A SECOND point which I would consider, in connexion with the subject brought forward in a former essay, is the obligation or necessity under which professing Christians are placed of duly receiving the sacrament of the Lord's supper. On this, I doubt not, many actually entertain a belief that it is not necessary to an enjoyment of eternal life, that they should participate in the Lord's supper; and that others virtually set forth such a persuasion by their carelessness and total neglect of this sacred ordinance. But on what grounds is this belief made to rest? Not on the declaration of our church; not on the dictate of scripture. Our church, in her catechism, positively affirms that the sacraments are "generally necessary to salvation;" and of course the sacrament of the Lord's supper is intended as one. Will it be asserted that this is merely the opinion of the church, laid down by fallible men? If so, I would reply that our church does not wittingly advance any point, either of doctrine or discipline, which she believes is not warranted by holy scripture; in which I would contend there is sufficient to justify the church in teaching, that the sacrament of the Lord's supper is generally necessary to salvation." I would not have it understood I here insinuate that every one, who has departed this life without partaking of the same,

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on that account. No: I would stand by our church in a declaration on this, and say that the sacraments are "generally necessary to salvation"-necessary, where they can be duly embraced and properly administered. Where, however, either the holy sacrament of baptism or that of the Lord's supper,is by any one despised and wilfully rejected altogether, there, according to the belief the scriptures seem to warrant us in entertaining, we must look upon such individual as having awfully endangered his salvation, if not as having wholly forfeited it. If it be advanced that the mere rejection of the outward form would not place a person in this condition, so long as he privately held a belief in the merits of the death of Christ, I would remark that, although such a one might lead a life of outward piety, and profess a faith in the word of God, yet the very fact of his not "showing forth the Lord's death" by public communion, would argue very strongly against his heart being duly right before God; or that his faith had some very important taint in it: for, if faith be genuine and saving, it will never fail to manifest itself in all those opportunities where the glory of God may be displayed. If a person say he has faith in the sacrament of the Lord's supper inwardly, while he fails to partake of it outwardly, I think there must be some mortal alloy mixed up with his faith that restrains him from joining publicly in the communion of saints: and I doubt not this will ever be found to be the case. Men, for instance, absent themselves from the table of the Lord, although they profess a belief in the merits of Christ's death, and think that such a bare

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newed nature which is open to him through the precious blood of the divine Founder of the church. This consideration is especially forced upon the attention in entering on the subject before us. Nothing can be more thoroughly opposite to the whole spirit of the world, than the self-denying doctrine of the cross; yet, in detail, we find that even the unsubstantial goods of earth are not to be obtained without the exercise of that very self-denial. Fame, power, honour, riches-what has not man gone through to make them his own? The child who restrains his inclination to play, and with many a wistful glance at his more careless schoolfellows, perseveres in conning his appointed task, strengthening his resolution by thoughts of the promised treat, or book, or it may be "sixpence to spend," which is to be his reward on the next half-holiday: the man of business who toils and saves, plcasing his imagination with looking forward to the time when he shall enjoy the fortune he is striving to acquire : the man of learning, urged onward in the still more wearing labour of the mind, by an insatiable craving for knowledge, or desire of distinction and the ambitious man, submitting to what his spirit spurns, in order to attain rank and powerall are acting upon the same principle of present selfdenial, based upon the expectation of future good. This principle, which, when applied to the acquisition of what earth can offer, is strictly in accordance with the nature of man, is that to which the church appeals when she seeks to raise his hopes and aspirations to heaven. The spiritual treasures of the church, like the temporal endowments of the world, are to be obtained only by the exercise of self-denial; while the contrast presented by the same principle, as it is enlisted in the service of the church or of the world, strongly illustrates the different tendency of both. In the latter case, it is the self-denial of the natural manself denying its inclinations for a time, that it may recompense that self by a greater indulgence or gratification in prospect. In the former it is the self-denial of regeneration—self denying its very self; self, by God's assistance, gradually subdued, and as it were neutralized by the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit.

