nothing of Moses, or whose aneestors were not concerned in the deliverance from Egyptian bondage, it could have had no meaning.

It

The latter was of a spiritual nature. nation. It had been

was not limited to any nation. enjoyed by many of the Patriarchs. Many of the Gentiles had enjoyed it also. But it was essentially necessary for all Christians.

Now the question is, Whether Jesus Christ, when he celebrated the Passover, instituted any new Supper distinct from that of the Passover, and which was to render null and void (as it is the tendency of ceremonials to do) that which he enjoined at Capernaum, to be observed as an ordinance by the Christian world? The Quakers are of opinion that no institution of this kind can be collected from Matthew, Mark, or John. St. Matthew* mentions the celebration of the Passover-supper in the following manner: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body.

* Matth. xxvi. 26.

"And

"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 Testa ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

"But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

St. Mark gives an account so similar to the former, that it is unnecessary to transcribe it. Both mention the administration of the cup; both, the breaking and giving of the bread; both, the allusion of Jesus to his own body and blood; both, the idea of his not drinking wine any more but in a new kingdom-but neither of them mentions any command, nor even any insinuation by Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they should do as he did at the Passover-supper.

St. John, who relates the circumstance of Jesus Christ washing the feet of his disciples on the Passover-night, mentions nothing even of the breaking of the bread, or of the drinking of the wine, upon that occasion.

As

As far therefore as the evangelists Matthew, Mark, and John are concerned, it is obvious, in the opinion of the Quakers, that Christians have not the least pretence either for the celebration of the Passover, or of that which they usually call the Lord's Supper; for the command for such a Supper is usually grounded on the words "Do this in remembrance of me." But no such words occur in the accounts of any of the evangelists now cited.

This silence with respect to any command for any new institution is considered by the Quakers as a proof, as far as these evangelists are concerned, that none was ever intended. For, if the sacrament of the Supper I was to be such a great and essential rite as Christians make it, they would have been deficient in their duty if they had failed to record it. St. Matthew, who was at the Supper, and St. Mark, who heard of what had passed there, both agree that Jesus used the ceremony of the bread and the wine, and also, that he made an allusion from thence to his own body and blood; but it is clear, the Quakers say, whatever they might have heard

heard as spoken by him, they did not understand him as enjoining a new thing. But the silence of John on this occasion the Quakers consider as the most impressive in the present case. For St. John was the disciple who leaned upon the bosom of Jesus at this festival, and who of course must have heard all that he said. He was the disciple, again, whom Jesus loved, and who would have been anxious to have perpetuated all that he required to be done. He was the disciple, again, who so particularly related the spiritual supper which Jesus enjoined at Capernaum, and in this strong language: that "except a man eat his flesh and drink his blood, he has no life in him." Notwithstanding this, St. John does not even mention what took place on the Passover-night, believing, as the Quakers suppose, that it was not necessary to record the particulars of a Jewish ceremony, which, being a type, was to end when its antitype was realized, and which he considered to be unnecessary for those of the Christian name.

SECTION

SECTION IV.

Account of St. Luke examined-according to him, Jesus celebrated only the old Jewish Passover→→ signified all future Passovers with him were to be spiritual--hence he turned the attention of those present from the type to the antitype-recommended his disciples to take their meals occasionally toge ther in remembrance of their last supper with him ; or if, as Jews, they could not get rid of the yoke of the Passover, ta celebrate it with a new meaning.

ST. LUKE, who speaks of the transactions which took place at the Passover-supper, is the only one of the evangelists who records the remarkable words "Do this in remembrance of me." St. Luke, however, was not himself at this supper. Whatever he has related concerning it was from the report of others.

But though the Quakers are aware of this circumstance, and that neither Matthew, Mark, nor John, gives an account of such words, yet they do not question the authority of St. Luke concerning them. They admit them, on the other hand, to have been

spoken.