7 His ways to Moses, He his acts

made known to Israel's sons.

TABLE SERVICE IV.*

DEAR Friends: How many things come into our minds, coming to Christ's Table: how many remembrances of such times when we came in days that are gone remembrances of fears that were in our hearts when we sat down at the Holy Table;fears which proved quite groundless ;—the trouble we anticipated never came: and remembrances, too, of hopes we cherished, and worldly plans,—which it pleased God to say should all crumble in dust! You who are young, coming perhaps for the first time to the Lord's Table, with your fresh feelings and earnest purposes of cleaving to your Saviour, God keep your young hearts and grant your good purposes may en

* This service is mainly derived from the Volume entitled Euchologion, published by The Church Service Society.

dure: but you cannot know what the Holy Communion is to many,-with all that is best in whom it is blended; and to whom God's grace has made it an unspeakable comfort and help. God, by His good Spirit, make it all that to-day!

We have come up to the mount of ordinances : pleasant is the old name one used to hear as a child. The world is behind us: the world is below. We desire that nothing may hinder us of feeling our Saviour's presence: of feeling ourselves safe, and quiet, and without carefulness, in His presence. Let us lift up our hearts: yea, rather lift Thou up our hearts, Blessed Spirit of God.

And what is there to be thought of in this quiet time, but the old message from heaven to earth; God's love in Christ to us sinful human beings? We wish that we had more faith in it. We do not desire at all, now, to have any new tracks of meditation pointed out to us. We desire, gratefully,

and peacefully, to think of Christ; and of His blessed death which is our life; and of His glorious resurrection. We desire by faith to feed upon Him, Who is the Bread and Water of life to the longing soul.

We do this in remembrance of Him. We look upon the elements set apart by the word and prayer to be sacramentally the body and blood of Christ : we are persuaded of the mystery of His holy Incarnation--God manifest in the flesh: that He was sent of the Father into the world; and took our flesh and blood, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven.

We are persuaded that having taken our nature, He endured for us the curse and punishment of sin, and so satisfied Divine Justice: that He was bound that we might be set free, was reviled that we might come to honour, was condemned that we might be acquitted at the judgment-seat of God: yea, that He suffered His blessed body to be nailed to the cross,

and bowed His head in death, that we might be accepted of God and raised to life in Him: and this one offering up of Himself we commemorate and show forth in the breaking of bread, with a spiritual oblation of all possible praise unto God for the same.

And as our Lord hath ordained that we are to

eat of this bread and drink of this cup, to assure us of our union with Him, and that He giveth us His body and His blood to be our meat and our drink unto life eternal; we are not to doubt His goodness, but to be firmly persuaded that He accomplisheth spiritually in us all that He outwardly exhibits. For the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the body of Christ?

And as by His death He hath obtained for us the life-giving Spirit, Which, dwelling in Him as the Head, and in us as His members, unites us all in one

Body, we are to receive this Supper in brotherly love, and mindful of the Communion of Saints. For we, being many, are one body; for we are all partakers of that one Bread. We rejoice in the holy fellowship wherein we have part with the faithful patriarchs and prophets of old; the holy apostles and evangelists; the blessed martyrs and confessors : the redeemed of all ages who have died in the Lord, and now live with Him for evermore; our fathers, our brethren, our children, and the friends who were as our own souls: believing that though our eyes behold them no more, they have not perished; but that as Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

ON THAT EVER MEMORABLE NIGHT, ETC.

DEAR Brethren: Since the Lord hath now fed our souls at His table, let us praise His holy name with thanksgiving, Who hath not spared His own Son,