Uwiv.of 111. Library 51 1603 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/blessedsacramentOObidd BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER, REGARDED FROM A LAYMAN'S POINT OF VIEW. BY DANIEL BIDDLE, AUTHOR OF “ THE SPIRIT CONTROVERSY,” ETC. WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON; AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. ¥ * LONDON : G. NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, MAIDEN LANE, COVE NT GARDEN. PREFACE. $ 4 I trust that an indulgent public will pardon tlie obtrusion upon tlieir notice of tlie following work, coming as it does from one who cannot speak with the authority conferred by office, but who must de- pend, for a hearing, solely upon the rationality of his arguments. I may plead in excuse the example of several eminent men, such as Chilling worth and Wilberforce, who, as laymen, wrote works which have been none the less warmly cherished by the Church for whose benefit they were penned. Nay, I may plead the example of St. Luke, who though belonging to the same profession as myself, and being strictly a layman, was permitted to con- tribute more towards the store of Gospel-truth than any of the apostles even, except St. John and St. Paul. Besides, the present is a time when it is more than ever incumbent upon those who name themselves by the name of Christ to “contend earnestly for the faith.-” The progress in this country during the last few years of Ritualism on the one hand, and of Rationalism on the other, has been most rapid; and this has been owing in great measure to the want, on the part of those who hold by the ancient paths, of determined resistance. iv PREFACE. Persons have been slow to “ come to the help of the Lord against the mighty,” but have allowed the literary world to be fairly flooded with the outpour- ings of the muddy streams of error. Now I am persuaded that before an honest inter- pretation of the two Sacraments ordained by Christ, both of the above-mentioned forms of error (though it is premature perhaps to call them such) must melt away ; and it is with this view, and in the hope of directing a current of pure and at the same time scientific thought upon one of those Sacraments, the Lord^s Supper, that I have determined to publish the following pages. All the prominent passages of Scripture in relation to the subject are categorically considered; and, though there may be blemishes in the style, owing to my having been compelled to write at odd moments snatched from my profes- sional and other duties, and sometimes at consider- able intervals, yet I trust that the work will not be without its use in giving to the careful reader a clear conception of that which is one of the most sacred rites of our religion. D. B, January , 1870. TABLE OP CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introductory. Sacrament of Lord’s Supper chief point on which Churches of Rome and Protestantism divide, 1 — Conception formed of Sacrament by Church of England, 2 — Reformation, a period when the distinc- tion between the two Churches became strongly marked, 5 — Case of Thomas Tomkins, martyr, 6 — Case of Rev. John Rogers, martyr, 12 — Case of Abp. Cranmer, martyr, with remarks on his recantation, 13 — Evidence of martyrdom, its value, 19 — Test of Scripture must be applied, 22— The freedom allowed by the Church of England in regard to Scriptural enquiry, 23 — Acts the part of an “ elastic web’' towards her members, 25. CHAPTER II. Our Lord’s Discourse to the Multitude on the Subject. Enumeration of passages in which mention is made of the Lord’s Supper, 27— Discourse in Gospel of St. John, ch. vi, 28 — Sacrament alluded to in it, as Baptism in conversation with Nicodemus, 28 — Preceded by Feeding of Five Thousand, 29 — Heads of Discourse, 30 — Key to it afforded the disciples, 32 — Relation of Discourse to Miracle preceding, 33 — Lessons to be learnt from the Miracle, 33 — VI CONTENTS. Romish view of the miracle shewn to be false, 34 — Examination of the Key to the Discourse, 36 — Our Lord spoke to the multitudes always in parables , which He generally explained privately to His disciples, 37 — Discourse before us an instance of this statement, 39 — Division of Explanation or Key into three parts : — (1 ) The Ques- tion, “ Doth this offend you ?” &c. 39 — The Ascension of our Lord excludes all gross ideas of our Lord’s words in the Discourse, 40 — Divinity and Oneness of Person of Christ brought out here, 41 — (2) The Spirit the only Life-giver: the Elesh profits nothing, 42 — The work of Christ’s Body on earth finished, 44 — (3) The words of Christ are life-giving, 45 — Another casual proof of our Lord’s Divinity, 47 — Emphasis to be placed on “ words,” 49— Necessity for prepared heart, 50 — Discourse considered in light of the Explanation, 52 — Par- ticular kind of food mentioned, 53 — Source, heaven ; character, life- giving, 53— Our Lord Himself, 54 — “From heaven,” therefore not material, 54 — Flesh of Christ is food as a medium of revelation , 55 — Natural food enters by mouth for physical system, Heavenly food enters by senses for mind and heart, 55 — Eating the Flesh and be- lieving on Christ, same thing, 56 — Nevertheless strong language, therefore means something equally strong, 56 — Analogy between natural and spiritual eating and drinking, 57 — Full surrender of ourselves to influence of food by deglutition, absolutely necessary, 58 — Belief in the Atonement shewn to be necessary from peculiarity of the phraseology employed, 60 — Closing remarks of our Lord on the union subsisting between Himself and the believer, 62 — Sacra- ment intended specially to commemorate the Heath and Passion of Christ, 65. CHAPTEE III. The Institution of the Sacrament: Time, Place, &c. “ Jesus took bread.” The Feast of Unleavened Bread, 66 — Sacrament instituted on evening before Crucifixion, 67 — Conversation of our Lord and the CONTENTS. vii disciples regarding the Betrayal, 63 — Discussion as to whether Judas was present or not, 68 — Our Lord washing the disciples’ feet, 70 — His striving to fill their minds with thoughts of love and humility , 7 1 — Review of circumstances preceding the institution of the Sacra- ment, 72 — The three records of the institution, 74 — Mention by St. Luke of a Cup before the Supper, 75 — Our Lord’s refusal to partake of wine, 76 — Sacrament joined on to the ordinary feast without any interval, 77 — Intended to take its place : same bread used ; event to be commemorated yet in the future, 77 — Deliverance from Egypt typical of deliverance from sin, 79 — What is signified by unleavened bread, 79 — It is chiefly the bread of affliction , 81 — Sacramental bread the same, 81 — Sacrament intended to commemorate Christ : “ This do in remembrance of Me,” 83 — Powerful argument in favour cf Christ’s Divinity, 83 — The Sacrament an effectual vehicle of grace to the faithful, 85 — Quotation from Liddon, 85. CHAPTER IV. “ Jesus blessed and gate thane's.” Title of Eucharist, 88 — Thanksgiving also preceded Miracles of Deeding, 89— Act of blessing customary before a feast, but not be- fore a sacrifice of atonement, 90 — Tabernacle service considered, 90 — Consecration intended to produce an effect upon the minds of the people, rather than on the substance consecrated, 91 — Blessing found its object in the people’s hearts, 91 — 'Reception by people of one por- tion of sacrifice equally typical with burning of other portion, 92 — Consideration of passages which seem to favour the Sanctifcation- by -contact theory, 93 Peace-offering for thanksgiving partaken of by the people, 94 — but in all that concerned atonement , people took no active part, 94 — All sacrifices centre in Christ, 96— Sacrament a special occasion for sacrifice of praise, the offering of those not seeking, but who ha xq found peace, 97— The utmost that is done in the way of offering up Christ afresh is to remind God of the Cross, 98— The virtue of the Elements lies, not in their substantial, but in CONTENTS. viii their representative character, 100 — Faith on part of recipient ne- cessary, 101 — “ Central act of worship” specially requires that we worship in spirit and in truth , 102 — Mind of the Church of England as to the sequence of events when we duly partake of the Sacrament, 103 — Participation in Sacrament a species of Prayer , 104 — Keview of remarks on the Blessing, 105. CHAPTEE V. “Jesus brake the bread.” Special significance of the act, 106 — Same act mentioned in rela- tion to the* Miracles of Feeding, 106 — The act here, however, not necessarily miraculous, 109 — Nevertheless close connection between these miracles and the Sacrament : they both shew the way in which efficacy would flow from Christ, 109— All our blessings have come through suffering , suffering not our own, but Christ’s, 110 — The Socinian refuses to believe this, 111 — Sufferings of Christ appointed by God, 112 — Consummate wisdom displayed in the scheme : Mercy is now the very strength of Deity, instead of a weakness pandering to every vice, 113 — The penalty of Sin is suffering, therefore the satisfaction for sin must partake of the nature of suffering also, 115 —The satisfaction must be adequate, 115— The human race being as one man , an equivalent Man must be found, 116 — Neither Adam nor any of his sinful descendants could fulfil the description, 117 — Aggregate amount of suffering incurred approaching infinity , a corresponding power of endurance required, 117 — Infinitude of in- tensity, and of duration , 118— Capacity for suffering greater, the higher the rank, 119 — Generality of persons, however, deny that God can suffer, 119— Self-denial a heaven-born plant, 120 — It is blasphemy to suppose that God could dispense with holiness or justice ; but the happiness of Deity might be laid aside without any apparent ill consequences to the world at large, 121 — That such has happened Scriptures clearly declare, 122 — The sufferings of the Father and of the Holy Ghost not strictly vicarious, 123 — The CONTENTS. IX sufferings of the Son those on which our gaze is fixed, 124 — Christ suffered two distinct degrees of humiliation, 125 — (1), Taking the form of a servant, 125 — The will of Christ subordinate to the Father’s, inasmuch as He came to obey , but otherwise on an equality, 126 — The oneness of will of the Trinity, the result of perfect love, not of subordination through weakness of any, 128 — The Word is the manifestation of Deity, ‘‘And the word was made fiesh,” 128 — Note on Phil. ii. 6, 7, “ robbery,” &c., 129 — (2), The further humilia- tion in respect of the Cross, &c., 130 — Four reasons given by Socinians, why Christ cannot be God, refuted, 131 — 1. His birth as a helpless Infant, 132—2. Encompassed with infirmity, and suffering hardship, like the rest of us, 136 — 3. His apparent helplessness in the hands of His enemies, 138 — 4. His undergoing the law of death, 139 — Another phase of the subject : the infinite exaltation of the Son of Man by union with Godhead, 144 — Christ’s capacity for suffering infinite, 145 — No creature’s sufferings would have sufficed to satisfy the universal sense of right, 145 — The Divinity of Christ leaves all doubt of God’s love to man out of the question, 146. CHAPTEE VI. “Jesus gave the bread, saying, Take, eat.” The action of giving as symbolical as the rest — represents the free gift of Salvation, 148 — The exhortation, “Take, eat,” symbolical of “ Repent, and believe,” 150 — We are treated by God as indepen- dent beings, in His addresses to us both in the Old and in the New Testaments, 150 — Our action in relation to the Divine commands should be much like that of the subjects of our Lord’s miracles, 155 — (1.) We must feel our need , 158— This involves belief in many things, so that it may be considered the germ of faith , 158 — It is the most difficult work of the Holy Spirit to produce this feeling, 158 — In it consists repentance, 159 — Not always connected at first with a full idea ef the malignity of sin, but leads ultimately to a desire to be saved from sin itself rather than from its consequences, 159 — X CONTENTS. Dawn gradual, 159 — Must not look for much in ourselves before coming to Christ, 160 — Even a wish, however, is a good sign, 161 — Must not try to make ourselves better before coming, but must give up our old nature as incorrigible , 162— (2.) We must believe in the suitability of the Gospel, 163 — a full knowledge of the scheme not necessary, but belief in God’s goodwill towards us essential — Prodi- gal Son, 163 — Historical Faith , 164— Description of Gospel-scheme, 164 — Head-knowledge of Christ so far, 166— (3.) We must make some attempt to appropriate the blessings vouchsafed, 166— God will not repel any who thus come : those that seek, find , 168 — God comes out to meet the returning wanderer — Prodigal Son again, 170 — Not to wait till we are conscious of a living faith , 172 — Nor to let our prospect be encompassed with imaginary difficulties, since we have help at all times, 172 — (4.) We must make a due use of the blessings: “Take, eat? 173 — Sacrament specially intended to shew how the Christian’s spiritual life is maintained , 174 — -After a certain point the digestive process is carried on without our cogni- zance : this must be borne in mind to prevent morbid feelings, 175 — Remarks concerning the ym/wercc?/ of spiritual feasts, 176 — Deeding necessarily periodical and oft-recurring, 177 — Acquisition of know- ledge essential, 177 — Caution against entertaining a vague faith, 178 — Knowledge and power of the Christian closely connected, 178 — Our knowledge of Christ never complete, 181 — The monotony of devotions relieved by rendering them specific (at least our private devotions), 182 — Public worship to be conducted with perfect regu- larity — Church of England wise in this respect, 183 — Frequency of Communion, 184 — Remarks concerning the energy which our spiritual feasts impart, 185 — What energy consists in, 185 — Physical constitu- tion much to do with active form of it, but spiritual energy evinced in the more passive duties as well, 186 — Living principle of it, the Holy Spirit, 187 — Uniformity in fundamentals, variety in details, 188 — Exercise the grand promoter of energy, 188 — Effects of mere gusta- tory enjoyment, 189 — The two kinds of Self-Examination : Pharisee and Publican, 191— The Christian is child-like , 193— All comfort to be derived from Christ, 194. CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER VII. “ This is My Body which is given foe you.” This declaration, the chief passage on which the Romanist erects the dogma of Transubstantiation, 197 — (1.) Reasons militating against the supposition that a material change occurs, 198 — No men- tion made of any miracle, nor any outcry raised by the disciples, yet supposed miracle more wonderful than any, 198 — It is a miracle sui generis defying the senses, 200 — Our Saviour was present in sound bodily form, 200— We have to suppose three things : — ( a ) That sub- stance was taken from Christ imperceptibly, ( b ) That such substance took the place of bread-substance, ( c ) Yet did not appear in its own form, but in that of the bread which it had supplanted, 201— There is nothing impossible in these acts taken separately ; indeed miracles are recorded of the character of the two first, 202 — But if the third be admitted to be possible, we must also admit that a substance and its attributes have no necessary connection, 202 — Attributes, how- ever, are all of which we are cognizant : our senses only receive force , 203 — When these fail us, we have the appliances of Chemistry , to enable us to detect and distinguish material substances, 206 — Quotation from Mr. Lecky, 209 — True miracles are open to the light of day ; but this false one is a constant drain upon our confi- dence, 210 — The Romish Church not only requires us to believe what we do not see, but to disbelieve what we actually do see , 211 — She is therefore a hotbed'of infidelity, 212 — The substance of flesh refuses to make itself known, 213 — When does it come out of its hiding-place in its course through the communicant’s system? 214 — There is a grand truth nevertheless underlying this false dogma, viz., that the Human Soul at present needs material food, 216 — But this is no argument in favour of inducting the Body and Blood of Christ into our system, because the material elements of His Plesh were the same as in other animal textures, 217 — Our Lord will not condemn us for treating this subject thus : St. Thomasis an instanceof His in- dulgence towards those who are determined to have a reasonable CONTENTS. xii faith, or no faith at all, 219 — (2.) Some peculiarities in the language of the Original intimating that what appears to be the literal signifi- cation, may not be, 220 — The records of the words our Saviour used differ considerably; and the difference is greatest where it should have been least, if the dogma be true, 220 — “ Bread ” is the only object governed by the several verbs following it, 223 — Contents of the Cup called “fruit of the vine” after the Sacrament no less than before, 224 — “ Bread ” masc. ; “ Body,” neut. ; and “ This ” neut. ; agreeing with “ Body,” though it might have agreed with “Bread,” 224 — Why not have spoken out clearly and unmistakeably, if there were a miracle ? Such is the usage of Scripture, 225 — If “ this ” always refer to the substantive preceding, we must understand, “ Do bread in remembrance,” “ This Cup is My blood,” & c., 226 — Romish trans- lation, “ Make this in remembrance,” 227 — There are two languages used, Syriac and Greek, 227 — Still, taking the quotations (Syriac) and the descriptions (Greek) separately even, we can be under no reasonable doubt as to what the disciples ate, 228 — Besides, “ This is My Body,” “This is My Blood,” are idiomatic expressions, 229 — (3.) The meaning, 232 — We are already provided with the principle of interpretation, by reason of the discourse already considered, 232 — The words used shadow forth the truth that Christ identifies Himself with His people, 234 — The discourse after the Sacrament given in St. John (chap. xiv. — xvii.) contains the idea in an expanded form, 235 — Quotations from it : — («). The fact of our union with Christ — John xv. 5, 235— (b). Necessity of union — John xv. 5 ; xiv. 6, 236 — (c). It is the source of fruit — John xv. 8, 2, 4, 236— (d). It is pre- served by faith — John xiv. 12 ; Gal. ii. 20, 237 — ( [e ). Medium of it, the Holy Ghost — John xiv. 26, 16, 20; xvi. 14, 238 — (/). Exempts from condemnation, 238 — (g). Giyes power to obey God , John xv. 5; Gal. v. 22, 23, 238 — (h). Affords communion with Christ — John xiv. 23, 21, 239 — ( i ). Implies communion of Saints— John xv. 12; xiii. 13-15, 35; xvii. 11, 16, 20-23; Gal. iii. 28, 239— (A:) Gives victory over the world — John xvii. 14; xvi. 33; xv. 18,19,242 — (Z). Ensures answers to prayer — John xiv. 13, 14; xv. 7; xvi. 23,24,243 — ( m ). Helps in inditing our prayers, 243— (?*). Ensures resxirrection to life CONTENTS. xiii eternal — John vi. 39, 40; xiv. 9, 244 — The Sacrament represents and seals all these blessings to the believer, 245 — The union, however, is with Christ Crucified, : “ My body which is given it entails suffer- ings upon those so united, 245 — Patience is the highest of Christian graces — forms the prominent feature in our Lord’s character, 245 — But the union at the same time helps us to bear the sufferings, 247. CHAPTER VIII. The Cup. The clause, “ This do in remembrance of Me,” already considered: Summary of remarks made on it, 248 — The Cup : many points in relation to it already considered, 249 — Two substances used, bread and wine : the reason, 249 — Bread , representative of Body only, might have left us in doubt whether Christ’s sufferings were more than those of a Martyr : Wine, representative of Blood, determines them as Sacrificial, 250 — The wine refers to the Paschal Lamb ; deliverance from death , 250— Blood of Christ shed for many : Pro- pitiation for sins of all : reverses effects of Adam’s sin in respect of mere death for all : places Virtue on its pedestal again for all, 252 — But special benefits only for particular application, according to a Covenant , 252 — This covenant is new, in contra-distinction to the old, or that formed with Israelites on their leaving Egypt, 253 — The old covenant said to be fiaulty : how explained : covenant of worhs, as distinct from covenant of grace, 254 — The new covenant furnishes us with every requisite, 254 — The old looked for something good in us, and looked in vain, 255 — The new covenant takes for granted that we are vile, nay, incorrigible : proposes, therefore, our entire reconstruction, and provides that we shall have life in Another , 255 ■ — The very mention of “ Covenant ” shews the necessity for choice on our part : we must surrender our wills unreservedly, 256 — The scheme proposed is entirely supernatural, 257 — Jesus the Mediator of this Covenant, 257 — Custom to seal covenants with blood: the reason — Blood the life, 258 — No truth in man : sacrifice therefore xiv CONTENTS. necessary to form basis of confidence, 259— -The Cup presented after Supper: Christ’s side pierced after death : Life bestowed after atonement , 260 — The Blood of Christ courses through our whole moral system, carrying life and vigour to every part : that is, figura- tively speaking, it being in reality the Holy Spirit, of whose influ- ence the Blood of Christ is the procurative cause, 261. CHAPTEE IX. Observance of the Sacrament by the immediate Disciples of our Lord. (1), Disciples at Emmaus, 262 —Administered by our Lord Him- self, 262 — A kind of sub -institution, the former having been to Apostles only, this to those not Apostles, 263 — Sacrament for all believers, 263 — Title, “ breaking of bread,” shews that that act is the most prominent feature of the rite, as already shewn, 263 — Our Lord vanished as soon as discovered, meaning of this, 264 — (2), After the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost — Shews that the advent of the Spirit is not to do away with the form, 265 — (3), “ Con- tinuing daily in temple, and breaking bread from house to house,” apparently a daily reception at that time, 266 — (4), After a lapse of 30 years, on first day of week only, 267— Frequency of Communion, an open question : Scarcely admits of rules : A few hints, 268. CHAPTEE X. St. Paul’s Commentary on the Sacrament. Conclusion. (1), 1 Cor. x 16-21, 270 — Things offered to idols form the basis of the Apostle’s remarks here, 271— No harm in taking them igno- rantly. Fault lies in doing so knowingly ; for an idol represents some demon , 271— Case analogous to our partaking of Christ in Holy Communion, 273 — Idolatry and Holy Communion shewn by St. Paul to be parallel in two things at least in the representative character CONTENTS. xv of the material substances, and in the fellowship with spiritual beings resulting from participation, 274 — Gradation of media : Body and Blood of Christ medium of revelation from God to man : bread and wine symbols of these , 277 — A personal communion with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, but not in any gross manner, 277— (2), 1 Cor. xi. 17-34, 279 — More direct instruction here, 279 — Condemns Bomish practice of non-administration of the Cup to the laity, 280 — Shews death of Christ to be the important feature of His mission, 281 — a Till He come,” to what referring, 282 —Unworthy reception of Sacrament, in what consisting, 283—“ Guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord,” meaning of, viz. held liable for disrespect to- wards, 286 — “ Not discerning the Lord’s Body,” how explained : not regarding , 289 — The Apostle not dealing with ignorance , but with negligence, 290 — We must look through the form to that represented, 293 — “ Let a man examine himself not a, judicial inquiry in respect of crimes past, but a test of present quality, 293 — Process involves recollectedness , 295 — “If we would judge ourselves,” &c. 296 — The Apostle is not advising us to pass judgment on ourselves, but to bethink us of what we are doing, and to act in accordance with our light, 296 — “ When ye come together to eat, tarry,” & c. : rather, “ welcome one another,” 297 — Romish honour of the elements keeps our mind fixed on the material substance, and is destructive of the purpose of the feast, 298 — The “ meekly kneeling” of the Church of England, very different from this, as shewn by her own declaration, 299— Conclusion, 301. THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER, REGARDED FROM A LAYMAN’S POINT OF VIEW. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. In no respect probably are the Churches of Roman- ism and Protestantism more strongly divided, than in the views which they severally take of the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. And accordingly we find that around the doctrines in- volved in this Sacrament are gathered the main forces of the contending parties. The Church of England and the Church of Rome both of them declare, that there is a real partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Supper. So far therefore they are agreed. But it is little more than a verbal agreement; for whereas the Church of Rome receives the truth conveyed in these words in a material sense, and maintains that the B 2 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT bread and wine, losing their original character, be- come transformed into the very substance of Christ's Body and Blood, by an act of what is called transub- stantiation ; the Church of England regards the real partaking entirely in a spiritual sense : that is, she be- lieves that the bread and wine remain bread and wine still, (though set apart for a high and holy purpose by the prayer of consecration) and that the reception of the priceless gifts, of which the elements of bread and wine are symbols, is an act of faith in the heart of the recipient ; so that if faith be wanting in the individual there is no sacramental reception though the bread and wine be taken. The Church of England, in fact, holds a position in regard to the Holy Communion as nearly as pos- sible midway between those who advocate the doc- trine of transubstantiation, on the one hand, and those who deny the efficacy of the Sacrament alto- gether as an actual means of grace, on the other. We shall see that in taking this position she acts upon purely scriptural grounds. She defines her position as follows : — “ There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say. Baptism and the Supper of the Lord." (Art. xxv) . The Lord's Supper, then, she calls a Sacrament. The question next arises, What does the Church signify by the term Sacrament ? “ What meanest thou by this OF THE LORD’S SUPPER . 3 word Sacrament ?” ce I mean an outward and visi- ble sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us there- of." (Catechism). “ Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's pro- fession, but rather they b,e certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace and God's good will to- ward us, by the which He doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in Him." (Art. xxv.) The Church further says that in a Sacrament there are neces- sarily “ two parts : the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace " (Catechism) ; and that “ in such only as worthily receive the Sacrament has it a wholesome effect or operation ; they that receive it unworthily purchasing to themselves damnation." (Art. xxv.) We learn, then, that the Sacraments of our religion are (1) instituted expressly by Christ , (2) composed of two parts — the visible sign and the spiritual grace, and (3) only effectual towards such as unite these two parts by a worthy reception . Turning our attention now to the special subject for our consideration, the Lord's Supper, we are in- formed that it is “ not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another ; but rather it is a Sacrament of our Re- b 2 4 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT demption by Christ's death; insomuch as to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ.” (Art. xxviii.) This is in opposition to those who would depreciate the efficacy of the Sacra- ment. In denouncing the other extreme, our Church says : “ The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith.” — “ Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in the Supper of the Lord, can- not be proved by Holy Writ; but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the na- ture of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions .” — “ The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, car- ried about, lifted up, or worshipped.” (Art. xxviii.) Such is the voice of the Church of England respecting the Holy Communion. She also opposes various other tenets of the Church of Rome re- garding the Blessed Sacrament, such as, that in- tention on the part of the priest is necessary to its due administration, and that the Cup is to be with- held from lay persons, who are only to receive the Bread (Arts. xxvi. and xxx.). But though these dogmas are important in their bearing upon priest- craft, they need scarcely be considered in discussing OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 5 the nature of the Blessed Sacrament itself. Thank God, we are not thus at the mercy of the officiating minister : the due reception depends upon the state of our own souls, not upon the state of his ; and it is at his peril that he withholds from us aught that he holds for us in trust from Christ, who, in pre- senting the Cup, said, “ Drink ye all of it,” and, as a reason for their all drinking, added, “ For this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Is it not evident, that as all need “ remission of sins,” all are to partake of that which conveys it ? There is a period in History at which the peculiar dogmas of the Church of Koine regarding the Sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper were brought into marked collision with the doctrines which are now taught by the Church of England. I refer to the reign of Bloody Queen Mary, when it was a matter of life or death whether the dogmas of the Church of Kome on this head were held or not. Then it was that the noble Reformers of our Church sealed her pure doctrines with their blood, bearing witness to their essential truth in the midst of the most excruciating tortures. Now, martyrdom of this kind, though not a con- clusive argument in favour of any doctrine or practice, is nevertheless strongly suggestive of its truth. This is the case, though both sides consider 6 THE BLESSED SA CRA MEET themselves to be in the right : “ They shall put yon out of the synagogue/* says onr Blessed Lord to his disciples, “Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service ; and these things will they do nnto yon, because they have not known the Father nor Me.’* (John xvi. 2, 3.) I think it not amiss, therefore, but on the contrary eminently useful, to call attention to one or two instances in which men gave their bodies to be burned, or otherwise tortured to death, rather than compromise the differences which exist, in regard to the Blessed Sacrament, between the Romish and the Reformed Churches. It will serve to bring those differences into bolder relief. I shall quote from Foxe*s Book of Martyrs, as revised by the Rev. W. Bramley-Moore. The first case shall be that of Thomas Tomkins. “ This plain honest Christian was by trade a weaver, and lived in the parish of Shoreditch, till he was summoned before the inhuman Bishop Bonner, and with many others who had renounced the errors of Popery, was confined in a prison in that tyrant*s house at Fulham. “ During his confinement, Bonner* s violence was such, because Tomkins would not assent to the doctrine of transubstantiation, that his lordship struck him in the face, and plucked out the greatest part of his beard. OF TEE LORES SUPPER . 7 “ On another occasion, because our martyr re- mained inflexible, and would not deviate in the least point from the uncorrupted truths of the Gos- pel, Bonner, in the presence of several of his visitors at his seat at Fulham, took the poor weaver by the fingers, and held his hand over the flame of a wax candle, having three or four wicks ; supposing that, being terrified by the smart of the fire, he would abjure the doctrine which he then maintained. Tomkins, expecting nothing but immediate death, commended himself unto the Lord, saying, r 0 Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit ! 9 When relating the incident, Tomkins declared that his spirit was so entranced in God, that he did not feel the pain. And yet that burning was so severe that the veins shrunk, and the sinews burst, and the fluid spirted in Harpsfield^s face, insomuch that Harpsfield, moved with pity, desired the bishop to stay, saying that he had tided him enough. “ When he had been half-a-year in prison, he was brought with several others before Bishop Bonner; in his consistory, to be examined ; to whom first was brought forth a certain bill or schedule, sub- scribed (as appeareth) with his own hand, containing these words following : — “ c Thomas Tomkins, of Shoreditch, and of the diocese of London, hath believed and doth believe, that in the Sacrament of the altar, under the forms 8 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT of "bread and wine there is not the very Body and Blood of onr Saviour Jesus Christ in substance, but only a token and remembrance thereof, the very Body and Blood of Christ being only in heaven and no where else. % “ ‘ By me, Thomas Tomkins/ “ Whereupon he was asked whether he ac- knowledged the same subscription to be his own. He admitted it to be so. The bishop then en- deavoured to persuade him with fair words, rather than with reasons, to relinquish his opinions, and to return to the unity of the Catholic Church, pro- mising if he would do so, to absolve him from the past. But he constantly refused. “When the bishop saw he could not convince him, he read to him another writing, containing articles and interrogatories, whereunto he should reply the next day ; in the meantime he should deliberate with himself as to his course, and then either recant and reclaim himself, or else in the afternoon of the same day have justice (as the bishop called it) administered unto him. The copy of which articles here followeth : — “ ‘ Thou dost believe that in the Sacrament of the altar, under the forms of bread and wine, there is not by the omnipotent power of Almighty God, and his holy Word, really, truly, and in very deed, the very true and natural Body of our Saviour Jesus OF THE LORD’S SUFFER . 9 Christ, as touching the substance thereof, which was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and hanged upon the cross, suffering death there for the life of the world/ “ ‘ I do so believe/ “ ‘ Thou dost believe that after the consecration of the bread and wine prepared for the use of the Sa- crament of the altar, there doth remain the. sub- stance *of material bread and material wine, not changed nor altered in substance by the power of 'Almighty God, but remaining as it did before/ “ ‘ I do so believe/ “ c Thou dost believe that it is an untrue doctrine and a false belief to think or say that in the Sacra- ment of the altar there is, after consecration of the bread and wine, the substance of Christ's natural Body and Blood, by the omnipotent power of Al- mighty God and His holy Word/ “ ‘ I do so believe/ “ c Thou dost believe that thy parents, kinsfolk, friends, and acquaintance, and also thy godfathers and godmothers, and all people did err, and were deceived, if they did believe that in the Sacrament of the altar there was, after consecration, the Body and Blood of Christ, and that there did not remain the substance of material bread and wine/ “ c I do so believe/ “ ‘ By me, Thomas Tomkins/ 10 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT “ The next day Tomkins was again brought be- fore the bishop and his other assistants, where the aforesaid articles were propounded unto him, where- unto he answered as followeth : — “ To the first he said that he did so believe, as in the same is contained. “ To the second he said that it was only bread and a participation of Christ's death and passion , and so do the Scriptures teach. “ To the third he declared that it was a false doc- trine to believe and think as is contained in this article. “ To the fourth he did also believe the same. “ After this answer he also subscribed his name to the said articles ; whereupon the bishop, drawing out of his bosom another confession subscribed with Tomkins* own hand, and also that article that was the first day objected against him, caused the same to be openly read, and then willed him to revoke his opinions, which he refused to do ; and therefore he was commanded to appear before the bishop again, at the same place, at two in the afternoon. “ Agreeably to this mandate being brought be- fore the tribunal of bishops, and pressed to recant his errors and return to the mother church, he main- tained his fidelity, nor would swerve in the least from the articles which he had signed with his own hand. