The prefence of Christ, whatever may be meant by it, is exprefsly promised, where two or three are gathered together in his name; but it is not faid, that they were to be assembled for the purpose of celebrating the Lord's fupper. On the contrary, I believe it is generally understood to refer to their meeting for the purpose of social prayer; and in no place whatever is there any promise made of the particular prefence of God, or of Chrift, in the Lord's fupper.

It is true, that the action of eating or drinking may be intended to represent our receiving and obeying the gospel of Christ, and confequently our being intitled to the bleffings of it; but ftill this is no more than a figurative action, and cannot amount to more than expreffing cur faith in Christ, our refolution to obey his gofpel, and our hope of receiving the rewards of it in words; and I appeal to the experience of the moft fincere chriftian if he has not found every devotional feeling as lively in the exercife of prayer, as in the act, or in E 3 confequence,

confequence, of receiving the bread and wine at the Lord's fupper.

It will not be faid, on any scripture authority, that the prayers that are ufually made before, or after the celebration of this ordinance, have any peculiar advantages annexed to them.

The danger of communicating unworthily, cannot, in the nature of things, arise, except, either from the indecent manner of administering and attending upon it, or the infincerity of the promises and refolutions that are implied in it, which equally affects prayer, and partaking of the Lord's fupper. They are each an explicit or implicit refolution to live as becomes the gofpel; and the divine difpleasure is as exprefsly denounced against the hypocritical worshipper, as against the unworthy communicant: nay, there are frequent declarations of the indignation with which God hears those who draw nigh to him with their lips,, while their hearts are far from him; whereas we fhould probably never

have heard of any danger of communicating unworthily, if it had not been for the scandalous abuse of this rite by the Corinthians.

In no other cafe, therefore, have we the leaft authority to conclude, that this danger is of a different nature from that which arifes from infincerity in prayer; and far are we from having any reason to fuppofe it to be greater. The one, confequently, will require just as much preparation and forethought as the other. I wish that more attention were given to both, but by no means to the one more than the other.

It is the expectation of the above mentioned divine communications of the pardon of fin, or at least of some extraordinary supernatural influence or impreffions, that, I fay, is enthufiaftic; and it is the expectation of fome particular judgment upon unworthy communicants, more than what will fall upon infincere worshippers, that I call a fuperftitious fear. Diffenters, I believe,

E 4

I believe, have a higher idea of the fpiritual benefits of this ordinance, (though they may expect less from it as a mere opus. operatum) and they have more dread of the danger of attending upon it in a state of mind improper for receiving it, than the generality of the members of the church of England; and this appears to me to be the principal reason why it is lefs generally attended by us. This ftate of things was, addreffing the Diffenters

the cause of my on the fubject.

SECTION

SECTION IV.

A brief history of the corruptions of the chriftian doctrine and practice relating to the Lord's Supper.

IN

N order to explain thoroughly the chief doubts and fcruples which many good christians entertain relating to this fubject, I fhall, in the fecond place, briefly point out fome of the grofs abuses which have been introduced into this inftitution: but I fhall only enumerate a few, the remains of which fubfift in many christian churches fince the reformation from popery, and are found even among us Diffenters.

For

The first new idea, which was fuperadded to the original notion of the Lord's fupper, was that of its being a facrament, or an oath to be true to a leader. the word facrament is not to be found in the fcriptures,but was afterwards borrowed from the Latin tongue, in which it fignified the oath which a Roman foldier took

to