The Lord's Supper is very specially a feast of remembrance. Is there in it a suggestion that we are very prone to forget Christ? This is, alas! our tendency, and here we are in strange contrast to our Lord. He needs nothing to keep us in his remembrance; he ever thinks of his people. In the institution of the Lord's Supper he thinks of our forgetfulness, of its perils, of its certain sorrows. He remembers that we are prone not to remember him. What should we remember concerning Christ?

I. HIS HOLY SPOTLESS LIFE. What a life that was! The greatest and best of human leaders have been marked by defects, but our Leader was "without blemish." In the lives of heroes there is always something which we should be glad to forget; but there is nothing in the life of Christ. Jealousy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness could find in him "no fault." Many great men have grown small, many holy men questionable in character, many honoured men dishonourable, under the ruthless criticism of modern times; but not Jesus of Nazareth. The fiercest light has been focussed upon his earthly course; the brains of sceptic and of scoffer have been racked in prolonged endeavour to discover the flaw; but it has not been discovered yet! The voices of all the centuries cry, "Without fault!" "Holy and undefiled!" "Separate from sinners!" Well may we remember that life.

II. HIS TEACHING. When compared with Christ, all the other teachers of the world seem to have nothing to teach upon matters of high moment. At best they guess, and often they guess folly. He teaches with the authority of knowledge; all other teachers seem hidden in the valley, imagining what the landscape may be. He alone has climbed the hill and beholds what he speaks about. We need to remember, more than we are accustomed to do, the utterances of the world's great Teacher. Seekers after knowledge should be careful lest after all they miss the richest mine of truth. Learned scoffings and atheistical ribaldries are naught but devil blinds to hide from our view the beautiful form of truth as it is in Christ. In him "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). When God broke the dread silence upon the Mount of Transfiguration it was to exclaim, "This is my beloved Son: hear him." The Holy Ghost was promised as One who would "bring to remembrance" what Christ had declared. Through the Lord's Supper, as a means, the Divine Spirit works now for this end.

III. HIS MIRACLES. These speak eloquently of his power. Nature bows before her God. How weak the mightiest of the earth are compared with this mighty One! When the kingdom of Christ is about to be overwhelmed and shattered and generally annihilated by blatant wiseacre warriors, with their sceptical pea shooters and atheistical popguns, I laugh as I remember that it is the kingdom of Christ which is being assailed! We do well to bear in mind what Christ did when he was upon earth, and then to say quietly to ourselves, "The same yesterday, today, and forever." What he did, he can do; what he was, he is. His miracles illustrated his beneficence. They meant the supply of human need, the binding up of wounds, the restoration of the outcast, the arrest of sorrow, the wiping away of tears, the cheer of lonely hearts. We must remember his miracles; they show so truly what the Christ was. With all his omnipotence, how gentle and tender!

IV. HIS DEATH. This was the grand culmination of his life; it gave to him the great title of Saviour; to it the Lord's Supper specially points. We must remember him as the One who laid down his life for us, who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, who was wounded for our trangressions and bruised for our iniquities, who died the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. The Lord's Supper leads us to Calvary - through the motley crowd, past the weeping Marys, beyond the penitent thief, to the central figure in the Judaean tragedy, and there we see salvation! "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalm 85:10). Remembrance of Christ's death will mean remembrance of our sinfulness. And when we remember that "he endured the cross, despising the shame," we may ask ourselves the suggestive question, "What would be our present condition and prospect if he had not done so?"

V. HIS RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION. The Lord's Supper was for the remembrance of Christ both after he had died and after he had risen from the dead. We must not forget the dying Christ; but neither must we forget the triumphing Christ. The resurrection of Christ is the counterpart of the cross; one is not without the other, The Lord died, but the Lord is risen indeed. He came to this world in abasement; he lived so, he died so, but he did not depart so. He rose from the dead, and ever liveth. We remember the dying Christ, but we remember also the living Christ, exalted at God's right hand, our Advocate, preparing our heavenly home, looking down upon us, present with us by his Spirit. We remember the reigning Christ, the One who has completed his glorious redemptive work, who has triumphed openly, and we remember him thus "till he come."

VI. HIS MARVELLOUS LOVE. Shown in every incident and every instant of his course. In his coming; in his words, deeds, spirit; and pre-eminently in his sufferings and death. God is love; Christ is God; Christ is love.

VII. HIS PERSONALITY. Not only what he said and what he did, but what he was. All his acts and words of beneficence and love were only expressions of himself. They were but manifestations of what dwells in perpetual fulness in his heart. Remember him. "This do in remembrance of me." This is a dying request. Are we observing it? The dying request of him who "gave himself" for us. - H.

1. It is remarkable that we are indebted to Paul for the most particular account of this service, because he was not one of those who were present on the night of its institution. Nor did he derive his knowledge from those who were present (Galatians 1:11, 12). The striking agreement between this report and that of those who were present is one of the evidences of the truth of Scripture.

2. Thoughtful men know the value of particular customs, medals and inscriptions, to certify any historical event. Now, the observance of the Lord's Supper is a standing historical evidence of the truth of the Christian religion. It is to be traced backwards for hundreds of years to the night in which Christ was betrayed; but no farther. There we lose the clue, because the institution then had its origin.

I. THE NATURE OF THE ORDINANCE. It is commemorative.

1. Who is it that is to be particularly remembered? Christ claims our grateful recollection on the ground of —(1) His dignity. Rank and power impress all beings: but there never was such rank on earth as that which attached to the person of Christ. He was in possession of the attributes of Godhead.(2) His condescension. He passed by the nature of angels, and was "found in fashion as a man."(3) His love. A love that "passeth knowledge." Christ's love has been compared with the love of Jonathan to David. But that was love for a friend: this is love for enemies. That was love for love: this is love for hatred.

