21. The true Believer prays on partaking of the Lord's Supper
EXHORTATION.
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come."—1 Cor. ii. 26.
The Lord's Supper is one of the means to strengthen faith and love. In it Jesus enters the believer's heart. He dwells in his soul to reign over and sanctify him, and keep him faithful to the end. 1. Hence no true Christian can neglect this ordinance like the people of the world, who are so much distracted by their vanity, love of the world, wrath, malice, pride, and luxury, that they have no time to think of this pledge of the soul. 2. The true believer does not come to the Lord's table as a matter of mere custom, but with an humble, penitent, and believing heart,
ON PARTAKING OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.
full of good resolves to be stedfast in the love of Jesus and the fear of God.
3. After partaking of the Lord's Supper, the believer strives more than ever to surrender himself entirely to God, to become, by virtue of this nourishment of the soul, daily more pious, devout, and zealous, in godliness and in the performance of Christian virtues, and to be faithful to his God even until death. My Jesus, how can I sufficiently praise thy exceeding mercy, that thou hast not only given thyself unto death for me, a sinner, but hast ordained thy holy body and blood to be a nourishment to my soul in thy holy supper! O Love! thy death brings me life, and thy body and blood fortify and refresh me for eternal life. Therefore, I remain in thee and thou in me; thou livest in me, and in thee I attain to righteousness and strength, so that my sins can no longer terrify, nor Satan condemn me! for in thy holy communion I receive the ransom of my sins. Here I receive the body, given unto death for me, here I receive the blood which was shed for me for the forgiveness of sins. This is the blood of redemption, whereby my sins and the sins of all mankind were cancelled. In holy baptism, the first sacrament I have received, thou gavest me the Holy Ghost as a pledge, and the new life, which assures me that I am thy child and heir. In the holy communion, the other sacrament, thou givest me the pledge of thy body and blood, whereby thou wilt uphold and strengthen the spiritual life within me. O my God, sanctify my soul, strengthen my faith, purify my heart, so that I may partake of this feast of love in a manner worthy of thee. Jesus, the true bread of life, help me that I may not come vainly, or perhaps to my own harm, to partake of this meal of grace. In this feast of grace, let me measure the depths of thy love, that as I am thy guest here on earth, so I may hereafter be eternally in heaven. Amen. ANOTHER.
O Jesus! as I now receive this holy feast of love, I receive it in memory of thee. I recall thy love, by which thou didst come into the world for my benefit, to make me inherit eternal life. I recall thy martyrdom, thy suffering blood, and wounds, whereby my sins and chastisements were taken away, and thy righteousness was bestowed upon me. I recall thy death and resurrection, whereby life and happiness fell to my lot. I know, O Jesus, that for thy sake, I shall attain to the grace, the childhood, the peace, and the joy of heaven. I shall not be ON PARTAKING OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.
lost, for I am in thee, O Jesus, and thou in me.
O remain in my heart, dwell in my heart, live and reign in it, let me be thine in time and in eternity. As the manna was laid in a clean vessel, so do thou cleanse my heart by true faith, repentance, love and humility, so that I may worthily receive this pledge vouchsafed unto my soul, and keep it constantly for the strengthening of my, faith the sanctification of my life, and the assurance of my bliss in heaven. O Holy Ghost, preserve me thus in grace unto the end. Guard me from falling wantonly back into sin, lapsing from grace, and at last becoming worse than I was at first. Let me persist unto death in the faith of the triune God, in love to my neighbor, and in piety, so that I may attain to the end of faith, and the bliss of the soul. Jesus be my meat and drink; Jesus be the burden of my song;
Jesus be my all, be my shout of joy; at last, O
Jesus, let thy precious blood, thy wounds and thy sufferings, be my rest in death. Amen.
1. All thanks, and all Hosanna,
For this thy heavenly manna,
Of which I taste the savor
By thy most gracious favor.
2. That body which, distorted,
My soul from death extorted;
13*
THE TRUE BELIEVER PRAYS FOR PIETY.
The blood shed for my living
Have I been now receiving.
