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sumption by his failure. Enquire of the Scriptures, which lay open the nature and character of man more clearly than he perceives them himself, and they declare the same truth. "Without me," saith Christ, "ye can do nothing." "It is God," saith St. Paul, "that worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure." It is through the Spirit that we must "mortify the deeds of the body;" it is the Spirit that "convinces the world of sin," that "helpeth our infirmities," that produces, as its fruits, all the graces and virtues of the Christian character; it is for the gift of the Holy Spirit that our Saviour particularly commands us to pray, knowing that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but that our sufficiency is of God." I need not multiply quotations; you will find throughout the New Testament scarcely any subject of prayer ever mentioned, except the influence of the Holy Spirit. We are to "pray continually, and without ceasing." For what then? For spiritual gifts, for conversion, for repentance, for faith, for strength, for holiness, for the love of God, for pure affections, for obedient wills, for all the support that our hearts so greatly need to subdue our evil inclinations, to resist the temptations of the world around us, and to conform our whole souls to the holy image

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of the Son of God. If we are Christians, it is "by the grace of God that we are what we are; if we are not, it is by the same grace alone that we can become so; and this very thing should be the object of our constant prayers, and industrious study. This is the great end of my preaching and of your hearing; and if at any time I seem to stop short of it, it is only in order to exhort you to a diligent use of the means whereby that end may be obtained.

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May we all frequently and fervently pray for this divine teaching, that so among the discordant opinions of the world, we may be guarded against any important error, and having, by God's help, "come to the knowledge of the truth," may we ever be enabled to hold it, not in unrighteousness, nor in vain strife and contention, but in purity of heart, holiness of life, and meekness of spirit, displaying its power in all godliness and charity, through the merits and satisfaction of him, who is truth itself, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

SERMON XXIV.

THE LORD'S SUPPER.

1 COR. xi. 28.

Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

I CANNOT but venture to hope, that the address which was read to you on Sunday last, has induced you all, in the course of the week which has since elapsed, to bestow some thoughts on the subject of that solemn ordinance of our religion, which is to be this day celebrated-the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper. These thoughts have, doubtless (as is usual with a multitude) led you to very opposite conclusions. Some of you have resolved that you will participate in that sacred feast-but many more, I fear, have determined that you will not do so.

I wish, therefore, to address a few remarks to both classes separately, and I shall begin with those who do not intend to accept the invitation to the Lord's table.

Now I earnestly beseech all of you, who have made this determination, to consider seriously with yourselves, upon what ground, and for what reason you have made it. I will enumerate some of the excuses, which I know are wont to be offered, in order to assist the consciences of those who may possibly be inclined to give themselves credit for better motives than really actuate them, or to think that the motives, which do actuate them, are justifiable.

One man says, "I see not the sinfulness of the omission, if I do neglect the Lord's Supper; it is only a formal ceremony, which I do not believe to be so very important as some people declare it to be. There is no natural obligation on me to observe it, as there is to obey the moral precepts of the gospel. I can perceive that I ought to be charitable, and just, and undefiled in conduct. There is something in the very nature of these virtues which shews that they are necessary parts of a good life; but why it should be necessary to go to the Lord's table, or why it is reckoned highly sinful to neglect it, I profess I do not understand."

If there are any among you, my brethren, who reason in this way, allow me to say that such persons reason very incorrectly. Had the sacrament of the Lord's Supper been a mere human device, then indeed it would have been allowable for every one to exercise his own judgment, as to the necessity or propriety of observing it; but this is not the case. It was instituted by our blessed Saviour himself, and He left a command that it should be constantly observed by his disciples, in remembrance of Him. What can we reply to this? Shall we venture to question the wisdom or utility of that which has been appointed by divine authority? Shall we be so bold as to say, that we see no advantage in honouring, or no crime in despising, an ordinance of Christ himself? It is very true, that there is no natural obligation to this duty; but are Christians to take for their rule of life nothing but their own natural sense of what is right or wrong? Are we to make laws for ourselves, or to obey those which we find in the gospel? The true principle of religious conduct consists in doing what is good, because God has commanded it, and in abstaining from evil, because God has forbidden it. It is not because we, by our own reason, judge this and that to be right or wrong, that we are to do the one and avoid the other, but because God

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