2. What is it that is commemorated?(1) The death of Christ — a death entitled to this distinction. Many men are remembered who are not entitled to that honour; many have had monuments raised to them, whose name ought to have been blotted out. I find the death of Christ observed by God the Father. "My Father loveth Me because I lay down My life." And we are told that in heaven the great event which is celebrated is the death upon Calvary. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." We may well, therefore, celebrate that death.(2) The second coming of Christ. Just as Israel had manna so long as they were in the wilderness, but when once they came into Canaan, the manna ceased; so when Christ comes we shall not want anything to remind us of Him.

II. THE TEMPER IN WHICH THIS SERVICE SHOULD BE OBSERVED BY US.

1. We are called to remember the person of Christ, and the great events connected with His person, in a manner corresponding with the dignity of His person; and the vastness of the benefits flowing from His sacrifice, as expected by us at His second coming.

2. We are to draw near with fervour and lively gratitude. The ordinance itself is a eucharistical one. Hence we find our Saviour Himself, when He had instituted the supper, sung a hymn.

(J. Beaumont, M.D.)

I. THE AUTHOR OF THE INSTITUTION. In every action it is good to know by what authority we do it. For what can reason see in bread and wine to quicken or raise a soul? (1 Corinthians 8:8). The outward elements are indifferent in themselves, but authority giveth them efficacy. He that put virtue into the clay and spittle to cure a bodily eye, may do the same to bread and wine to heal our spiritual blindness. The outward elements of themselves have no more power than the water of Jordan had to cure a leper; their virtue is from above.

II. THE DUTY ENJOINED. To take bread, and to give thanks, and eat it; and so of the cup. And if this be done with a lively faith in Christ, this is all. "To do this" is not barely to take the bread and eat it: this Judas himself might do; this he doeth that doeth it to his own damnation. And that we may do it, besides the authority and love of the Author, we have all those motives which use to incite us unto action.

1. Its fitness to our present condition. As God sent Adam "a help meet for him," so He affordeth us helps attempered to our infirmity. As Laban said to Jacob, when they made a covenant, "This stone shall be witness between us," so God doth say to thy soul by these outward elements, "This covenant have I made with thee, and this that thou seest shall witness between thee and Me."

2. Its profitableness — a will extended, a love exalted, hope increased, faith quickened, more earnest looking on God, more compassion on our brethren, more light in our understanding, more heat in our affections, more constancy in our patience; every vicious inclination weakened, every virtue established. What is but brass it refineth into gold; raiseth the earthy man to the participation of a Divine nature.

3. Its delightfulness. In the action of worthy receiving is the joy of a conqueror; for here we vanquish our enemy: the joy of a prisoner set at liberty; for this is our jubilee. Here is Christ, here is heaven itself.

4. Its necessity. For if this sacrament could have been spared, our Lord, who came to beat down the ceremonies of the law, would not have raised up this. He calleth and commandeth us to His table, to feed on the body and blood of Christ, and in the strength thereof to "walk before Him and be perfect."

III. WHEN ARE WE TO DO IT? "As oft as ye do it" implies that you do it often. It is not necessary to say how often. Every man's want in this should be a law unto him. If we come like unmannerly guests, once is too often; but if we come prepared we cannot come too often. The truth is, the sacrament is fit for every day, but we are not every day fit for it. A great shame it is that any man should be dragged to a feast. And if we loved "the cup of blessing," we should not fear how oft it came into our hands.

IV. ITS END. "In remembrance of Me." We must open the register of our soul, and enrol Christ there in deep and living characters. For the memory is a preserver of that which she receiveth. But we must inquire whether we remember Christ as we should: whether Christ be hung up in this gallery of our soul only as a picture, or whether He be a living Christ, and dwelleth in us of a truth. For can he remember a meek Christ, who will be angry without a cause? Can he remember a poor Christ that maketh mammon his God? Can he remember Christ, who is as ready to betray Him as Judas, and nail Him to the cross as Pilate? Better never to have known Him, than to know and put Him to shame!

(A. Farindon, B.D.)

The outward part of the sacrament is not only a sign of the inward part or thing signified, but a sign that the inward grace is given to us, the means whereby it is given, and the pledge or seal to assure us of its being given. The elements are not the sign of a hostelry, like a painted board that reminds the weary pilgrim of the comforts he may enjoy within, if he can obtain them; but they are the signed and stamped conveyance of that which makes him rich and purchases repose, the note of one who will never fail, in receiving which we receive that which it is appointed to represent by him who offers it. In taking a note of the bank, he who receives it is assured that he receives the value it represents; and that bit of paper, worthless in itself, may be worth to him a large estate.

(G. D. Hill.)

"Do you then," men ask, "reduce this sacrament to make it only a symbol? "I confess my inability to appreciate the force of the depreciatory innuendo. Does not a symbol mean all that it symbolises? Has it not the same honour and sanctity attaching to it as that which it represents? Are not symbols the most sacred things on earth? Why is it that men will take a tattered piece of silk and nail it to the mast, and blow themselves and the ship to atoms rather than any enemy's hand should touch that flag? It is only a symbol. Why is it that in one corner of the battle-field "the swords' flash is brightest, and the pistols' ring is loudest" round a blood-stained banner? It is only a symbol — but a symbol of England, and of all the freedom, the honour, the truth, the heroism, that that word "England" means! Thus, for the eye of faith and the heart of love these symbols mean all that they recall and represent. We are to eat that bread and drink that wine in remembrance that His body was given, and that His blood was shed for us.

