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 Boyd, James R. 1804-1890 
 
 The communion table 
 
I^k l^ommunion IiibU, 
 
 THE APPROACH— THE SERVICE— THE 
 RETROSPECT. 
 
 THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OP ME. — Luke Xxii. 19. 
 
 BY THB 
 
 Rev. JAMES R. BOYD, D.D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PKESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 1334 Chestnut Street. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1866, 
 
 Br James R. Boyd, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
 
 for the Northern District of New York. 
 
^0 m^ "gtUvtA §m^Mm, 
 
 AX "WHOSE EEQTTEST AND POE WHOSB BENEyiT^ PEIMAEILTi 
 
 IT WAS UlfDKBTAKEN AITO COMPOBKD ; 
 
 WITH EARNEST PRATEK TO THE GREAT REDEEMER, 
 
 «^0<»» IT-OBT H\8 BIEIT BrPEBJfBLT SOUGHT 
 
 THAT rr WAY RE INSTBUCTIVE AND TTBEmi 
 
 TO MANY 0IHEE8, AS "W^ELL AS TO THEM, 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS INSCRIBED 
 
 BT TBEIK AFFECTIONATE 
 
 FATHER. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE, 
 
 Tt is the opinion of the writer, that the spirit- 
 ual progress of the Church has much to do with 
 the appropriate observance of the grand and sol- 
 emn ordinance of the Lord's Supper; and also, 
 that, as a general ftict, the preparation made for 
 it is far too slight, in respect to reading, medita- 
 tion, and prayer. Hence the benefits which it 
 was designed, and is adapted to convey, are expe- 
 rienced in only a modera^te degree, and the best 
 opportunity for spiritual growth and enjoyment, 
 is thus, in too many cases, sadly neglected and 
 nearly thrown away. 
 
 It seems, therefore, very desirable that every 
 professing Christian should not only possess, but 
 conscientiously and faithfully peruse, before each 
 observance, some approved treatise, of moderate 
 dimensions, relating to the Communion, so as to 
 comprehend the more clearly its spiritual import 
 and lessons, and to experience in larger measure 
 its surpassing benefits. 
 
 This lemark applies with special force to those 
 ■Vi'lio are about to enter, or have recently entered, 
 the Christian Church. Instruction, counsel, 
 guidance, and impulse, are needed to prepare their 
 minds and hearts for deriving signal benefit from 
 
6 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 this most import<ant ordinance. And with respect 
 to mature Christians, it is not to be denied, that 
 even they are not beyond the need of having their 
 " pure minds stirred up by way of remembrance," 
 in preparation for it, as the apostle Peter speaks 
 concerning the intention and the necessity of the 
 Epistles he had written. 2 Pet. 1 : 12, 13 ; 3:1, 2. 
 
 It is by no means supposed, or claimed, that 
 the little work here offered, is the best that can 
 be put into the hands of the Communicant ; but 
 it is humbly conceived, that the novelty of its 
 plan, and the large interspersion of eminently 
 devotional Poetry (by which it is favorably distin- 
 guished from most of the works on the subject), 
 may serve not only to render it attractive, but to 
 adapt it to arouse both the intellect and the sensi- 
 bilities to a fresh appreciation and keen enjoy- 
 ment of what is to be seen, and felt, and done, at 
 the Communion Table. 
 
 The writer will be painfully disappointed, if 
 this work, when carefully and prayerfully read, 
 is not found, in every case, to lead, under the 
 divine blessing, to a state of mind and heart in 
 dutiful and delightful correspondence with one of 
 the last and most tender commands of the great 
 Founder of the Christian Church, and author of 
 our salvation : — " Do this in remembrance op 
 
 ME." 
 Gexi'.va, N. Y. 
 
&0nt$vit%. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 A "WALK TO THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 Record of the Original Communion Table 11 
 
 Steps towards the Communion Table : 
 
 FiBST Step : Personal Consecration to Christ 20 
 
 Second Step : Public Profession of our Faith and 
 
 Obedience 21 
 
 Third Step : Course of life corresponding to such 
 
 Profession 23 
 
 FOTTRTH Step : Reading of the history of our Sa- 
 viour's last hours 25 
 
 Fifth Step : Preparatory Lecture, and Church 
 
 Prayer Meeting 28 
 
 Sixth Step : Self-examination on several points.. 
 
 1. Am I a Christian? 29 
 
 2. Do I renounce whatever Christ disapproves ? 31 
 
 3. Have I a deep sense of my sins and defici- 
 encies? 32 
 
 4. Do I understand the Nature and Design of 
 the Lord's Supper? ° 34 
 
 5. Why should I go to the Communion Table ? 48 
 Seventh Step : Adjustment of the Mind and 
 
 Heart to the great occasion ? 52 
 
 Eighth Step : Prayer for Preparation to meet the 
 
 Saviour gg 
 
 PART II. 
 
 ▼HAT 18 TO BE BEEN AND FELT AND DONE AT TEE COilMUNION TABLE. 
 
 (1.) Silent Prayer 81 
 
 (2.) Deep sense of Personal Un worthiness 84 
 
 (3.) Meditations during the Distribution of the 
 
 Bread oa 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAoa 
 (4.) Meditations during the Distribution cf the 
 
 Cup 88 
 
 (5.) Brief Review of the Life and Sufferings of 
 
 Christ 92 
 
 (6.) Favorable season for Intercessory Prayer 93 
 
 ( 7.) Remembrance of the poor of Christ's flock 94 
 
 ( 8.) Praise and Thanlisgiving for the benefits of 
 
 the occasion 96 
 
 PART III. 
 
 WHAT IS TO BE DONE TTPOX -VrUnDEAWING FEOM THE COSIMUNION 
 
 TABLE. 
 
 Behaviour on retiring from the Sanctuary 99 
 
 Resort to one's private room for reflection and 
 devotion 102 
 
 1. Tlianksgiving for a place at the Communion 
 
 Table 103 
 
 2. Consideration of obligations to the Father, and 
 
 to the Son 105 
 
 3. Of the benefits confirmed and assured to meat 
 
 the Lord's Table 106 
 
 4. Review of Imperfections and Deficiencies 107 
 
 5. Reason for increased efftort to crucify the flesh. 108 
 
 6. Counsel for all times of Temptation 108 
 
 7. Special occasion for now guarding against Sa- 
 
 tan and the World 109 
 
 8. Review of purposes and engagements at the 
 
 Table Ill 
 
 9. Cultivation of brotherly love, and of love to all 
 
 men 112 
 
 10. Exhortation to think more of Heaven 114 
 
 11. The time to prepare for a subsequent Commu- 
 
 nion 115 
 
 12. Duty ever to place Christ before the minds, and 
 
 to commend Him to the reverential regard 
 of our fellow-men 115 
 
 13. Prayer after the Communion 118 
 
 Closing Verses 122 
 
THE FEAST. 
 
 Love strong as death, nay stronger, 
 Love mightier than the grave. 
 
 Broad as the earth, and longer 
 Than ocean's widest wave ; 
 
 This is the love that sought us, 
 
 This is the love that bought us, 
 
 This is the love that brought us, 
 To gladdest day from saddest night. 
 From deepest shame to glory bright, 
 From depths of death to Hfe's fair height, 
 From darkness to the joy of light. 
 
 This is the love that leadeth 
 Us to his Table here; 
 
 This is the love that spreadeth 
 For us this royal cheer. 
 
 Bo^'AIl. 
 
A WALK TO THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 "When I propose a walk to the Com- 
 munion Table, you will readily under 
 stand me to refer to that Table on which, 
 at stated times, are spread the simple 
 but affecting memorials of Christ cruci • 
 fied, designed to perpetuate among his 
 disciples a heartfelt and tender regard 
 to his Person, to his offices as a Saviour, 
 and to all his injunctions with respect 
 to our manner of life. 
 
 The original Communion Table, was 
 one that stood in a certain upper room 
 in Jerusalem more than eighteen centu- 
 ries ago, and had just been employed 
 for the last celebration of the Supper 
 of the Passover — the last for which 
 there was any necessity, or any divine 
 sanction. 
 
12 RECORD OF THE ORIGINAL 
 
 " Then came the day of unleavened 
 bread, when the passover [ lamb ] must 
 be killed. And Jesus sent Peter and 
 John, saying, Go and prepare us the 
 the passover, that we may eat. And 
 they said unto him, Where wilt thou 
 that w^e prepare ? And he said unto 
 them, Behold when ye are entered into 
 the city, there shall a man meet you 
 bearing a pitcher of water ; follow him 
 into the house where he entereth in. 
 And ye shall say to the good man [the 
 master] of the house. The Master [the 
 Teacher] saith unto thee, Where is the 
 guest-chamber where I shall eat the 
 passover with my disciples ? And he 
 shall show you a large upper room fur- 
 nished ; there make ready. And they 
 went, and found as he had said unto 
 them ; and they made ready the pass- 
 over." 
 
 " And he said unto them, With desire 
 I have desired to eat this passover with 
 
VOMMUNION TABLE. 13 
 
 yoii before I siiiFer. For I say unto 
 you, I will not any more eat thereof, 
 until it be fulfilled in the kino^clom of 
 God" — in the tragic event about to take 
 place — the ofiering up of myself, the 
 antitype of the Passover-lamb, as the 
 Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of 
 the world. " And he took the cup and 
 gave thanks " (for that signal deliver- 
 ance of the first-born of the Israelites 
 from the wrath of God, when his de- 
 stroying angel passed over the houses 
 on whose door posts the blood of the 
 Paschal lamb had been sprinkled) " and 
 said, Take this and divide it amonof 
 yourselves, for I say unto you that I 
 will not drink of the fruit of the vine 
 until the kingdom of God shall come" 
 (Luke xxii), and thus the typical design 
 of the Passover be fulfilled. 
 
 By a comparison of accounts, in the 
 several Evangelists, of the transaction 
 now going on in that upper room at 
 
14 RECORD OF THE ORIGINAL 
 
 Jerusalem, it would appear that there 
 arose, even then, among the disciples, 
 an unseemly contention, as to which of 
 them should hold the highest place in 
 that kingdom of which their Master had 
 just spoken, and which they seem to 
 have regarded as an earthly kingdom, 
 which he was to assume after his pre- 
 dicted sufferings had been endured. To 
 eradicate from their hearts all such 
 ambitious desires, and to endue them 
 with humility like his own, the conde- 
 scending Master arose from the table, 
 laid aside his upper garments, girded 
 himself with a towel, poured water into 
 a basin, and proceeded to perform the 
 menial office of washing the feet of 
 the disciples, (though Peter protested 
 against the act), and then explained to 
 them the lesson of mutual service and 
 of humbleness, which it was his purpose 
 thus to impress upon their minds. 
 The Paschal Supper being then resu- 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 15 
 
 med, our Lord proceeded to discourse 
 to them upon the honors which they 
 should all hereafter share with him 
 (Luke 22 : 28-30) in his kingdom, Judas 
 only excepted, whose approaching trea- 
 chery he exposed before them all. He 
 then exhorts them (John 13 : 31-35) to 
 the exercise of mutual love; gives them 
 warning of the trials that are at hand, 
 predicts the sad event of his denial by 
 Peter, and then, just as they had finished 
 the Paschal Supper, he took bread and 
 having given thanks, and implored the 
 blessing of God upon it for the new and 
 solemn use to which he was about to 
 apply it — that it might subserve the 
 high purpose of securing an appropriate 
 remembrance of himself on the earth, 
 after his departure from it — he broke 
 the bread in pieces, distributing it 
 among his disciples, that they might 
 with grateful reverence eat it as a visible 
 representation of his body, about to be 
 
16 RECORD OF THE ORIGINAL 
 
 bruised, wounded, and crucified for 
 them, and that they might henceforth 
 hear in tender remembrance that most 
 remarkable proof of his amazing love to 
 them and to the world. 
 
 To make the impression more solemn, 
 and to establish an ordinance for all 
 future time more complete, he passed 
 among them also a cup of wine, and 
 havins: ofiven thanks, he bade them all 
 drink of it, stating to them that he de- 
 signed thus to represent his blood (which 
 was about to be shed for the remission 
 of sins) as the blood of the new Cove- 
 nant — the blood by which all the bene- 
 fits of the New or Gospel Dispensation 
 were to be purchased, or secured, for 
 sinful men. 
 
 He closes the impressive service, with 
 repeating the assertion that he should 
 drink wine with them no more, until 
 having risen from the dead, and having 
 been exalted to his Mediatorial King- 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 17 
 
 dom, he should participate with them in 
 those nobler entertainments secured by 
 his death for all who believe in him, 
 and to be enjoyed in the mansions of 
 everlasting glory. 
 
