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 LORD's supper. 
 
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ON THE 
 
 SACRAMENT, &c 
 
 HOW comes it that so many persons who go re- 
 gularly to public worship, nevertheless do not 
 attend at the Sacrament ? — are they right or wrong 
 inturning their backs on this solemn ordinance?—* 
 It is a question well worth considering and it is the 
 intention of this Tract to clear up, in some mea- 
 sure, this important subject. 
 
 1 believe the principle reason which many peo- 
 ple have to give for not receiving the Sacrament 
 is, that they are afraid of it. " 1 think it an awful 
 thing," say they, <s to receive the Sacrament. 1 am 
 fearrul lest I should eat and drink my own dam- 
 nation." To such persons we reply, Lave you ever 
 enquired into the real meaning and nature of what 
 you so much dread ? Read the present Tract. Learn 
 to understand what the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 ^ L1 Pper is, and when you know, then decide whether 
 
4 
 
 you will receive it or not. Let me here remark 
 also* that the -phrase of "eating and drinking our 
 own damnation/' is a phrase extremely misunder. 
 stood. It is borrowed from the Apostle Paul, but 
 when the Apostle used it, he applied it to certain 
 Corinthians who got drunk at the Sacrament; and 
 it is material also to observe, that by the word 
 " damnation/' the Apostle meant condemna- 
 tion /' and you will find, if you read the passage, 
 that he alluded, chiefly to certain judgments* in 
 this world, which the Corinthians brought upon 
 them, so that, even in their case, he did not mean 
 to declare that there would be no room for repent- 
 ance in this world, and no, salvation in the next. It 
 piust be owned in like manner, or rather it aught 
 to be solemnly insisted on, that every one 
 now communicates unworthily, increases his guilt 
 rather than promotes his salvation; but still l| 
 does not sin past all possibility of forgiveness, and 
 lei it be remembered, that a man may sir- ;u t only 
 by communicating unworthily, but also by refusing 
 to communicate. 
 
 On the Manner i% which Christ tff pointed tht 
 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.. 
 
 The best means of knowing what is the true na- 
 ture of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, is tq 
 
 * For this camc-j^namely, because ye. eat and drink to yowr 
 damnation, or condemnation) many arc weak 'and sicVjy among yov. 
 
i ire i n to all that passed when, our Saviour, ap* 
 nted it. We reaci ' UMn difference of 
 
 terms, in several of the Evangelists, 1 that 'our Sa- 
 viour on the same night, on which he was betray- 
 ed being at Supper with his disciples, took bread 
 and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them 
 saving* This is my body which is given foryou-.-r- 
 This do in remembrance of me. Likewise also, 
 the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New 
 Testament of my blood which is shed for you." — 
 The Apostle Paul farther observes, "'For as of- 
 ten as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do 
 shew the Lord's death till he come." From this 
 short and simple account which is nearly all that 
 Scripture says on the subject, we are to collect what 
 was our Saviour's intention in appointing tins Sa- 
 crament. 
 
 Now 1 think we are to understand, that he there- 
 by meant to command all Christians to meet to- 
 gether, fjoal time to time, and partake of bread 
 and wine, in order to keep up among them the re-, 
 membrance of this his last supper with his disciples* 
 and of the sufferings and death of Christ, which im- 
 mediately followed. "Take eat," said he, after 
 having broken the bread,— " this is my body/' — 
 that is, this broken bread is to remind you of my 
 body broken for your sake. And, speaking of the 
 cup, he said, " Drink ye all of this, for this is my 
 blood of the New Testament, which is shed for 
 naany for the remission ol sins." That is, this cup 
 is to remind you of my blood bein/^ r shed for the 
 pardon (or remission) of sins. " Do this in remem; 
 
6 
 
 brance of me." These last mentioned words nu? 
 he understood both as an entreaty, and as a com 
 mand. Christ our Saviour entreats you thus tore* 
 member him. Christ also, who is your judge and 
 Lord, commands you to do it. The command 
 plain as any other command of Scripture ; and he 
 who disobeys one command of Christ, may, with 
 much the same reason disobey every other. — It is 
 in short as if our blessed Saviour, had said, « I am 
 now a')out to die for your sins, and to rise again for 
 your justification, and I make it my last and dying 
 request, that you and all my. disciples will accus- 
 tom yourselves to meet together, and to partake 
 of bread and wine, as we have now done, in token 
 of your bearing in mind my painful and bloody 
 death, and in token also, of your believing that 1, 
 who am now about to be crucified, shall hereafter 
 come again, according to my promise, in power and 
 great glory." — V For as often as ye eat this bread, 
 and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till 
 he come, 
 
 What it is to receive the- Sacrament unworthily. 
 
