Others, again, may be deterred from an attendance upon this rite by motives of a very different description. They may have been led to form conceptions of this ordinance, as something so peculiarly sacred and awful, as to make an attendance upon it a very dangerous experiment. They may think, at least, that it requires some very particular preparation, and a modest sense of their own deficiencies may have hitherto deterred them from joining in it. All these different misconceptions depend, more or less directly, on the erroneous views of this rite which have prevailed so extensively, and to which your attention has been already directed. To adhere strictly to the Bible, in the regulation both of our faith and practice, is the surest way of liberating ourselves from all such groundless imaginations. There are two passages in the apostle Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, which have been not a little instrumental in encouraging the erroneous conceptions alluded to. There had been some gross abuses of this ordinance in the Corinthian church, for which the apostle found it necessary to rebuke them sharply. They had gone so far as to abuse the celebration of this solemn rite to the purposes of gluttony and intemperance. The apostle, therefore, having recited to them the circumstances of its original institution,

and reminded them that it was intended to commemorate the Lord's death, proceeds thus:"Whosoever, therefore, shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily,"that is, in a manner unsuitable to the design of the institution," shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." The Greek word here translated guilty, is very general in its signification. The meaning is, that he shall be held answerable for his contemptuous treatment of the body and blood of the Lord. The expression is not nearly as strong as that employed by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, with reference to apostates from the faith, when he says, that they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. The apostle then proceeds, "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup; for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, or in an unsuitable manner, eateth and drinketh damnation, or judgment, to himself, not discerning the Lord's body"; that is, not distinguishing between bread eaten to the memory of Christ and his ordinary food.

What the damnation or

judgment is, of which the apostle here speaks, appears in the following verses, where he reminds them of certain sicknesses and deaths which had taken place among them, whether

miraculously, or as the natural result of their intemperance, we have no means of ascertaining. You cannot fail to perceive how groundless any apprehensions must be, that are founded on either of the foregoing passages.

Others, again, may feel inclined to take alarm at the solemnity of the pledge, which they may be supposed to give, by an attendance on this rite, that they will endeavour, in future, to amend their lives, and act as becomes disciples of Jesus. They may feel afraid, perhaps, and not without reason, that the world may feel disposed to point the finger of scorn at them, when it shall perceive the glaring discordance that exists between their solemn profession and their habitual practice. The apprehensions of such persons cannot, certainly, be considered as groundless. But what then? Are they to refuse the pledge? Are they, then, resolved to persist in their wickedness? Will this plea avail them before God? Will it avail them on the day of judgment? The only rational mode of escaping from such a dilemma, is to give the pledge, and to resolve to redeem it.

Another class of persons, perhaps, may be unwilling to appear too religious. They fear the ridicule of some thoughtless acquaintance.

This obstacle is so extremely childish in its nature, that it is difficult to know how to deal with it. Were we summoned in the cause of Christ to submit to some serious calamity,-to testify the sincerity of our faith in him, by relinquishing some favourite and long cherished object of ambition,-by parting with a considerable portion of our property,-by laying bare our breasts to persecution, and assuming the unbending port and dauntless aspect of a martyr,—then, perhaps, it might be recommended to us, with a view of strengthening our resolution, to consider seriously the words of Christ, "Whoso shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." As it is, however, we should hardly be justified in such an application. Shame upon the ungrateful levity that can suffer the gratitude and affection we bear to a crucified Master, and the respect which we entertain for his authority, to be outweighed in the balance by the laughter of fools!

S

SERMON IX.

THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

PSALM i., 1.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

I HAVE selected this passage of Scripture at present, merely with a view to the position which it occupies. My object is to lay before you a few general observations relative to the Book of Psalms, of which it forms the commencement.

No person, my friends, who is convinced of the importance of revealed religion to the welfare and happiness of man, can avoid regretting most deeply, that too many persons in the present day are very neglectful of the perusal of the sacred writings. It is to be feared that they are not always read by individuals in private, or by parents to their families, with that care and constancy to which they are so well entitled. The causes of this neglect are va