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SERMON VIII.

The Nature, End and Defign of the Holy Communion.

I COR. xi. 27.

Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.

HAVE lately, from our Sa- SER M.
viour's words of inftitution, VIII.
(This do in remembrance of
Me,) difcourfed concerning
the Nature, End, and Defign,

of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

VOL. IV.

N

I shall

SERM. I fhall now from these words of St Paul, VIII. proceed to fome other confiderations, ne

ceffary to be understood, in order to our partaking worthily of that Holy Sacrament: Whosoever fall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Which words do plainly fuppofe in them, ift, A Duty enjoined; to eat this bread and drink this cup: 2dly, A Benefit arifing from the due performance of the duty; implied in the contrary danger of doing it unworthily. 3dly, A certain Care and Preparation necessary, in order to perform it worthily; leaft by negli gence and want of Devotion, we become guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. In the following difcourfe therefore, I fhall briefly confider, 1ft, The Obligation we lie under to perform the Duty enjoined. 2dly, What Benefits we may expect to be made partakers of, by performing it in a due and worthy manner. 3dly, What Qualifications or Preparation is neceffary, in order to fuch a due and worthy receiving. In which Matter, because Men have fometimes on the one hand, been

perplexed

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VIII.

perplexed with many and unreasonable S ER M. fcruples, as well as on the other hand been too negligent and void of Devotion; I fhall therefore in the 4th place confider the groundleffness and vanity of the greatest part of thofe Reafons, which Men ufually allege for their abstaining from the Communion, under pretense of Want of due Preparation. And Lastly, I fhall conclude what I think proper to offer to your meditations upon this Subject, with taking notice of fome of the great and scandalous Corruptions, wherewith the Church of Rome have difhonoured this folemn commemoration of our Lord, and of his dying for us.

I. I AM to confider what Obligation lies upon us, to perform this Duty at all. And upon This Head there needs little inlargement; it being acknowledged by Chriftians of all Communions, (excepting perhaps One only Sect,) to be the exprefs and pofitive Commandment of our Lord. So that tho' we could not have understood fo much of the reasonableness and usefulness of the precept, as we do; tho' we could not have perceived distinct

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SERM.ly, the Benefits that we receive thereby; VIII. nor have at all apprehended the particular

ye

grounds and reafons of the fitnefs of the command; (which Now is by no means the cafe ;) yet the clearness and expreffness of the injunction itself, would nevertheless have made the Obligation fufficiently evident; and it would well have becomed us, without further inquiry, to have fubmitted with all Humility to the Will and Authority of our Lord. Take, eat; and, Drink all of this; and, This do in remembrance of me; are words containing as clear and exprefs a command, as are any where to be met with, upon any other occafion in the whole New Teftament and they are recorded by three of the four Evangelifts. And they are repeated by St Paul, in the words a little before the Text, as a commandment enforced diftinctly, by a new and particular Revelation to himself; I have received, faith he, of the Lord, that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jefus, the fame night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and faid, Take, eat; this is

my

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