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 11 “ Havings therefore, declared him to be an obsti- nate heretic, they delivered him up to the secular power, and he was burned in Smithfield, March 6th, 1555, triumphing in the midst of the flames, and adding to the noble company of martyrs who had preceded him through the path of the fiery trial to the realms of immortal glory ” I have given this instance somewhat at length, because it not only serves to bring out the chief points of difference between the Reformers and their persecutors in regard to the Lord^s Supper, but also clearly illustrates the statement which was made at the beginning of this paper, namely, that it is upon the view that is to be taken of the Blessed Sacra- ment, more than upon any other single doctrine or practice, that Romanists and Protestants have di- vided.* The other two instances that I intend giving I * It cannot fail to be considered as very significant, that the charges (four in number) lately brought and carried in the Final Court of Appeal against the extreme Ritualists of the English Church, all arose out of the mode which they had adopted of cele- brating the Holy Communion. The first offence with which they were charged was that the officiating priest elevated the elements and knelt during the Prayer of Consecration; the second was that lighted candles were used on the table when they were not needed for the purpose of giving light ; the third was the use of incense ; and the fourth the mixing of water with the wine. We have great cause to be thankful that God has once more put a check upon those who would impregnate the pure worship of our Church with Romish su- perstition. 12 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT shall condense, merely giving the statements made by the two martyrs, as to their convictions upon the nature of the Blessed Sacrament. The Rev. John Rogers, who, whilst at Antwerp, in company with Tyndal, translated the first author- ized English Bible, which was published in 1537, and known as “ Matthews* Bible/* and who was burned at Smithfield, February 4th, 1555, left behind him, in his own handwriting, an account of his exa- minations before his persecutors. In this document we find the following : — “ Being asked by the Lord Chancellor what I thought concerning the Blessed Sacrament, whether I believed in the Sacrament to be the very Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and hanged on the Cross, really and substantially, I answered, I had often told him that it was a matter in which I was no meddler, and therefore suspected of my brethren to be of a con- trary opinion. ' Notwithstanding, even as the most part of your doctrine in other points is false, and the defence thereof only by force or cruelty, so in this matter I think it to be as false as the rest. For I cannot understand the words really and substantially to signify otherwise than corporally ; but corporally Christ is only in Heaven, and so cannot Christ be corporally also in your Sacrament.* ** But of all the martyrs to the truth of the doc- OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 13 trines of tlie Reformation, perhaps the most remark- able is Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. This man certainly was not an enthusiast : no one could convict him of rashly adopting novelties in doctrine, or of sanctioning uncalled-for innovations upon the received mode of conducting divine worship. For though from his learning and ability, from the high position he held in the Church, and from the respect and esteem in which he was held by the people, he was one of the most influential and effec- tive of all the Reformers, yet he was strictly a Con- servative in all Church matters, and uniformly moved with the greatest caution. Thus we are told, “ Cran- meFs opinions passed through various transition states ; and his mind was extricated from erroneous doctrines on the sacramental presence only by slow degrees” Nor do I think that the well-known fact of hi shaving recanted, when pressed by his fears, should be regarded as militating against the force of his martyrdom. He openly maintained the opinions for which he eventually suffered, when he knew that it was at the risk of his life so to do. And, in point of fact, his recantation would seem to have had less in- fluence in weakening than his subsequent contrition had in strengthening, the effect which his final triumph had upon the people. Nor was this more than was expected by his enemies ; for when he was led away to the stake, the friars who accompanied u THE BLESSED SACRAMENT him said, “ What madness hath brought thee again into this error, by which thon wilt draw innumerable souls with thee into hell V’ That he was truly con- trite for his offence in signing a recantation of his former opinions is sufficiently evident, not only from his again proclaiming his belief in the truth of those opinions when he found that his recantation availed him nothing (for the Queen intended having him burned notwithstanding, for an example), not only from his avowing his belief in those opinions in the face of inevitable and immediate death, but also from the announcement he made at his final examination : “ Forasmuch as my hand hath offended, writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished ; for when I come to the fire it shall first be burned f’ and also from the following prayer which he offered up in the hearing of the assembled crowd — a prayer which reminds us strongly, in the spirit which pervades it, of the 51st Psalm: “ 0 Father of Heaven, 0 Son of God, Redeemer of the world, 0 Holy Ghost, three persons and one God, have mercy upon me, most wretched caitiff and mi- serable sinner. I have offended both against Heaven and earth more than my tongue can express. Whither, then, may I go, or whither shall I flee ? To Heaven I may be ashamed to lift up mine eyes, and in earth I find no place of refuge or succour. To Thee, therefore, 0 Lord, do I run ; to Thee do I OF TIIE LORD'S SUPPER. 15 humble myself, saying, 0 Lord my God, my sins be great, but yet have mercy upon me for Thy great mercy. The great mystery that God became man was not wrought for little or few offences. Thou didst not give Thy Son, 0 heavenly Father, unto death for small sins only, but for all the greatest sins of the world, so that the sinner return to Thee with his whole heart, as I do at this present. Wherefore have mercy on me, 0 God, whose property is always to have mercy; have mercy upon me, 0 Lord, for Thy great mercy. I crave nothing for mine own merits, but for Thy name’s sake, that it may be hal- lowed thereby, and for Thy dear Son Jesus Christ’s sake. And now, 0 Father of Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come,” etc. Well, Cranmer, in his examination at Convoca- tion, (held by Queen Mary’s command at St. Mary’s Church, Oxford, in the year 1554, some two years before his martyrdom,) said respecting the Commu- nion of Christ’s Body and Blood : — “ His true Body is truly present to them that truly receive Him, namely, spiritually. And so it is taken in a spiritual sense. For when He said, c This is My Body,’ it is as if He had said, ‘ This is the breaking of My Body, this is the shedding of My Blood. As often as you shall do this, it shall put you in remem- brance of the breaking of My Body, and the shedding of My Blood ; that as truly as you receive this sacra- 16 TEE BLESSED SACRAMENT ment, so truly shall you receive the benefit promised by receiving the same worthily/ ” To this, Chedsey, one of his opponents, objected : “ Your opinion differeth from the Church, which saith that the true Body is in the Sacrament. Ergo, your opinion therein is false V 3 To which Cranmer replied : “ I say and agree with the Church, that the Body of Christ is in the Sacra- ment effectually, because the passion of Christ is effectual.” Chedsey then said : “ Christ, when He spake these words, € This is My Body/ spoke of the substance and not of the effect.” And Cranmer's reply was : “ I grant He spake of the substance, and not of the effect after a sort ; and yet it is most true that the Body of Christ is effec- tually in the Sacrament. But I deny that He is there materially present in bread, or that under the bread is His original Body” At the commencement of this examination three conclusions had been put forth by Cranmer's oppo- nents : — “ 1. In the Sacrament of the altar is the natural Body of Christ, conceived of the Virgin Mary, and also His Blood, present really under the forms of bread and wine, by virtue of God's Word pro- nounced by the priest. “2. There remaineth no substance of bread and OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 17 wine after the consecration, nor any other substance but the substance of Grod and man. “3. The lively sacrifice of the Church is in the mass propitiatory, as well for the quick as the dead.” In reply, Cranmer requested the prolocutor to read to the court the following opinions he had written upon the three propositions : — “ In the assertions of the Church and of religion, trifling and new-fangled novelties of words are to be eschewed, whereof ariseth nothing but contention; and we must follow, as much as we can, the manner of speaking of the Scripture. “ In the first conclusion, if ye understand by this word ‘ really ’ re ipsa , that is, in very deed and effec- tually, so Christ, by the grace and efficacy of His passion, is indeed and truly present to all true and holy members. But if ye understand by this word c really ’ corporaliter , that is corporally, so that by the Body of Christ is understood a natural and or- ganical substance, the first proposition doth vary, not only from the usual phrase of Scripture, but also is contrary to the holy Word of Grod and Christian profession; since both the Scripture doth testify by these words, and also the Catholic Church hath pro- fessed from the beginning, that Christ has left the world, and sits at the right hand of the Father till He come to judgment. “ I answer likewise to the second question, that it c 18 THE BLESSED SAC LAMENT swerveth from the accustomed manner and speech of Scripture. “The third conclusion, as it is intricate, and wrapped in all doubtful and ambiguous words, and differing also much from the true speech of Scrip- ture, so as the words thereof seem to import no open sense, is most contumelious against our only Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus, and a violating of His precious Blood, which upon the altar of the cross is the only sacrifice and oblation for the sins of all mankind.” A discussion of considerable length followed here- upon, in the course of which Cranmer said : “ If (in saying that the natural Body of Christ is in the Sacrament) you understand by the natural Body, or- ganicum , that is, having such proportion and mem- bers as He had living here, then I answer negatively.” Again, “ I grant He said it was His Body which should be given, but He said it was not His Body which is here contained, but the Body which shall be given for you. As though He should say, ^This bread is the breaking of My Body, and this cup is the shedding of My Blood/ What will ye say then? Is the bread the breaking of His Body, and the cup the shedding of His Blood really ? If you say so, I deny it. You must prove that His Body is con- tained, but Christ said not which is contained. He gave bread and called that His Body. — He gave OF THE LORD’S SUPPER. 19 bread, the bread sacramentally, and His Body spi- ritually.” And in fine, “ I deny that the same natural Body is given in the Sacrament which was given on the cross, except you understand it spi- ritually.” Further on he said, “ The flesh liveth by the bread, but the soul is inwardly fed by Christ. The soul is fed with the Body of Christ, the body with the Sacrament. — Inwardly we eat Christ's Body, and outwardly we eat the Sacrament. So one thing is done outwardly, another inwardly. Like as in Baptism, the external element, whereby the body is washed, is one; the internal thing, whereby the soul is cleansed, is another.” I need not quote more to indicate what opinions were held in regard to this subject by the great Reformer, whom Queen Mary described as “ the chief spreader of heresy over the nation.” Suffice it to say, that to the maintenance of these opinions he openly returned after his recantation, thenceforth adhering to them to the last. Now, as I said before, no conclusive argument in favour of the doctrines of the Reformation is afforded by the fact, that the men who maintained them faced torture and death rather than yield in the least point. We Protestants believe that these heroic men hazarded their lives in defence of the Gospel. But looking at it from a Romish point of view, we might say, with much truth, that there has always been 20 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT great difficulty in drawing a line of demarcation between discipline and persecution ; and, considering how easily the multitude are led astray, and the con- sequent mischief which is likely to arise from the promulgation of error, there will always be doubts as to whether it be not under some circumstances proper to repress what appear to be false doctrines by rather stringent measures. We cannot deny, that there are instances on record in which the advocates of notably false doctrines, and other wrong-headed men, have endured all sorts of hard treatment rather than surrender. Nor must we forget that there is a great difference between the martyrs of the Refor- mation, who after all were simply martyrs to opinions (though on points of conscience), and the earlier martyrs who bore witness to facts. The evidence of the latter is (as Paley points out) almost indisput- able ; but the evidence of the former will always be questioned. Still, the instances in which men have suffered death for their advocacy of doctrines which are now generally regarded as false, have been mostly soli- tary, or at any rate, few and far between ; certain death has seldom been courted by them, for they have, for the most part, looked for their reward in this world ; that is, there has been, in the opinions u borne-witness-to,” almost always something new (or peculiar to the individual), to which the OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 21 e< martyr ” would desire to have his name specially attached : in other words, notoriety (or “ fame,” as they would have it) has almost always been the manifestly expected gain: and “ martyrs” of this kind have generally been men who might reason- ably expect to gain more by making a noise in this way, than they could possibly lose, as regards their earthly fame, or the estimation in which they were held by the world at large. But when we turn to the martyrs of the Refor- mation, we are struck, not only by the great number, who boldly suffered in defence of the very same doctrines — and these with nothing novel about them — and who, if they looked for reward in this world, could only hope to surpass one another in the kind and degree of torture they endured ; but by the fact also, that even the highest dignitaries in the Church — men who could gain nothing in worldly fame or distinction, having been famed far and wide for their learning and ability, before they even thought of advocating the doctrines for which they suffered— we are struck, I say, by the fact, that even men like these were ready, when the time came, to join the poor cobbler and weaver in sealing the doc- trines of the Reformation with their blood. Surely, if we have not here a conclusive argument in favour of these doctrines, we have a very powerful one, and the best of reasons for pursuing our inquiries still 22 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT deeper. For though it be true, and the enemy of souls knows it well, that in the opinions which are promulgated at any time and with any chance of success, by members of the human race, there must of necessity be at least a show of reason ; though it be true, as it undeniably is, that the amount of per- secution endured by the promulgators of any opinion is by many taken as the correct guage of the truth of that opinion ; and though Satan, being fully aware of all this, has at various times induced his emissaries to ape the saints, not only by the apparent sanctity of their lives, but by the voluntary en- durance of even extreme hardship, in defence of some plausible though false doctrine — in which case, by the way, the argumentative importance of persecution is almost sure to be unduly magnified ; yet is it almost impossible to doubt, that the martyrs of the Re- formation were sustained, amid the ignominious tor- tures which they encountered, by a heavenly power, or that the convictions, which they avowed with such entire self-abnegation, were high and heaven-born. I propose, therefore, that in the next place we apply to these doctrines of the Reformation con- cerning the Blessed Sacrament, the test of Holy Writ. We will act the part of the Bereans, and, at the same time that we “ receive the word spoken with all readiness of mind,” “ search the Scriptures diligently, to see if these things be so.” We will OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 23 appeal “ to the law and to the testimony;” for "if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” In so doing, we shall only be carrying out the spirit which breathes in the Articles of our Religion. For in them it is declared, that “ it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any- thing that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another” (Art. xx.) ; and that as General Councils “ may err and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God, things ordained even by them as necessary to sal- vation have neither strength nor authority, unless it be declared that they be taken out of holy Scrip- ture ” (Art. xxi.). Wherefore, let us rejoice that we belong to a Church which thus declares that she is not afraid to come to the light . For how true is it, that “ every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved ; but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.” (John iii. 20, 21.) Our deepest gratitude is due to God for giving us a Church which, at the same time that she is enabled to maintain a proper uniformity and due decorum in worship, by the enactment of certain laws — formed in accordance (at least supposedly) with the purest light at the time afforded her — yet is so far from 24 : THE BLESSED SACRAMENT disallowing private judgment, or from thinking herself for one moment to be infallible, as positively to encourage inquiry on all hands, with a view to rendering herself more perfect for the future, when the necessity for change is fully ascertained. The Rule by which the Church of England moulds her belief and her ritual, is God's Word written ; and to no spirit that speaks without this authority, does she willingly give the slightest heed. The traditions of antiquity, consequently, are treated, though with respect, yet as simply suggestive ; for “ Every par- ticular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish, ceremonies or rites of the Church ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying." But — and here comes the check to the great schism-producer, untamed private opinion — “ Whosoever through his private judgment, willingly and purposely, doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly (that others may fear to do the like), as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the Magistrate, and woundeth the conscience of the weak brethren." (Art. xxxiv.) The Church of England sets out with the great principle of entire confidence in the Bible as God's OF TEE LORES SUPPER. 25 Book of truth. From this volume she derives her code of laws in all things fundamental; and she therefore regards herself in the light not so much of a legislator for the production of new laws, as of an administrator of laws already existing. In her own words, she is a “ witness and keeper of Holy Writ.” Being “ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” and having Jesus Christ Himself as the “ chief corner-stone,” in common with every true branch of the Church Catholic, her faith and ritual must of necessity be traceable, in all essential par- ticulars, to the faith and ritual of the apostolic age. For the Catholic Church of the present day, strictly considered, is simply the development of the Church of the Apostles, just as the branching oak is simply the development of the sapling. And consequently though one branch may differ from another in minor matters, yet all additions or deviations, except in the way of normal adaptation to the circumstances of time and place, must be regarded as ugly excres- cences or unsightly deformities, to be removed or rectified at the earliest opportunity. The Church of England, blessed be God, is neither u blind ” herself, nor does she wish to be regarded as a mere “ leader of the blind.” She is far more pleased by hearty acquiescence in her mode of wor- ship as the result of intelligent inquiry, than by any amount of implicit and servile obedience. And the 26 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT influence which she is desirous of exercising in re- spect to her members, is that of a connective tissue or “ elastic web ” (as Bishop Magee so aptly calls it), which at one and the same time preserves unity and compactness in the body as a whole, and yet allows, in each of the several members of it, the utmost freedom of thought and action that is com- patible with true liberty, strength, or safety. OF THE LORE'S SUPPER . 27 CHAPTER II. our lord’s discourse to the multitude on the SUBJECT. As true sons and daughters then of our benign Church, we will proceed to examine the scriptural basis upon which her teaching with regard to the Holy Communion is founded. The chief passages in the New Testament which concern the Lord’s Supper, taking them in their pro- per chronological order, are, (1), those occurring in the earlier discourses of Christ (as reported by St. John), which, though not haying any express relation to the Sacrament, yet bear upon it in a remarkable manner, and serve in a great measure to explain to us its nature and intention ; (2), those which record the institution of the Blessed Sacrament ; (3), those which incidentally mention the fact of its observance by the apostles and immediate disciples of our Lord ; and, (4), those passages which contain St. Paul’s commentary upon it, and at the same time intimate that its observance was to be continued in the sub- sequent ages of the Church. These are the passages for our consideration, and we will consider them in this order, for it is the natural one, and will intro- 28 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT duce us to the subject, as our Lord's immediate fol- lowers were introduced to. it — by degrees. Our Blessed Saviour frequently anticipated events in His history by a prediction conveying at the same time their purpose and effect ; and He not less cer- tainly explained by anticipation the nature and in- tention of the two Sacraments, which He should afterwards institute and ordain. Thus, not only were the disciples informed beforehand, that “ as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life ” (John iii. 14, 15) ; not only did our Saviour “signify what death He should die,” by saying, “ I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me ” (John xii. 32) ; not only did He predict many events, say- ing, “ And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass ye might believe ” (John xiii. 19 ; xiv. 29 ; xvi. 4) ; but He also unmis- takeably alluded by anticipation, in His discourse with Nicodemus, to the institution of Baptism, in the words, u Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John iii. 5 ) ; and He as unmistakeably alluded by anticipation to the institution of the Holy Commu- nion, in the passage which is the first on our list, and which occurs in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. It cannot be denied that OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 29 whereas the three first or synoptical Gospels regard the mission of Christ chiefly in its external aspect, the fourth Gospel regards it chiefly in its inner or spiritual bearing. And it is very significant, as re- gards the connection of the passage under considera- tion with the Lord's Supper, that St. John, unlike any other Evangelist, makes no direct mention of either of the two Sacraments, and that the record of their institution is left out of his Gospel altogether. This, when combined with the evident similarity which exists between the words used by our Lord at the institution of the Sacraments, and many of those which occur in the above-named discourses, is surely a sufficient proof that these discourses are to be re- garded as explanatory of those institutions. For we can hardly believe that St. John, who reveals the hidden meaning of so many other things, would leave still veiled two of the mysteries of our religion, with the hidden meaning of which it is of all things most important for us to be acquainted. After the Five Thousand had been fed by miracle^ and our Saviour, on the night following, had (also by miracle) crossed on foot the Sea of Tiberias, many of the late recipients of His bounty followed Him to Capernaum, hoping to have their bodily wants again supplied in the same easy and luxurious manner. This desire they did not manifest openly, but Jesus knew their thoughts, and rebuked them, saying 30 TEE BLESSED SACRAMENT also, “ Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you : for Him hath God the Father sealed” (John vi. 27). Having told them, in answer to their inquiry, that “the work of God is to believe on Him whom He hath sent,” and being requested thereupon to shew them some sign to rest their faith upon, similar to the manna which the Israelites received from Heaven when in the desert — it is evident, bodily food was still all their desire, for had they not received a sign sufficient in the miracle of the day previous ? — our Lord said unto them, “ Yerily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven ; but my Father giveth you the true Bread from Heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” Then said they unto Him, “ Lord, evermore give us this bread” — a most excellent petition if sincere. And Jesus said unto them, “ I am the Bread of life : he that cometh to Me shall never hunger ; and he that belie veth on Me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen Me, and believe not.” The Jews murmured at Him, because He said, “ I am the Bread which came down from Heaven” — He was evidently not the kind of bread they wanted. Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, “ Murmur not among yourselves — Yerily, verily, I OF TEE LORES SUPPER. 31 say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlast- ing life. I am that Bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven : if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever : and the bread that I will give is my Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, “ How can this man give us His Flesh to eat ?” Then Jesus said unto them, “ Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My Flesh is meat in- deed, and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father : so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread which came down from Heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead : he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever.” Thus much did our Lord on this occasion deliver to the people generally. “ These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.” But there was among the audience a considerable number of His disciples, and though 32 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT they would seem to have caught from the multitude the same tone of complaint, insomuch that many of them expressed their astonishment to one another, at the words which Christ had used, and said, “ This is a hard saying, who can hear it ?” — yet our Blessed Lord deigned to afford them the desired explanation of what He had just been uttering. For we are told, that Jesus, knowing in Himself that His dis- ciples murmured at it, said unto them, “ Doth this offend you ? What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before ? It is the Spirit that quickeneth (that giveth life ) ; the Flesh profiteth nothing : the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” To this He adds, <( But there are some of you that believe not. There- fore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.” Whereupon, we are told, many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, “ Will ye also go away?” Then Simon Peter answered Him, “ Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered them, “ Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil ?” Such is the discourse, as recorded by St. John, in as far as the Lord’s Supper is especially concerned. OF THE LORD’S SUPPER. 33 We observe that it speaks of a feast; and we must not forget that it arose apparently in the most na- tural manner, out of a miracle in which a feast was provided ; for in all probability the two are closely related in their hidden meanings. We may take it as a rule, having very few exceptions, that our Lord, in the miracles which he performed whilst on earth, had regard not only to the evident need of the im- mediate objects of his favour, but to the wants, less easily supplied because less readily acknowledged, which are common to the whole human family. His chief mission was to save man from sin, and to make him holy : the cure of his bodily ailments, though included, was quite of secondary importance. We cannot well help, then, being of opinion, that His miracles wrought upon external nature, especially as their effects were in most cases only temporary, were intended to typify and explain the more glo- rious miracles which He would perform in our hearts. Indeed, when we consider the brevity of His mi- nistry here, we are almost compelled to believe that in each of His miracles, as we find them recorded, some special medicine lies concealed, by which we may profit to our souks health. In regard to the miracle which preceded the above discourse, we may briefly remark that it provided food for an immense multitude out of a very small store of material. One loaf sufficed for a thousand. D 34 TEE BLESSED SACRAMENT Surely, we have no difficulty in beholding here typi- fied the One Man, whose death would be “ a sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world,” and whose resurrection would give life to as many as received Him. And inasmuch as the disciples “ filled twelve baskets with the frag- ments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten,” we may be quite sure that there is no lack of grace on God's part, and that none who apply for relief to their souls need fear they will be rejected upon any plea of straitened means. “ God is able to make all grace abound toward you ; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Cor. ix. 8.) The Romanist would concoct an argument out of this miracle to favour his theory of the constant multiplication of Christ's Body in the Holy Eucha- rist. Regarded in a spiritual sense, this theory would be correct, no doubt ; for, if the bread convey Christ's Body (to the faithful), then, as each recipient of that One Bread receives a Whole Christ — and it is a remarkable fact that we none of us suffer by the increase in number of Christ's pensioners, nor need we grudge our brother's abundant supply, since Christ is “ all in all " to each — His Body be- comes in a sense multiplied, that is, the benefits de- rived from it are distributively increased. But if OF THE LORD'S SUPPER 35 the theory be regarded in a material sense it forms no parallel with the miracle. For in the miracle recorded, there was only an increase of substance effected. It was bread that was broken ; it was bread that was distributed ; and bread formed the overplus; for we are expressly informed that the fragments which were gathered up after the feast, were “ fragments of the five barley loaves :) (John vi. 13). In the Eucharist, on the contrary, the miracle, supposed by Romanists to be wrought, consists in a change of substance as well, that is, of bread to Flesh — to the FJesh of Christ. Again, the recorded miracle appealed most powerfully to the senses ; the miraculous supply was both visible and tangible • for not only did the multitude experience a feeling of satiety in consequence, but twelve baskets were filled with the remains of the feast. But if the senses be questioned regarding the supposed miracle, they unanimously declare against it : there is bread at the beginning of the Eucharistic Service, and, to sight, touch, smell, and taste, it remains bread to the end : in other words, there is no sensible recep- tion of aught but bread, so that if Christ's Body be received, it is not, one would think, by our physical organs. Besides, when the Five Thousand were fed, each one was cognizant, not only that an ample share was afforded him, but that to derive benefit from it he had merely to accept and eat it. In the d 2 36 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Holy Eucharist, on the contrary, according to the Romish view of it, there are two things essential to its sacramental character, over which the communi- cant can exercise no control, and of which it is diffi- cult to see how he can take any cognizance what- ever, namely, the due intention of the priest, and the actual change of substance. If either of these be wanting, the poor applicant goes away, according to the Romish dogma, without having received Christ. Indeed, according to this view of the matter, a man who has attended possibly ten thousand so-called masses, may yet, through no fault in himself, breathe his last without having once partaken of the Bread of life ; for the mass may have been on each occa- sion a failure, and he have remained in utter igno- rance of the fact. I have no hesitation, on a review of these circum- stances, in saying that it is a manifest misuse of Scripture, to adduce the miraculous Feeding of the Five Thousand, in support of any such theoretic dogma as that which is put forth by the Church of Rome in the above instance. In proceeding to consider the discourse of our Saviour, which arose out of the foregoing miracle, it will be well, since we have already been introduced to the particular clauses of it which bear upon our subject, to begin by examining the final declaration of our Lord made to the disciples privately; for OF TEE LORES SUPPER. 37 this is evidently the key to the whole matter— the key that will alone unlock the mysteries contained in the peculiar language used in addresing the mul- titude. The instances are numerous in which Christ spoke to the “ people” in parables, which He afterwards ex- plained to the disciples. In fact, to do so was His custom: “Without a parable spake He not unto them (that is, the people) ; and when they were alone. He expounded all things to His disciples ” (Mark iv. 34) . The reason of this mode of procedure will probably remain a mystery to the world’s end. Suffice it to say that we are not alone in finding a difficulty here. It roused the curiosity of the disci- ples. For we are informed that they came and said unto Jesus, “Why speakest Thou unto them in parables ?” And He answered and said unto them, “ Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance : but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables : because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith. By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand : and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive : for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are 38 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed ; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them” (Matt. xiii. 10 — 17). Still, whatever the explanation, the fact remains indisputably the same : in addressing the multitude Jesus made use invariably of the parabolic style.* Even His miracles, as I have already had occasion to intimate, were so many parables, conveying one meaning to the eye of the natural man, and another and much deeper meaning to the eye of faith. For, as we have just been informed, the true disciples differ from the multitude, not only in the mannner of hear- ing but in the manner of seeing also. In almost every case, it is possible to attach to a parabolic dis- course or miracle a meaning apart from that specially intended ; and this is what causes people to imagine * The Sermon on the Mount, having in it many plain truths, may occur to some minds as affording au exception to this rule. But on examining the record of it, we find that the audience was composed entirely of disciples (Matt. v. 1, 2). OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 39 that they see its true meaning, when in reality they only see the meaning which is superficial. Now, with the facts before us, concerning the dis- course under consideration, namely, that our Lord was addressing the multitude , (or “people/* as they are called), and that He subseguently explained His words to the disciples , we cannot fail, one would think, to discern herein an illustration of the state- ment enunciated above : “ Without a parable spake He not to the people ; and when they were alone He expounded all things to His disciples " (Mark iv. 34). Nor can we fail, one would imagine, to come to the conclusion, that the discourse delivered to the people generally, was, from beginning to end, para- bolic or symbolical, or, in other words, had a hidden meaning, to convey which was the sole purpose of the words used, they having no other signification of any importance attached to them. Yet this very discourse is, by Romanists and Ritualists, taken in its literal signification, and is thereupon made one of the bases upon which the dogma of Transubstantiation in the Lord's Supper is constructed. In our Lord's exposition to the disciples, we have, — (1) A question, drawing attention to an event which was then in the future, but which is now an accom- plished fact : “ Doth this offend you ? What and if 40 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before ?" (2) A declaration, in favour of which that event, when taken in conjunction with the perpetuity of Christ's iufluence over the hearts of men, is, and evidently was intended as, an argument : “ It is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the Flesh profiteth nothing." (3) An illustration of the truth of this declara- tion, and at the same time, a restriction of its mean- ing : “ The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father." 