selves upon his sacrifice, being really made partakers of whatsoever his body and blood can do for them.

VI.

BISHOP BEVERIDGE.

When our ever-blessed Redeemer instituted the sacrament of his last supper, he said, "This do in remembrance of me (Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 24): whereby he laid his command upon his apostles there present, and in them upon his Church in all ages, that they should continue this his holy institution in remembrance of him, or of that death which he was the next day to suffer for the sins of the world; and that they should do it all along until his coming again. As we learn also from his apostle, saying, "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor. xi. 26.)

This, therefore, is to be always done for the continual remembrance of his death, as it was a sacrifice for the sins of the world. . .

...

The death of Christ was not only a true and proper sacrifice, but the only true and proper sacrifice for sin that was ever offered up in the world. For his being offered up for the sins of the whole world, there was no sin for which any other need or could

be offered up; or if there had been, no other could have taken it away; "for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins." Yet such only were all the "sacrifices" under the law; which therefore were not real expiatory sacrifices in themselves, but only types and shadows appointed by God to foreshew, typify, and represent the sacrifice of the

death of Christ" then to come. And in like manner, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is now ordained by him to set forth and commemorate the same sacrifice as now already offered up for the sins of mankind; which, therefore, is necessary to be continued to the end, as the typical sacrifices were from the beginning of the world... These sacrifices, being ordained only to foreshew and typify the "Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world," ceased in course when he had offered up himself a sacrifice for our sins upon the cross. But now, under the Gospel, other kinds of sacrifices are required. We are now commanded to " present our bodies a living sacrifice;" not to kill them, but to offer them up alive as a living sacrifice, dedicating ourselves wholly to the service of God.

Hence all manner of good, pious, and charitable works, that are done in obedience to God, and for his service and honour, are

now called " sacrifices,"

particularly

Let

our open or public praying to him, and to him alone, for all the good things that we want. For hereby we plainly discover that Iwe believe him to be the Author and Giver of "every good and perfect gift." . . . And therefore, under the law itself, their public prayers always went along with their daily sacrifices, both morning and evening. my prayer," saith David, "be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice." Especially considering that prayer always was and ought to be accompanied with praise and thanksgiving to God, which is so properly a sacrifice, that it is often called by that name. "I will offer," saith David, "to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (Ps. cxvi. 17); and "let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing," or singing. (Ps. cvii. 22.)

But the sacrifice that is most proper and peculiar to the Gospel is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, instituted by our Lord himself, to succeed all the bloody sacrifices in the Mosaic law. For though we cannot say, as some do, that this is such a sacrifice whereby Christ is again offered up to God both for the living and the dead; yet it may as properly be called a sacrifice as any that was ever offered, except that which was offered by Christ himself; for

his, indeed, was the only true expiatory sacrifice that was ever offered. Those under the law were only types of his, and were called sacrifices only upon that account, because they typified and represented that which he was to offer for the sins of the world; and therefore the sacrament of Christ's body and blood may as well be called by that name as they were. They were typical, and this is a commemorative sacrifice. They foreshewed the death of Christ to come; this shews forth his death already past. "For as often," saith the apostle, "as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (1 Cor. xi. 26). This is properly our Christian sacrifice, which neither Jews nor Gentiles can have any share in, as the apostle observes: "We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle" (Heb. xiii. 10); an altar, where we partake of the great sacrifice which the eternal Son of God offered up for the sins of the whole world, and ours among the rest, that Almighty God may be reconciled to us, and receive us again into his love and favour, and make us happy in the enjoyment of it for ever; which is so great a blessing, that they who really mind their own good and welfare can no more forbear to partake of this sacrament when they may, than they can forbear to eat meat

when they are hungry and have meat before them.

These are those spiritual sacrifices which the holy priesthood, or whole body of saints, offer up to God. They are called “spiritual," in opposition to those carnal sacrifices that were offered by the Levitical priesthood; and because they are of a spiritual nature, and performed in a spiritual manner, being offered up in the spirits of the saints as well as bodies, and by the Spirit of God himself dwelling in them, and so consecrating them, " a spiritual house, an holy priesthood," and enabling them to offer up these sacrifices in the name of Christ, and through the merits of that sacrifice which he hath offered up for them, according to that saying of the apostle, "By him, therefore, let us offer up the sacrifice of praise to God continually."

The oftener we partake of the Lord's supper, the greater benefit and comfort we shall receive from it. It is by frequent acts that habits are produced. It is by often eating and drinking this spiritual food, that we learn how to do it, so as to digest and convert it into proper nourishment for our souls.

... I shall say no more, but that I never expect to see our Church settled, primitive Christianity revived, and true piety and virtue flourish again among us, till the holy