Question 82

Question 82. Are they also to be admitted to this supper, who, by confession and life, declare themselves infidels and ungodly?

Answer. No; for by this the covenant of God would be profaned, and his wrath kindled against the whole congregation; therefore it is the duty of the Christian church, according to the appointment of Christ and his apostles, to exclude such persons by the keys of the kingdom of heaven, until they show amendment of life,

They are to be admitted to the Lord’s supper by the church, 1. Who are of a proper age to examine themselves, and to commemorate the Lord’s death, according to the command: “This do ye in remembrance of me.” “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread.” u Ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Cor. 11:25, 26, 28.) The infant children of the church are, therefore, not admitted to the use of the Lord’s supper, even though they are included among the number of the faithful.

2. Those who are baptized, and who by baptism are made members of the church. The covenant entered into with God in baptism, is renewed in the observance of the Lord’s supper. It was for this reason that none, except those who were first circumcised, were permitted to eat the passover. Therefore, Turks, Jews and all other aliens from the church are to be debarred from the use of the supper.

3. Those who profess true repentance and faith in word and in deed, or who exhibit a profession of faith and repentance in their deportment, whether it be made truly and sincerely, or by secret hypocrisy. The church is not to judge in regard to that which is secret and hidden. It, therefore, admits all whom it judges to be members of Christ, that is, all whom it hears and sees professing repentance and faith by confession, and the external deportment of the life, whether they be truly pious, or hypocrites whose true character is not yet known.

Those, however, are not to be admitted to the Lord’s table, who simply declare that they believe all these things, whilst they continue to lead un godly and sinful lives; for he that says he believes, and yet has not the fruits of faith, lies, and denies in deed what he affirms in words, according to the declaration of the Apostle, where he says: “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him; being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Tit. 1:16.) So the apostle James declares, James 2:20. “That faith without works is dead.”

The reasons why only those are to be admitted to the Lord’s supper, who by confession and life profess repentance and faith, are:

1. Because the church would profane the covenant of God, if it were to admit to the holy communion the unbelieving and impenitent; for he that does a thing, and he that consents to it are regarded in the same light by the law. To profane the covenant of God, is to commend and recognise those as the confederates, or friends of God, who are his enemies, and to represent God as such an one, as is in league with hypocrites arid wicked men. There are two ways in which the covenant of God is profaned. The one is by administering the signs of the covenant to those, to whom God promises nothing; the other is by using the signs without repentance and faith. For they do not only profane the covenant of God, who take to themselves the signs of the covenant, whilst they are impenitent, but those also, who knowingly and willingly administer the signs to such persons as God has excluded from his covenant. Those, therefore, who give the signs of the covenant to. the ungodly, make God the friend of the wicked, and make the children of the devil the children of God.

2. If the church were to admit to the Lord’s supper, knowingly and willingly those who by confession and life, declare themselves infidels and un godly, the wrath of God would be kindled against the whole congregation. And that the wrath of God is in this way kindled against the church, the apostle Paul clearly affirms when he says: “For this cause many are weak, and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” (1 Cor. 11:30, 81.) God is, therefore, angry with those who consent to, or connive at the profanation of this sacrament and punishes them, because he punishes the wicked who were admitted by their consent; for the Lord’s supper is equally profaned by both.

3. Christ has given command not to admit such as are ungodly at his table. If any one denies the existence of such a command in reference to the Lord’s supper, the sense, or substance of it may easily be proven, since Christ instituted his supper for his disciples, and for them alone, as may be inferred from what he said: “With desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you” “Take this, and divide it among yourselves” “This cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you” (Luke 22:15, 17, 19. ) The Lord’s supper was, therefore, instituted for the disciples of Chris* alone, and so the command, Take this, &c., pertains to them. All others, for whom Christ has not died, are excluded. To these reasons we may add the following,

