SECTION XXII.

Of the Attempts of learned Divines of the "Church of England to difprove the Neceffity of Preparation for the Sacrament; or, to render it flight and fuperficial.

THE

HE detractors from the dignity of the Eucharift, confiftently with their general defign, proceed to deny the neceffity, and to doubt even the expediency of preparation. According to their notions of a worthy reception, it confifts in a decent deportment during the time of the folemnity. Bishop Hoadly fays, " Examination is not a duty neceffary previous to the Lord's Supper; and that the whole affair (fuch are his words) of eating and drinking unworthily, is confined to the frame of our minds and our behaviour AT the very time of our performance of this religious duty.

Bishop Pearce denies that St. Paul's exhortation "Let a man examine himself, "and fo let him eat of the bread and "drink of the cup," feems to relate to ANY EXAMINATION of what fins they had been formerly guilty of. "If," continues he, "to eat and drink unworthily be to do it intemperately and without reverence, the phrase "Let a man examine himself," muft fignify to do it reverently." He afferts that the Greek word, does not fignify let him examine, but let him diftinguish himself from a guest at a common meal: and this difference confifts in receiving the Sacrament with reverence; with confidering the end of the inftitution, namely, a remembrance of Chrift's death, and love' and affection for our brethren. I muft here remark, that Bishop Taylor, a much greater man, fays, "That the Greek word here tranflated examine, fignifies the ftricteft fort of trial or examination, fuch as that by which gold is tried by the fire."

Dr. Balguy fays: "The neceffity of the felf-examination may first, perhaps, have been fuggefted by a mistaken interpretation of a paffage in one of St. Paul's Epiftles: and it ought not to be diffembled, that there is no paffage in Scripture, which exprefsly requires it of us as a condition. of receiving the Sacrament." Dr. Balguy however allows the propriety of it; but why should men exert their ingenuity in difproving the neceffity of a conduct which they allow to be proper. The neceflity appears from St. Paul's words in our tranflation, which scholars of great ability think the right one...

Dr. Bell does not defert the cause which he had undertaken in his Practical Inquiry, when he comes to inftruct the undearned Chriftian concerning preparation. He teaches that habitual good intentions, joined to the ferious employment of our thoughts at the time, in the business we are about, will, in every inftance, render our attendance upon the celebration of the Lord's Supper, as well as the performance of every other act of religious

K 2

religious worship, an acceptable fervice, without fetting apart any precife period of time to prepare ourselves for it. As to any precife time for preparation, I know of nobody who ever faid that the limitation to a particular length of time was neceffary. But duties for which no particular time is fet apart, are apt to be performed at no time: and where is the neceffity or propriety of contending against a precife time for preparation, if any well-difpofed Chriftian think the appointment of a precife time conducive to this pious purpofe? All thefe attempts to prevent either the preparation in general, or the fixing a precife time for it in particular, contribute to make men confider the Sacrament as an infignificant rite, which may be performed without advantage, or neglected without any evil confequence.

A Bishop, with an Archdeacon,” and Prebendary of Winchefter; and a Bishop of Rochester, with a Prebendary of Westminster, contending againft the neceffity of preparation for the Sacrament, are

fufficient

fufficient to confound, if not to convince the unlearned reader. What the prefent worthy Bishop of St. Afaph, Dr. BAGOT, fays to the latter of these in an elegant`remonftrance upon the subject, might have been addreffed to them all with propriety t.

"Your eftimation in the world will of course give a certain degree of credit to every thing you publifh. The generality of readers will be little difpofed to suspect either your intentions, or your prudence. It becomes, on this account, the more neceffary, that whatever proceeds from your pen fhould be fcrupulously examined. The established worship of this country has a claim to fome deference and respect from her own fons at least;

Benjamin Hoadly Bishop of Winchefter, Thomas Balguy, D. D. Archdeacon and Prebendary of Winchester, Zachary Pearce Bishop of Rochester, and William Bell, D. D. Prebendary of St. Peter's, Westminster.

See a Letter to Dr. Bell on the fubject of his late publication on the authority, nature, and defign of the Lord's Supper, by Lewis Bagot, D. D. t. from

K 3