are not alike, one receives more easily, another retains longer. It is not for every one to hope to attain to that ability, that he can go away with the whole fabric of a sermon, and readily recount it unto others; neither doth God require that of any man, which he hath not given him. Our desires and endeavours may not be wanting, where our powers fail. It will be enough for weak memories, if they can so lay up those wholesome counsels which they receive, as that they may fetch them forth when they have occasion to use them; and that what they want in the extent of memory, they supply in the care of their practice. Indeed, that is it wherein lies the life of all religious duties, and without which they are but idle formalities; that which the philosopher said of all virtue, I must say of true godliness, that it consists in action. Our Saviour did not say, Blessed are ye, if you know these things; but, If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them. The end of our desire of the sincere milk of the gospel is, that we grow thereby in the stature of all grace, unto the fulness of God, 1 Pet. ii. 2; Eph.

iii. 19.

XXVII. The highest of all God's services are his sacraments; which therefore require the most eminent act of our devotion. The sacrament of initiation, which, in the first planting of a church, is administered only to those of riper age and understanding, calls for all possible reverence and religious addresses of the receivers; wherein the primitive times were punctually observant, both for substance and ceremony: now, in a settled and perpetuated church, in which the virtue of the covenant descends from the parent to the child,

there seems to be no use of our preparatory directions. Only it is fit that our devotion should call our eyes back to what we have done in our infancy, and whereto we are ever obliged; that our full age may carefully endeavour to make our word good, and may put us in mind of our sinful failings. That other sacrament of our spiritual nourishment, which our Saviour (as his farewell) left us for a blessed memorial of his death and passion, can never be celebrated with enough of devotion. Far be it from us to come to this feast of our God in our common garments; the soul must be trimmed up, if we would be meet guests for the Almighty. The great Master of the feast will neither abide us to come naked nor ill-clad. Away, therefore, first with the old beastly rags of our wonted corruptions. Due examination comes in first, and thoroughly searches the soul, and finds out all the secret defilements that it hides within it; and by the aid of true penitence, strips it of all those loathsome rags wherewith it was polluted. Sin may not be clothed upon with grace; Joshua's filthy garments must be plucked off, ere he can be capable of precious robes, Zech. iii. Here may be no place for our sinful lusts, for our covetous desires, for our natural infidelity, for our malicious purposes, for any of our unhallowed thoughts. The soul, clearly divested of these and all other known corruptions, must, in the next place, instead thereof be furnished with such graces and holy predispositions as may fit it for so heavenly a work. Amongst the graces requisite, faith justly challengeth the first place, as that which is both most eminent, and most necessarily presupposed to the profitable receipt

of this sacrament; for whereas the main end of this blessed banquet is the strengthening of our faith, how should that receive strength which hath not being? To deliver these sacred viands to an unbeliever, is to put meat into the mouth of a dead man. Now, therefore, must the heart raise up itself to new acts of believing, and must lay faster hold on Christ, and bring him closer to the soul; more strongly applying to itself the infinite merits of his most perfect obedience, and of his bitter death and passion; and erecting itself to a desire and expectation of a more vigorous and lively apprehension of its omnipotent Redeemer. Neither can this faith be either dead or solitary, but is still really operative, and attended, as with other graces, so especially with a serious repentance, whose wonderful power is, to undo our former sins, and to mould the heart and life to a better obedience. A grace so necessary, that the want of it (as in extreme corruption of the stomach) turns the wholesome food of the soul into poison. An impenitent man, therefore, coming to God's board, is so far from benefiting himself, that he eats his own judgment. Stand off from this holy table, all ye that have not made your peace with your God, or that harbour any known sin in your bosom; not to eat is uncomfortable, but to eat in such a state is deadly: yet rest not in this plea, that ye cannot come because ye are unreconciled; but, as ye love your souls, be reconciled that you may come.

Another grace necessarily prerequired, is charity to our brethren, and readiness to forgive. For this is a communion, as with Christ the Head, so with all the members of his mystical body. This

is the true love-feast of God our Saviour, wherein we profess ourselves inseparably united both to him and his: if there be more hearts than one at God's table, he will not own them. These holy elements give us an emblem of ourselves: this bread is made up of many grains, incorporated into one mass; and this wine is the confluent juice of many clusters; neither do we partake of several loaves, or variety of liquors, but all eat of one bread, and drink of one cup. Here is then no place for rancour and malice, none for secret grudgings and heart-burnings. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift, Matt. v. 23, 24.

Neither may we do as those two emulous commanders of Greece did, who resolved to leave their spite behind them at Mount Athos, and to take it up again in their return; here must be an absolute and free acquitting of all the back-reckonings of our unkindness, that we may receive the God of peace into a clear bosom.

XXVIII. Besides these graces, there are certain holy predispositions so necessary, that without them our souls can never hope to receive true comfort in this blessed sacrament; whereof the first is a hungering and thirsting desire after these gracious means of our salvation. What good will our meat do us without an appetite? Surely without it there is no expectation of either relish or digestion. As therefore those that are invited to some great feast, care first to feed their hunger ere they feed their body; labouring by exercise

to get an appetite ere they employ it: so it concerns us to do here; and as those that are listless and weak-stomached are wont to whet their appetite with sharp sauces, so must we, by the tart applications of the law, quicken our desires of our Saviour here exhibited.

Could we but see our sins, and our miseries by sin; could we see God frowning, and hell gaping wide to swallow us; we should not need to be bidden to long for our Deliverer, and every pledge of his favour would be precious to us.

Upon the apprehension of our need of a Saviour, and so happy a supply thereof presented unto us, must needs follow a renewed act of true thankfulness of heart to our good God, who hath both given us his dear Son to work our redemption, and his blessed sacrament to seal up unto us our redemption thus wrought and purchased. And with souls thus thankfully elevated unto God, we approach with all reverence to that heavenly table where God is both the feast-master and the feast. What intention of holy thoughts, what fervour of spirit, what depth of devotion, must we now find in ourselves! Doubtless, out of heaven no object can be so worthy to take up our hearts. What a clear representation is here of the great work of our redemption! How is my Saviour by all my senses here brought home to my soul! How is his passion lively acted before mine eyes! For, lo, my bodily eye doth not more truly see bread and wine, than the eye of my faith sees the body and blood of my dear Redeemer. Thus was his sacred body torn and broken; thus was his precious blood poured out for me. My sins (wretched man that I am!) helped thus to crucify my Saviour; and