mises of pardon, and comfort, and spiritual strength, are such only as being weary under the sense and burthen of their sins, do ear-. nestly desire to be delivered from them. For it is an idle pretence in men, to say that they are ashamed of their vileness; while they resolve to keep their sins, which they know will make them every day viler.

1

A third sort are afraid to come to the holy Sacrament, on account of the many and great temptations with which the daily business of life is accompanied; and they cannot think it the part of a good man to enter into solemn vows and resolutions, which, by reason of such temptations, he must despair of keeping. Some callings and professions do, indeed, lay men open to more temptations than others. But no calling or profession, which is just and honest, can expose a man to temptations, which may not be overcome with care and watchful-ness, and the assistance of God's grace. A foresight of temptations will induce every Christian, who heartily desires to live virtuously in his vocation, to come often to the holy Sacrament for new supplies of strength to resist them. They, who make the greatness of the temptations which may assail them a reason for abstaining from the Sacrament, do, in effect, give themselves up to the enjoyment of

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.—Matt. xi. 28.

D

their lusts, which, in other words, is to give themselves up to eternal destruction.

There are others who are discouraged from coming to the Lord's Table, not only by the probability of their falling afterwards into sin, but by a persuasion that sin committed after the holy Sacrament will never be forgiven. This is so far from being true, that one good reason why Christians should come frequently to the holy Sacrament, is, because, by the frequent omissions of their duty, they have the greater need frequently to renew their covenant with God. If we could live in a state of innocence, we should have no need of renewing our covenant with him. But because through the frailty of our corrupt nature, and the manifold temptations that encompass us, we so frequently break our part of the covenant; we have therefore the greater need of that mercy, and those new supplies of grace, which are conveyed, to the sincere and penitent, in this sacred ordinance.

Whenever we come to renew our covenant with God, we engage, to forsake our sins, by very solemn vows and resolutions. These are a great restraint from falling again into sin. Whoever makes such vows with a sincere desire to be delivered from his sins, and, remembering his vows afterwards, is watchful over his ways, and prays for the grace of God to enable him to perform his vows; whoever thus strives to get the mastery over his sins,

and to come daily nearer to perfection, is certainly in a state, of salvation. His honest endeavours will be accepted by God, although he never arrive to a state of innocence to which no man ever can attain. For as long as we continue in this world, it will be true, even of the best men, that, If they say they have no Sin, they deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them. But then it is as true, that our sins become much less, and our righteousness nuch greater, by frequently renewing our vows of obedience in this holy Sacrament. As to the sins, into which, notwithstanding these vows, and our most earnest endeavours to perform them, we may afterwards fall, God gives us a lively assurance in these holy mysteries, that we have an Advocate with the Father, Je-sus Christ the Righteous, and that he is the propitiation for our sins. Although therefore men not only may fall into sin, but are very sure that they shall be sinning, more or less, as long as they continue in this frail and corrupt state; yet is this no reason to abstain from the Sacrament, but a very powerful one why they should receive it frequently. It is the means both of making us less sinful by far than we otherwise should be, and of raising and enlivening our faith in Christ for the pardon of all those sins, which, notwithstanding a conscientious care and diligence on our part, we either have committed, or may hereafter com- mit.

The foregoing error, that there is no pardon for sins committed after receiving the holy Sacrament, has been the occasion of another unhappy and dangerous mistake, that the way for Christians to be safe, is, never to receive the blessed Sacrament but upon their death-bed, or when they have no hope of living longer in this world. This erroneous and dangerous idea is founded on the presumptuous and absurd opinion, that the Sacrament of Christ's body and blood, saves men by some secret and resistless efficacy; that it has been instituted to encourage them in wickedness all their lives, upon an assurance, that it will carry them to heaven when they die. This dangerous mistake, also, absurdly supposes, that those persons can be partakers of the virtues and benefits of the holy eucharist, who are ignorant of its nature, its end, and benefits, and who are so far from being prepared for it, that they scarcely know what preparation is necèssary. And, what preparation can men be supposed to make, who, begin not to think of receiving the communion, till they are seized with the pains, infirmities, and agonies of a dying-bed? With so short a warning, and under such weakness of body, and confusion, perhaps, distraction of mind, how can men immediately receive instruction concerning the highest and most solemn ordinance of the gospel, or recollect and confess their sins before God? At their death, and oft-times in their

old age, they want to be taught the things which christians are bound to learn betimes in their youth. When they are going out of the world, they only begin to desire, and think of, that bread from heaven, which God designed for their spiritual nourishment in their passage through life. By the very means which he appointed for a daily restraint from sinning, they hope at once to wash away the whole guilt of going on securely in a long life of sin.

In the same day or hour that they are first taught what the Sacrament is, and what is necessary to prepare them for the worthy receiving of it, the preparation itself is at once to be begun, carried on, and finished!

T

They, who are yet in their youth, or at least in the enjoyment of health, should be warned. not to rely upon the prospect of length of days. Instead of flattering themselves with such uncertain hopes, they are to be warned to enter immediately upon the only sure way -happily, a plain and clear way.

They should inform themselves in the true nature and design of the holy Communion. Then going through the preparations requisite to make them worthy partakers, according to the degrees of leisure which their circumstances wilhallow, they should be frequently at the Lord's table, in the time of their health. When they come to die, they will then understand the state of their souls. Their hearts will have been accustomed to the thoughts of hea