(T. T. Shore, M.A.)

(Text, and Colossians 3:17): — One of the saddest things about the Christian life is that it seems to be split into two parts. Is the distinction between sacred and secular a valid one? is there any reason why a man's prayers should be more devout than his business? Look at these two passages. The same consecration is claimed for the most trivial acts of daily life, as is claimed for the sacred communion.

I. ALL THE OBJECTS AROUND US ARE TO BE REGARDED AS SYMBOLS AND MEMORIALS OF OUR LORD. Bread and wine are common things: the act of eating and drinking is not an elevated one; a supper-table is not a very holy place. And when Christ selected them He showed us that all material things were fitted and intended to impart the same teaching. The unity of the Maker, the all-pervading influence of one Divine Spirit, make everything sacred, and put every object to witness to some Divine truth. Every day we walk amidst the "outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace," and this wonderful world is one great sacrament.

1. All the elements stand as types of spiritual things — the sunshine of the "light of the world," the wind of the Spirit, the water of the stream of life and drink for thirsty souls, and the fire of His purity and of His wrath.

2. All objects are consecrated to Him. The trees of the field speak of the "root of David," and the vine of which we are all branches. The everlasting mountains are His "righteousness," the mighty deep His "judgments."

3. All the processes of nature have been laid hold of by Him. The gentle dew falls a promise, and the lashing rain forebodes a storm, when many a sand-built house shall be swept away. Every spring is a prophecy of the resurrection, every harvest a promise of the coming of His kingdom.

4. All living things testify of Him. He is Lord over the fish, the fowls, the beasts.

5. All occupations of men are consecrated to reveal Him. He laid His hand upon the sower, the vine-dresser, the shepherd, etc., as being emblems of Himself.

6. All relations between men testify of Him — father, mother, brother, friend, etc. In a word, every act of our life sets forth some aspect of our Lord and of our relation to Him, from the moment when we open our eyes in the morning, up to the hour when night falls, and sleep, the image of death, speaks to us of the last solemn moment, when we shall close the eyes of our body on earth, to open those of our soul on the realities of eternity. If you would know the meaning of the world, read Christ in it.

II. EVERY ACT OF OUR LIFE IS TO BE DONE FROM THE SAME MOTIVE AS THAT HOLY COMMUNION. "This do in remembrance of Me... discerning the Lord's body." "Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus," i.e., for the sake of the character, as revealed to you, of Him whom you love.

1. Is that sacred motive one which we keep for select occasions and special acts of worship? I am afraid that the most do with that Divine reason, "the love of Christ constraineth me," as the old Franks with their long-haired kings — they keep them in the palace at all ordinary times, only now and then bring them out to grace a procession. There is no action of life which is too great to bow to the influence of "This do in remembrance of Me"; and there is no action of life which is too small to be turned into a solemn sacrament by the operation of the same motive. Do you and I keep our religion as princes do their crown jewels — only wearing them on festive occasions, and have we another dress for working days?

2. Is it not something to have a principle which prevents anything from degenerating into triviality, or from pressing upon us with an overwhelming weight? Would it not be grand if we could so go through life, as that all should be not one dead level, but one high plateau, because all rested upon "Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus"? Ah! it is possible — not to our weak faith, perhaps; but the weakness of the faith is not inevitable. It is possible, and therefore it is duty; and therefore the opposite is sin. To have my life with one high, diffusive influence through it all, is like one of those applications of power where a huge hammer is lifted up, and comes down with a crash that breaks the granite in pieces, or may be allowed to fall so gently and so true that it touches without cracking a tiny nut beneath it; or it is like that mighty power that holds a planet in its orbit, and yet binds down the sand-grain and dust-mote to its place.

III. ALL LIFE, LIKE THE COMMUNION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER, MAY BE, AND OUGHT TO HE, A SHOWING-FORTH OF CHRIST'S DEATH. The death of Christ, which is shown forth in the holy communion, as a death for us, and the ground of our hope, is to be shown forth in our daily walk, as a death working in us, and the ground of our conduct (2 Corinthians 4:10, 11). There is not only the atoning aspect in Christ's death, but the example of the way by which we are to "mortify our members which are upon earth," because "we are dead with Him, and our life is hid with Christ in God." No man manifests the death of Christ by any outward act of worship, who is not feeling it daily in his own soul. It is in vain for us to say that we are relying on Christ, unless Christ be in us, slaying the old man and quickening the new. You do "show forth the Lord's death till He come" when you "crucify the old man with his affections and lusts," and "rise again into newness of life." The fact is better than the symbol — the inward communion more true than the outward participation.

IV. THIS COMMUNION IS IN ITSELF ONE OF THE MIGHTIEST MEANS FOR MAKING THE WHOLE OF LIFE LIKE ITSELF. In this ordinance, as it were, is the reservoir: out of it there come the streams that freshen and gladden the piety of daily life. Only remember, not the outward act, but the emotions which it kindles, are the reservoir. Not the taking that cup in your hand, but the deeper glow of feeling which is legitimately kindled then, and the intenser faith which springs therefrom; these are the fountains which will nourish verdure and life through our dusty days. And so, if you want to live in this world, doing the duty of life, knowing the blessings of it, doing your work heartily, and yet not absorbed by it; remember that the one power whereby you can so act is, that all shall be consecrated to Christ, and done for His salve!

(A. Maclaren, D.D.)

I. TAKE —

1. Knowingly (ver. 29).

(1)What it is in itself: bread (1 Corinthians 10:16).

(2)What it represents unto us: the body of Christ.

2. Humbly. Considering —

(1)God's greatness that gives.

(2)Our vileness that do receive (Isaiah 6:5).

