evidently convinced, that we have a better offer'd to us in the ftead of it; and then we fhall either free our felves altogether from the Attacks of our Adverfaries, who feldom care to meddle with honeft and understanding Men; or I am fure we shall not run any great Hazard by their Attempts.

But above all, Thirdly; Whilft we thus contend for the Faith that was once delivered to the Saints, let us be Followers of their Lives, as well as of their Doctrine. This is that which must save us, when all our Disputes will otherwife ftand us in no ftead. To believe aright, will do us but fmall Service, if we do not live fo too. And I am perfuaded, would we but be prevailed with to do this as we ought, it would not only moft effectually fecure us in the Truth, but be the most likely Means in the World to draw over others to it.

And indeed what Pity is it, that a Church, which has in all other Refpects fo many admirable Advantages above its Adverfaries, that it is defective in no other Mark of being truly Primitive, and even in this is lefs defective than others, fhould not be bleffed with this too? Confider, I beseech you, that we rely upon none of those broken Reeds which others lay fo much Strefs upon, to make you happy in another Life, tho' you are not upright and holy in this.

If there be then any Concern for your own oṛ your Church's Honour; if any Value for your immortal Souls; if you defire the Bleffing of God now, and the benefit of his Promifes in the World to come; if thefe Motives, which one would think fhould be of all others the most confiderable, may be allowed to have any influence at all upon you; think then upon these things, and fulfil ye our Joy in the practice of

that

that Piety whereunto ye are called. Be as Good, as ye are Orthodox; as free from all Corruption in your Manners, as God be thanked you are from Error in your Belief: Accomplish that great Work, which Heaven feems at laft to have begun among us, And as we are now apparently more concern'd for our Religion, than we have perhaps any of us heretofore been; fo let us go on in well-doing more and more. Let us grow in Grace, and then we fhall alfo grow in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Fefus Chrift, till finally we all come in the Unity of the Faith, and of the Knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect Man, to the measure of the stature of the fuls nefs of Chrift..

The End of the Tenth Sermon.

2 Pet. iii. 18

Eph. iv. 13.

SER

SERMON XI.

Of the Nature and End of the Holy Sacra ment of the Lord's Supper.

Preach'd at St. PAUL's Covent-Garden, Decemb. 30. 1688.

T

i COR. XI. 24.
This do in Remembrance of Me:

HESE Words art part of that folemn Form in which our Bleffed Saviour first celebrated the Holy Sacrament of his Body and Blood; and establish'd it as a facred Inftitution, to be continued for ever in his Church, in remembrance of that Death and Paffion which he was just then about to undergo for it.

Whether our Apoftle recounted the History of this great Inftitution, according to what fome of those who were prefent at the first Celebration of it, had delivered it unto him; or whether, as feems most probable, he had received the Manner

་

of

of it by fome extraordinary Revelation from our Sa

Non eft meum quod vobis tradidi, fed a Domino illud accepi: ficut ip fe alibi dicit, Non ab bominibus feda Deo omnia didiciffe. Hieron. in ver. 23. See Gal. i. 1,

viour Chrift himself: This is plain, that what he here reports to them of this Matter, was no idle Story, no vain Account of his own Invention, but a true and exact Relation of what the Bleffed Jefus then did, when in the fame Night in which he was betray'd, he took Bread, and when he had given thanks, brake it, and gave it to his Difciples, faying, Take, eat, this is my Body which is broken for you,

12.

This do in Remembrance of Me.

So that our Text then you fee contains a positive Command of our Saviour Chrift himself, of fomething which he ordered his Apoftles to do with reference to this Holy Sacrament: And my Business at this time fhall be to confider what that was, and how far we at this Day are to look upon our felves to be concerned in it. I fhall reduce what I have to offer upon this Occafion, to these two general Confiderations:

I. Of the falfe Conftruction and Application which those of the Church of Rome make of these Words.

Which having done, fo far as may be neceffary to the following Difcourfe, I will then,

II. Shew what indeed it was that our Bleffed Säviour here commanded his Apoftles, and in them, All of us to Do, in Remembrance of Him.

And