4. Clear and forcible demonstration: Those who deny the faith, are not to be regarded as members of the church, no not even of the visible church. All those now who refuse to repent, deny the faith according to what the Apostle says: “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him; being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Tit. 1:16.) Therefore, those who refuse to repent are not to be regarded even as members of the visible church, and so are not to be admitted to the sacraments of the church, but should be excluded from them as aliens, so long as they continue to lead impenitent and un godly lives. As for those hypocrites, however, whose true character is not known by the church, they are to be admitted to the Lord’s supper with the godly, as those who by confession and life profess repentance and faith. Yet none should come, except such as truly believe; for all others, including even those hypocrites whose true character is riot known by men, eat and drink judgment to themselves, and profane the Lord’s supper. Obj. The church does not profane the covenant of God by admitting hypocrites to the Lord’s supper. Therefore, it does not profane it by admitting those who are known to be impenitent. We reply to the antecedent as follows: The church does not do wrong by admitting hypocrites, that is such as are not known to be hypocrites; because it is compelled to acknowledge them as sincere in view of the confession which they have made of their faith, and the repentance which they have feigned. But if the church were knowingly and willingly to admit known and avowed hypocrites, or such as deny repentance and faith, both in word and deed, it would do wrong. To this it is objected: But there are many impenitent persons who intrude themselves, and profane the covenant, especially where the proper discipline of the church is not maintained, and yet the church does no wrong in admitting them. Therefore, it is not wrong that other persons denying repentance should be admitted to the Lord’s table. Ans. The church in this case does no wrong, not because it is no sin to admit such as are impenitent, but because it admits them ignorantly not knowing that they are such. But the impenitent who push themselves forward to the Lord’s table, profane the covenant, not to the condemnation of the church, or of those who commune with them, but to their own guilt; for they by so doing bring judgment upon themselves. Yet the church should carefully observe and inquire into the character of those who are admitted to the Lord’s table, and the minister, where excommunication, or church disciple is not exercised, is excused, if he does not willingly admin ister the supper to those who abuse it, and if he is instant in admonishing and reproving them, and if he desires them to avoid these abuses; for “blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” But the sin will rest upon others, viz: upon those who abuse the sacraments, and who connive at these things.

1. The other sacrament of the New Testament is called the Lord * Supper, not because it should be celebrated in the evening, or at the time of supper, but because it was instituted by Christ when he observed the last supper with his disciples before his death. It is called the Lord’s table, because Christ feeds us in its proper use. It is called the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, because the body and blood of Christ are communicated to us in it. It is called the eucharist, because there is in it a solemn thanksgiving for the death and benefits of Christ. It is called a covenant, because it should be celebrated in the public assemblies of the church. It is also called by the Fathers a sacrifice, because it is a representation of the propitiatory sacrifice which Christ accomplished upon* the cross, and because it is a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

2. The Lord’s supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, in which, according to the command of Christ, bread and wine are distributed in the assembly of the faithful, and received in rememberance of Christ; or that Christ may testify to us, that he feeds us unto eternal life by his body and blood broken and shed for us, and that we may return thanks to him for his benefits.

3. The first and chief design or use of the Lord’s supper is, that Christ may declare to us that he died for us, and feeds us with his body and blood unto everlasting life, that he may, by this declaration, establish and increase our faith, and so by consequence this spiritual food in us. The second end is the giving of thanks for these benefits of Christ, and a public and solemn profession of our duty to him. The third, is to distinguish the church from all other religions. The fourth, that it may be a bond of mutual love. The fifth, that it may be a bond of the public assemblies of the church.

4. The first end of this sacrament which is a confirmation of our faith in Christ, the Lord’s supper has, because Christ himself gives this bread and wine by the hand of the minister in remembrance of himself; that is, that he may admonish us by this symbol, as by his visible word, that he died for us, and that he is to us the bread of everlasting life, whilst he makes us his members; and because he has added to this rite the promise that he will feed those who eat this bread in remembrance of him, with his own body and blood, when he says, This is my body; and because the Holy Spirit by this visible testimony influences the minds and hearts of the faithful to believe with stronger confidence the promise of the gospel.

