Of the importance of the duty of receiving the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, no man, who believes, as you do, the Scriptures to be the revealed word of God, and that it is our duty to practise whatever they have _expressly_ and _positively_ commanded, will require any arguments to be convinced. Now, no command can be more express than that, which requires _all_ Christians to receive the communion of the body and blood of Christ. In the institution of this holy communion, our blessed Lord says, “Take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you: _this do_, in remembrance of me.” And he also said, “Drink ye _all_ of this cup, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins; _this do ye_, _as oft as ye drink it_, in remembrance of me.” {6a} And the great Apostle of the Gentiles, in giving an account of this sacred rite to his Corinthian converts, and which he expressly states himself to have received (by tradition or communication {6b}) of the Lord, and which, as he received it, so he delivered to them, adds, “_For as often as ye eat this bread_, _and drink this cup_, _ye do show_ (or, as it is in the original, _declare aloud_, or _proclaim_) _the Lord’s death till he comes_.” {6c} This is the command; and it surely must be admitted to be an express injunction. What _benefits_, then, may we not humbly expect to derive from our obedience to it? The same divine word has assured us, that our souls shall be thereby strengthened against the commission of future sins; and that those which we have committed, if repented of and renounced, shall be no more remembered against us: “For whosoever,” saith the Redeemer of mankind, “eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” {7a} Hear also his own tremendous declaration! HE has said, and has introduced the declaration by two asseverations of the certainty of the denunciation: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” {7b} What _dangers_, then, may we not apprehend, if we disobey this command! and under what awful sanctions has our Saviour bound us to the observance of it! This is a solemn and an awful warning: and it might be thought, if sad experience did not prove the contrary, that when such blessings follow the performance, and such dangers may attend the neglect of this positive duty, nothing more need be said to ensure the obedience, and awaken the fears of every one, who professes to believe in the truths of revelation. To a man of an ingenuous mind and a tender heart, the _time_ and _manner_ of instituting this sacred rite furnish a most powerful motive to obedience. A very short time before his death, our blessed Lord had a most affecting interview with his disciples: he confirms their faith; he prepares them for the trials they were to endure; he animates their hopes by the