God bring with him. For the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. “I am the resurrection and the life, said our Lord whosoever liveth, and believeth in me shall never die. Blessed immortality! to live for ever, and with Christ the Conqueror of death, and the Captain of our salvation! "I heard a voice from heaven, says St John, saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: they rest, saith the Spirit, from their labours, and their works do follow them. "Loud as the sound of many waters, and of mighty thunderings, this voice comes from a multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands,—from patriarchs, prophets, apostles, confessors, martyrs, and righteous men, who beckon from the skies, and call upon us "to come up hither." "Celestial society! Ye spirits of the just made perfect, we hear your voice! You have now finished your course, you have entered into bliss, and have received the crown of glory! We now combat with flesh and blood; with sense and passion: but yours is the victory. You taste the pleasures that are pure and unalloyed: yours is the joy of paradise; the white robe, the crown, and the sceptre. At a distance we adore: you stand in the presence of God; you see him as he is; you enjoy the smile of Divinity unveiled. We behold our Saviour darkly in the symbols of this institution you see him face to face, the Friend, the Patron, and the Redeemer of mankind! "But we, too, hope to become members of the general assembly of the church of the First-born; and that what you now are, we shall be. Hear from thy throne, O God! the desire of thy people; and carry us at last from this table where we now sit, and from which we are about to arise, to the feast of the Lamb in heaven, which will never end! "Communicants! as ye have received the "Lord Jesus," &c. * * The Service of four Tables is only given here. But, in general, the Tables are more numerous; sometimes extending to ten or twelve, or more. This is owing partly to the populousness of particular parishes, and partly to the smallness of churches, which often can admit only of Tables to accommodate thirty or forty Communicants at a time. PSALM Xxiii. 1 THE Lord's my. shepherd, I'll not want, 2 He makes me down to lie In pastures green: he leadeth me The quiet waters by. 3 My soul he doth restore again; 4 Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, Yet will I fear none ill : For thou art with me, and thy road 5 My table thou hast furnished, My head thou dost with oil anoint, 6 Goodness and mercy all my life And in God's house for evermore, CONCLUDING EXHORTATION FROM THE PULPIT. "My brethren and friends! our solemn work of communion is now over. It has been performed with much external decency, and seeming devotion. I presume not to judge of the heart: that is the prerogative of the Almighty God. Proceeding according to the judgment of charity, I conclude that your intentions have been pure, and your hearts upright before the Lord. In this view I congratulate you on the good confession which you have this day made before many witnesses. You have given your hearts to him who redeemed you from the wrath to come; and I have authority to assure you that you will never have cause to repent. "Henceforth you belong to the family of Jesus. Your Lord now says to you, I call you "not servants but friends." The blessings which he bequeaths to his friends who have sat with him at his table, are summed up in those precious and expressive words which he spoke to his disciples at the first institution of the Sacrament: "Peace I leave 66 "with you, my peace I give unto you; not as "the world giveth, give I unto you."-" I "will see you again, and your hearts shall re'joice, and your joy no man taketh from "you.-Ask, and ye shall receive, that your "joy may be full." These are the words of life; and have in them a power to give comfort to the mind in life and death, in time and through eternity. "Yet, my brethren, draw nigh, and give ear to me. It is only to those who have prepared themselves according to the preparation of the sanctuary, who have washed their hands in innocence before they approached to the altar of the Most High, that these blessings are promised. It is to be feared, that with many persons on such occasions as this, and perhaps at this very time, the performance of the solemn duty has been rather a matter of form, than of true devotion. To such I must say, The bread is not the bread of life, nor the cup the cup of blessing. Their hearts may have burned for a time within them; but this flame will soon be extinguished. Were I endowed with the power of looking into futurity, and of beholding the after lives of this assembly, what might I foretell? But without pretending to such a power, I may predict, |