eyes of the blind or quicken the dead, but " Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye. fhall find rest unto your fouls."

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Jefus rejoiced in fpirit," as he contemplated the rife, the progrefs, the confummation of his kingdom, and the corref pondent downfal of the empire of fin and Satan. He is the fame who wept over the grave of Lazarus, who "groaned in I the fpirit and was troubled," in fympathy with the wo of others; the fame who beheld the devoted city," and wept over it ;" the fame who in the agony of Gethsemane exclaimed, "My foul is exceeding forrowful, even unto death." Let our forrows and joys flow from the fame sources with his. Are the ravages of time and death presented to our view, or the ftill more dreadful ravages, which iffue in death, committed by "the carnal mind which is enmity againft God," and hatred to man? Are we the fpectators of the progrefs of moral corruption from evil to worfe, till all is loft? Can we behold it unmoved ?, "Fools make a mock at fin," but every ferious fpirit is very differently affected. "I beheld the tranfgreffors," fays the Pfalmift," and was grieved because they kept not thy word. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes; because they keep not thy law." On the other hand, how delightful is it, to mark the progrefs of goodness; "the path of the just as the fhining light, that fhineth more and more unto the perfect day ;" to behold a brand pluckt out of the fire," a foul faved from death, an heir born into the kingdom of God! This caufes "joy in heaven, in the prefence of the angels of God." This is that "travail of his foul," which the Redeemer "fhall fee, and fhall be fatisfied." This is the dawning of that eternal day when the raniomed of the Lord fhall return, and come to Zion with fongs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they fhall obtain joy and gladness, and forrow and fighing shall flee away." That we all may be found in that company, partake of that joy, affift in raifing thofe fongs, may God of his in finite mercy grant, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.

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PRAYER IN CONSECRA

ATING THE ELEMENTS.

WE thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for all thy inexpreffible, all thy inconceivable goodness to the children of men. Thou didst form the first human body of "duft of the ground," and thou didst breathe into man the breath of life, and he became a living foul, capable of knowing, of admiring, of loving, and of enjoying the glorious excellen

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cies of the Divine Nature. Under thy creative benediction he increased, and multiplied, and replenished the earth. But man that was in honour continued not. Sin entered into the world, and death by fin has paffed upon ali men. Nevertheless, God who is rich in mercy pitied and fpared, and faid, " Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom." To guilty man, driven out from paradife, a door of grace opened, a dawn of hope arofe. That dawning light, that day-fpring from on high, through thy favour, waxed brighter and brighter, till it reached meridian fplendor. The tulneis of time came, when "God, who at fundry times, and in divers manners, pake in times paft unto the fathers by the prophets," was pleased to fpeak unto us by his Son, the heir of all things," who made the worlds, being the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, and upholding all things by the word of his power." But he But he made himfelf of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of men :" He was " defpifed and rejected of men, a man of forrows and acquainted with grief :" and "being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himfelf, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the crois," and "when he had by himfelt purged our fins, fat down on the right hand of the Majefty on high." "Which things the angels defire to look into," let our fouls rejoice and adore.

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To thee, voluntarily humbled, to thee, highly exalted Saviour, our knees fhall bow that, name which is above every name our tongue thall confels; the love of Cheift conftraineth us :" we love him because he firft loved us." And what proof, bleffed Lord, what proof of love art thou this day demanding of thine infinitely indebted creatures ? Not to fuffer the lofs of all things, not to go to prifon and to death for thee, not to give our body to be burnt, not to give but to receive; "Take and eat, Take and drink, Do this in remembrance of Me." Of a truth thy commandments are not grievous; thy yoke is eafy, and thy burden is light. Draw us, we will run after thee; these are cords of a man, thele are bands of love. We hear the command and we obey. We prefent our bodies a living facrifice, which is our réafona ble fervice. We devote the fuperior powers of our immortal fpirits to the contemplation of the great my ftery of godliness, that we may be able to comprehend with all faints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Chrift which paffeth knowledge, and that we may be filled with all the fulness of God."

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We employ, rifen and exalted Redeemer, we employ, thefe elements of bread and wine as a memorial of thy dying love, because, in the near prospect of death, thou wert pleased, by giving thanks over them, to let them apart to this facred purpofe. We would, after thy example, look up to our Father in heaven, and give thanks for all the bleffings which they commemorate, for redemption through the blood of Chrift, the forgiveness of fins according to the riches of free fovereign grace; for the abolishing of death, and for all the exceedingly great and precious promises, and the glorious prof pects of life and immortality brought to light by the gospel.