1 . First, as to the question. “ Doth this offend you ?" Is what I have been saying a stumbling block in the way of your receiving Me as the true Messiah, come forth from the bosom of the Father ? “ What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before ?" It is as if our Lord had said. Let my Ascension, w T hich will surely come to pass, deter you from attaching any gross signification to the words I have just been using ; for if I ascend up where I was before, it is evidently impossible that you can receive any further benefit from My bodily presence, much less partake of My Flesh in any lite- ral sense. My Body is purely human, and therefore though capable, by the influence it receives from OF TEE LORES SUPPER. 41 My Spirit, of transcending the laws of nature in many respects, cannot be ubiquitous. And as to any miraculous reproduction of it, that all might eat thereof, what purpose could this serve ? “ It is the Spirit that giveth life : the Flesh profiteth nothing ” It is not altogether irrelevant to the subject, to note the peculiar phraseology made use of in the question before us : I mean where our Blessed Saviour speaks of the Son of Man ascending up where He was before. He used somewhat similar language in His discourse with Nicodemus : “ No man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son of Man which is in Heaven” (John iii. 13). The doctrine of our Lord^s Divinity, on the one hand, and that of His proper Oneness of Person, on the other, could not possibly be declared in language more powerful than this, unless indeed it be in the converse expression, which He used at a later period, when speaking, as it were, from Heaven, He said to His disciples, “ Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world ” (Matt, xxviii. 20). The doctrine of the Incarnation is the life of the Blessed Sacrament, and it is the keynote of the discourse under consideration. In fact, both are meaningless, unless it be allowed that Christ in human flesh possesses a life-giving Spirit. And this leads us to consider the second part of the exposition. 42 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT 2. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth : the Flesh profiteth nothing.” In the original the language is yet stronger : “ The Spirit is the Life-giver ; the Flesh profiteth (that is, avails , or is profitable in) nothing.”* There cannot be a reasonable doubt that this truth was enunciated in reference to cer- tain expressions which our Saviour had used in addressing the multitude ; such as, “ I am the Bread of life .” “ Whoso eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath eternal life ,” &c. The Jews had striven among themselves saying, “ How can this man give us His Flesh to eat ?” And the disciples, being some- what similarly affected, had said, “ This is a hard saying, who can hear it ?” This declaration comes as a direct answer to their doubts, and is calculated at once and for ever to dispel them : “ The Spirit is the Life-giver : the Flesh profiteth nothing.” The bearing of this statement upon the previous discourse will be considered presently. At present I need only shew how it is borne out by other pas- sages of Holy Writ. As to the first clause, St. Paul says, “ The first man Adam was made a living soul : the last Adam a quickening Spirit ” (1 Cor. xv. 45) ; and again, “ The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath * A similar expression to the latter half of this declaration, is to be found in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (ch. v. 2) : “ If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 43 made me free from the law of sin and death ” (Rom. viii. 2). Our Saviour Himself elsewhere says, “As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will ” (John v. 21). “ In Him was life ,” says St. John, “ and the life was the light of men” (John i. 4); and again, “ This is the record that God hath given to us eter- nal life , and this life is in His Son . He that hath the Son hath life ; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John v. 11, 12). These pas- sages are sufficient to define and explain the mean- ing of the first clause, wherein our Lord says, “ It is the Spirit that quickeneth ;” and they need no com- ment. As to the second clause, we are informed by Scrip- ture in many ways, that Christ's Body was truly human, and as such therefore, that it had no essen- tial life in it. In fact, we are told that it underwent the law of death, when He gave up the ghost (John xix. 30, 33). His own expression uttered subse- quently is, “ I am He that liveth and was dead , and behold lam alive for evermore” (Rev. i. 18). This being the case, surely that which can contain no life in itself without the Spirit, cannot be regarded as intrinsically imparting life to anything else. Nor is there any reason for imagining that the life which Christ bestows, is only given in conjunction with His actual Flesh and Blood. On the contrary, we are 44 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT informed that “ the Flesh profiteth nothing ” Even taking the matter in a less carnal sense, the bodily presence of Christ, except on miraculous occasions, had no particular influence upon the people in whose midst He walked from day to day. The wonderful works which He performed naturally attracted their attention, and the benevolent nature of His miracles caused many outwardly to follow Him for a time, as in the case of the multitude to whom He delivered the discourse under consideration. But they did not, on this account, receive life. Indeed our Lord “ upbraided the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not ” (Matt, xi. 20). And to shew of how little service His bodily presence was, even to His disciples, He said, “ I tell you the truth ; It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart I will send Him unto you” (John xvi. 7). This looks much as if the Body of Christ and the Spirit of Christ were not to be bestowed conjointly. At any rate, as the spiritual indwelling is the really necessary thing (for “ if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His,” Bom. viii. 9), we may be quite sure that He would not re- produce His Flesh and Blood in our midst for any such gross purpose as that which is taught by the advocates of the dogma of Transubstantiation. So far from the actual Flesh being needed, it is better that it be away : its work on earth is finished. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 45 3. We now come to consider the concluding por- tion of our Lord^s exposition to the disciples : “ The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you that believe not. There- fore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.” It is somewhat remarkable, — and the mention of this is very relevant to the subject immediately under our consideration, as will shortly appear — that the only miracles of transubstantiation alluded to in the Gospels, are those, (one suggested and the other ac- tually performed,) in which water was converted into wine, and stones were to be transformed into beead. When the tempter came to Jesus, he said, “ If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Our Lord, though He had fasted forty days, refused, saying, “ It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ” (Matt. iv. 1 — 4). But to shew that his refusal arose in no way from inability. He departed into Galilee, and at a marriage-feast in Cana, performed His very first miracle, by transforming a large quantity of water into wine. That which He considered it pre- sumption to do for Himself, He willingly did for others. Now these substances of bread and wine are the very elements which the Romanists regard as being transformed by miracle into the yet higher 46 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT order of substances. Flesh and Blood, the Flesh and Blood of Christ. And there is nothing in this cir- cumstance, that I know of, to render the matter in- credible. But I am of opinion that it is prepos- terous to declare a miracle to have been performed, when no signs can be detected of any change what- ever. The guests of Cana must have been very bad judges of the taste of wine, to pronounce the trans- formed water the best wine they had yet received, if they perceived as little difference between that which they were then drinking and ordinary water, as com- municants of the present day perceive between con- secrated and ordinary wine. And our Blessed Saviour (with all reverence be it spoken) would have found considerable difficulty in eating the con- verted stones, if they had been no more changed than is consecrated bread at the Eucharist. He re- fused altogether to comply with the wish of the tempter. But have we not here a veritable instance of the same kind of temptation ? Do we not tempt Christ, when we say, “ If Thou be the Son of God, command that this bread be made flesh, even Thy Flesh, that we may eat thereof, and have eternal life V* And does He not, in that part of His exposition to the disciples at present to be considered, give us a reply very similar to that which Satan received in the wil- derness ? “ Man shall not live by bread alone, but OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 47 by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God/’ said He to Satan. “ The Flesh profiteth nothing : My words are spirit and are life/* says He to the disciples and to us. I have already pointed out one incidental proof of our Lord*s Divinity. Here is another. For there is not the slightest doubt that there is a real connec- tion between the two passages which I have placed side by side. It is no mere fancy of mine. In both of them words are said to be life . In the one case, the life-giving “ words ** are described by our Saviour as “ the words which I speak unto you :** in the other case, as “ every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God.** Our minds are at once drawn to the opening verses of St. John’s Gospel : “ In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . In Him was life ; and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth** (John i. 1, 4, 14). He spoke the worlds into being ; for “ by the word of the Lord were the hea- vens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth ** (Ps. xxxiii. 6). His voice raised Laza- rus from the dead. By Him we are raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, “ being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God , which liveth and abideth for ever ** (1 Peter i. 23). And “the hour is coming in the 48 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation” (John v. 28, 29). But if we take the trouble to refer to the passage in the Old Testament from which our Saviour quoted, when repelling Satan's attack as above, we shall see still more clearly how closely connected that quota- tion is with the expression He made use of in address- ing the disciples. In Deut. viii. 3, we find Moses speaking to the children of Israel as follows : — “ The Lord thy God humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knew- ' est not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” Here we are informed that the Israelites were fed miraculously, in order that they might learn that it is not by bread of itself that man lives, nor by any other food, but by the Word of the Lord ordering all things. And in the case before us, this very miraculous feeding by manna has been referred to by the Jewish multi- tude ; for they said, “ What sign shewest Thou, then, that we may see, and believe Thee ? What dost Thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert : as it is written, He gave them bread from OF THE LOR US SUPPER. 49 Heaven to eat.” Our Lord, in reply to them, speaks, as I have before shewn, parabolically, and says, C( Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven ; but My Father giveth you the true Bread from Heaven. I am that Bread of life,” &c. Is it not evident, however, that in ex- pounding His discourse afterwards to His disciples. He mentally refers to the passage in Deuteronomy, when He says, regarding the acceptation in which we should take the Bread of Life , “ The words which I speak unto you are spirit and are life.” There cannot be a doubt, I think, on this point, if the above be the proper accentuation of the sentence. That it is so, will be sufficiently clear to anyone who will carefully examine the matter. The original Greek, in fact, will scarcely bear to be rendered in any other way ; for the term translated “ words,” stands prominently forward, as being the most important in the sentence, the most essential to a due appreciation of the whole : whilst “ spirit” and “ life” are placed more in the shade, as being tem- porarily of less consequence. Our Lord, in making the statement, is answering, not so much the question, “ What are Thy words ?” as, “ What or wherein are spirit and life ?” For when He says, “ The words which I speak unto you are spirit and are life,” He is not speaking merely of the words which he had just been using ; nor does He mean E w THE BLESSED SACRAMENT simply, that His words are to be taken in what is called a spiritual sense ; but He means that His words, and acts (for acts, in as far as they are declarative, are to be included under the term ■“words,”) constitute the bread of life , of which He had spoken to the multitude. And we have not merely the original reading of the passage itself to depend upon, in taking it in this sense. St. Peter evidently took it in the same. For when, upon the desertion of a large number of the disciples in consequence of this discourse, our Lord turned to the twelve, and said, u Will ye also go away ?” Simon Peter, foremost in this as in all matters where he considered his Lord’s honour to be concerned, answered Him, “ Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life ; and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” But here comes in another consideration. A seed may have life, but its growth and development, the continuance of its life, depend upon the soil in which it is sown. It is not sufficient that there be a life-giving word , it is not sufficient even, that there be a life-giving Spirit , if there be not a prepared heart to receive the same. This is evident from the parable of the Sower. And now, our Saviour, after declaring that His words are spirit and life, says, “ But there are some of you that believe not. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. ol Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.” It will have been observed, that taking the whole exposition together, there is a species of climax in it. To arrive at this, however, we must transpose the clauses a little. “ The Flesh profiteth nothing : The Spirit is the Life-giver : By My words does He give life : But not irresistibly so, for there are some of you, who have heard My words daily, and yet believe not : No man can come unto Me, no man can submit to My Spirit's influence, unless it were given unto him by My Father.” This is the lofty mountain, whose base is on the earth, and within the compass of our understanding ; and whose summit is hid in clouds, amid the impene- trable mysteries of heaven. But of this we may be sure, that there is not the slightest reason for despair in it, to any who wish (however faintly) to be saved from sin. For those who wish to believe on Christ may be tolerably certain, that they are in a fair way towards the attainment of their object, and that some of His words have already taken hold of the soil of their hearts, and are even now appearing above ground. Such will find, that to obtain pardon for their sins, peace to their souls, strength for their journey, and comfort in their need, they have but to take their Blessed Saviour at His word, when He says, “ Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are e 2 & OF ILL. L13. 52 TIJE BLESSED SACRAMENT heavy -laden (with sin, care, or what not,) and I will give yon rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matt. xi. 28-30.) God only grant there may be a sufficient depth of soil, and scarcity of weeds, to maintain the growth of the word in their hearts. Prayer and watchful- ness will do much to ensure this: “ Watch and pray, lest ye enter into (or that ye enter not into) temptation.” We have plenty of help ; for He, who said to Peter, “ I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not,” will say the same to any trusting soul. And “ the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Rom. viii. 26.) But I must now pass on to consider the discourse addressed to the multitude. Regarding the dis- course in the light afforded us by our Lord's exposition of it to the disciples, this need not be so very difficult a task. In fact, we shall find that we have little more to do than to apply to the particular clauses of the discourse, the various conclusions to which we came in the course of our consideration of the said exposition. But instead of taking the clauses separately, as they are in so OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 53 many respects similar., our best plan will be to dis- cover what declaration they convey as a whole, and then fill in the outline as occasion may require. We find, then, in the first place, that mention is made of a particular kind of food , variously called “meat” and “ bread, ” and even subdivided into “flesh” and “blood.” The source of this food is Heaven : “ My Father,” says Christ, “ giveth you the true Bread from Heaven ” (ver. 32.) ; “ The Bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven ” (ver. 33). It is both “ living ” and “life-giving thus, it is “meat that endureth unto everlasting life ” (ver. 27); it “ giveth life unto the world ” (ver. 33) ; it came down from Heaven, “ that a man may eat thereof \ and not die ” (ver. 50) ; and “ if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever ” (ver. 51). In this point of view, a contrast is drawn between the food under consideration and that which we take in com- pliance with our natural appetites, — a contrast which is very similar to that drawn by our Saviour, in speaking to the woman of Samaria, between the water with which we assuage our natural thirst, and the “ living water ” which, in those on whom it is bestowed, is “a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John iv. 14). Thus, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life” (ver. 27); “Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and 54 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT are dead : this is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die” (ver. 49, 50). • This food, this “ true Bread,” this “ Bread from Heaven,” onr Lord declares Himself to be : thus, “ I am the Bread of life ” (ver. 35, 48) ; “ I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven ” (ver. 51). There is indeed a yet further declaration: “ The bread that I will give is My Flesh , which I will give for the life of the world” (ver. 51); and onr Blessed Saviour adds, “ Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you” (ver. 53). But this requires a little closer attention, for here is the stumbling- block, over which so many fall. It will be observed that our Lord speaks of His Flesh as the bread which He would give for the life of the world, immediately after having declared Himself to be the living Bread which came down from Heaven . Both statements occur in one and the same verse (ver. 51). We have here another inti- mation of that coalescence of diverse entities in one personality, of which I spoke before. For certainly the Flesh of Christ did not come from Heaven ; nor can it, being human, have any life in itself. But the Word came from Heaven, and the Word is both living and life-giving ; and becoming united with human flesh, is enabled to eeveal to man the will of OF THE LOR HS SUPPER. 55 the Father. And herein have we the “ Bread of life/* the “ true Bread/* which “ the Father giveth ** us “from Heaven.** It is, I say, as a medium of revelation that the Flesh of Christ is food for our souls, and as a re- vealer of the Father’s will must it be received. We take our natural food into our mouths, because it is to be elaborated and assimilated for the support of our bodies ; but the Flesh of Christ must be received by the Imagination, because it is to be inwardly digested for the support and sustenation of our hearts. The mouth is the normal entrance to our physical system, so that all that is to form part of our bodily structure properly enters in at the mouth. But the senses are the portals of the Imagination, and through them, whether in the shape of crude ideas requiring severe thought, or of elaborated ideas requiring but little digestive power, must enter in all that is to nourish our mental system, and under this the heart is included. Thus I conclude, that it is not by the mouth that we are to eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the Son of man, but by the eye and by the ear . “ Faith cometh by hearing’’ The Flesh of Christ as a mere substance, is without life and profitless : it is by His burning words and acts (through the medium of His fleshly Body), that our hearts are to be fired. This is what has already been told us in the exposition to the disciples. That the 56 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT view here taken of the matter is the only correct one is further evident from the fact, that, shortly before our Lord said, “ Except ye eat the Elesh of the Son of man, and drink His Blood ye have no life in you,” He gave utterance to a truth which cannot be made to agree with the statement just quoted upon any other supposition : “ He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (ver. 47). “ Whoso eateth My Flesh and drinlceth My Blood hath eternal life , and I will raise him up at the last day” (ver. 54). Nothing can be clearer than that the eating and the believing are consentaneous acts. Our Lord says as much almost in the same words : “ He that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst ” (ver. 35). And “this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life ; and I will raise him up at the last day ” (ver. 40). Of one thing, however, we may rest assured, namely, that it was neither wantonly nor arbitrarily that our Blessed Lord made use of the strong lan- guage which forms the subject of our present consi- deration. When He spoke of “eating His Flesh,” and “ drinking His Blood,” He used these terms, because the truths which He wished to convey to our minds, could not so adequately or forcibly be expressed in any other form of words. And this OF TEE LORES SUPPER. 57 statement is applicable not only to one, but alike to all, of our Lorcks parables ; for though they conceal truth from those who will not take the trouble to look beneath the surface, yet they reveal it most clearly to any who will make a proper and diligent search. “Never man spake like this man ,} (John vii. 46). We may not mince the matter. He who is Truth itself, said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you.” Now, having proved that He could not have intended us to take these words in their literal and gross signification, let us inquire what He really did mean. We have already arrived at one or two conclusions respecting this question. For instance, we have decided, that by His Flesh , He signifies the words and acts , by which, through a fleshly medium. He has revealed the will of the Father; and then, secondly, that by eating and drinking, He means certain acts of faith. Now I believe that these very terms, if we can only fathom their meaning, just explain what true faith really consists in. When it is said, “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved ” (Acts xvi. 31), we need be in no doubt as to the kind of faith re- quired, if, having ascertained their meaning, we will only remember those words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, “ Whoso eateth My Flesh and drinketh My 58 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Blood hath eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day.” In the process of eating and drinking there are various steps or stages. Thus, there is first of all the acceptance of the food offered, whether that food be brought to our notice after search made on our part, or not : we take the food into our possession. There is, secondly, the examination of its qualities ; for our reason will not allow us to eat or drink any- thing, unless we have good ground for believing it to be beneficial, or at least not harmful. There is, thirdly, the induction of the food into our mouths and mastication of it , which is the period of gustatory enjoyment. But it has not yet passed beyond the reach of our volition, nor has it yet really entered our system : we have yet the power to reject it, and whilst it remains here, though it may afford con- siderable gratification, it can effect no permanent good in the way of nutrition. He who should reject every mouthful, (or refuse to swallow it,) after rolling it about his mouth for the mere gratification of his palate, would soon grow lean, and starve to death. There must therefore be, further, a full surrender of ourselves to the influence of the food, there must be deglutition , which completes the act of eating or drinking so far as our volition is con- cerned, since the rest goes on independently of our will. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 59 Now this is precisely what takes place in the act of Faith. Thus, we either find Christ for ourselves by searching in the Holy Scriptures, or He is pre- sented to our notice by some steward of His gospel. This is the first stage of the process : our attention is attracted . The next stage consists in examining His many good qualities, and the nature of His mission. We then probably arrive at the stage of what is called historical belief, that is, we believe in Him mentally, regarding Him as the noble per- sonage that He is presented to us as being : ive approve Him. He then probably gets into our mouths ; that is, we “ taste and see that the Lord is gracious,” and we also make a confession of His Name before our fellow-men. And here too many stop. But this is not sufficient. Enjoyment, though linked with holiness, is not the end of our being, and therefore it must not be that which we pri- marily seek. We must yield ourselves wholly to the influence of Christ, and let His commands have the entire dominion of our being. This dedication of ourselves to our Redeemer must be made unre- servedly, and with just the same sort of resignation with which we swallow a morsel that may cause us some griping and uneasiness, but that will certainly, though by insensible degrees, effect a wondrous change in our system, enlivening and invigorating what was heretofore dull and lifeless, and in fact 60 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT renewing our very nature. If we thus “eat the Flesh " of Christ and “ drink His Blood/'’ we shall daily become more and more assimilated to His likeness whilst here ; and hereafter be raised to the life immortal, with the likeness perfect and complete. (Psa. xvii. 15; Phil. iii. 21.) But there is a peculiarity in the terms employed, which leads us to examine a little more deeply yet. What we have already said on this point, that is, as regards “ eating the Flesh " and “ drinking the Blood " of the Son of man, might suit the Socinian well enough ; but it does not sound the depths of the expression which our Saviour uses. “ Flesh " and “ Blood " are rightly construed as denoting the words or acts by which our Lord revealed the Father's will. But they point specially and unmistakeably to a 'peculiar hind of “ words " or acts. The introduction of the term “ Blood " suffices to shew us, that the acts of our Lord, specially referred to, were those which should be sacrificial. His Blood flowed in Gethsemane; in the Judgment Hall, when He was scourged and crowned with thorns; and on the Cross, when the nails and the spear pierced His Flesh ; and then only did His Blood become a revealer of the Father's will. That these are the specially life-giving acts of our Blessed Saviour, is to be inferred also from His own decla- ration in the discourse before us, which evidently OF TIIE LOR HS SUFFER. 61 refers to these acts : “ The bread that I will give is My Flesh , ivhich I will give for the life of the world ” (ver. 51). Oar minds are led back to the institu- tion of sacrifices under the old covenant, and we are forcibly reminded of the fact, that “ without shedding of blood is no remission ” (Heb. ix. 22), or as it is more strongly expressed in the earlier record (Lev. xvii. 11), “The life of the flesh is in the blood ; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls : for it is the blood that mdketh an atonement for the soul.” The connection between the old sacrifices under the Law, and the one all-sufficient Sacrifice offered up, for the sins of the whole world, on the Gross of Calvary, is clearly declared by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews : “ Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Heb. ix, 28): “When He cometh into the world, He saith. Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me : in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, (in the volume of the. book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, 0 God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. x. 5-10). It is, then, chiefly (if not solely) by faith in the atonement thus made, that we “ eat the Flesh ” 62 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT and “ drink the Blood 99 of the Son of man. This explains St. Paul’s language, when he says, “ I determined not to know anything among yon, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified 99 (1 Cor. ii. 2). “ God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ 99 (Gal. vi. 14) ; “ The preaching of the Cross is to them that perish fool- ishness ; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God 39 (1 Cor. i. 18). The death of Christ upon the Cross of Calvary is the central article of our belief ; and the sacramental commemoration of that stupendous event is the central act of our worship. But before we pass on to consider the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, we will briefly notice our Lord’s closing remarks in this discourse addressed to the multitude : “ He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him . As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father : so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that Bread which came down from Heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead : he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever” (ver. 56-58). The union between Christ and the recipient of His Flesh and Blood is complete. This is clearly ex- pressed by St. Paul, when he says, “ I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in OF TEE LORD'S SUPPER. 63 the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. ii. 20). The same truth is conveyed in other words by our Lord Himself, when He compares Himself to a vine, of which His disciples are the branches : “ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you” (John xv. 1-10). And St. John elsewhere informs us, that “he that Jceepeth God’s commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him ; and hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us” (1 John iii. 24). Also, “ If we love one another , God dwelleth in us ; ” and, “ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God , God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John iv. 12, 15). These quotations are sufficient to indicate the signs of union with Christ, which are, — confession of Him before men as the Son of God , observance of His injunctions , and especially love of the brethren . Pood, when it is received and properly digested, becomes assimilated by secret processes to the various portions of our physical system, and enters into union with them. It does not form a series of excrescences by accretion ; but it becomes intimately associated with the structure, causing by insensible 64 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT degrees what we only gradually discern as growth. The old structure is gradually and insensibly re- moved, and the new takes its place. So is it, to a great extent, when the Flesh and Blood of Christ enter, by His Spirit, into union with our hearts. There is an entire (though gradual) renewal of our nature. Our religion is not a mere addition. “ Old things pass away, and, behold, all things become new” (2 Cor. v. 17). As we increase in the know- ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we daily “grow in grace” (2 Peter iii. 18). We “go from strength to strength” (Psa. Ixxxiv. 7); and finally become “ conformed to the image of Christ ” (Bom. viii. 29); or, to change the metaphor slightly, “ with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. iii. 18). Such being the case, — the words and acts of Christ constituting the life-giving food which came down from Heaven, we may say, in the language of St. Peter (1 Ep. ii. 2), “as new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word , that ye may grow thereby.” And since the death and resurrection of Christ are the most important acts which enter into the composition of this heavenly food, let them be the objects of your closest study. They formed the subject of the Pentecostal sermon which St. Peter preached in the hearing of the very OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. G£ persons who had crucified our Lord : “ Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know : Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. And (inasmuch as this wondrous power of the Holy Ghost, which ye now perceive, has been shed upon us in accordance with His express promise), let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts ii. 22-36). But these objects of our faith are of such para- mount importance, and so nearly concern our eternal interests, that our merciful High Priest has not left us without special witness of this His precious death and blood-shedding. For, “to the end that we should alway remember the exceeding great love of our Master, and only Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by His precious blood-shedding He hath obtained to us ; He hath instituted and ordained holy mysteries, as pledges of His love, and for a continual remem- brance of His death, to our great and endless com- fort” (Com. Exh. 3). F 66 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPTER III. THE INSTITUTION OF THE SACKAMENT, TIME, PLACE, ETC. “JESUS TOOK BKEAD." We will now therefore enter upon a consideration of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, which we find recorded in each of the three first evangelists (Matt. xxvi. ; Mark xiv. ; Luke xxii). We find, as regards time and place, that the Lord's Supper was ordained “on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover" (Mark xiv. 12), and “in a large upper room furnished and prepared " in Jeru- salem (Mark xiv. 15, 16). Peter and John have followed “ a man bearing a pitcher of water " into this miraculously obtained guest-chamber, and have also “ made ready the passover " in compliance with Christ's command (Luke xxii. 8 — 13). By referring to the record of the institution of the Passover, which we have in the xiith chapter of the book of Exodus, we find the command thus given : “ In the first month (it was made first, by reason of the very event commemorated in this feast, ver. 2), on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day at even" (ver. 18). And with regard to the OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 67 lamb whose blood was to act as a protective sign, “ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year : ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats : and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month : and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening ” (or, as it is in the margin, between the two evenings ), ver. 5, 6. Now it is of importance, whilst we are discussing the character of the Lord^s Supper, to recollect that Christ is “ our Passover ” (1 Cor. v. 7). He is “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world ” (John i. 29) ; and we are redeemed “ with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot ” (1 Pet. i. 19). And to shew how the types and shadows of the old cove- nant meet and find their counterpart in Him, behold, “ it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour ” when Pilate “ said unto the Jews, Be- hold your King ! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them. Shall I crucify your King ? The chief priests answered. We have no king but Caesar. Then de- livered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified . And they took Jesus and led Him away ” (John xix. 14—16). It was on the evening preceding the day of His crucifixion, that Christ instituted the Blessed Sacra- f 2 6,8 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT ment of His Body and Blood. u And wlien the hour was come (that is, the hour for commencing the feast of unleavened bread, as mentioned above), He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer : for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke xxii. 14-16). The feast progresses. The usual cup (probably the “ cup of salvation,” referred to by the Psalmist, Psa. cxvi. 18) is passed round, our Lord giving thanks, and saying, “ Take this, and divide it among yourselves : for I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come” (Luke xxii. 17, 18). And that painful con- versation takes place regarding the betrayal, when all the disciples say, “ Lord, is it I ?” and Christ points out the betrayer, in Judas Iscariot, by giving him “ a sop when He had dipped it ” (John xiii. 26). There is some doubt as to whether Judas was pre- sent when the Blessed Sacrament was ordained. From St. Luke’s account we might possibly gather that he was present, because in the paragraph next following that in which the institution is recorded, our Lord is described as saying, “ But behold the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table ” (Luke xxii. 21). On looking a little farther OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 69 on however, (ver. 23) we find that it was this very statement which led the disciples to “ inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing/* — the inquiry, which by the two first evan- gelists is placed quite early in the narrative. Be- sides, there is the fact, that Christ gave J udas a sop (that is, a morsel which He dipped and presented as a mark of distinguishing favour), and that imme- diately afterwards Judas went out, Christ having said unto him, “ That thou doest, do quickly ” (Johnxiii. 26 — 30). Now we cannot doubt, that this giving of the sop formed part of the ordinary feast, which ended as the Lord’s Supper began. I am aware that our English version of John xiii. 2, would lead us naturally to suppose, that the supper was ended prior to the occurrence of the incidents which are recorded in the verses following. But on examina- tion of the original, I find that these incidents are described as taking place rather when supper had begun , Sehrvov yevopzvov. Besides which, we are expressly informed further on, that Jesus “ riseth from supper” Ik tov Scnrvoi/, that is, from what was at the time going on. The balance of argument, therefore, rather favours the belief, that Judas was not of the number of those who partook of the Com- munion of the Body and Blood of Christ. He had received the distinguishing morsel from his Lord’s hands, and he went out , to fulfil the prophecy of old. 70 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT which had said, “ He which did eat of My bread hath lifted up his heel against Me” (Psa. xli. 9). We must remember that St. Matthew and St. John were eye-witnesses of that which transpired on this occa- sion, and that St. Mark probably wrote at the dicta- tion of St. Peter, who also was an eye-witness and participator in the scene recorded ; but that St. Luke, though he had “ perfect understanding of all things from the very first,” wrote, humanly speaking, at second hand, or as he himself informs us, “ even as they delivered them unto us, which from the begin- ning were eye-witnesses, and ministers of the word ” (Luke i. 1 — 4) . If, therefore, in any matter regarding time or place, St. Luke should seem to differ from the other evangelists, we are justified, I think, in making our interpretation of his account give way to their clear and united declaration. If we may judge from St. Joints account of the supper at which the Blessed Sacrament was insti- tuted (for though he omits to mention the Blessed Sacrament itself, he fills up the narrative in many other particulars), it was before the incident which we have just now alluded to, that our Lord rose from the table, and “ began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded.” And this in all probability was in conse- quence of the strife, which, as St. Luke mentions, arose among the apostles, as to “ which of them OF THE LOHHS SUPPER . 71 should be accounted the greatest.” Our Lord took this opportunity of shewing them how they might be accounted truly great : “ If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's feet •” and, “ He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve” (Luke xxii. 24, &c.; John xiii. 3 — 17). When Judas Iscariot had gone out, Jesus said, “ Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glori- fied in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me : and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come ; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John xiii. 31 — 35). Such are the thoughts with which our Blessed Lord sought to inspire His disciples on the occasion of His institut- ing that Feast which should be typical, amongst other things, of the Communion of Saints. It mat- ters little, whether the words quoted preceded, or on the contrary followed, the Blessed Sacrament. They are at least closely related to it, and the knowledge of that fact is sufficient for our present purpose. 72 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT On a review of the circumstances immediately preceding the institution of the Blessed Sacrament,, we first of all find our Lord intimating the speedy arrival of the kingdom of which He had so often spoken : this was to be the last passover He would eat, this was to be the last cup He would circulate, prior to the coming of the kingdom of God (Luke xxii. 15 — 18). Upon this disclosure being made, the disciples, still ignorant apparently of the nature of that kingdom, strive among themselves as to which of them will be accounted the greatest. Our Lord then rises from supper, being doubtless grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and shews them, by an act of the deepest humility, how and in what kind of behaviour true greatness manifests itself. He brings down their high thoughts and their proud notions to the level of ordinary human existence; and further to inspire them with a spirit of self-abase- ment, when He has returned to His seat at the supper- table He reveals to their wonder-stricken minds the fact, that there is a traitor in their midst. This has its due effect, at least for a time ; for their tone of confidence in their own devotedness is greatly lowered, and they all cry out, “ Lord, is it I V y Our Blessed Saviour refrains from openly denounc- ing the betrayer, but points him out to the apostle who is leaning on His bosom, saying, “ He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it.” OF TI1E LORD'S SUPPER . 73 No one else is aware of this, — except probably St. Peter, in compliance with whose wish, expressed by signal to St. John, the secret seems to have been thus divulged ; but we shall see how little good the knowledge does him, and how spiritual pride returns upon him in full force, when such a wholesome doubt of his own faithfulness is removed. The apostles generally, I say, were in the dark respecting the sign by which the traitor should be known ; and therefore, when Jesus gives the sop to Judas Iscariot, saying, “That thou doest, do quickly ” and when Judas goes out, convinced that his vile plot is no secret to Him with whom he has to do (for he had said, “Master, is it I ?” and Jesus had answered, “ Thou hast said/' Matt. xxvi. 25), many of the dis- ciples think, that as Judas has been entrusted with the common purse, he is now gone on some com- mission connected with that office, such as to buy provisions against the feast, or to give alms to the poor. They are yet left in doubt as to which of their number is to prove so base ; and thus are their thoughts of self-distrust kept up to the last, and our Lord is enabled to exhibit His new law of love with the greater effect. A spirit of deep self-abasement, then, as evinced by a tender regard for the honour and welfare of others, and especially for the honour of our Master and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the proper preparative 74 THE BLESSED SACK AMENT to a participation in the holy mysteries of the Blessed Sacrament. It is of importance, in considering the institution of the Lord's Supper, that we be as correctly in- structed as possible with regard to the form of words, which Christ used at the time. I will therefore place the three distinct records of it which we have, side by side. St. Matthew's account is as follows: — “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said. Take, eat ; this is My Body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying. Drink ye all of it ; for this is My Blood of the New Testa- ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom " (Matt. xxvi. 26 — 29). St. Mark's account is the following : — “ And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said. Take, eat ; this is My Body. And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them : and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is My Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many. Yei*ily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 75 I drink it new in the kingdom of God ” (Mark xiv. 22—25). St. Luke’s account is much shorter: “And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying. This is My Body which is given for you : this do in remembrance of Me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in My Blood , which is shed for you” (Luke xxii. 19, 20). The first thing probably that strikes our attention is the fact, that our Lord’s determination with regard to the fruit of the vine, which, according to St. Matthew and St. Mark, is announced after the administration of the Sacramental cup, forms no part of the Sacramental declaration as given by St. Luke, but is made known, as we find on examining the context, before the Sacrament begins, that is, whilst the “ cup” ordinarily used in the feast is pass- ing round. Now I do not think that this is a matter which need disturb our minds ; and it certainly is not of sufficient importance to detain us at this time. It is quite possible that our Blessed Saviour made the declaration on both occasions. At any rate, such a supposition is far more likely, than that St. Luke should break up his account of the presenta- tion of the Sacramental cup into two parts, intro- ducing the paten between. The bread is the first to be presented, and then the wine, according to 76 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT the two first evangelists ; not the wine and then the bread, as would appear to be the case, were we to believe, that the first “ cup ” mentioned by St. Luke was the Sacramental cup. The words, “ Take this, and divide it among yourselves,” used in re- ference to that first cup, are not to be regarded as having any reference to the Holy Communion. They are simply the expression of our Lord^s refusal to partake Himself of the fruit of the vine on this the eve of His crucifixion, when He had a “ cup ” to drink of, of which His disciples could know but little,— the cup of the fierceness of God^s anger. This cup, blessed be His name. He would, for our sakes, drain to the very dregs : “ The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John xviii. 11). But He would not take anything to blunt or deaden the poignancy of the anguish which He had to endure. It had been said, “ Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts; let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more” (Prov. xxxi. 6, 7). But that which our Blessed Lord dispensed to others, He denied to Himself. The disciples were to “divide among themselves,” not only their own, but His share also of the cup that “ maketh glad the heart of man ; ” for no exhilarating draught, nor any carnal aid whatever, should be allowed to detract one iota from OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 77 the magnificence of the victory, which He sought to obtain that night and the coming day. Confining ourselves, then, to a consideration of what occurred at the ordinance itself, we observe in the first place, that the Sacrament was joined on to the ordinary feast without any interval of time what- ever: “As they were eating , Jesus took bread.” There was no ceremony of introduction : there was nothing to indicate that what was transpiring should be regarded as of a miraculous nature. But the fact, that the ordinance was allowed, as we see, to form part of the feast, and was introduced indeed as its crowning act, does indicate most unmistakeably, I imagine, that the Sacrament and the feast are in purpose and intention very closely related to one another. Nor do I think that we shall err, in re- garding the Sacrament of the Lord^s Supper as having superseded the feast of unleavened bread, just as Baptism has purposely superseded the rite of circumcision. There is a strong analogy between the two cases. Bor as Baptism answers to cir- cumcision in being the sign and seal of a covenant ; so does the Lord^s Supper answer to the feast of unleavened bread in being the commemoration of a deliverance. In both cases, moreover, the repre- sentative of what is spiritual and everlasting takes the place of the representative of what is only carnal and temporal. And whereas circumcision 78 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT and the feast of unleavened bread were badges of a single nation, both Sacraments under the new covenant are open to all the world. This relation subsisting between the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and the feast at which it was instituted, is further evidenced by the fact that our Lord selected as one of the elements a portion of the bread provided for the feast : “ As they were eating, Jesus took bread In the original of St. Matthew, it is, “ took the bread and we may be quite sure that this was unleavened , for the Law was most stringent regarding the character of the bread eaten at this season : “ Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread ; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses ; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel” (Exod. xii. 15 , 19 , 20 ). We must also bear in mind that when the Sacra- ment of the Lord’s Supper was ordained, the event which it was intended to commemorate was yet in the future. Now, what need was there to anticipate matters in this way, when our Lord would appear to His disciples on several occasions subsequent to the event ? The Sacrament of Baptism was not formally instituted until the very eve of our Lord’s ascension. What reason then could there be for the apparently premature appointment of the other Sacrament ? OF THE LORD’S SUPPER . 79 We may be positively sure of one thing, that the hour selected for its institution is of great signifi- cance. In fact, there cannot be a reasonable doubt, that the Supper of our Lord was introduced at this particular time, with the distinct purpose of intimating, that it was to be commemorative of a deliverance, which in magnitude and importance should entirely swallow up the deliverance com- memorated by the feast, though that had been the greatest the Israelites had yet known. The deliverance of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage was clearly typical of the deliver- ance of mankind at large from the yet more galling thraldom of sin. The simple fact that Christ is called “ our Passover ” is sufficient to indicate this ; and the analogy between the two cases is surely patent to every student of the Word of God. Now, we may be equally certain, that the rites comme- morative of the two deliverances stand in much the same relation, namely, of type and antitype ; and therefore we may hope, by examining into the nature and intention of the feast of unleavened bread, to arrive at an approximately correct knowledge of the nature and intention of the Lord’s Supper. What, then, was signified by the “ unleavened” bread ? Leaven is frequently used in Scripture to denote sin , which is peculiarly of a zymotic character, spreading by the partial assimilation of everything 80 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT that comes within the range of its influence to its own nature, according to St. Pauks observation, “ A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” But though the Apostle has undoubtedly placed upon the feast of unleavened bread, a construction of this kind, that is, in which the analogy between sin and leaven is brought prominently forward, saying, “Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. v. 8) ; and though there may have been in the feast a distant allusion also to the sinlessness of Christ, who should arise to procure the deliverance which was antitypical of that which the feast commemo- rated ; yet neither of these appears to have formed the main idea of the feast. On examining the narrative of the escape of the children of Israel from Egypt, we read as follows : “ The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading- troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel journeyed from Eameses to Succoth. And they baked un- leavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because they luere thrust out of Egypt , and could not tarry , neither had they prepared for themselves any victuals” (Exod. xii. 34 — 39). It was specially in commemora- tion of this fact, that the feast was ordained, as may OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 81 be gathered from the passage which I shall now quote from the book of Deuteronomy (xvi. 3): “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with the passover; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction ; for thou earnest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste : that thou mayest re- member the day when thou earnest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.” The immi- nence of their danger, and the narrowness of their escape, are evidently the chief subjects which the Israelites were to call to mind. They were to eat the bread of affliction , that is, they were to “ humble themselves under the mighty hand of God,” and to remember that it was not by their own power that they were delivered. The remembrance that they “ were bondmen in the land of Egypt,” and that “ the Lord their God redeemed them, and brought them out thence, through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm,” was to be brought forcibly to their minds. Deep self-abasement, in fact, and heartfelt gratitude to God, were the feelings naturally induced in the minds of the Israelites, whenever they paid due attention to the feast of unleavened bread. On turning, therefore, to the Lord’s Supper, and viewing it in its commemorative aspect (which is the only aspect now concerned), we discover that it is intended to convey to our minds a notion of the straits (if I may so speak), to which our loving G 82 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Father was put, in effecting our salvation from sin and Satan. In eating the emblem of Christ's Body, we do indeed eat the bread of affliction : “ with His stripes we are healed." God's Only-begotten Son “ took our nature upon Him, that He might taste death for every man" (Heb. ii. 9). By no less a sacrifice could the justice of a God of infinite love be satisfied ; for to believe otherwise, is to believe the Almighty Ruler of the universe to be guilty of the most wanton cruelty. From the foundation of the world, God's Own, His Only-begotten Son, was appointed to death, even the death of the Cross, that we through Him might have hope. And the feelings which should be uppermost in our minds, as we partake of the Blessed Sacrament which com- memorates the fulfilment of this purpose, are, abject poverty of spirit at thought of our own guilt and helplessness, intense abhorrence of the sins which caused such humiliation and suffering, and profound and adoring gratitude to our compassionate Re- deemer, who so meekly bore that suffering, that we might go free. The Lord's Supper is doubtless a feast of rejoicing, inasmuch as it commemorates a deliverance the most complete and splendid on record; but it is particularly calculated to suppress all self-assertion on our part. There is without doubt great cause for glorying, but it is only in the Lord . And this brings OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 83 us to consider tlie special character of the Lord’s Supper, viewed still in its commemorative aspect, namely, that it is ordained to commemorate Christ , according to our Saviour’s own injunction, “ This do in remembrance of Me.” The deliverance is great and glorious, but the Deliverer is to be the special object of our contemplation. We cannot fail to see in this fact a most powerful argument in favour of the doctrine of Christ’s Divinity. A mere creature, if goody could not demand such devotion as is herein implied. But that no man has ever surpassed our Blessed Saviour in goodness, is placed beyond a doubt, when we consider that He stands alone in the perfect mastery He maintained over sin and suffering, and that no other has ever appeared so eminently gifted with the power and wisdom which belong only to God. The Almighty never thus favoured a hypocrite; the Ruler of the universe never thus approved “ by mighty signs and wonders ” an im- postor . Yet must Jesus of Nazareth have been both, if as a mere creature He made this demand upon the affections of His followers. His declaration with regard to His forerunner is “ Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matt, xi, 11). But John never arrogated to himself such self-importance as is implied in this injunction of Christ: Jo hn never asserted any right to the perpetual remembrance of a 2 84 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT his followers. On the contrary, he was for ever declaring his own insignificance beside the glorious Being who should come after him. Are we then to consider that our Blessed Eedeemer is not “the meek and lowly One/* when compared with St. John the Baptist ? By no means. Yet, if we regard them as equal in nature, we can scarcely withhold the palm from St. John, in respect of self-abnegation, that is, the absence of self-assertion. Christ Jesus demands to be uppermost in our thoughts ; and, if He be not God, we must regard Him as ordaining, that in one of the chief rites of our religion we should pay especial honour to a creature. “This do in remembrance of Me.** The words are un- mistakeable. Our Lord transformed the most sacred feast of the Israelites, in which they com- memorated a deliverance which God had effected, into a Sacrament in which, as the central act of their worship, His disciples should commemorate a deliverance which He Himself would effect ; and now He even goes the length of bidding them fix the vague thoughts which they had of God in that feast, upon His own Person : “ This do in remembrance of Me.** Could presumption be greater, if He were not God Himself. Certainly not. Therefore know- ing Him who is the Truth, we behold in these words an assertion of His own Divinity shining forth as if written with a sunbeam. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER 85 We shall presently be able to determine the par- ticular features of our Lord's character, and the special acts of His official existence, which we are called upon to remember in the Blessed Sacrament. But it is almost impossible to proceed further in our examination of the ordinance, without considering the Lord's Supper in its other aspect, namely, as an effectual vehicle of grace to those who receive it in faith. We shall still, of course, have to regard it in its commemorative aspect as well ; but the two will henceforth be merged in one : the ideas of remem- brance and reception will become united. The foregoing remarks, upon the manifest decla- ration of His Divinity to which our Lord gave utterance at the institution of the Sacrament, will have prepared our minds for the following interesting deductions, which are extracted from the Bampton Lectures for 1866, “ On our Lord's Divinity," by the Rev. H. Parry Liddon : — “That depreciation of the Sacraments has led with general consistency to depreciation of our Lord's Eternal Person is a simple matter of history. True, there have been and are believers in our Lord's Divinity who deny the realities of sacramental grace. But experience appears to shew that their position is only a transitional one . Many of the most considerable Socinian congregations in England were founded by the Presbyterians who fell 86 THE BLESSED SACRA 31 ENT away from the Church in the seventeenth century. The restless mind of man cannot but at last push its principle to the real limit of its application, even although centuries should intervene between the premiss and the conclusion. Imagine that the Sacraments are only picturesque memorials of an absent Christ, and the mind is in a fair way to believe that the Christ who is thus commemorated as absent by a barren ceremony is Himself only and purely human. Certainly if Christ were not Divine, the efficacy of Sacraments as channels of graces that flow from His Manhood would be the wildest of fancies. Certainly if Sacraments are not thus channels of His grace, it is difficult to shew that they have any rightful place in a dispensation, from which the dead forms and profitless shadows of the synagogue have been banished, and where all that is authorized is instinct with the power of a heavenly life. The legitimacy of the Sacraments implies their real efficacy : their efficacy points to the God- head of their Founder. Instead of .only reviving the thought of a distant past, they quicken all the powers of the Christian by union with a present and living Saviour; they assure us that Jesus of Nazareth is to us at this moment what He was to His first disciples eighteen centuries ago ; they make us know and feel that He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, unchanging in His human tenderness. OF THE LOHHS SUP PE a. 87 because Himself the Unchanging God. It is the doctrine of Christ's Divinity to which they point, and which in turn irradiates the perpetuity and the reality of their power." (Lect. viii. Part ii. y.) I would invite my readers to reperuse this quo- tation and thoroughly to digest it, for it conveys ideas which are of great service in discussing the present question ; and if they desire a feast of fat things, let them read the whole volume of lectures from which it is extracted : without a doubt they will find therein the noblest vindication of the doc- trine of Christ's Divinity that has been delivered in modern times; the ideas are magnificent, the language is heavenly. 88 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPTER 1Y. “ Christ blessed the bread, and gave thanks.” That the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is an effectual means of grace to all such as receive it in faith, is a matter beyond dispute ; for to regard it otherwise, is to believe that Christ has ordained memorials of Himself which are of no manner of use whatever to His disciples. It remains for us, however, to inquire in what respects and to what extent this efficacy is allowed by Holy Writ. We shall find that it is closely connected with the individual appropria- tion by believers of the benefits derived from Christ's vicarious atonement. But let us proceed with our examination of the records which describe the institution of the Sacrament. “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and Messed it.” So say St. Matthew and St. Mark ; St. Luke makes use of a somewhat different ex- pression: “He took bread, and gave thanks ;” and St. Paul similarly says, “ The Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks , He brake it” (1 Cor. xi. 23, 24). To this latter form of expression the OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 89 Church of England adheres in the Prayer of Con- secration; and from the Greek word translated giving thanks , is derived the title of Eucharist, which the Supper sometimes bears. But whatever form of words is adopted, the idea is clearly the same, namely, that of appropriation and appointment to some distinct service of a high and holy nature. Our Lord has taken a portion of the bread which had been set apart for the most sacred feast of the Israelites, and He now proceeds to elevate it to a yet higher dignity : He gives thanks and blesses it . The feast has already begun (for it was “ as they were eating , Jesus took bread ”) ; so that this is not a mere anteprandial blessing, nor even a mere festal blessing. It is of far greater consequence. Not only does it serve to distinguish the Sacrament from the feast, as the fact of Christ's making use of the un- leavened bread had served to connect them ; but it also intimates the great importance of the rite which was about to be inaugurated, and even implies the infusion, or at least transference, of some hidden power. The act of blessing or thanksgiving is one with which our Lord prefaced the two miracles by which He fed the multitudes (Matt. xiv. 19; xv. 36) ; and before raising Lazarus from the dead, He “lifted His eyes to heaven, and said. Father, I thank Thee , that Thou hast heard Me” (John xi. 41). But there 90 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT is no good reason to suppose, simply on this account, that a miracle, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, was performed when the Sacrament was insti- tuted ; and there are many facts to prove the contrary, as we shall see presently. This act of blessing was customary, under certain circumstances, before a sacrifice or feast. Thus, when Saul and his servant went to seek Samuel, the young maiden who directed them to him said, “ As soon as ye be come into the city ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat : for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice , and afterwards they eat that be bidden'* (1 Sam. ix. 13). But there seems to have been no such special blessing pronounced over victims placed upon the altar of the tabernacle. An offering placed upon this altar became sanctified in the very act : “ Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy** (Exod. xxix. 37). This is a fact to which our Lord refers (Matt, xxiii. 19). Consequently we do not read of any form of words for blessing sacri- fices. The tabernacle (or temple) and its contents, which were to be of permanent use, as distinct from the sacrificial victim whose service terminated with the single occasion, were consecrated or sanctified by some special act , such as anointing with oil or sprinkling with blood ; and this mode extended even to the consecration of the priests. But in every OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 91 case, and this is the chief point to which I desire to call attention, the consecration was intended to pro- duce a certain effect upon the minds of the people, rather than upon the substance of the things con- secrated. The consecrated materials underwent no change, nor did the things which touched them. But a change was to ensue in the treatment they received: they were thenceforth set apart for a particular purpose ; they were to be regarded as sanctified, or separated from other like materials, themselves ; and it was ordained that whatever came in contact with them should be regarded as sanctified or set apart as well : “ Thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy : whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy ” (Exod. xxx. 22 — 29). And as the effect produced by this rite of consecration was directed to the minds of the people, so the blessing which was at any time pronounced over a sacrifice or feast found its object only in the people's hearts . No blessing attached to the sacrifice itself, much less was any change effected in its substance. The peculiar blessing which it conveyed to the people, it conveyed to their hearts through the medium of the organs of the senses and the mind : only as an ordinary article of food, did it operate by means of the organs of digestion . Their minds were to derive instruction, and .their hearts sustenance, from a due observance of the various rites and ceremonies, 92 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT which all had a hidden meaning. And consequently we find, that in the tabernacle service, though there was no special blessing bestowed upon the sacrificial victim, the priest expressly blessed the people, whilst the sacrifice was being offered up (Lev. ix. 22 — 24), a proper form of words being provided for the purpose (Numb. vi. 22 — 26). The rites and ceremonies of the tabernacle were all types and shadows ; and the reception by the people of the one portion of a sacrifice, which they ate, was equally a type and shadow with the burning upon the altar of the other portion. The two por- tions did not materially differ in character, nor did the peculiar benefits derived from that which was received as food, necessarily exceed those which flowed from the portion consumed by fire ; since in either case the extent of the blessing depended upon the effect produced in the mind and heart of the worshipper, through the medium of the senses . But if at any time the blessing occasioned by the reception of the sacrifice as food proved greater than that occasioned by its consumption upon the altar, the advantage (supposing other things to be equal) originated in the fact, that the mind of the wor- shipper was affected through a greater number of the senses, and that the idea was raised of a more intimate and individual participation in the benefits of the offering: it did not arise from any mere OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 93 contact of the consecrated substance with the wor- shipper's body. The contrary belief favours super- stition, besides being opposed to Scripture, which speaks as follows : — “They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it ; but the Lord accepteth them not ; now will He remember their iniquity, and visit their sins : they shall return to Egypt ; for Israel hath forgotten his Maker" (Hos. viii. 13, 14). Doubtless, there are certain passages which seem at first sight to uphold the doctrine of sanctification by contact with the sacrifice ; such as, “ It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire : every one that toucheth them shall be holy” (Lev. vi. 18). But though passages such as this, taken by themselves, may be interpreted as signifying either a pre-cedent, or a consequent, holiness, we find on examination of the context, that the former mode of interpretation is the only one tenable (in regard at least to persons , — with inanimate things it may be different, Lev. vi. 2 7) : None shall touch the flesh of the offering but such as are holy at the time ; and in making this statement we are further justified by such passages as the follow- ing : “ Everyone that is clean in thy house shall eat of it" (Numb, xviii. 11; see also Lev. xxii. 2 — 13).* * The law as regards the Passover was not quite so stringent in this respect : its stringency tended in another direction, the observance 94 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT The Israelites had several feasts; but the chief altar-sacrifice of which the people, as distinct from the priests, partook, was the peace-offering for thanksgiving . The priests, being allowed no other means of subsistence, lived upon the offerings brought to the altar, certain parts being apportioned to them by statute. Not for their own good merely, however, did they receive these offerings. It was intended in certain instances to produce a specific effect upon the state of the people before God ; thus, Moses chides Aaron and his sons in the following words : “ Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord” (Lev. x. 1 7) . Still, in all that concerned atonement the people took no active part, beyond bringing their offerings, and in some cases laying their hand upon the victim's head in sign of his vicarious office. They did not share in the burnt- offering, nor in the sin-offering, nor in the trespass-offering. But of the peace- offering for thanksgiving the people partook. The fat of the victim was burnt on the altar, the flesh was eaten by those presenting it, according to the ordinance : “ He shall offer thereof his offering, even of the feast seeming to have been imperative upon almost every one (Numb. ix. 10—13). OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 95 an offering made by fire unto the Lord ; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards ; and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, it shall he take away ; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar : it is the food of the offer- ing made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the Lord’s” (Lev. iii. 14 — 16). “ And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered : he shall not leave any of it until the morning” (Lev. vii. 15). Even in this sacrifice, however, there was the sym- bolical sprinkling of blood, without which there could be no acceptance : “ The priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord” (Lev. iii. 2 ; xvii. 6). Which shews that even our holiest deeds have the taint of sin, and need to be repented of. It was, in all probability, a sacrifice of thanks- giving, that Samuel was about to bless, on the occasion referred to above ; and the need for the special blessing may have arisen from the fact, that the worshippers were at that time without a proper altar on which to offer the sacrifice; for “the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until the days of Solomon” (1 Kings iii. 2). 