 First then, I think it is plain, that to receive it 
 s^norantly is to receive it unworthily. This may- 
 very properly be called, u not discerning the Lord's 
 body." Gross ignorance or error concerning the 
 nature of the Sacrament, evidently shews a man to 
 fee lifsfii at present to receive it ; and gross igno- 
 
e of the doctrines of Christianity is in like mari- 
 m X disqualification. This ignorance, however, 
 fL t w hich should immediately be cured. Every 
 1S on w i 10 i s come to years of discretion, should be 
 afraid of remaining a stranger to the Lord's Table. 
 He should lose no time in inquiring into the nature 
 of it and when he understands it, he is no more to 
 be excused from absenting himself from it, than he is 
 for absenting himself from the common public 
 worship. " 
 
 But, next, I would observe, that to receive the 
 Sacrament iu any respect, lightly and carelessly, is 
 to receive it unworthily. Some receive the Sacra- 
 ment as a thing of course as soon as ever they ar- 
 rive at a certain age ; and at this same age, perhaps 
 they go and plunge themselves into all the vanities 
 and follies of the world, if not into the vices also. 
 Some receive it, because they have a grave cha- 
 : racter to support, some because they are expected 
 to receive it, and are ashamed to refuse to do so* 
 having* for instance, a brother or a sister who re- 
 i ceives it, from whom they do not care to differ — 
 some from mere zeal for their own church, of 
 which they shew themselves steady members by- 
 receiving the Sacrament according to the forms 
 which it has appointed ; some from a confused mix- 
 ture of several of the above mentioned motives i and 
 some for the mere purpose of qualifying themselves 
 for a place Under government. Thus while many 
 seriously disposed persons need to be encouraged 
 ^ come to the Lord's Table much more than is 
 their custom, it is to be feared also, that there are 
 
8 
 
 not a few of our Communicant, who in ^ 
 or other, receive the Sacra ment very unwor^! 
 ' Again, to receive thfc Lord/* Supper suft^f'f* 
 ously, is to receive it rn some measure unw^nl ' ] 
 Now : man receives it supcrslii iottsly who thi' t* 
 there is some char m or unaccountable* virtue fet? 
 and who is not content whh believing the Sacra' 
 Rient to be a means of grace, in the same manner 
 as prayer, or the reading of the Scriptures, or at- 
 tendance on public worship. The Papists g so 
 far as to adore the elements of bread and wine 
 which Uicy ulso fancy that the priest is able, by 
 consecration, to turn Into the real and literal body 
 and blood of Christ ; and there are some Protes- 
 tants who have not entirely escaped from the same 
 error, for they fancy that "there is some dark and 
 mystical meaning in the Sacrament, which how- 
 ever they cannot explain; and they are not aware 
 that it is that plain and simple thing which we have 
 described it to be. I am sorry to add, that some 
 superstitious Protestants imitate the Papists in an- 
 other respect-. They think that they have done a 
 very meritorious deed when they have received the 
 Sacrament ; they have gone through, what they call 
 their religious duty, and in consideration of this, 
 they fanc y that they have now obtained a right to 
 employ themselves in any manner they think fit, 
 and away therefore they go from the Lord's T*bie 
 into the world, with minds full of ambition, or 
 pride, or covetousness, and the very Sacrament 
 which they have attended, serves to confirm them 
 in the neglect of daily and habitual repentance, and 
 to give a -dangerous "and false peace to their con- 
 
• nces . There are persons of this description 
 who prepare themselves, possibly, with much so- 
 lemnity for the day of receiving the Sacrament, 
 and who even attend the service with a face of great 
 sanctity and seriousness. It must nevertheless be 
 laid down as a maxim, that whenever any one's life 
 is quite at a variance with every thing he professes 
 at the Lord's Table, that person may be consi- 
 dered as a mere hypocrite and self deceiver, and as 
 one of the worst and most unworthy soit of Com- 
 municants. . 
 
