gelical character. God has been glorified by it in a peculiar manner. The numbers, virtues, and comforts, of his children, have been increased; and the religion of the Cross has been enabled to triumph over the callous, obdurate, heart.

2. These observations strongly enforce the duty of Preparing ourselves for every celebration of this ordinance.

This duty, as every person may easily see, is powerfully urged by almost every thing, which has been said in these discourses; by the solemnity of the command, by the nature and design of the Institution; by the nature of the disposition with which we are required to attend it; by the numerous and important benefits which it confers; and, peculiarly, by the glorious character of the Saviour by whom it was enjoined.

The only manner in which we can rationally hope to fulfil these duties, or share in these blessings, is the faithful celebration of the ordinance itself. To such a celebration it is ordinarily indispensable, that we make ourselves ready for the performance of this duty. He who comes to the sacramental table with a thoughtless, indifferent, worldly spirit, may expect to go from it without profit, and without comfort. Nay, more; as he comes with an unworthy disposition, he is bound to believe, that he will eat and drink judgment to himself. The merely external performance of any duty neither promises, nor conveys, any blessing to the performer. The road to all blessings is obedience; and obedience always has its seat in the heart.

The proper means of preparing ourselves for the Lord's Supper, are solemn contemplations on the great subjects of it; the attentive reading of the Scriptures, or other religious books; particularly those parts of them, which are employed upon the sacrifice of the Cross, and the love of the Redeemer; self-examination; and prayer. Let a man examine himself, says St. Paul, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body: that is, not distinguishing the true nature and design of this ordinance. The solemn contemplation, the diligent reading, which I have recommended, are indispensable means of this discernment; as self-examination is, to a knowledge of the views and disposition of our own minds. Prayer, though not the only, is beyond a doubt the best, mode of self-examination. In the awful presence of Jehovah, while employed in the confession of our sins, and supplication for his mercy, we cannot avoid feeling our own unworthiness, the reality, multitude, and aggravation, of our sins, and the necessity of his grace to give us the victory over them; a candour, and an integrity of investigation, not easily attainable in any other situation. With these means, faithfully employed, we may humbly hope for just apprehensions concerning this solemn ordinance; evangelical dispositions in our attendance upon it; and that blessing of God, which will make'

it efficacious to our comfort, peace, and advancement in the Divine life.

When the glorious Person, whom God has set King upon his Holy Hill of Zion, comes in to see the guests at his table; how delightful will it be to each of us, my brethren, to be found by him clad in the robe of righteousness, and thus prepared to receive him with the honour which is his due! How delightful to be welcomed by him to his table, and received with smiles of complacency! How distressing on the contrary, how dreadful, to appear before him without a wedding garment! Who must not be speechless, when He sternly and awfully demands the cause of this unseemly, and irreverent appearance? Who must not be overwhelmed withanguish and dismay, to hear, pronounced concerning himself, the terrible sentence, Bind him, hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth?

SERMON CLXII.

THE EXTRAORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE. THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH.

MATTHEW Xviii. 15-18.—Moreover, if thy Brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault, between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy Brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church; but if he shall neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man, and a Publican,

IN the six preceding discourses, I have considered at length, two Ordinances of the Christian Church, commonly styled Sacraments; to wit, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. I shall now proceed to the consideration of another, and the only remaining ordinance peculiar to that body; to wit, Christian Discipline.

In examining this subject, I shall endeavour to point out,
I. The Duties to be done,

II. The Manner, in which,

III. The Ends, for which, and,

IV. The Persons, by whom, they are to be done; and,

V. The Motives to the performance.

I. The particular Duties, to be done in the course of Christian Discipline, are,

1. What may be called Private Remonstrance.

If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. The ground of proceeding here, as stated by our Saviour, is an actual trespass of one member of the Church against another. It is a trespass, Εαν δε αμαρτηση εις σε ο αδελφος σε, If thy brother sin against thee. If he commit a serious fault. The mere operations, and evidences, of those infirmities, which are common to good men as well as others, are no part of this ground; and furnish no warrant for the proceeding. Zealous persons are often ready to construe every such infirmity into a serious transgression, and to swell pence, owed to themselves, into the value of talents. In this manner, they degrade religion into a spirit of captiousness; and, as far as in them lies, employ the authority of the Church as an engine to gratify their own unreasonable passions, and to disturb the peace of their neighbours. The same things are also true of persons, of a peculiarly exact and rigid character; who often demand, that their fellow-Christians should walk by

rules, formed by themselves; and appear to feel as if themselves had been constituted definitive judges concerning the Christian privileges of other men.