5. There is, therefore, a double meat and drink in the Lord’s supper one external, visible and earthly, which is the bread and wine; the other is internal. There is also a double eating and receiving the one external, and signifying which is the corporal receiving of the bread and wine r accomplished by the hands, mouth and senses; the other internal, invisible and signified, which is the fruition of Christ’s death, and a spiritual ingrafting into his body, accomplished not with the hands and mouth, but by the Spirit and faith. There is, finally, a double dispenser of this meat and drink the external of the external, which is the minister of the church, giving to us with his hand the bread and wine; the internal of the internal, which is Christ himself, feeding us with his body and blood.

6. The signs which serve for the confirmation of our faith are bread and wine, and not the body and blood of Christ; for the body and blood of Christ are received, that we may live for ever; whilst the bread and wine are taken, that we may be confirmed in regard to that heavenly food, and enjoy it more and more.

7. The bread is not changed into the body of Christ, nor is the wine changed into the blood of Christ; nor are the bread and wine abolished to give place to the body and blood of Christ; nor is the body of Christ substantially present in the bread, or under the bread, or where the bread is; but the Holy Ghost employs this symbol in the right use of the Lord’s supper, as a means for the purpose of stirring up our faith, by which he more and more dwells in us, inserts us into Christ, and brings it to pass that we are justified through him, and draw from him everlasting life.

8. When Christ says, This, that is, This bread is my body, and This cup is my blood, the form of speech is sacramental, or metonymical, so that the name of the thing signified is attributed to the sign, to teach that the bread is the sacrament, or symbol of his body, that it represents him and declares that the body of Christ was offered for us upon the cross, and is given unto us as the bread of everlasting life, and is, therefore, the means which the Holy Ghost employs for preserving and increasing this food in us, as Paul says, The bread is the communion of the body of Christ, by which it is meant, that the bread is the thing by which we are made partakers of Christ’s body; and in another place, We have all been made to drink into one Spirit. The same thing is also taught when it is said, that the bread is called the body of Christ on account of the resemblance which there is between the sign and the thing signified, viz, that the body of Christ nourishes the spiritual life of the believer, as bread supports our natural life; and on account of the certain joint-reception of the sign and the thing signified in the lawful use of the sacrament. This, too, is the sacra mental union of the bread, which is indicated by the sacramental mode of speaking, common in relation to this subject, which is no local conjunction as some imagine.

9. As the body of Christ is, therefore, both his natural and sacramental body, which is the bread of the eucharist; so the eating of the body of Christ is two-fold: the one sacramental of the sign, viz, the external and corporal receiving of the bread and wine; the other real, or spiritual, which is the receiving of the very body of Christ. To believe, too, in Christ dwelling in us by faith, is to be ingrafted by the power of the Holy Spirit into his body, as members to the head, and branches to the vine, and so to be made partakers of the benefits of the life and death of Christ. It is, therefore, evident that those who thus teach, are falsely accused and represented, when it is said that they make the supper consist in the bare signs, or in a participation of the merits of Christ alone, or of his benefits, or of the Holy Spirit, whilst they exclude the true, real, and spiritual communion of the body of Christ itself.

10. The lawful use of the supper consists in this, that the faithful observe this rite instituted by Christ in remembrance of him, or for the purpose of stirring up their faith and gratitude.

11. As the body of Christ is eaten sacramentally in the right use of the supper, so without this use, as in the case of unbelievers and hypocrites, it is sacramentally eaten, but not really; that is, the sacramental symbols or signs, which are the bread and wine, are, indeed, received, but not the things which the sacraments signify, viz, the body and blood of Christ.