 The hymn of praise to God, commonly 
 used at the conclusion of the Paschal 
 feast, having been sung, they were about 
 to proceed to the Mount of Olives. But 
 before leaving the room, our Lord, it 
 would seem, detained them until he had 
 given utterance to that touching farewell 
 address, which we find recorded in the 
 fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth chap- 
 ters of the Gospel of John. This ad- 
 dress he follows with that touching 
 prayer to the Father of all, in which 
 he supplicates, that he himself may 
 be glorified; that those who were given 
 to him might be preserved from evil, 
 and might be sanctified through the 
 truth ; that they, and all succeeding 
 Christians might be united on earth 
 
18 RECORD OF THE ORIGINAL 
 
 and glorified in heaven. John xvii." " In 
 rapt and holy retrospect* the Lord con- 
 templates, and dedicates to his heavenly 
 Father, his complete work. He com- 
 mends both his work, and those loved 
 ones who had been permitted to witness 
 it, to the eternal Father, in a prayer 
 which has been rightly regarded by all 
 deeper expositors as the most afFecting 
 and most sublime outpouring of love 
 and devotion that stands recorded on 
 the pages of the Book of Life." — [UUt- 
 cott^s Life of Christy jpage'^.^Q.^ 
 
 On the night of that Last Supper, 
 Seated with his chosen band, 
 
 Christ, as food to all his brethren. 
 Gives himself with his own hand. 
 
 He, as man with man conversing. 
 Staid the seeds of truth to sow; 
 
 Then he closed, in solemn order, 
 Wondrously, his life of woe. 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 19 
 
 Lo ! o'er ancient forms departing, 
 
 Newer rites of grace prevail ; 
 Faith for all defects supplying, 
 
 Where the feeble senses fail. 
 
 To the everlasting Father, 
 
 Through the Son who reigns on high, 
 
 In salvation, honor, blessing, 
 
 INIight, and endless majesty. 
 
 Breviary. 
 
 The original, or first Communion 
 Table, has long since perished in the 
 destruction that befel the city of Jeru- 
 salem — less than forty years after the 
 scene that we have described. But other 
 Tables have been ever since in more or 
 less frequent use, in the celebration of 
 the holy communion. Wherever the 
 Christian Church has been planted ; 
 wherever an edifice is built for the pub- 
 lic service of Christ, therein is found a 
 Communion Table, and thereon are 
 placed, at stated times, the sacred me- 
 morials of our once crucified Lord and 
 Redeemer. 
 
20 FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 Many centuries have fled 
 Since our Saviour broke the bread, 
 And this sacred feast ordained, 
 Ever by his Church retained; 
 Those his body who discern, 
 Thus shall meet till his return. 
 
 All who fear the Saviour's name. 
 Here their common faith proclaim ; 
 Though diverse in tongue or rite. 
 Here, one body we unite ; 
 Breaking thus one mystic bread, 
 Members of one common Head. 
 
 COXDER. 
 
 LET us JSrO"W PROCEED IN OUR WALK TO THB 
 COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 The First Step is a personal conse- 
 cration to Christ — a solemn, voluntary, 
 intelliijent devotement of ourselves and 
 of all that we possess, to the service and 
 glory of Christ. This, of course, includes 
 undoubting faith in him, as a living 
 almighty, and omnipotent Redeemer 
 
 &' 
 
 exclusive trust in him as the atoning 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 21 
 
 sacrifice, the great High Priest; the re- 
 nunciation of all dependence upon our 
 own merit, righteousness, wisdom, and 
 strength in the matter of salvation; the 
 commitment of our souls to him for 
 pardon, for holiness, and for everlasting 
 life. 
 
 II. 
 
 The Second Step, is a public profes- 
 sion of our faith in Christ, and of our 
 devotion to his service. 
 
 Under the ancient economy we read 
 (Deut. 26 : 17): "Thou hast avouched 
 the Lord this day to be thy God, and 
 to walk in his ways, and to keep his 
 statutes and his commandments, and his 
 judgments, and to hearken unto his voice. 
 And God hath avouched thee this day 
 to be his peculiar people, as he hath 
 promised thee, and that thou shouldest 
 keep all his commandments." 
 
22 SECOND STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 Christ designed that his true disciples 
 should make themselves known as such. 
 This is evident from what he said (Matt. 
 5: 15, 16), "Neither do men light a 
 candle, and put it under a bushel, but 
 on a candlestick ; and it giveth light to 
 all that are in the house. Let your light 
 so shine before men, that they may see 
 )^our good works, and glorify your 
 Father which is in heaven." Also from 
 what he said more explicitly (Matt. 10 : 
 32, 33), '' Whosoever shall confess me 
 before men, him will I confess also be- 
 fore my Father which is in heaven. But 
 whoso shall deny (^. e., shall not confess 
 me) before men, him will I also deny 
 before my Father which is in heaven." 
 Read also Mark 8 : 38; 16 : 16; Eom. 10: 
 9, 10; I Cor. 11 : 26. 
 
 None but real disciples of Christ, can 
 consistently seat themselves at Christ's 
 table, to show forth his death, and thus 
 to declare their faith in it, and their re- 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 23 
 
 spect for it. And so none can justly 
 claim to be his disciples who for any 
 cause decline to honor Christ by a public 
 profession of their adherance and devo- 
 tion to him, and by a public perpetua- 
 tion of a respectful and loving remem- 
 brance of him, in the observence of this 
 ordinance which he enjoined upon his 
 disciples to celebrate for that express 
 purpose. 
 
 III. 
 
 A Third Step towards the Communion 
 Table, consists in such a course of life as 
 faith in Christ and obedience to him nat- 
 urally ^rom^ts^ and in a good degree 
 secures. It is not by a public assent to 
 the claims and obligations of Christianity 
 that we can honor its Divine Founder, 
 unless habitually, in our conduct, we 
 cultivate and manifest the characteristics 
 that distinguish his true followers — un- 
 less we produce the " fruits of the spirit " 
 
24 THIRD STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 • — love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith, [fidelity,] meek- 
 ness, temperance ; unless we put away 
 all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and 
 clamor, and evil speaking, with all mal- 
 ice; unless we be kind one to another, 
 tender-hearted, forgiving one another, 
 even as God, for Christ's sake, hath for- 
 given us ; unless we endeavor to be 
 followers of God, as dear children, and 
 walk in love, as Christ hath also loved 
 us ; unless we seek those things which 
 are above, setting our affections on them, 
 rather than on things on the earth, hav- 
 ing our life hid with Christ in God. 
 We are to remember that Christ loved 
 the Church and gave himself for it, that 
 he might sanctify and cleanse it by the 
 washing of water by the word, that he 
 might present it to himself a glorious 
 Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or 
 any such thing, but that it should be 
 holy and without blemish. (Gal. 5 : 22 
 
COMMUNION I'ABLE. 
 
 25 
 
 -24; Eph. 4 :31, 32; 5:1, 2; Col. 
 3 : 1, 2 ; Eph. 5 : 25, 27). 
 
 While, alas, even true Christians great- 
 ly fail in exhibiting the temper, spirit, 
 and deportment just alluded to, they 
 cannot proceed with a firm unhesitating 
 step towards the Communion Table, 
 unless they have the recollection and 
 the consciousness of an earnest and habi- 
 tual purpose and endeavor, in reliance on 
 God's grace, to observe consistency in 
 their daily conduct with that which they 
 have professed their purpose to pursue. 
 
 IV. 
 
 A Fourth Step zs thai which is to be 
 taken on hidor^ic ground — in going over 
 the history of our Saviour's last hours. 
 
 It will be found expedient to begin 
 early in the week befoi e Communion, to 
 read, from the latter portions of the 
 four Gospels, from Isaiah, and in the 
 Epistles, the principal passages which 
 
26 FOURTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 relate to the sufferings and death of the 
 Son of God, and the purposes and re- 
 sults of those events. It is only by 
 faith that we can attain impressive and 
 affectionate views of Christ ; and it is 
 only by a thoughtful reading of the 
 Scriptures, and of other good books on 
 the subject, that our faith becomes so 
 strong as to bring the Saviour distinctly 
 before us in his grand and glorious 
 character, life, and death. This whole 
 subject it is highly important to repro- 
 duce in our minds with all the freshness 
 and completeness possible. So will the 
 Communion Table be invested with a 
 peculiar interest and transcendent glory. 
 
 ORDER OF SCRIPTURE READING LESSONS. 
 
 The writer would suo-o-est the follow- 
 ing passages of Scripture as highly ap- 
 propriate to be read in the order named, 
 on the several days of the week before 
 Communion. 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 27 
 
 FOR MONDAY. 
 
 Luke XXII, 35 — 38; John xiv, 22-31; 
 XV, 1-27. 
 
 FOR TUESDAY. 
 
 John XVI, 1-16; 29-33; xvii, 1-26. 
 
 FOR WEDNESDAY. 
 
 Mat. XXVI, 36-46; Mark xiv, 34-42; 
 Luke XXII, 39-46; Mat. xxvi, 47-75 ; 
 Mark xiv, 43-72 ; Luke xxn, 47-71 ; 
 John XVIII, 3-27. 
 
 FOR THURSDAY. 
 
 Mat. XXVII, 3-26 ; Luke xxiii, 1-16; 
 John xvm, 28-38 ; xix, 1-16. 
 
 FOR FRIDAY. 
 
 Mat. xxvn, 27-61 ; Mark xv. 26-45. 
 Luke XXIII, 32-49 ; John xix, 17-42. 
 
 FOR SATURDAY. 
 
 Isaiah lii, 13-15 ; liii, 1-12 ; Eo- 
 mans ni, 21-26 ; v, 1-11 ; vi, 8-14 ; 
 viii, 1-13, 28-39 ; I Cor. iii, 22, 23. 
 
 FOR SABBATH MORNING. 
 
 Ephesians i, 3-23 ; ii, 1-10, 17-22 ; 
 III, 13-21. 
 
28 FIFTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 A Fifth Step is to the Preparatory 
 Lecture, the professed object of which 
 is to hold up such truths, to propose 
 such inquiries and examination, and to 
 offer such prayers, as cannot fail, with 
 the divine blessing, and with earnest co- 
 operation on our part, to put the mind 
 and heart in a fitting attitude for the 
 solemnities of the Communion Table. 
 
 It is also the practice of most churches 
 to hold a Church Prayer Meeting on the 
 subsequent Saturday evening, for the 
 specific purpose of supplicating the pre- 
 sence and favor of the Great Eedeemer 
 at his table. Every church member 
 should regard it as equally a privilege 
 and a duty to participate in the exerci- 
 ses of such a meeting, having prepared 
 the heart beforehand, by secret prayer 
 and meditation, for a profitable and de- 
 vout att(aidance there. 
 
COMMWNION TABLE 29 
 
 It is very important, also, to secure to 
 one's self on the Sabbath morning an 
 hour or two in the closet, for special 
 prayer, reading, and meditation, bearing 
 upon the solemnities of the sanctuary on 
 that day. 
 
 VI. 
 
 A Sixth Step will carry us into the 
 process of careful Self-examination; and 
 this relates to several points : 
 
 1. Am I a Christian in reality as well 
 OS in name 9 Have I good reason to be- 
 lieve that I have been renewed in heart 
 by the Spirit of God, and, as the result 
 of such renewal, that I have been 
 brouo^ht to feel the o^reat evil of sin, so 
 as to abhor myself on account of it, and 
 to resolve, as far as lies in my power, to 
 forsake it, as being offensive to God, a 
 violation of his holy law, and a dishon- 
 or and injury to my own soul ? Has it 
 been my practice to pray and watch 
 
30 SIXTH STEP TO WARES THE 
 
 against it on all occasions, and to look 
 to Christ alone for the pardon of all my 
 sins, and for strength, by his Holy 
 Spirit, to overcome whatever is evil 
 within me, and to avoid all that is evil 
 around me ? Do I love Christ su- 
 premely, and hold myself in a habitual 
 posture of obedience to him, regarding 
 his will and his example as my supreme 
 law ? Do I make it my daily aim and 
 endeavor to please him, by keeping his 
 Commandments, by renouncing the 
 world, the flesh, and the devil, and by 
 doing my part towards building up the 
 interests of Christ's kingdom in the 
 world ? 
 
 By these and similar inquiries, put 
 to memory and to conscience, Ave may 
 come to a settled conviction in regard 
 to the question of being true disci- 
 ples of Christ or otherwise. The set- 
 tlement of this question, at least a con- 
 scious p7-obability that we are accepted 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 31 
 
 by Him, is essential to a comfortable 
 approach to our Saviour's Table. 
 
 Jesus my shepherd is, 
 
 'Twas He that loved my soul, 
 'Twas He that washed me in his blood, 
 
 'Twas He that made me whole, 
 'Twas He that sought the lost, 
 
 That found the wandering sh<3ep, 
 'Twas he that brought me to the fold, 
 
 'Tis He that still doth keep. 
 