3. Believingly.

(1)That Christ is really present with us (Matthew 18:20.

(2)Doth really offer His body to us.

(3)That if we worthily receive, we are really partakers of all the merits of His death and passion (1 Corinthians 10:16).So that —

(a)Our sins shall be pardoned (Matthew 26:28).

(b)Our natures cleansed (Acts 3:26).

4. Thankfully.

(1)That He was pleased to offer Himself for us.

(2)That He is now pleased to offer Himself to us.

II. EAT, not take and lay up; not take and carry about; not take and worship; but take and eat. Take and eat bread, but yet My body —

1. With repentance (Exodus 12:8).

2. Faith.

3. Thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:4, 5).

III. USES.

1. Prepare yourselves for this spiritual banquet.

2. Receive it with faith.

3. Feed with thankfulness.

4. Endeavour to get that nourishment from it, as to serve God better hereafter.

(Bp. Beveridge.)

What are we to understand by this?

I. NEGATIVELY. Not that it is transubstantiated. This error was broached by Damascene and ; opposed by a synod at Constantinople of 338 bishops, in the East; , Bertramnus, Johannes Scotus Erigena, and , in the West. The word was coined in the Lateran Council. This —

1. Is not grounded on Scripture.(1) Not on John 6:55. For this —

(a)Was said before the sacrament was instituted (ver. 4).

(b)Does not prove bread to be turned into Christ's body, but Christ's body into flesh.

(c)Is to be understood spiritually (vers. 50, 51, 56).(2) Not on the text (see Genesis 41:26; Daniel 2:38; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

2. Is contrary to the Scriptures. When Christ said this there could be nothing but bread; for His body was not yet offered (see 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Matthew 26:20).

3. It takes away the nature of the sacrament, there being no sign.

II. POSITIVELY.

1. "This is My body"; that is, the sign and sacrament of My body (see Genesis 17:10, 11; Exodus 12:11).

2. "Which was broken for you."(1) How broken? Bruised, pierced (John 19:33, 34). He suffered torment.(2) For what?(a) God our Governor has given us laws to observe (Genesis 26:5), and annexed promises and threatenings (Leviticus 18:5; Galatians 3:10-12).(b) Man has broken these laws (Psalm 14:1-3), and so is obliged to the punishments.(c) These punishments he cannot bear, without being entirely miserable (Matthew 25:46). Hence Christ, the Son of God, undertakes to bear them for him (Isaiah 53:4, 6). This He could not do, unless He became man. Neither must He be man only, but He must suffer (Hebrews 9:22). These His sufferings are the things represented by the bread and wine.(3) For whom? Believers (John 3:16).(4) What benefits bare we by these sufferings? It is only by them —

(a)Our sins can be pardoned (Matthew 26:28).

(b)God reconciled (Romans 5:1). Our natures renewed (Acts 3:26). Our souls saved (Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 5:9).Conclusion:

1. Admire the love of Christ in dying for us.

2. Be always mindful of it.

3. Frequent the sacraments, especially appointed to put us in mind of it, but come preparedly.

(1)Penitently.

(2)Believingly.

(3)Charitably.

(Bp. Beveridge.)

I. A MANIFESTATION OF THE POWER OF SIN. When once threatened with being broken by the stones that malice would have hurled at Him, He asks, "For which of these good works do ye stone Me?" It was because of His good works that an evil world hated Him, and hates Him still. There is an innate antagonism between selfishness and love. Moses in hot anger broke the two tables of stone on which the law of God had just been inscribed; but the Jews, with fixed and relentless purpose, broke Him who was the living embodiment of the law. And that achievement reveals how sin stand's at nothing, though it is most Divine. Our conflict with sin is conflict with the powers by which Christ was broken.

II. A MODEL FOR OUR SELF-SACRIFICE. He was broken thus, not in pursuit of any dream of ambition, or struggle for any personal satisfaction. It was in the one peerless work of redeeming the world.

1. Selfishness is ever seeking to keep what it has whole. Health must never be broken for neighbourliness, patriotism, or religion. Home must never be broken by giving up of sons or daughters to missions. Property must on no account be broken for distribution in charity or maintenance of worship. The Church must not be broken to help to form the nucleus of some other church much needed.

2. And yet what is broken is often the most beautiful. When is light more rich and varied than when it is broken in the prism? And is the ocean more beautiful when it ripples tamely upon the sandy shore, or when the crested billows break in wild majesty upon some rockbound coast? So with the self-denials that mean brokenness — brokenness of tastes, desires, comforts, possessions, and even affections.

3. What is broken is often the most useful. When the bark is bruised the balm is poured forth for healing; when the wheat is ground it becomes an element of nourishment; when the spices are pounded their odours fill the air. So self-denial has given to science, patriotism, and religion their apostles and martyrs.

4. For beauty and usefulness in man's individual character, there must be brokenness. What is there for imperious temper, hard indifference, stubborn resistance to God's will, but brokenness?

III. AN EMBLEM OF THE UNIVERSALITY OF HIS MISSION,

1. He was broken that He might be distributed, that His teachings, influence, grace, might eventually pervade the whole human race. By giving broken bread, as an emblem of His broken Self, to all His disciples, He taught them that His love, life, grace, are designed for the nourishment of all.

2. And in our dealings with Him and His system, we must ever remember this. The true Church can never be a mere treasure-house for hoarding up privileges and graces. Like its Lord and Master, it must suffer much brokenness.

IV. THE HIGHEST EXPRESSION OF THE LOVE OF GOD. Our language has no words to describe Giver or Gift. But its influence testifies to the worth of the Gift. The woman who broke the alabaster box on her Lord gave unreservedly the best she had, and the whole house was filled with fragrance. So, when God's gift was broken, His influence, like the odours of a very precious ointment, began to fill the whole world.