3. Jesus is now beside me,
His heart has occupied me,
He now is mine forever,
And nothing can us sever.
4. In him is now my gladness,
He banishes my sadness;
I am of his preferring;
No more can I be erring.
5. My Jesus! soul and spirit,
That thou dost richly merit,
O take them as thy treasure,
And use them at thy pleasure.
The true Believer prays for piety.
EXHORTATION.
"Mark the perfect man and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace."—Psalm xxxvii. 37.
Next to faith piety is one of the holiest of virtues, not only because it is the fruit of faith, but also because it preserves from sin and shame, the soul, the body, and the honor of man. This virtue is an ornament of youth, and becomes old age no less. God himself urges it upon Abraham when travelling in a strange land: "Walk with me, and be thou pious."—Gen. xvii. 1. THE TRUE BELIEVER PRAYS FOR PIETY.
1. A mere external propriety does not constitute this virtue, for such is found even among the heathen; it must arise out of faith, the love of God, and the inner emotion of the soul. 2. It does not consist merely in sincerity and honesty of heart towards God and our neighbors, but in an unblemished walk, and abstinence from all unbecoming words and unchristian works. 3. This piety must endure to the end. "Till I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me." Job xxvii. 5.
4. Being the product of the agency of God's Holy Spirit within us, it is fraught with the richest promise of eternal life.
Holy God! I hardly know whether I dare appear before thy holy face, when I reflect upon my natural unholiness and sinfulness. Thou callest upon me also to walk with thee and be pious, and tellest me that if I am pious I shall be accepted; and that the end of the upright man is peace. But alas! my piety has hitherto made but little progress; I have been till now implicated in the doings of this world, its habits and its vanities; yet where the world cometh in, Christ goeth out, and where the love of the world is found, there is no piety. But as I cannot be well pleasing in thy sight while in this condition, THE TRUE BELIEVER PRAYS FOR PIETY.
O give me a pious heart! Grant me grace to strive after true piety, to love thee above all things, to serve thee, and to do thy will, like a dutiful child, which does nothing without first seeking the eyes of its parents, to see whether they approve of it, so may I undertake nothing without first looking into thy Holy Word, to see whether it accords with my duty as a Christian. If my heart shall thus become pious, my mouth will also grow pious, so as to say nothing unbecoming, yea, my words and deeds shall then also be pleasing unto thee. Now, my God! in thy name I have formed this resolution, give me grace, strength, power, and mercy, to carry it out. If in years past I have not striven after this precious gem, pardon me for Christ's sake; what I have neglected through want of understanding and blindness, I shall now compensate with the greater zeal, and live according to thy will. Thus, Lord, my God! I will become heartily pious, and remain pious, that as a pious Christian, I may hereafter die in peace. To this end, give me for Christ's sake, the power of thy Holy Spirit. Give me a pious heart, thou Giver of all good gifts; this shall be the wealth I covet, this shall be my ornament, my glory and my pride, for piety is highly esteemed by God and by the angels. Amen. THE TRUE BELIEVER PRAYS FOR PIETY.
1. Henceforth my most determined striving
Shall be to walk before the Lord;
That I may hope for the arriving
Where tears and sighs no more are heard;
The wicked mock the pious wight,
But God rejoices at his sight.
2. God is a refuge for the pious;
Where is a better safeguard found?
No threatening foe can e'er come nigh us,
Nor treason drive us from our ground.
God knows whate'er might do us harm,
And shields us with his mighty arm.
3. At times, indeed, we are berated,
And sorely harassed for a while;
But in the end we're extricated
From trouble, from distress, and guile.
Our bitter cup is turned to joy,
And foes can us no more annoy.
4. The pious have especial graces,
And free admission to his face;
Their every grievance he redresses,
Defends them with unfailing grace;
God from the pious never swerves,
He loves him best, who best him serves.
5. Their sufferings have speedy ending,
Their sorrows early find relief;
God's blessing over them extending
Must soon dispel all thoughts of grief
The Lord with fire will soon destroy
The rod that doth his child annoy.
PIOUS PARENTS PRESENT THEIR