senting by virtue of its institution, that great and truly meritorious Sacrifice of CHRIST Himself, so that the bread and wine which we offer is accepted in the sight of God, as the very Body and Blood of His only begotten Son, and as such is communicated to us; then, whensoever we rightly and duly make this oblation, we set before God the memorial of His Son's death, put Him in mind of that meritorious Sacrifice which has made a full, perfect, and complete satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. For though things are at all times present with GOD, and therefore He needs no memorial, nothing to put Him in mind of any thing on His own account, as if He was forgetful, and did not always remember or know every thing; yet, in compliance with our infirmities, and to adapt Himself to our nature and capacities, He is graciously pleased to require us to put Him in mind of what He knows and sees infinitely better than we do.... Whensoever, then, we make a memorial before GoD, to put Him in mind of us, by our prayers, our alms, or our oblations, it is not meant that we put Him in mind of what otherwise He might forget, but only that we thereby engage or induce Him to be mindful of us, and to remember us for good. So when we set before God the memorial of His Son's most meritorious Sacrifice, we plainly engage and induce Him to confer on us all the mercies and graces purchased for us by that all-sufficient Sacrifice; as pardon of sin, reconciliation to GOD, union with CHRIST, a pledge or earnest of eternal life, and grace and strength to enable us to work out our own salvation.

But if this holy Sacrament be not a Sacrifice or an oblation offered to GOD, (as some have of late pretended, contrary to the doctrine of the holy Scriptures, and of the pure Catholic Church in the first ages of Christianity,) but only a commemoration made among ourselves, to put us only, and not GOD, in mind of CHRIST's death, then there is no memorial offered to God; and if there be no memorial of CHRIST's death offered to God in this service, then cannot this service engage or induce Him to confer on us the gifts and graces purchased for us by the allsufficient Sacrifice of CHRIST, more than any other common service of prayer and praise and if so, then is this Sacrament of

no more worth and excellency than any other service of the church; and St. Paul's precept requiring a man to examine himself before he presumes to eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, was perfectly needless. For what occasion can there be for such an examination before this Sacrament, more than before any other ordinary duty, if no memorial be offered to God of a more excellent nature than our daily prayers and praises? But if there be a particular memorial offered to God in the holy Eucharist, a memorial of CHRIST's all-sufficient and most meritorious Sacrifice, as undoubtedly there is, and that JESUS CHRIST is there "evidently set forth, crucified amongst us," and if evidently set forth as crucified, then evidently set forth as offered for us; it plainly follows, that when such a memorial is made to God, to put Him in mind of all that His Son has done or purchased for us thereby to induce Him to confer on us all the mercies and graces obtained for us by CHRIST's death; that we should be in a more especial manner careful to examine ourselves before we presume to make this offering, that we may not, by our impenitence or want of faith, draw down a curse upon us instead of a blessing, and so eat and drink our own damnation.

"We have an

Sixthly and lastly, since, as the text assures, altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle," but we, by the rules of opposition, must have a right to eat of it, for it is our altar; let us not, by our own impenitence, unfaithfulness, or negligence, deprive ourselves of this right. Let us consider it as no small privilege to be admitted to partake of this altar, a privilege to which God would not admit His own chosen people the Jews, for the text plainly says, that they had no right to eat of it; and I have shewed to you, that, by the Mosaical law, they had no right to eat even of that Sacrifice which they themselves offered, even as a type of this. Since then God has vouchsafed to us Christians, a so much greater privilege than He ever before allowed to His own chosen people, if we put a slight and contempt upon this high and extraordinary privilege, we certainly deserve not to partake of any of those benefits designed to be conveyed to us by the right and due use of it. If we will not come to the LORD's table, there to make

our oblation of bread and wine to Him, as a memorial to put Him in mind of the Sacrifice of His Son, which there by Divine - institution is fully and perfectly represented, and there to receive them from Him again, as the representative Body and Blood of CHRIST, Conveying to us all the benefits of His meritorious Death and Passion, we can have no good grounds to hope that ever we shall partake of any of those benefits; and if we do not, what will become of us? . . . Let us then never neglect this so beneficial a service, but as often as we have opportunity, let us make our oblation to GoD of the memorial of CHRIST's Sacrifice, that by receiving it from Him again, we may therewith receive the pardon of our sins, reconciliation with GOD, the increase of strengthening grace, and become so firmly united to CHRIST, that nothing may ever be able to dissolve the union; but being begun here in grace, it may be consummated in glory, through the merits and mediation of the same JESUS CHRIST our LORD; to whom with the FATHER and the HOLY GHOST be ascribed, as most due is, all honour and glory, now, and for evermore. Amen.-pp. 25—40.

