CHRISTIAN OBSERVER. No.229.] JANUARY, 1821. [No. 1. Vol. XX. RELIGIOUS COMMUNICATIONS. For the Christian Observer. ON SPECIAL PREPARATION FOR THE nature of a right preparation? In order to answer this, let us look back to the first time of our approaching the holy communion. How anxious were we then to ascertain two most important points! namely, whether we had scriptural reason to believe, upou a general review of our character, that we were among the number of true believers; and also whether our frame of mind at that particular period was such as suited this great solemnity. Here then was an examination generally as to our state before God, and specially into our religious frame at that particular season; and these two points should always be more or less prominent in our minds in our sacramental preparations. The two opposite mistakes just mentioned, arise from separating these inquiries. The formalist endeavours to work up his feelings to a certain pitch of transient devoutness for the occasion; while he neglects to examine into his general character, and has no due sense of the necessity of a complete renovation of soul; a radical transformation in the spirit of his mind; a turning from darkness to light, and from the power of He comes, there HERE are two opposite mistakes into which persons are apt to fall in their preparation for any solemn duty of religion, but especially in their attendance upon the holy communion. The more common one is that of the formalist, who thinks himself duly prepared by means of certain occasional observances, while his affections are far from God, and there exists no scriptural penitence or faith in his soul. The opposite error is that of some religious persons who, perceiving the defectiveness of a mere formal preparation, are too much inclined to neglect those special duties which are necessary for a profitable attendance on any religious ordinance. The error of the formalist has been often and justly exposed: it may be useful on the present occasion to touch upon the opposite mistake, in order that we may guard against suffering the dread of Pharisaism to betray us into a rash or negligent spirit; remembering, in all our attendance upon sacred duties, the satan unto God. inspired caution," Put off thy fore, "trusting in his own righteshoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." It will not be necessary to shew that, in order to render us fit recipients, some kind of preparation is required; for this is allowed by all who think seriously on the subject. But what, let us inquire, is the CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 229. ousness:" he is content if he has duly gone through some heartless round of duties, which he has been accustomed to prescribe for himself at such seasons; while to all practical purposes he is habitually living" without God, and without hope in the world:" he has no deeply penitential contrition for B inquire what is the best kind of special preparation where habitual preparation already exists. In endeavouring, in the first place, to shew that habitual preparation does not supersede the utility of special preparation, I would address my argument not to those who live in the neglect of the sacrament; nor to such as approach it in a formal and self-righteous spirit; but to those who are among the number of faithful worshippers, and are in the habit of obeying the dying command of their Redeemer, from right principles, and with a view to the comforting and refreshing of their souls. Such persons may be justly said to be habitually in a state of preparation; and being endued with the essential prerequisites, may venture to approach "those holy mysteries," whenever an opportunity occurs; even though prevented by lawful causes from devoting so much time and attention as they could wish to special preparation. Thus, for instance, if summoned to join in this act of devout communion with a dying friend; or invited unexpectedly on entering the sacred temple, by finding the sacramental elements prepared for the solemnity; the true Christian will generally feel it his privilege to comply with his Saviour's injunction. He will not re sin; no humble and exclusive faith in the sacrifice of the Redeemer, and no permanent desire to walk in his blessed steps. In short, he attempts to compensate for the want of habitual preparation, by a pharisaic and superstitions dependence upon some special sacramental exercises; much as if a person, who was living daily in gross disloyalty to his king, should hope to be well received in the royal presence, by going through a few external ceremonies, while his general character and conduct remained unchanged. An earthly monarch might indeed be deceived by this occasional mask; but not so He "who searcheth the heart." On the other hand, some religious persons, as before observed, too much neglect special preparation, in their reliance upon their general state before God. Having, as they humbly trust, scriptural reason to conclude that, notwithstanding their many sins, negligences, and ignorances, they are still sincere in their holy profession are really penitent on account of their transgressions-have a genuine faith in their Saviour and are making it their supreme endeavour, though amidst innumerable impediments, to live to the praise and glory of Him who loved them and gave himself for them, they do not think it ne- fuse the gracious invitation of his cessary, perhaps they even consider it self-righteous and pharisaic, to employ much more than their ordinary course of self-examination previously to any peculiar act of religious