out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth''." Tliis, by its reference to the redemption of the world, may well be called " The Song of Moses and of the Lamb^:" and to all eternity will "this wine be new" to those who drink it ; the wonders of redeeming love being more and more unfolded to every admiring and adoring soul.]
And will the Lord Jesus Christ partake of it with us ?
[Yes, he will : " The very Lamb of God himself, who is in the midst of the throne, will feed us, and lead us unto living fountains of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes*." Did he break the bread, and administer the cup to his Disciples when on earth ? So will he at the feast in heaven: as he himself has said, ' He will gird himself, and make us sit down to meat, and himself come forth and serve US'*." It is indeed but little that we know of the heavenly world : but this, at all events, we may say : He will appear there as " a Lamb that has been slain "^ ;" and under this cha- racter will he be the light, the joy, the glory of all the hosts of heaven y, administering to all, and glorified in all^]
Upon this subject I would ground the following
1 . Get just views of this ordinance —
[Respecting those who profane it, as a mere qualification for civil offices, I say nothing. I leave them to God and their own consciences. They may be well assured I can say nothing in their favour : nor do I think that it is a light account which they have to give to Him who appointed the ordinance for other ends, which, alas! they altogether overlook. But there are two mistakes which I would endeavour to rectify ; the one is, that the ordinance, as an act, recommends us to God; and the other is, that no one should venture to observe the ordi- nance till he has made attainments of the higliest order in religion : the one of these errors leads to the indulgence of self- righteous hopes ; the other operates to the production of slavish fears. Respecting the sanctity of the ordinance, I would not say a word that sliould diminish the apprehension of it in the mind of any human being. But we should remember what it is, and for what end it was appointed. It is precisely what the Paschal feast was : and as every child of Abraham partook of that, so should every one who truly believes in Christ partake of this. And, in fact, the whole body of Christians did, for
>■ Rev. v. 9, 10. s Rev, xv. 3. t Rev. vii. 17.
" Lukexii. 37. '^ Rev. v. 6. y Rev. xxi. 23.
z 2 Thess. i. 10.