12. This doctrine of the Lord’s supper is based upon many and most solid arguments. It is confirmed by all those passages which speak of the Lord’s supper. Christ, too, calling the visible and broken bread, and not something invisible in the bread, his body which was given, or broken for us, which, as it cannot be understood properly or literally, himself adds the declaration, that that bread is truly received in remembrance of him, which is as if he had said, that the bread is a sacrament of his body. He also says, that the supper is the New Testament, which is spiritual, one and ever lasting. Paul, in like manner, says, that it is the communion of the body and blood of Christ, because all the faithful are one body in Christ, who can have no fellowship or communion with devils. This same apostle also makes the same ingrafting into Christ by one Spirit in baptism and the holy supper. The same thing is confirmed by the entire doctrine and nature of sacraments, which exhibit to the eyes the same spiritual communion of Christ to be received by faith, which the word, or promises of the gospel declare to the ear. It is for this reason that the signs are called by the names of the things signified, and have the reception of the things themselves joined with them in the lawful use of the sacraments. The articles of our common faith establish the same thing, which teach that the body of Christ is a true human body, not present in many places at the same time, but is now placed in heaven to remain there until the Lord come to judge the quick and the dead; and that the communion of saints with Christ is effected by the Holy Spirit, and not by an interpenetration of the body of Christ into the bodies of men; and is, therefore, the doctrine which has been held and professed with great agreement by the whole church in her earlier and purer days.

The Lord’s supper differs from baptism, 1. In the rite and manner of signification. The dipping or washing in baptism signifies the remission and removal of sin by the blood and Spirit of Christ, and our fellowship with Christ in his afflictions and glorification; the distribution of the bread and wine signifies the death of Christ to be laid to our account for the remission of sins, and our ingrafting into Christ, so as to be made his members. 2. They differ in their operation. Baptism is the testimony of our regeneration, of the covenant made with God, and of our reception into the church; the Lord’s supper testifies that we are to be perpetually nourished by Christ dwelling in us, and that the covenant once entered into between God and us shall ever be ratified in regard to us, so that we shall forever remain united with the church and body of Christ. 3. They differ as it respects the persons to whom they should be administered. Baptism is ad ministered to all who are to be regarded members of the church, whether they be adults or infants; the Lord’s supper is to be given to none except those who are able to understand and celebrate the benefits of Christ, and to examine themselves. 4. Baptism is to be received but once, because the covenant once entered into with God is always ratified in the case of those who repent; the Lord’s supper is to be often received, inasmuch as it is necessary for our faith that we frequently renew that covenant and call it to mind. 5. They differ in the order which is to be observed. Baptism precedes the Lord’s supper; the Lord’s supper should be given to none except those who are baptized.

14. Those who examine themselves, and who are possessed of true faith and repentance, are worthy guests at the Lord’s table. Those who have not this testimony within themselves, ought not to approach the Lord’s table, lest they eat and drink judgment to themselves; nor should they defer that repentance which is necessary in order that they may come, and so bring upon themselves hardness of heart and everlasting punishment.

15. The church ought to admit to the Lord’s supper all those who pro fess to receive the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and who have a purpose to live in conformity thereto; but should exclude all those who are unwilling to abandon their errors, blasphemies, or sins, when they are properly admonished by the church, and convicted of their errors and sins.

16. The Pope is guilty of corrupting the sacrament of the Lord’s sup per, in that he has removed from it the breaking of the bread, and refuses the cup to the laity. He is also guilty of the same thing in having changed the Lord’s supper, by the addition of so many ceremonies not delivered by the Apostles, into a theatrical mass. These innovations, however, are still more wicked and idolatrous: That the mass is a propitiatory sacrifice, in which Christ is offered to the Father, by the sacrificing priests, for the living and the dead, and is, by virtue of the act of consecration, substantially present, and remains as long as the forms of bread and wine continue uncorrupted; that the mass confers the grace of God and other benefits upon those for whom it is offered; that Christ is eaten orally, even though those who approach the Lord’s table are destitute of any good de sires or purposes; and that he is concealed and carried under the forms of bread and wine for the purpose of being adored. In view of these base corruptions, the mass ought to be abolished in all Christian churches. These corruptions may be included under these heads: 1. Transubstantiation. 2. The worship of bread. 3. Making a sacrifice out of the; Lord’s supper. 4. Mutilating the Lord’s supper by various human devices.

