Eucharift, the Medicine of Immortality; Our Antidote, that we should not die but live for ever in Christ Jesus; This fhews Us that there was too soon a Variety of figurative Expreffions upon this Subject, introduced amongst Chriftians: which yet may be well interpreted by the plain Nature and Defign of the Thing itself. Thus, this Bread which might, in One Sense, by a Figure, be called Food, in Another Senfe might, by the fame fort of figure, be called Phyfic; [a very different Idea from that of Food;] as the Rite, of which it is a part, is, by its Design and End, an open Profeffion of the Christian Religion; as it tends to keep Us in the Profeffion and Practice of it; and leads Us to fuch Thoughts and Refolutions, as are the greateft Defenses against the evil Effects of the Poifon of Sin. In this Senfe it may be likened to Bodily Phyfic: and called a Medicine. for Immortality; and an Antidote against Sin and Death. Nor can it be supposed that Any of the earliest Writers fpake of This Bread, or of the Eucharift, as Food or as Medicine, in any other Senfe, not grounded upon the nature of the Inftitution, or the words of the New Teftament; without fuppofing at the fame time that in this They foon deviated M 2 from

from the original fimplicity of Their Religi on; and applied to this Rite Expreffions never intended peculiarly to belong to it; nor at all proper, in any fuch high fense as may have been put upon them by fome of late Ages.

The fame fort of Mistake feems to lie in calling it The Renewal of the New Covenant, on our part; and the Seal of It, on GOD's part: The former of which is a very improper Description of this Duty, as diftinguished from All others; and the Latter feems to Me to have no foundation, in Any Senfe.

We may indeed, be faid to acknowledge and own our Covenant with GOD, through Chrift, by the virtual profeffing Ourselves to be Chriftians, implied in Our Remembring Him as our Lord, in this Rite. But the fame may be faid of any other, even verbal, Profeffion of our Faith in Chrift; which is equally an Acknowledgment of the fame Covenant. But the Repeated Acknowledgment of our being entered into fuch a Covenant is by no means, nor in any proper fense, the Renewal of that Covenant. They are Two very different Ideas: and ought always to be kept fo.

The Chriftian Religion is confidered as a Covenant between GOD and Us. Under this figure, The Covenant, on our Part, is, Not that We confent to forfeit his Favor for ever, unless We ftrictly and rigorously, without any one neglect or deviation, perfevere to the End of Life, in the performance of his Will but, That We will fincerely and uniformly endeavor to perform his Will; and, if in any inftance We neglect or tranfgrefs it, We will not fuffer this to grow into an Habit of Sin, but recover Qurselves by greater Watchfulness, and actual Amendment of Life.

Keeping therefore, to this Notion of a Covenant; Every Individual Sin, into which a Chriftian may fall, though highly dif pleafing to Almighty God, and tending to a Total forfeiture of his Covenanted Favor, yet cannot be faid to be a Breach of the whole Covenant, in fuch fenfe as to imply in it a Forfeiture of all the Benefits of It: because there is Another part of it, in which Actual Amendment is ftipulated; and the Event of this must be seen, before judgment can be paffed about this Total Forfeiture. But if Sin, or any Number of Sins, be fuppofed to break and diffolve this Covenant totally;

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tally; fo that it shall stand in need of being renewed, in order to put the Chriftian again into a State of Favor with God: Let it be confidered and answered, Can the partaking of the Lord's Supper thus renew it? Can the ferious Remembrance of Christ, and the Profeffion of our Faith in Him, implied in this Rite; or Any Peculiarity belonging to it; be completely, and of itself, Such a Renewal as We are fpeaking of? Is there One fuch Word of promife, or privilege, mentioned, in the New Teftament, as peculiarly relating to this Duty? Nothing of this kind appears there. Nor can this Duty itself be esteemed as More than One Inftance of our Belief in Chrift, and One Act of our Obedience; always in itfelf acceptable to God, as it is accompanied with a fincere Defire, and implies in it an honest Resolution, of doing his Will.

In a word, The effectual Re-establishment of the Chriftian Covenant on our part, if it has been fhaken by Our Sins, can be only compaffed by that Actual Amendment which is part of the Covenant. And therefore, as the partaking of the Lord's Supper is not the Actual Amendment of our Lives, but is only that One Inftance of our Chriftianity,

by

by which We do in effect acknowledge our Obligation to it; and by which, as by a Mean, We are naturally, and by the Appointment of Chrift, led to it: Let not That Benefit be annexed to the Mean, which belongs only to the End ferved by That Mean; nor Thofe Privileges be given to One Act of Religious Profeffion, which are conftantly and plainly taught by GOD himfelf to belong to the Actual Amendment of our Lives, and the fincere performance of his whole Will. And this being fo, that the A&tual Amendment of our lives is the only Security to this Covenant, on our part it follows that neither the Partaking of the Lord's Supper, nor Any thing else, which is not Actual Amendment, can be spoken of, with any propriety, under that Character.

This being fo plain on our part, It would be fufficient from hence to infer that this Rite of the Lord's Supper is not the Seal of the Chriftian Covenant, on God's part; because it is not the Renewal of it, on Our part. But it is fit to add still farther, That the Real Bloud of Chrift, as fhed for Us; or, in other words, his Death, is the only Seal of the Covenant and even His Bloud, is called fo, in this Figurative fenfe alone;

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