these unhappy sources. Let him, finally, remember how often himself has suffered, when temptations arrested him; his resolution became enfeebled; apprehensions multiplied; hope gradually receded from his sight; faith lost its hold on the Divine promises; and he appeared to himself as vibrating between Earth and Heaven, and as a settled inhabitant of neither. If, with these things in full view, he is at a loss concerning the importance of the blessings, which I have recited, it will, I am afraid, be difficult, if not impossible, to explain to him their inestimable value.

REMARKS.

From the observations, which have been made in these Discourses, I deduce,

1. The wisdom of this Institution.

The ends, proposed in the Institution of the Lord's Supper by the Redeemer of mankind, are certainly of a most benevolent and glorious nature, and peculiarly worthy of the All-perfect Mind. They are the enlargement, and rectification, of our views concerning the noblest of all subjects, the purification of our affections, and the amendment of our lives. The means, by which these ends are accomplished, are equally efficacious and desirable. They are, at the same time, simple; intelligible to the humblest capacity; in no respect burdensome; lying within the reach of all men; incapable of being misconstrued without violence; and, therefore, not easily susceptible of mystical, or superstitious perversion. In their own proper, undis guised nature, they appeal powerfully to the senses, the imagination, and the heart; and, at the same time, enlighten, in the happiest manner, the understanding. Accordingly, Christians in all ages have regarded this sacrament with the highest veneration; have gone to the celebration with hope; attended it with delight; and left it with improvement in the Evangelical character. God has been glorified by it in a peculiar manner, The numbers, virtues, and comforts, of his children have been

ncreased: and the religion of the Cross has been enabled to riumph over the callous, obdurate, heart.

2. These observations strongly enforce the duty of Prearing ourselves for every celebration of this ordinance.

This duty, as every person may easily see, is powerfully irged by almost every thing, which has been said in these Discourses; by the solemnity of the command; by the nature and lesign of the Institution; by the nature of the disposition, with vhich we are required to attend it: by the numerous and im>ortant benefits, which it confers, and, peculiarly, by the glori>us character of the Saviour, by whom it was enjoined.

The only manner, in which we can rationally hope to fulfil hese duties, or share in these blessings, is the faithful celebraion of the ordinance itself. To such a celebration it is ordiharily indispensable, that we make ourselves ready for the performance of this duty. He, who comes to the sacramental table with a thoughtless, indifferent, worldly spirit, may expect to go from it without profit, and without comfort. as he comes with an unworthy disposition, he is bound to believe, that he will eat and drink judgment to himself. The merely external performance of any duty neither promises, nor conveys, any blessing to the performer. The road to all blessings is obedience; and obedience always has its seat in the heart.

Nay, more;

The proper means of preparing ourselves for the Lord's Supper are solemn contemplations on the great subjects of it; the attentive reading of the Scriptures, or other religious books; particularly those parts of them, which are employed upon the sacrifice of the Cross, and the love of the Redeemer; self-examination; and prayer. Let a man examine himself, says St. Paul, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body: that is, not distinguishing the true nature and design of this ordinance. The solemn contemplation, the diligent reading, which I have recommended, are indispensable means of this

discernment; as self-examination is, to a knowledge of the views and disposition of our own minds. Prayer, though not the only, is beyond a doubt the best, mode of self-examination. In the awful presence of Jehovah, while employed in the confession of our sins, and supplication for his mercy, we cannot avoid feeling our own unworthiness, the reality, multitude, and aggravation, of our sins, and the necessity of his grace to give us the victory over them; a candour, and an integrity of investigation, not easily attainable in any other situation. With these means, faithfully employed, we may humbly hope for just apprehensions concerning this solemn ordinance; evangelical dispositions in our attendance upon it; and that blessing of God, which will make it efficacious to our comfort, peace, and advancement in the Divine life.

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When the glorious Person, whom God has set King upon his Holy Hill of Zion, comes in to see the guests at his table; how delightful will it be to each of us, my brethren, to be found by him clad in the robe of righteousness, and thus prepared to receive him with the honour which is his due! How delightful to be welcomed by him to his table, and received with smiles of complacency! How distressing, on the contrary, how dreadful, to appear before him without a wedding-garment! Who must not be speechless, when He sternly and awfully demands the cause of this unseemly, and irreverent appearance! Who must not be overwhelmed with anguish and dismay, to hear, pronounced concerning himself, the terrible sentence, Bind him, hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

SERMON CLXII.

THE MEANS OF GRAC E.

i EXTRAORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE.

THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH.

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MOREOVER, IF THY BROTHER TRESPASS AGAINST THEE, GO AND
TELL HIM HIS FAULT, BETWEEN THEE AND HIM ALONE: IF HE
SHALL HEAR THEE, THOU HAST GAINED THY BROTHER. BUT
IF HE WILL NOT HEAR THEE, THEN TAKE WITH THEE ONE OR
TWO MORE, THAT IN THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WIT-
NESSES, EVERY WORD MAY BE
SHALL NEGLECT TO HEAR THEM, TELL IT UNTO THE CHURCH.
BUT IF HE SHALL NEGLECT TO HEAR THE CHURCH, LET HIM
BE UNTO THEE AS AN HEATHEN MAN AND A PUBLICAN.

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ESTABISHED.

AND IF HE

MATTHEW XVIII, 15-18..

In the six preceding Discourses, I have considered at length two Ordinances of the Christian Church, commonly styled Sacraments; to wit, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. I shall now proceed to the consideration of another, and the only remaining ordinance peculiar to that body; to wit, Christian Discipline.

In examining this subject, I shall endeavour to point out,
I. The Duties to be done,

II. The Manner, in which,
III. The Ends for which, and,

IV. The Persons, by whom, they are to be done; and,
V. The Motives to the performance.

I. The particular Duties, to be done in the course of Christian Discipline, are,

1. What may

be called Private Remonstrance.

If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. The ground of proceeding here, as stated by our Saviour, is an actual trespass of one member of the Church against another. It is a trespass, Εαν δε αμαρτηση εις σε ὁ αδελφος σε, If thy brother sin against thee. If he commit a serious fault. The mere operations, and evidences, of those infirmities, which are common to good men as well as others, are no part of this ground, and furnish no warrant for the proceeding. Zealous persons are often ready to construe every such infirmity into a serious transgression, and to swell pence, owed to themselves, into the value of talents. In this manner, they degrade religion into a spirit of captiousness; and, as far as in them lies, employ the authority of the Church as an engine to gratify their own unreasonable passions, and to disturb the peace of their neighbours. The same things are also true of persons, of a peculiarly exact and rigid character; who often demand, that their fellow Christians should walk by rules, formed by themselves; and appear to feel as if themselves had been constituted definite judges concerning the Christian privileges of other men.

It must be a fault actually committed. If thy brother trespass against thee; that is, in reality. It must not be a mere object of suspicion, or belief. It is easy for us to injure a Christian brother by our unjust suspicion, more than he would have injured us, had he committed the very fault, of which we suspect him. We are, therefore, to be assured of the fact, before we take any measures of a disciplinary nature. It will always be mischievous to others, as well as disgraceful and injuri