The errors of the Sacramentarians, say they, are these: 1. That they make the Lord’s supper consist merely in naked signs and symbols. Ans. We teach that the things signified are, together with the signs, exhibited and communicated in the lawful use of the supper, although not corporally,, but in a manner corresponding to sacraments. 2. The Sacramentarians,, say they, hold that Christ is present in the supper only according to his efficacy. Ans. We teach that Christ is present, and that he is united to* us by the Holy Spirit, although his body is at a great distance from us, just as whole Christ is present in the ministry, although differently, according to the one nature. 3. We, say they, believe that an imaginary, figurative and spiritual body of Christ is present in the supper, and not his true, essential body. Ans. We have never spoken of an imaginary body, but of the true flesh of Christ, which is present with us, although it re mains in heaven. We teach, moreover, that we receive the bread and body,, but in a manner peculiar to each. 4. We, say they, hold that the true body of Christ which hung upon the cross, and his blood which was shed, for us, is distributed, and that it is spiritually received only by those who* are worthy guests, whilst such as are unworthy receive nothing but the bare signs, and these to their condemnation. Ans. We admit the whole as being in accordance with the word of God, with the nature of the sacraments, with the analogy of faith, and with the communion of the faithful with Christ.

They agree in these particulars: 1. That the Lord’s supper, as well as baptism, is a visible pledge and testimony annexed by Christ himself to 436 the promise of grace, chiefly to this end: that he may confirm and strengthen our faith in this promise. 2. That in the true use of the supper, ad well as in all other sacraments, two things are given of God, and secured by us, viz: earthly, external and visible signs, as the bread and wine; and heavenly, internal and invisible gifts, as the true body of Christ, with all his gifts, benefits and heavenly treasures. 3. That in the supper we are made partakers not only of the Spirit of Christ, and his satisfaction, righteousness, virtue, and operation, but also of the very substance and essence of his true body and blood, given for us upon the cross, and shed for us, and that we are fed with the same, unto eternal life; and that Christ declares and makes this known unto us by this visible reception of bread and wine in the supper. 4. That the bread and wine are not changed into the flesh and blood of Christ, but remain true and natural bread and wine that the body and blood of Christ are not enclosed in the bread and wine; and, therefore, the bread and wine are called the body of Christ his body and blood in this sense; that his body and blood are not only signified by these, and set before our eyes, but also because as often as we eat or drink this bread and wine, in the true and lawful use, Christ him self gives us his body and blood to be the meat and drink of eternal life. 5. That without the lawful use, the taking of bread arid wine is no sacrament, being nothing more than a vain, empty ceremony and spectacle, such as men abuse to their condemnation. 6. That there is no other lawful use of the supper, except that which Christ instituted and commanded to be observed, viz: that which is in remembrance of him, and which declares his death. 7. That Christ does not command a hypocritical remembrance of himself, and declaration of his death; but such as embraces his sufferings and death, and all the benefits which he has obtained by these in our behalf, by a true faith and with sincere thankfulness. 8. That Christ will dwell in none but such as believe, and in them also who, not through con tempt, but through necessity, cannot come to the Lord’s supper; yea, in all believers, from the beginning of the world to all eternity, even as well, and in the same manner, as he will dwell in them who have observed the Lord’s supper.

They disagree in these particulars:1 . That one class contends that the words of Christ, This is my body, must be understood literally, which they, however, do not prove; others, again, hold that these words are to be understood sacramentally, according to the declaration of Christ and Paul, and according to the rule by which we are to judge of the truth of any article of our faith. 2. The former class of persons will have the body and blood of Christ essentially present in or with the bread and wine, and so to be eaten, that together with the bread and wine received from the hands of the minister, it enters by the mouth of those who receive them into their bodies; the other class of persons believe that the body of Christ,

which in the celebration of the first supper sat at the table with the disciples, now is, and will continue, not on earth but in heaven, until Christ shall come again to judge the quick and the dead, and yet that we

