SERM. their common meetings, which, St. Paul

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says, is to receive the sacrament unworthily, and those who do so, are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; that is, they are guilty of mis-prising, of irreverently treating them; and they, therefore, eat and drink their own judgment or condemnation (not damnation) and the meaning of it is, that their irreverence draws on them God's displeasure, which he shews, not in damning them to all eternity (for this crime, as well as others, is an object of pardon, if repented of) but in visiting them with sickness and weakness, and some of them, who are incorrigible, with death.

Now, surely, there is no danger that we should be guilty of this fault of the Corinthians; we well know, when we receive the sacrament, that it is not a common meal of which we partake; we shall discern the Lord's body; we shall perceive that it is in remembrance of its having been broken

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broken for us, and of his blood having SERM. been poured out, that we eat the bread and drink the wine, and, if we have any gratitude in our nature, we cannot but feel it on the occasion. I do not know that a man's sinning, after he has partaken of the Lord's supper, puts him in a worse state than if he had not partaken of it, at least, I am sure, it does not render his sin unpardonable. St. Peter, you remember, was present when Christ presided at it himself, and immediately after denied his master thrice, and yet we do not find but that on repentance, he met with forgiveness: in like manner, we, if we repent, shall be pardoned for any faults we may have committed, though we receive the sacrament ever so often. If, indeed, we are conscious that we are sinners, and are not at all sorry for our sins, and if we are determined never to try to be better, I know not then what to say; it does not then perhaps signify

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SERM signify what we do:-but only consider

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what a state this is for a man to be in! he is, as it were, a candidate for eternal condemnation, he has voluntarily resigned himself, even without an effort, to ever. lasting misery! Think not that I am talking to you either what is fabulous or very distant; I speak the words of truth and so berness; I speak of what is near, even at our doors! We may be called on immé, diately to answer for our neglect of God's commands, but we know that we shall cer tainly be called on before many years are over, and then our final condition is irrevo cably fixed. But let me proceed with the explanation of the service.

After setting forth in terms, I think, tod strong (because they are the occasions of mistakes) the danger of receiving the sa crament unworthily, the exhortation goes on to point out how we may receive it worthily; this is to be done by self-exami nation,

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nation, or rather, I think, by recollection, SERM. by fixing strongly in our minds the action we are about to perform, by a thorough belief in Christ, by a firm purpose of amend ment of life; by a friendly disposition towards all men; and lastly, above all, by thankfulness to heaven for our redemption. The minister then calls on the people to draw near and perform this sacred act, and first, as preparatory to it, to make confession of their sins.

We must consider this confession (as indeed every other part of the service) before we come to it, and endeavour to work up our minds to the feelings it expresses; some of the terms in it are strong, such as" The burden of our "sins is intolerable to us "-which perhaps few can say in its full extent; but this proceeds from want of reflection in too many of us, who have reason enough to be weighed down under the sense of

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our

SERM. our sins: and indeed, were it not for X.

Christ's death, which we are met to commemorate, this would be the case with all; so that it may mean the burden of them, if we had none but ourselves to support them, would be intolerable.

This confession being ended, the minister (himself one of the sinners) stands up-and, beginning with a declaration of the terms on which God has promised forgiveness (which are repentance and faith) he prays God to deliver the congregation from all their sins, to strengthen them in all goodness and, finally, to bring them to everlasting life. He then confirms this declaration of pardon; shews his authority for it, in four detached sentences from scripture, spoken by our Lord, and his apostles St. Paul and St.. John. He then calls on the people to lift up their hearts, with gratitude and devation, to heaven-to which they signify