*

Thanksgiving-Cup, the Cup over which "We speak good Words of Praife and "Thanksgiving to GOD; do We partake "of this, as drinking Wine provided for

an ordinary Entertainment? No certainly; "but as Wine appointed to be a Memorial "of the Bloud of Chrift fhed for Us. Is "it not therefore, in its plain Design, the Joint-partaking (or Communion) of That " which brings to Remembrance, and in his "Inftitution is called, His Bloud? When " in the fame Solemnity We break and eat "Bread, Is not this the Joint-partaking "(or Communion) of That which is appointed for the remembrance of his Body, " and is therefore by Him call'd, His Body;

*Thus the words, the Cup of Bleffing [ivneylas] which we bless [ivaoyu] appear to fignify, beyond all reasonable doubt. Our Bleffed Lord's giving thanks over the Bread, at the Inftitution of this Rite, is expreffed by St. Matthew and St. Mark by the fame word [vλeycas.] This Cup in the Lord's Supper anfwered to the Cup folemnly drunk at the Pafchal Supper, and called by the Jews the Cup of Thankf giving, or the Thanksgiving-Cup. And thus St. Cryfoftom and Theophylatt, (who both lived after much Ceremony and high language were brought into this Inflitution) interpret these words of St. Paul to fignify, "The Cup over which We give Praise and Thanksgiving to Him who poured out his Bloud for Us;" &c.

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"and not the Eating Bread as at an ordinary Meal*? Ver. 17. I fay, The JOINTpartaking: For fuch is the Nature of "this Rite, that it is a Common partaking of Bread in an Affembly, and not the particular Action of every Man in private. "And for this very reafon, because it is One Bread, or Loaf, of which We thus jointly partake in common, We, tho' many particular Perfons, do in effect by this

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* Dr. Clarke, in his Expo. of the Ch. Cat. p. 314. speaking of the Lord's Supper, "We enlarge, fays He, by this Com"munion of Chriftians that facred Bond of Univerfal Love,-

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Charity. For, the Bread which We break, is it not the "Communion of the Body of Chrift? the Communion of all "the Members of Chrift's Body, one with another?" Yes, certainly it is fo. But when that Great Man gave this as the fense of this particular Expreffion in this place, He did not call to mind thefe Words immediately going before, in the fame verfe, "The Cup---Is it not the Communion of the Bloud "of Chrift"? From whence it is plain that St. Paul was here fpeaking of the Two things, (the Wine and the Bread,) of which Chriftians partake in this Rite. And therefore, tho', in other paffages, the whole Body of Chriftians is called the Body of Chrift; and tho' St. Paul here goes on to prove Chriftians to be One Body from this Social partaking of One and the fame Bread; yet, in this particular verfe the Body of Chrift no more fignifies that Society, than the Bloud of Chrift does: no more indeed, than the Words, My Body, in the Inftitution itself, can be fuppofed to fignify, My Society of Difciples. For St. Paul is not in this verfe fpeaking of the Body of Chrift (i. e. Chrißians) partaking of the Lord's Supper; but of that Body of Chrift, of which Chriftians partake, in it.

"declare

declare ourselves to be One Body, or So"ciety. Or, As the Eating Bread together "is the ufual Symbol of Union in Society amongst Men; fo We, gathered together " in One company, and partaking of the "fame Bread, acknowledge Ourselves by "this Act, to be One Body; and as Chrif"tians, by this We declare Ourselves and

our Fellow-Chriftians One fociety, (diftinct "from the Body of the Heathen World,) "devoted and fubject to Chrift, as our com

mon Head. Ver. 18. In the fame manner, "amongst the Jews, the Perfons, who eat

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Any part of what has been facrificed up"on the Altar of the true God, by this "Act, are fuppofed, and profess Themselves, "in effect, to partake of this Flefh, not as at

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an Ordinary Meal, but as of Flesh that has "been offered upon the Altar of the True God; and confequently, own Themselves by This, to be His People, and Worship"C pers of Him, in a peculiar Senfe, as truly as if They themfelves had offered this very Flesh, as a Sacrifice, upon his Al" tar. Ver. 19. "When I apply this to the Heathens around You, and the Sacrifices to their Idols, I do not mean to affirm "that the Idols in their Temples, to "which

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"which they offer facrifice, are any Real Beings; or that what They facrifice to "Them is in truth, even after fuch facri'fice, at all different in itself from any "other Common Flefh; or that You may not, with regard to the True Nature of things, and to Your own Consciences only, as lawfully and as innocently eat of this Flesh thus facrificed, as of any other. "V. 20. But this I fay, That the Heathens "themselves certainly think of these Offerings, and intend them, as Sacrifices, (not to Nothing, but) to fome Real Beings, to whom they imagine them to be acceptable. And fince it is not to the "One only fupreme God, that these Sacrifices are made in their Temples; but profeffedly to fome Inferior Beings, or Dæmons, whom they thus honour as Gods: upon this account it is, that I would not "that Ye fhould be Joint-Partakers, or

appear to be Communicants, with the Hea"thens around you; by eating of those "things, in common with Them, which "have been facrificed in Religious ho"nour to Thofe fuppofed Demons. For, tho' by this Action, (as You think right

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ly about their Idols, and their Sacrifices,)

"You

"You would mean Nothing but what is in " itself innocent; Yet, You would appear "to join publickly with Those who really "intend it as an Honour to fome Dæmon, "in derogation to the Worship of the fupreme God; and, by eating with Them, " will be supposed, in common construction, to perform the fame Religious honour to the fame fuppofed Being; and " will thus give Encouragement by your Example to their Idolatry.

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"This behavior cannot be juftified in "You. V. 21. For You, who are Christians, "and therefore, are obliged to difcourage Every Appearance of that Worship of "Damons which Christ came to abolish,

cannot, without a great crime, drink at the "Lord's Supper, in remembrance of Christ's

Bloud; and drink alfo with the Heathens, "of the Cup which They drink at their "Feafts in honour to their Falfe Gods. "You cannot without guilt partake of the "Lord's Table, by eating Bread in remem"brance of Him; and by this action profeffing Yourselves His Difciples and in Fellowship with Him: and alfo partake of "the Tables of thefe Falfe Gods, by eating "of the Sacrifices offered to Them. You