In thy name we folemnly feparate from a common to a hallowed ufe, fo much of this bread and of this wine as we are now to employ in commemorating the death of Chrift, his body broken, and his blood fhed as a propitiation for the fin of the world. And over thefe facred fymbols we again folemnly dedicate ourselves unto thee, to be difpofed of by thy providence, to be governed by thy laws, to be guided by, thy fpirit, to be accepted through thy interceffion, Thee having not feen we love; in thee, though now we fee thee not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unfpeakable, and full of glory; receiving the end of our faith, even the lalvation of our fouls. In thy prefence we become witneffes to each other, and we call angels and men to witnefs that we subscribe with our hand unto the Lord, in trembling hope that our names are written in the Lamb's book of life, among the liv ing in the heavenly Jerufalem. And in this bleffed hope we would, with one heart and voice, afcribe to God in Chrift the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now, and for evermore. Amen.

ADDRESS TO COMMUNICANTS AT THE SACRAMEN. TAL TABLE.

TO fit down at one table, to partake of the fame fare, is the happiest view of domeftic comfort and of friendly intercourfe. The body and the mind are refreshed at once. The bond of union is ftrengthened and fweetened between the father and mother, between the parents and their children, among brothers and fifters, among kindred and friends. To the enjoyment of that pure and exalted felicity, my brethren, we are now invited; and with the profpects of immortality blend the endearing charities of human life. The great Mafter of our Gospel repaft is not now indeed the object of fenfe,

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but he is affuredly with us, he contemplates with complacen cy our common taith and hope, our mutual affection. He rejoices in fpirit while he beholds thofe for whom he died remembering his death, obeying his commandments, living under the influence of his fpirit, advancing in his ftrength toward the kingdom of heaven. Him not having feen ye love, and ye look forward to the day when ye shall be like him, for ye fhall fee him as he is.

Communicants, ye are elevated to the fummit of an exceed, ing high mountain, but not by the fpirit of delusion, to furvey airy or earthly kingdoms, and a glory unfubftantial and tranfent: but by the fpirit of power, and of love, and of a found mind, to contemplate a kingdom which cannot be moved, a kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. You furvey an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away; not with the feelings of a Balaam, who beheld from the high places of Baal, the goodly tents of Jacob, and the tabernacles of Ifrael, in which he had neither part nor lot; nor with the emotions of a Mofes, who from Pisgah viewed the land flowing with milk and honey, into which he muft not enter; but with the confidence and compofure of an Abraham, to whom God faid; "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and fouthward, and eastward, and weftward: Arife, walk through the land, in the length of it, and in the breadth of it: for I will give it unto thee;" but with the rapture of a Stephen, who expiring exclaimed: "Behold, I fee the heavens opened, and the Son of man ftanding on the right hand of God." That ye, Chrif tians, may through grace be made partakers of the fame divine confolation, We administer unto you, and partake with you, the commanded memorial of the fufferings and death of the Redeemer of Mankind.

"The Lord in the fame night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and, when he had given thanks, he brake it, and faid, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."

How powerfully emphatical every word is the bread of nature, in order to become the aliment of the body is bruifed, and broken, and paffes through the fire: "The bread of life, which came down from heaven," fays Chrift in his doctrine, "is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." "It pleased the Lord to bruife him; he hath put him to grief" behold him buffeted of wicked men, fcourged, his head crowned with thorns, his hands and his feet pierced, his foul poured out unto death. And for what end? His body,

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my finful fellow-creature, was " broken for you." "He was wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruifed for our ini quities: the chaftilement of our peace was upon him; and with his ftripes we are healed. All we like sheep, have gone aftray; we have turned every one to his way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And what does he demand in return? Do this in remembrance of me. Blessed Jefus ! if thou hadst bidden us do fome great thing, would we not have cheerfully complied? How much rather then, when the yoke of love is impofed? We come at thy call: "We will remember the name of the Lord our God;" " O Lord our God, other Lords befides thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name."

After the fame manner allo he took the cup, when he had fapped, faying, this cup is the new teftament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do fhew the Lord's death till he come."

In drinking together, my Christian friends, from this cup, we joyfully acquiefce in the new, and better, and well-ordered covenant," ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator," and "eftablished upon better promifes;" a covenant which makes provifion not only for human infirmity, but for the deepeft and moft malignant guilt, and which affords not merely a temporary relief, but confers an unchangeable and everlafting fecurity. "This is the covenant that I will make with the boufe of Ifrael, after thofe days, faith the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they fhall be to me a people and they fhall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, faying, know the Lord, for all fhall know me, from the leaft to the greate ft. For I will be merciful to their unrightcoufnefs, and their fins and their iniquities will I remember no more." And what is the feal of this better covenant? It is be fore you. "This cup," fays the Saviour," is the new Teftament in my blood :" the wine in the cup is a fymbolical reprefentation of my blood fhed for the remiffion of fin. "Yeknow that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as filver and gold; but with the precious blood of Chrift, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot ;""flain from the foundation of the world," and which "cleanfeth us from all fin.”

In celebrating this holy ordinance, we are not only more clofely cementing the ties of nature and the bands of friendfhip among ourselves, but we are extending our communion to the church of Chrift univerfal, in the East and West, in the South