(2.) A second character to which the words apply is the man who can receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper _without regard to the sacred nature of the service_. Such characters are clearly described in v. 20, 21:—“When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.” In the present day it is quite impossible that any person should commit the actual sin here described. The mode in which the sacrament is administered and the laws of society alike prevent all risk of such an outrage. But the state of heart which led to it is perfectly possible, and, rightly to understand the meaning of the passage, we must consider not so much the outward acts, which were peculiar to the Corinthians, as the inward motives and dispositions, which by nature may be common to us all. Now these are described in ver. 29:—“Not discerning the Lord’s body.” They ate and drank without regarding the deep solemnity of the holy sacrifice which the communion was appointed to commemorate; nor did they come there with any desire, as hungering and thirsting souls, to feed upon their Saviour by faith. They lost sight of his grace and sufferings in the pursuit of their own ends, and the gratification of their own appetites. When, therefore, persons come to the Lord’s table in a light, frivolous, or careless spirit; either that they may not appear less religious than their companions; or because it is the habit of the family, the wish of their masters, or a becoming act in their rank and station; but without any deep feeling of the love and work of Christ Jesus; there is too much reason to fear that the text applies in all its awful force to them. And this suggests the extreme caution with which individuals should be urged to become communicants. Masters will, sometimes, show great zeal in persuading servants to attend the sacrament, and parents will bring their children thither as a matter of course, on their attainment of a certain age. Yet such children or servants may be unconverted persons, not discerning the Lord’s body; in danger, therefore, of coming unworthily to the table. Begin, therefore, at the right end, and strive first for their conversion to Christ.