing the spirituality of the Lord's appointment, with unabated zeal exclaimed, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my "hands and my head." But as Peter was right in the main, though his well meant zeal had too little either of faith or wisdom; our Lord condescends to shew him the nature of this institution. "Jesus "saith to him, Ile that is washed, needeth not, "save, to wash his feet, but is clean every whit;" and then to shew that some who received the ordinance would not be cleansed thereby, seeing they saw not its spiritual nature; he adds, “and ye are "clean, but not all." The depraved appetites of the Corinthians led them also to abuse in a more gross and fatal way the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, for which they were severely reprimanded by the apostle Paul, "For first of all, when ye "come together in the church, I hear that there be

"divisions among you, and I partly believe it. "For there must be also heresies among you, that

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they which are approved may be made manifest "among you. When ye come therefore together "into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Sup"per. For in eating, every one taketh before other "his own supper; and one is hungry, and another "is drunken. What? have ye not houses to drink "in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame "them that have not? What shall I say to you

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"Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.— "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, “eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not

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discerning the Lord's body," 1 Cor. xi. 18 to 29 and 29. and these Corinthians it appears had so grossly perverted the intent of the Lord's Supper, that they had made it a scene of intemperance instead of honor to Christ the living head of his church.

Having spoken thus far on the awful nature and consequence of abusing this sacrament, I would digress for a few minutes to observe the rules laid down by the apostle Paul, which may be observed in two heads; 1st, As to their spirituality, and 2d. As to the order. First, what may be said in regard to their spirituality can only be considered as a repetition of the substance of our Saviour's language on the same head: "For (says Paul) I have received "of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which

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