"death, as abfolutely neceffary to qualify us for the "enjoyment of eternal life. And in this manner "we are to eat Chrift's body and drink his blood in the Lord's Supper. For though the eating of Chritt's flesh, and drinking his blood, spoken of in the fixth chapter of John, may have no imme"diate reference to this ordinance which was not "then instituted; yet the Lord's Supper may be "well explained by our Saviour's difcourfe in that

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chapter, and our eating and drinking in this ordi"nance must be in the fame spiritual fenfe in which "it hath been explained; otherwise it would be a "memorial of Chrift, neither fuitable to the ends "of his death, nor profitable to the nourishment "and comfort of our minds." I leave this to your impartial confideration, and am,

Reverend Sir,

Yours, &c.

LETTER

更

LETTER IX.

Rev. SIR,

Fear I have, by this time, almost exhausted your patience; and indeed I have been much more prolix than I intended. But bear with me a little longer: This Letter fhall conclude my prefent correfpondence with you. There remains only one question more to be difcuffed, which I will dispatch with all poffible brevity. It is this: What Preparation is neceffary to a proper attendance upon the Lord's Supper? Your answer to which (p. 35.) is as follows: "I apprehend nothing more is neceffary,

than coming to public worship in an ordinary way. "This act of religion, only requires that ferious and "composed state of mind, which is a temper that a "good man (who never indulges himself in cri"minal exceffes) habitually carries about with him;

and supposes only that due fense of the nature "of what we are about, which may always be re"collected at once, without particular preparation. "And it is well known, that the primitive Christians of the first centuries, received the Lord's Supper every Lord's Day, as a part of their common worship." And in another place (p. 54.) you write thus: "From the fame fource it is, [i. e. fu"perftition] that we have days fet apart for folemn

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"preparation before the receiving of the facrament, among all our denominations. It is not denied, "but that these days may be spent to good purpose; "but care fhould be taken, that they be not made "a handle for fuperftition: for I am free to fay, that these days of preparation for the Sacrament,

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are nothing more than the remains of Popery. "Indeed it was impoffible that there fhould have "been any fuch thing in primitive times; when the "Lord's Supper was received every Lord's Day, as 66 part of their common worship."

I am very ready to acknowledge, that fome good men have carried the business of preparing for the Lord's Supper to an unwarrantable excefs, looking upon themselves and others as utterly unfit for the ordinance, and obliged to abfent themselves from it, unless they had fpent fo many hours in private devotion, and heard a preparation fermon, perhaps unless they had read fo many pages in a preparationbook, even though their hinderances were unavoidable. This I condemn as fuperftition. I am firmly perfuaded that an heart renewed by divine grace, and devoted to God thro' Jefus Chrift, is the grand preparative for this inftitution; that a real Chriftian therefore is always habitually prepared, and that the want of preparatory exercifes cannot utterly difqualify fuch a perfon, much lefs if it be involuntary. Such cafes may happen, wherein I fhould think it a perfon's duty to celebrate the ordinance, tho' there fhould be no opportunity for any previous recollection; for inftance, if he fhould not have had notice of the adminiftration of it. But there is a wide difference between confidering particular preparation for this ordinance as in all cafes abfolutely neceffary (efpecially fuch a kind and degree of it as I have mentioned) and cenfuring it as fuperftitious, in ordinary, to make any at all. This is an oppofite extream, in my apprehenfion equally unreasonable

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with

with the former, and by far more dangerous. You do not, indeed, directly fay, that the Lord's Supper requires no preparation, but only, "that nothing

more is neceffary than coming to public worship "in an ordinary way." You here feem to aliow that public worship in general requires fome preparation; but what you have not told us. However, be that what it may, I think it unjustifiable, upon your principles, to fay that the Lord's Supper requires nothing more; for you have acknowledged this (p. 30, 34.) to be more folemn than the other; and if it be more folemn, it feems to require more preparation. For my own part, I cannot but think, that the ordinary parts of public worship require more previous preparation, in order to anfwer the great defigns of them, than is generally made; and am perfuaded, that if Christians took more pains than they ufually take, to bring their minds into a proper frame for attending divine ordinances, they would derive much more benefit from them than they commonly do. Precipitately to rush into the divine presence, without endeavouring to collect the thoughts, to quiet the paffions, to compose the mind, and to cultivate a devotional frame is, methinks, upon all principles, highly unbecoming creatures, and especially finners. A man who truly fears God cannot habitually do this; nor fatisfy himself ordinarily to go to public worship, without endeavouring to prepare his mind by previous reading and meditation, nor without humbly imploring the divine aids, to fit him for attending divine inftitutions, and to render them inftrumental in promoting his improvement in knowledge, holiness, and comfort.

But inasmuch as the Lord's Supper not merely partakes of the nature of public worship, but is, as you allow," a more folemn declaration of a man's

christianity than any other;" fince it is (according

to

to the foregoing account) not merely a folemn commemoration of the fufferings and death of the Son of God, for the redemption of the world, but at the same time a fign or feal of the covenant of grace; a declaration of mercy on God's part, and of faith, repentance, and new obedience on ours; we therein profeffing (as you yourself express it) our refolution, by the grace of God, to live and die like Chriftians; it feems to require fome kind of preparation peculiar to itself, and fome particular care to bring the mind into a proper state for exercifing difpofitions fuited to the feveral objects therein prefented to our view, and for answering all the ends proposed by this inftitution; which, according to your own account, are many and important. You tell us indeed, " this act of religion-fup"poses only that due fenfe of the nature of what "we are about, which may always be recollected

" at once, without any particular preparation."

It is true, a perfon who is tolerably acquainted with christianity, may eafily enough recollect, at once, the nature of the Lord's Supper, and it is not eafy to forget it; but will you fay, this is all that

this act of religion fuppofes?" Surely Sir, you must allow, that in order to perform it in a manner acceptable to God and profitable to ourselves, it is neceffary, not merely that our judgments be rightly informed, but that our wills be properly inclined, and our affections duly excited; that we be poffeffed of, and do in fome measure exercife, repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift; hope in the mercy of God thro' the mediator; love to God, to the Redeemer, and to our Chriftian brethren; hatred of all manner of fin, and a determined refolution, in the ftrength of divine grace, to live as becometh faints. It is alfo highly defirable, in order to a comfortable attendance at the Lord's Table, to experience a devotional frame of mind

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