who are on earth notwithstanding, as often as we eat this bread with a true faith are so fed with his body and made to drink of his blood, that we are not only cleansed from our sins through his sufferings and shed blood, but are, also, so united to him and incorporated into his true, essential, human body, by his Spirit dwelling both in him and in us, that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone; and are more firmly and closely united to him, than the members of our body are united with our head, so that we draw and have in, and from him, everlasting life. 3. The first class of persons referred to maintain, that all who come to the Lord’s supper and eat and drink of the bread and wine, whether believers or unbelievers, eat and drink corporally, and with their bodily mouth the flesh and blood of Christ, believers to life and salvation, and unbelievers to damnation and death. The other class of persons believe that unbelievers abuse, indeed, the outward signs to their condemnation, whilst .none but the faithful eat and drink by a true faith, and by the Spirit, the body and blood of Christ unto eternal life. [This last paragraph is inserted with slight alterations from the old English translation by Parry.]

As the Lord’s supper has been substituted in the place of the Passover y of which mention has been made, it is proper that we should here introduce some remarks in reference to the passover. The principal things in reference to the passover are included in the following Questions:

The Passover was the solemn eating of a lamb, which God enjoined upon the Israelites in order, that this rite being annually observed in every family, might be a memorial to them of their deliverance from Egypt, and that it might especially declare to the faithful their spiritual deliverance from sin and death by Christ, who was to be slain upon the cross, and to; be eaten by faith. Or, it was a sacrament of the ancient church, which was to be celebrated according to the command of God in every family of the Jews, by the yearly slaying and eating of a lamb a year old, that it might be a memorial to them of the great benefit of their deliverance from* Egyptian bondage, and that it might also be a seal of the promise of grace touching the forgiveness of sins on account of the sacrifice of the Messiah. The Greek padxa derived from the Hebrew pesach, which means a passover, derived from pasach, which signifies to pass over. This sacrament and feast was so called from the passing over of the angel, who seeing the

blood of the lamb sprinkled upon the upper door post of the Israelites, passed over, and spared their first born, whilst he slew all the first born of the Egyptians. The history of the institution of the passover is contained in the twelfth chapter of the book of Exodus. God commanded that the slaying of the lamb should be accompanied with certain and various rites. The lamb had to be a year old; a male without blemish; it had to be separated from the flock by the family on the tenth day of the first month called Nisan, or Abib; it was to be slain four days after, or in the evening of the fourteenth day of the same month; the blood was to be sprinkled upon the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses of the Jews; then it was to be roasted with fire, and eaten whole, and in haste, with unleaven bread and bitter herbs. Those that ate it, stood with their loins girt, their shoes on their feet, and with their staff in hand. Of this rite the Lord said, “It is the Lord’s passover.” “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses, where you are, that when I see the blood I may pass over you.” (Ex. 12:11, 13.)

This feast God commanded the Jews to celebrate with great solemnity every year, at which time seven days were devoted to its observance. “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord, throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread,” &c. (Ex. 12:14, 15; see also Ex. 12:17, 18; 23:15. Levit. 25:5. Deut. 16:1.)

There are five ends specified in the twelfth chapter of Exodus, on ac count of which the Passover was instituted.

1. That the blood of the lamb sprinkled upon the door posts might be a sign of the angel passing over them, and of the preservation of their first born. “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you.” (Ex. 12:13.) This end, after the first performance of the rite, and the passing over of the angel, ceases, although the analogy of it remains for ever: for God formerly spared, and now spares the faithful for the sake of the blood of Christ; by which we mean that he remits their sins, as is taught in the next object specified.

