The Lord's Supper. Cont.

Here our divine affections are called forth in remembrance of the blessed worthy One Himself, and whilst doing this together we "shew his death until he come." Then we shall no longer need such symbols, but see Him face to face. But is it not sad to think of the coldhearted neglect of this blessed privilege by many of those whose redemption cost Him His precious blood? So you think it is nothing to His heart that those whom He loves so tenderly should manifest such disregard for what may be called His farewell wish, expressed, as it was, on the night of His betrayal, and re-expressed from His place of exaltation in glory?

"As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come" (1 Cor. 11:26). And we find in Acts 20:7, that the disciples, in loving response to this their Lord and Master's wish, came together "on the first day of the week, to break bread." Yet in our day some consider the first Sunday in the month sufficiently frequent, others once a quarter, and many even allow a still longer time to elapse without granting Him this special desire of His heart.

Now which of us would not freely acknowledge that it was deplorable ingratitude on the part of Pharaoh's butler, when, after Joseph had turned his sadness into joy, it was said, "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him" (Gen. 40:23). And this too, after Joseph's touching appeal, in which he said, "When it shall be well with thee, think on me." But still Joseph only ministered joy to his fellowprisoner for three days, and even this cost him no more than the mere utterance of a few short sentences, while for us the spotless Son of God has purchased eternal blessings and joys that know no end, at such a cost as only He, who can fathom the depths of Calvary's bitterness and woe, can rightly estimate.

Now what shall be said of him (with whom it is well indeed) who, without a single merit or the slightest cost, receives these infinite and blood-bought blessings at His hand, and the words of eternal life from His lips, and yet can hear Him say, "This do for a remembrance of me," without the least apparent response of heart to it? What must the angels who look on (1 Cor. 11:10) think of such unexampled ingratitude? Nay, let us ask ourselves, What must the blessed One Himself think of it?

Not long ago we were told that a few Christians in a country village were often kept for more than a year together from the privilege of eating the Lord's supper, just because a certain preacher could not go over to "administer it to them." This was truly a grievous mistake; for there is no such thing even hinted at in Scripture as any man (not even an apostle) being set apart for such a thing. "The disciples came together to break bread." It might be well to say here that, according to God's words, all true believers are now priests (Rev. 1:6; 1 Peter 2:5, 9), and as such they have the privilege of entering the holiest with boldness, bringing their praises to the Father and to the Son with glad and worshipping hearts.

How sadly has human interference set aside the simplicity of divine order, robbing the Lord of His glory, His people of their blessing, and dragging the highest heavenly privileges of Christianity down to the earthly level of Judaism. May the Lord deliver His own from such a state of things so contrary to His mind. But, returning to our subject, let us never forget that the Lord's supper must be received in the spirit of selfjudgment. (See 1 Cor. 11: 28-31). Having judged ourselves and spared nothing about us that is unworthy of Him, we come together, with grateful and undistracted hearts, to think of all the worthiness that is in Him who went down into death for us.

What a soul-absorbing privilege it would ever be if our practical state were no hindrance to the Holy Ghost leading us into the true enjoyment of such a heavenly feast! May the frequency of it never rob us of the freshness of it. But there is another feature of...