The first thing required by the church of every member is self-denial. Before he is questioned as to his belief, or intention of obedience, he is called upon to renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh; and this renunciation of all in which the natural man delights, as a preliminary step, is according to the injunction of our Lord, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark viii. 34). We must deny ourselves; we must lay aside self, and all dependence upon self, before we take up the cross for our standard, and follow the guidance of our Lord. This guidance will lead us through a path of self-denial; and, as we may regard the self-denial of our Master under a twofold aspect-the one in which we can only silently adore, the other in which "he has left us an example that we should follow his steps"-so the exercise of selfdenial in us may be classed into two divisions; the first that preliminary self-denial in which we deny those evil dispositions and passions of the natural man which keep us from the knowledge of Jesus-the

other when, having cast these at his feet and enlisted in his service, we take up the cross and follow him. The self-denial of the incarnation of the High and Holy One of God, taking upon him our flesh, suffering weariness, hunger, temptation, all the wants and weaknesses of the body, sin only excepted; subjecting himself to contempt, reproach, and rejection; and at last yielding himself up to the shame and anguish of death by crucifixion : this, even for our conception, "is too wonderful and excellent-we cannot attain unto it:" we can but believe and trust, and humbly adore: our imitation here, where we cannot follow, must consist in meeting our Lord. As he veiled the godhead with a self-denial to us incomprehensible, to become man; so the first exercise of self-denial in man is to cast off the old Adam in which he was born, that he may be renewed in that image of God in which he was originally created. He must lay aside all self-dependance, that he may learn to trust solely in the merits of his Redeemer; he must cast down his innate pride, that he may be clothed in humility; selfishness and envy, malice and hatred, that he may put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness; all falsehood and deceit and guile, that he be girded about with truth: he must, in short, renounce his allegiance to Satan in the world, that he may be enrolled as a disciple of Christ in the church. When we have taken the first great step in the denial of self, and wish to be Christ's, and his only, then we must take up our cross and follow him in the example he has left us in his human nature: as it is written in another place, we must take up our cross daily (Luke ix. 23). This taking up the cross daily implies, in one sense, a continual struggle with the corruptions of our nature. The first denial of self is a denial of the will-self so far overcome, as to desire to be subdued in all its evil dispositions: really to subdue these, and to cultivate in their stead the opposing graces, is the work of a life; but it is the work to which we are called and, unless we are indeed labouring in our vo cation, unless each year is marked by some actual progress, unless we thus take up our cross daily, we cannot be true followers of Christ. The church teaches us to pray that God would "mortify and kill all vices in us" (Coll. for Innocents' day); and the expression shews what we are to aim at-our business is not simply to restrain, but to mortify and kill. We must not be contented with keeping the outward action in due bounds, but must seek to eradicate the inward disposition: an earnest striving to do this will often lead us to deny ourselves in what would otherwise be lawful and innocent. Does our pride, for instance, require discipline; it will be prudent to mortify it in many things, in themselves trivial and indifferent, but which may easily be made subservient to the purifying of our souls from this vice, if we will but turn our attention to that, instead of studying, as natural inclination leads us, to gratify it. If covetousness be our prevailing temptation, we shall do well to be less careful in worldly matters, to be stricter in denying those tastes which make wealth appear desirable than, without that particular disposition, would be absolutely necessary. If selfishness, then let us sometimes mortify it by "seeking not our own interest "in cases where otherwise we might be justi

