Help us also, Most Holy Father, heartily to believe in Thy promises of mercy to penitent and contrite sinners. Beholding the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, as He is hereby sacramentally set forth and offered unto us, may we be confidently assured, that not only unto others, but unto us also, are freely granted remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, for the sake of the merits of Thy dear Son. O Lord, we do believe, help Thou our unbelief, and we will give Thee all the praise of our salvation forever. Amen.

Attend now, dearly beloved, to the gospel of the institution of this Holy Supper by our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded by St. Matthew:

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Hear also what the Holy Ghost saith, by the mouth of the apostle Paul:

"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? For we, being many, are one bread and one body, because we are all partakers of that one bread."

That we may now celebrate the Supper of the Lord to our comfort, let us consider to what end it is here declared to have been instituted, viz:-to aid us in the commemoration of our Saviour's sufferings and death, and to promote our union with Him, and our fellowship with each other. "This do in remembrance of me." We are to remember Him, in the first place, by certainly believing in our hearts, that our Lord Jesus Christ was sent into the world by the Father, according to the promise made in the beginning unto the patriarchs; that He took upon Himself our flesh and blood; that He endured for us the wrath of God, under which we must eternally have perished, from His incarnation until the end of His life on earth,

and rendered complete obedience unto the divine law, fulfilling all righteousness for us. But especially are we to remember and believe that all this was done, when under the burden of our sins, and the wrath of God, He sweat great drops as it were of blood in the garden; when He was bound that we might be set at liberty; when he endured unutterable reproach, that we might never be put to shame; when He was condemned to death that we might be acquitted at the judgment seat of God; and above all when He permitted His sacred body to be nailed to the cross, that He might fasten thereon the indictment of our sins, and so took upon Himself our condemnation, that He might replenish us with His saving grace, abasing Himself into the deepest reproach and hellish anguish of body and soul on the cross, when He cried out with a loud voice, "My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken me!" All this we are here to remember and believe that He suffered, in order that we might find acceptance with God, and never be forsaken; and that He thus sealed the New and everlasting Testament, the covenant of grace and reconciliation, with the shedding of His blood, and finally with His death, when he said, "It is finishsd."

That we now might firmly believe, that we have part in this salvation, our Lord Jesus Christ in the night in which He was betrayed took bread,* and when He had given thanks He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, take, and eat, this is my body which is offered for you; do this in remembrance of me.

In like manner also, after Supper, He took the cup, and blessed it, and gave it unto them, saying: "Drink ye all of it, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you and

*Here let the minister take up the plate containing the breadand as he utters the words-" brake it"- break in two one of the pieces, relaying them upon the plate and placing his hand upon the whole of the bread.

Here let the minister take the cup or chalice, containing the wine, in his left hand, laying his right hand also upon it, until the sentence is finished.

for many, for the forgiveness of sins; this do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." That is, as oft as ye eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, ye shall be reminded and assured, as by a certain memorial and pledge, of my hearty love and faithfulness to you, who must have perished with everlasting death, had I not given my body to die for you upon the cross, and shed my blood, to feed and nourish your hungry and thirsty souls with this same crucified body and shed blood, as certainly as you all see this bread broken, and this cup handed unto you, and you are permitted to eat and drink thereof in remembrance of me.

In this Holy Supper, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ fixes our faith and confidence upon His perfect sacrifice, once offered upon the cross, as upon the only foundation and basis of our salvation, having Himself become the true meat and drink of eternal life to our hungry and thirsty souls.

But by thus eating the crucified body, and drinking the shed blood of Christ, as they are sacramentally offered unto us in this Holy Supper, we not only embrace with a believing heart all the sufferings and death of Christ our Saviour, and thereby obtain the pardon of our sins and a pledge of eternal life. In addition to this, we hereby also become more and more united to the sacred body of our adorable Redeemer, by the Holy Ghost, who dwells both in Christ and in us; so that we, though Christ is in heaven, and we on earth, are notwithstanding "flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bone." For by His death He hath procured for us the quickening Spirit, that we, through the same Spirit, dwelling in Christ as the head, and in us as His members, may have true fellowship with Him, and be made partakers of all His benefits, of righteousness, eternal life, and heavenly glory.

And finally, another design of this holy Supper is, that by the same Spirit, we may all be more closely knit together, as members of one body, in true brotherly love; as the holy apostle Paul saith: "For as it is one bread, so we, being many are one body, forasmuch as we are all partakers of one bread." For as the bread broken, of which we eat, is made out of many

grains, and as the wine, of which we drink, is prepared of many berries; so also shall we all, being incorporated with Christ by true faith, be one body through brotherly love, for the sake of our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath first loved us, and commanded us to imitate His example by also loving one another.

And hereunto may the Almighty and most merciful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ help us by His Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray.

Most merciful God and Father, we humbly beseech Thee, that in this Holy Supper, in which we believingly commemorate the bitter death of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and thus renewedly present unto Thee the all-sufficient sacrifice which He perfected for our sins upon the cross, Thou wouldst so operate upon our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we also may surrender ourselves, continually more and more, as living sacrifices, unto Thy Son Jesus Christ. Grant also that our heavy laden and contrite hearts may be nourished and quickened with His true body and blood, yea with Him as true God and man, the only heavenly bread, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And thus may we no more live in sin, but may He live in us, and we in Him, and so become real partakers of the blessings of the eternal covenant of grace, and feel confidently assured, that Thou art and wilt be our reconciled Father forever, no more imputing unto us our sins, but owning us graciously, loving us freely, and providing for us abundantly all things needful for body and soul, as Thy dear children, and heirs with Him of everlasting life.

Help us also to show forth our gratitude for this Thine unspeakable love, by cheerfully bearing our cross, denying ourselves, confessing our Saviour, and in all our trials and temptations looking with confidence for the triumphant coming of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, when He will make our mortal bodies like unto His own glorious body, and receive us with Himself into eternal life. Amen.

Our Father who art in heaven, &c.

Confirm us also, most gracious Lord and Saviour, by this Thy Holy Supper, in our holy Christian faith, of which we now make hearty confession before Thee-saying

I believe in God, &c. Amen.

And now, beloved in the Lord, that we may be fed with the true heavenly bread, Jesus Christ, let our hearts be lifted up in faith unto heaven, where Jesus our Christ sitteth, at the right hand of IIis heavenly Father, not doubting that our souls shall be fed with His body and blood, through the operation of the Holy Ghost, as certainly as we receive the sacred bread and wine in remembrance of Him.

Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, come ye buy wine and milk without money and without price.

For God commendeth His love to us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

And He is the propitiation for our sins. Wherefore the Spirit and the Bride say, come! And let him that heareth, say, come! And whosoever will, let him come! and drink of the water of life freely.

And may the grace Amen!

of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

[The congregation shall now sing an appropriate sacramental hymn or psalm, during the singing of the second or third verse of which, the communicants shall devoutly assemble in sufficient numbers to fill the space around the table, when the singing shall cease until the table has been served and dismissed. Then during the singing of another verse, the table shall be filled a second time, and thus until all have communed.

In administering the elements the minister shall first take in his hand some of the bread, and breaking a convenient portion, present it unto each communicant, saying:]

The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ.

[Then taking the cup, he shall in like manner present it unto each one, saying:]

The cup of blessing which we bless, is the communion of the blood of Christ.

[It is also left optional with the minister to use, instead of the above words of St. Paul, those employed by our Lord Himself in the insti