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receive consolation. No situation or circumstance of life can be a reasonable excuse for the neglect of this most sacred service; nor indeed would any reflecting Christian seek for an excuse; for, considering the merits of the institution, we can scarcely avoid observing it as one of our most essential duties; and we shall find, that it will support and comfort us in every trial, in pain, in sickness, in affliction, and in death: the consoling balm it will spread over the soul will make light the sorrows of its earthly tabernacle, and open before it the joys of that place, whither Christ himself is gone to prepare mansions for all his faithful servants.

THE PRAYER.

O Almighty God, infinite and eternal! who dwellest in that light which no mortal eye can approach unto; who fillest all things by thy presence; Thou art every where by thy

essence and by thy power; in heaven by thy glory, in holy places by thy grace and favour, in the hearts of thy servants by thy Spirit, in the consciences of all men by thy testimony and observation of us; look upon me, I beseech Thee, teach me to walk always as in thy presence, purify my heart from every corrupt affection, strengthen my faith in Thee, increase my charity to my fellow-creatures, and enlighten my mind to know the truth as it is in Jesus; for in Him thou hast opened the fountains of thy mercy, and hast invited all penitent sinners to come to be pardoned, the oppressed to be eased, the sorrowful to be comforted, the hungry to be filled, the thirsty to be refreshed with the waters of life. Admit me, O Lord, in thy mercy, to this effusion of thy loving kindness; teach me to have a right understanding of this divine institution, the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, that I may approach this awful Mystery with due prepara

tion, and a heart fully disposed to love and obey Thee in all things; and being filled with the bread of heaven, and armed with the strength of the Spirit, I may continue and finish my journey through this vale of tears, with consolation and hope, unto my portion in thy heavenly kingdom, whither our Saviour Christ is already entered for us. Grant this, O Eternal God! for his sake, who died for us, who now intercedes for us, and by his Holy Spirit gives himself daily to us, Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

TUESDAY.

On the Duty of Examination.

AFTER rightly understanding the nature of the blessed Sacrament, the first thing necessary to do is to examine whether we are in a fit state of mind to partake in this service, and whether we may reasonably hope for the benefits to be derived from it.

St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat; for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself." This address to them was in consequence of the improper manner in which they celebrated the Lord's Supper: they met, not merely to partake of bread and wine, as symbols of the crucified body and blood of Christ, but they made a feast; " one was hungry, and another

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was drunken;" they profaned the mystical elements, as if they had been common food; they ate and drank in an unworthy manner, "not discerning the Lord's body;" and thus, instead of promoting their eternal salvation, by performing a solemn act of religion, provoked the Lord to lay heavy judgments upon them; and "for this cause," says St. Paul,

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many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Thus the idea of being unworthy to partake of this Communion, which many persons entertain from this passage, and therefore make it an excuse for their neglect of it, is so far erroneous, that the apostle only reproves the manner of the reception, not the unworthiness of the receiver; and though that unworthiness is certainly implied, he is so far from prohibiting the Corinthians from attending this service, that he rather commands them to come, but to examine themselves first. We may, then, from their example learn, that sickness and death

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