the judgments of God, sickness and any consideration of bond or free, high premature death, would not be inflicted or low, rich or poor.* on us. But he says not a word of giving up the thoughts of receiving the communion, lest by their unworthiness they should bring God's judgments on them. The obligation to communicate he supposed still remained, and he exhorts them to repentance and amendment, that they might communicate worthily. He makes another observation, viz. that those judgments were the chastisements of the Lord, sent to reclaim them, and bring them to repentance and a better mind, that they might not be condemned with the world." It is, however, certain, there was some great unworthiness among the Corinthians, which St. Paul condemned, and on account of which, God's judgments were inflicted on them; and he seems to have pretty clearly pointed it out. The first converts to Christianity being Jews, and having a strong attachment to their own religious customs, they carried some of them into the Christian church. On many occasions it was their custom, and their law required it, to have a feast upon the sacrifice, and all who ate of it were supposed to have an interest in its efficacy. Their annual passover, particularly, was a feast of this kind; and as our Saviour had instituted the holy communion at the conclusion of this feast, consecrating the paschal bread and the cup of blessing, as it was called, to be the memorials of his body and blood, the apostles and first Christians carried the custom into the Christian church of accompanying the Christian sacrifice of bread and wine with a feast. This feast was called, the feast of love. To it the rich and poor brought their provisions, and ate them together at a cominon table, in token of their mutual good will and affection, of their fellow ship, and unity in Christ's religion, and of their belief that the benefits of Christ's death were not restrained by However well calculated these love feasts which accompanied the Lord's supper were, to promote and secure Christian charity and unity, at Corinth they were perverted. The rich despised the poor; the powerful those beneath them. They waited not till the brethren were come together, but they who came first ate their own supper by themselves. The rich, who could provide plenty of delicate food, ate and drank to excess; while the poor, who could bring little or nothing, not being permitted to partake with the rich, went away hungry from a feast of charity. At such disorderly feasts the holy supper was celebrated among them. This is the conduct which St. Paul so frequently censures, as any one may satisfy himself by reading carefully his discourse upon the subject. He affirms, that such disorderly celebration of the communion was not to eat the Lord's supper, but to profane it; and directs them who were hungry to eat at home, and not make the church a scene of disorder and riot by their excess, nor their love feasts an occasion of pride and insolence, by despising and putting to shame the poor, unprovided members of the congregation, whose hunger ought, at least at their love feasts, to be relieved by the rich. To convince them of the impropriety of their conduct, and reclaim them to a decent and worthy behaviour, he then sets before * Where the Christians had all things in common, as at Jerusalem, it is probable the love leasts were provided out of the common stock. And in other places they may have been furnished from what was given at the offertory; which offerings, in those early ages, were called the devotions of the faithful, from the Latin word devoveo, to consecrate or devote, because those offerings were consecrated or devoted to God. It is true, since the duty of communicating at the holy table has become less the practice, prayer has peculiarly obtained the name of devotion, though it is so only in a secondary sense. + 1 Cor. xi. 17, &c. to the end. them the solemn institution of the holy ordinance, as he had received it by revelation from Christ himself. And the force of the apostle's argument seems to be, that Christ distributed the sacramental elements equally to all the apostles, in token that he devoted himself to death equally for them all, and directed them to eat of it at one table in remembrance of, and as a memorial before God of his love to them all, and in token of their mutual love and union. For the Corinthians, therefore, to exclude the poor for whom Christ equally died, to whom the sacred symbols of his body and blood were equally distributed, from a due share in their feast of love, without supplying their hunger with necessary bread, was so far from worthily eating the Lord's supper, that it was not even to discern the Lord's body, i. e. it put no difference, made no distinction, between the Lord's supper and a common meal; at least, did not sanctify the Lord's bodytreat it as a holy, but common thing.* This was the unworthiness which the apostle censured in the Corinthians, and this-the not discerning the Lord's body-which, he says, caused the judgments of God, sickness and death, to come upon them. I have been the more particular in this matter to convince you, that in the church to which we belong, all opportunity of incurring that unworthiness, which the apostle censured in the Corinthians, is precluded.† It may, I know, be said, and said justly, that though all opportunity of incurring that unworthiness, which St. Paul condemned in the Corinthians, be cut off, by the abolition of the love feasts, yet there may be people in such a state as makes them really unworthy *See Hammond, Whitby, Locke, upon the place. The disorders attending the love feasts at Corinth, and in other places, became too great to be restrained; they were therefore abolished by the church. Though possibly they continued longer in some places than others. to partake in the holy communion. I readily own too, that a person who approaches the holy table without due reverence and devotion, without considering the dignity of the holy mystery, and the difference between receiving the body and blood of the Lord, and eating and drinking common bread and wine, does not receive the Lord's body-is guilty of the body and blood of Christ--and is in danger of bringing God's judgments upon him by his unworthy receiving. But, I repeat it, there is no reason why he should continue in