 I was a wandering sheep, 
 
 I would not be controlled ; 
 But now I love my shepherd's voice, 
 
 I love, I love the fold 
 I was a wayward child ; 
 
 I once preferred to roam. 
 But now I love my Father's voice, — 
 
 I love, I love his home ! 
 
 BONAK. 
 
 2. Am I ready to renounce, and do I 
 renounce, whatever in modes of thought, 
 of feeling, and of action, I hnow to be 
 disajDjyroved hy Christ, inconsistent with 
 my professei obligations and devotion 
 
32 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 to him, and unworthy of one who shall 
 go as an invited guest to the table of 
 the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, 
 reroembering that he is the Searcher of 
 hearts, and that he knows most per- 
 fectly what I am, and what I purpose to 
 be and to do ? 
 
 3. Have I a dee^ and humbling sense 
 of perso7ial sms and deficiencies since I 
 first prof essed to devote myself to Christy 
 and to 7^epent of my sins 9 Am I deeply 
 conscious that I have most grievously 
 fallen short of a full compliance with 
 my duty to Christ, to his people, and to 
 all others, as well as to my own soul ? 
 Do I feel, consequently, my entire uu- 
 worthiness to appear in the sacred pre- 
 sence of my Saviour, claiming the name, 
 the place, the privileges, the fellowship 
 of a disciple ? Do I feel that I richly 
 merit rebuke, disapprobation, yea, con- 
 demnation, and rejection ? Do I now 
 humble myself before him, in view of 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 33 
 
 manifold inconsistencies, neglects of 
 duty, careless or intermitted perform- 
 ances of it; and with a broken heart do 
 I purpose to urge my way into his pre- 
 sence, to acknowledge the wrong which 
 I have done to him, to confess my un- 
 worthiness of his continued favor, and 
 to implore his pardoning, and also his 
 sanctifying grace — saying to him, from 
 the heart. Without thee I can do noth- 
 ing good, nothing worthy of my high 
 vocation, or of divine acceptance ? 
 
 " That table is spread," (says Dr. 
 Gumming,) "not for those who bring 
 their virtues to glory in them, nor for 
 those who bring their sins to get sanc- 
 tion for them, but for those who bring 
 their goodness and cast it at the Sa- 
 viour's feet, as his creation; and for 
 those who bring their sins, hating them, 
 and to Vv-ash them away in the Saviour's 
 blood. It is spread for imperfect sin- 
 ners seeking to be jDerfect; for weak 
 
34 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 faith seekino- to be strou<v; for cold Iovp. 
 seeking to be warmed ; for humblo 
 hearts that can say, ' Lord we perish, do 
 Thou save us.' " 
 
 4. Have I cooTect views of the JVature 
 and Design of the sacred ordinance which 
 I am about to ohsei^e 9 
 
 It is denominated the Lord's Supper, 
 because it relates exclusively to him, 
 because it was instituted by him, and in 
 honor of him, aiud was first observed in 
 the night, at the close of the Passover 
 Supper. 
 
 It is called the " Communion of the 
 Body and of the Blood of Christ,''^ be- 
 cause, by the proper observance of this 
 ordinance, Christians become partakers 
 in common, as one body, of the saving 
 benefits resulting from the oflering up 
 of his body and blood on the cross for 
 their salvation. 1 Cor. 10 : 16, 17. 
 
 It is also, with great propriety, called 
 simply "The Co3imunion," because, in 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 55 
 
 its right observance, we hold Spiritual 
 Communication and intercourse with 
 our Saviour, whose real, though not 
 bodily, presence Ave discover, ( as in 
 other Christian ordinances) by faith; we 
 speak to him as present ; we give utte- 
 rance to our desires, emotions and afiec- 
 tions; we interchange the feelings of 
 ardent friendship and attachment; we 
 are conscious that he actually regards 
 us with a warmer love and sympathy 
 than we ourselves entertain towards him; 
 that he kindly responds to our devout 
 aspirations, and condescends to accept 
 the homage of our admiring gratitude 
 and praise. He also gives us the assu- 
 rance of his loving remembrance of us, 
 and of his gracious purpose to fulfill to 
 us all his promises, and these are ex- 
 ceedingly great and precious. 
 
 It may be fitly called " The Commu- 
 nion" on another account. Christians 
 then communicate not only with tlieir 
 
S6 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 Saviour, in the manner described, but 
 also with one another, having their 
 hearts in common directed to the same 
 glorious object — expressing substanti- 
 ally the same sentiments towards him — 
 indulging the same hopes — making simi- 
 lar confessions of unworthiness — pour- 
 in «: forth similar thanks o^i vinous — and 
 unitino^ in a renewed oath of alleo^iance 
 to the same Divine Lord. They have 
 then peculiar felloAvship with one ano- 
 ther, by holding fellowship with the 
 same unseen yet present Eedeemer. 
 
 Our souls, by love together knit, 
 
 Cemented, mixed in one. 
 One hope, one heart, one mind, one voice, 
 
 'Tis heaven on earth begun. 
 
 Our hearts have often burned within, 
 
 And glowed with sacred fire. 
 While Jesus spoke, and fed, and blessed, 
 
 And filled the enlarged desire. 
 
 MlLLEB. 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 37 
 
 The earliest name given to this ordi- 
 nance was " The Beeaking of Bread," 
 in allusion to the action of our Lord in 
 breaking the bread, to represent his ap- 
 proaching sufferings from his wounded 
 body on the cross. It is said of the 
 early Christians, converted on the day 
 of Pentecost (Acts 2 : 42), that they con- 
 tinued steadfastly in the Apostle's doc- 
 trine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
 bread and of prayers. 
 
 The cup used in this ordinance is 
 called by him " The New Testament (or 
 Covenant) in my bloods The new Cove- 
 nant, or Dispensation, was ratified, in 
 all its gracious promises and provisions, 
 by the blood of Christ, as the old econ- 
 omy was ratified by the blood of animal 
 sacrifices. It is the blood of Christ that 
 cleanses . from all sin and procures for 
 us the Holy Spirit, through whose 
 agency we attain all the graces of char- 
 acter and of 1 fe which distinguish the 
 
38 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 true believer. When we taste the con- 
 tents of this cup — the appointed symbol 
 of Christ's atoning blood — how solemnly 
 does it teach us that we are redeemed, 
 " not with corruptible things as silver 
 and gold," from a life of unholiness, and 
 of condemnation, but "with the pre- 
 cious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb 
 without blemish and without spot !" 
 (1 Pet. 1 : 18, 19.) 
 
 Hence this ordinance was designed to 
 imjjress upon us, by these visible sym- 
 bols, the grand design of the Death of 
 Christ, which was to secure the remis- 
 sion of sins and the blessings of justifi- 
 cation. Our Saviour himself, when he 
 instituted and administered the ordi- 
 nance, declared that his body was given 
 and broken, and his blood shed, for his 
 disciples, and for many, for the remis- 
 sion of sins. It cannot, of course, then, 
 be correctly, and intelligently, and pro- 
 fitably observed, if our minds are not 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 39 
 
 intently fixed upon this sublime purpose 
 and effect of the death of our Saviour, 
 represented to the e^^e and to the taste, 
 by the bread and the wine of which we 
 then partake. We are therefore, to 
 confide in him, and thus to honor him, 
 as "the propitiation for our sins, and 
 not for ours only, but also for the sins 
 of the whole world." " As often as ye 
 eat this bread and drink this cup (said 
 the Apostle Paul ) ye do shew forth the 
 Lord's death till he corned So that this 
 ordinance has been correctly denomina- 
 ted, " ^4 visible representation of the 
 Death of Christ as an Atonement for the 
 sins of the world J^ 
 
 Again, it was also appointed as a me- 
 morial of the Saviour, of his person — 
 his offices — his manifold beneficence. 
 " Do this," said he, "in remembrance of 
 
 le." He is thus in a 
 before our very eyes. 
 
40 SIXTH STE? TOWARDS THE 
 
 Sometimes this observance is spoken 
 of under the name of euchapjst (or 
 Thanksgiving), from the circumstance 
 that the giving of thanks is part of the 
 solemn rite ; and hence we may learn 
 that in its celebration, an eminently 
 grateful and joyful state of mind is most 
 appropriate. 
 
 " While we thus, with glad accord, 
 Meet around thy table, Lord, 
 Bid us feast with joy divine, 
 On th' appointed bread and wine." 
 
 To this, as well as to the ordinance of 
 Baptism, is applied the term " sacra- 
 ment," which, in the Westminster Cate- 
 chism, is defined to be "a holy ordinance, 
 instituted by Christ, wherein by sensible 
 siffus Christ and the benefits of the New 
 Covenant are represented, sealed and 
 applied to believers." The Church of 
 England defines it, " an outward and 
 visible sign of an inward and spiritual 
 grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 41 
 
 himself, as a means by which ive receive 
 the same, and a pledge to assure us 
 thereof." 
 
 The term " sacrament " is supposed 
 by some to be derived from the Latin 
 word Sacramentmn, which signifies an 
 oath, alluding chiefly to that oath which 
 Roman soldiers took to be faithful to 
 their commander and to their country. 
 Hence the writers of the Latin Church 
 applied it to those religious ordinances 
 by which Christians came under professed 
 obligations of obedience to God, equally 
 sacred in their estimation with the obli- 
 gation of an oath. By taking as disci- 
 ples the symbols of the crucifled Jesus 
 — by showing forth his death as the 
 divinely appointed means of delivering 
 us from a life of sin, and further, by 
 recognizing him in his kingly as well as 
 priestly office, Ave virtually take an oath 
 of allegiance, pledging ourselves to be 
 his faithful and loyal su]:)jects, an 1 to 
 
42 SIXIH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 seek the prosperity of his kingdom. It 
 behooves us then to consider the solemn 
 obligations to the service of Christ, 
 which at his table we recognize, and 
 promise to observe. 
 
 Further, (as Dr. J. P. Wilson re- 
 marks), "it is important that there 
 should be some visible mark and test^ 
 whereby those ivJw prof ess to be Christians 
 sliOuUl be distinguished from the rest of 
 the ivorld. Those who refuse to comply 
 with this positive injunction, renounce 
 obedience to Christ, and show that their 
 obedience in other instances flows neither 
 from the love nor fear of God." 
 
 Enough, perhaps, has now been said, 
 to enable one to unde' -stand the true 
 nature and design of the Lord's Supper, 
 and to observe it intelligently and profit- 
 ably. 
 
 Here seems to be the best place for 
 noticing a oreat mistake wliich is ajpt to 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 43 
 
 he made in regard to that self-examination 
 which Paul enjoins (I Cor. xi.) iiijon the 
 Corinthian Churchy when lie says : — 
 ''Whosoever shall eat this bread and 
 drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, 
 shall be guilty of the body and blood 
 of the Lord. But let a man examine 
 himself, and so let him eat of that bread 
 and drink of that cap. For he that 
 eateth and drinketh unworthilj^, eateth 
 and drinketh damnation to himself, not 
 discerning the Lord's body." 
 
 By a careful reading of the context, 
 it will be seen that the Corinthian 
 Church, at least a portion of it, had 
 almost lost sight of the sacred purposes 
 of this ordinance. It wdll be observed 
 that at Corinth it was preceded or fol- 
 lowed by gross indulgence in eating and 
 drinking ; that it had become necessary 
 for Paul to remind that Church of the 
 true design of the Supper, communicat- 
 ed to him by revelation from the Master 
 
44 
 
 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 himself: namely, to commemorate the 
 death of Christ, and to keep that fact 
 before the Avorld as the grand and only 
 medium of salvation ; tliat tiie convert- 
 ing of this solemnity into an ordinary 
 repast, for animal in:lulgence, was eat- 
 ing the bread and drinking the cup of 
 the Lord unwortldly, i. e., in an unbe- 
 coming and shameful manner ; that 
 those who thus abused the sacred feiist 
 were " guilty of the body and blood of 
 the Lord" — guilty, and worthy of pun- 
 ishment, on account of the disrespect 
 and contempt thus shown to the Lord ; 
 that those who ate and drank on these 
 occasions thus unworthily, ate and drank 
 "damnation" (i. e., condemnation or 
 punishment) to themselves, not discern- 
 ing the Lord's body," not recognizing 
 in the bread and wine the representation 
 which was designed to be made of the 
 Lord's body — not partaking of them as 
 symbols of his crucified body, with af- 
 
COMMUNION lABLE. 45 
 
 fectionate reverence, gratitude and loye, 
 but overlooking, disregarding, and thus 
 profaning the true character and design 
 of the sacred ordinance. 
 
