[From a Difcourfe of Dr. BARROW's upon the Eucharift.]

EXOD. xii. 24:

And ye fhall obferve this thing, for an ori dinance to thee, and to thy Sons for

ever.

T

HESE words were delivered upon occafion of the Jewish passover:

Among the many wonderful works of power and kindness, performed by God Almighty in favour of the children of Ifrael, and in order to their delivery from the Egyptian slavery, there is none more remarkable than this; namely, the niting the fifft-born in every house of the Egyptians, and PASSING OVER the houses

of

of the children of Ifrael; wherein God declared his juft wrath against their cruel oppreffors, depriving them in a fudden and dreadful manner of what was nearest and dearest to them; and wherein alfo he declared his gracious mercy towards the I raelites, in preferving what was alike dear to them; from fo woeful a calamity; thus (as it is expreffed in the chapter before my text) putting a difference between the Egyptians and the children of Ifrael.

Now that the memory of fo remarkable a mercy might be preserved; that their affections might be raised to a strong sense of God's goodness; and that their faith might be confirmed within them, fo as in the like need to hope for the fame favourable help and protection, by the confideration of fo remarkable an experiment: It pleafed God to appoint a facrament, or mysterious rite, called the Paffover, to be celebrated every year, reprefenting and recalling to mind, that act of God, wherein his special kindness was fo eminently demonstrated towards his people; as may be feen at large in that chapter of which my text is a part VOL. IV.

A a

This

This facrament of the pallover (as were alfo feveral other rites and facrifices inftituted by God among that people) was a type and forerunner of that other great de. livery from fin and hell, which God in mercy defigned towards mankind, to be atchieved by our Saviour; prefiguring, that as the lamb flain in the paffover was to put the people in mind of their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, fo the shedding of the blood of our Saviour (who was that Lamb without fpot, which was flain for the fins of the world) should put us in mind of the deliverance of our fouls, from the fpi ritual bondage of fin.

The occafion of celebrating this holy rite of the paffover, our Saviour, we find, did improve, to the inftitution of the facrament of the Lord's fupper; which agrees with it very much in the defign of it, as it represents and commemorates the greatest bleffing and mercy that we are capable of receiving; and accordingly, fome part of that ancient rite of facrament is ftill preferved in our facrament of the Lord's fupper.

This great Chriftian ordinance is plainly defcribed to us in the four gofpels, and in the first epiftle of St. Paul to the Corinthians; and is diftinguishable into these chief parts:

First, The bleffing and confecration (by prayer and thanksgiving) of bread and wine. Next, The breaking of bread, and handling of the cup.

Then, The delivery and diftribution of them to the perfons prefent.

Then, The declaration accompanying that delivery, that those fymbolical things and actions did represent our Saviour's body given and broken, our Saviour's blood fhed and poured out for us, in establishment of the new covenant.

And lastly, The actual partaking of thofe fymbols, by eating the bread, and drinking the wine, done by all present.

These things we find done at the first inftitution of this holy ceremony; and which our Saviour obliged us to imitate, faying, Do this in remembrance of me.

Such is the practice itself instituted and enjoined by our Saviour. In difcourfing A a 2 where

whereupon I will confider particularly two things:

I. The great importance and use of this facrament.

II. The duties incumbent upon us in respect thereof.

I. I propofe to confider its importance and use.

One thing that fhews it, is, its being intended to keep up within us, a perpetual remembrance of what our Saviour hath done and fuffered for us: It is an action very proper to remind us of it, to move us to confider it, and to beget in us affections fuitable to the memory and confideration of it. Do this, fays our Lord, in remem brance of me; that is, do it fo, as hereby to raise in your hearts a reflection upon thofe grievous pains which I endure for your fakes, to procure for you a remiflion of fins, and a reconciliation to God. And St. Paul fays, So often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye fhew forth, or ye do fignificantly exprefs, the Lord's death till he come, or, during the time of his absence from us.