(U. R. Thomas.)

I. OTHER MEMORIES WILL COME, BUT MUST NOT CROWD OUT THE ONE MEMORY. The following remembrances may be natural, and profitable, but they must be kept in a secondary place: —

1. Of ourselves when we were strangers and foreigners.

2. Of our former onlooking and wishing to be at the table.

3. Of our first time of coming, and the grace received since then.

4. Of the dear departed who once were with us at the table.

5. Of beloved ones who cannot be with us at this time because they are kept at home by sickness.

6. Of many present with us, and what grace has done in their cases. We may think of their needs and of their holy lives, etc.

7. Of the apostates who have proved their falseness, like Judas. However these memories may press upon us, we must mainly remember Him for whose honour the feast is ordained.

II. THE ORDINANCE IS HELPFUL TO THAT ONE SACRED MEMORY.

1. Set forth, the signs display the person of our Lord as really man, substantial flesh and blood.

2. Placed on the table, their presence betokens our Lord's clear familiarity with us, and our nearness to Him.

3. Broken and poured forth, they show His sufferings.

4. Separated, bread apart from wine, the flesh divided from the blood, they declare His death for us.

5. Eating, we symbolise the life-sustaining power of Jesus and our reception of Him into our innermost selves.

6. Remaining when the Supper is ended, the fragments suggest that there is yet more bread and wine for other feasts; anti, even so, our Lord is all-sufficient for all time. Every particle of the ordinance points at Jesus, and we must therein behold the Lamb of God.

III. THAT SACRED MEMORY IS IS ITSELF MOST NEEDFUL FOR US. It is —

1. The continual sustenance of faith.

2. The stimulus of love.

3. The fountain of hope.

4. A recall, from the world, from self, from controversy, from labour, from our fellows — to our Lord.

5. The reveille, the up-and-away.It is the prelude of the marriage supper, and makes us long for "the bridal feast above." Above all things, it behoves us to keep the name of our Lord engraven on our hearts.

IV. THIS SYMBOLIC FESTIVAL IS HIGHLY BENEFICIAL IN REFRESHING OUR MEMORIES, AND IN OTHERS WAYS.

1. We are yet in the body, and materialism is a most real and potent force; we need that there be a set sign and form to incarnate the spiritual and make it vivid to the mind. Moreover, as the Lord actually took upon Him our flesh and blood, and as He means to save even the material part of us, He gives us this link with materialism, lest we spirit things away as well as spiritualise them.

2. Jesus, who knew our forgetfulness, appointed this festival of love; and we may be sure He will bless it to the end designed.

3. Experience has ofttimes proved its eminent value.

4. While reviving the memories of the saints, it has also been sealed by the Holy Spirit; for He has very frequently used it to arouse and convince the spectators of our solemn feast. Conclusion:

1. To observe the Supper is binding on all believers, to the extent of "oft."

2. Only as it assists remembrance can it be useful. Seek grace lovingly to remember your Lord.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. THE DIFFERENT NAMES DESCRIPTIVE OF THIS ORDINANCE.

1. "Breaking of bread." Bread is considered the chief support of life, and, among the Jews, breaking of bread was a sign of mutual friendship. Thus Christ's body was broken for the sins of men.

2. "Communion" — which may signify either a participation or communion between the receivers themselves, or between the receivers and the thing received. In both senses it is applicable to the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16).

3. "Eucharist" — which signifies thankfulness or thanksgiving, and frequently occurs in the New Testament as a general expression of gratitude. Taking this view of the ordinance, how should our hearts overflow with adoring gratitude, love, and praise, whenever We approach the Lord's Table!

4. "Sacrament" — which originally signified a religious oath which the Roman soldiers took to their commanders. So does every Christian solemnly engage to maintain irreconcilable warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

5. There are two other terms often applied to this ordinance, both of Levitical origin. They are "oblation" and "sacrifice."

II. In celebrating the Lord's Supper, according to His last solemn command, "This do in remembrance of Me," WE VIEW CHRIST AS THE GREAT ATONEMENT, AND THE ONLY SACRIFICE FOR SIN. In this sacred ordinance the Church invites the attention of men "to behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world."

III. OUR OBLIGATION DUTY, AND INTEREST ALL COMBINE TO ENFORCE OBEDIENCE TO THIS LAST, SOLEMN, AND DYING COMMAND OF CHRIST.

(N. Meeres, B.D.)

I. IT AFFORDS A VISIBLE AND PERMANENT TESTIMONY TO THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL.

II. IT CALLS IN THE SENSES TO THE AID OF OTHER POWERS AND FACULTIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF PIETY.

III. IT PROVIDES A PUBLIC TEST OF OUR RELIGIOUS SINCERITY.

IV. IT TENDS TO INCREASE OUR LOVE OF THAT SAVIOUR TO WHOSE MEMORY IT IS ESPECIALLY DEDICATED.

V. HOW WELL CALCULATED IS IT TO HUMBLE THE IMPENITENT SINNER!

VI. IT CHEERS THE HEART OF THE TRUE BELIEVER.

(J. W. Cunningham, M.A.)

1. Were a stranger, who had never heard of Christ, to come into church while we are seated at the Lord's table, he would naturally ask, "What does this observance mean?" And the answer, no doubt, would rise to the lips readily enough, "We commemorate the dying of Him whom we call Lord and Saviour." And yet, would not much remain still unexplained? Would it not still seem strange that our highest act of worship should centre in a memory of one whose death was a dishonoured death? There is no other religion whose believers can look back to a founder who was content to say, "Be true to My memory. That is all I command. Let your most solemn worship embody the expression of this remembrance."