ID.-True Scripture Account, &c.

I shall only further observe that our Church shows that she understands the words "do this," to signify "offer this," and therefore orders the bread and wine not to be placed on the LORD's table by any other than the priest, and requires him to place them there as oblations; for at the time that she restored that old Rubric which orders the priest to place the bread and wine upon the table, she also ordered him, at the beginning of the Prayer immediately following, to beseech God to accept our oblations. Which word "oblations" being not in that Prayer (but the word "alms" only) before the restoration of that Rubric, shows that the Church by adding that word to the word "alms" which was before in the Prayer, at the very time that she restored that Rubric, intended the priest should solemnly offer them there, and esteemed the priest's placing them there to be the making them "oblations," which they cannot properly be called when placed there by any other than a priest. For Mr. Johnson, in his

"unbloody Sacrifice," p. 4. Part I. having examined the several definitions which learned men have given of a Sacrifice, does from thence give this as a full description of it, viz. "Sacrifice is some material thing, either animate or inanimate, offered to GOD," &c. . . . [Vid. sup. p. 320.] And he observes, p. 14. that "If we inquire into these rites, which were peculiar to Sacrifice, we shall find them to be no other but the very actions of offering them. I will not," says he, "pretend to say, that there never were any ceremonies esteemed necessary by some particular people, for some particular Sacrifices; but what I affirm is, that no rite is essential to Sacrifice in general, but only the very act or acts of oblation. For if it were otherwise, the Levitical Sacrifices were in reality null; for no rites were necessary in offering them, but sprinkling the blood, and burning the whole or part of the Sacrifice." (He might have added "heaving" or "waving" part of what was offered for a heave-offering or wave-offering.) "And I suppose it needs no proof, that these were the very rites by which the sacerdotal oblation was performed; by the sprinkling the blood the whole Sacrifice was consecrated to GOD, and the atonement made; and by burning a part or the whole upon the altar, GOD had what He required actually yielded to Him; so that these ritual actions were indeed no other but what were used as vocal signs, with which the Sacrifice was presented to GOD. The priest was not directed to use any words, but the actions were significant, and spake the thoughts of him that performed the office. Nor can I, upon the best inquiry I am able to make, find any (one) ceremony generally thought necessary for offering a Sacrifice, but only the actions whereby the Sacrifice was presented." And I conceive the priest's solemnly placing the bread and wine upon the altar, is as proper a rite as sprinkling the blood, or heaving or waving the Sacrifice or a part of it, or as burning it in whole or in part, or any other rite used by the Levitical priests. pp. 84-86.

And if it be offered as our Church directs, it has all the parts requisite to a complete Sacrifice. For there is first the material thing, bread and wine; secondly, an acknowledgment of the dominion and other attributes of God in the prayers and praises

which accompany it, as likewise a desire to procure Divine blessings, especially remission of sins, which, as Christians, we expect and ask only through the merits and for the sake of JESUS CHRIST Who bore our sins in His Body on the tree, and shed His Blood for the remission of them, and dignified these gifts which we offer, with the name of His Body and Blood, and has made them truly His Body and Blood in power and effect. Thirdly, they are offered on a proper altar, the LORD's table, a table set apart entirely for this service. Fourthly, they are offered by a proper officer, a priest regularly ordained to this office, and with an agreeable rite, a solemn placing them on the LORD's table or altar. And lastly, they are consumed by eating and drinking in such manner as our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Author of the Sacrifice, has appointed. Thus the Church of England has taken care that the holy Eucharist may be duly celebrated as an oblation or Sacrifice, by directing the ministration of it to be performed in such manner that it may want nothing necessary to a true Sacrifice. If any of her priests wilfully maim it in a principal part, and do not himself solemnly and devoutly place them on the LORD's table or altar, the fault is wholly in them and not in the Church, whose plain rule and precept they have no regard to.-p. 88.

The essence of this Sacrament, therefore, consists not, as he pretends it does, barely in the remembrance of CHRIST, and expressing that remembrance by partaking of bread and wine as memorials of His Body and Blood, but likewise in the doing or offering them in the same manner He did. This necessarily requires a particular person to execute this priestly office, who may do or offer as CHRIST did in the institution, and requires to be done by us till He come. A priest, therefore, is necessary and essential to the due administration of this Sacrament. He, as CHRIST did, and whose Person he on this occasion represents, must take bread and give thanks, and bless it, and break it, and give it to those that are present, as "the Body of CHRIST," before they can partake of it. "In like manner, he must take the cup, and having" eucharistized it, or "blessed it with thanksgiving, he must give it to them" as the "New Testament in