96 TEE BLESSED SACRAMENT Now, all the sacrifices centre in Christ. In the great atonement He alone was actually engaged : all the labours of all mankind could avail nothing towards procuring the remission of sin, since they lacked the chief quality requisite, namely, that they should be “without blemish.” Christ is not only the Lamb of God given for the sins of the world, but He is also the High-priest by whom the sacrifice has been offered up : in both senses He has made atonement for us. The burnt-offering, therefore, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering, ter- minated with the great Sacrifice on Calvary. The death of Christ upon the Cross was “ a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world and no amount of labour or penance on our part could add to its efficacy. But there is still an offering in which the disciples of Jesus can and do engage : they “ sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing” (Psa. cvii. 22). For thus says the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (ch. xiii. 12 — 16) : “Jesus, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the gate, bear- ing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. OF THE LOR HS SUP HER. 97 But to do good and to communicate forget not : for with such sacrifices Grod is well pleased.” That the Lord's Supper was intended to be a special occasion on which we should offer up this sacrifice of praise, that it was intended to be a feast of rejoicing, filling much the same place in the Christian economy, that the peace-offering did in the old Jewish system, is forcibly intimated by the fact, that Jesus gave thcmks at its institution. And if we examine the Communion Service of the Church of England, we shall see that this view is accepted by her; for a very large proportion of it indeed consists of praise and thanksgiving. In the very act of administering the Sacrament, the Minister is directed to say, “ Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on Him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving ” — “ Drink this in remembrance that Christ's Blood was shed for thee, and be thankful” And in a prayer occurring sub- sequently, it is expressly called, “ Our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.” This indicates what the Lord's Supper is, and what it is not. It is not a sacrifice of atonement, but it is a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It is a peace- offering , that is, the offering not so much of those who are seeking peace, as of those who have already found it and are thankful. Doubtless, “ mercy and peace are multiplied” to thosa who duly partake of H 98 THE BLESSED SACK AMENT the Sacrament; but it is, strictly speaking, the offering of those who are already reconciled to God by faith in the great atoning Sacrifice. The faith which those exercise who duly approach the Table of the Lord is in an accomplished fact, not in any redemptive event to transpire there and then. Their redemption is a matter of history, belonging to the past, that is, dating from the crucifixion on Calvary; and their personal salvation has also been secured by a complete reliance upon the Crucified. Christ is not offered up afresh to the Father each time the bread is broken and the wine poured out ; for “ by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (vide Heb. x. 10 — 18). The utmost that is done of that kind in the Sacrament is to remind God of the death of His Son (Isa. xli. 21), our Saviour having possibly had regard to the necessity for so doing, when He said, “ This do in remembrance of Me.” The atoning element is abstracted from the sacrifice, since there is no longer any victim slain ; and creatures capable of suffering have given place in the symbolical offering to inani- mate bread and wine. True, the Minister, when placing his hands upon the elements, though we view him chiefly as blessing them for our spiritual benefit, may yet, in one sense, be regarded as our representative in the matter, performing this cere- mony in our name (vide Lev. iii. 2), in token that OF THE LOB HS SUPPER. 99 the bread and wine are presented, exhibited, or spread forth, by us, in thankful remembrance of Christ's death, as regards which they form a sym- bolical thank-offering; and in token also, that we look for acceptance simply and solely through the vicarious sacrifice of our Lord's precious Body and Blood, of which the bread and wine are the appro- priate memorials. But Jesus Himself is the sacer- dotal Priest who gains us acceptance by the sprinkling of blood upon the altar (Lev. iii. 2) : it is He who intercedes with the Father for us before the throne, presenting to His constant gaze the actual marks or signs of that Body broken, and of that Blood shed, for the sins of the world, upon the Cross. It is through Christ, in fact, that our thank-offering is presented; for though strange, it is nevertheless true, that even our praise and thanksgiviug may not be offered to God but through our Crucified Re- deemer. It is only by Christ Jesus that we can glorify God at all; and the sprinkling of His Blood is needful for our holiest deeds : without it, the heart- iest praise and the deepest gratitude will fail to gain acceptance. “ By Him therefore let us offer the sacri- ficeof praise to God continually" (Heb. xiii. 15): “Unto God be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus through- out all ages, world without end." (Eph. iii. 21.) The chief intention of the Sacrament, however, is to produce a definite effect upon the minds and h 2 100 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT hearts of those who communicate. The sacrifice is not consumed by fire in token of its belonging to God alone, as was the burnt-offering; nor is it appropriated by our High Priest to make atonement for us, as was the sin-offering; but it is for the spiritual sustenance of those who present it. And for this reason a blessing upon it is sought. As we have before remarked, the elements are not intended to affect the recipients as material substances, but as signs or symbols : in other words, their virtue lies, not in their substantial, but in their symbolical character. This will appear more fully presently, but I men- tion it now, because it indicates the nature of the blessing which is imparted to the Sacramental ele- ments at the Prayer of Consecration. Since the virtue of the Sacrament lies not in the substance of that which is bodily eaten, it is clear that no change of substance, or of substantial attributes, can be intended. The bread and wine are sanctified, or set apart, for a sacred purpose, and it is no doubt sacrilege to use them subsequently for any other purpose less sacred ; but here, in so far as the sub- stance of the elements is concerned, the blessing terminates. They henceforth justly obtain a certain degree of respect from those who are aware of and appreciate their character as consecrated ; but other- wise their substances remain unchanged. It is in OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 101 tlieir symbolical aspect that they are to be regarded as specially blessed. They set forth the death of Christ, and represent the benefits which are to be derived therefrom, in such a manner that those who receive the bread and wine in faith, as certainly receive also the Body and Blood of Christ and all things of a saving nature pertaining thereto. The bread and wine convey these benefits to the heart of the communicant through the enlightened mind and senses, not through the organs of physical digestion, into contact with which they are brought merely to afford a pledge and assurance of the like bestowal and still more intimate reception of the precious Body and Blood which they represent. The outward act is, from first to last, symbolical : it is simply analogous to what takes place when we receive Christ : it is simply a parable dramatised. It has one meaning which is patent to all : and it has another meaning which only those can catch, whose eyes are enlightened to appreciate it. To this latter meaning the whole spiritual benefit of the Sacrament is attached. Consequently, we do not of necessity receive the Body and Blood of Christ, when we partake of the consecrated elements which serve to represent them ; nor is the outward act, in and of itself, productive of any spiritual good whatever. Faith on the part of the recipient is necessary : this is the grand and only connecting 102 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT ligament between the outward sign and the inward grace. If joined with, faith, the outward act of receiving the bread and wine is unfailingly attended by the holy reception to which it forms the sacred parallel. The faith required is not a superstitious credulity : we are not to imagine that there is a charm con- nected with the consecrated elements, by which the mere partaking of them is rendered efficacious ; for such superstition is no less contrary to true faith, than that which leads some misguided people to imagine, that the mere saying of a number of prayers, or the mere reading of so many chapters in the Bible, is of avail. In the central act of worship constituted by the Blessed Sacrament, it is especially necessary that we “ worship in spirit and in truth” Our hearts must be exercised ; they must be “ lifted up •” in the words of our Communion Service, we must “ lift them up unto the Lord we must follow the injunction of our Saviour, “ This do in remem- brance of Me.” We now perceive what is to be held in view as the end of the blessing : it is the excitation, by God’s Holy Spirit, of the hearts of the communicants to a due reception of the Sacrament. This statement is confirmed by the Prayer of Consecration, in which occurs the following passage, as the chief petition : “ Hear us, 0 merciful Father, we most humbly OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 103 beseech Thee; and grant that we receiving these Thy creatures of bread and wine, according to Thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of His death and passion, may be partakers of His most blessed Body and Blood." Also by the Collect preceding, in which is this petition : “ Grant us, gracious Lord, so to eat the Flesh of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink His Blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His Body, and our souls washed through His most precious Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us." I may observe in passing, that, taking these two passages together, we are enabled to discover what is the mind of the Church of England, as to the sequence of events, when we duly partake of the Blessed Sacrament. There is, (1), the reception of the elements , for so far from mention being made of any change in these, it is distinctly affirmed that we receive the “ creatures of bread and wine." There is, (2), the exercise of a lively faith , by the “remembrance of Christ's death and passion." There is, in consequence of this, (3), a parallel reception of Christ's Body and Blood. There is, (4), the cleansing of our sinful bodies by His Body, and the washing of our souls through His most precious Blood. And this is followed, (5), by an incorporation into Christ, by a living union with Him who is our life : we “evermore 104 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT dwell in Him and He in us.” Of course, a certain kind of confidence in the efficacy of the Sacrament will have preceded the first event here mentioned (the reception of the elements) ; for few persons would approach the Table of our Lord, who did not expect from the feast some kind of benefit. But such confidence does not suffice : remaining alone, it is nothing more nor less than superstition, and the participation in the Sacrament to which it leads, is reduced to a mere lifeless form. To be of any avail, it must merge in a living faith ; for it is in answer to this alone, that the heavenly food is bestowed. In fact, participation in the Sacrament is a species of Prayer. We ask God to bestow upon us the Body and Blood of His dear Son. This desire may be expressed in words, or by visible signs. In either case, we make known our wants, and seek to have them supplied; and much the same remarks apply to both kinds of petition, to the symbolical (for the form of which we have the express warrant of our Lord), no less than to the verbal. For in- stance, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them ;” and, “ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss” (Mark xi. 24 ; Jas. iv. 3 ; see also 1 John v. 14, 15). Therefore, on a review of what we have observed regarding the blessing which is pronounced over OF THE LORES SUPPER. 105 the Sacramental elements, we find (1), that though it intimates the transference of some hidden power, it does not necessarily imply the performance of any physical miracle; (2), that though it possesses some of the force of a sacrificial blessing, that over which it is pronounced is a sacrifice, not of atonement, but of thanksgiving ; (3), that though the act of blessing is one by which the elements are consecrated, it does not impart, attach, or secure any spiritual efficacy to the elements as substances, but simply as symbols; (4), that the blessing has two aspects, one towards God, inasmuch as it expresses glory and thanksgiving, and another towards man, inasmuch as it implores the divine favour and benediction ; and, (5), that the end and aim of the blessing in regard to the communicants, is the excitation, by the Holy Spirit, of their minds and hearts, — of their minds to a due appreciation of those events in our Lord's history which are symbolically set forth in the Sacrament, and of their hearts to a lively faith in Him who suffered thus on their behalf, — to be followed unfailingly by an individual reception and enjoyment of all the benefits arising from Christ's death and passion. 106 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPTER V. “ JESUS BRAKE THE BREAD.” We may now pass on to consider the next event in the institution of the Sacrament : “ Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it” The action is mentioned in each of the three records, and the same word is used to express it in all of them. This indicates that the act of breaking the bread is of considerable importance. We may hence be sure that the bread was not broken simply for dis- tribution. The very fact of the distribution neces- sarily implies that that which was distributed had undergone some process of division ; and therefore there would have been no need for specially men- tioning such process in any one of the records, much less in all three, unless the action had been possessed of a peculiar significance. It is true, that in three out of the four records of the miracle of Feeding the Five Thousand, and in both the records of the miracle of Feeding the Four Thousand, the same mention is made of our Lord breaking the bread ; and it is true, that the same evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who specially OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 107 mention this act in relation to the one class of cases, make special mention of it in regard to the other also. But this, I submit, does not militate against the argumentative soundness of the above statement. On the contrary, it simply leads us to surmise, that the act under consideration was reckoned of primary importance in each of the cases. And such, in point of fact, is the real condition of things ; for the act of breaking the bread formed a prominent feature of the miraculous feasts referred-to, no less than of the Blessed Sacrament. It was whilst the bread was being broken, that the miraculous augmentation took place. The bread increased under our Lord’s hands as He brake it ; and therefore upon this act all eyes would naturally be concentrated : under such act would lie concealed the mystery, which, baffling all human comprehension, would compel the historians who recorded the miracle, to state in simple language, “ He blessed the loaves, and brake , and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude; and they did eat, and were all filled : and there was taken up of fragments (pieces broken off) that re- mained to them, twelve baskets.” These fragments were the direct result, as the Greek word intimates, of our Lord’s act of breaking the bread, not of the negligence or wastefulness of the multitude. They were distributed to the people in superabundance : the multitude ate of them, and were filled, and yet 10S THE BLESSED SA CR AMENT had some remaining in their hands or beside them, beyond what they could at the time consume. It was these superabundant pieces which our Lord directed to be gathered together, and which, filling twelve baskets, w;ere to become a positive evidence to posterity, that a veritable miracle had been per- formed. After this, there could be no doubt, that the miracle consisted in a supernatural augmentation of the food. The mere satiety of the multitude might have been attributed to other causes; but this fact of the remaining fragments filling twelve baskets (and probably they were measured in the one basket which contained the whole five loaves at the first,) determines the nature of the miracle unmistakeably. From first to last, then, the act of breaking the bread, and the result of that act — the fragments — constitute, in regard to these miracles of Feeding, the main distinctive objects for our con- templation, and are, of necessity, taken special note of by those who record the miracles. There is nothing therefore from hence to shew, that the mention of such act in the records which we have of the institution of the Sacrament, is not equally necessary. Wherefore, — especially as we know that every word in these holy records is given by inspi- ration of God, and consequently is never without its distinct purpose, — we will again affirm, that the act of breaking the bread is a main feature of the OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 109 Sacrament, and conveys a hidden meaning of con- siderable importance. We have not far to seek for this bidden meaning. The similarity of language at the commencement of the accounts of tbe Sacrament and of the miracles of Feeding, as we have before bad reason to observe, does not necessarily imply tbat tbe Sacrament is of a miraculous nature. The act of breaking bread was productive, in tbe one case, of a physical result obviously super-natural; but no such phenomenon followed tbe act in tbe other case ; and tbe mention of this circumstance is quite sufficient to establish a fundamental distinction between tbe two. Tbe bene- fit derived from tbe Sacrament is entirely spiritual, tbe benefit derived from tbe miracles was of a phy- sical or material nature. The 1 miracles lay open to the bodily senses, tbe Sacrament is appreciable by tbe eye of faith alone. If therefore, there be any supernatural intervention during tbe administration of tbe Sacrament, it is clearly of a very different character from tbat which occurred in tbe miracles (properly so-called). We may be pretty sure, for instance, that it does not involve any change of material substance. But this will come out more clearly presently. Nevertheless, there is a somewhat close connection between those miracles of Feeding and the Blessed Sacrament. We have already shewn that what those 110 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT did physically, this does spiritually : we have shewn that one of those physical miracles prepared the way for a discourse which is intimately related to the Sacrament, and that in mystic language that miracle itself conveyed the great spiritual truth, which was afterwards to be more fully revealed, that Christ is the Bread of Life for all the world. And now we are able to point to the act of breaking , and to shew that the miracles were like the Sacrament in indi- cating the special mode in which the virtue or efficacy of Christ's mission would manifest itself. The bread became of service to the multitude only when broken by Christ. Christ became the Bread of Life to the world, only when broken on the Cross ; for we are “justified by His Blood He is “ the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rom. v. 9; Rev. xiii. 8); “He hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Pet. iii. 18); and His own words were, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me," and “ As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John xii. 82 ; iii. 14, 15). This is a most important point, the fact, I mean, that all the heavenly blessings we possess have OF TEE LORD'S SUPPER. Ill descended to us through suffering, suffering not our own, but another's, — the vicarious suffering of J esus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God. It is a truth which the Socinian refuses to admit. He denies that God in His justice ever demanded a satisfaction of this kind before bestowing pardon ; and he descants upon the enormity of crediting the God of love with any such “ cruel '' and “ blood- thirsty '' attribute. Possibly he may have some good ground for speaking thus disparagingly of the eternal justice of God, if he be allowed to leave out of sight that God provided the ransom Himself. But nothing is more manifestly absurd than to reject the Atonement, and yet receive the Sacrament. All who do so, stand convicted of the most palpable inconsistency ; for to what does the Sacrament point, if not to suffering ? What truth does it con- vey, if not that the offering of Christ's Body, and the shedding of His Blood, are the means by which alone we have been enabled to obtain the heavenly sustenance of which we stand in need ? It will be said, that the breaking of bread, and the pouring out of wine, represent the dissemination of moral truths, which strengthen and invigorate the soul. But how does the case stand, when we are assured by our Lord Himself, that on the con- trary they represent His Body and Blood ? What need could there be for directing such special 112 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT attention to His Body, mucli less to His Blood, if his mission consisted simply in teaching morality ? What sense, in short, could there be in instituting such a rite as the Blessed Sacrament, merely to enforce the reception or practical application of moral maxims ? Our Lord said, “ Do this in remem- brance of Me.” He directed attention to Himself, to His Person and work, and not merely to His words. And inasmuch as we are informed, that in this symbolical rite, besides drawing attention to the shedding of His Blood, He markedly brake the bread which was representative of His Body, we naturally conclude, that He intended the sufferings which he was about to undergo, to be the special objects of our grateful remembrance. In this opinion we are upheld by the testimony of St. Paul, who says to the Corinthians, “ I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified ” (1 Cor. ii. 2), and to the Gala- tians, “ God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. vi. 14). The sufferings of Christ were the means appointed by God for reconciling the world unto Himself : “ It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell ; and having made peace through the Blood of His Cross , by Him to reconcile all things unto Him- self ; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 113 alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death ” (Col. i. 19 — 22). And there is consummate wisdom displayed in the for- mation and development of such a scheme. It satisfies the universal sense of right : it satisfies every reasonable conception or ideal of Deity, and in proclaiming to the world how just its Maker is, affords the surest pledge of the integrity of His word, enabling us to place firm confidence in His promises, no less than to fear his judgments; for truly, even in this sense, (t All the promises of God are Tea and Amen in Christ” (2 Cor. i. 20). When we behold the God of love consigning His Only- begotten and Well-beloved Son to the Cross of Calvary, rather than allow the least sin in His creatures to pass unpunished, we may be quite sure He will not depart one iota from His word, when the time arrives for completing the gracious acts of His mercy towards us. By such a scheme He declares, as with a voice of thunder, that He “ will by no means clear the guilty,” that the penalty for sin must be endured; but at the same time He exhibits His marvellous loving-kindness, inasmuch as if was Himself that took our nature upon Him, that He might taste death for every man. (Heb. ii.) Thus, “ Mercy and truth are met together; right- eousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psa. i 114 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT lxxxv. 10). Had our Almighty Father forgiven sin gratuitously, or without having regard to an adequate satisfaction, the Devil might well consider Himself a conqueror in having procured the fall of our first parents ; for in causing the sin of those whom God would thus favour, he would have wrought havoc among the divine attributes, he would have destroyed the perfection of justice and holiness, and have made sin to be regarded as a light thing. Under such circumstances, Mercy would have become the pander to every vice, introducing rottenness into the uni- versal system; and so far from being the very strength of Deity, as happily it now is, it would have been a pitiable weakness, the mere determina- tion of the Almighty to preserve at all hazards the work of His own hands. To make effective inroads upon the holiness or justice of the Ruler of the universe, would be no less fatal to the universal weal, than to overcome His arm of power : there would henceforth, in either case, be no security whatever for the well-being of any of His creatures. But the peculiar feature which renders the character of our God so perfect, is that He is “ a just God and a Saviour” (Isa. xlv. 21). He descends not from the throne of His justice. He casts not from Him the robe of His holiness, when extending mercy to His fallen and miserable creatures. On the contrary, the nature of the act by which He carries into effect OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 115 His gracious intentions is such, that His eternal justice and holiness shine forth with redoubled splendour. Christ Jesus did not visit this earth merely as the Messenger of mercy: He did not come simply as the Saviour of Mankind. He came to vindicate the divine honour : He was set forth by God “ to declare His righteousness , that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believe th in Jesus” (Rom. iii. 26). The penalty incurred by sin is suffering, and therefore it stands to reason, that the satisfaction for sin must partake of this nature also. Accor- dingly we find that our Saviour was “ a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” and that “ with His stripes we are healed” (Isa. liii). The satisfaction must also be adequate. Thus, we are assured, that “ it is not possible that tne blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins ” (Heb. x. 4). And this, we may be certain, excludes all arbitrary substitutes , that is, such as are incapable of inspiring the universal mind with an idea of equivalence. Some persons are wont to speak as if the Almighty Ruler of the Universe might, had He chosen, have allowed the transfixion of a fly to suf- fice as punishment for the sins of the world, and have made faith in such a substitute the condition of salvation. But God does not thus mock the in- telligence of His creatures. And if our common i 2 116 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT sense debars ns from entertaining for one moment the supposition that He might allow of a substitute so mean as this, we may be equally sure that He would not allow of any below the degree of equal worth or importance. The substitute must, on examination, be found to rise at least to the level of the beings for whom he suffers. Now, since we have all sprung from Adam, the whole human race may physiologically be regarded as one Man; and if an equivalent Man could be found, willing to undergo the punishment in our stead, such substitute might fairly be accepted for all the world : such vicarious offering would approve itself to the universal sense of right. But it is evi- dent that no mere scion of Adam could answer this description ; for he would be but an infinitesimal portion of the primal Man, besides being like our- selves under the ban of God’s displeasure. “None can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him” (Psa. xlix. 7). Were Adam, the* father of us all, to devote himself to suffering for the redemption of his children, the fancied atonement would be equally inefficacious. Adam’s suffering, besides being, even if eternal, no more than the just penalty for his own sin, would still be the suffering of a mere individual portion of the race ; and that, of course, could not compensate for the exemption from deserved punishment of a whole OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 117 multitude whom no man can number. Neither Adam nor any of his natural descendants could possibly fill the position of the substitute in question : they are each and every one excluded, not only on account of their own sinful character, but also by reason of their utter inability to bear more than the amount of suffering which falls to their own lot by desert. In short, the idea of any member of the doomed race expiating the sins of a world, look at it how you will, is simply preposterous. The aggregate amount of suffering incurred by a guilty world consisting of myriads of distinct beings, approaches infinity, and he who would undertake to bear it all in his own person, must necessarily pos- sess a corresponding power of endurance. Otherwise it is impossible that strict justice can be satisfied. The righteous God attached a just penalty to the commission of sin ; that penalty has been incurred, and it is simple mockery to imagine that God is so weak as to swerve from His word the moment it comes into force. The existence of suffering at the present time, which none can deny, should preclude all such thoughts, by causing us to perceive that the Almighty winks not at the least sin. Had our Maker intended to exercise His attributes of love and mercy irrespective of those of justice and holi- ness, He would have stopped the ravages of evil at once, or have entirely prevented its outbreak, main- 118 THE BLESSED SACRA 31 ENT taming Man in his pristine condition by a simple act of power. But nothing can be clearer, than that our God has no regard for the happiness of his rational creatures apart from their virtue, which can only exist in the exercise of choice. He has ordained that sin should entail misery, and we are assured that He “ will by no means clear the guilty. - ” The words of our Lord Himself are, “ Yerily I say unto thee. Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing ” (Matt. v. 26). Inasmuch, therefore, as all men are sinners, inasmuch as the full tale of suffering has been demanded, it is evident that the equivalent Man — he who would bear the punishment of the entire race — must be one who has a capacity for suffering at least approaching the infinite. There is infinitude of intensity , and there is in- finitude of duration. The race of Man, since it will one day come to an end, is finite as to numbers. The capacity for suffering of each individual of the race is also finite. The amount of suffering, there- fore, which the whole mass would at any one instant undergo, even supposing the infliction of punish- ment to be extreme, may be regarded as accurately gauged by an Omniscient mind. Moreover, no con- ceivable accumulation or concentration of sufferings which are calculable as to number, and each of which is finite in intensity, would make a strictly OF IRE LORE'S SUPPER. 119 infinite pang : and therefore, even supposing they were to have been endured perpetually, we can per- ceive that an amount of suffering which should be infinite in intensity, though of limited duration, might be strictly equivalent. The one species of infliction is merely the converse of the other, and the two may justly be regarded as balancing each other. The higher we rise in the scale of being, the more keen and diversified do we find the feelings to be. The impressions received are, as a rule, more intense, they are more varied, and they also cover, if I may so speak, a wider area. The greater, con- sequently, is the capacity both for enjoyment and for suffering. Such at least is the law universally ad- mitted to hold good with regard to the whole range of animated creation; the gradation rising through what are distinctively called sensual , emotional , rational , and moral faculties of perception, which are found variously subdivided, variously combined, and in various states of development ; and each of which causes its possessor to be gratified, provided it be in its natural condition, by that which is agreeable or correlative to it, and to suffer more or less by that which is disagreeable or out of harmony with it. Such, I say, is the admitted condition of created beings. But strange to say, though Deity — the Most High — is allowed by all to have the greatest 120 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT capacity for enjoyment , the generality deny that He is capable of suffering . They say that it is impossible He should suffer, since He can ward off every evil, being Almighty. But language such as this arises from a misconception; for suffering is not necessarily a sign of weakness, it is not necessarily compulsory in those who bear it. Those who cannot help them- selves are not the only ones who suffer. There is such a thing as virtuous self-denial, the voluntary endurance of suffering for the good of others. This is exercised even by mankind in many ways, and it is no argument against its exercise by Deity, to urge that He is Almighty, and need never suffer. We must ever remember that Man was made in the image of his Maker, and that when he fell, God said, “The man is become as one of Us, to hnow good and evil” And though we may be perfectly certain that every act of God will, unlike that of Man, be pure and holy, — for “ Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right — yet there is nothing in what we understand by self-denial (the foregoiug of bliss or the voluntary endurance of suffering), especially when it is for the purpose of benefiting others, that can possibly be regarded by us as in the least in- compatible with our highest notion of Deity. Self- denial for the good of others, even as exercised by Man, has many of the characteristics of a heaven- born plant; for it has much that is ennobling about OF TI1E LORD'S SUPPER. 