solemnity, such as the reception of the holy communion. This temper of mind, though not so common as that of the formalist, is yet so prejudicial, wherever it prevails, to a profitable attendance on the sacrament, that we ought carefully to guard against it. For this purpose, it will be the object of this paper, first, to convince those who may need convincing, that habitual preparation does not supersede the utility of special preparation; and then to Divine Master, from a superstitious notion that a certain prescribed form of special preparation is absolutely requisite, under all circumstances, to a right reception; or from a self-righteous idea that he could in any way have rendered himself really worthy of celebrating those sacred rites. He is persuaded that his claim can be nothing of a meritorious kind; that if he is not habitually in a fit state to receive the holy communion he is not in a fit state either to live or die; and that the qualification which God demands is not a confidence of our worthiness, but a penitent sense of our transgressions, a selfrenouncing faith in the Redeemer, and an earnest desire and resolution, by his grace, and the assistance of his Holy Spirit, to dedicate the remainder of our lives to his praise and glory. This habitual preparation he feels to be the primary object of his inquiry; and in order to answer that inquiry aright, every true Christian must be living constantly, and not at peculiar seasons only, in habits of self-examination and earnest prayer. He must thus acquire a general acquaintance with his own character, and learn to ascertain his state in the sight of God; and if his heart testify, and God, who is greater than his heart, testify, that he is grounded on a right foundation, he has a scrip. tural title to partake at all times of the privileges which belong to the disciple of Jesus Christ. Such is his general qualification; but this does not supersede special acts on special occasions. Before solemn ordinances, there should be a solemn self-devotion. It is true that we have no fitness for any religious service, till God is pleased to cleanse our hearts by his Holy Spirit, and to make us "new creatures in Christ Jesus ;" and equal ly true, that our real fitness, as before observed, has respect rather to our habitual state, than to our momentary frame; but still there are many and great advantages to be derived from endeavouring to prepare our minds in a peculiar manner when we are about to engage in any important act of religious duty. In public worship, in our private devotions, in our famis ly prayers, in our deeds of mercy and charity, we should usually find far greater benefit to our souls, if we came to them with more consideration; and especially if we could regularly devote a space of time, however short, to prepare our minds for entering on them with devout affections, and undisturbed attention. Many eminent Christians have so strongly felt the truth of this remark, that they would not venture to implore the blessing of God upon the ordinary refreshments for the sustenance of the body, without first earnestly endeavouring to compose their minds in order that their prayer might be offered up in faith, and without distraction. How much more then does solemn preparation become that most affecting of all Christian ordinances, in which, in an especial manner, we approach the Divine Presence and receive the sacred pledges of the dying love of our Redeemer! In endeavouring to shew that, even to the established Christian, special preparation is of great im-' portance, it is not irrelevant to remark the danger of "eating and drinking unworthily." This sin, it is true, applies, in its full extent, only to the careless and unbeliev ing; but there may be an approach to it even in the true Christian, when he comes to the sacred table in an indifferent and thoughtless frame. It is only when we truly "discern the Lord's body," viewing him as " evidently set forth crucified among us," and with “ penitent heart and lively faith,” receive that holy sacrament, that our preparation is of a right kind; and when that is the case, far from receiving unworthily, “ we eat and drink to our souls' health," "we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us, we are one with Christ, and Christ with us." a But not only may be urged, as a motive for special preparation, the fear of partaking unworthily, but also the positive benefits which will arise to the mind from this devout process. Every opportunity for self-examination is worthy of being embraced; and surely in an especial manner a season of such peculiar solemnity, in which every circumstance seems to invite us to a more than common self-investigation. Each recurrence of sacramental occasions may be profitably viewed as an opportunity expressly afforded us in the course of the Divine Providence for examining anew into the truth of our religious profession, and ascertaining our state before God. We ought indeed to be doing this habitually; but where eternity is at stake, we can never be too certain ; and if, in the course of our preparation for a particular solemnity, we are enabled to gain a deeper insight into our geperal character, and new hopes respecting our spiritual condition, we shall not complain that the task was superfluous. It is useful, therefore, to consider each of these occasions as a sort of epoch in our Christian life—a time to look upon the past and the future; and, in dependence upon the Divine assistance, to renew our vows of love and fidelity to our crucified Redeemer. Besides, we may possess habitual preparation, and yet