January 2017 Communion Meditation

Many times, as we approach the Lord’s Table, I’m convinced that our attitudes vary to a large degree. Many come sullen or sad, while others border silliness and thoughtlessness. Far too often, I fear that we confuse the Lord’s Supper with a funeral wake. Yes, it is a serious time of contemplation and self-evaluation, but it is certainly not melancholy. Certainly, our thoughts begin with Christ’s sufferings and death upon the cross, but the elements don’t leave us there. Rather, the bread and the cup help guide us to the empty tomb of the risen Christ and the reality that He is coming again. So the question we ask is, "Is it possible to be both reverent and rejoicing as we commune with Christ?" Yes!

With this in mind, I offer up to you a brief description of the Lord’s Supper by J.C. Ryle, which speaks to the humbling, cheering, sanctifying, and restraining nature of the Lord’s Supper. Additionally, at the end of Ryle’s thoughts is a hymn by Charles Haddon Spurgeon composed specifically for use by his congregation during communion. It is a hymn that genuinely expresses the range of appropriate thoughts and emotions that true Christians should experience as we approach the Table of our Lord. I pray that both may serve to enrich your souls and inflame your hearts in greater love and adoration of Christ as we prepare to feast at His Table this Lord’s Day.

S.D.G.

Keith

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“The Lord’s Supper is Humbling, Cheering, Sanctifying, and Restraining”
By J.C. Ryle

(1) Right reception of the Lord's Supper has a "humbling" effect on the soul. The sight of the bread and wine as emblems of Christ's body and blood reminds us how sinful sin must be—if nothing less than the death of God's own Son could make satisfaction for it or redeem us from its guilt! Never should we be so "clothed with humility," as when we receive the Lord's Supper.

(2) Right reception of the Lord's Supper has a "cheering" effect on the soul. The sight of the bread broken, and the wine poured out reminds us how full, perfect, and complete is our salvation! Those vivid emblems remind us what an enormous price has been paid for our redemption. They press on us the mighty truth—that believing on Christ, we have nothing to fear, because a sufficient payment has been made for our sin debt. The "precious blood of Christ" answers every charge that can be brought against us. God can be "just and the one who justifies, those who have faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).

(3) Right reception of the Lord's Supper has a "sanctifying" effect on the soul. The bread and wine remind us how great is our debt of gratitude to our Lord, and how thoroughly we are bound to live for Him who died for our sins. They seem to say to us, "Remember what Christ has done for you, and ask yourself whether there is anything too great to do for Him!"

(4) Right reception of the Lord's Supper into hearts has a "restraining" effect on the soul. Every time a believer receives the bread and the wine, he is reminded what a serious thing it is to be a Christian and what an obligation is laid on him to lead a consistent life. Bought with such a great price, as that which the bread and wine call to his recollection, ought he not to glorify Christ in body and spirit, which are His? The man who goes regularly and intelligently to the Lord's Table finds it increasingly hard to yield to sin and conform to the world.

Such is a brief account of the benefits which a right-hearted Christian may expect to receive from the Lord's Supper. In eating that bread and drinking that cup, such a man will have . . . his repentance deepened, his faith increased, his knowledge enlarged, his habit of holy living strengthened. He will see more clearly what Christ is to him—and what he is to Christ. He will feel the roots of his soul's spiritual life watered, and the work of grace in his heart established, built up, and carried forward. No wonder that a true Christian finds the Lord's Supper a source of blessing!

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Charles H. Spurgeon’s "Communion Hymn" (1866)

Amidst us our Beloved stands,
And bids us view His pierced hands;
Points to His wounded feet and side,
Blest emblems of the crucified.

What food luxurious loads the board,
When at His table sits the Lord!
The wine how rich, the bread how sweet,
When Jesus deigns His guests to meet!

If now with eyes defiled and dim,
We see the signs, but see not Him,
Oh may His love the scales displace
And bid us view Him face to face.

Our former transports we recount,
When with Him in the holy mount;
These cause our souls to thirst anew,
His marr’d but lovely face to view.

Thou glorious bridegroom of our hearts,
Thy present smile a heaven imparts
Oh lift the veil, if veil there be,
Let every saint Thy glory see.