121 it. It has a greater tendency than aught else, to draw out the love and gratitude of those for whom the hardship is endured ; and in fact, bitter as it is in itself, it is the root from which spring the sweetest fruits to those who cultivate it. Is, then, God alone to be debarred from the enjoyment of this luxury ? Is He alone to be unattended by a grateful company of those for whom He has suffered ? I cannot be- lieve it. Nor is our ideal, our highest conception of a God of love, satisfied by One who bestows only that which costs Him nothing. Now, it is sheer blasphemy to suppose that the Almighty could dispense, even for a time, with His justice or holiness ; for, however plausible the pre- text for so doing might be, it would be simply “ doing evil that good might come/ ; which we are assured is a most damnable principle of conduct. It would besides, overturn the order of the Universe, and introduce amongst rational creatures a state of things closely resembling anarchy. There would no longer be any security to virtue, and vice would reign triumphant. But no such risk is incurred by the like supposition in regard to the happiness of Deity : we have no difficulty in imagining that the Almighty has the power either to retain or to dis- pense with the ineffable bliss, which belongs to Him, but which does not constitute, if I may so speak, such a necessity of His nature. Indeed, we can under- 122 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT stand how His undertaking a project requiring ^elf- denial in this respect, might redound to His eternal honour. That He has undertaken such a project; the Scriptures clearly point out. All Three Persons of the adorable Trinity are described as suffering or denying Themselves, to secure our salvation without infringing the eternal principles of truth and justice. What, for instance, are we to understand by the following passage, if it contain no indication of suffering on the part of the Father ? — “ God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son” (John iii. 16). The signification on the face of it, seems to be, that the intensity of the Father’s grief, in giving up His Son, is to be taken as the measure of His love for us. But if He could not suffer, the gift of His Son must have been a matter of indifference to Him, and the words here used a solemn mockery of our best affections. Is it possible, again, to imagine that the Holy Spirit can take up His abode in our sinful hearts — a holy God in direct contact with sin — without some kind of self-denial or suffering ? His purity is beyond the reach of impairment, but surely it cannot be a choice work for One so holy, to dwell in the midst of filth and wickedness. He is “ of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity” (Hab. i. 13) ; and yet, in undertaking to grapple with evil. He has placed himself under a compact, if I may so speak, — OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 123 such compact being based upon the fundamental principles of holiness and virtue — to use no ir- resistible force, but only persuasion. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ” (Gal. v. 17) : for days, and months, and years, does the Blessed Spirit “ stand at the door and knock ” for admittance into our hearts ; and, if ever He gain an entrance, which is doubtful, not a minute passes probably, but there is some sin com- mitted, some insult offered, which is more distressing, one would imagine, to our holy Guest, than grains of sand to the tenderest eyeball. But if the Holy Ghost cannot suffer, it must be a matter of in- difference to Him, that His influence is so frequently “quenched” (1 Thess. v. 19), and that He has to “ strive with man” (Gen. vi. 3) so often unsuccessfully; He can never be “ vexed” (Isa. lxiii. 10) ; and the exhortation to “ grieve not the Spirit ” (Eph. iv. 30) must be directed against an offence that can never occur. Now I do not here contend that the sufferings of the Father and of the Holy Spirit are strictly vi- carious. Their self-denial is rather to be regarded as the unavoidable and necessary adjunct of such sufferings on the part of the Sox ; whence the ne- cessity for supposing that a Divine compact was previously entered into. The Son could not suffer, and the Father be at ease — the thing is impossible. 121 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Nor could the work of salvation have been completed, to the satisfaction of virtue and holiness, unless the Holy Spirit had undertaken to dwell in our hearts, for the purpose of inducing faith, and of “ working- in us both to will and to do of Grod^s good pleasure ” (Phil. ii. 13), thus denying Himself by consenting to dwell in the midst of sin. Therefore in describing the self-denial of the Most High, I should say, that the Perfection of Love, the Perfection of Virtue, and the Perfection of Holiness (and I may be allowed to make these distinctions, since the Offices of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity seem to be severally akin to these attributes more than to any others — vide John iii. 16, Heb. i. 8, 9, Gal. v. 16), voluntarily forego for a time the felicity ordinarily appertaining to such perfection, in order that Mercy and Justice may meet together in the salvation of a guilty world. The sufferings of the Son of God, however, are those upon which our gaze is naturally concentrated. Sufficient has already been said to intimate that Deity can suffer : sufficient has already been said to shew that the Father and the Holy Spirit have suffered, in the way, at least, of grief and discomfort ; and now we are to be expressly informed that the Son of God has suffered by anguish the keenest and humiliation the most profound. For of Him it is declared, that, “ being in the form of God , He made OF THE LOBE’S SUP PEE. 125 Himself of no reputation (He emptied Himself), and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men : and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. ii. 6 — 8 ). Two distinct degrees of humiliation are here men- tioned. There is first that which transcends all human powers of comprehension — the “ mystery of godliness,” the manifestation of God in the flesh (1 Tim. iii. 16). And here let me ask, Of whom but God could it be said, that “he took upon him the form of a servant ?” What creature is there that is not already, and always, a servant ? The highest angels are still described as God’s ministers (Heb. i. 13, 14). But “ when he bringeth in the First-be- gotten into the world, He saith. And let all the angels of God worship Him” (Heb. i. 6). “ Being in the form of God,” or as the Apostle explains it, “ equal to (or as) God ” — a likeness which was His not by usurpation, but by inherent right — the Son of God was surrounded by all the glory and splendour belonging to the Most High : He had the dignity, and He also had the prerogative, of God. It was His to command, it was His to be worshipped, equally with the Father (vide Heb. i., in connection with Psalms xlv. and cii.). In the beginning He was “with God,” and He “was God” (John i. 1). But 126 TILE BLESSED SACRAMENT for our sakes He emptied Himself of all the state appertaining to the Creator of the Universe, and from exercising a world-wide dominion by the side of the Father, took the post of obedience by the side of sinful man. His words, on entering the world, were, “ Lo, I come to do Thy will, 0 God 99 (Psa. xl. 7, 8, comp, with Heb. x. 7). And His constant declaration whilst on earth was, “ I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak 99 (John xii. 49) ; “ I can of Mine own self do nothing : as I hear I judge : and my judgment is just ; because I seek not My own will , but the will of the Father which hath sent Me 99 (John v. 30). Here is implied a distinction between the will of the Son and that of the Father, but an entire absence of anything approaching to variance. This is explained by saying, that the will of the Son is subordinate to the will of the Father ; and this is no doubt true as regards the demands made upon His powers of endurance, since we hear Him saying, “ 0 My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me : nevertheless not as I will , but as Thou wilt 99 (Matt. xxvi. 39). But we find Him saying elsewhere, when making a request for others, “Father, I will" (John xvii. 24), which seems to imply an equality in this respect. Is it not this equality of will, that gives all its force and efficacy OF THE LOBE’S SUPPER. 127 to the intercession of Christ ? The Son came forth from the bosom of the Father (John xvi. 28), having “life in Himself” (John v. 26), that is, not only a separate existence, but the power to confer life, as is shewn by the preceding verse: “Verily, verily, I say unto yon. The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.” This power He placed entirely at the disposal of the Father. But to shew that He is no less Almighty than the Father, we have but to refer to His own words, “ My Father worketh hitherto, and I work ” — “ What things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John v. 17, 19). It is true, He says at the same time, “ The Son can do nothing of Him- self, but what He seeth the Father do.” But this I believe to be simply a delaration, that it is im- possible for the Father and the Son to act in an inconsistent or contradictory manner. A compact is to be supposed or understood throughout : every act is the result, not of independent thought and intention on the part of either of the Divine Persons, but of “ the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts ii. 23). There are “not three Gods but one God” (Athanasian Creed). The Son never acts without the Father, and it is equally clear, that the Father never acts without the Son ; for “ with- out Him was not anything made that was made ” 128 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT (John i. 3) ; cc He was in the worlds and the world was made by Him” (John i. 10) ; “ By Him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things were created by Him, and for Him : and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist ” (Col. i. 16, 17). Besides, we have a passage, which at the same time that it confirms the doctrine of onr -Hordes Divinity, shews most clearly, that in doing “ nothing of (or from) Himself,” He does not stand in a position inferior to that of the other Persons in the Blessed Trinity : “ When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth : for He shall not speak of Himself ; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak : and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me : for He shall receive of Mine , and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine : therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John xvi. 13 — 15). The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are so truly united, that “ they are not three Al- mighties but one Almighty.” And the oneness of their will is the result of perfect love, not of sub- ordination through the comparative weakness of One or Other. ' The Son is the Word, that is, the expression or manifestation of Deity. Consequently, whenever Deity appears, whether in human form, in a burning OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 129 busk, in a pillar of fire, or in His peculiar glory, we are to understand that the Son is meant. Thus, we are taught to look for “ the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour ” in the Person of Jesus Christ (Tit. ii. 13). And we cannot doubt, that the “Man” with whom Jacob wrestled on the night before his meeting with Esau, and in re- gard to whom he said, “ I have seen God face to face ” (Gen. xxxii. 30), was the Son. And (what at the present time it more concerns us to know) “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (John i. 14). This is the first degree of humiliation alluded to by St. Paul, in the passage which we quoted from his epistle to the Philippians (ch. ii. 6 — 8). As regards the credibility of the statements made concerning it, and the acceptation in which they are to be taken, I need merely add, that it is an historical fact that the Man Christ Jesus walked this earth, and per- formed the most wonderful works, sufficient in them- selves to prove Him Divine : and that we have it testified by two of the Apostles, that on the Mount of Transfiguration, they “ were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet. i. 16), and “beheld His glory , the glory as of the Only -‘begotten of the Father” (John i. 14). “Being in the form of God, He thought it not robbery to be equal with God,* but made Him- * The emphasis is to be laid on the word “ robbery.” This is K 130 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT self of no reputation, and took upon Him tlie form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” There is secondly the further humiliation which our Saviour voluntarily incurred, in His submission to those things which would be an indignity even to men, culminating in an ignominious death. We evident from the position given to the word in the original, the phrase “ equal with God 99 being merely another expression for “ in the form of God,” the meaning of which it explains. The idea is, that any dignity which we assume by usurpation , or even by tem- porary appointment, we naturally clutch, and fear to cast aside for a single moment; but that a prerogative which we possess by inherent and inalienable right, we may feel disposed on occasion to lay aside, or at least to conceal, because there can be no fear of losing it altogether. Some commentators are of opinion that instead of 4< robbery,” the word so translated should have been rendered “ mat- ter for grasping,” or “ something to be grasped.” But either of these renderings, besides being contrary to all analogy in respect of words of the same form, which invariably refer to an act that is in some sense past , would lead us to an absurd conclusion, upon a review of the passage in which the word occurs. For if by “ matter for grasping 99 we are to understand, as seems natural, that which enables one to , cp'asp, we must believe it possible, that there is in existence something which even God Himself, or One in all points like Him does not yet possess. And if “ something to be grasped” be the cor- rect translation, - we. must believe that our Lord deemed His u equality with God/’ or rather the glory of the Godhead, as something which it would have been almost derogatory to retain, and in laying aside which there could be no humiliation whatever — a notion, I need scarcely say, subversive of the whole tenor of the Apostle’s reasoning, inconsistent with the prayer of our Lord Himself, when He says, “ And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was ” (John xvii. 5 ), and .utterly opposed to those passages of Scripture which shew the value that God puts upon His peculiar “ glory : ” “ My glory will I not give to another” (Isa. xlii. 84 xlviii. .1 1 ; see also Luke ix. 26). OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 131 have already seen, that “ being in the form of God,” He humbled Himself to such an exteilt as to be “ made in the likeness of men.” We are now informed, that “ being found in fashion as a Man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” There are persons to be found who question the Divinity of Christ, on account (1) of His being born a Babe in Bethlehem, on account (2) of His suffering hardship like mankind in general, on account (3) of His apparent helplessness in the hands of His ene- mies, and on account (4) of His undergoing the law of death . And no doubt there is a certain air of mystery about these circumstances : they are cal- culated to fill us with wonder, and certainly, at first sight, appear inconsistent with the indwelling of Deity, that is, with the incarnation of Him who is described as “ the brightness of God^s glory, and the express image of His person ” (Heb. i. 3). But we shall find, on closer examination, that in regard to each of the four circumstances mentioned, there is some intimation, founded on an historical basis, that the event partook of the miraculous, and was not an ordinary occurrence. Besides which, the passage under consideration affords a definite clue to the whole mystery, and provides us with a glass through which to view the life of Christ, and behold in every particular the strictest harmony. It ex- it 2 132 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT plains, in regard to the Person of Christ, what had puzzled the world so much, namely, the marvellous combination which He exhibited, of power with feebleness, of grandeur with poverty, and of majesty with meekness. For it reveals Him humbling Kim- self, making Himself “ of no reputation,” or literally emptying Himself of the splendour belonging to Him as the Son of God. It will be well for us to make a short review of those four circumstances in our Saviour’s life, which have, as aforesaid, been regarded as inconsistent with the notion of His proper Divinity. We shall find that in each of them there is something indicative of His being God as well as Man, something that can- not be explained without reference to this dual cha- racter. (1). Thus, concerning His Birth, we may remark, that though born, to all appearance, a helpless In- fant, and not alighting upon the earth a full-grown Man; yet He had been miraculously conceived in the womb of a pure virgin, and consequently had none of that taint of original sin attaching to Him, which attaches to all others of the race (Comp. John xiv. 30, with Psa. li. 5, &c.). Though the offspring of a poor and obscure woman, and though “ laid in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn,” nor any means to purchase better accommodation — though born, humanly speaking, OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 133 under the most unpropitious auspices, yet He was heralded by the angelic hosts, His star appeared in the sky, and wise men, attracted by it to the spot, came and worshipped Him. Now, if we allow (what can scarcely be denied) that it is possible for God to become incarnate — if, in other words, we allow that it is possible for the Most High to repress the manifestation of His power, wisdom, and glory, and to confine it for a time within the scope afforded by the human system — we have no just right to restrict His thus humbling Himself within any particular limits, much less to imagine that He could only appear in the form of advanced human development. He would be hum- bling Himself to appear as Man at all, even as per- fectly developed Man. He only humbles Himself a degree further in appearing as an Infant. And this, in fact, is such humility as, apart from all other con- siderations, we might imagine the infinite God se- lecting ; for it is only reasonable to suppose, that He who is the Highest would exercise any faculty in an infinite degree, and that in emptying Himself for our sakes. He would take our nature upon Him in its most lowly condition. But if, in addition, we allow (what also seems perfectly reasonable) that having determined to appear in human form. He would in- tend His incarnation to fulfil much the same pur- poses which the mission of Christ fulfilled, it is 134 THE BLESSED SA CHAM ENT difficult to conceive how He could have chosen a better method of making His appearance, than that which we are told, He actually did choose. One of the purposes for which the Son of God came into this world, was that He might sympathise with humanity by experience. But if He had come forth equipped with the wisdom and strength of mature manhood, His experience could not have been like ours, we could not have regarded Him as our “ Elder Brother He could not have entered, in the same sense that He now does, into the trials and temptations of youth, and, in fact. His sympathy would have failed to reach by far the larger portion of our race. “Where- fore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faith- ful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Por in that He Himself haih suffered being tempted , He is able to succour them that are tempted” (Heb. ii. 17, 18). The same remarks apply to His office as Exemplar (1 Pet. ii. 21). If He had sprung from the skies a full-grown Man, He could not have been a Pattern to the young, in being subject to parents, or in dili- gently increasing in wisdom and in favour with God and man (Luke ii. 51, 52). In fact, though He might have dazzled us as an angel from Heaven, we should have been altogether indisposed to re- gard Him as our Model, as One whom it would be OF THE LOR D y S SUPPER . 135 possible even distantly to imitate. But, thanks be to God, “ the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us , full of grace and truth ” (John i. 14). To such a degree did He incorporate Himself with humanity, that it could be said of Him, “ Whence hath this Man this wisdom, and these mighty works ? Is not this the carpenters son ? is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas ? and His sisters are they not all with us ?” (Matt. xiii. 54 — 56). And so simple was the kind of human life He led, that we are to deem it possible to follow even in His footsteps (1 Pet. ii. 21 ; 1 John ii. 6; John xiii. 15). Again, Christ is “ the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believ- eth ” (Rom. x. 4), by reason of His perfect obedience., “ Think not,” He said, “that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matt. v. 17 ; see also Rom. v. 18, 19), But if He had not come into the world under the same conditions, sin excepted, as ourselves, He could not have fulfilled the law perfectly. He could not have proved Himself “faithful ” in all things; He would not have been exposed to the temptations peculiar to infancy and youth* and therefore would not have shewn His power over all sin. But having grown up surrounded by all kinds of temptations*. He could boldly say to His accusers, “ Which of you con- vinceth Me of sin ?” (John viii, 46), And His Apos- 136 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT tie could record, that “ He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. iv. 15), But to shew most clearly that the Birth of Christ as an ignorant, helpless Infant, is not imcompatible with the notion of His supreme Divinity, we have it prophesied concerning Him, “ Behold, a virgin shall conceive , and hear a Son , and shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings ” (Isa. vii. 14 — 16). And, “Unto us a Child is horn, unto us a Son is given : and the government shall be upon His shoulder : and His Name shall be called Wondeeful, Counselloe, The Mighty God, The Eveelasting Fathee, The Peince of Peace ” (Isa. ix. 6). (2). Then, again, as to His being encompassed with infirmity, and suffering hardship, like the rest of us, we may remark, that though He underwent hunger, and thirst, and weariness — though He suf- fered pain both of body and mind ; yet it was all manifestly voluntary, for He could relieve others at a word. The devil knew this well enough when he tempted Him to desist from His self-denying course: “ If Thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread ” (Matt. iv. 3). Our Blessed OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 137 Saviour paid no heed to the base insinuation that His suffering hunger would militate, in the eyes of the world, against His title to the Godhead — and be it observed, the temptation had been most adroitly aimed, the devil had sought to excite beyond all en- durance, not only one of the strongest appetites, but also one of the most powerful emotions of our nature. Hunger and Pride, at one and the same time. But Jesus told the tempter clearly and boldly, that for the time being He was Man — Man, to obey , Man, to endure : “ He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” When others were hungry He fed them, when they were sick He healed them, when they were in trou- ble He relieved them out of all their distresses. Is it not, then, the height of irrational folly, to join with those who crucified Him, saying, “ He saved others, Himself He cannot save ?” (Matt, xxvii. 42). Rather should we fall down in adoration of Him who could exercise such self-denial for the sake of sinful man ; who had the power to save Himself, but for- bore to exercise it, that we might live; who, “ though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. viii. 9). The language of truth, reason, and gratitude is, “ He saved others, Himself He would not save.” He “ took our nature upon Him” in its entirety, and all 138 TIIE BLESSED SACRAMENT that is incidental to Man, apart from actual sin, He endured ; or, in other words, there was nothing in His passage from the Manger at Bethlehem to the Tomb in the garden where Joseph laid Him, that He allowed His Divinity to exempt Him from. It is true. He sometimes found it necessary to have re- course to miraculous intervention in the affairs of His daily life, as for instance, when called upon for the tribute-money (Matt. xvii. 24 — 27), or when His enemies sought to lay hands upon Him before the appointed time (John viii. 59 : x. 39). But this was only when His mission required it ; He never exer- cised the power, to save Himself from mere personal discomfort. These exceptions to His usual submis- sion to circumstances, only prove that His submis- sion was altogether voluntary. (3). Now, as regards His apparent helplessness in the hands of his enemies, the same remarks apply. He submitted to their ill-treatment, because it served to fulfil the purpose He had in view. But we have already had one instance of departure from His usual practice in this respect brought to our notice, in the fact of His making good His escape from His foes, when they attempted to take Him before His time ; and many more instances might be adduced, which shew, by their exceptional character, the power He really had over the multitude. Thus, before raising the daughter of Jairus, He put out of the house all OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 139 those who laughed Him to scorn (Luke viii. 53, 54) ; He also cast out all who bought and sold in the Temple, and overturned the tables of the money- changers (Matt. xxi. 12) ; and on the occasion of His final arrest, when the band of men and officers came with lanterns and torches, and weapons to take Him, He went forth, and said unto them, “Whom seek ye ?” and when, upon their saying, “ Jesus of Nazareth,” He answered, “ I am He,” we are told, they went backward and fell to the ground . Evidently it was only because He chose to surrender Himself, that they were enabled to take Him and bind Him (John xviii. 3 — 13). It was as if the assertion of Divinity had struck upon their guilty ears, in those words, “ I am/’ and as if the pent-up essence of Deity had suddenly burst its temporary bounds, and hurled all opposition in the dust. Can we any longer doubt that His subsequent submission to the tortures and insults of those who madly hated Him, was voluntary throughout ? (4). But it will be said, Supposing that we grant much of this, yet surely if Christ had been God, it would have been impossible for Him to die . And this brings us to the last species of humiliation which our Blessed Saviour underwent in our behalf, and which is considered altogether incompatible with the notion of His proper Divinity. The assertion made arises from a misconception 140 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT as to the nature of death. No one in his senses ever supposed that God could cease to exist, and the world go on, as it continued to go on notwithstand- ing the death of Christ. If He, who, as we are told, “ upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb. i. 3), were to cease to be, even for one instant, all would fall into chaos again. Death, however, is not annihilation , it is not necessarily destruction ; but it is simply dissolution . Take the case of Man. Man dies, and becomes resolved into his component elements. The body, consisting of a combination of many elements, becomes disorganized, loses all its proper functions, and in one word, rots. Still no element perishes, nor does any lose its fundamental properties ; for everyone of them is capable of again entering into the composition of a living body : in fact, they do so enter, when people feed on crops grown in a disused graveyard ; and it is more than probable, that we seldom or never swallow a particle of food, that has not at some time or other formed part of a living tissue. The death of the bodnj, then, results not in its total destruction, simply in its dis- organization. The spirit, which is a single element, may possibly become unconscious, when the human being, of whom it forms a component part, dies : indeed, reason would lead us to believe that it does become unconscious, being dependent for its con- sciousness and activity upon properly organized OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 141 excitation from without itself, as shewn by its con- dition during sound natural sleep ; yet is it believed by few or none to die , much less to perish . Being indivisible, it cannot be further resolved, and we have no warrant for believing that it is annihilated, or even that its nature is changed. It simply “returns to God who gave it ” (Eccles. xii. 7). Very well, precisely the same may be said with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ, with this distinction, that in Him there is the additional element of the Godhead mys- teriously united, an element, unlike the mere human spirit, having independent consciousness and power. What have we to regard, then, in the death of a Being such as this, more impossible than in the death of Man? We allow that Man can and does die, though his spirit lives on, unaffected except in condition. What greater difficulty is there in con- ceiving the death of the God-Man, with the God-head remaining unaffected ? That God should visit this earth in human form we have already seen to be possible ; and we have had an instance of the fact in the “ Man ” with whom Jacob wrestled, and of whom he said, “ I have seen God face to face.” But if it be conceded that God can take upon Him the human form, it must also be conceded that He can lay it down or put it off again; and then, what becomes of the body is quite a secondary consideration. It is possible that in the instances given in the Old Tes- 142 THE BLESSED SA Cli AMENT tament, of the incarnation of Deity, the manhood was a mere form, assumed for the time and then vanishing; whereas, the union between God and Man in Christ is one of a peculiarly close character, insomuch that it is said, “He took on Him the seed of Abraham,” and, “ Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood. He also Himself like- wise took part of the same” (Heb. ii. 14, 16); in which case, of course, dissolution would be death, similar to the death of mankind in general. In fact, we are expressly told, that He took on Him our nature for this very purpose, namely, that He might “ taste death for every man,” and that “ through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil ” (Heb. ii. 9, 14). And if these passages do not suffice to convince us, that He had another nature, independent not only of death itself, but of the effects of death, a nature altogether unaffected by death, and dominating over death, we have many more of a similar tendency, such, for in- stance, as the following : “ Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life , that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again ” (John x. 17, 18) ; “ Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up ” (Johffii. 19). And that nothing in His human nature gave Hinl this power, is further shewn by the OF THE LOR HS SUPPER. 143 following : “ Tlie first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam a quickening Spirit ” (1 Cor. xv. 45) ; “ Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father ” (Rom. vi. 4) ; “ God hath raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power ” (1 Cor. vi. 14); “ Though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God ” (2 Cor. xiii. 4). But, even if we had not these positive declarations of Scripture in favour of Christas Divinity, there are, surrounding His death, certain facts recorded in history, which proclaim in forcible language, that the event then enacting concerned the Creator of the Universe very closely — certain facts which com- pensate entirely for the “ weakness,” in which our Lord was crucified. For we are told, not only that “ the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom,” but also that “ the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened” (Matt, xxvii. 51, 52). We are told, more- over, though it happened at a time when an eclipse of the sun is impossible in the natural course of things — I mean, when the moon is at, or near, the full — that at the sixth hour, which is midday , u there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour, and the sun was darkened ” (Luke xxiii. 44, 45). When, therefore, to these considerations we add 144 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT the fact, proved beyond all reasonable doubt, of Christ’s resurrection from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, we may, I think, fairly con- clude, that there is nothing inconsistent with the notion of His Divinity in the four circumstances which have now passed under review. They were, each and all, mere phases of a voluntary humiliation. But having now considered the great humiliation of the Son of God, we must turn to the other side of the canvas, and view, in the mysterious union of the two natures, the infinite exaltation or aggran- disement of the Son of Man. Some time since, we were in search of what for the time we called an Equivalent Man , that is, one who should be a fair substitute for the whole human race — one capable of undertaking any vicarious office on their behalf. And, in regard to the pe- culiar attributes requisite for the due performance of such functions, we came to the conclusion, that “ inasmuch as all men are sinners, inasmuch as the “ full tale of suffering has been demanded, the “ equivalent Man — he who would bear the punish- “ ment of the entire race — must be one who has a “capacity for suffering at least approaching the in- “ finite” [p. 118]. Now, in Jesus Christ we have One who even transcends the requisite description ; for though truly human, except in the matter of sin, yet as God He is altogether infinite. His capacity OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 145 for suffering not only approaches, but actually sub- tends, the infinite. We have seen that He under- went an almost infinite amount of humiliation in condescending to be born into this world a helpless Babe, dwelling among the lowliest of human kind. We have also seen that He underwent a further humiliation in submitting to every species of hard- ship, torture, and indignity, that flesh could bear, including an ignominious death. And when to this we add the intense and mysterious anguish which is implied in His cry upon the cross, “ My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? ” we have an amount of suffering which may be accounted infinite indeed. It is such that the highest archangel, how- ever intently he may “ look into ” it, cannot fathom the millionth part : it is measurable only by God Himself: it is commensurate with the love of Christ, which “passeth knowlege,” and to know which would fill us “ with all the fulness of God” (Eph. iii. 19). It may well therefore satisfy the universal sense of right. God is clear when He judges ; and He has vindicated His honour, and glorified every attribute in the salvation of sinful Man. No creature’s sufferings could have accomplished this. In the first place, the love of God would have been called in question, had He appointed an innocent and helpless creature to bear a hundredth part of the punishment which Christ Jesus so l 146 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT meekly bore, even though it were undertaken vi- cariously, and with a rich reward in view at the end of it. And in the second place, there would have been a constant doubt in the universe, whether the sufferings borne had been adequate to atone for the sins of the world : it would always have been a question whether the Most High had not favoured mankind at the expense of His justice, and whether His compassionate lovingkindness had not got the better of His unsullied holiness. Moreover, it is to be feared, that had a mere creature acted as our Benefactor in the vast sense which Christ did, our hearts would have been fixed on such creature, and alienated from the Eternal Father. We might have regarded our God as One who is rigorously just, but our idea of His love would have been extremely vague and ill-conditioned ; and our gratitude, praise, and adoration being naturally drawn forth and offered to the Great Deliverer who had borne so much for us, we could scarcely have avoided idolatry. But as it is, no such fear, no such doubt, no such question can arise in any honest and well-informed mind. God Himself has undertaken our cause in the Person of His own Son. “ For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John iii. 16). The sur- passing love which bowed its head to the avenging OF THE LOR HS SUPPER. 