brother, or husband? And we may as justly consider, that the proper employment of God's gifts, of fortune, or of faculties, of influence, or of knowledge, is in promoting the glory of Him who bestows them. Whatever sign of gratitude we show, we shall not exceed the rule of the commandment, which enjoins us to "love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind."

Mark xiv.

10-23. Luke xxii. 7-20.

John xiii.

21.

LECTURE LXV.

JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS.-THE SACRAMENT OF
THE LORD'S SUPPER INSTITUTED.

MATT. xxvi. 14-29.

14. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15. And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray

him.

This is one of the many passages of Scripture, which show us how the counsels of God are accomplished through the natural dispositions or passions of men. The Son of man was to be betrayed into

the hands of sinners: so he had frequently foretold. But if he was to be betrayed, there must needs be a traitor. Among the twelve apostles, is one, whose heart had never been so far converted by all that he had seen and heard, as to relinquish the sin of covetousness. St. John acquaints us, that it was he who chiefly objected to the expensive mark of attachment shown by Mary, and just before related, "not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." 1 The same disposition was now operating upon his mind. Perhaps he thought that Jesus was determined to give himself up to his enemies; perhaps he thought that he might deliver himself out of the hands of his enemies, though betrayed to them; but however this might be, he would not lose the opportunity of making an advantage to himself. So he went unto the chief priests and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

The thirty pieces of silver were indeed "a goodly price" at which the Son of man was valued! It was the sum appointed in the law as the recompense to a master for the loss of a slave, who might have been accidentally slain. But thus was brought to pass the saying which was written, “He was despised, and we esteemed him not."

17. Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

1 John xii. 6.

2 See the remarkable prophecy, Zech. xi. 12, 13.

18. And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

19. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

20. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

21. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, That one of you shall betray me.

22. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

23. And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

24. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

25. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

By this unexpected warning, an opportunity is offered to Judas of retracting his secret design. "With the temptation a way is made to escape." But repentance is not in his heart, and Satan leads him captive at his will.

26. 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.

27. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28. For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.

29. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of

* New covenant, new dispensation. "Behold, the day is come saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah."-Jer. xxxi. 31.

H

this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Such was the origin of that institution, which Christians have ever since observed as a memorial of their crucified Redeemer. It was probable that some mode would be appointed in which those who trusted to the atonement which he made, might declare the ground of their hope, the object of their faith. The law of Moses had ordained certain regular festivals, reminding the Jewish nation of the various mercies shown them. At the present moment the disciples were celebrating the principal of these, which commemorated the deliverance of their ancestors from Egypt, the beginning of their existence as a nation. Hereafter they were to commemorate, in a similar, though more simple manner, a far greater deliverance, which rendered them still more peculiarly the people of the Lord.

:

The ceremony is strongly significant of that spiritual life of which Christ is the author and preserver. Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his 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 testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. The bread, however, was not his wine his blood, except in a figure. was to remind them of the other. to recall the reality. The bread was to recall to their minds, that his body broken for them was the price of their redemption. Take, eat; this is my

body, nor the

The one, then,
The figure was

body. This is my body, which shall be broken for you, when I bear your sins upon the cross, even as this bread is broken in my hands. And as the bread which I bless and break, is nourishment to the eater; so this, my body, is the bread of life; "the living bread which came down from heaven;" "my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world:" "if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever."4

Again; the blood was to remind them of the sacrifice which their salvation cost, because "without shedding of blood is no remission," but "the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." Drink ye all of this; this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for you, and for many for the remission of sins. This is "the blood of the everlasting cove nant," which "whoever drinketh, hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day."

Such is the idea conveyed in this figurative ap pointment, and expressed by the words in which, from the earliest times, the Sacrament has been administered. "The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee; the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee; preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life! Take and eat this; drink this; in remembrance that Christ died for thee, that his blood was shed for thee, and be thankful."

So that the Lord's Supper is a sign of faith, and an exercise of faith; and in proportion as that faith is sincere and ardent, may expect a blessing. It is an acknowledgment of our believing that Christ See John vi. 50, &c.