But a man of an honest and good heart, who has received the Sacrament worthily, rises, like one who has had a burden taken from his shoulders, pursues his journey, in the path of virtue, with fresh cheerfulness and vigour, and, remembering how painful the burden was, determines never to be encumbered with the like again; and the grace which he has received, strengthens and refreshes his soul, so as to enable him, for the most part, to keep his resolution.

The privileges of the Sacrament, are to be enjoyed only so long, as they are not forfeited by subsequent transgression-" Circumcision verily profiteth," says the Apostle, " if thou keep the law, but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." The benefit of the sacrifice itself on the cross, was to be enjoyed only on the same condition. "Yet now hath he recon→ ciled you, in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable in his sight, if ye continue in the faith, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel."

"And, therefore it is," says Bishop Cleaver, "that, in perfect consonance to the whole Gospel dispensation, our church, in her Communion Service, hath taught us to pray, that God for Christ's sake will forgive us all that is past, and that we may

* Col. v. 22, 23.

THE LORD'S SUPPER.

ever hereafter serve and please him in newness of life; without which amendment, this pardon will be withdrawn, and leave the sinner in the state of his prior guilt, with the aggravation of having abused additional means of grace; and, therefore, with an increase of condemnation.

"Now, from this representation of the matter, which has nothing in it of subtlety; no consequence can be drawn to the encouragement of vice; whilst it affords a solid and substantial comfort to the penitent. On the contrary, the doctrine is as wholesome as it is obvious: it renders habits of virtue necessary to all, whilst it supplies a mighty incitement to the sinner, " by purging his conscience from dead works, to serve the living God;" and, by removing the weight of his present guilt, enables him cheerfully to " run the race that is set before him," and with confidence, to aim at " the prize of his high calling."

"But in the present eagerness to depreciate the use and efficacy of this rite, it is probable we shall be still asked, of what need at all is a rite, the conditions of which, faith and repentance, are, in a general view, considered as of themselves effectual to procure salvation? Which question I shall answer, by applying it to the other Sacrament; what need is there of baptism? yet the injunction is, "repent and be baptized." One step farther what need of any external means? Yet the Divine:

Wisdom hath found them expedient in every religious dispensation. If the question could be asked by any sober inquirer, I should reply respecting both these Sacraments, that they are necessary external means:

"First, to be the instituted expressions before God of our faith and repentance.

"Secondly, to be each as an offering of ourselves, of our souls and bodies, a pledge to him of our future obedience.

Thirdly, to be pledges to us of God's accep

tance.

Fourthly, as solemn professions of our agreement in Christ; without which there can be no Church Communion.

Fifthly, to remind us constantly, that all our hopes of pardon and acceptance rest upon the sacrifice of Christ's death.”

“And would it not be reasonable to expect, that the religious use of rites of such importance, by their practical influence, might be, by Divine appointment, the means of deriving upon us the blessings of pardon and sanctification, in a degree beyond that annexed to the performance of any positive or moral duty whatever; even if we had not authority from Scripture for this conclusion ?"

d

the Evangelists; and never found, as Origen observes, either in Greek authors, or in colloquial language. The meaning of it is not yet fixed, to the entire satisfaction of men, who are best able to judge of points like these; but, whatever may be its meaning, it most undoubtedly does not signify 66 daily." An old translator, not knowing how to render it, inserted at a venture the epithet, daily; and subsequent translators, equally ignorant, continued to use the same word, under the sanction of the first mistake: our Bible and Liturgy retained the error, for the same reason, and the prayer is repeated by millions in a sense, perhaps, never intended by the Divine Author.

Some of the antients, and particularly Jerom, translated the epithet, " supersubstantial*, and superessential," instead of " daily," and it stands to this day so translated, in the Vulgate Bible.

Jerom, commenting on the eleventh verse of the sixth chapter of St. Matthew, in which is contained the petition for bread, says, " I have consulted the Hebrew, and wherever the Septuagint have us. ed weplovios, I find no, which Symmachus has rendered aspetov, that is, select, or singularly excellent; therefore, wherever we pray God to give us this singular and excellent bread, (he seems to think περιουσιος, synonymous with επιουσιος,) which

* Qui super omnes substantias est et universas superat creaturas. MARTINII Lexicon..