from the thraldom of Egypt, wherefore our Saviour, considering that there could not be a more appropriate time for founding a ceremony that was to commemorate the universal emancipation of all mankind from the thraldom of Satan, chose on this evening to institute the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.* "As they did eat, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 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 sacrament of the Lord's Supper was almost universally adopted in the early periods of Christianity, and still continues so to be, except by some fanciful sectarians, as the Quakers, &c. This sacrament was by the early Christians attended numerously and with short intervals; in fact, it was administered daily in some places. Each communicant brought an offering, principally of bread and wine, compatible with his means, of which the priests consecrated what was requisite for the administration of the eucharist. Of the superabundance a portion accrued to the clergy for their maintenance, and the remainder was appropriated to the Ayanal, or love-feasts, immediately succeeding the sacrament, and of which all the communicants, without exception, partook. But these feasts being soon abused, they were discontinued, although an apostolical institution.

I wil Inot drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Christ broke the bread and poured out the wine as typical of the sacrifice of his body and the pouring out of his blood for the salvation of mankind. Moreover, the good effect which the bread and wine have upon our bodies, is emblematical of the good effect which the thing typified has upon our souls; or, as our catechism very properly expresses it, our souls are strengthened and refreshed by the body and blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the bread and wine.

The feast of the passover was instituted the night preceding the deliverance of the Jews, and was not only intended to be a memorial of that deliverance, but also to be symbolical of the title they had to the blessings of the old covenant. In like manner the sacrament of the Lord's supper was instituted the night preceding the salvation of man, and is not only a memorial of Christ's death, but a pledge to assure us of the benefits promised in the new covenant; for our articles say, that the " sacraments ordained by Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, an

God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him."

About the commencement of the eighth century, some enthusiastic preachers and writers urged the figurative language of our Saviour in its literal sense, and by degrees this idea, in those superstitious times, took such hold of the imagination, and was carried to such a height, that finally the doctrine of transubstantiation, or the actual change of the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Christ, by the consecration of the priest, was instilled by the clergy, on the spurious authority of papal supremacy. But this doctrine is not only contradicted by our very senses, but even by Christ's own words; for he called the wine, "the fruit of the vine," after he had consecrated it. One consequence of the doctrine of transubstantiation was another innovation, viz. of denying the cup to the laity, which arose from the fear of wasting any part

* Luther, the reformer, merely substituted consubstantiation, (or the immediate presence of the body and blood of Christ with the substance of bread and wine,) in the place of transubstantiation; and this was a great source of schism among the reformed churches.

of the body and blood of Christ. With respect to the bread, this difficulty was obviated by making use of small wafers, which the priests thrust at once into the mouths of the communicants; but the spilling of the wine could not possibly be always avoided, although various expedients were resorted to for that purpose, but all in vain; wherefore a determination was formed of denying the cup to the laity in toto. But so great a change was not at once submitted to, and it was not until the beginning of the fifteenth century, nearly two hundred years subsequent to its first introduction, that this innovation was established, and from which time the priests of the Roman church have restricted the cup to themselves. The general usage of the apostolical and primitive churches is a sufficient refutation of this absurd practice; and, if it were not so, our Saviour himself, as if providing against any such error, made a marked difference when he presented the cup to his disciples, by using the emphatic words "Drink ye all of it," which words at once overturn this arbitrary corruption of confining the cup to the priesthood, and denying all participation therein to the laity.

After Judas had gone out, to execute his base and treacherous design, our Saviour made that

admirable discourse to his disciples contained in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of St. John; he also advertised Peter of his approaching fall, who, in place of being humbled by this prediction, boldly and presumptuously asserted his firm determination of following his Master, were it to bonds or even unto death; he also consoled them against their approaching tribulations, by promising them the co-operation and inspiration of the Holy Ghost; he then, having previously commanded them to take arms, led them over the brook Cedron, to go (as his custom was) to the Mount of Olives. When they had arrived at Gethsemane,* Jesus constrained his disciples, excepting Peter, James, and John, to remain whilst he went forward with his three favourite disciples to offer up prayers to his divine Father. Being come into the garden, he told them, that he was inconceivably agonized, and in great anguish of spirit, even unto death, and therefore he desired them to watch with him whilst he prayed. He then went from them about the distance of a stone's cast, and falling upon face, prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be pos

his

* Signifying the fat valley. It was a farm or garden, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and beyond the brook Cedron.