earth, and then by His Spirit through the Church. What is this "goodness" and this "beauty," but the perfect mystery of His divine manhood? They are not so much two attributes as two aspects of His person. Goodness is inward beauty, beauty is outward goodness. They are inseparable; and express to us the perfection of Him who is God and Man: perfect alike in both; in majesty and meekness, in love and in humility, in His passion and in His power.

And as it is a prophecy of the Incarnation, so it is also of the holy Eucharist, the feast of the new creation. For He is this "corn" and "wine"

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of gladness. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." "The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life..... The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”2

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine

1 St. John xii. 24.

2 Ibid. vi. 33-35, 51.

apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have trodden the wine-press alone." This is the true corn and wine of God's

kingdom, the harvest and the vintage of the cross.

Melchisedec, king of Salem,

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...

King of righte

brought forth bread

He was bruised by a divine agony in the garden of oil-presses He gave His body to be broken, and His blood to be poured out for us. "For this" the true 66 priest of the most high God, ousness, ... King of peace,' and wine," and "blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.'

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"Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast." We have the wine of Cana; the bread of the five thousand in the wilderness, the feast of joy and love, of goodness and beauty, as "the joy of harvest, and singing, when the vintage is done." This is the feast of the new

1 Isaiah lxiii. 1-3.

Gen. xiv. 18.

5 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.

2 Heb. vii. 1, 2.

4 St. Matt. xxvi. 26-29.

creation, which the Church on earth keeps by a perpetual celebration, until, when our toil is over, we shall sit down with Him at the "marriage supper of the Lamb."

Let us see now from what deep fountain the joy of this feast overflows. There is something sad and repulsive in the tone of command with which the blessedness of the holy communion is forced upon sated and reluctant minds. If there be a precept in the kingdom of God, this is indeed a commandment sanctioned by the most awful realities of love and fear. It is our Redeemer who said, "This do in remembrance of Me." It is the command He gave in His night of agony, when His "soul was sorrowful even unto death." If love and gratitude can awaken obedience, who then can disobey? or if gratitude and love cannot obtain it, will not even fear prevail? the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." And yet, after all, there is something unloving and cold in alarming and upbraiding those that will not come. It may be necessary to alarm cold and unloving Christians; but it is a sad necessity, convicting us of being cold and loveless. If we see no goodness or beauty in His sacrament of love, words of chilling duty will never kindle our hearts, or open our eyes. What we

1 St. John vi. 53.

"Except ye eat

:

lack is love this would give us the prophet's sight to say, "O how great!" But perhaps we believe that we do already honour the holy sacrament, duly frequent, and worthily receive it; perhaps at times we have a perception of its sweetness, or at least we think so: and yet to how many communicants would He say, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.' This is the state of too many. They are as men that have no eye for beauty, no ear for harmonies. With too many of us "He hath no form nor comeliness," nor any "beauty that we should desire Him."2 And what is this incapacity for the blessedness of His presence but the beginning of that state in which His face shall be no more seen?

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Let us, then, endeavour, by His help, to meditate, not on the worthiness required in us, but on the blessings which the Lord of the harvest pours out on those who come to this supper, where He is both the Master and the Feast.

1 Rev. iii. 17, 18.

2 Isaiah liii. 2.

1. The first grace He gives is rest. "Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening." But the Master stands in the midst, ever saying to His servants, "Come unto Me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This is the labourer's reward when the work is done: at eventide, when the toil is over, and the sun is down, when the burden and the heat of the day have been endured, then comes rest. But we serve a pitiful Master, and He, in His compassion, gives us rest, not only once for all, when this toilsome life is over, but oftentimes all through our life; all day long He breaks in upon our toil with times of resting. Month by month, week by week, day by day, if our hearts were ready and yearned for the food of life, He would restore our strength.

Rest is manifold, and in the holy Sacrament He gives it in its fulness. First, He gives rest from the burden of sin, assuring us of forgiveness. If we come with true contrition, and with a pure and humble confession, He will unbind the burden, and take it from our shoulder. He will make us to feel that He is at peace with us; that between Him and us there is no veil of fear; that our sins past are put away; and that the long chain by which we have dragged a load of many iniquities,

1 Ps. civ. 23.