be by no means in a frame of mind consistent with our exalted privileges. The business and cares of the world may have too much hurried our spirits; some Christian grace may have languished in our souls; pride, covetousness, indifference, secularity, and deadness to eternal things may have made too great inroads upon us; some particular sin may have brought guilt into our conscience; or we may have been "backsliders in heart," though not in life;-in short, in numberless ways we may perceive matter enough for the exercise of penitence, even while our hopes for eternity are well-founded, and our faith in the mercy of our heavenly Father remains unshaken. Again, special preparation is of great importance to prevent the sacrament degenerating into a mere formal observance, or losing its solemnity in our eyes by becoming familiar. The established Christian would often gladly recal the traces left upon his mind at particular seasons in the early stages of his sacred progress. He laments that he does not always feel so vividly as he once did in the ordipances of religion, and fears that his heart may have become more insensible to devout impressions.- And to mention but one benefit more arising from this devout habit, it will greatly tend, under the blessing of God, to our spiritual comfort at the time of participation. We must not indeed confound our changeable frames and sensations with our general qualification for we are often most welcome when, in the depth of selfabasement, we think ourselves least so; but still we should remember that God is usually pleased to proportion his consolations to the diligence and humility with which he has led us to implore them, and to the preparation of heart which has preceded them. The use of means, it is true, has no necessary effect in itself; nor do our previous tears, and prayers, or fastings, and selfexamination, create any claim to the manifestations of Divine mercy. But still there is an established order in the conduct of God towards us: he first softens the heart into which he intends to pour his heavenly consolations; he gives us to hunger and thirst after righteousness, in order that we may be filled. Thus our humble efforts and prayers to dispose our minds for any holy solemnity are not unheeded by Him who knows our secret thoughts, and who alone can effectually prepare us, either in point of general qualification or immediate frame. He observes whether, on the one hand, we neg. lect the appointed means of preparation; and, on the other, whether we abuse them to self-righteous purposes. The more we attend to them, and the less we place our dependence upon them, the more likely are we, in the usual course of his providence, to receive a blessing. It was the duty of Elijah to build the altar, to put the wood in order, and to lay the sacrifice upon the pile; but the fire was to come from heaven that was to inflame it, and make it ascend a grateful offering to Jehovah. and self-examination? Besides, if we would enjoy great things, we should look forward to them with earnest solicitude; we should be cherishing high expectations and enlarging our desires; which cannot be the case, when we approach the table of the Lord with a careless and unprepared spirit. Supposing my readers fully convinced of the importance of the duty which I have endeavoured to enforce, I proceed to inquire into the nature of the special preparation which should be employed where habitual preparation already exists. On this subject it is most important to remark, that it should be an evangelical and not a legal preparation. There is, in fact, no true preparation unconnected with a holy walk with God, a devout exercise of the affectious, and a cultivation of the graces of the Christian character. The preparation of the formalist is but a specious mockery, since it excludes from it the very elements of true religiona filial devotedness to God, and a cordial desire to fulfil his com mands. But not only is our comfort in An obvious and most important communicating affected by our part of a truly evangelical peparaattention to preparatory duties on tion for the sacrament is self-examithe general ground of the con- nation. "Let a man examine himnexion which God has been pleas- self, and so let him eat of that ed to establish between means and bread, and drink of that cup." end, between the frame of the re- With a view to conduct this the cipient and the outpouring of his more profitably and impartially, it consolations; but also on other is the custom of many persons, and, grounds, such as the peculiar to a certain extent, a very useful dispositions and affections of soul custom, to adopt some formulary which are required for a profitable of queries, by which to recal their reception, and which will usually thoughts, words, and actions, to be found invigorated by the kind memory, and thus to ascertain the of preparation which this solem state of their minds. Among other nity requires. Repentance, faith, assistances of this kind, the conlove, gratitude, peace, joy, hope, cise but widely comprehensive form and every other celestial grace supplied for this purpose in the ought to be in lively exercise, in Church Catechism may be often order to a truly profitable recep- adopted with great advantage. We tion of the communion. And what are there taught to examine, first, is so likely, by the blessing of God whether we 66 repent us truly of the Holy Spirit, to quicken these our former sins;" then, as true reheavenly virtues, as a solemn sea-pentance is always accompanied son devoted to meditation, prayer, by earnest desires and endeavours |