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And in

And as

upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them and they made ready the passover. the evening He cometh with the twelve. they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.' And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I?' and another said, "Is it I!" And He answered and said unto them, "It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with Me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had never been born. And as they did eat, JESUS took bread and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, 'Take, eat: this is my body.' And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is my blood of the new Testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of

the vine until that day I drink it new in the kingdom of GOD.""

After this it may safely be inferred, that as the manner of providing the Ass on which our SAVIOUR rode into Jerusalem was the subject of a miracle; so the furnishing a room for the Celebration of the Last Supper (now under consideration) had connexion with some revelation to the Master of the Guest Chamber, whether further ends were accomplished by this exercise of miraculous agency at that time, and on that occasion, it must doubtless have served the purpose of awakening the attention of the disciples to expect some extraordinary scene at the feast-a feast honoured, even like that of Cana in Galilee, by a divine interposition in its arrangement and provision. It certainly was the case, that two remarkable declarations were made by our SAVIOUR. The first was, that Judas would betray Him. The other still more important circumstance, was the institution of the Eucharist.

Our SAVIOUR must have eaten this Supper the evening previous to that which the pascal lambs were slain. For, on looking at the narrative, we shall

observe, that he was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane afterwards, and early the next morning. brought before Pilate. That day He was crucified, and His body was taken down from the Cross in the afternoon, so as not to be hanging during the solemn season of killing the pascal sacrifice, with which the hour of his death must have almost exactly coincided. The last supper was not therefore a part of the general celebration of the Jewish passover but must be considered as an anticipation of it.

The remark of our SAVIOUR, that "He would no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day, when he would drink it new in the kingdom of GOD," is of course true, for JESUS never partook afterwards of the Passover, never, that we knew of, celebrated the Eucharist with his disciples. It is said indeed, that after his resurrection, "He was known of them in breaking of bread," but this can hardly be so applied. Rather say that the HOLY SPIRIT of CRRIST is in His Church, which is His new body, even as His fleshly frame was when this declaration was made. He said that he would drink it new; because it was thenceforth to assume a new character and efficacy.

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He came not to destroy, but to fulfil God's former appointments-to make all things new. Let us therefore pray GoD to increase our faith; to enliven our hopes; and so to establish us all in the knowledge and love of GOD, and of His SON JESUS CHRIST, that our minds may be preserved in that peace and comfort which GOD alone can give; and which is precious above the value of gold and silver : more precious indeed than can be expressed or imagined.

HOLY, Holy, Holy LORD GOD of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of the Majesty and of thy glory: I thy unworthy creature, do here in all humility of soul and body, prostrate myself before Thee, acknowledging my own weakness and insufficiency to do any thing that is good or well pleasing in thy sight and therefore humbly implore the special influence of Thy grace and Holy Spirit to further these my endeavours for a worthy participation of this Holy Communion of the body and blood of CHRIST, which He has commanded me to do in remembrance of Him, and of those benefits which