147 stroke in our behalf, was God’s : it was “ the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ” (Rom. viii. 39). The sufferings so meekly borne for our sake were Immanuel’s, beyond all computation save by the Infinite Mind. And we can love and adore Him who has delivered us, without restraint, for we are commanded to “ honour the Son even as we honour the Father ” (John v. 23). “ 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! ” (Rom. xi. 33). These are the sufferings for a continual remem- brance of which the Blessed Sacrament was in- stituted. These are the sufferings in pointed allusion to which our adorable Redeemer, when He had taken the bread, gave thanks and brake it. THE BLESSED SACRAMENT 1*9 CHAPTER VI. “ Jesus gave the bread, saying, Take, eat.” When our Blessed Lord had broken the bread. He “ gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat ; this is My Body which is given for you.” We have, here three things, namely, an action, an exhortation — almost amounting to a command, and a declara- tion. First, as to the action : “ He gave it to the disci- ples.” There is more in this action than at first sight appears. I have no doubt that it is as truly symbolical as the rest of the ordinance. It has reference to a great fact, to the fact that salvation is a free gift, and not only so, but that it has been brought to us unsought, according to the words of Isaiah quoted by St. Paul : “ I was found of them that sought Me not ; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after Me ” (Rom. x. 20 ; Isa. lxv. 1). God did not even wait to be asked, before being gracious. Had He so waited, had He looked for some sign of love, or even of penitence, before granting us the inestimable favour, He would have OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 119 waited, He would have looked, in vain. We were immersed in sin, “ lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,” nay, “ God was not in all our thoughts.” But, “ herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and seat His Son to be the propitiation for our sins ” (1 John iii. 10) . “ God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. v. 8). Our “ carnal mind ” was, as it ever will be, “ enmity against God” (Rom. viii. 7); and we were, more- over, “ enemies through wicked works ” (Col. i. 21) ; yet He reconciled us to Himself in the body of His Flesh through death. For, as St. Paul elsewhere says, “ All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself, by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not im- puting their trespasses unto them ” (2 Cor. v. 18, 19). Nor is this all. Our hearts are naturally so hard, that the marvellous provision for our need, which has been made in Christ Jesus, would never have been appropriated, had it not been brought to our very lips, and urged upon us by the preaching of the gospel. There is seldom or never any prior search or inquiry on our part. In fact, we scarcely feel our need, until our misery is pointed out. Even the faith which extends the hand to receive the proffered boon, is the gift of God (Eph. ii. 8).l “No 150 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT man can come to Me/* says our Saviour, cc except the Father which hath sent Me draw him** (John vi. 44) r So that there is a definite allusion, I doubt not, in this action of giving the bread, to the regen- erating influence of the Holy Spirit, whereby alone we can repent and believe. It is the broken bread that is given in the Sacrament : it is the broken Body of Christ which forms the basis of the Holy Spirit*s work, — which is, in fact, the Bread of Life . Still, we are immediately deterred from imagining that there is any ground, in the fact of salvation being entirely by grace,- — in the fact of its being from first to last a free gift, — for inaction on our own part; since our Saviour, in presenting the bread, says, ^Take, eat.** This exhortation is symbolical of that other, “ Re- pent and believe.** Both imply the power of individual action on the part of those addressed ; and we all, I maintain, are conscious of a certain power of choice, of an ability to accept or reject, in the one case as in the other. This faculty of our nature is respected in all God*s dealings with us ; for in it is involved the fundamental principle of Virtue, as I have before shewn. Our Creator is undoubtedly the Source of all action, as well ani- mate as inanimate ; for “ in Him we live, and move, and have our being ** (Acts xvii. 28). Yet He treats human beings as if they were independent and self- OF THE LORD'S SUFFER. 151 acting, as if they were merely subjects owing allegiance to a Monarch, instead of creatures owing everything to their Maker. Not only so, He has in His wisdom and power so constituted us by nature, that we actually feel as if we were independent and self-acting, and are only aware of our actual state of derivation and dependence by education. This is especially the case in regard to all physical acts. Given our ordinary freedom, we feel that we can stand, walk, sit, and do a hundred things at pleasure. Yet on reflection, we cannot doubt that the power, nay even the will, which accomplishes these several actions, is the determinate result of forces originally set in operation by God. Precisely the same may be said of mental and moral acts, in so far as they are within the scope of our human nature : we feel that they are our own, and yet we cannot doubt that primarily they were caused by God. For if their origin be not in God, we must suppose one of two things, either that there is a primary source of power distinct from God, or else, which is more absurd still, that an action, or a change in the mode of action (the ideas, though apparently distinct, are really identical), can be generated spontaneously. Speaking conversely, however, we may say, that although our physical, mental, and moral acts have their origin in God, yet they seem to emanate solely from ourselves. And there can be little doubt 152 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT that acts of faith even may be included under the same category. For though in our fallen state the extraordinary operation of the Holy Spirit is requisite before we can so much as incline our hearts toward God ; yet our heavenly Father has said, “ I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh ” (Joel ii. 28), and our Blessed Saviour, to shew how unostentatiously, how unmarhedly , the operations of the heavenly Visitant are carried on, makes use of the following simile : “ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John iii. 8). Not only are we conscious as I have said before, of our ability to accept or reject any offer of sal- vation that is made us ; but God in His holy word speaks to us in such a manner as clearly to shew that acts of faith, though resulting from special grace as distinct from natural endowments, are now placed on an equal footing, as regards the possibility of effecting them, with the physical, mental, and moral acts above alluded to. Let me instance a few passages : C( My son, give me thine heart” (Prov.xxiii. 26) ; Trust in the Lord with all thine heart” (Prov. iii. 5) ; “ They that seek Me early shall find Me ” (Prov. viii. 17) : “ Turn you at My reproof : behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you. Because I have called, and ye OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 153 refused ; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof : I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your de- struction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me : for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord : they would none of My counsel : they des- pised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. But whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil ” (Prov. i. 23 — 33). These are taken from the Old Testament, and though not containing a full develop- ment of the counsel of God, are yet perfectly true so far as they go. On turning to the New Testament, no material difference is observed in the tone of voice employed in addressing us. Thus our Saviour says, “ Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me ; for I am meek and lowly of heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light ” (Matt. xi. 28 — 30). "Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it 154 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT shall be opened nnto you ” — “ Enter ye in at the strait gate” (Matt. vii. 7, 13). “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life” (John v. 40). “ Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. xxii. 17). Here — unless indeed we can consider the Per- fection of Love capable of cruelly mocking us, by holding out hope where there is none — the ability to comply with the commands is assumed. Surely, therefore, if God, who knows all things, sanction this assumption, it is not for us, who can never fathom the mysteries of grace and free-will, to re- frain from acting accordingly. On the contrary, it is at our peril henceforth, that, for neglecting the Gospel-call, we make any such excuse as inability. The affairs of this life are no less truly at the entire disposal of the Almighty, than the matters con- cerning eternity ; yet it is only in regard to these latter, that any but a madman considers it proper, I will not say necessary , to remain in inaction until impelled tangibly by the Hand of Deity. Again, God has given us His holy word to guide our lives. This would have been unnecessary, if instead of acting upon our judgment in relation to the inspired page, we were to wait for the moving of some hidden power. Moreover, God reasons with us, and uses just such arguments as are calculated to con- vince a rational mind, evidently shewing us that we OF TI1E LORD'S SUPPER. 155 must exercise our intellects in regard to religion, much in the same way that we exercise them in our daily life. In both we should be humble ; in both we should give God all the glory; and I repeat, God declares Himself to be the Author and Finisher of faith, not by any means to paralyse our efforts in seeking after Him, but simply to deter us from con- ceiving any idea of personal merit : “ Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? of works ? Nay : but by the law of faith " (Rom. iii. 27). Our action in regard to the commands of the Gos- pel should be much of the same character as that evinced by the subjects of our Lord's miracles, when He commanded them to “ rise up and walk," to “ stretch forth the hand," &c. They were clearly unable by nature to comply with the com- mands given, and none more conscious of their inability than themselves. Yet, hearing the word spoken, they could but make the effort, they could but shew their willingness to comply if possible ; and, lo ! at the very instant of their attempt at compliance, the requisite power was infused and probably to their own astonishment, the command was obeyed. Those who, having a palsied limb, have tried though in vain to move it, will understand how an effort may be made, even where utterly unavail- ing. The first effort of the sinful heart to turn to God, to believe on Christ, is just of the same cha- 156 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT racter, with this most important difference, that having the promise of the Father attached to it, it is never unavailing. Let any one make the experiment honestly and sincerely, and he will find what I say to be true. The cheering sound of the Gospel comes to none who may not avail himself of it, or who cannot avail himself of it, if he choose ; any more than did the cheering voice of our Saviour, in His potent words of command to the sufferers of Pales- tine. To all who listen, the Gospel “ comes in power” (1 Thess. i. 5). It is a power in itself, for “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. x. 17). The blessed truths of the Gospel are the wings on which the Spirit of God enters our hearts : “ Of his own will begat He us with the word of truth ” (Jas. i. 18) ; “ Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Pet. i. 23). “I am not ashamed,” says St. Paul, “ of the Gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. i. 16). Those who have the light of the glorious Gospel and reject it, are condemned, not so much for those sins which flow from Adam's transgression, as for this sin of unbelief which transcends all others. Thus, our Saviour says, “ When the Comforter is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 157 and of judgment i of sin , because they believe not on Me ” (John xvi. 8, 9). “He that believeth on Him is not condemned : but he that believeth not is con- demned already,, because he hath not believed in the Name of the Only-begotten Son of God” (John iii. 18) . And, though the compatibility of the freewill of the creature with the eternal sovereignty of the Creator be a mystery hidden in the inmost recesses of the Divine Mind, I have little hesitation in saying, that no man will be condemned for that which he could not possibly avoid. I fearlessly assert, that it is in our own power to accept or reject the Saviour : we feel it to be so, and our consciences loudly condemn us for our unbelief ; so much so, that a sinful world, rather than remain under the influence of this condemning conscience, ever seeks to prove the Gospel of Christ a fabrication. The words, “ Take, eat,” which our Lord uses at this part of the ordinance, shew us, I repeat, that we are not to be mere passive recipients of the good things vouchsafed to us, and that we are not to ex- pect to be saved without our hearty and uncoerced acquiescence. The blessings of redeeming grace will not be forced upon us. There must be a prior admission that we stand in need of them ; we must give our full assent and consent to their suitability ; we must also make some attempt towards appropriat- ing them, or bringing them into our individual 158 THE BLESSED SACHA MEN; possession ; and we must then make a proper use of them. 1. And first, we must feel that we stand in need of the benefits of redeeming grace. This feeling of our need comprises a more or less distinct view of our individual sinfulness, and an earnest desire to be delivered from the thraldom of sin and Satan ; and it finds expression in some such cry as that of the Philippian jailor, “What must I do to be saved It is the truest form of humility as opposed to self- sufficiency, and therefore lies at the very basis of Christianity, which requires of each one the confes- sion, “ I know that in me, that is, in my flesh (my human nature ), dwelleth no good thing ” (Rom. vii. 18). Moreover, it involves several articles of the Christian creed, such for instance, as belief in the justice and holiness of God, and in the heinousness of sin, the doctrine of a final judgment, and of future rewards and punishments; so that it forms the very germ of faith, and almost invariably leads on to better things, where sincerely entertained. For when once we are fully aware of the exigency of our case, we are in a fair way towards recovery, being naturally impelled to apply to the unfailing remedy provided for us. To produce this feeling in our minds is the first work of the Holy Spirit ; and it is the most difficult. With its rise commences the “kingdom of God within us.” Still, it “cometh OF' T1IE LORD'S SUPPER. 159 not with observation” (Luke xvii. 20, 21) : we are not conscious that it has been produced in our minds by any supernatural power, though we readily ac- knowledge such to have been the case. It seems to be the result of some text of Scripture brought vividly to our minds, or of some thrilling sermon which has aroused us from our apathy ; and no doubt this is the case in every instance : the word , as I said before, being, with few or no exceptions, the sole vehicle by which the Spirit gains an entrance to our hearts. In this first-produced condition of mind consists what is called Repentance , the fulfilment of the former half of the injunction, “ Repent, and believe.” I do not think that at first it necessarily comprises a very distinct idea of the malignity of sin considered as an offence against God ; and possibly there may in the first instance be simply a dread of the conse- quences of sin, or at most a consciousness of the galling yoke under which the votaries of sin labour. But there is no doubt that whatever may have origi- nally induced the mind to contemplate its state, salvation from sin itself is ultimately the great thing desired, where the sorrow r is of the right sort (2 Cor. vii. 10, 11). The spiritual life, like the dawn of day, begins very gradually, often almost imper- ceptibly. Very seldom does the sun rise in full splendour ; for the most part his brilliance is obscured 160 TIIE BLESSED SACRAMENT at day-break by cloud-banks. Nevertheless,, the change from darkness to light soon makes itself manifest ; and it is in a similar change of mind that repentance consists. Formerly, there was a love of sin, and an indifference to the things of eternity. Now, though the fogs and mists of temptation may, and do, still cloud the horizon, yet the light is visible, the bent of the mind is altered : sin has become an intolerable burden, and there is a longing desire for pardon and peace. Like the Prodigal Son, we have “ come to ourselves,” and, with words of penitence on our lips and deep contrition in our hearts, we turn towards our Fathers house, hoping, possibly against hope, that He will have compassion upon our poor unworthy souls. What joy then to find that He has been waiting to be gracious ! that He has all along been our Friend, grieved beyond mea- sure at the distance we have kept from Him ! What joy to be received with open arms by One who is Almighty, all -wise, and infinitely tender and loving! The chief point to remember, whilst on this head, is that we must not look for much in ourselves, before complying with the command of the gospel, “ Come unto Me.” The work going on within is not that upon which we must fix our gaze, or from which we must draw our chief comfort. Self-exam- ination is good, nay, it is enjoined upon us, but only .as a stimulant to increased prayerful effort in mani- OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 1G1 festing our faith by our love ; for we are taught to “ forget those things which are behind, and to reach forth unto those things which are before ” (Phil, iii. 13). We shall infallibly miss the comfort we seek, or grasp but its shadow, if we keep looking for it within , that is, to the state of our personal holiness as distinct from the righteousness which is imputed. We cannot help feeling happy, when “ the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirits that we are the sons of God” (Rom. viii. 16) ; but this is very differ- ent from resting upon frames and feelings which are ever varying. The light within us is a reflected light, drawing all its rays from the Sun of righteous- ness; and only by our looking to Him can its brightness be maintained ; for the law of the spiritual life is thus enunciated: "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. iii. 18) ; and we are exhorted to “grow in grace, and (or even ) in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. iii. 18). For comfort, there- fore, and improvement, we must look to what our Saviour has already done and suffered for us, as re- vealed in His holy word. Still, the work within, considering the great things of which it is the seal and pledge, is, I imagine, a proper subject for gratitude ; and if we have ever so M 162 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT feeble a wish to proceed God-ward, we should be thankful and take courage ; for it is undoubtedly a “ good gift” from the “ Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James i. 17). There is but little difference between such a wish and prayer ; and God, who knows all things, notes it, and sends the requisite grace to bring it to good effect: “We know not what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh inter- cession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered : and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. viii. 26, 27). Never let us despise the day of small things ; and on no account let us imagine that we must wait until we are better, before coming to Christ. It is the pride of human nature, and the temptation of Satan, which would have us suppose that we can reform our- selves. But the thing is impossible, even on philo- sophical grounds. We can but grow worse : sin has eaten into our very vitals, and the vis medicatrix natures never restores a vital structure that is once impaired, however it may stop the ravages, or ex- ternal manifestation, of disease. An outward refor- mation, as regards morals, there might be ; but the heart would only become the harder. In fact, the attempt at reforming our character would in all like- OF THE LORES SUPPER. 1G3 lihood be made with a view to purchase heaven, or to buy off our guilty souls, thus dishonouring Christ, by making of no account the atonement which He has made at such a stupendous cost. Let any one, therefore, who is anxious about his souks welfare, rest assured that his old nature must be given up as incorrigible, that it is a mere “body of death” (Rom. vii. 24) ; and let him, guilty and sin-stained as he is, betake himself at once to the “ Fountain opened for sin and uncleanness.” But I must not anticipate. 2. Before we can reasonably come to Christ, we must give our full assent and consent to the suita- bility of the gospel-scheme to our need. I do not say that we must have a perfect knowledge of what has been done on our behalf ; for to insinuate that such must be the case, is one of the most subtle devices of Satan, by which he deters many souls from enter- ing on the true path. Still, unless we have good grounds for believing that Christ has wrought out a salvation exactly suited to our need, we cannot come to Him acceptably : we imagine that God can be propitiated by our tears of penitence and promises of amendment, or else our approach partakes of the character of superstition, and not of true faith, being little better than the telling of beads when in immi- nent danger. The Prodigal Son knew not the one half of the love and mercy which were in his Father’s m 2 164 THE BLESSED S ACE AMENT heart, and lie only hoped to be made a servant in his Father’s household ; but he was convinced that there was no heart so kind as his Father’s, and he was willing to place himself entirely at his Father’s dis- posal. He was convinced that what his Father pro- vided would be the best thing his wretched case allowed of ; and accordingly he felt impelled to appear before Him. Feeling utterly unworthy of his Father’s smile, he could expect little but stern rebuke and harsh treatment ; but seeing the utter hopelessness of proceeding any longer in his own ways, which had only led him from bad to worse, he could but bethink him of his Father’s happy home, and deem the lowest office there infinitely superior to his present miserable position. Such is the condition of mind required in us, before we can sincerely turn to God. This assent to the suitability of the gospel-scheme, including, of course, a belief in the facts connected with it, constitutes what is called historical faith. It is not of itself sufficient, for it may terminate in the head , without affecting the heart ; but it is nevertheless necessary before a heart-knowledge of Christ can be duly established. The gospel-scheme may briefly be described as consisting, (1), in the acceptance by God of the fact, that we are not only guilty, but by nature irre- trievably lost, that is, beyond the power of any OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 165 patching up ; (2), in the provision of an infinite Ransom, by reason of which a full and free pardon may be dispensed to any who choose to accept it, the only condition being, that they shall make choice of that which is good for its own sake, and when present interest seems to point to the contrary ; (3), in placing us upon an entirely new footing in relation to our Maker, so that the old man is for- gotten, and we become “new creatures in Christ Jesus” (2 Cor. v. 17), being moreover clothed in “ the righteousness of God,” which by faith in Christ is imputed to us (Rom. iii. 22) ; (4), in affording us supernatural, nay, almighty power, to “live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world” (Titus ii. 12.) ; (5), in making all our holy works to proceed of love and gratitude, not of dread, nor even of mere duty ; and, (6), in raising us up from the sleep of death, with all our faculties renewed, and awarding us everlasting life with our Saviour and our God. Now, I repeat, I do not think it is necessary that all this should be clearly comprehended, before our deci- sion is formed. As in the case of the man whose eyes our Lord opened, and who at first only saw “ men as trees walking,” so it is at the commence- ment of the spiritual life : our spiritual vision begins dimly, and it is only by degrees that we receive the Gospel in all its fulness. The great point is to be assiduous in our study of the Scriptures. If the same mind be in us which was in the man of Ethi- 166 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT opia (Acts viii.), namely, an earnest desire for in- struction in tlie ways of righteousness and the paths of peace, the Spirit of God will as assuredly bring us the requisite help and direction. For has it not been said ? — “ My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide My commandments with thee ; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding ; yea, if thou criest after know- ledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; then shalt thou under- stand the fear of the Lord , and find the know- ledge of God ; for the Lord giveth wisdom : out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Prov. ii. 1 — 6). “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Pom. x. 17). What we have been considering is the head-know- ledge of Christ, which always precedes true faith in His Person and work ; for how can we believe in Him of whom we have no distinct idea ? how can we repose confidence in one of whose ability and character we are ignorant ? An acceptance of the record concerning Christ, and an admission of the facts therein related, are included in the word, “ Believe,” — “ Repent, and believe but they are not of themselves sufficient, though very generally leading on to true faith, where the study has been prosecuted earnestly. 3. It is not sufficient that we have the light of the Gospel spreading its soft rays around and about us : OF TEE LOUD'S SUPPER. 167 it is not sufficient that we have a more or less intimate acquaintance with the history of Christ or with the theory of His mission : it is not sufficient even that we feel in a manner willing to accept the terms of the Gospel ; for such willingness is often connected with a fatal habit of postponing the decisive hour to a more convenient season. We must make some deter- mined attempt to appropriate the blessings vouch- safed to us. We must make a definite application for them : “ Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. xxii. 17). This is effected by prayer , whether expressed in words or uttered in the secret recesses of the heart. When we know what is in our Father's heart towards us, as we find it re- vealed in His word, we must determine with the Pro- digal, and not only determine, but proceed (as he did), to “ arise and go to our Father, and say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in Thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son” (Luke xv.). This is that reliance upon the power and good-will of God in Christ, which is the very essence of saving faith. This is that flying for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us (Heb. vi. 18). It comprises also, as I have already pointed out, an entire abnegation of self, and a siding with Christ against the world, the flesh, and the devil. But let not this dismay any anxious soul. Power to overcome is provided. Once set your foot in the 168 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT right path, and each succeeding step will become comparatively easy. “ Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” The way is narrow, and hedged about with thorns, but after all “ Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Prov. iii. 17). It is a mistake to think that God will repel any who come in His appointed way ; for He knows more fully than we do, our utter inability to do a good work, or even to think a good thought, of our- selves. And if He were intending to repel you, reader, why should He have sent His Son to die for you ? why have given His Holy Spirit to raise a desire heavenward in your bosom ? Ever remember that He is not One whose scruples must be over- come, before you can be saved, but that, on the contrary. He is Himself the Author of the grand scheme of salvation, by which the terms of the Gospel have been offered to you. And remember also, that in the Person of His Son, He has said, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out” (John vi. 37). The more you know of God, the more you will become convinced, that He is, and ever has been, your best, your truest, friend. You yourself, your dearest earthly friends, have not desired your salvation one hundredth part so much as He has ; and you will find ere long, if you will but surrender yourself to His keeping and guidance, OF THE LORD'S SUFFER . 169 that “this is life eternal, to know Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent” (John xvii. 3). Beseech Him, then, to have mercy on you. and to send His blessed Spirit to renew your hearts. Plead the name of Jesus, and bear in mind that “ every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened ;” and, “ If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him ” (Matt. vii. 8, 11). Here is a forcible appeal indeed! and it is evident from the context, that it is spoken in- differently to those who are undecided as well as to the converted ; for in the passage following, those are addressed who have clearly not yet entered upon the Christian course, the words being, “Enter ye in at the strait gate.” God still calls Himself your Father, even though you remain away from Him : even the miserable inmate of the place of torment is addressed in the words, “ Son, re- member,” which will shew us, I think, the grief which God feels in inflicting punishment, but at the same time, the utter hopelessness of those who make the Fatherhood of God the reed on which they rest, when persisting in a course of rebellion against Him. It is well for us, that during our life here , God has the tenderness of a Father's heart towards 170 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT us all. And be it understood, by the way, that He feels no less tenderly towards the natural man of the sinner, than He does towards that of the Christian, the difference between them being His own work from first to last. All Scripture shews this. If not, what are we to gather from our Lord’s words, “ I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. ix. 13), or from the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Piece of Money, and the Prodigal Son ? Our heavenly Father- con- stantly comes forth to seek His wayward children. On the brow of the hill overlooking the arid plain of separation, He strains Plis pitying, longing eye, to catch the first glimpse of the returning wanderer. And no sooner does He behold him in the distance, toiling along with weary gait and down-cast eyes, than He hastens to welcome him, and to pour the fulness of His love into his troubled bosom : “ When he was yet a great way off, his Father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him ” (Luke xv. 20). The poor son was expecting all sorts of harsh words, and cold looks. What must have been his astonishment to find that not a single upbraiding syllable w r as uttered, but on the contrary, only expressions of fondness and un- bounded joy at his long-wished-for return ! Scarcely will his Father give him time to stammer out his few words of penitence, before He begins to shower OF THE LOUD'S SUPPER. 171 upon liim all the blessings of Home : “ And the son said unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in Thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son.” He had been going to add, “ Make me as one of Thy hired servants ; ” but the Father said to His servants, “ Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet : and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat and be merry : for this My son was dead, and is alive again : he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” Make the experiment, my dear reader, and see if every word of this be not true. It is clear from this parable that there is no real difference between faith and coming to God : the one is an immediate result and evidence of the other. True faith always involves determined action. The prodigal’s faith was not complete, until he had set out on his homeward journey. It would have been base presumption in him to have sent a message requesting his Father to remit the needed assistance, whilst he himself remained estranged and wallowing in his sins. But the parable also shews us, that we need never hesitate to approach our Father which is in heaven, if, tired and disgusted with the things of the world, we feel that our Father’s care is better than all. No man need be afraid to appeal to God against his sinful tendencies : he will always meet 172 TIIE BLESSED SACRAMENT with a loving response, and find the needed help very shortly afforded. To hear some persons talk, one would imagine that it was wrong to come to God before we are conscious that we have a living faith. But this is one of Satan’s absurd devices to keep souls in bond- age. The only thing of the kind that God hates, is praying for purity, and yet “ regarding iniquity in our heart,” hugging the very sin we pray against. Earnest prayer and faith are the same thing : we cannot believe until we do pray. The best of us can only say, “ Lord, I believe : help Thou mine unbelief” (Mark ix. 24) ; but if we pray, wishing and humbly hoping for the blessing we ask, our petition being based upon some written promise of God, and offered in the Name of Jesus, we are the subjects of true faith, far more than if we had dabbled with half the creeds in Christendom, in a vain unaided search after the perfection of truth in the abstract. Do not let the prospect before you be encompassed with imaginary difficulties. Many young and hope- ful beginners are daunted by gloomy thoughts of the effort they will have to make in displaying their colours, and by anticipations of the jeers they will meet with from their former companions. But let them not be so fearful. The lions whose fangs they so much dread, are bound with chains, and can but roar and rage. Besides, those who are determined OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 173 to enter upon the Christian course, have, on demand, a panoply which the world knows not of, the com- plete armour of God : and each one can receive con- solation, and derive courage, from the cheering words, “ Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness ” (Isa. xli. 10). “ As thy day is, so shall thy strength be ” : “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Cor. xii. 9). The Israelites were in great trouble, when they had high mountains on either side, the Red Sea in front, and their implacable foes behind ; but there was yet a way made by which they could escape (1 Cor. x. 13) . And so it is with all who place themselves under the leadership of Christ. “ The Angel of the Lord en« campeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. 0 taste and see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. 0 fear the Lord, ye His saints : for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger : but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing” (Psa. xxxiv. 7-10). 4. We have now considered, somewhat in detail, the three chief things involved in true faith, namely, the feeling of our need of salvation, the assent to the suitability to our need of the gospel-scheme, and the personal application for the blessings vouchsafed 174 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT to us. But when we have the blessings in our pos- session, we must see that we make a due and proper use of them. The bread, which our Lord gave to the disciples at the institution of the Blessed Sacra- ment, was accompanied with the words, u Take, eat.” It was not only to be taken : it was also to be eaten . It is precisely at this point that the special force of the Sacrament becomes apparent. The Lord's Supper was not ordained for the purpose of inducing us to enter upon the Christian course. It no doubt includes , in its symbolical language, not only this, but much more of a similar kind, as indeed we have seen ; but it evidently presupposes, in those who partake of it, the existence of a certain degree of spiritual life : it presupposes that the rite of Baptism has produced its due effect upon the heart and conscience, and that by some species of ratification of the vows then made, the important decision has been formed, and the decisive step has been taken, by which we enrol ourselves under the Lord's ban- ner. And it was instituted for the particular pur- pose of symbolizing, and keeping constantly before us, the Christian's peculiar mode of maintaining his spiritual life, and also as a special means for the conveyance to the believer of the needed preservative grace. I have already spoken at some length on the OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 175 subject of eating , in my remarks upon our LorcTs discourse to tbe multitude, regarding eating His Flesh , &c. The chief thing to be remembered respecting the function in question, is that it involves a total surrender of ourselves to the influence of that of which we partake, and that this total sur- render is absolutely essential to the maintenance of our life and vigour. The food must be brought into the most intimate relation with our individual systems before it can be of the least avail. It is for us to see that it be so brought ; but the part we voluntarily take in the process of nutrition is necessarily limited. The food soon passes beyond our control, and, in entering into union with us as nutriment, is sub- jected to various kinds of treatment, of which we are not in the least cognizant, and of which we have scarcely any comprehension even. We have certain duties to perform in the acquisition, selection, and preparation of our food ; and also in carrying it through the preliminary stage of digestion, by intro- ducing it into our mouths, and duly masticating it. But when once we have accomplished the act of deglutition, our part in the process of eating, in respect of the particular morsel taken, is complete ; the rest is carried on by occult agencies which are independent of the will — unless indeed we include the regimen without which our digestive organs can* not be kept in good order. 