this evil state, but what comes from himself. Let him judge himself by the rule of God's commandments, and see wherein he has done amiss. Let him compare his sentiments of the holy communion, with our Saviour's institution, and with the doctrines of the church, and correct his unworthy notions. Let him be instant in prayer to God for the gift of his grace and Holy Spirit. Let him deny his evil propensities, and mortify his vicious appetites; and in this way prepare himself to do honour to God by obeying his command. But to treat of this subject of general unworthiness a little more particularly. The qualifications requisite to make a worthy communicant, and to make an adult a worthy subject of baptism, as far as I can see, are the same. They who have kept their baptism undefiled are, undoubtedly, always fit to approach the Christian altar. More knowledge may be requisite to the communion than to baptism; in other respects the qualifications are the same. That habits and gross acts of sin, render a person unworthy to communicate, there can be no doubt. There is as little doubt, that the same state renders him unfit to pray, or to do any act of religion, acceptably to God. I will go further, and say, that it would be a profanation of the holy communion, for him, while in this state, to come to it And it would be so far from doing him good, that it would do him hurt, by hardening the heart in impenitency. have more efficacy with God than other prayers have, it would be saying no more than the universal church has always said and taught. And is not this as true of prayer as of the holy communion? Is it not a profanation of God's name to pray to him, while we wilfully live in the habits, or practice of known sin, without any design or desire of becoming better? In this state every prayer is an act of hypocrisy, and hardens the heart against the impressions of God's Spirit. Therefore it is, that "the sacrifice of the wicked," and the "prayer" of him "that turneth away his ear from hearing the law"-that refuseth to obey the commandments of God-"are an abomination to the Lord."* But should such a person have any desire to become better-any wish to get rid of the slavery and guilt of sin as such a desire and wish must come from God, so the only effectual means of bringing them to good effect is, constant and earnest prayer to God for the support of his Holy Spirit, carefully to do his duty according to his best knowledge and ability, and steadily to avoid all occasions of sin. In this way his good desires would be encouraged, his resolutions of amendment strengthened, his love of God increased, habits of virtue and holiness formed and confirm ed, while those of sin and vice would decline and die away. His prayers would no longer be an abomination, but highly acceptable to God. And he would then too become a worthy guest at the Lord's table, where, receiving the outward elements with true penitence and faith, he would also receive the precious body and blood of Christ, "to his great and endless comfort." For the holy communion is, at least, as great an instrument of holy living as prayer, and the efficacy of both, on our part, rests on the same circumstances-penitence and faith: the former denoting our conversion or departure from sin, the latter our reliance upon God, and trust in his mercy and goodness. Should I go further, and that prayers, offered up at the altar, say Prov. xv. 8. and xxviii. 9. But though sinful habits, and single acts of gross sin, render us unworthy to approach God's table, till repentance reconcile us to him, yet sins, as they are called, of infirmity, ignorance, surprise, are not attended with that malignity. Our present state subjects us to them. They proceed from that just of the flesh, or original corruption of nature, which, according to the ninth article of our church, remains even in the regenerate. And though they have in them the nature of sin, being contrary to the holiness and purity of God, yet by the merciful terms of the Christian covenant, they shall not finally condemn us, provided we do not willingly live in them, but watch and strive against them, humble ourselves before God under the sense of them, pray earnestly to him to be delivered from their power by the might of his Spirit, and trust to his mercy, through the Redeemer, that he will not impute them to us. To people who have a lively sense of their imperfections and failings of this kind, who conscientiously refrain from the holy communion, because they fear they are not good enough to come to it, and who do not make the excuse merely for excuse sake, without any intention of ever complying with their duty of frequenting the holy table, I would propose the following considerations. 1. That if they stay till they are worthy, in the sense in which they seem to understand it, before they will venture to partake of the sacrament of Christ's body and blood, they will never partake of it at all, but will live all their life, and die at last, in the neglect of Christ's command. however they may wish it, they never will be free from the unworthiness of coming short of their duty, from mere weakness of nature. Every created For being must be imperfect in this sense. As we are to commemorate and confess And did those lapses which proceed Christ before men, and gratefully to from infirmity and imperfection render acknowledge the wonderful works of us unworthy to partake in the Christian love and mercy he has done for us; so sacrifice, no mortal could approach the we are to make a commemoration or altar without sin. Upon this supposi memorial of his precious death and tion, apostles and martyrs, and the best sacrifice before the almighty Father, Christians that ever lived, have offend- and plead before him the merits of his ed in commemorating their Saviour, and dearly beloved Son, dying for the sin of bave sinned even by obeying him. the world: not that God will forget, They were all men of like passions unless we refresh his memory; but bewith us, and felt the weaknesses of cause, in so doing, we use the means nature as we feel them. Conscious of that Christ has appointed to convey to their extreme inability to do any good us the benefits of that sacrifice which thing without some degree of alloy or he offered for sin. To refuse or neglect mixture of sin, they most humbly ac- the holy ordinance of the eucharist knowledged their unworthiness to per- looks as though we had no grateful form any of those services which God sense of Christ's love in dying for us; required of them; but their sense of or that we did not fully trust to his duty, and fear of disobeying God, made merits for pardon of our sins, the gift them cheerfully do whatever his law of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life in required of them, knowing that God the kingdom of God. accepteth of what a man hath, and requireth not that which he is unable to give. The angels themselves, high and holy as they are in their nature, seem to have some deficiencies of this kind, for God, saith Job, charged even them with folly." 