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sufficient for the complete atonement of sin; and that the death of CHRIST was the full, final, and only propitiation for the offences of mankind: and having established these points, he infers from them the necessity of a sincere faith, in this great article of our religion; and of a pure heart, and a conscience void of offence towards GOD and man, as the proper fruits of this faith, and the best evidence of our being christians in deed, as well as in name. The words of the text tell us particularly to " draw near unto the holiest," by the "flesh" and "blood" of JESUS CHRIST," in full assu"rance of faith ;" a command, which means (as is evident from the passage itself, and from like expressions of scripture) that we should shew forth the memory of his death and passion; acknowledge our gratitude for what he has done for us; and prove to the world that we are his disciples, by partaking of the sacrament of the body and blood of JESUS CHRIST, as often as we have an opportunity of celebrating it. I purpose, therefore, in the following discourse, to prove to you more fully, the obligation you lie under of being regular in the performance of this service; a duty expressly commanded by your Saviour himself," do this in re"membrance of me;" enjoined by St. Paul,

upon this principle, as often as ye eat this "bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the "LORD's death till he come;" and required by the rules of the church to which ye belong, which says, "every parishioner shall "communicate, at the least, three times in "the year, of which Easter shall be one." So that you clearly see, the man who omits the receiving of the sacrament at proper times and seasons, despises the commands of his Saviour; neglects the admonitions of his apostles; and offends against the rules of the established church of the country. country. Let us, therefore, enquire, first, into the causes of christian people's omitting to receive the sa-. crament: secondly, into the danger of so doing;* and thirdly, into the benefits which it confers upon those who receive it regularly and conscientiously. Many, it is to be feared, slight the sacrament, as they do other sacred things, because they know not GOD; have no concern about their souls; nor bestow a single thought on death and judgment, heaven and hell. Wicked pleasure, or worldly business, occupies all their time and attention; the Bible is to them a dead letter; the church, a hateful place; and the ministers of religion, objects of derision or dislike. To reason with people of this character, would be only a waste of words. They are,

as the apostle says, "sensual, carnal, de" vilish;" 66 given over to a reprobate "mind;" and in the most deplorable condition that a reasonable being can be in, "without GOD in the world." To pray for them, is our duty; but hope we cannot, unless GOD, in his infinite compassion, shall give them grace to see their ruinous course, before it be too late; smite their souls with bitter remorse; and thus save them, as a brand plucked out of the fire. Many others there are, who wish to be considered as good christians, and perhaps persuade themselves. that they really are so, and yet neglect the sacrament, because they think it not necessary to salvation to attend to it. They go to church; they say their prayers to God; and endeavour to do their duty (or at least fancy that they do so) in their station in life with this they are satisfied, and quit the church when the sacrament is to be administered, with as much unconcern, as if that service had not the least connection with their everlasting welfare. But, I pray you to consider, my brethren, what opinion we should form of such conduct in worldly matters. Would a servant, think ye, be doing his duty, by executing such part of his master's work, as he himself liked to do, and leaving all the rest neglected? Would

a labourer deserve the thanks or wages of his employer, if he were to omit a part of the task appointed him, because he thought it no consequence, whether it were completed or not? I trow not. Thus it is, with respect to our religious duty; he that is guilty in one point, is guilty in all. The same Saviour, who has commanded us to offer up prayers and supplications to GOD, and to return him praise and thanksgiving for his mercies; who has enjoined us to worship in public, as well as in private, has also commanded us to celebrate the sacrament; "do "this in remembrance of me," says he; in remembrance of my agony and bloody sweat, of my cross and passion, of my precious death and burial, for the sake of a ruined world; for the salvation of millions of sinners; for the redemption of every soul of man from the pains and horrors of the second death.

But, lastly, there are many other christians, who neglect to receive the sacrament, from another motive; a mistaken one, indeed, but not so criminal as those I have already mentioned; since it is founded in a sense of unworthiness; and a fear, that if they commit sin, after having partaken of it, their sin will be mortal, and their case desperate. Their alarm is founded, in those words of St. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corin

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thians, xi. 29, (introduced into the Exhortation of the Communion Service :)" For he "that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eat"eth and drinketh damnation to himself, "not discerning the LORD's body;" from which they conclude, that the certain loss of the soul will follow the receiving of the sacrament, if they partake of it while they are in that imperfect state, in which they feel themselves to be; that is, liable occasionally to fall into sin. But, my brethren, this notion of the holy sacrament is a very wrong one; for, in the first place, if St. Paul's words really meant what people of this fearful mind suppose them to mean, they still could not commit the sin, for which the apostle condemned the Corin.thians. They received the sacrament in private houses; to which the poor, as well as those who were better off in the world, were all invited. The former could bring no provision with them of bread and wine, which the latter did; in distributing it, however, they did not divide it equally with the poor, but were in the habit of keeping a very large portion themselves; and thus eating and drinking unworthily, or to excess, while the needy part of the communicants went unprovided. Now this you see cannot take place with us; because we receive the