 That the " damnation," or, more pro- 
 perly translated, the condemnation ^ or 
 judgment, referred to, does not denote 
 everlasting punishment in hell, is per- 
 fectly plain from what follows : " for 
 this cause (i. e. for not discerning the 
 Lord's body, and thus for eatino; the 
 bread and drinking the cup of the Lord 
 unworthily) many are weak and sickly 
 among 3'ou, and many sleep " — many 
 were subjected to disease, and to some 
 the disease inflicted had proved fatal. 
 The punishment was temporal merely; 
 and from what the apostle adds, we 
 learn that it was designed to be discip- 
 linary and reformatory to the Church, 
 if not also to the ofienders themselves. 
 The apostle adds: "for if we would 
 judge ourselves (discipline and coirt^ct 
 
46 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 ourselves) we should not be judged 
 (should not be thus visited by disease); 
 but when we are judged, we are chas- 
 tened by the Lord, that ive should not be 
 condemned with the icorld " (or involved 
 in that everlasting condemnation and 
 ruin to v/hich the unchristian world are 
 hastening.) Hence the punishment of 
 such unworthy conduct at the Lord's 
 Supper, vras not endless punishment, 
 (unless indeed, the offender should fail 
 to repent and to reform); but it was 
 designed to bring the offender to repent- 
 ance, and thus to save him from what is 
 usually understood by the fearful word 
 " damnation." 
 
 While none of us, in this Christian 
 land, are in danger of practicing such 
 an unworth}^ observance of the Lord's 
 Supper as that which brought the dis- 
 pleasure of God upon many in the Co- 
 rinthian Church, yet the record of such 
 an abuse of the ordinance should be used 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 47 
 
 as a wrirniiig to giuird against every un- 
 worthy i. e. unseemly and unbecoming 
 method of observance. This end will 
 best 1)e secured by aiming at just such an 
 observance as our Lord designed — such 
 as will contribute to honor him, and to 
 please him, to promote our love to 
 Christ, our obedience to him in all 
 things, and our zeal in his service. 
 
 It is here to be distinctly remarked, 
 that a seuse, however deep, of personal 
 unworthiness, is so far from being a dis- 
 qualification for an acceptable approach 
 to the Lord's table, that the Avaut of it 
 rather would unfit us for such an ap- 
 proach. Conscious moral defects — the 
 conviction that feebleness and incon- 
 stancy have characterized all our Chris- 
 tian o^races — the knowledo-e that we 
 come far short of the high attainments 
 in spiritual excellence wliich we should 
 have made, and that w^e have done but 
 little to prove that we possess supreme 
 
48 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 love to Christ, our greatest benefactor, 
 cannot fail to produce in every truly 
 Christian, humble heart, a deep sense of 
 personal unworthiness. Let not this 
 state of mind, therefore, deter any real 
 Christian from a walk to the Commu- 
 nion Table. 
 
 5. Another point of self-examination, 
 relates to the question, WJiy sliould I go 
 to the Communion Table? What motives 
 should impel me, and what advantages are 
 to he anticipated 9 
 
 Shall I go merely because custom re- 
 quires it ? This were a most unworthy 
 motive. 
 
 Shall I go only for the sake of mani- 
 festing consistency as a professor of re- 
 ligion ? Consistency with duty and with 
 professed obligations, is indeed an hon- 
 orable and worthy motive ; but if not 
 sustained by, and combined with, some 
 other motive, it is not to be approved. 
 
 Shall I go simply because conscience 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 49 
 
 urges and commands me ? It is right 
 and noble indeed to obey the voice of 
 conscience when dnl}^ informed and cul- 
 tivated; but how cold and skeleton-like 
 is the motive which conscience alone 
 can supply in such a case as this. It 
 says, I must go to the Communion Table 
 because it is right to do so ; I must eat 
 and drink in remembrance of Christ 
 because I ought to do it, since Christ 
 has commanded it. This, the dying com- 
 mand of the best Friend I have is, indeed, 
 not to be disregarded ; it is a command 
 so reasonable, so just, so worthy of the 
 Master, so fitting to be observed by 
 every grateful follower; but it is quite 
 clear that love and gratitude, and spon- 
 taneous devotion, should not be Avanting 
 in the impulse to take my place at the 
 Sacred Table. 
 
 I should go thither, also, distinctly 
 with a view to honor my Lord and Sa- 
 viour; and also with a view to obtain 
 
 4 
 
60 SIXTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 nearer access to him, and to enjoy more 
 intimate felloivsldp icith Jam, than else- 
 Avhere I can attain. There may I best 
 grive utterance to the feelinirs of a re- 
 deemed sinner, whose obligations to 
 Christ can never be fully expressed or 
 understood. Thither should I go that I 
 may improve every Christian grace — 
 that I may become more humble, more 
 penitent, more grateful, more heavenly- 
 minded, more Christ-like; that I may be 
 the better fitted to perform life's duties, 
 encounter life's cares, temptations, re- 
 sponsibilities and afflictions; that I may 
 learn to be a more valiant soldier in the 
 army of the Redeemer, and come off 
 conqueror, and more than conqiieror 
 through him who hath loved me and 
 triven himself for me. 
 
 Saviour ! I long to walk 
 
 Closer with thee; 
 Led by thy guiding hand 
 
 Ever to be; 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 51 
 
 Constantly near thy side. 
 Quickened and purified, 
 Living for him who died 
 
 Freely for me ! C. s. r. 
 
 There is another reason that may 
 properly influence nie to go to the Table 
 of the Lord, and that is a desire to enjoy 
 the sympathy and fellowship of Ghrisfs 
 people — to grow in brotherly love, and 
 to strengthen the disposition to perform 
 all the kindly offices to which that love 
 will prompt me. 
 
 Still another reason may be found in 
 the influence for good luhich I may thus 
 exert upon those of my friends and ac- 
 quaintances ivho are yet strangers to the 
 love and service of my Redeemer. 
 
 Further, not only spiritual profit, hut 
 enjoyment also may I expect to find, in 
 going to the Communion Table with a 
 proper frame of mind and heart Must 
 there not be peculiar enjoyment in real- 
 ly meeting such a friend as Christ, the 
 
52 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 God-Man, the condescending Redeemer 
 — in recounting the matchless blessings 
 which flow from his disinterested, unso- 
 licited, and stupendous love — in looking 
 forward to the higher joys of the mar- 
 riage Supper of the Lamb herein shad- 
 owed forth — and also in participating 
 with so many of Christ's dear people 
 the peculiar benefits derived from the 
 sacred table ? 
 
 While we thus, with glad accord 
 Meet around thy table, Lord, 
 Bid us feast with joy divine. 
 On th' appointed Bread and wine ; 
 Emblems may they truly prove, 
 Of the Saviour's bleeding love. 
 
 Hastings. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The Seventh Step is a more immedi- 
 ate preparation for meeting the Baviour 
 and his disciples at the Communion 
 Table — the adjustment of the mind, and 
 the arousing of the sensibilities , to a tone 
 suited to the great occasion. 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 53 
 
 I am about to go to the sanctuary 
 where this wondrous Table stands, Avith 
 its precious memorials of a dying Friend. 
 Let me not reg-ard the Communion sea- 
 son as only a common religious service, 
 nor go to the sanctuary in a state of 
 thoughtless indifference, or worldly 
 lightness ; but let me stir up my mind 
 to think deeply, earnestly, and justly, 
 concerning what I am about to witness, 
 to do, and to enjoy — whom I am to 
 meet, what I am to promise, and to per- 
 form. Not a mere ordinary state of 
 religious feeling and preparation Avill 
 meet the demands of this great interview 
 with the King of Kings, and Lord of 
 Lords. Awake my soul, and arouse 
 thyself to shake off tliy sluggishness, 
 and rise to the height of this Mount of 
 Zion, where I hope to meet the King in 
 his beauty. 
 
54 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 Light of the better morning, 
 
 Shine down on me ! 
 
 Sun of the brighter heaven. 
 
 Bid darkness flee ! 
 Thy warmth impart 
 To this dull heart ; 
 Pour in thy light, 
 And let this night 
 Be turned to day 
 By thy mild ray ! 
 
 Lord Jesus, come; 
 Thou daj^-star shine ; 
 
 Enlighten now 
 This soul of mine ! 
 
 BaNAE. 
 
 The Christians of an earlier genera- 
 tion seemed to hold this occasion in 
 hio-her reverence and esteem than do 
 those of the present; they attended 
 more nnmerous preparatory meetings ; 
 they spent more time in reading the 
 Scriptures, and works upon the Lord's 
 Supper, and in the process of self-exam- 
 ination, so as to bring their minds into 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 55 
 
 a solemn and appropriate frame, and 
 thus they doubtless secured a higher 
 degree of benefit and of enjoyment than 
 can be ordinarily obtained by a less 
 careful, less laborious and less earnest 
 preparation. 
 
 Conscious, however, that I am incom- 
 petent by my own effort, to attain a 
 fitting state of mind and heart, it is nec- 
 essary that I should make my way to 
 the Throne of Grace, to implore the 
 needful and the promised assistance of 
 the Holy Spirit, beseeching him to ban- 
 ish from the mind all worldly and 
 irrelevant thoughts, to revive and in- 
 tensify all just views of the nature and 
 design and benefits of the ordinance — to 
 bring vividly before the eye of faith 
 the personal character, the offices, the 
 relations, the disinterested and matchless 
 services, the terrible sufferings and ex- 
 piatory death of the Son of God— and 
 to prcduce in my soul all the various 
 
56 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 forms of sensibility that correspond to 
 such views, and to awaken and sustain 
 through the whole service all that spir- 
 itual activity of thought and feeling, 
 wdiich shall make the occasion one of 
 deepest interest, and profit to myself, 
 and of honor to my great and glorious 
 Redeemer. 
 
 Draw near, holy Dove, draw near, 
 With peace and gladness on thy wing; 
 Reveal the Saviour's presence here, 
 And light, and life, and comfort bring. 
 
 A. R. w. 
 
 Let me, therefore, reflect upon the 
 Dignity of the Loed Jesus, whom I 
 expect soon to meet at the Communion 
 Tabic — that he is " God manifest in the 
 flesh," that he is " over all, God blessed 
 forever." " Jehovjih our righteousness," 
 "the Alpha and the Omega," "the 
 First and the Last." 
 
 " There must be something in the 
 Redeemer's death," says Dr Cummings, 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 57 
 
 " that distinguislies it from the death of 
 any other, however holy, when such a 
 rite has been instituted in the Church, 
 and celebrated age after age, and by 
 millions after millions, in order that 
 thus it might be commemorated. There 
 is no rite appointed to celebrate the 
 death of Paul, or Peter, or Polycarp, or 
 Ignatius, or any other great martyr or 
 inspired apostle, or heroic Christian who 
 lived and died for Jesus' sake. Their 
 deaths are not commemorated by signifi- 
 cant rites ; but the death of Jesus is so. 
 If we read the account given in the 
 Scriptures respecting it, we shall find 
 that it keeps a place so distinct, so 
 prominent, so peculiar, that every hon- 
 est reader must infer that it was more 
 tlian the death of a good man, or of a 
 martyr — that, in short, it was the death 
 of God manifest in the flesh." 
 
68 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 In the l.ieginning Av^as The Word ; 
 The word was God. 
 In the beginning was the Word ; 
 
 And His abode 
 From everlastnig was with God. 
 His name 
 
 I AM. 
 
 Jehovah, God, the Lord, 
 Ever to be adored, 
 The eternal Son, — 
 The ever-blessed One; 
 From all, to all eternity, 
 The brightness of the Eternal Father's glory He! 
 
 Creator of the heaven and earth, 
 
 Their Lord and King ; 
 Creator of the heaven and earth, 
 
 The angels sing ! 
 To him all praise and glory bring ; 
 His power 
 Adore, 
 From which all things had birth, 
 By which they still stand forth, 
 In beauty glad; 
 With heavenly radiance clad. 
 Praise, praise his ever flowing love. 
 That brightens all below, and gladdens all above. 
 
 BONAR. 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 59 
 
 Let me call liim to mind as the great 
 Prophet — the o-reat Teacher — the s^reat 
 Li^'ht of the world — the 2:i-eat Revealer 
 of the Divine character and will, and 
 method of salvation, and AVay of Life. 
 
 Let me look to him as the great High 
 Priest of our profession, who having 
 "put away sin by the sacrifice of him- 
 self," " ascended into heaven itself to 
 appear in the presence of God for us," 
 and who shall thence in due time come 
 again vrithout a sin-oiFering unto salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Let me recognize in him the Kixg of 
 Glory, and recall the divine prediction 
 of the time wdien " the kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our 
 Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign 
 forever and ever" (Eev. 11 : 15 ; 19 : 6), 
 possessed of " all power in heaven and 
 earth " (Matt. 28 : 19). 
 