2. You may have heard of the power of a pure and noble memory of, e.g., a well-loved home, to keep back the foot from falling and the soul from death; or of a generous and trustful love which has been a breastplate to the heart tempted to unworthy ways. But in that remembrance of Christ of which the sacrament is the visible expression, there is something more than we find in the best human memory.

I. LET US SEE WHAT CHRIST'S MEMORY IS, what is implied in remembrance of Him. The sacrament is a memorial of —

1. One who lived a human life, and yet a life such as none else has ever lived.

2. Who, at a time when the world was full of darkness and unrest, came into it with a message from God for all whose hearts were weary, whose minds were dark. His life was one that gladdened other lives, and bore about with it one living message of peace and goodwill. And is it not well, amid all the worldliness, and selfishness, and untruth of man's society, to be able to look back to a life in which these evil principles had no place, in which all was truth, honesty, earnestness and Love?

3. Who revealed God the Father. Think of what the world would be to us without this truth, and of what it will be to us, when we come to lie at "the last low verge of life"; and as you think of this, and remember that all our knowledge of this blessed truth comes from Christ, do you not feel that there is an unequalled urgency and solemnity in that last charge to us, "This do in remembrance of Me"?

4. One who closed His perfect life by the sacrifice of Himself. It is indeed this, more than aught else, that the sacramental symbols bring home to us. Think, then, how but for that we had been without hope and without God in the world.

II. IF SUCH THEN BE HIS MEMORY, SHALL WE NOT REMEMBER HIM as He has given us commandment? But is that commandment altogether fulfilled when we have eaten the bread and drunk the wine?

1. If we would be really true to the memory of the Master, it must be by showing forth, in our whole life, the power of His Divine example. There are stately tombs, on which in the lapse of ages the graven record of love and sorrow has waxed dim, and the very name recorded has been lost, and the tomb stands there a dumb witness to an unknown memory; and just such, no better, would be our remembrance of our Lord, if it were professed only while we celebrate the sacrament of His body and blood. But if it expresses a real union with our Lord, a real devotion to Him, a real sharing of His spirit, then in this sacrament we indeed eat of the Bread of Heaven and drink of the Water of Life.

2. Now suppose the stranger mentioned at the beginning had got his answer, and gone away, and were to return after a time and see us going about our daily works, might he not be inclined to say to us, "What has become of that sacred memory of which you spoke to me? I see no trace of it among you. I understood He was one who was pure and true and unselfish; and I see you serving your own ends. You told me that He died for you; and I look about for the memorials of such a love as that, and cannot find it." Let us be careful not to bring reproach upon our Master's name.

3. If there be one here who is burdened with the consciousness of sin, who hears the voice which is saying to us now, "This do in remembrance of Me," speaking to him in sorrow because of his faithlessness, let him be warned and recalled to a better spirit, and truer life; and he will find that that voice will change its tone of sorrow and reproach for one of encouragement and consolation, that will say, "Abide in Me, and I in you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

(R. H. Story, D.D.)

1. This Epistle is prior in date to any of the Gospels, consequently we have the earliest account of the institution of the Lord's Supper. More than that, the account is entirely independent of any oral tradition, for the apostle distinctly affirms that he received this narrative from none of the guests in that upper chamber, but from the Host Himself. We can therefore trace the celebration to a period very near to the death of Christ, and thus we have a strong presumption of the historical accuracy of the story, and a view of the aspect in which it was regarded by the primitive belief of Christendom.

2. The occasion for the utterance is characteristic of Paul, and instructive to us. Had it not been for some abuses in Corinth we should never have had one word about this ordinance; and in that event there would have been scarcely any reference to it outside the Gospels. Let us regard the Lord's Supper as —

I. A MEMORIAL.

1. The words are used in the institution of that Passover which our Lord, with sovereign authority, brushed aside in order to make room for His own rite. "This day shall be unto you for a memorial." The text therefore has reference to the Exodus, and is meant to substitute for the memories so stirring to Jewish national pride and devout feeling the remembrance of Christ as the one thing needful.

2. This is Christ's distinct statement of the purpose of the Lord's Supper, and you will find nothing additional to it in the New Testament.

3. Notice of what the Lord's Supper is a memorial — "of Me." "You have remembered Moses and his deliverance; forget him! The shadow passes, and here I stand, the substance! Do this; never mind about your old Passover — that is done with. Do this in remembrance — no longer of dead Pharaohs and exhausted deliverances, but of an everloving friend and helper; and of a redemption that shall never pass away."(1) What a marvellous, majestic prevision that was, that looked all down the ages and expected that to the end of time men would turn to Him with passionate thankfulness! And more wonderful still, the forecast has been true.(2) And as majestic as is the authority, so tender and gracious is the condescension. He does not rely upon His mighty love and sacrifice far the remembrance, but He consents to trust some portion of our remembrance of Him to mere outward things. Surely we need all the help we can get to keep His memory vivid and fresh in spite of the pressure of the visible and temporal.

II. AS A MEANS OF GRACE.

1. I know only one way by which grace can get into men's souls, and that is through the occupation of a man's understanding, heart, and will, with Christ and the gospel that tells of Him. And the good that any outward thing does us is that it brings before us the truth on which our hopes depend, and knits to our heart the Christ and His love.

2. This Communion is obedience to a definite command, and so has the blessing which always follows upon obedience. And this blessing, and the one that comes from having our thoughts turned to Him, and faith and hope kindled towards Him, exhaust the whole of the good that the service does to any man.