2. That the holy communion is not only a commemoration of Christ's death, but a memorial or representation of his sufferings and death, made before the almighty Father, to put him in mind of the meritorious sacrifice of his blessed Son on our behalf. Christ's offering himself up to death, and yielding his life for us upon the cross, is certainly the most astonishing event that ever happened. And when we consider the benefits thereby procured for us, the pardon of past sin upon our repentance, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of a heavenly inheritance to all who believe in and obey him, we must feel that his sacrifice deserves our grateful remembrance above all other events. But to suppose that the whole duty and benefit of the holy eucharist rests here, is a mistake. 3. That the holy eucharist is a covenanting rite, and by it we keep up communion with God. By baptism we enter into covenant with God: being born of water and the Spirit, we are born into Christ's church, and become members of his body.* By the holy eucharist, the new life, begun in baptism, is nourished, and fed, and strengthened. This undoubtely is the case with those happy persons who keep their baptism undefiled. But a broken covenant is of no force: and when it is our unhappiness to break our baptismal covenant, and forfeit our right to God's promises, by our sins and misdoings, how gracious is God to permit us, upon our repentance, again to renew it at his holy table! again to repeat our vows of obedience, and regain our title to his heavenly promises! It has ever been the doctrine of the universal church, that, as when we worthily receive baptism, we obtain through Christ remission of all past sins, so when we worthily communi. cate at God's altar, we obtain remis * John iii. v. 1 Cor. vi. 15. communion. In answer to the question, "What are the benefits whereof we are partakers thereby"-by receiving the body and blood of Christ in the eucha rist-she answers: "The strengthening and refreshing of our souls by the body and blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the bread and wine." And in one of the exhortations to the communion she speaks of Christ being given, "not only to die for us, but also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that holy sacrament." sion of all the sins committed since pears from her catechism and office of baptism. And that it is so, fully appears from the holy eucharist's being an act of communion with God. For when God's priest offers up the elements of bread and wine upon the holy altar, they are thereby made God's property; and being blessed and sanctified by prayer and thanksgiving, they become, through the operation of the Holy Ghost, the body and blood of Christ in power and effect.* They are then returned by the hand of God's minister, and distributed among the communicants as a feast upon the sacrifice and all who partake of them, with true faith and repentance, are fed with God's food, and eat at God's table; and are thereby assured of his favour and goodness towards them, and, consequently, must obtain remission of all past sin, otherwise they could not be in favour with God. Accordingly, when our Saviour gave the first intimation of this holy institution, he expressed himself in terms that imply not only remission of sins, but all other benefits of his passion. "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."t Behold the Christian's privilege! and consider what injury ye do to God, what injustice to yourselves, by your wilful neglect of the heavenly feast. 4. That the holy eucharist is one of the instituted means of grace and holy living the appointed instrument of conveying the Holy Spirit to us. That this is the doctrine of the church ap. *This is not to be understood as though the elements became, upon consecration, the natural body and blood of Christ, as the church of Rome affirms. The natural body and blood of Christ are in heaven, and not here on earth. But they become his representative, or sacramental body and blood; of which, whosoever partaketh with due repentance and faith, and in the unity of his church, receives spiritually all the be nefits of his death and mediation. + John vi. 54. See the whole chapter, particularly verses 48 to 58. If then you seriously wish to become better Christians, and more worthy to communicate with God at his holy altar, the most effectual method is, to prepare yourselves for the solemn office by careful examination of your past lives; by settled resolutions to forsake your sins, and live better for the time to come; by mortifying your unruly appetites and passions; by fasting and self-denial; by earnest prayer to God, that he would give you true repentance, and his Holy Spirit, to enable you to bring your good resolutions to a happy issue; and then to go to the holy altar, humbly and firmly trusting, that God will accept you and bless you, and seal to you the remission of your sins; that he will impart to you the inestima ble blessing of his Holy Spirit, and make you partakers of all the benefits of Christ's redemption. To me it is, and to all good Christians it must be, an afflicting circum. stance, in congregations who seem to have a serious sense of religion, and of their duty to frequent the worship of God, and who apparently join with devotion in the common service of the church, to see so few who act as though they really believed the religion they profess. For when people turn from the highest act of Christian worship, and refuse to commemorate the love of their Saviour, in dying for them, by communicating at the holy table in the unity of his church, how is it to be |