 Let me especially regard him on this 
 occasion as my Eedee3ier. It is he of 
 
fiO SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 whom it is written : " AYe have redemp- 
 tion through his blood, the forgiveness 
 of sins according to the riches of his 
 jrrace : in whom also we have received 
 an inheritance," the earnest of which is 
 "the Holy Spirit of promise." This 
 redemption includes the future deliver- 
 ance of the body from the power of 
 the grave ; he is " the Resurrection and 
 the Life." Of the saints in heaven the 
 everlasting and joyous song shall be, 
 " Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
 to God by th}^ blood, out of every kind- 
 red, tongue, and people, and nation; and 
 hast made us unto our God kings and 
 priests, and we shall reign on the earth." 
 (Rev. 5 : 2, 10). 
 
 Let me also think of His Beneficent 
 Mission to our world. He came not to 
 be ministered unto, but to minister and 
 to give his life a ransom for many. He 
 came to seek and to save that which 
 was lost. 
 
COMMUNION TABLE 61 
 
 Clixg to the crucified ! 
 His death is hfe to thee, — 
 Life for eternity. 
 His pains thy pardon seal ; 
 His stripes thy bruises heal ; 
 His cross proclaims thy peace, 
 Bids every sorrow cease , 
 His blood is all to thee, 
 
 It purges thee from sin ; 
 
 It sets thy spirit free, 
 
 It keeps thy conscience clean; 
 
 Cling to the crucified ! 
 
 BONAR 
 
 THE AWAKENING OF APPROPRIATE 
 EMOTIONS. 
 
 It now remains, by meditation and 
 prayer, to arouse my sensibilities to a 
 correspondence with the great occasion 
 that is at hand. 
 
 1. Let my soul be filled with Reve- 
 EENCE, by considering the majesty and 
 holiness of the Being who has invited 
 me to a seat at his sacred Table, and is 
 
62 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 there to preside, and to minister to me, 
 through his servant, the wondrous bene- 
 fits of his great Atonement and inter- 
 cession. I should be able then to feel, 
 arid to say, " This is none other than the 
 house of God, and the very gate of 
 heaven." 
 
 How sweet and awful is the place, 
 With Christ within the doors ; 
 
 While everlasting love displays 
 The choicest of her stores ! 
 
 Watts. 
 
 2. Self Abasement becomes me when 
 approaching the presence of him who 
 is " holy, harmless, undefiled, and sepa- 
 rate from sinners." How great the con- 
 trast between his unblemished character, 
 and blameless life on earth and my own ! 
 How mean, also, and paltry are the re- 
 turns which I have made for the amaz- 
 ing love which is to be represented in 
 symbol before my eyes ! The lowest 
 
COMMUNION 7 ABLE. 09 
 
 p.ace, surely, becomes me, among those 
 who shall be honored with a seat at 
 this sacred feast. 
 
 Dear Saviour when my thoughts recall 
 
 The wonders of thy grace, 
 Low at thy feet ashamed I fall, 
 
 And hide this wretched face. 
 
 Shall love like thine be thus repaid .'' 
 
 Ah, vile, ungrateful heart ! 
 By earth's low cares so oft betrayed, 
 
 From Jesus to depart. 
 
 Mrs. Steele. 
 
 3. Let Penitence flow forth, in view 
 of the cross of Christ. He died for my 
 sins. These were virtually the nails, 
 the thorns, the spear, the intolerable 
 burden under wliich he groaned, the 
 cause of the obscuration of his Father's 
 benignant countenance, occasioning that 
 bitter cry, " My God, my God, why 
 hast thou forsaken me ?" 
 
64 SEVENTH STEP 3\ WARDS THE 
 
 Was it for crimes that I had done 
 
 He groaned upon the tree ? 
 Amazing pity ! grace unknown ! 
 
 And love beyond degree ! 
 /Well might the sun in darkness hide, 
 
 And shut his glories in. 
 When Christ, the great Creator died 
 
 For man, the creature's sin. 
 
 'Twas for m};- sins, my dearest Lord 
 
 Hung on the cursed tree, 
 And groaned away a dying life 
 
 For thee, my soul, for thee. 
 Oh, how I hate those lusts of mine 
 
 That crucified my Lord ; 
 Those sins that pierced and nailed his flesh 
 
 Fast to the fatal wood ! 
 
 Yes, my Redeemer, they shall die , 
 
 My heart has so decreed ; 
 Nor will I spare the guilty things 
 
 That made my Saviour bleed. 
 While with a melting, broken heart, 
 
 My mui'dered Lord I view, 
 I'll raise revenge against my sins, 
 
 And slay the murderers too. 
 
 Watts ' 
 
 1. Mj heart should be excited to the 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 65 
 
 warmest Gratitude. What benefactor 
 has ever clisphiyed such disinterested 
 love to me — to me when an enemy, a 
 sinner, a rebel against his authority, 
 with no appreciation of his sufferings, 
 his death, his offerhio:s of o-race ? Can 
 I occupy a seat at his table; can I handle 
 and taste the bread and wine in remem- 
 brance of such a dying friend, such a 
 large hearted, and full-handed benefac- 
 tor, with an ungrateful, unappreciating 
 heart ? How unseemly, how despicable 
 would be such a state of mind ! No ! 
 my heart must be aroused to gratitude 
 most intense, and to thanksoivinij most 
 
 lofty and sincere. 
 
 If human kindness meets return. 
 
 And owns the grateful tie ; 
 If tender thoughts within us burn, 
 
 To feel a friend is nigh ; 
 Oh, shall not warmer accents tell 
 
 The gratitude we owe 
 To him who died our fears to quell 
 
 Who bore our guilt and woe ? 
 
 Noel. 
 
66 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all. 
 
 Waits. 
 
 5. The occasion in immediate view 
 calls upon me for the exercise of a glow- 
 ing Love — of love to the Eternal Fa- 
 ther Avho sent his own clear Son to re- 
 deem me and others from sin and from 
 hopeless ruin — of love to the Son of 
 God, the Son of Man, for entering- so 
 cheerfully upon this remarkable and 
 difficult mission, and so fully accom- 
 plishing its most painful details — of 
 love to the Holy Spirit for his indispen- 
 sable co-operation with the Father and 
 the Son, in the grand work of the regen- 
 eration and renewal of my soul to a life 
 spiritual and divine — of love to Holi- 
 ness, which is the result to which were 
 directed the life and death of my Sa- 
 viour, and to which are devoted the life- 
 
COMMUNION TABLh, 67 
 
 giving energies of the Divine Spirit — of 
 love to the Members of Christ's mystical 
 body — his disciples — who are bought 
 with the same blood as m^^self — renew- 
 ed by the same grace — intent upon hon- 
 oring the same Lord — partakers of the 
 same hopes for immortality — and trav- 
 elers to the same celestial mansions — 
 who are also encompassed with similar 
 trials, and loaded with similar responsi- 
 bilities, and subject to similar afflictions, 
 and needing various offices of affection. 
 Na}^ farther, it becomes me to rise 
 above the ordinary feelings of humanity, 
 and to have in exercise love to enemies, 
 if enemies I have; because my Saviour 
 loved us when enemies; he prayed for 
 his murderers, " Lord forgive them, 
 they know not what they do," and he 
 has commanded most emphatically, 
 ''Love your enemies," "do good to 
 those that hate you, and pray for them 
 
68 
 
 SEVENTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 which despitefully use 3^ou and persecute 
 you." 
 
 Oh for grace our hearts to soften ! 
 
 Teach us Lord at length to love ; 
 "We, alas ! forget too often, 
 
 What a friend we have above ; 
 But when home our souls are brought, 
 We will love thee as we ought. 
 
 Newton. 
 
 6. 1 must not go to the Communion 
 Table without a spirit of allegiance 
 
 AND OF CONSECRATION TO MY GREAT AND 
 
 GOOD Master. I am to renew my oath 
 of cordial subjection to him in all things, 
 and to declare my renunciation of all 
 conflicting masters and interests — the 
 world, the flesh, the Devil. To excite 
 this spirit of allegiance, I must reflect, 
 with due care and seriousness, upon the 
 paramount claims of my Great Redeem- 
 er, arising from what he is in himself, 
 from what he has been, and will ahvays 
 be, to me — from what he has done and 
 
CO]\IMU^ :>i\ TABLE. C9 
 
 suffered in my l)elialf. Most befitting 
 then will it be for me to say, without 
 reserve, and with most perfect sincerity, 
 
 " Welcome, welcome, dear Redeemer, 
 Welcome to this heart of mine, 
 
 Lord I make a full surrender. 
 
 Every power and thought be thine ; 
 
 Thine entirely, 
 
 Through eternal ages, thine." 
 
 Anon. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The NEXT STEP is to the Mercy-seat^ 
 for the offering up of Prayer for the 
 presence and favor of Christ at his Table. 
 A more appropriate one, perhaps, cannot 
 be written and presented, than the fol- 
 lowing, w^hicli I find in a Book of Family 
 Prayers, composed bj^ the Rev. Dr. Cum- 
 mincr, ot London. 
 
70 EIGHTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 prayer 
 
 BEFORE THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Heavenly Father ! my God and my 
 Father ! search me and know my heart; 
 try me and know my thonghts; and see 
 if there be any wicked way in me, and 
 lead me in the way everlasting. Exam- 
 ine me, O Lord; give ear to my suppli- 
 cations; in thy faithfulness answer me, 
 and in thy righteousness; and enter not 
 into judgment with th}^ servant, for in 
 thy sight shall no man living be justi- 
 fied. 
 
 Trusting with my whole heart in the 
 finished sacrifice of my Lord and Sa- 
 viour Jesus Christ, and believing thy 
 love to me, in and by him, I would draw 
 near to the Communion Table, or rather 
 to mj Saviour at it, nnd publicly confess 
 
COMMUNION TABLE. 71 
 
 his name, as my hope; his cross as my 
 glory; and his death and meritorious 
 sacrifice as my life, and the foundation 
 of all my joys and prospects forever. I 
 desire at thy holy table to partake, in 
 yet greater assurance, of the bod}^ and 
 blood of my Saviour — of the most ex. 
 alted blessings that are the purcjiase of 
 that precious sacrifice. Especially do I 
 desire to ofler myself — soul, bod}' and 
 spirit — on Christ, the only Altar, a spir- 
 itual sacrifice to thee, which is my rea- 
 sonable service. I would also at that 
 place of thanksgiving — of retrospect and 
 prospect — of remembered blessings giv- 
 en by Thee, and hoped for joys promised 
 by Thee, praise, and thank, and mag- 
 nify Thee, with all my heart, and soul, 
 and strength. Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul, and forget not all bis benefits. As 
 a father pitieth his children, so hast 
 Thou pitied me. 
 
 My Lord and Saviour ! Prince of 
 
72 EIGHTH STEP TOWARDS THE 
 
 Life ! Lamb of God ! I bless Thee and 
 praise and thank Thee for thine infinite 
 love, thy voluntary suffering, sorrows, 
 and death for me. I praise and thank 
 Thee for thy resurrection from the dead, 
 thy glorious ascension, thine unceasing 
 and all-sufficient intercession for me in 
 the true holy place; for thy promise to 
 come again; for a church, and ministry, 
 and ordinances in the midst of us; for 
 the holy ordinance of the Supper, and 
 for this opportunity of participating of 
 it. Lord, fill my soul with adoring 
 gratitude ; with lively faith ; with joy 
 unspeakable; with deep purposes of de- 
 votedness to Thee; with earnest desires 
 and resolutions to honor, and confess, 
 and magnify Thee in the world. May I 
 never be ashamed of Thee. May I count 
 all things but loss for the excellency of 
 the knowledge of Thee. May I delight 
 to make known thy will to all who are 
 ignorant of it, and to spread thy glori- 
 
COMMUXmx TABLE. 73 
 
 ous gospel from sea to sea, and to lead 
 all within reach of ni}- means, or influ- 
 ence, to the knowledge of Thee. 
 
 Renew my heart day by day. Subdue 
 within it the power, and destroy the life 
 of sin. Replenish my heart with thy 
 love, and my understanding with heav- 
 enly light. Raise my affections to thy- 
 self. Purify me by thy Holy Spirit. 
 Deliver me from all evil — from preju- 
 dice, envy, ill will, malice and all un- 
 charitableness. Remove from me the 
 lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, the 
 pride of life. Make my heart a tem- 
 ple for thy dwelling; and wherever thy 
 providence may place me, may I have 
 grace to serve Thee, as I fully purpose 
 to glorify and honor Thee, and to con- 
 fess thy name and do thy will. 
 
 Perfect thy strength in my weakness. 
 Guide me with thy counsel. Hold me 
 by thy right hand, and when heart and 
 
EIGHTH STEP TO THE C03I]\: UNION TABLE. 
 
 flesh faint and fail, be the strength of 
 my heart, and my portion forever. 
 
 I go forward in thy strength, O God, 
 my Father in heaven. 
 
