by joining with his difciples in the com"memoration of his death and fufferings, "and the participation of all the fruits and "benefits of them."- -So much for those whofe character is known to be vicious by. themselves and others. Shall we, therefore, encourage none to come but those who are affured of their being in a state of favour with God, fanctified and pardoned; or who have very good reafon to think fo, and are troubled with very few doubts about it? This, I take it, would be an extreme on the other hand. If perfons live fo as not to difcredit their Chriftian profeffion; if they have good difpofitions, which they in fome measure cultivate and improve, though it fhould be doubtful whether they are prevailing; I cannot fee that they have a fufficient caufe for abfenting themselves from the facrament: which might be of admirable fervice to fortify their holy refolutions, and to invigorate their pious affections; particularly their love to Chrift, which they are confcious to their having in fome degree, as likewife of its not being without all effect. And though it fhould really be fo that they are not thorough converts, and the love of God and of Jefus has not yet gotten the entire mastery over their other paffions; yet I can by no means think, that thofe words of the Apostle Paul do at all belong to them, that he who eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's I 2 body body (q). Befides obferving that the original word tranflated damnation, might, and ought to have been rendered by judgment, meaning fome temporal judgment, which is a much fofter one; it is enough to fhow, that fuch as I am fpeaking of, do not fall under the weight of St Paul's cenfure; forafmuch as they difcern the Lord's body, putting a very great difference betwixt that and their common meals, and having a very fincere defire to honour their Saviour, and to be in favour with him; which they teftify, by bringing forth many, if not all the fruits of righteoufnefs, in fome degree, though not in fo great a degree as they fhould. And the more fully to remove all doubt in this matter, I fhall briefly confider the irregularity of the Corinthians, noted by St Paul: When ye come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's fupper: for in eating every one taketh before other, his own fupper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken (r). The queftion here is, Whether this relates to the Lord's fupper itself; or to the agape, i. e. the love-feafts, which ufed to accompany it in the primitive times; or to fome other entertainment, which, of their own fancy, these irregular Corinthians held before they proceeded to partake of the facrament? One can hardly conceive, that it was at the Lord's fupper itself they behaved in this indecent manner; fince they could not but know, that all belonging to that was only (9) 1 Cor. xi. 29. (†) 1 Cor. xi. 20. 21. bread bread and wine; whereas here fome of them feemed to have eaten as well as drunk to excefs. Why elfe is it faid, One is hungry, another is drunken, if the term drunken was not defigned to comprehend exceffes of both kinds, in eating as well as drinking? And then again, the Lord's fupper being a feaft of which all in common were to partake in memory of their Saviour, it is not very credible, that fome would not only take this fupper before others, but without any care that the poor fhould have wherewithal to keep the feast. As to the agapæ, or lovefeafts, it is moft probable from antiquity *, that they were not celebrated till after the Lord's fupper; and being feasts of charity, the very nature of them will not admit of our fuppofing that the poor were excluded from them. The most likely way of folving the difficulty feems to me to be this, that the Corinthians of their own heads made the Lord's fupper an appendix or fecond entertainment to another feaft, in order to conform it to the manner of communicating at the firft inftitution, which was at the clofe of the paffover. Socrates, in his ecclefiaftical hiftory, mentions fome Egyptians living near Alexandria, who partook of the facrament in a different manner from what was ufual in the Chriftian church; making merry, and filling themselves with all forts of food; and then in the evening, See Plin. l. 1o. cp. 97. and Tertul. Apol. c. 39. † Lib. 5. c. 22. I 3 aften after this, partaking of the facrament; which he calls myfteries. This looks fo much like a parallel inftance, that we may very well fuppofe the practice of the Corinthians condemned by St Paul, to have been the fame with that of thefe Egyptians. And the Apostle might very well fay, that this was not to eat the Lord's fupper: for the ultimate defign of their meeting together being to partake of the Lord's fupper, to which the other feaft was only introductory; as it showed no great respect for the Lord's fupper, or knowledge of the nature of it, to behave fo at the feast connected with it; fo by the exceffes they were guilty of, aggravated by their uncommunicativeness to the poor members of the church, they put themselves into a condition, in which they could not poffibly difcern as they ought the Lord's body. This was eating and drinking unworthily in the moft notorious manner. But what has this to do with their cafe, or how can they be affected by the Apoftle's cenfure, who come in a fober and reverent manner, and with a fincere defire and purpose to walk worthy of this facrament, and of all the other parts of the Chriftian religion; though it may be they are not fo perfect in their conformity. to the gospel, and fo thoroughly confirmed in their good refolutions and difpofitions, as they fhould be, and perhaps are in a way to become? And therefore the objection of unfitness is easily and fufficiently answered. I would conclude this head with this reflection, That That communicants of a fober and regular behaviour, may, by what has been now of fered, be more fully fatisfied in what they have done in coming to the Lord's table, fo as to be freed from any fcruples they may have been troubled with upon this account; and not only fo, but may rejoice in their having chofen this good part, for so doubtlefs it is. "Inftead of giving way to a spirit "of bondage again to fear, think, O my "foul, of the duty which thou haft before "thee, and in the omiffion of which thou "didft wifely refolve not to allow thyself, "and of the advantages annexed to the con"fcientious difcharge of it; and with equal diligence and chearfulness, joined with "earnest prayer to God for his affistance, "apply thy mind and heart to the devout << commemoration of thy once dying and "dead, but now rifen, exalted, ever-li"ving, and affectionate Lord!” 4. Others urge their being involved in fo much business, as not to be able to spend the time neceffary by way of preparation for the facrament. But the question is, Whether the multiplicity of their bufinefs be what they cannot well avoid? If it be their own fault, that their time is fo much taken up with the world; inftead of making their worldly cares a pretence for their abfenting them felves from the Lord's table, they fhould immediately set themselves to retrench these cares, and thereby cut off this occafion of their neglecting a plain duty of religion and fo : |