ON
Sacramental Preaching-Days.
IT is well known that in all the Presbyterian connexions in this country, national and dissenting, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is attended with a number of extra preaching-days. The previous Thursday is wholly devoted to fasting, and prayer, and preaching. The previous Saturday is considered as a day of preparation, to assist in which, two sermons are ordinarily preached. The following Monday is regarded as a day of thanksgiving, to assist in which exercise, two sermons are also preached. Besides, on the Sacrament Sabbath, especially in country places, there is usually an extra congregation, collected from the surrounding neighbourhood, to whom a number of discourses are delivered in rotation, from morning till evening. Few people, however, are aware that this practice is entirely peculiar to Scotland, and that, except among the descendants of emigrants originally from the country, it is quite unknown beyond the ⟨boundaries⟩ of ancient Caledonia.
What then is the origin of a practice so singular and of which the body of professing Christians in this country are so very tenacious?
1. It has no foundation in the Bible— ⟨neither⟩ precept nor example can be found there to countenance it. This is so universally admitted, ⟨that⟩ it would be unnecessary to stay and prove it. ⟨No⟩ one now pretends to find any thing in the ⟨Bible⟩