 I clothe myself in thy righteousness, 
 and wash m^^ hands in thy innocency, 
 O Son of God. 
 
 I look for thy grace, and comfort, and 
 inspiration, and joy, and peace, Eternal 
 and ever-blessed Spirit. 
 
 O God of the saints in glory, and of 
 the saints on earth — one church — be my 
 shield and fortress, and high tower, my 
 present and eternal rest. 
 
 In the name of the only Saviour, I 
 pray and beg for all. Amen. 
 
THE REST AY 
 
 For thee we long and ray, 
 blessed Sabbath morn ! 
 And all the week we say, 
 ! when wilt thou return i 
 Come, come avv^ay, 
 Day of glad rest. 
 Of days the best 
 Sweet Sabbath day I 
 
 Thou tellest us how Christ 
 
 Arose and left the tomb ; 
 And all the week we say 
 
 ! when will Sabbath come ? 
 
 Thou tellest of a rest, 
 
 A peaceful, happy home. 
 When tX\ the saints are blesc; 
 
 ! wl en will Sabba th come 
 
 Bon AH 
 
PART II. 
 
 WHAT IS TO BE SEEN, AND FELT, AND 
 DONE, AT THE COMMUNION TABLE 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 Having enumerated the several steps 
 to be taken, in order to an acceptable 
 and appropriate attendance at the Com- 
 munion Table, I now suppose you to be 
 occupying a seat there with your fellow 
 communicants, and to be about to par- 
 ticipate with them in the spiritual ban- 
 quet. The table is in full view before 
 you. It is your privilege, and your duty, 
 to look attentively at what 3'our eyes 
 behold upon it — the loaf of bread — the 
 cup of wine — a visible, simple, impres- 
 sive representation of the most wonder- 
 ful scene of suffering and of love the 
 world ever beheld — the death of the 
 God-Man — the incarnate Son of God. 
 You see him not with the bodily eye ; 
 but you are now to open the eye of 
 
80 AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 Faith, and you will distinctly and gladly 
 see that he is spiritually and really 
 present, and that he extends to you a 
 most gracious welcome, and is al)ont to 
 offer himself with all his rich endow- 
 ments and heavenl}' gifts to your accep- 
 tance — that he is present to commune 
 with you — to instruct, and strengthen, 
 and comfort you — to establish 3'ou in 
 every moral exccllem-e and Christian 
 grace — to give you a foretaste of the 
 marriage supper of the Lamb. Hearken 
 to that voice which has been gladdening 
 the Church for many centuries, " Lo, I 
 am with you alway to the end of the 
 world." 
 Here, my Lord, I see Thee face to face ; 
 
 Here would I touch and handle things unseen; 
 Here grasp with firmer hand the eternal grace, 
 
 And all my weariness upon Tliee lean. 
 
 Here would I feed upon the Bread of God; 
 
 Here drink with Thee the royal vine of heaven; 
 Here would I lay aside each earthly load. 
 
 Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven. 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 81 
 
 This is the hour of banquet and of song, 
 This is the heavenly table spread for me, 
 
 Here let me feast, and, feasting, still prolong 
 The brief bright hour of fellowship with Thee. 
 
 Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear; [gone; 
 
 The feast, though not the love, is passed and 
 The bread and wine remove, but Thou art here. 
 
 Nearer than ever, — still my shield and sun. 
 
 I have no help but thine ; nor do I need 
 Another arm save Thine to lean upon. 
 
 It is enough, my Lord, enough, indeed ; 
 
 My strength is in thy might — thy might alone. 
 
 Feast after feast thus comes and passes by. 
 Yet, passing, points to the glad feast above. 
 
 Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy. 
 
 The Lamb's great bridal feast of bliss and love. 
 
 BONAR. 
 
 NoAv is the time for Eaenest, Ej icu- 
 LATORY, Silent Prayee to the Great 
 Master of the assembly, in some such 
 mamier as this : — 
 
 Blessed and adorable Master, upon 
 thine own gracious invitation, we have 
 
oJ AT THE C02IMUNI0N TABLE. 
 
 come together to meet Thee iit thy table 
 — to hold devout converse Avith Ihee — 
 to olier our lowly adoration and piaise 
 of thine infinite excellence, of thy match- 
 less love and nnparalleledgrace — to look 
 to Thee as the author and the linisher of 
 our faith — the propitiation of our sins — 
 our mightiest and kindest Friend — our 
 Saviour and our God. 
 
 We believe that Thou, according to 
 Thy promise, art in the midst of us, and 
 that Thou rememberest us while we are 
 called upon to remember Thee. Give 
 us not only a reverential, but a joyous 
 sense of thy presence ; conlidence in thy 
 condescension to our ignorance and fee- 
 bleness ; hope in thy mercy; and full 
 ability to transact what belongs to this 
 solemn occasion. 
 
 Impart to us all that calmness, and 
 serenity, and composure of mind, Avhich 
 shall prepare us to hold communion 
 with Thee, and with one another ; and 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 83 
 
 to consider and to meditate upon the 
 ofreat truths and facts that are now to 
 be suggested to us in this holy ordinance. 
 
 Grant us such a sense of Thy sutfer- 
 ings in our behalf — and on account of 
 our sins — that we maybe truly humbled 
 before Thee, may be penitent and con- 
 trite, may be grateful and devout, and 
 be ready to make a new and unreserved 
 consecration of ourselves to Thy service 
 and kingdom. Banish the Vvorld and 
 all its trilling concerns from our minds, 
 and let them be absorbed in the contem- 
 plation of the scene before us, and in 
 the consideration of its solemn lessons. 
 
 And thou, Holy Spirit, from whom 
 all good thoughts, all pure desires, all 
 holy aifections and purposes proceed — 
 Oh, Thou, who takest of the things of 
 Christ and showest them to our dark 
 minds with illuminating and transform- 
 ing power, operate now upon our hearts, 
 so that we may truly honor our Redeem- 
 
84 AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 er by appropriate offerings of the mind 
 and heart — may grow in grace — and 
 find it good to be here. 
 
 And thou, Father of mercies, and 
 God of all hope and joy, the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, draw 
 nigh, and bless to our own spiritual 
 nourishment and strength, the provision 
 of our Eedeemer's table. Help us to 
 commune with him, and so to receive 
 the benefits of his death here set forth, 
 that we shall rejoice in Him as the 
 Chiefest of ten thousands, and the One 
 altogether lovely. 
 
 Thus may our communion be with the 
 Father, with the Son, and with the Holy 
 Ghost ; and may the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
 the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be 
 with us now and also forever. Amen. 
 
 It is possible that some of my readers 
 may be in a desponding and distrustful 
 
A T THE COMMUNION TABL E. 85 
 
 state, under a sense of personal un- 
 worthiness, and may thus be unfitted 
 for a spontaneous, frank, and ingenu- 
 ous devotion of mind and heart to the 
 demands of the occasion. To such I 
 recommend the use of the lines that 
 follow : — 
 
 Just as I am — without one plea, 
 But that Thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee, 
 Lamb of God, I come, I come. 
 
 Just as I am — and waiting not 
 To rid my soul of one dark blot. 
 To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, 
 Oh, Lamb of God, I come, I come. 
 
 Just as I am — though tossed about 
 With many a conflict, many a doubt, 
 Fightings within and fears without. 
 Oh Lamb of God, I come, I come. 
 
 Just as I am — poor, wretched, blind, 
 Sight, riches, healing of the mind, 
 Yea, all I need, in Thee to find. 
 Oh Lamb of God, I come, I come. 
 
 Just as I am — Thou wilt receive, 
 Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
 Because Thy promise I believe, 
 Oh Lamb of God, I come, I come. 
 
 C. Elliot. 
 
86 AT THE COMMU.MON TABLE. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF THE BREAD. 
 As I handle and partake of this bro- 
 ken bread, I am tenderly reminded of 
 the agonies of the garden and of the 
 cross — of the vast cost of my soul's sal- 
 vation — of the immense evil of sin — of 
 my own sins — of the love that prompted 
 my Saviour at such expense to rescue 
 me and others from the wrath to come — 
 and of the eternity of grateful service 
 which I owe to him for what he has 
 done and suffered in m}' behalf. 
 
 I feed by faith on Christ, my bread, 
 His body broken on the tree ; 
 I live in Ilim, my loving head, 
 Who died and rose again for me. 
 This be my joy and comfort here, 
 This pledge of future glory mine; 
 Jesus, in spirit now appear. 
 And break the bread and pour the wine ! 
 
 From thy dear hand may I receive 
 The tokens of Thy dying love ; 
 And while I feast on earth, believe 
 That I shall feast with Thee above. 
 
 MOXTGOMEBT, 
 
AT THE COMMUNIOh TABLE. 87 
 
 Lord Jesus, tliou art the Biead of 
 Life — thou art the life of my soul; and, 
 but for thy sacrifice here set forth, I 
 must have perished forever. In that 
 sacrifice I trust for my salvation. 
 
 O Lord, thou art all my dependence, 
 and my hope — I renounce all other 
 means of salvation. My own righteous- 
 ness is as filthy rags, but thine is perfect, 
 and it is here graciousl}^ offered to me. 
 I gladly accept it, and depend upon it 
 alone for my justification before God. 
 
 Lord I receive this broken bread, the 
 emblem of thy body, in remembrance 
 of thy wonderful incarnation and expia- 
 tory sufferings, and I feel constrained to 
 promise that while I trust only in thy 
 meritorious obedience and death, I will, 
 by thy needed help, live henceforth not 
 to myself nor to the world, but to Him 
 who has bought me with his most prec- 
 ious blood. 
 
88 AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 While we thus with glad accord 
 Meet around thy table, Lord, 
 Bid us feast with joy divine, 
 On the appointed bread and wine; 
 Emblems may they truly prove 
 Of the Saviour's bleeding love ! 
 
 Weak, unworthy, sinful, vile. 
 Yet we seek thy heavenly smile. 
 Can'st thou all our sins forgive ? 
 Dost thou bid us look and live ? 
 Lord we wonder and adore ! 
 Oh, for grace to love thee more ! 
 
 Hastings. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF THE CUP. 
 
 With this sacred cup in my hand, the 
 wine representing the blood of Christ — 
 God incarnate — I am solemnly reminded 
 that my Saviour purchased my redemp- 
 tion with his own blood. How infinite, 
 then, the value of that blood ! Hoav 
 marvellous its efficiicy ! Without it, no 
 remission oi' sins I Without it no peace 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLL 89 
 
 with God, and no regenerating grace, 
 no heavenly guidance in lite, no comfort 
 and safety in death, nothing but "the 
 blaclvuess of darkness forever !" 
 
 But now this blood makes expiation 
 for my sins ; this is the blood of the 
 New Covenant ; this procures for me 
 all its unspeakable blessings. There- 
 fore, my Saviour, as this blood was shed 
 for me, and clean seth from all sin, and as 
 my trust is placed in its perfect efficacy, 
 cleanse thou me from all my sins, secure 
 my justification and acquittal before God, 
 and be to me all that thou hast declared 
 thyself to be to those who shall be saved 
 b}^ thee. Be thou to me of God, wisdom, 
 and righteousness, and sanctification, and 
 redemption. 
 
 All honor and praise be to Thee for 
 thine unspeakable love, and for all the 
 blessings it has purchased for us, and 
 proffered, and secured to us already, 
 and for the more perfect happiness it 
 
90 AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 has provided for us in the everlasting 
 ages before us. 
 
 May I die unto sin, as thou didst die 
 for it, and may I nenceforth, in obedi- 
 ence to thy commandments, to thy ex- 
 ample, and to the design of thy suffer- 
 ings and death, live unto Thee, and for 
 Thee. And may the life Avhich I live in 
 the flesh be a life of faith in the Son of 
 God who loved me, and gave himself 
 for me. 
 
 Once again beside the cross, 
 All my gain I count but loss ; 
 Earthly pleasures fade awaj'', 
 Clouds they are that hide my day; 
 Hence vain shadows ! let me see 
 Jesus crucified for me. 
 
 From beneath that thorny crown 
 Trickle drops of cleansing down ; 
 Pardon from thy pierced hand 
 Kow I take while here I stand ; 
 Only then I live to thee 
 *V\'hen thy wounded side I see , 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 91 
 
 Blessed Saviour ! thine am I, 
 Thine to live, and thine to die ; 
 Height or depth, or earthly power 
 Ke'er shall hide my Saviour more ; 
 Ever shall my glory be. 
 Only, only, only Thee ! 
 
 DUFFIELD 
 
 "As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink 
 this cup, jQ do show forth the Lord's 
 death till he come." Thus have I been 
 permitted to do my humble part in pub- 
 lishing, and keeping in mind, the great- 
 est, the saddest, but in its effects the 
 most glorious, of all events, the Death 
 of Christ, endured vol untarih', raid with 
 most disinterested love, for a world of 
 condemned sinners, for whom there is 
 no other ground of hope, and for whom 
 there can be no other. 
 