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fied in doing it. Thus, taking up our cross daily in the mortification of all our sins, we must be especially careful to deny that which doth most easily beset us. We must deny not only our sinful dispositions, but those that approach the nearest to good in our nature: the former are to be mortified and killed-the latter to be indulged with such abstinence, that our flesh may be subdued to the Spirit (1st Sunday in Lent). That our best earthly affections require watchfulness, is evident from what our Lord says of the best and holiest that which exists between parent and child. One would have thought that here there could be no danger; yet he, who forgot not to provide for the future comfort of his sorrowing mother amid the agonies of the cross, has said-" He, that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he, that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. x. 37): or, as with still greater force it is written-" If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke xiv. 26). Lastly, we are to deny ourselves as a religious exercise. In the rules and directions at the beginning of the prayerbook we find nearly one-third of the whole year set apart by the church for fasting and abstinence. In the homilies this fasting, which may be regarded as the symbol or outward act of self-denial, bearing about the same relation to the daily taking up our cross which stated and bodily worship does to the habitual adoration of the soul-in the homilies fasting is placed first amongst the "good works" enjoined by the church. The opening of this homily explains with great force and clearness a point in which, from the earliest ages of the church to the present day, men have found or created difficulties. "The life which we live in this world, good Christian people, is of the free benefit of God lent us; yet not to use it at our pleasure, after our own fleshly will, but to trade over the same in those works which are beseeming them that are become new creatures in Christ. These works the apostle calleth good works, saying- We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath ordained, that we should walk in them.' And yet his meaning is not by these words to induce us to have any affiance or to put any confidence in our works, as by the merit and deserving of them to purchase to ourselves and others remission of sin, and so consequently everlasting life; for that were mere blasphemy against God's mercy, and great derogation to the bloodshedding of our Saviour Jesus Christ. For it is of the free grace and mercy of God, by the mediation of the blood of his Son Jesus Christ, without merit or deserving on our part, that our sins are forgiven us, that we are reconciled and brought again into his favour, and are made heirs of his hea venly kingdom. 'Grace,' saith St. Augustine, 'belonging to God, who doth call us; and then hath he good works, whosoever receiveth grace.' Good works then bring not forth grace, but are brought forth by grace. 'The wheel,' saith he, 'turneth round, not to the end that it may be made round; but, because it is first made round, therefore it turneth round. So, no man doth good works to receive grace by his good works; but because he hath first received grace, there

fore consequently he doth good works.' And in another place he saith- Good works go not before in him which shall afterwards be justified; but good works do follow after, when a man is first justified *.' And because somewhat shall now be spoken of one particular good work, whose commendation is both in the law and in the gospel, thus much is said in the beginning generally of all good works: first, to remove out of the way of the simple and unlearned this dangerous stumbling-block, that any man should go about to purchase or buy heaven with his works; secondly, to take away, so much as may be, from envious minds and slanderous tongues all just occasion of slanderous speaking, as though good works were rejected +."

It is to be feared that the self-denial thus required by our Saviour as the first step to be taken by those who would follow him-thus required by the church, in one shape, as the first act of all who become her members, and, in its more mature exercise, standing first upon the list of the good works she enjoins on her acknowledged children-it is to be feared this selfdenial forms but a minor ingredient in our general estimation of the Christian character. We know not how much we lose by the omission. If we would know, we must look, not so much at the thing itself, as upon its effects on the soul. When our blessed Lord rebuked his disciples for the unbelief which incapacitated them from the exertion of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, with which he had endowed them, saying-" If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. xvii. 20)-he added, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Matt. xvii. 21). Do not the lives of those most eminent for holiness both in the Old and New Testament, as well as in the history of the church since inspiration ceased, seem to attest that, for an abundant reception and enjoyment of the ordinary graces of the Spirit, a similar preparation is necessary? Nor is it difficult to imagine how even outward selfdenial may be made to assist in the preparation of the heart; and thus, by God's blessing, be the means of attaining unto higher degrees of holiness. Self-denial is the most effectual method we can employ to loosen the bonds of earth: every act of self-denial is a practical recognition of the terms upon which we sojourn here; a practical expression of acquiescence in, and readiness to obey, the anticipated summons, "Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest" (Micah ii. 10). The natural result of self-denial in temporal things is to increase the desire for those that are spiritual: the word of God testifies that we cannot devote our hearts to both, and the experience of man makes the truth plain in our eyes: ever the most self-denying—those who have cared least about earth and earthly things— have taken most delight in things pertaining unto the kingdom of heaven: and this alone shows it a meet preparation, because "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled" (Matt. v. 6).

See Articles 12 and 18.

+ An Homily of Good Works: and first of Fasting.-Second part of Homilies.