ward profession, an externally unblemished character, an attempt even to appear more holy than others, and a desire to be thought one of the more zealous servants of Christ, the mask of hypocrisy has been stripped off; and the predominant passions and lusts of the man who attempted to deceive others, and who may have succeeded in deceiving himself, have been discovered, and the ruin of his character and his prospects has been the result? God leaves not himself without witness even here, that he abhors a lie and the maker of it; and assuredly nothing that maketh a lie shall ever enter into that abode of light, and truth, and holiness, where he has the habitation of his throne.

My brethren, have we not pledged ourselves to give up our hearts to God?--to be his servants, purchased by the precious blood of his dear Son?--to be a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to him, which is our reasonable service? And what is it but a lie unto God, if we keep back aught of that which we are bound to dedicate whole and entire to him? We ourselves, and all that we are and have, are his. We cannot even do what we will with our own; we cannot, without incurring the guilt of this awful sin, refuse to employ our own exertions, and our own substance, to the promotion of his glory, and the good of our fellow-Christians. What he allows us to use and enjoy, we must

use as his stewards, and enjoy as his gift. And as he demands the whole of our hearts, and our affections, and our obedience, let us keep back nothing from him, lest we be found to do his work deceitfully, and to serve him sparingly. Let us love him with all our hearts, and he will love us with an everlasting love, and save us with an everlasting salvation.

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SERMON XIX.

THE LORD'S SUPPER A MEANS OF
COMMUNION WITH CHRIST.

PREPARATORY TO THE SACRAMENT, PREACHED DEC. 20, 1835.

MATT. xxvi. 29.

I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day that I drink it Father's kingdom.

new with

you in

my

Ir is not without a merciful reference to the wants and weaknesses of our mortal nature, that it hath pleased God in the dispensations of his providence, by which he has manifested his will to men, to appoint the most effectual means for the continual remembrance of the great blessings of his mercy. The commemoration of events, important either in their typical or actual relation to the redemption of the world, by institutions aptly representative of the results and character of those events, forms at once the strongest evidence of their truth, and the most lively emblem of their efficacy. So it was with the pass

over, that memorial of the great deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, and of their escape from the visitation of Almighty vengeance. And so it is also with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, that ordinance by which we commemorate our deliverance from worse than Egyptian slavery, our escape from worse than Egypt's calamities. The celebration of the typical ordinance which was intended to shadow forth the true Paschal Lamb, has ceased indeed upon the fulfilment of its prophetic import; and has yielded to the celebration of that fulfilment, by an equally authoritative and equally appropriate commemoration. And if to the faithful Israelite the observance of the Paschal ceremonies was an occasion of gratitude for past mercies, and of confident expectation of future blessings, surely to the Christian the sacrament of the Lord's Supper ought to be equally a stimulus of holy gratitude, and of confident faith : of gratitude for the blessings which God has granted, and of faith in our application of those blessings to ourselves.

It is not my intention on the present occasion to institute a close comparison between these commemorations of the mercies of God, as the one appears to be the type and shadow of the other. Interesting indeed might such contemplations be, to those who are accustomed to take a comprehensive view of the dealings of God, in

communicating the knowledge of himself. Yet they would scarcely, perhaps, be adapted to the more obvious purpose of our labours, the enforcement of the practical adoption of the principles, and truths, and hopes of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believing, then, that the celebration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a duty of the utmost importance, and a privilege of the highest value, I would endeavour to impress upon you earnestly and solemnly, the necessity and the advantage of serious and frequent attendance at the table of the Lord. And I would urge you to the consideration of this matter at the present season, when you have been solemnly bidden to this holy feast; and when more than one opportunity will be allowed us, of again meeting together around that sacred table.

The Lord's Supper, then, must be considered as a commemorative institution.

Jesus Christ was just about to suffer on the cross for the sins of men. The object of his passion had long before been declared: "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life." Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." These sayings had given offence to the Jews, who perceived not the spiritual application

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