who not being an eye-witness, received it from the united, and by that means more perfect testimony of those who were so; or rather, as he himself declares, 1 Cor. xi, received it of the Lord, we shall have all the testimony the Scriptures afford respecting the first institution of the ceremony, and the design and application of it to the church for ever.

Matt. xxvi, 17. "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city unto such a man, and say unto him, The master says, my time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve, and as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, Is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been better for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast

said. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." The only variation from this narrative is, that St. Luke introduces at the supper some conversation that the other evangelists give as having passed afterwards; and St. John, omitting the sacramental ceremony altogether, enters into other particulars of the deepest interest, by which light is indirectly thrown upon its mysteries. Let us dwell long upon this sacred narrative; let us consider, and reconsider these divine words; the time, the company, the circumstances that attended it, and the events that followed. It will be a better preparation for the holy sacrament than any thing that man can write, or churches dictate. To those who, for the first time, are preparing to receive the communion; to all who still think some peculiar preparation necessary, or are wishing for some better understanding of it before they go, I would say, "This do; read these

inspired narratives, one or all, with the apostle's repetition in the epistle to the Corinthians; read them, sentence by sentence, word by word, with close meditation and internal prayer; think them, pray them, over and over again; that so, by the Spirit's help, your minds may be enlightened, your hearts made ready, or your fears allayed. All that we can say to help each other, all that the wisdom of the church can add for the instruction of her members, is but a draught from this pure source; it is worth nothing unless it was drawn thence. The Spirit itself will not teach us apart from the written word. His light, which fell direct upon the souls of them that wrote it, now comes to us reflected from its pages. God does permit, and does intend that we should take advantage of each other's gifts, and inquire of these who are before us, to be encouraged by their experience, and warned by their mistakes, and persuaded by their example; but as all human instruction must be brought to the test of Scripture before it can be relied upon, we shall do well to begin where our teachers themselves began. We had better study fully the written word of God upon the subject of the sacrament, before we appeal to the opinions of men, or consider the formularies prepared for us to use. And may the light of God be with us while we attempt it!

"When the even was come." 99 "The same

night in which he was betrayed," the last evening of the Saviour's life, the last hours before that midnight, in which the Son of God was given into the hands of sinners, to do with him what they list; the moments immediately preceding the intensest anguish of his soul. How should we wish to know, if we did not know, what occupied that evening! If we have had a friend, a brother, who has died away from us, do we not inquire with intensest interest, what passed in the closing hours of life? what he did last, before the agonies of death withdrew his attention from external things? His latest care, his final conversation, whom did it regard, and what was it about? Do we not know the thrill of sensibility with which we hear, or wish to hear some reference to ourselves, in the dying accents of one we love? The Saviour's last care, his latest occupation before he entered the final conflict with the powers of darkness, was to dictate words for us-to establish for us a sacramental rite-an external ordinance, a ceremony-can we believe it? which we neglect or perform with indifference, or perhaps have never yet performed at all. It was no time to be occupied with things indifferent, with a matter that does not signify, in which we may do as we like, something that can safely be put off or let alone. If Satan has ever told us so, let this question sink deep into our hearts, Was it a moment for the Son of God to occupy himself

with what it is not necessary for Christians to observe?

"He sat down with the twelve." It is well to consider who the guests were, that we come not uninvited to the feast, neither think ourselves excluded without cause. The twelve had confessed the man Jesus to be God and Lord; the Messiah that was to come, the Saviour of mankind, as far as the light of their own Scriptures had revealed him: and this they did in opposition to the rejection of him by their people, and the mystery of his humiliation, which they in no wise understood. Chosen by the Saviour when they knew him not, and called to follow him they knew not whither, by faith they obeyed the call, they believed his words, they trusted his promises, and gave up all that they had for his sake. This is their own appeal, "Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee." Every accepted, every welcome guest at the Lord's table, makes a similar confession, is in a similar position. Chosen of God, and called by his Spirit out of a world that lieth in wickedness, they have devoted themselves to be the followers of Jesus Christ, they believe him, they trust him, and forsake whatever would interfere with their devotion to his service. It It is the profession required of all who approach the altar, and we are admitted upon our profession, to a feast of which, nevertheless, we can be no partakers, if it be a false