 1 am also strengthened in the belief, 
 and 1 make a renewed profession of my 
 belief, in that grandest of events, the 
 Second Cominq of my Lovd^ in the 
 
92 AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 clouds of heaven, with his mighty angels, 
 and the trump that shall wake the dead, 
 and call to judgment the living and the 
 dead. 
 
 'Tis but a little while 
 
 And He shall come again, 
 Who died that we might live, who lives 
 
 That we may reign. 
 Then, my Lord prepare 
 
 My soul for that glad day ; 
 Oh, wash me in thy precious blood, 
 
 And take my sins away. 
 
 BOXAR. 
 
 And now, let me review the scene that 
 has, in tJiis reUgious rite, been brought 
 before my mind — let mc by a strength- 
 ened faith, " look unto Jesus." 
 
 In the language of Bishop Wilson, 
 He was despised and rejected of men ; 
 his life was sought for by Ilerod ; he 
 w^as tempted by Satan ; hated by the 
 world wliich he came to save ; set at 
 naught by his own people ; called a 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 93 
 
 deceiver, and a dealer with the devil ; 
 was driven from place to place, and had 
 not where to lay his head ; betrayed by 
 one disciple, and forsaken by all the 
 rest ; folsely accused, spit upon, and 
 scourged ; set at naught by Herod and 
 his men of war ,• given up by Pikxte to 
 the will of his enemies ; had a murderer 
 preferred before him; was condemned 
 to a most cruel and shameful death ; 
 was crucified between two thieves ; was 
 reviled in the midst of his tormentors ; 
 had o-all and vinegar oiven him to drink: 
 suffered a most bitter death, submitting 
 with patience to the will of his Heaven- 
 ly Father. 
 
 On this occasion, it may be presumed 
 that communicants have uncommonly 
 near access to their Saviour, in the ex- 
 ercise of faith and love, and hoh^ zeal. 
 Is it not then a most fitting and favora- 
 ble time to make suppliration for all 
 
94 AT THE COMMUNICY TABLE. 
 
 those blessings, temporal or spiritual, 
 Avliich we feel we most stand in need of, 
 and to make special intercession for 
 others — for our pastor and his increased 
 usefulness ; for the conversion of our 
 unconverted relatives and acquaintances 
 by name ; for all the baptized but un- 
 sanctified children of our church ; for 
 all the impenitent members of our con- 
 gregation ; for all the spiritual interests 
 of the church and congregation, and 
 community ; for the general outpouring 
 of God's Spirit throughout our land and 
 the world ? 
 
 The poor of Chrisfs Church are also 
 very properly, on this occasion, to he 
 tenderly rememhered in our praj'crs, and 
 in our alms, to be appropriated for their 
 relief, support, and comfort, while they 
 pursue their pilgrimage through this 
 Aveary world to the better world ou 
 high, where they shall hunger no mere, 
 
AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 95 
 
 and sorrow no more, and no more be 
 dependent on the contributions of the 
 church, Ijut where they shall be enrich- 
 ed with the wealth and the abundance 
 of the heavenly inheritance. " We 
 know that we have passed from death 
 unto life, because we love the brethren. 
 He that loveth not his brother, abideth 
 in death. Whoso hath this world's 
 good, and seeth his brother have need, 
 and shutteth up his boAvels of compas- 
 sion from him, how dwelleth the love 
 of God in him ? " 1 John, iii. 
 
 Oh may our sympathizing breasts. 
 The generous pleasure know, 
 
 Kindly to share in others' joy. 
 And weep for others' woe ! 
 
 When the most helpless sons of grief 
 
 In low distress are laid, 
 Soft be our hearts their pains to feel, 
 
 And swift our hands to aid. 
 
 Doddridge. 
 
96 AT THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
 What more fitting act, in the close of 
 this solemn and affecting administration 
 of the ordinance, than to lift up heart 
 and voice in^jraz^e and thanksgiving to 
 our great and condescending Redeemer^ 
 for his unuttera])le love ; for the mani- 
 fold proofs of it — present, past, and still 
 future; and for the high privilege of our 
 having enjoyed one more such opportu- 
 nity of intimate spiritual fellowship with 
 Him, and with his redeemed people ? 
 
 From the table now returning, 
 
 Which for us the Lord hath spread, 
 
 May our souls refreshment finding, 
 Grow in all things like our head I 
 
 His example by beholding 
 
 May our lives his image bear; 
 
 Him our Lord and Master calling 
 His commands may we revere. 
 
 Love to God and man displaying, 
 Walking steadfast in his way, 
 
 Joy attend us in believing, 
 
 Peace from God through endless day. 
 
 Praise and honor to the Father, 
 Praise and honor to the Son, 
 
 Praise and honor to the Spirit, 
 
 Ever Three, and ever One. Anon. 
 
PART III 
 
 WHAT IS TO BE DONE UPON WITHDRAW- 
 ING FROM THE COMMUNION TABLE. 
 
WHAT IS TO BE DONE \J?0^ WIT1IDII^\YI]\^G 
 FROM THE COMMUiXIO^^ TABLE. 
 
 The disciples of Christ at the Com- 
 muuion Table are in some respects like 
 the favored Apostles on the Mount, 
 when they beheld our Lord's Transfigu- 
 ration — a splendor by which they were 
 assisted to comprehend the glory which 
 He had with the Father before the world 
 was. Such views of Christ are jr^ined 
 at the Communion Table, and such im- 
 pressions of all that relates to his Person, 
 work, and glory, as can be gained no 
 where else. 
 
 But we must descend from the mount 
 of spiritual vision and enjoyment, and 
 mingle again in other scenes, not so 
 friendly to our progress in the divine 
 life. We must breathe a moral atmos- 
 
100 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 phere less pure. No small pains, there- 
 fore, will be needed, to retain the good 
 impressions we have received, and to 
 pursue the Christian course to which we 
 have renewed our solemn pledge. It 
 becomes us, then, to consider what is to 
 be done after Avith drawing from this 
 sacred place, where we have had wdth 
 Christ and his brethren, so important, 
 so profitable, so delightful an interview. 
 Let me reflect, then, that the main 
 purpose of our religious gathering on 
 this occasion, was to do certain acts in 
 remembrance of Christ, and that said 
 purpose has been lar from being answer- 
 ed, if such remembrance extend not be- 
 yond the ol)servance of the solemn rite. 
 The evident design of that rite was, and 
 is, to assist us to maintain an Imhitudl 
 and daily remembrance of our 8aviom% 
 and of all that pertains to his offices, and 
 kingdom, so that we may always act 
 with due respect to his will, and con- 
 
AT THE COMMUNION 101 
 
 form ourselves to the design of his death, 
 and further his cause in the world. 
 
 When the Sabbath is past, with its so- 
 lemnities, the most difficult part of our 
 work begins : which is, to exemplify in 
 our daily life all the appropriate results 
 of our communion with the holy Ee- 
 deemer in this ordinance. It has been 
 well remarked, that " when we come 
 down from this mount, we must (as 
 Moses did) bring the tables of the tcsti- 
 moii}^ with us in our hands, that we may 
 in all things have respect to God's com- 
 mandments and frame our lives accord- 
 ing to them. Then we truly get good 
 by this ordinance, when we are made 
 better by it, and use it daily as a bridle 
 of restraint to keep us from all manner 
 of sin, a spur to put us on to all manner 
 of duty." It has been further remarked, 
 that " the Lord's Supper was instituted, 
 as a powerful argument [at all times] 
 against every thing that is evil, and a 
 
102 AFTER THE COMMU.mON. 
 
 prevailing inducement to everything that 
 is good. In this sense we mast bear 
 a1)out with us continually ' the dying of 
 the Lord Jesus,' so as that ' the life also 
 of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal 
 bodies (2 Cor. 4 : 10).' We must see to 
 it that there be an agreement between 
 our performances at the Lord's Table, 
 and at other times, and that we do not 
 undo in our living, what we have done 
 in our devotions." 
 
 Care then must be taken, and silent 
 prayer offered, on retiring from the sanc- 
 tuary, that I may be able to coniine my 
 thoughts to the subjects upon which they 
 have been dAvelling at the Lord's table, 
 and that I may not alloAV them to be 
 dissipated at once by conversation upon 
 worldly topics, so as to weaken the good 
 impressions that mny hzive been received. 
 
 It seems very desirable to retire, as 
 soon as practicable, to one's private 
 room, and thus to spend at least an hour 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 103 
 
 or two, in calmly reviewing what we 
 have just seen, and heard, and felt in the 
 sanctuar}' — and in marking out and pon- 
 dering the course most proper to be 
 pursued when we shall enter again into 
 the business and various pursuits of life. 
 
 Meditations and plans like the follow- 
 ing-^ seem to be appropriate, and useful 
 in their tendency. 
 
 1. I have reason to bless and praise 
 God for the special mercies of tlds day^ 
 and to ask why he has favored me with 
 an approach to the King of Kings, and 
 with such marks of the loving kindness 
 and beneficence of my condescending 
 Saviour. What, but the matchless grace 
 of God, has made me to differ from 
 the vast multitudes Avho see in Christ 
 no preciousness, who have never been 
 moved to repentance at the foot of the 
 cross, nor induced to glory in that cross, 
 as having crucified them to the world 
 and the world to them ? Had not the 
 
104 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Holy Spirit taken of the things of Christ, 
 and caused me to see in some degree 
 their mispeakable worth, I should have 
 had no disposition to accept the invita- 
 tion upon which 1 have acted to-day, 
 hut should have turned my back like too 
 many others, upon the Table of the Lord, 
 and thus have given just oflence to 
 Him, and greatly wronged my own soul. 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget 
 not all his benefits. Ps. 103. 
 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 To the Father be ! 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 To the Saviour be ! 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 To the Spirit be 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 To the blessed Trinity ! 
 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 For the Father's love ! 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 For the Saviour's love ! 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 For the Spirit's love ! 
 Everlasting praises 
 
 To the Three-One God of love ! 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 105 
 
 2. Let me consider ')ny infinite obli- 
 gation to God the Father^ for sending 
 his Son into the world, and delivering: 
 him up to an ignominious death, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should not 
 perish, but have everlasting life. 
 
 Let me reflect also upon liJce obliga- 
 tion to the Son of God, for so readily 
 complying with the Avill of the Father 
 in the pursuit of my salvation. To 
 those who believe, (as the apostle Peter 
 declares) Christ is precious. Let me 
 think again of the particulars that 
 should ever endear him to my soul. 
 
 I lay my sins on Jesus, 
 
 The spotless Lamb of God ; 
 He bears them all and frees us 
 
 From the accursed load. 
 I bring my guilt to Jesus, 
 
 To wash my crimson stains 
 White in his blood most precious, 
 
 TiU not a stain reiaains. 
 
106 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 I lay my wants on Jesus; 
 
 All fullness dwells in him. 
 He heals all my diseases, 
 
 He doth my soul redeem ; 
 I lay my griefs on Jesus, 
 
 My burdens and my cares ; 
 He from them all releases, 
 
 He all my sorrow shares. 
 
 I rest my soul on Jesus, 
 
 This weary soul of mine ; 
 His right hand me embraces, 
 
 I on his breast recline. 
 I love the name of Jesus, 
 
 Immanuel, Christ, the Lord ; 
 Like fragrance on the breezes. 
 
 His name abroad is poured. 
 
 I long to be with Jesus, 
 
 INIeek, loving, lowly, mild, 
 I long to be like Jesus, 
 
 The Father's holy child. 
 I long to be with Jesus, 
 
 Amid the heavenly throng, 
 To sing with saints his praises. 
 
 To learn the angels' song. 
 
 BONAR. 
 
 3. Let me enumerate some of the 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 107 
 
 benefits which have been confirmed to 
 me, if really his disciple, — justification, 
 progress in sanctification, adoption into 
 the fiimily of God, hope, joy, peace, 
 consolation, support, guidance, protec- 
 tion, the niahiue: all thiiio-s work toijeth- 
 er for my good, and everlasting honor 
 and glory in tiie world to come. 
 
 4. Let me inquire whether I am not 
 chargeable with (/reat defects and iveaJc- 
 ness, in the states of mind and heart 
 with which I have appeared before my 
 Saviour this day ? Have I not been 
 sensible of wandering thoughts, and of 
 great feebleness in my spiritual desires, 
 affections, hopes and purposes ? Truly 
 my best endeavors have proved nearly 
 a failure — at least an occasion of self- 
 reproach and humiliation. It becomes 
 me then to cast mj^self anew upon the 
 forgiving mercy of God, through Jesus 
 Christ, and to implore acceptance onlj' 
 for his sake. 
 