3. All that is confirmed by the remarks in the context about the mischief that it sometimes does to people. We read about an unworthy partaking, which is defined: "Whoso eateth and drinketh (not "unworthily," for that is an unauthorised supplement), "eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body," i.e., unworthy participation is one which does not use the external symbols as a means of turning thought and feeling to Christ and His death; and unworthy participation does a man harm, as unworthy handling of any outward rite does. I try with words to lead men to look to Christ. If my words come between you and Him rather as an obscuring medium, then my sermon does you harm. You read a hymn. The hymn is meant to lead you up to Christ; if it does not do that, then it does you harm. If through the outward ritual we see Christ, we get all the good that the outward ritual can do us. If through the outward rite we do not see Him, if the coloured glass stay the eye instead of leading it on, then the rite does us harm.

III. A WITNESS FOR CHRISTIAN TRUTH.

1. Christ Himself has appointed this institution and selected for us the part of His mission which He considers the vital and all-important centre — "This is My body, broken for you. This is the new covenant in My blood, shed for the remission of sins." Not His words, not His loving deeds, not His tenderness, does He point us to; but to His violent death, as if He said, "There is the thing that is to touch hearts and change lives, and bind men to Me."

2. Forms of Christianity which have let go the Incarnation and the Atonement do not know what to make of the Lord's Supper. They who do not feel that Christ's death is their peace, do not feel that this rite is the centre of Christian worship. I may be speaking to some who regard it as unnecessary. My brother, Christ knew what He meant by His work quite as well as you do, and He thought, that that the part of it which most concerns us to remember was this: "that He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures."

3. And as plain as the teaching is of this ordinance in reference to what is the living heart of Christ's work for us, so plain is it in reference to what is our way of making that work ours. We eat that we may live. We take Christ, the fact of His death, love, personal life for us to-day, and by faith we partake of Him, and the body is assimilated to the food, and so in that higher region we live.

(A. Maclaren, D.D.)

1. Christians may forget Christ. It seems at first sight too gross a crime to lay at the door of converted men; but if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye. Forget Him who never forgot us! Who loved us even to the death! The incessant round of world, world, world; the constant din of earth, earth, earth, takes away the soul from Christ. While memory will preserve a poisoned weed, it suffereth the Rose of Sharon to wither.

2. The cause is apparent. We forget Christ, because regenerate as we are, still corruption remains. Consider —

I. THE GLORIOUS AND PRECIOUS OBJECT OF MEMORY.

1. Christians have many treasures to lock up in the cabinet of memory. They ought to remember their election, their extraction, their effectual calling, their special deliverances. But there is one whom they should embalm in their souls with the most costly spices. One I said, for I mean not an act, but a Person.

2. But how can we remember Christ's person, when we never saw it? Well, it is true we cannot remember the visible appearance, but even the apostle said, though he had known Christ after the flesh, yet, thenceforth after the flesh he would know Christ no more. You may know Him after the spirit; in this manner you can remember Jesus as much now as any of those favoured ones who once walked side by side with Him.

3. Let us remember Him in His baptism, in the wilderness, in all His daily temptations and hourly trials, in Gethsemane, in Pilate's hall, at Calvary. You can very well carry all this away, because you have read it often; but you cannot spiritually remember anything about Christ, if you never had Him manifested to you. What we have never known, we cannot remember.

II. THE BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FROM A LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF CHRIST. It will tend to give you —

1. Hope when you are under the burden of your sins.

2. Patience under persecution.

3. Strength in temptation.

4. Victory in death.

III. A SWEET AID TO MEMORY. Behold the whole mystery of the sacred Eucharist.

1. The power to excite remembrance consists in the appeal made to the senses. Here the eye, the hand, the mouth, find joyful work, and thus the senses, which are usually clogs to the soul, become wings to lift the mind in contemplation.

2. Much of the influence in this ordinance is found in its simplicity. Here is nothing to burden the memory. He must have no memory at all who cannot remember that he has eaten bread, and that he has been drinking wine.

3. Note — The mighty pregnancy of these signs. Bread broken — so was your Saviour broken. Bread to be eaten — so His flesh is meat indeed. Wine poured out, the pressed juice of the grape — so was your Saviour crushed. Wine to cheer your heart — so does the blood of Christ. Wine to strengthen and invigorate you — so does the blood of the mighty sacrifice.

4. But before you can remember Christ, you must ask the assistance of the Holy Spirit. There ought to be a preparation before the Lord's Supper. Take heed to yourselves (ver. 27); mind what you arc doing! Do not do it carelessly; for of all the sacred things on earth, it is the most solemn.

IV. A SWEET COMMAND. It is important to answer this question — "This do ye." Who are intended? Ye who put your trust in Me. "This do ye in remembrance of Me." Christ watches you at the door. Some of you go home, and Christ says, "I thought I said, 'This do ye in remembrance of Me.' "Some of you keep your seats as spectators. Christ sits with you, and He says, "I thought I said, 'This do ye in remembrance of Me.'"

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

We are to remember —

I. WHAT HE WAS FROM ETERNITY: God (Romans 9:5).

II. WHAT HE BECAME: Man (John 1:4).

III. WHAT HE DID, AND HOW HE LIVED.

1. Humbly (Matthew 11:29).

2. Charitably.

3. Righteously (1 Peter 2:22; Matthew 3:15).

4. Inoffensively (Matthew 17:27).

5. Obediently.

IV. WHAT HE SUFFERED.

1. Contempt (Isaiah 53:3).

2. Pain in His body (Isaiah 53:3).

3. Grief of heart (Matthew 26:37; Luke 22:44).

4. Death.

(1)A shameful,

(2)A painful,

(3)A cursed, death (Galatians 3:13).

