"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." - I Cor. xi. 26.
An evening or two since, my mind was led out to the contemplation of
the supper of the Lord, as a heart affecting ordinance, to make the
Lord's table a Bochim. I hope, my soul, that in this view, thou didst
find it profitable. Here is another proposed to thy meditation, which,
under grace, will prove equally so, in which it comes home to thy
affections as a subject of holy joy. Look at it in this light, and
remark what the apostle saith upon it. The Lord's death, which is thy
life, is set forth by every renewed celebration. And what a delightful
thought is that. As the body needs its constant regular meals, so doth
the soul. And as Jesus is the whole of life, and strength, and
happiness to his people; as oft as we receive the holy supper, we
testify to the world of men and angels, that he is all this; and we
glory in setting him forth as such at his table. And what a blessed
addition is that little phrase at the end of this verse; "till he
come:" yea, that "when he comes," he may find his people at his table,
and in their death celebrating his. Oh the blessedness of being so
found! Surely every lover of Jesus would desire to be found there, when
the master comes, and calleth personally for each, to take him home: to
be, in one and the same moment, in the valley of vision, and the valley
of the shadow of death! My soul! from henceforth, among the other
glories of the ordinance, do not forget this. The oftener it is
attended, the more delightful it will be. For the service keeps the
remembrance of Jesus alive in the soul, until he comes to take the soul
home to the everlasting enjoyment of himself in glory. And as there,
all his redeemed, who feast their souls with the view of his person,
unceasingly behold some new glories in him, and, after millions of
ages, will find him still increasingly lovely, and increasingly
precious; so here below, the more we see him, and know him, and enjoy
him by faith, the more we shall long to see him, and know him, and
enjoy him by sight: and the glories of his person, and the wonders of
his blood and righteousness, will be unfolding more and more to our
ravished souls. And while every other object lessens in its value by
time and use, and all created excellencies, like the planet under which
they are found, have their growing and their waning seasons; Jesus is
the same, "yesterday, and to-day, and forever." Yea, though in reality
always the same, yet from the increasing manifestations of love and
glory which he makes of himself to us, as our capacities are capable of
bearing, he will be in our view more and more blessed, from day to day,
from one ordinance to another, and through all the unknown periods of
eternity! Oh! the blessedness of setting forth Jesus, "in breaking
bread and in prayer!"
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