of his love, (fhould the communicant fay), my refolution is to walk fo as to please my Lord and Master, adorn his doctrine, and contribute in my little fphere to make the world entertain better thoughts both of the Mafter and of his difciples.

Such being the reafons (to which others. might be added) which evince the obligations lying upon the difciples of Chrift to communicate in the facrament of his fupper, fo obvious and forcible; it may juftly occafion fome furprise, how it comes to pafs, that fo great a part of the Chriftian world fatisfy themselves in the neglect of this ordinance. I fhall briefly examine the reasons of this.

1. The moft general, and the leading reafon, feems to be, a fuperftitious notion of the Lord's fupper, which has too much prevailed in the Chriftian church, to the great detriment of it; and does ftill prevail, though I hope not fo much as it has done. God grant it may wear out more and more, and that men may return to a fober judicious fenfe of the nature and defign of this and every other part of our holy religion! Many Christians, with regard to the Lord's fupper, feem to be in a condi tion like that of the Ifraelites at the giving of the law, when they faw mount Sinai burning with fire, and covered with blackness and tempeft (1); a fight fo terrible, that Mofes faid, I exceedingly fear and quake; and heard the found of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that heard, intreated that (1) Exod. xix. 16.

H 3

the

the word should not be spoken to them any more (m). They could hardly be more afraid to approach the mountain, than fome Chriftians are to come to the Lord's table; as if bounds were fet about it on purpose, as about mount Sinai, to keep off people; and they had the fame order as the people then had, not to break through to come up to the Lord, left he should break forth upon them. They could fcarcely more dread the voice of thunder, in which the law was delivered, than thofe timorous mistaken Chriftians do the command,-Do this in remembrance of me;

not confidering, that they are come to mount Zion, not to mount Sinai; to Jefus the Mediator of the new covenant; `through whom we have access by one Spirit to the Father almighty (n); and furely then can have no juft cause to fear approaching the Mediator himfelf, or rather the memorials of him at his table. Our Mediator is not fo terrible, as to make us ftand in need of another mediator in order to our coming before him with boldnefs; nay, we are come to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the law did, being a confirmation of all the promifes of the gofpel: and what then should occafion, or what can juftify, fuch dreadful apprehenfions of the Lord's fupper, which may very well be called fuperftitious; as they are without all juft ground; and have no other tendency than to inflave and debilitate the minds of Chriftians, to make them of a servile (m) Heb. xii. 18. 19. 21. (n) Eph. ii. 18.

fpirit,

fpirit, instead of infpiring a fpirit of adoption, and cherishing the love of God and of Jefus, which is at once the noblest, and the most delightful part of practical religion? 'Tis not unlikely, that what chiefly gave rife to and fpread this wrong notion of the holy fupper, and made people advance it fo much above the level of all other religious duties in refpect of the folemnity, was the doctrine of tranfubftantiation, or the real corporeal prefence, i. e. the change of the elements of bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ, to which they were taught to pay a religious worship; and to eat what they worshipped, had certainly fomething more than folemn, even fomething horrible in it. And that which increased the fuperftitious veneration for this facrament, was, the denying the cup to the laity; of this none but the priests, the minifters of the Lord, must have the privilege to partake. Thus the fuperftition may be fuppofed to have begun; and having taken poffeffion of the minds of men, was not easily to be driven out again; not at the reformation itself, when the doctrines of Popery were banished out of Proteftant churches, but too much of the spirit retained which was the confequence of thofe doctrines; and particularly this fuperftitious regard to the Lord's fupper, which methinks Proteftants should be the more willing to part with, upon the account of its Popish original. The Lord's fupper is without all doubt a moft folemn ordinance; and is it not a very folemn thing to

draw

draw nigh to God in any of the duties of divine worship? to God the greatest, most glorious and adorable Being? The folemnity of this facrament principally depends upon that which is common to it with the ordinary parts of worship, viz. the addreffes to God which accompany it, which carry fomething more folemn in them than the Lord's fupper itself does, confidered merely as a feast of commemoration instituted in honour of the great Friend and Saviour of mankind. 'Tis true, this ordinance has in it, or attending it, all that is folemn in other ordinances, with fomething additional; I mean, the manner of approaching God through the facrifice of his Son reprefented by the vifible memorials of it. But then this does not add fo much to the folemnity of this religious action, as it does to the encouragement we have to come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace; having not only a great High Priest passed into the heavens (0), but also the memorials of that facrifice, by which he obtained the pardon of fin, acceptance with God, and eternal redemption for us. So that here is no room at all for a fuperftitious fear. Nor is the folemnity of this ordinance, any more than that of the other duties of religion, a reafon why we should banish ourselves from it.

2. There are those who will fay, They do not refuse, but only delay to come to the Lord's table. As there is no particular time of life fixed when they are first to receive the (0) Heb. iv. 14. 16..

holy

holy communion, they continue putting it off from time to time, and only wait for a more convenient opportunity of doing it. But when will that more convenient opportu nity come? As to many, does not this excufe, poor as it is, ferve them for years together? 'Tis true, no exact time is limited, when our obligation to receive the Lord's fupper begins to take place: but what then, if the nature of the command be fuch as to explain itself in this refpect? as it certainly does; fince the obligation to obferve any command must commence as foon as perfons have an ability, and can be made rationally fenfible of the nature of the duty, and the advantages attending it; and that is when they are arrived to years of maturity, fo as to be capable of ferious confideration, of acting steadily in religion, and of ferving God and celebrating the memory of their Saviour with understanding and therefore I could wish, that younger perfons would take this matter into their deliberate thoughts; and do now earnestly intreat them, for their Saviour's fake, (of their obligations to whom I hope they are in fome degree fenfible), and for their own, to do it. I fuppofe them to be of age to judge and act for themselves; not only to dif cern good and evil, but to apprehend the great doctrines of Christianity, particularly that of Chrift being the Saviour of finners, and only Mediator between God and man; in memory of whom, and with a defign more effectually to engage his difciples to love, i

mitate,