remember him according to the Notions they have conceived of him from their Interpretation of the Scripture. This then being granted, let us go on to confider that it is not enough when any Perfon defires us to remember him, to recall barely that he is alive, without remembering also what he is, and what he has done; fo it would be a very barren and fruitless Remembrance of Chrift, to remember merely that once this divine Perfon exifted in the World: Surely, in order to remember him as we ought to do, we must confider him under thofe exalted and important Offices he has taken upon him, as our Prieft, our Prophet, and our King; and efpecially under the first of thefe, fince one of the great Ends of this holy Rite is declared to be, to fhew forth the Lord's Death till he come ** Now in a complete Remembrance of any Perfon, these three Things, I think, are implied; To remember who the Perfon is; what he has done; and the End for which he has done it: And under these three Views it is neceffary for us in the Eucharift to remember our Saviour. I fay then, when we partake of the Holy Supper, we ought to remember what our Saviour was, I mean the tranfcendent Excellency of his Perfon; for certainly any Favour is more or lefs valuable, according to the greater or leffer Difproportion there is between him that confers, and him that receivesit; and as the greater the Perfon is that does us any ** 1 Cor. xi, 26. Be Benefit, the greater and more admirable is the Condefcention, Love, and Goodness exprefs'd in it; therefore to have juft Ideas of the immenfe Favours we have received from Chrift, it is neceffary to recall to our Minds his great perfonal Dignity, which greatly enhances the Price of them. Without fuch Ideas our Thankfulness must be vastly difproportionate to the Services received. We ought therefore to remember, that he that has purchased the Church of God with his Blood*, was not only holy, harmless, undefiled, feparate from Sinners † ; not only a Prophet, diftinguished by his Talents and his Virtues, but was alfo the Son of God ‡, his well beloved Son §, the true God, the great God S, the mighty God tt, God over all, bleffed for ever. We ought, 2dly, To confider what our bleffed Lord has done and fuffered for us: That altho' our Saviourwas God, and thought it no Robbery to be equal with God, yet he made bimfelf of no Reputation +t, and left the Throne of his Glory to dwell among us ; not in a Way which might anfwer the Eminence of his glorious Majefty, but in the Form of a Servant, and fubjected himself to all the finlefs Infirmities of human Nature. And that altho' he gave the most excellent Syftem of Morals to promote the temporal and eternal Happi- nefs of Man, and fhewed that he was of a Truth, * A&ts xx, 28. 54. § Matth. iii 17. a. ix, 6. Phil. ii, 7. 14. + Heb. vii, 26. Rom. ix, 5. Matth. xxvii, §§ Tit. ii, 13. tt John i. the that Prophet that should come into the World*; that tho' his great and inconteftable Miracles demonftrated, that all Power was given him in Heaven and in Earth †, yet his Life was a continued Scene of Indignities and Contradiction of Sinners against himself; his Doctrine was defpifed, his Authority difregarded, and himfelf treated with the utmoft Scorn and Derifion. And that, in fhort, altho' he was always employed in doing good, in making the Blind to receive their Sight, the Lame to walk, in cleanfing the Lepers, in making the Deaf to hear, and in preaching the Gospel to the Poor **, yet he was apprehended as a Thief tt, Spit upon, buffeted ++, and at laft condemned to a moft cruel and fhameful Death, even the Death of the Cross *. III. We ought to remember, that altho' our Saviour was thus by wicked Hands crucified and flaint, yet he fuffered all this voluntarily, for our Salvation. No Man could take his Life from him, unless at the fame Time he confented to lay it down of himself. But if he had not, how then should the Scriptures have been fulfilled, that thus it must be? And how could there have been Remiffion of Sin without the fhedding of his Blood? And therefore, when at the holy Table, we call to Mind the Death of Chrift, we are not to look upon it barely as a Confirmation of his most perfect 3. + Matth. xxviii, 18. * John vi, 14. || Acts x, 38. tt Ver 65. Phil. ii, 8. 18. Matt. xxvi, 54. Heb. xii, †† Mark xiv, 48. John x, † Acts ii, 23. Heb. ix, 22. and 49 and holy Doctrine, or as the moft illuftrious Proof that could be exhibited of the moft confummate and heroick Virtues; but as the meritorious Cause of our Reconciliation with God: For the Scriptures tell us that we were reconciled to God by the Death of his Son,* whom God has fet forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood+; who gave himself a Ran fom for all, the Just for the Unjust, that he might bring us to God; that he has redeemed us to God, &c. ------Surely there must be fome peculiar Dignity, fome real Efficacy, fome very intrinfick Virtue, in the Death of Christ, which was the Cause of the Pardon of Sinners, tho' penitent: Common Sacrifices could not make the Comers thereunto perfect **; they could only fanctify to the purifying of the Flesht: It is only the Blood of Chrift, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot to God, that can purge the Confcience from dead Works to Serve the living God ††, and cleanse us from all Unrighteousness II. And thus far of the Particulars implied in the Remembrance of Chrift * Rom. v, 10. r Pet. iii, 18. Heb. ix, 13. ‡‡ 1 John i, 9. End of this Book. ----I go on to give 1 Tim. ii, 6. ** Heb. x, 1. See further in the Devotions at the Some learned Men have given another Interpretation to the Word Remembrance, which they would translate Memorial, and understand not so much of the Remembrance of Chrift to Man, but rather of a Memorial, a Kind of Libation and Sacrifice made to God the Father, to obtain his Blef fing. They urge that it is a facrificial Term, and certainly to be fo understood in the Two only Places where give fome Account of the chief Difpofitions which this Remembrance of him is apt to excite, and should ever be attended with; and I think they may be fumm'd up in these three: Thankfulness, Charity, and a fix'd Aversion to all Sin. I'll endeavour to fhew the Neceffity of having thefe Difpofitions; and further, how they agree with the End and Purposes for which this bleffed Sacrament was inftituted. As és dváμvnow is used by the LXX (which was a Translation better known in our Saviour's Time, and more generally used than the Original Hebrew) Lev. xxiv, 7. Numb. X. 10. They obferve that it is the fame Word, the fame Prepofition, the fame Manner of Expreffion, as in the Words of the Inftitution (tho' I will not be answerable for their Accuracy and Exa&nefs in this Matter.) They add further, that the original Verb tranflated do, might equally be here render'd offer, and has been fo understood by the fame. LXX, when it was joined to a Thing ca pable of being offer'd to God. See Exod. x, 25, xxix, 36. Lev. iv, 20. That if this Rendering of do be allowed of, it will take off this feeming Tautology, do this as oft as ye shall drink it; which, continue they, is no more than do this as oft as ye do it," and will make excellent Sense; offer this to God as oft as ye drink it, for a Memorial of me. See Johnfon's Unbloody Sacrifice, Part I, p. 91;--Hickes's Chriftian Prieftbood, Vol. I, p. 58, alfo bis Letters, p. 246;---Brett's and Bowyer's Anfwers to the Plain Account, and others. I think thefe Gentlemen have greatly overstrained the Matter, and their Speculations appear much more ingenious than folid: Dr Waterland feems to have deftroyed their Schemes. What Mr Pierce has advanced on this Head appears much nearer to the Truth, whofe Interpretation of ἀνάμνησις (paffing over what relates to Infant Commu nion) I heartily affent to; which is as follows, p. 148, &c. "The Remembrance our Lord fpeaks of may be confider'd in a threefold Refpect: 1ft, With respect to our"felves; and fo it would import, that we fhould, in eating of that Bread, and drinking of that Cup, actually re member, |