108 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 5. It behooves me henceforth to oe 
 mo7'e resolute and constant in crucifying 
 the flesh with the affections and lusts; iu 
 avoiding all sins that easily beset me ; 
 in presenting my body, as well as soul, 
 a living sacrifice to God, to be conform- 
 ed to his will ; for I have this day re- 
 newed the declaration that I am " not 
 my own," but have been "bought with 
 a price," and so am under constant obli- 
 gations to glorify God in my body and 
 in my spirit which are his. 
 
 6. In all circumstances of tefmptation 
 it will help me to avoid compliance^ by 
 remembering that I have been at the 
 Communion Table ; that I have profess- 
 ed myself a follower of Him who is 
 holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate 
 from sinners, and who died for me, that 
 I might not live unto myself, but unto 
 Him. 
 
 What I have promised to-day to do, 
 in obedience to him, let me now pur- 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 109 
 
 pose to abide by, and to carry out, so 
 far as Christ shall give me strength, re- 
 membering that my obligations are 
 rendered greater in consequence of the 
 privileges this day enjoyed. I have 
 said that I will serve the Lord, and 
 hence I should ever be firmly determin- 
 ed for Christ and holiness, against sin, 
 the world, and Satan. As good old 
 Matthew Henry writes : "No room is 
 left to parley with temptation ; I am a 
 Christian, and by the grace of God a 
 Christian, I will live and die ; and 
 therefore ' get thee behind me Satan, 
 thou art an offence unto me.' I have 
 opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I 
 cannot go back, (Judges 11 : 35), there- 
 fore, by the grace of God, I am determ- 
 ined to go forward, and not so much as 
 look back, or wish for a discharge from 
 those engagements." 
 
 7. Experience and Scripture both 
 teach me the s^pecial imjportance of being 
 
no AFTFR THE COMMUNION. 
 
 on my guard, after the Commuiiion, 
 against the wiles of Satan, the cares and 
 allurements of the world, and the deceiv- 
 uhleness of my own heart. It has been 
 remarked that immediately after our 
 Saviour was baptized, and owned to be 
 the Son of God by a voice from heaven, 
 he was led into the wilderness to be 
 tempted of the Devil — and that as soon 
 as our Lord had administered the sup- 
 per to his Apostles, he announced to 
 them, " Satan hath desired to have you, 
 that he may sift you as wheat (Luke, 
 22 : 21)," and soon afterwards he added, 
 " Watch and pray that ye enter not into 
 temptation (Matt. 26 : 41)." 
 
 The enjoyment even of the rich priv- 
 ileges and advantages of this great 
 Christian feast, is no security, therefore, 
 against the power of adverse influences, 
 but is rather a ground of my expecting 
 to be severely put to the test. Hence 
 I must be doubly on my guard from 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION . Ill 
 
 henceforth, that in my temper, my 
 words, and my actions, I do nothing in- 
 consistent with my profession and char- 
 acter as a Christian. 
 
 If aught should tempt my soul to stray, 
 From heavenly wisdom's narrow way. 
 To fly the good I would pursue, 
 
 Or do the things I would not do; 
 May He who felt temptation's power. 
 Still guard me in that dangerous hour ! 
 
 Grant. 
 8. It is important to recall the 'purposes 
 formed^ and the engagements made to- 
 day; to pray daily to God for grace to 
 accomplish theiin ; for grace to confirm 
 the good impressions made upon me ; 
 for grace to furnish me for all good 
 words and works ; and, on the other 
 hand, to restrain me from those that are 
 wrono^ and hurtful. 
 
 I must not forget that worldly inter- 
 course, and worldly pursuits must prove 
 unfriendly to a proper course of Chris- 
 tian living, unless great care and much 
 
112 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 prayerfulness he employed against such 
 a result. Hence our Saviour, when 
 about to leave his disciples, prayed, not 
 that they might be taken out of the 
 world, but that they might be kept 
 from the evil thereof. 
 
 9. One good result of the Commun- 
 ion, should be to lead me to cultivate a 
 laiyer degree of brotherly love., and to 
 live in kindly fellowship with all who 
 profess themselves Christians ; and, 
 further, to maintain towards all men, 
 even the injurious, a larger degree of 
 sincere benevolence, and to do them such 
 good offices as the golden law of Christ 
 requires. 
 
 I must, for this purpose, bear in mind 
 the love that Christ himself has shown 
 to my fellow-disciples, and the benevo- 
 lence he has displayed towards all men, 
 even his bitter enemies, and the com- 
 mand he has laid upon all Christians to 
 love one another— to increase and abound 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 113 
 
 in love one towards another, and 
 towards all men. It has already been 
 shown, what line of conduct must be 
 pursued towards the poor of Christ's 
 flock. We must indeed " do good to 
 all men, but especially to all who are 
 of the household of faith,'' remember- 
 ing, and copying in an humble measure, 
 **the grace of the Lord Jesus, who, 
 though he was rich yet for our sakes 
 became poor, that we through his pov- 
 erty might be rich." 
 
 The forgiveness of injuries, and a 
 meek, quiet and generous spirit towards 
 all men, have been affectingly inculcated 
 by the exhibition of that disinterested 
 love of Jesus to his enemies, and of the 
 forgiveness of sins, through the shed- 
 ding of his blood, which has been this 
 day commemorated. Have my own 
 great sins against him been freely and 
 generously forgiven ? How, then, can 
 I refuse to forgive the comparatively 
 
 8 
 
114 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 trifling sins of my fellow men against 
 myself ? 
 
 10. Let the scenes of to-day — sym- 
 bolizing the Marriage Supper of the 
 Lamb — lead me to think more often 
 and more eagerly of Heaven and its su- 
 perior fellowships and joys ; and let the 
 larger hope of Heaven now inspired, 
 lead me to seek increasing purity of 
 heart and life, that I may thus be the 
 sooner and the better fitted to eat bread 
 in the kino-dom of God. 
 
 Let us go hence ! 
 The new Jerusalem 
 Like a resplendent gem, 
 Sends down its heavenly light, 
 Attracting our dull sight. 
 I see the bright ones wait 
 At each fair pearly gate ; 
 I hear their voices call ; 
 I see the jasper wall. 
 The clear transparent gold. 
 The glory all untold ! 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 115 
 
 Let us go hence ! 
 What are earth's joys and gems, 
 "What are its diadems ? 
 Our crowns are waiting us 
 Within our Father's house. 
 Our friends above the skies 
 Are bidding us arise ; 
 Our Lord calls us away 
 To scenes of sweeter day 
 Than this sad earth can know. 
 Let us arise and go ! 
 
 BONAR. 
 
 11. I am, even now, to begin that 
 'preparation for a subsequent communion 
 which consists in a spiritual, godly, and 
 useful manner of livinor. A Christ-like 
 temper and life, is to be habitually 
 sought and practised, in fulfillment of 
 vows and obligations to my Lord and 
 Master. Then shall I be better pre- 
 pared than by any other process, for 
 another walk to the Communion Ta- 
 ble. 
 
 12. I have seen that it is our Saviour's 
 great desire to be held in remembrance, 
 
116 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 that lie may be known, regarded, fol- 
 lowed, obeyed, and thus honored. It 
 seems to me, then, to be a very obvious 
 duty, ever and in all places, to exert 
 myself, by word, and deed, to place 
 Christ before the minds, and to commend 
 him to the affectionate and reverential 
 regard of my fellow-men, not only on His 
 account — from what is obviously due to 
 Him as the Saviour and the Sovereign 
 of the world — but for their sakes as 
 well; since only in the knowledge and 
 love and service of Him standeth eter- 
 nal life, for them as well as for me. 
 
 As then I would honor my Saviour; 
 as I would carry out the true and com- 
 prehensive purpose of the Lord's Sup- 
 per; as I would show love to my fellow- 
 men, who must perish if they forget, or 
 turn away from Christ; and as I w^ould 
 fulfil my covenant vows, let me consider 
 it my daily vocation, to do something 
 towards increasing the number of Christ's 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 117 
 
 true followers and subjects, and thus to 
 swell the number of those who shall 
 honor Christ, by making their way, with 
 humble, penitent, grateful, and happy 
 souls, on tlie Communion Sabbath to 
 the Table of the Lord. 
 
 Toil on, faint not, keep Tratch and pray ; 
 
 Be wise, the erring soul to win ; 
 Go forth into the world's highway, 
 
 Compel the wanderer to come in. 
 
 Make haste, man, to do 
 Whatever must be done ; 
 
 Thou hast no time to lose in sloth, 
 Thy day will soon be gone. 
 Make haste, man, to live ! 
 
 The useful, not the great. 
 The thing that never dies ; 
 
 The silent toil that is not lost, 
 Set thou before thine eyes. 
 Make haste, man, to live ! 
 
118 AFTER THE C03IMU^'I0N. 
 
 The seed whose leaf and flower, 
 Though poor in human sight. 
 
 Brings forth at last the eternal fruit, 
 Sow then by day and night. 
 Make haste, man, to live ! 
 
 BONAR. 
 
 And now, in the well-chosen words of 
 the Eev. Dr. Gumming, of London, I 
 will bring towards a close the private 
 exercises of this blessed Communion 
 Sabbath : 
 
 praijer 
 
 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 O Lord, I thank Thee for the mercies 
 and privileges of a Communion day : 
 for its peace and joy. May the truths 
 I have heard, the impressions I have felt, 
 the blessings I have reaped, abide in my 
 soul through life. Leaning on Thee, I 
 go forth into the world, beseeching Thee 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. 119 
 
 to strengthen, uphold, and keep me in 
 the way of life. May the precious blood 
 of the Lamb of God be still my only 
 trust, as it is the only atonement. May 
 the righteousness of Him who Avas made 
 sin for us, be my righteousness still. 
 May I ever hold fast the blessed hope 
 of everlasting life, which thou hast given 
 me in Christ Jesus. ^lay I run with 
 fresh joy and renewed strength the race 
 set before me, looking to Jesus the Au- 
 thor and Finisher of my faith. 
 
 May thy Holy Spirit help me to abhor 
 that which is evil, and to cleave to that 
 which is good. May I be kindly affec- 
 tioned to others with brotherly love, in 
 honor preferring others. May I not be 
 slothful in business. May I be fervent 
 in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in 
 hope; patient in tribulation; distribu- 
 ting to the necessity of saints; given to 
 hospitality. May I bless them who per- 
 secute me, may I bless and curse not. 
 
120 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 May I rejoice with them that do rejoice, 
 and weep with them that weep. May 
 my light so shine before men, that they, 
 seeing my good works, may glorify Thee 
 my Father in heaven. May I never be 
 the unhappy occasion of any one dishon- 
 oring my Lord, or of obstructing the 
 spread of the gospel. 
 
 May the peace that passeth under- 
 standing keep my mind and heart in the 
 love and knowledge of Christ Jesus. 
 Deliver me from all evil, O Lord. 
 
 May grace, and mercy, ard peace, 
 from the Father, Son and Holy Ghost — 
 one God — be with me and abide with 
 me forever. May goodness and mercy 
 follow me all the days of my life, and 
 may I dwell in the house of the Lord 
 forever. 
 
 In the name of Jesus Christ, I bes; for 
 these, and yet greater and richer bless- 
 ings. 
 
 Unto Him that is able to keep me 
 
AFTER THE COMMUNION. a2l 
 
 from falling, and to present rae faultless 
 before the presence of his glory with 
 exceeding joy — to the only wise God our 
 Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion 
 and power, now and forever. 
 
 The God of peace, that brought again 
 from the dead our Lord Jesus, that 
 great Shepherd of the sheep, through 
 the blood of the everlasting covenant 
 make me perfect in every good work to 
 do his will, working in me that which 
 is well-pleasing in his sight, through 
 Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever 
 and ever. Amen. 
 
122 AFTER THE COMMUNION. 
 
 Lord, may the spirit of this Feast — 
 The earnest of Thy love — 
 
 Maintain a dwelling in our breast, 
 Until we meet above. 
 
 The healing sense of pardoned sin, 
 The hope that never tires, 
 
 The strength a pilgrim's race to win, 
 The joy that heaven inspires. 
 
 Still may their light our duties trace 
 In lines of hallowed flame. 
 
 Like that upon the Prophet's face, 
 When from the mount he came. 
 
 But if no more with kindred dear. 
 The broken bread we share. 
 
 Nor at the banquet-board appear 
 To breathe the grateful prayer; — 
 
 Forget us not — when on the bed 
 
 Of dire disease we waste. 
 Or to the chambers of the dead, 
 
 And bar of judgment haste. 
 
 Forget not — Thou who bore the woe 
 Of Calvary's fatal tree, — 
 
 Those who within these courts below 
 Have thus remembered Thee. 
 
 Mrs. Sigouenet 
 
 THE END. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
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