2. That it might be a type of the sacrifice of the Messiah yet to be offered, or that it might be a sign of the deliverance which would be wrought out by Christ, and so be a sign of God’s grace to the church. This was the chief end of the yearly passover. This is proven by the following arguments. “A bone of him shall not be broken.” (John 19:36.) This type John declares was fulfilled when Christ’s bones were not broken upon the cross. Therefore the lamb was a type of Christ, and of his sacrifice. Again: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Cor. 5:7.) The paschal lamb, therefore, signified Christ, and the sacrificing of it, signified the sacrificing of Christ. Again: the church understood the signification of other sacrifices, that they were types of the sacrifice of the Messiah; for the ancient fathers were not so destitute of reason as to seek the remission of sins by the blood of bulls: much more therefore did they, by faith, behold in the paschal lamb the Messiah, and his sacrifice. Lastly, John calls Christ “the Lamb of God;” and “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world;” (John 3:29. Rev. 13:8) because he was adumbrated by that lamb which was slain at the Passover. 3. That it might be a memorial of the first Passover, and deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. God desired that the remembrance of such a great benefit should be preserved among his people, lest their posterity might become ungrateful. “Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; (for thou earnest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste) that thou mayest remember the day when thou earnest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.” (Deut. 16:3.)

4. That it might be a bond which would unite public assemblies, and perpetuate the ecclesiastical ministry. “And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation,” &c.

5. That it might be a sacrament which would distinguish the people of God from all other nations. There shall no stranger eat thereof.” “And when a stranger shall sojourn with you, and will keep the passover of the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near, and keep it, and he shall be as one that is born in the land; for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.” (Ex. 12:43, 48.)

A consideration of the resemblances between the rites which God commanded to be observed in regard to the Paschal Lamb, and Christ, contributes very much to the confirmation, and illustration of the chief end of the Passover.

THE TYPE WAS,	THE THING SIGNIFIED IS,
1. A lamb from the flock	1. Christ a true man. Is. 53:2, 3, and John 1:14.
2. Without blemish, set apart	2. Without sin. Is. 53:5, 7, 8. Heb. 7:26.
3. To be slain and roasted.	3. Who suffered and died. 1 Cor. 5:7.
4. No bone was broken.	4. He died without having his bones broken. John 19:36
5. Was slain in the evening.	5. In the end of the world. Heb. 1:2; 9:26.
6. The posts were to be sprinkled with blood,	6. His satisfaction is imputed unto us. Is. 53:5. Rom. 3:24.
7. That the destroyer might passover the houses of the Israelites.	7. That we might be delivered from eternal death. Heb. 2:14.
8. It was to be eaten, and that in every family.	8. There must be an application of Christ to every one by faith. Rom. 1: IT. John 6:47.
9. It was all to be eaten.	9. According to all the articles of our faith. Tim. 3:16.
10. Without leavened bread.	10. Without hypocrisy. 1 Cor. 5:8.
11. With bitter herbs.	11. With the endurance of the cross. Matt. 10:38.
12. With haste, and in the attire of travellers.	12. With a desire to progress in the Christian life, and with the expectation of eternal life. Luke 8:15. Heb. 13:9, 15.
13. By the circumcised alone.	13. None but the regenerate eat him, and to these alone is he profitable, and they alone receive not the sacrament to their condemnation. John 6:56. Heb. 13:10. 1 Cor. 11:26.

That the ancient Passover, with all the other types which prefigured the Messiah which was to come, was abolished at the coming of Christ, is evident, 1. From the whole argument of the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews respecting the abolishing of the legal shadows in the New Testament. “The priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old.” (Heb. 7:12; 8:13.) 2. From the fulfillment of these legal shadows. u These things were done that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken.” “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (John 19:36. 1 Cor. 5:7.) 3. From the substitution of the New Testament; for Christ, when he was about to suffer, and die and sacrifice himself as the true Passover, closed the ordinance relating to the paschal lamb with a solemn feast, and instituted and commanded his supper to be observed by the church in the place of the old passover. “With desire, I have desired to eat with you this passover, before I suffer.” “This do in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:15, 19.) Christ here commands the supper, not the ancient passover, to be celebraced in remembrance of him. As baptism has, therefore, succeeded circumcision, so the Lord’s supper has succeeded the passover in the New Testament.