 On the Self- Examination that is proper before we 
 determine to receive the Sacrament. 
 
 St. Paul after reproving the Corinthians for their 
 profaneness of the Lords Supper, observes, " but 
 let a man examine himself, and so let him' eat of 
 that bread and drink of that cup." In the Cate- 
 chism of the Church of England we are instructed 
 what it is th'ac may now be particularly required of 
 Communicants, namely, "that they should ex* 
 amine themselves whether they repent them 
 truly of their former sins, stedfastly purposing to 
 lead a new life ; whether they have a lively faith 
 in God's mercies, through Christ, with a thankful 
 remembrance of his death, and whether they are 
 in charity with all men ?" Let every one then 
 examine himself on these several heads, and more 
 especially when he is, for the first time* about to 
 
10 
 
 communicate. Here, however, while vve war 
 the careless not to be too slight of their own exa 
 inination, let us also caution the serious not to be 
 too severe. It is not required that a man should 
 have become free from sin, nor that he should even 
 have reached to some great heights in religion be- 
 fore he ventures to the .Sacrament; for the Sacra- 
 ment itself supposes us sinful creatures, and is in. 
 tended to cheer us with the hope of pardon, through 
 the death of Christ, which it sets before us. Reader 1 
 if your heart is full of pride, or covetousness, or 
 impenitence, and unbelief, or if you are carried 
 away by the love of the world, and are cold and 
 indifferent about religion: or if you are habitually 
 given to any deceit or fraud, or to any secret 
 wickedness, approach not to the Holy Table; but 
 if the sins I have spoken of are the very things 
 which you hate, and if the mercies of God in Christ 
 are the sincere desire of your soul, then doubt not 
 that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is intend- 
 ed for such persons as you, however weak your 
 faith, and however small your present attainments, 
 
 On the Dispositions which we should feel at the Time 
 
 of communicating. 
 
 The Lord's Supper was ordained " for a continual 
 remembrance of the sacrifice and death of Christ, 
 and of the benefits which we receive thereby." 
 
benefits which we receive from the death of 
 ri " t are therefore one of the chief subjects on 
 h'ch'we should reflect when we are approaching 
 I V I Table of the Lord. We should consider that 
 I are now about to commemorate the death ot 
 that Saviour who died for us, the "Just for the 
 J unjust, that he might bring us to God : v "who was 
 I wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our i 
 ! Equities, and the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon him, and by his stripes we are healed/' " All 
 we like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord hath 
 laid on him the iniquity of us all." Let it never 
 I k e forgotten, when we go to the Tal^e of the Lord,. 
 I that we should go thither in the very character of. 
 I sinners. " In this respect there is no difference, 
 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of 
 I God," " being justified freely by his grace, througfe 
 the redemption that is in Jesus, whom God hath set 
 forth to be a propitiation through faith in his 
 j blood, that he might be just and the justiKcrof 
 I him who believed in Jesus." Christ is thai Iamb 
 j of God, a Lamb (C without blemish and without 
 I spot," which has been offered up as a bleeding sa- 
 I crifice, and "which taketh away the sins of the 
 world." — "Take, eat, this is my body which m 
 j given for you," and "this is my bleed which is 
 
 shed for you for the remission- of sins." Unto 
 
 Him, therefore, we are to look, and through the 
 exercise of this faith in Christ, and. not " through 
 our own works or deservings," we are to hope for 
 pardon. " There is therefore now no co:xiv?ui nat ion 
 to them tlfat are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
 tlie flesh but after the spirit," — " Therefore, beli;^ 
 
justified by faith, we have peace with God through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. Such are some of jf 
 thoughts concerning our Saviour's death, as well as 
 the blessed effects of it, which the Scriptures teach 
 us to indulge, and which are more peculiarly pro. 
 per at the time of receiving the Sacrament. 
 
