they were going to the table of the Lord, to renew their acts of forgiveness, and paffing by all injuries and offences, to reconcile themselves perfectly to their brethren, and repair any wrong that they could poffibly conceive themselves to have done to others. And indeed there can be no thoughts more fit for preparation, than thefe of forgiveness; because we call ourfelves now to account for our offences against God; and alas, they are fo great, that they may well drown the remembrance of all offences, that others have given us, and wash them out of our thoughts, as if they had never been.

AND as a most neceffary inftrument to all thefe, the apostle directs us to examine our felves. This is indeed a daily duty, but now thould be attended to with a greater ardency of affection, when we are about these facred things. We should examine ourselves about our neglects in the review of ourselves, about the coldness of our prayers, the smallness of our forrows, the weakness of our fervices, and our daily

7

daily unavoidable infirmities. We should make more deep reflections into ourselves, now that we are at more leisure, and have fo folemnly designed more time from other employments. We fhould open a larger paffage for our forrow, and affect our hearts more deeply with our needs, and the certainty of their supply; and fo raise our fouls to a greater height of humility, of defire, and of a religious affurance of pardon and reconciliation.

AND if we find by examining, that we have fallen into any fin, and through neglect or ignorance broken our resolution, fince the laft communion, let us make moft ferious reflections upon it. Besides all the forrow that we must suppose it hath coft a good heart, presently after its commiffion; befides its hatred of it, and affliction of itself for it, with a moft speedy amendment of the fault; this is a fit time to bewail it over again,

felves to a new account for it,

to call our

to drown it

in another flood of tears, and more firmly

to strengthen our refolutions against it.

AND

: AND when we have done all this, then we should pray to God that he would prepare us better than all our preparation ; that after all our endeavour to fet apart our hearts for him, he would be pleased to fend his holy Spirit to prepare our hearts for him, and adorn, our fouls with fuch graces, that his facred Majefty may not difdain to come and make his abode with

.us.

AND NOW, what other preparation there fhould be befides this, it is not easy to conceive: It being directly contrary to the first thing that I propounded, for any to imagine, that we ought just before the facrament, to have a greater care of not finning, than at other times. We are always pilgrims and ftrangers, and so ought to abftain from fleshly lufts that war against the foul. Sin is always dangerous, and not only at that time when we are going to receive the facrament. And therefore it is a grand deceit to think, that we and our fins must be fevered only then, when we more nearly embrace our Lord;

for

for holiness is our profeffion afterward, as much as before we communicate. Or rather, all the time after one communion, being before the next which doth fucceed, it is the time of preparation for it.

We are to keep ourfelves in a conftant purity, and to labour to keep close to the covenant of our God; only when the time doth nearly approach, that we may enjoy fuch another repaft, we should excite our appetite, raise our thoughts and meditations, imprint the ends of the inftitution more fairly in our memories, voluntarily offer more of our time and our thoughts to religious exercifes, and do all that over again with a greater zeal, which we have. been doing every day fince we last communicated. :

This is the true and only preparation which will ftand us in ftead; and without which, we are unqualified not only for the facrament, but for all other offices of religion; and without which, we can neither live with hope, nor die with comfort.

SERMON'

SERMON XXIV.

Sacrament: Behaviour at the Time of receiving.

[From Bishop PATRICK'S Menfa Myftica:]

PSALM Viii. 4.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the fon of man, that thou vifiteft bim?

T

HESE words are in no circumstance more applicable, than to the facrament of the Lord's fupper; wherein is reprefented unto us the exceeding great love of our bleffed Lord and Saviour, in dying for the fins of mankind. In treating whereof, I fhall at this time fhew, what affections we ought to have in our minds, when we become partakers of this holy mystery; which will give us abundant occafion to cry out over

and