But suppose a fellow-professor has been guilty of disorderly conduct, how can this justity you in the neglect of your duty! His presence cannot discharge you from your obligation to attend, nor render the ordinance unholy or unprofitable to you. And, further; I wish you to consider, whether you are not as guilty as the brother, of whom you complain? Your duty, when you saw this fellow-communicant transgress, was to reprove and admonish him. The command is, "thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him."* This you have neglected to do; and now, you refuse to commune with him, because he committed a sin, of which you did not think it necessary either to speak to him, or give notice to the church! This excuse will not answer. And, no doubt, the man who makes it, would be better employed in discharging his duty, as pointed out in Scripture, to his erring brother-to his own soul-and to Jesus Christ the final and all-righteous Judge.

3. The third excuse I shall notice contemplates offences, contentions, enmity, &c.

It is certain, that no one can, with propriety, approach the feast of love, while harbouring angry, malicious, or revengeful feelings. We must lay aside unfeignedly all enmity, hatred, and envy, and firmly resolve henceforward to walk in true love and peace with our neighbour. The rule, laid down by our Saviour, is "If thou bring thy gift to the altar

* Lev. xix. 17.

Form for adm. supper.
Mat. v. 23, 24.

and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the aitar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and theu come and offer thy gift."

Contentions and animosities among professors are always unpleasant and unbecoming; and when protracted, give awful evidence of a want of Christian feeling. The best man on earth may, in an unguarded moment, in consequence of constitutional irritability, or violent temptation, have his feelings strongly excited; and, during the time of such excitement, he may speak and act unadvisedly and wickedly. But, let this man have an hour to reflect -let him have time to fix his eye upon the example of his Saviour-or to call to mind a direction like the following, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath,"*at once his heart is softened; he laments his depravity; and asks forgiveness of God and man!

We

It is not this spirit, but a very different spirit, that agitates and distracts the church of Christ. have too many who have never learned the lessons of forgiveness, and who utterly despise the laws of reconciliation who once ngry, always angry, without any desire to be reconciled; and always guilty of impiety and falsehood, when they pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." Who can suffer not only one sun to go down upon their wrath, but suffer one month to`pass

Eph. iv. 26.

Mat. vi. 12.

away after another, and one communion season after another-and they stand still, sullen as the prince of darkness-not reconciled, and no effort made to become reconciled! These are the most difficult characters in the church of Christ; and they are manifestly unworthy of a place there. They have nothing of the spirit of Christ: He was all mercy -all forgiveness, with his last breath, he prayed for his murderers! But these followers, shall I call them? of the Lamb, never forgive an injury! never pray for an enemy!

It would be well for such to reflect often on these words "He shall have judgment without mercy, who hath refused to show mercy. This may prepare them to obey the Apostolic direction: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."†

All this class of feelings, to which we have alluded, is utterly improper and sinful contrary to the example of Christ-contrary to the precepts of the gospel; and must be injurious both to those who indulge them, and those against whom they are indulged. "For (says the Apostle,) if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consnmed one of another."

But let us be a little more particular in the investigation of this subject; and endeavour to ascertain

Ja. ii. 13.

† Eph. iv. 31, 32.

Gal. v. 15.

what is our duty when offences and contentions eour, in which we are immediately concerned.

1. If we have given the offence, our first duty is, by suitable acknowledgments and reparations, to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. And even if we have not given an offence-yet, if a fellow-professor imagines that we have, it is well to remove, by a proper explanation, the erroneous impression under which he labours-and thus" to restore what we did not take away.'

If our brother refuses to forgive, and be reconciled, we have done our duty-and can with safety come to the table, provided we harbour no improper feelings against him. Unreasonable enmity, on the part of others, cannot debar us from our privileges; and were we to notice it, we might always stay back from the table; for, no doubt, some one or other will always feel unfriendly toward us. Paul never administered the supper to others, or partook of it himself, when he could say, 'Every body is my friend; I have no enemy in the world.'

2. But if the offence have been committed against us,—if we be the aggrieved party,—what then is our duty? I reply; the rule is plainly laid down by our Saviour, in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew's gospel, 15-17: "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every

word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican."

In many cases, it may be perfectly proper to de-` mand satisfaction for a wrong we have sustained; but in no case may we refuse to accept such satisfaction. "Take heed," says Christ,* "to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and se-. ven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."

But, if he refuses to make any acknowledgment or satisfaction for the injury inflicted on us, what then is our duty? I reply; it can never be our duty to suffer his wickedness and impenitence to rob us of our privileges, or to interfere with the expression of our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lawgiver and our Judge! For a man to injure himself, by withdrawing from church privileges, because he has been injured by another, is so perfectly ridiculous, that, were we not convinced of the contrary, we could not suppose it possible for a rational creature to be guilty of such madness. What! because a neighbour has inflicted on you a temporal injury, will you, by way of revenge, punish your own soul, and inflict on yourself an eternal injury? O! how much better-how much more like a Christian-to forgive, and to overcome evil with good.

Euke xvii. 3, 4.