It must be a fault actually committed. If thy brother trespass against thee; that is, in reality. It must not be a mere object of suspicion, or belief. It is easy for us to injure a Christian brother by our unjust suspicion, more than he would have injured us, had he committed the very fault, of which we suspect him. We are, therefore, to be assured of the fact, before we take any measures of a disciplinary nature. It will always be mischievous to others, as well as disgraceful and injurious to ourselves, to create faults for them by the indulgence of our own passions and prejudices, as well as to suppose them, without ample proof.

When such assurance, and such proof, have been obtained, the person, against whom the trespass is committed, is here required to go, and tell it to the offending party in a manner absolutely private. No persons are to be witnesses of the interview. Here he is to explain, without communicating his design to any other person, his own views concerning the trespass, and the proper conduct to be adopted by way of reparation. He is bound to see, that these views are conformed to the Gospel; and that both the temper, and the language, are such, as the Gospel requires; meek; gentle; unoffending; calculated not to irritate, or alienate, but to convince, persuade, and conciliate. No strife is permitted by our Saviour to arise here; no provocation; no unkindness. In this manner, it is ever to be remembered, the offending brother will be gained, if gained at all.

If the spirit of the Gospel were allowed to operate with its whole efficacy; every debate of this nature would terminate here. Unhappily, such is not always the case. Our Saviour, foreseeing this state of things, has provided for it the best remedy, which the human character, and circumstances, will admit. He has, in the text, directed the person, against whom the trespass is committed, to take, after having failed to obtain reparation, one or two other members of the Church, and, with their aid, to renew his efforts for the same desirable purpose of gaining the trespassing brother. These brethren are called in for two purposes. One is; that they may be witnesses of every thing, which pertains to the existing state of the transaction. The other is; that the weight of their character, and the wisdom of their counsels, may influence the trespasser to such future conduct towards his brother, as will become his Christian profession. The former of these purposes is directly expressed in the The latter is plainly involved in the phraseology, and, if he neglect to hear them. This supposes these brethren to use their advice, and persuasion, and of course, the weight of their character, for a right, and happy termination of the controversy.

text.

From this view of the subject it is obvious, that the persons, called in for this purpose, should possess a character unexcep

tionable; particularly in the eye of the Trespasser; that they should be persons of weight, wisdom, moderation, and gentleness; and sufficiently disinterested to consult the good of both parties with benevolence, and impartiality. As these are the men, whom a Trespasser will hear, if he will hear any man; so the injured brother is plainly bound to call to his aid men of this description, for the adjustment of his controversy. It is hardly necessary to add, that both parties are bound to listen with meekness, candour, and cordiality, to the counsels of these brethren.

2. The next step in the progress of Ecclesiastical Discipline is ADMONITION.

It may be, it sometimes is, the fact, that the Trespasser will not listen to private remonstrance in either of these forms. In this case, our Saviour directs the injured brother to bring his cause to the Church. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church. I shall hereafter inquire into the meaning of the word Church in this place, and shall presume here, that the first application, to be made in this case, is to the body, commonly denoted by the word in our own Country. This body is bound to receive, hear, and adjust, the cause.

Should the accused person be found guilty of the fault, laid to his charge; it becomes the duty of the Church solemnly to admonish him of his sin, and the absolute necessity of atoning for it by making the proper reparation, with the spirit of the Gospel. 3. The next step in the process is Excommunication.

It is reasonably expected, that any member of a Church will listen to the voice of the whole body of his fellow-Christians, with whom he is in immediate communion. Accordingly, the process of discipline almost always terminates, here, with admonition. Still there are cases, in which, either from an apprehension of being innocent, or what is probably more frequent, as well as more unhappy, from passion, pride, and obstinacy, the Trespasser refuses to hear even the solemn voice of this tribunal. In such cases, the Church is directed to withdraw from him all Christian privileges, so far as their own communion is concerned or their power extends. Let him be unto thee as an Heathen man, and a Publican. These words, as you well know, denoted to a Jew, the worst of his fellow-men. Among such men the Trespasser is henceforth to be accounted by those, whom he has refused to hear; and, in my view, by all, who consider their system of proceedings as evangelical.

This sentence is commonly spoken of as twofold, the greater Excommunication, and the less: the latter not uncommonly termed suspension. The difference between them is this: In the latter, a person is suspended from the privileges of Church-membership for a period; sometimes, however, an indefinite one; with a hope, plainly intimated, that he will ere long return to his duty. In the former, he is absolutely excluded from all the peculiar privileges of