 Qn the Character and conduct -which becomes vs 
 after having received the Sacrament. 
 
 Presuming the reader to be a member of theChurch 
 of England, we will hero more particularly re- 
 mind him of a few passages in the sacramental 
 service provided by our Church. Jn that service 
 we are supposed to say, " We do not presume to 
 come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord ! trusting 
 in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and 
 great mercies." Now, have we been sincere in 
 uttering these words ? let us beware then how we 
 afterwards talk of the innocence of our lives, and 
 the goodness of our hearts, and how we boast of 
 our character and our honour as worldly people do; 
 let us take care that w e never put any part of our 
 confidence in that righteousness which we. have 
 professed in those words to renounce. Humility, 
 meekness, patience towards others, loving kind- 
 ness and charity, a disposition to forgive injuries 
 und to take reproofs without anger, contentment 
 with our lot, and submission under the afflicting 
 hand of Providence, all these are tempers which 
 cannot fail to arke out of an habitual sense of our 
 unworthiness, and they are the tempers therefore 
 
IS 
 
 -hich become a Communicant; nor is there any 
 doubt - that every sincere Communicant will find 
 these tempers : eafc in him through his frequent 
 attendance at i\\e Lord s Table. 
 
 An-a ; n we are suppose ! by another part of the 
 feervicei eo^t humbly to declare, "We do meet 
 earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these 
 oar mi-doings, t lie remembrance of them is griev- 
 ous unto us, and the burthen of them intolerable/' 
 But "how ^ se anc ^ hypocritical should we suspect 
 ourselves to have oeen Ld the^e words, if we seldom 
 afterwards feel any sorrow for our sins, if we neg- 
 lect the duty of habitual repentance, and if we pre • 
 lend that Christ will save us, or that the mere Sa~^ 
 crament will save us without our feeling, in our 
 hearts, any great hatred of iniquity. Let us there- 
 fore, n^ver think, after we have pronounced those 
 words, that sin can be counted too great an evil, that 
 temptations to can sin be too much avoided, that 
 repentance can be ever too deep or serious, or that 
 things in this respect can, as the world imagine, be 
 ever carried too far.. 
 
 Once more — We are supposed at the end of the 
 service each of us to declare, " and here we offer 
 and present unto thee ourselves, and souls and 
 bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice 
 unto thee. " Do we then in deed and in truth thug 
 devote ourselves to God ? to have said these 
 Words, and to have repeated them again and again 
 ^ the Sacrament, is to have done lictie. By these 
 words it is meant, not only that a solemn service 
 should be performed, and that a momentary feci- 
 
ing should be expressed, hut it is intended alsot 
 our time, our wealth, our abilities, and our j^L 
 
 imply, that we purpose actually to employ all 
 powers and faculties, whether of body or of ^ 
 
 enco in the cause of our Maker and Redeem 
 for " we are not our own, but are bought with ' 
 price;" A life really laid out in the service of Go/ 
 is therefore to be expected in a Communicant To 
 redeem each precious moment of our time bv 
 employing it in whatever is our most propcr'and 
 most urgent work, to shake off our natural indo- 
 lence and sloth, and to go from the Lord's Table 
 into the scenes of diligence and usefulness— thus 
 to join together the love of God and of man, and 
 to be active as well as to be devout, is to be con- 
 sistent in our character as Christians. 
 
 If then we have attended at the Table of the 
 Lord, "let us not forget to do good and to distri- 
 bute for these also are "sacrifices with which 
 God is well pleased. " Let us not only pour out oar 
 hearts in prayer, but let us also employ our active 
 powers in the Lord's service. " Let us be stead- 
 fast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of 
 the Lord." Let us " keep under our body, and 
 bring it into subjection." Let us command our pas- 
 sions and restrain our tongues. Let us also be 
 punctual in our engagements, uprkht, exemplary. 
 "Let us be zealously affected in every good cause:" 
 and while we "visit the fatherless and the widows in 
 their affliction," let us takeequal care that we keep 
 ourselves unspotted from the world. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
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