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"the water that I shall give him, shall never "thirst: but the water that I shall give him, "shall be, in him a well of water springing up "into everlasting life," John iv. 10, 14.

The necessity of receiving Christ in all his ordinances, may well be argued from the scriptures. In the sixth head it was shewn, that the eating of the bread of life was necessary to obtain eternal life, but here the blood of Christ is conjointly and inseparably spoken of as necessary for the same end. And this might be further argued by considering the method in which Christ administered the last supper at the time of the passover, and which has been called the Lord's supper, or sacrament of the supper of the Lord; for "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 Testa

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ment, which is shed for many," Mark xiv. 22 to 24. A few things may be observed concerning the Lord's Supper, as first, it is to be received in prayer for a blessing upon it; that by faith it may be received as shewing forth the Lord's death till he come. If it be not viewed in reference to Christ, and to his body being broken for our sins, no ceremony is more unmeaning in the world. Can the eating of a morsel of bread or drinking a drop of wine, be well pleasing in the sight of God? Can

they impart spiritual life and comfort to the believer, and cheer and animate his soul through all the trials, temptations, and conflicts from within and without, with which he is beset in this his day? In themselves considered they cannot, but in reference to Christ by faith, as considering the infinite merit, and extreme importance to us of his atonement, it is of great comfort and encouragement to the soul of every believer. Christ in this also set us an example, by blessing or asking a blessing upon it. By blessing it which is peculiar to himself as head of the church, and therefore not to be imitated by any as thinking to impart that sanctification to the host used, which Christ hath imparted to his own body. By asking a blessing upon it which it is our duty by faith in his name to implore, as knowing that he who sanctified his own body for the sake of his people, will sanctify the bread and wine the emblems of his body and blood, as far as we faithfully and piously do receive the same. 2nd. It is to be received with thankfulness. Thus Christ as an example for us, took the cup and gave thanks. And thus also we, when we partake of that part of the Lord's Supper which is an emblem of the blood of Christ, washing away our sins, are to give thanks. unto God that by the shedding of Christ's blood once for all, he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified, in which number we hope and pray to be, and for which end we sit down to the table of our Lord, to express our faith on his merits,

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and to shew unto his followers also that we desire to be of their number. It remains lastly to express the peculiar privileges of those who thus spiritually drink the blood of Christ. If those who drink not of this, have no life, those it may be presumed who do drink it shall live for ever, and in fact this is the sum and conclusion of the whole; "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal "life, and I will raise him up at the last day," vi. 54. Though all mankind indiscriminately will be raised up from the dead at the day of judgment, yet the faithful alone will be raised up in a peculiar and happy sense of the word. St. Paul affirms, as if for the consolation of believers, "The dead in "Christ shall rise first," 1 Thess. iv. 16. and whatever might be the precise meaning which St. Paul meant to convey in his words, and which we cannot divine exactly after the lapse of so many hundred years; yet we may affirm some honorable distinction, to be conferred on God's people alone was intended. Something of this sort is also set forth in the Book of Revelations: "I saw the souls of them "that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and "for the word of God, and which had not wor"shipped the beast, neither his image, neither had "received his mark upon their foreheads or in "their hands: and they lived and reigned with "Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the "dead lived not again, until the thousand years "were finished. This is the first resurrection.

"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the "first resurrection," Rev. xx. 4, 5 and 6. But without arguing any thing as to the previous time of the resurrection of saints, before that of the wicked being summoned to appear to receive a final condemnation, it appears at the last day that the righteous will peculiarly be raised to spiritual life with those enjoyments which are alone to be found in the immediate presence of God.

8th. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor 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. 26, 27.

So dreadfully depraved is the huiñan mind, and so ready to pervert the noblest institutions and the best blessings, that we need often to be reminded of the spirituality of those appointments, which are settled in the decrees of Heaven: and often more espe cially so in the grand affair of salvation, where man is ever ready to mix his own works, with the meritorious offices of the Son of God. Honest zeal and depraved appetite have alike erred in this, though by the grace of God not to equal lengths nor consequently to equal danger. The honest zeal of Peter led him to abuse one of the sacraments of Christ's appointment. "And supper being ended,-Jesus

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"riseth from supper, and laid aside his garment, " and took a towel and girded himself. After that "he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash "his disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel "wherewith he was girded? Then cometh he to "Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord “dost thou wash my feet. Jesus answered and "said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now: "but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter (with

"more zeal than faith) saith unto him, Thou shalt "never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I "wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Peter felt the rebuke, but not fully seeing the spirituality of the Lord's appointment, with unabated zeal exclaimed, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my "hands and my head." But as Peter was right in the main, though his well meant zeal had too little either of faith or wisdom; our Lord condescends to shew him the nature of this institution, "Jesus "saith to him, He that is washed, needeth not, "save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit ;" and then to shew that some who received the ordinance would not be cleansed thereby, seeing they saw not its spiritual nature; he adds, “and ye are "clean, but not all." The depraved appetites of the Corinthians led them also to abuse in a more gross and fatal way the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, for which they were severely reprimanded by the apostle Paul," For first of all, when ye ❝ come together in the church, I hear that there be

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