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to break out in the following words with rapture: "With angels and archangels; and with all the company of Heaven,

we laud and magnify thy glorious "name, evermore praifing thee, and fay ing, holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hofts, heaven and earth are full of "thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord, "most high," And again: "We praise

thee, we bless thee, we worship thee,

"we glorify thee, we give thanks to "thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, "Heavenly King, God, the Father Al"mighty."

Thefe words are expreffions of the warmeft feelings of love, gratitude, and adoration. They who repeat them with out fuch feelings are fo far guilty of hypocrify; to avoid which it is neceffary to raise the mind to a high degree of ardour or fervency; a purpose rendered difficult, if not impoffible to be accomplished by the refrigerating doctrines of those who undervalue the holy rite. We muft endeavour to feel, with due force, the love of Chrift towards us; and love will produce love. We are commemorating

the

the greatest inftance of love that poffibly could exift:-"Greater love hath no man

than this, that a man lay down his life «for his friend:"-but we, as finners, were enemies," And God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we "were yet finners, Chrift died for us *." Such words fhould not be carelessly repeated but laid to heart, after long and férious confideration of their full force and fignificancy. How great would have been our wretchednefs if he had not fhewn us this love? but as he has thewn it, we have reason to believe that he will continue it; and with himself freely give us all thingsan exalted state of blifs and perfection, in a future and glorified exiftence.

Thus the worthy communicant expe riences, in the Eucharift, the truth of St. John's declaration:" God is love; and "he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in "God, and God in him t." He has a prelibation of the happiness of heaven; for in what can that happinefs confift, if

not in a holy joy, in a refined love, gratified with the fociety and favour of the fupreme excellence which the foul delights in, as congenial to its original unpolluted nature.

Man is fo conftituted, that unless he is impelled by fome affection, he becomes inactive and liftlefs, though his underftanding at the fame time be convinced of the propriety of ftrenuous exertion. The fpur of inclination is neceffary to religious as well as moral, focial, civil, or political activity. It is pride, avarice, and voluptuoufnefs, which fill our streets, our emporiums, our theatres, with all the buftle of bufinefs and alacrity of motion, A more refined affection than these, devotional love, muft fill our churches and crowd our tables of Sacramental Communion; and it is right to excite an ardour of this kind to counteract the ardours which the world and its vanities never fail to kindle.

J

Accordingly our Saviour, intimately acquainted with human nature, has comprehended the whole of his religion in the affection

affection of love. He taught nothing of fcholaftic refinement or academical theology: love is the beginning, the middle, and the end of his philanthropic code. To the lawyer who asked him which was the great commandment in the law, he answered: "Thou shalt love "the Lord thy God with all thy heart, "and with all thy foul, and with all thy "mind: this is the first and great com"mandment; and the second is like unto "it, thou fhalt love thy neighbour as " thy felf."

The Eucharift indifpenfably requires, and greatly increases this love, both to God and man; for it unites the hearts of all who communicate in the stricteft bond of amity. Our Lord, in an affectionate discourse, when near his death, and at the very time of inftituting the Sacrament, fays, "This is my commandment, "that ye love one another, as I have loved"you: a new commandment I give you "that ye love one another, even as I have "loved you, that ye alfo love one "another." The Communion of the body

and

and blood of Chrift unites the Communicants or receivers into one body. The Apostle expressly fays," For we, being "many, are one bread and one body, for "we are all partakers of that one bread." He who comes to the table with a heart full of envy, hatred, and malice may indeed eat the bread and drink the wine with others, but he does not communicate either with God or man.

But the bleffed Sacrament, worthily received, reconciles man to God, and man to man. Confidered in its just light, it is a feaft of love, and contributes to the happiness of this life, while it tends to secure it in a better. The difpofition is foftened by it, and man comes from the Communion Table into fociety with a heart filled with those kind and friendly fentiments which, more than any thing elfe, fweeten the intercourse of human life.