176 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT In like manner, it is all-important, that we feed upon the Bread of life ; but, in the process, our control extends no further than to the taking Christ continually into our hearts, by earnest prayer and meditation upon His holy words and acts (especially by due attendance at the Blessed Sacrament), and to the subjecting ourselves unreservedly to His life- giving influence, with a sincere endeavour to guard ourselves against anything that would counteract it. The remainder of the process, the specially nutritive part, by which we become assimilated to Christ, and “ strengthened with all might in the inner man,” is wholly the work of the Spirit of God, who “ worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure ” (Phil. ii. 13). If we lose sight of this, a morbid feeling will be constantly rising in our minds, that all is not right with us ; and we shall become spiritual hypochondriacs, being gloomy without apparent cause, and ever fostering a spirit of complaint, in direct contravention of our Christian principle, which by causing us to rely solely upon God, is “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. xiv. 17). There are, however, two remarks with regard to our spiritual dietary and regimen which may well be made here. The first has reference to th e frequency of our spiritual feasts, and the second to the energy which they impart. OF THE LORES SUPPER . 177 Feeding in a physical sense is necessarily a, period- ical and oft recurring occupation ; and so of neces- sity must be prayer and meditation, if we would “ grow in grace.’* If the interval between our material meals be too long, we are in danger of starvation ; and if we neglect our spiritual feasts, “ leanness will enter into our souls/* It must be borne in mind, that the Christian life consists, on the one hand, in the continual acquisition and husband- ing of knowledge and power, and, on the other hand, in the due exercise and proper application to parti- cular instances of the knowledge and power already acquired. For every act deserving the name of Christian, before our will can be effective, a certain amount of knowledge, a certain amount of discretion and judgment, and a corresponding degree of power and energy are requisite. We do not act as Christians, until we believe (in the name of the Only- begotten Son of God) ; we do not believe, until we hear (or read) the Scriptures of truth ; for “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God** (Rom. x. 17). Every Christian act, properly so-called, is the fruit of “ faith which vrorketh by love** (Gal. v. 6) ; but we cannot believe, until we know what we are to believe : we cannot believe rationally, unless we can give “ a reason of the hope that is in us** (1 Pet. iii. 15). Faith is distinct from sight , but it scarcely differs from knowledge , and when perfect N 178 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT stands on quite as firm a basis ; for it is “ tbe sub- stance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. xi. 1). And here I would guard my readers against entertaining a vague faith. Nothing is so liable to be “ blown about by every wind of doctrine” : nothing is of so little service in the day of trial. Our faith must be “ as an anchor sure and steadfast” (Heb. vi. 19) : it must rest on the sure promises of God. It must be grounded in Truth, and have the support of knowledge, or it will utterly fail us. To “ overcome the world,” to “ crucify the flesh,” and to cope successfully with the wiles of the Devil, our faith in the fundamental principles of Christianity must amount to thorough conviction . But truth and knowledge are matters of gradual acquire- ment, and so are the wisdom and power requisite for their proper use. It therefore becomes evident, that to maintain our spiritual life and to augment our spiritual vigour, we must be assiduous in our study of the word of God, and constant in our attendance upon the various means of grace (that is, of spiritual power) : “ As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. ii. 2). The knowledge and the power which are charac- teristic of the Christian, are both of them peculiar. Thus, with regard to the knowledge, we are informed, that “ This is life eternal, that they might know OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 179 Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent” (John xvii. 3) ; and with regard to the power, that it consists in being “ strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in the inner man” {Eph. iii. 16). There are besides, two passages in St. Paul’s Epistles, which shew that the knowledge and the power of the Christian bear the closest rela- tionship to each other. Thus, in writing to the Ephesians, he says, “ Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers ; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him : the eyes of your understanding being enlightened ; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the ex- ceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. i. 15-20). And in writing to the Colossians, he says still more emphatically^ “ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it (that is, of their “faith in Christ Jesus,” ver. 4, and their “ love in the Spirit,” ver. 8), do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might he filled n 2 180 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT with the "knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding ; (so) tliat ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work , and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness” (Col. i. 9-11). Kespecting these two passages, we need only observe, (1), that in them the persons addressed are obviously “ saints " (vide commencement of the two Epistles respectively), that is, persons who have already made a public profession of faith in Christ, and been “ sanctified " or set apart by Baptism (Eph. v. 26 ; 1 Cor. i. 2) ; (2), that of such persons it is desired, that they should not rest content with the knowledge they already possess, but by God's help increase in knowledge, especially in the knowledge of His will concerning them ; (3), that such growth in knowledge is expressly declared to be conducive to fruitfulness in good ivorks, to the “walking worthy of the Lord unto allpleasing and, (4), that to know the power by which we are energised, its origin, its character, and its “ exceeding greatness," is of great importance, no doubt as imparting illimitable courage and fortitude, according to the Apostle's memorable boast, “ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me " (Phil, iv. 13). OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 181 This knowledge, on the attainment of which we should be bent, will never be complete ; for the finite can never comprehend the Infinite ; and “ if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know ” (1 Cor. viii. 2). “ The love of Christ passeth knowledge ” (Eph. iii. 19). “ In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. ii. 3). It is for us to pene- trate into the innermost recesses of this inexhaustible mine, and to press forward earnestly in our study of His blessed Person and work, becoming daily more intimately acquainted with every lineament of His lovely character, that we may ever be more and more conformed to His glorious image. It is for us to “ grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. iii. 18), — “ till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God , unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. iv. 13). Never must we rest con- tent, until we “ awake with His likeness” (Psa. xvii. 15). The frequency of our spiritual feasts must be regulated to some extent by circumstances. There are seasons when we stand in greater need of sus- taining power, than at others : then we should be more assiduous than common in drawing life from God's word, and in attending at the throne of grace. 282 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT And there are also seasons, when we hunger and thirst for communion with God, more than at others : this is an appetite, I think, which we need never curb, unless Satan turn it into a pretext for neglecting our active duties* But as a rule, it is undoubtedly best that our devotional exercises recur at regular intervals. This is especially the case in regard to our ordinary periods of retirement from the world, and in regard to our attendance upon the ordinary services of the Church. These must be engaged-in, in spite of the risk we incur of rendering them dull and lifeless by constant repetition : these must be as our daily meals, which are essential to our very existence ; and God is honoured rather than otherwise by the faith evinced, when we con- tinue in prayer or meditation notwithstanding the languor and disinclination which we sometimes feel at the commencement of our devotions ; moreover, if we persevere at such times, a rich blessing will seldom fail to descend upon us. There is one means by which the monotony of our ordinary devotions may be greatly relieved; and that is, by rendering our petitions and inquiries, our communion with God by prayer and the study of His word, as specific as possible. There must be a basis of regularity and form, no doubt ; but we are exhorted to search the Scriptures, and to ask for such things as we feel that we ourselves or others stand in need of. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 183 giving thanks also for special mercies; all which implies something far higher and nobler than the devotion of routine, or than a monotonous plodding through chapter after chapter without any definite aim. And I repeat, we are most likely to be satis- fied, the benefit derived from our devotional exercises is generally greatest, when the line of our study and the burden of our prayers are suggested by previous thought and specific desire for help and guidance, as was the case with the Bereans, who “ searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so ” (Acts xvii. 11), and with the early Church when it prayed for the imprisoned Peter (Acts xii. 5). For our interest is naturally more deeply engaged, and our heart is probably affected to a greater degree, at such times than at any other. These observations apply chiefly, of course, to our private devotions : the public worship of God must be conducted with perfect regularity and order, or endless difficulties will at once arise. The Church of England abstains wisely, I think, from allowing her ministers to use their own words in public prayer, or even to com- ment upon Holy Scripture, as it is read out during the services; deeming it only decorous, that the words with which we approach God should be wisely and deliberately chosen, and not have to undergo a mental canvass at the time they are offered up, and that God’s word, when coming directly from Him, 184 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT should fall on the ears of the people in its unalloyed purity, and with its power unmitigated. As to the frequency with which we should partake of the Lord^s Supper, opinions vary very con- siderably ; and no rule, I think, can be laid down for the individual ; though for the church congregated in any place, we may find some precedent to guide us, in the conduct of the apostolic age, which will come under consideration presently. Some persons find themselves soon sinking into formality by a too frequently repeated attendance : others, on the con- trary, derive great benefit from a frequent communion. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, and carefully study his own requirements. God demands no task-service of us. He “ will have mercy and not sacrifice” (Hos. vi. 6). Mere forms and ceremonies are abomination to God, who will have our heart or nothing at all. What I have said with regard to the expediency of rendering our communion with our heavenly Father as much as possible specific , applies here. To prevent the inroad of formality, it is a good plan to have our attention engaged, each time we attend the Blessed Sacrament, by some special and distinct portion of the truth as it is in Jesus. Formality, that is, want of power, very generally arises from the vague and undefined notions with which our minds are pos- sessed : we try to grasp too much at once, and lose all. Let us remember that the bread and wine are OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 185 nothing in themselves, and in relation to the spiritual truth and power which they are intended to convey, are but as the dishes and covers that contain the viands. The bread and wine, the dishes and covers, are constantly of the same kind, but their contents, the food conveyed in them, may be ever varying. In the one case, the whole animal and vegetable worlds are at our disposal, in the other case, the whole Christian revelation ; but we can only receive and digest a small portion at a time. Let it be our care to receive at least some portion of divine truth and sustenance, every time we attend the Lord’s Table. To partake only carnally of the bread and wine, is to look upon the dishes without discerning their contents : if such be our case, we shall return from the feast undeniably empty. And now a few words as to the energy which our spiritual feasts impart. We may rest assured that energy they really do impart, when partaken of in a true spirit. No doubt, if we pray, or read the word, as a mere duty, or with an idea that the mere saying of prayers, or reading, will avail us anything, we incur the charge of superstition, and gain no benefit whatever. But if we read and pray in faith , the blessing will as surely follow, as fresh strength and vigour after a material feast. Energy consists in a strong desire for action, combined with the requisite power. It implies a c 186 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT certain tone, and elasticity or buoyancy, of the system, which makes us rather rejoice under diffi- culties, and gives us the spirit of perseverance, the spirit which “ overcomes.” When it is wisely directed, the proper sphere of duty for the time being is promptly entered upon, and the course before us is ardently pursued. It is the grand necessity of the spiritual life, and everything which conduces to it should be carefully sought by us. One thing, however, must be borne in mind at this stage, or some weak souls, for whom Christ died, will be disheartened. The physical constitution has much to do with the ardour with which we engage in any duty, and some persons are so borne down by infirmity as scarcely to be able to engage in any active employment whatever. Let it then be ob- served, that spiritual energy is evinced in the more passive duties of the Christian life, no less than in the more active, and consists in a willingness and ability to be , to do, and to suffer, just as God appoints. Patience is a virtue, no less than prowess ; and God never expects from us more than we can give. We may be always sure that we never do enough for Christ; but let us beware of attaching any legal value to our works, except in so far as they are an evidence of our faith. In the way of purchasing salvation, Christ has done all things for us : our works, therefore, should be inspired simply by love OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 187 and gratitude ; they should be engaged in, simply to bring honour to His name. The living principle from which spiritual energy arises, is the “ grace of God,” in other words, the Holy Spirit, who “ worketh in us to will and to do of His good pleasure ” ; and the rule by which its operations are defined, is the Word of God, whose Author is the same Spirit. Wherefore, we must mistrust every supposed whispering of the Spirit which does not accord with the Word written. (1 John iv. 1.) If we wish to know the mode in which the grace of God in the heart of the Christian manifests itself, we have but to look at St. PauTs catalogue of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. v. 22, 23). “The fruit of the Spirit,” says he, “is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” These are the character- istic features of the Christian : though requiring for their exercise, I believe, a certain degree of mental enlightenment, they demand no particular depths of learning, and may be practised by the veriest child. They may be, and no doubt are, variously developed in different individuals; but they are present to some extent in all true Christians, — just as the fun- damental features of the human being are present in everyone who properly belongs to the genus Homo , though they vary in form and development to such a degree, that scarcely two persons can be 188 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT found whose faces are alike. In grace, as in nature, we may expect, with an almost rigid uniformity in things fundamental, the greatest variety in details. It is probable, that no human figure is so consum- mately perfect, as to conform in all points to the ideal physical Man : it is certain, that no Christian under present circumstances arrives at the moral perfection of Christ ; yet in both cases, at any rate in the great majority of instances, the likeness to the ideal is sufficiently distinct to be recognized by those who are at all conversant with their kind. There are beings who are lamentably malformed, and are even destitute of one or more limbs or senses, who are nevertheless undoubted members of the human race ; and in like manner, we may charitably presume, that a certain degree of moral blindness or lameness does not necessarily preclude a man from rightfully claiming the title of Christian. And per- haps we had better leave God to draw the line : only it is downright folly in such persons, to consider themselves more perfect than their neighbours. If, of the things which are essential to energy, there be one which in importance surpasses the rest, leaving out of consideration, of course, the simple stamina or power without which there can be no kind of action whatever, it is undoubtedly exercise . Exercise and energy act and react upon one another. This we know for a fact in physical matters, and it OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 189 holds good in matters spiritual : the more we exer- cise the graces we possess, the more vigorous do they become, and the more able and willing are we to exercise them again. It is a law of grace, as well as of nature, that strength and vigour increase by use, but vanish and evaporate by disuse. They are dependent upon nourishment, of course ; but they bear no strict proportion to the amount taken. Weakly subjects often have the most voracious appe- tites ; whereas strong active men are sometimes but small eaters. The difference lies in the use made of the food : in the one case, the digestion is healthy, the food is carefully chewed, and the system is kept in good order by exercise ; in the other case, the digestion is morbid, the food is bolted, and the habits are lazy. And where the appetite for food remains, notwithstanding the maintenance of a state of idle- ness, the imposing appearance which sometimes results, is mere corpulence, not robust health, and frequently ends in fatty degeneration of the heart, or in apoplexy and paralysis, especially if a love for stimulants have been engendered, as is so generally the case. The analogue to this condition is to be found in those who have been stimulated by exciting sermons, or at Revivals, as they are called, but who have failed to work the effect off by steady applica- tion to their Christian duties. Such persons eat chiefly for enjoyment, not to renew their strength. 190 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT and when tried against the hill Difficulty, they soon lose wind, and ofttimes halt ; but if disposed for cure, they will generally derive considerable benefit from a plainer diet, one whose saccharine character is greatly reduced. As a general rule, supposing the constitution to be sound, those are the strongest per- sons, who take a moderate supply of nourishment, and who draw it thoroughly into their system by a due proportion of suitable exercise. It is by atten- tion to such regimen alone, that our food is made available as power, that our whole system acquires tone and firmness, or that a readiness is imparted to us for meeting any emergency in which an unusual strain is likely to fall upon our faculty of endurance. The Psalmist says, “ Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa. cxix. 11) ; and St. Paul says, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the propor- tion of faith ; or ministry, let us wait on our minis- tering ; or he that teacheth on teaching ; or he that exhorteth on exhortation : he that giveth let him do it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness,” &c. &c. (Pom. xii). The parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins implies, I imagine, that grace in the heart of the Christian is expended at every thought, word, and act, and constantly needs replenishing from the OF THE LOBE'S SUPPER. 191 Fountain of all grace, through, prayer and patient study of the Scriptures (the two grand means of grace, which, separate, are of but slight avail, but combined, are all-powerful). And the parable of the Talents shews, not only the necessity, but the benefit of exercise . Here then, is the proper sphere for self-examina- tion : Am I duly exercising the graces God has given me ? Am I assiduous in my applications for fresh supplies of grace, of that which gives both the will and the ability to do of God's good pleasure ? Self- examination is worse than useless, if it encroach upon God's domain, or lead to the discouragement of those who are humbly following on to know the Lord ; and it is altogether wrong in principle, if it be that on the result of which we build our hopes of eternal life. The two kinds of self-examination, the right and the wrong, with their natural results, are brought before us with tolerable clearness in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican : “ Two men went up into the temple to pray ; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon 192 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke xviii. 10-13). The kind of self-examination which I am deprecating, almost invariably leads to comparing oneself with others, and either to self- gratulation or unreasonable despondency, both of which are offshoots of the pride of human nature, and out of place in the Christian, who, surrendering himself wholly to the will of the Lord Jesus, has given up trying to reach heaven by his own en- deavours. St. Paul examined himself in his converted state, and after long years of experience as a Christian, and found naught but war and turmoil, and he cried out, “ 0 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death V 9 (Rom. vii.) Our old nature is to be done away with ; all things are to become new. Our old nature is a dying, all but dead* carcase, beyond all hope of recovery : in Christ Jesus, we are “ new creatures.” If we think we shall ever be strong in any inherent strength of our own, we are vastly mistaken. Our inclinations remain as of old, and are ready to break out, when once we lose our hold of Christ, being only repressed by the mighty power of God restraining us. Ever must we humbly pray, OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 221 much, less any direct contradiction. But a consider- able difference undoubtedly does exist, not only between the terms used, but between what the pas- sages, if taken separately, might be supposed to convey. And I am of opinion, that where there is so great a difference between two or more records of the same event, we need not attach that awful importance to the language, which, in the present instance, the votaries of Transubstantiation do. If the Evangelists had been under the impression that the words in question were to be taken in their strictly literal acceptation, we may be almost certain, that they would have been most careful to give the language of our Saviour in a form unvarying, and capable of bearing a literal interpretation only ; for they would have regarded the stupendous character of the miracle they were recording, and have borne in mind, that the only evidence declaratory of the miracle, lay in the ipsissima verba , in the actual words, which our Saviour used. At any rate, although we may suppose the Holy Spirit to have thrown into the records a slight diversity, for the purpose of preserving in them severally the character of independent compositions, and thus of giving to them the weight of distinct testimonies, we can scarcely believe, that so vitally important a part as that from which was to be deduced the sole evidence for a miracle transcending all others, would have been precisely the part selected for the diversity to 222 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT appear in most strongly. Yet thus it has been, if the Romanist be right : the blessings, which are sup- posed to be the procuratory causes of the two miracles, and the declarations, which are supposed to announce their accomplishment, are the principal portions in which the records differ. As to its haying been bread and wine that were used, as to the breaking of the bread, as to the giving the bread and cup to the disciples, and as to the exhortations immediately following each gift, there is, if not per- fect uniformity, at least only a negative difference, only the difference which arises from the varying extent of information afforded. But when we turn to the parts of the narrative which more intimately concern the supposed miracle, we find a marked divergence, a divergence no doubt intended to pre- vent our attaching any carnal meaning to the words. This divergence is most apparent between the two first evangelists on the one hand (whose records, I admit, themselves differ but little), and St. Luke on the other ; but in case that circumstance should be supposed to throw a doubt upon the authen- ticity of St. Luke's gospel, I may remark, in passing, that the record of this evangelist is the one with which St. Raul's account (1 Cor. xi. 23-25), though itself independent (since he had received it of the Lord — ver. 23), coincides most closely.* * Some commentators are of opinion that St. Luke derived his information regarding the Sacrament from St. Paul, whom he ac- OF THE LORD'S SUPPER . 223 Now it is of importance to consider in wliat this divergence consists, and what is its character. Not only are blessing and thanksgiving — the invocation, or, as we may suppose, the impartation of grace or power, and the thankful reception of it, — placed in equivalent positions ; not only does St. Luke explain what is otherwise left in doubt, the particular body to which our Saviour referred, when He said, “ This is My Body ” — “ My Body which is given for you but expressions are found, filling the same position in the narrative, and evidently intended to convey much the same meaning, which yet differ so widely as u This is My Blood ” and “ This cup is the new testament in My Blood.’* And only to take par- ticular notice of the last-mentioned expression, it is quite sufficient, one would imagine, to shew us, that the words used by our Lord at the institution of the Sacrament, were not all to be taken in their literal sense. For it would be difficult indeed to imagine that a covenant could be made to exist substantially under the form of a wine- cup. Another point to be noticed is, that in the original of the three records, the word which answers to “ bread ** in our version, is the only one that companied during a part of his travels ; and no doubt the similarity of the two accounts, and the fact that the Apostle received his direct from Christ, powerfully support this theory. But St. Luke professes to write from information afforded by those who “ from the beginning; were eye-witnesses" (Luke i. 2), and makes no exception regarding, any portion of his narrative. 224: THE BLESSED SACRAMENT appears as tlie object of the several active verbs around it, namely, “took,” “blessed,” “brake,” “ gave,” “ take,” “ eat.” It is rash conjecture only that can supply any other. Again, according to St. Matthew and St. Mark, our Lord, having presented the cup, says, “ But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit (or product) of the vine , until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Thus does He speak of the contents of the cup as the fruit of the vine after the supposed miracle, as well as before (Luke xxii. 18). Then, again, it is worthy of remark, that in the original Greek, the word which answers to “ bread ” is of the masculine gender, whereas the word which answers to “ Body ” is neuter ; and that the word answering to “ this ” (in “ This is My Body ”) is made to agree in gender with the latter, not with the former. Now, it is not a necessity of the Greek language, that the verb “ to be ” should have words of the same gender on either side of it ; for St. Paul supplies us with an instance to the contrary, whilst upon this very subject : “ This cup (neuter) is the new testament (feminine) in My Blood.” (I quote St. Paul’s version, because it contains the verb ex - pressed, whereas in St. Luke’s record, which is so similar, it is only understood .) Such being the case it would have been quite possible for our Lord to have said, “This bread (or, This which looks like OF THE LOBHS SUPPER . 225 bread) is My Body.”, But He simply says, “It is My Body.” Upon this, however, strange to say, the Romanist builds his dogma, taking advantage of the change in gender, as intimating a change of sub- stance. For such an assumption, I need scarcely say, he has no reason worth mentioning. If a change of substance had been intended, it would have been said, “ This which I place in your hands has become My Body, and as such I give it you ; ” or, at any rate, a noun-substantive signifying such change would have been introduced, to which the word “this” might have referred. At present it only agrees with the word translated “ Body.” In the miracles recorded in the Old Testament, which are similar to this supposed one, such, for instance, as the turning of Moses’ rod into a serpent, and the turning of the water of Egypt into blood, there is full evidence afforded of the fact. In the former case, which occurred twice, we are each time told, that the rod “ became a serpent ,” from which, on one of the two occasions, Moses fled in terror (Exod. iv. 3), and which, on the other occasion, swallowed up a number of other like serpents (Exod. vii. 10-12). In the case likewise of the first plague, we are told, that “all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood,” that “ there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt : and all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink ; for they Q 226 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT could not drink of the water of the river'" (Exod. vii. 20-25). Moreover, in the only miracle on record in the Gospels, which is at all similar to the supposed one, no doubt is left in our minds as to the change that had taken place ; for we read, that “ the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine , and knew not whence it was,” but said to the bridegroom, “ Thou hast kept the good wine until now ” (Johnii. 1-11). We well may wonder, then, why unmistakeable language in favour of the miracle should not have been used in this case of the Sacrament. We well may wonder why all the evidence should seem to point the other way. But, to resume, if we are to regard the word “ this ” (rovro), in the narrative under consideration, as invariably referring to that which is represented by the noun-substantive preceding, we shall be in a sad maze, whether we regard the substance as changed or not. For we are told, that Jesus, after giving the bread, said, “ This is My Body which is given for you : Do this in remembrance of Me ; 39 and that He then “ took the cup, and having given thanks, gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it ; for this is My Blood,” &c. In the one case, we shall have to consider the cup as turning into blood (since wine is not once mentioned) ; and in the other case, we shall have to understand our Lord as enjoining His disciples to “ do ” (or make) OF THE LORD'S SUFFER. 227 bread “ in remembrance ” of Him, or, if not bread, tbe newly installed substance, His Flesh. This latter is no doubt the idea which the Romanist entertains, namely, that Christ, in enjoining His disciples to commemorate His dying love, commanded them also to perpetuate the miracle of Transubstantiation, saying, “ Make this in remembrance of Me.” But surely, the disciples had no idea of this kind ; for not only would their senses exclude the supposition that anything like transubstantiation had taken place, for them to perpetuate ; but they would re- member the discourse to the multitude, and our Lord's disclaimer, privately delivered to themselves, in regard to attaching any carnal sense to such words as He was now using. Still, we must bear in mind, that in this narrative the Evangelists introduce our Saviour's words in the midst of their own (though inspired) descriptions of His acts. The narrative consequently is of a mixed character, and it becomes necessary to separate the two portions, rightly to understand their import. Thus, supposing the Evangelists, so far as they go, to have reported our Saviour’s words accurately. He simply said, “ Take, eat : this is My Body,” “ Drink ye all of it : this is My Blood,” &c., without any reference to what either substance had previously been, bread or wine, other than the indirect refer- ence to the latter, contained in the words which He Q 2 228 THE BLESSED SACRAMENT uttered subsequently, as quoted by St. Matthew and St. Mark. It is not incumbent upon us, however, to suppose that the Evangelists reported His words verbatim : in fact, we know that they did not, since their records differ. Their object (or, more cor- rectly, the object of the Holy Spirit) would be to convey a faithful idea of what transpired, by the aid partly of description, and partly of quotation. Therefore, possibly it is wresting the Scriptures to take the quoted words in their rigidly literal sense, without any regard to the descriptive con- text. But in the present case, it so happens, that even taking the quoted and descriptive parts of the narrative separately, we can be under no reasonable doubt, on a perusal of either, as to the nature of the materials partaken of by the disciples. Partly in a direct manner, and partly by inference, we learn from either source, that those materials had under- gone no mysterious change, but were what they appeared to be. Thus, not only does our Lord, after the disciples have all taken the cup, say, “ I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine , until that day when I drink it new with you in My Fathers kingdom;” but the three Evangelists, in regard like- wise to the contents of the consecrated paten , are unanimous in declaring, that “ Jesus, having taken, and having blessed (or thankfully acknowledged), brake, and gave to the disciples, bread” And even OF TEE LOBE'S SUPPER. 229 if we examine those vexed expressions themselves, “ This is My Body/'’ “ This is My Blood,” consider- ing the idiom of the language in which our Lord spoke, we shall find no reason to change the opinion already formed, namely, that the material substances of bread and wine were not supplanted, but remained in their original condition. “ This is My Body,” “ This is My Blood,” are phrases which do not necessarily signify that there was any substantive connection between the bread and wine on the one hand, and Christas Body and Blood on the other. There is another instance of the use of the word “ this,” under somewhat similar circumstances, and in which similar care would seem to have been taken to prevent misconception of its relationship to sur- rounding words, namely, by making it to differ in gender from the noun- substantive preceding, to which it might otherwise have seemed to refer. The instance occurs in our Lord’s words to St. Peter, upon his confessing Christ to be the Son of God : “ I say unto thee. Thou art Peter , and upon this rock , I will build My church” (Matt. xvi. 18). “ Peter” (nirpoc) is masculine, “ rock ” (irlrpa) is feminine, “ this” agreeing with the latter , of course, in gender, number, and case. No doubt, the reference, in the words “this rock,” is to the truth contained in St. Peter’s confession; for it is upon the Godhead of Christ, as the central truth of the system, that 230 TIIE BLESSED SACRAMENT Christianity is indeed founded. The petra is the