worldly possessions are scanty, if they are "heirs of that inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled.” And what though their attainments in human science are slender, if they are possessed of that celestial wisdom which is "a tree of life to all that lay hold on her," and of which it may be said

"All other knowledge in her presence falls

It must be confessed that those high attainments cannot be predicated of all who may be found seated at the table of the Lord. It is not to be denied that, through the unavoidable imperfection and fallibility, or through the criminal negligence and unfaithfulness of the office-bearers of the church, not only hypocrites and formalists, and persons whose piety is at the best but doubtful, but persons who are grossly ignorant or grossly immoral, have been allowed to come to the sacramental table.

But it may also be maintained, that here, if anywhere, are to be found the true followers of the Lamb; for few, if any, of his true followers will neglect to confess him in the most sacred and delightful of all his institutes. Fix your thoughts, then, for a few moments more on their character and destiny, and you will be compelled to recognize them as "the excellent ones of the earth;" as "more excellent than their neighbours." Of all of them it may be affirmed, that they "know the true God, and his Son, Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal." They possess, further, that faith which substantiates things hoped for and realizes things not seen, which enables its possessor" to work righteousness and subdue kingdoms," to brave the

*Par. Lost, VIII. 551.

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terrors and despise the pleasures of the world. may be further affirmed of them, that they possess genuine love to God,-to him who is infinitely excellent and amiable in himself, who is the author of all the excellencies that are possessed, and of all the blessings enjoyed, by created beings, and the love of whom constitutes, as is most fit, the first and great requirement of the law. They possess, also, a warm and active love to that Saviour "who loved them, and gave himself for them;" who "is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely ;" and the love of whom is a principle so indispensable, that if any man be destitute of it, he is accursed of God, and deserves to be pronounced accursed by all the holy beings in the universe. Further, still, they cherish sentiments of brotherly kindness and of tender love to each other, and of undissembled benevolence to all men; such benevolence as prompts them to seek the present happiness and the eternal salvation of all. And, in fine, of all of them it may be affirmed, that they study to "keep themselves pure from the pollutions of the world," " to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God."

Such are some of the chief ingredients of that spiritual character to which the Spirit of Christ is forming all his genuine disciples; and "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." In the present world, that heavenly character is exhibited only in an immature and rudimental state; but hereafter it will be fully completed and developed in a higher sphere of existence ;—and when that worldly virtue which is not combined with the love of God and the faith of Christ, shall be weighed in the balances and found wanting; when the possessions of the rich, and the honours of the noble among the men of the world, shall be exchanged for the gloom of the sepulchre or the

darkness of hell," then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

Such being the character and the destiny of the genuine members of the church,-the spouse of the Saviour, is it not with perfect propriety that in her corporate capacity she is represented in Psalm xlv. as "the king's daughter, all glorious within, having her clothing of wrought gold ;" and that it is said of her in the context, that "to her it is granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; which fine linen is the righteousness of saints ?"

Surely, my friends, if you reflect on the present excellencies and the immortal prospects of the genuine disciples of the Lamb, you will acknowledge it to be a high honour and an inestimable privilege to be associated with them, to be assimilated to them in character, to share in their sympathies, to have an interest in their prayers, to hold fellowship with them at the table of our common Saviour, and to cherish the hope of being united with them hereafter in the services and fruitions of the heavenly sanctuary.

III. The provisions of which you partake in the ordinance of the Supper.

In a feast, it is naturally expected that the meat and drink provided for the guests be on a scale of magnificence correspondent to the rank and wealth of the entertainer, and to the grandeur and importance of the occasion. The author of the feast under our more immediate consideration, is the Maker and Proprietor of the universe; one object of it is to commemorate and cement the union betwixt him and his spouse; and it may be presumed, then, that his table will be stored abundantly with the most nutritious provisions and the choicest delicacies. To a person yielding himself up to the anticipations which these figures will not un

VOL. II.

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naturally suggest to a carnal mind, what a revulsion of feeling will be occasioned by the first sight of the Lord's table! Instead of expensive and delicious luxuries brought from distant climes, each of the guests partakes only of a morsel of bread and a sip of wine.

Shall we conclude, then, that the table of the Lamb is penuriously furnished? No, my brethren. The bread and the wine are merely symbols; but what are the objects of which they are symbolical? They, as you know, are the memorials and emblems of the broken body and shed blood of the Son of God, of his vicarious sufferings and his expiatory death; and, consequently, of the forgiveness, the reconciliation, the sanctifying influence, and all the other benefits of the perfect and everlasting redemption, which his sufferings and death are the means of procuring. If, then, you partake aright of the external elements, you exercise faith in the wondrous facts and truths of which those elements are symbolical; and if you do this, Christ and all the benefits of the new covenant, are not only represented, but conveyed and applied to you in that holy ordinance. Now, these spiritual benefits, procured not by "corruptible things as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Christ," are as indispensable to the life and happiness of our immortal souls, as material food can be to the sustenance of our mortal bodies. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Unless you partake of those spiritual benefits and those heavenly provisions, you must become the victims of a death incomparably more dreadful than that of the body; a death consisting not in the annihilation of existence, but in the extinction of happiness and hope, and in the endurance of cease

less pain and anguish. But in partaking of these spiritual benefits and provisions, the spiritual life within you is nourished and invigorated; you become assimilated to the angels of heaven, and qualified to share in their heavenly services and enjoyments.

Surely, then, we use language which, though figurative, is yet the language-not of hyperbolical exaggeration, but of truth and soberness,-when we say that the bread given in the Lord's Supper, though it convey no nourishment to the unbelieving and profane, though to them it be the savour of death unto death, is to the believer the "hidden manna," "bread from heaven," "angels' food." And is not that an additional and most powerful confirmation of the declaration in the text: Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."

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I have thus directed your attention to the author of the ordinance, the company, and the provisions. From what has already been said, it is manifest that it is a high honour, and a distinguished privilege, to be called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. But there are various other considerations which might have been adduced if time had permitted. I might have adverted more fully to the truths exhibited in the ordinance, and to the sentiments and affections which it is intended and adapted to awaken and to nourish. The truths exhibited are the most momentous and instructive that can occupy the human mind, or any mind; they constitute the most illustrious manifestations ever given of the character and attributes of God; they are more intimately connected than any other class of truths with human happiness and improvement; and they engage the intense study of angelic intelligencies. Among the sentiments and affections which the ordinance of the Supper is fitted to excite and invigorate, may be men