V. WHOM HE SUFFERED SO MUCH FOR: for us (Isaiah 53:5, 6).

VI. WHAT BENEFIT WE HAVE BY IT.

1. Pardon (Romans 5:1).

2. Reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:11).

3. Mortification of sin (Romans 8:1, 2; Matthew 1:21).

4. Grace here.

5. Glory hereafter (John 3:16).

VII. WHAT HE DID AFTER HIS DEATH.

1. He rose again (Romans 4:25).

2. Ascended (Acts 1:11).

3. Sits at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34).

4. Maketh intercession for us (1 John 2:1, 2).

5. Will, ere long, come and judge us (2 Corinthians 5:10).Conclusion: For preparation —

1. Review your lives.

2. Examine your hearts (1 Corinthians 11:28).

(1)The strength of your sins.

(2)The growth of your graces.

3. Pray God for His assistance.

(Bp.Beveridge.)

Remember —

1. Your guilt and wretchedness, which rendered His interference for your deliverance so absolutely necessary.

2. The amazing magnitude of that love and compassion which induced Him to undertake our cause.

3. The holiness of the doctrines which He taught, and the purifying tendency of the precepts which He inculcated.

4. The sufferings He underwent, and the death He endured for you.

5. The position which He now occupies, and the glorious rewards which He has provided for all His faithful followers.

(R. Cameron.)

This idea must be —

I. EXPLAINED. This feast is one of —

1. Reconciliation.

2. Friendship.

3. Union.

II. LIMITED. It is a feast, but a solemn feast.

III. JUSTIFIED. It is a feast of sacrifice.

IV. IMPROVED:

1. Come with a contrite heart to this feast.

2. Let it be a source of consolation to you.

(I. S. Spencer, D.D.)

Corinthians, Judas, PaulCorinthAct, Body, Brake, Broke, Broken, Eat, Giving, Memory, Praise, Remembrance, Thanks1. He reproves them, because in holy assemblies,
4. their men prayed with their heads covered,
6. and women with their heads uncovered;
17. and because generally their meetings were not for the better, but for the worse;
21. as, namely, in profaning with their own feast the Lord's supper.
25. Lastly, he calls them to the first institution thereof.

1 Corinthians 11:24

     2360   Christ, prayers of
     8676   thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 11:17-25

     7936   love feast

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

     4476   meals
     7028   church, life of

1 Corinthians 11:23-24

     5573   table

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

     1346   covenants, nature of
     4945   history
     6617   atonement, in NT

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

     1670   symbols
     4963   past, the
     7394   memorial
     7957   sacraments
     8467   reminders

1 Corinthians 11:23-29

     6755   union with Christ, nature of

1 Corinthians 11:23-30

     7110   body of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:23-32

     7933   Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-34

     4438   eating

1 Corinthians 11:24-25

     4418   bread
     7328   ceremonies
     7404   ordinances
     8724   doubt, dealing with

1 Corinthians 11:24-28

     8670   remembering

Second Sunday Before Lent
Text: Second Corinthians 11, 19-33; 12, 1-9. 19 For ye bear with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves. 20 For ye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth you, if he taketh you captive, if he exalteth himself, if he smiteth you on the face. 21 I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet whereinsoever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

'In Remembrance of Me'
'This do in remembrance of Me.'--1 COR. xi. 24. The account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, contained in this context, is very much the oldest extant narrative of that event. It dates long before any of the Gospels, and goes up, probably, to somewhere about five and twenty years after the Crucifixion. It presupposes a previous narrative which had been orally delivered to the Corinthians, and, as the Apostle alleges, was derived by him from Christ Himself. It is intended to correct corruptions …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Danger of Deviating from Divine Institutions.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." St. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles. The care of the churches gathered among them devolved particularly on him. At the writing of this epistle he had no personal acquaintance with the church to which it is addressed.* Epaphras, a bishop of the Colossians, then his fellow prisoner at Rome, had made him acquainted with their state, and the danger …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

The Remembrance of Christ
The cause of this is very apparent: it lies in one or two facts. We forget Christ, because regenerate persons as we really are, still corruption and death remain even in the regenerate. We forget him because we carry about with us the old Adam of sin and death. If we were purely new-born creatures, we should never forget the name of him whom we love. If we were entirely regenerated beings, we should sit down and meditate on all our Saviour did and suffered; all he is; all he has gloriously promised …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

1 Corinthians xi. 26
For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. When I spoke last Sunday of the benefits yet to be derived from Christ's Church, I spoke of them, as being, for the most part, three in number--our communion in prayer, our communion in reading the Scriptures, and our communion in the Lord's Supper; and, after having spoken of the first two of these, I proposed to leave the third for our consideration to-day. The words of the text are enough to show …
Thomas Arnold—The Christian Life

Covenanting Recommended by the Practice of the New Testament Church.
The approved practice of the Church of God in Covenanting, is recommended to us by these two things,--that it displays a voluntary regard to his will, and that it exhibits his power accomplishing his purpose. The example of the people of God, while they walk in all his ordinances and commandments blameless, is a warranted motive to duty. "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."[778] Their practice in the discharge of the duty of Covenanting, accordingly, is worthy of imitation. Were …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Meditations for the Sick.
Whilst thy sickness remains, use often, for thy comfort, these few meditations, taken from the ends wherefore God sendeth afflictions to his children. Those are ten. 1. That by afflictions God may not only correct our sins past, but also work in us a deeper loathing of our natural corruptions, and so prevent us from falling into many other sins, which otherwise we would commit; like a good father, who suffers his tender babe to scorch his finger in a candle, that he may the rather learn to beware …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

On the Babylonish Captivity of the Church on the Babylonish Captivity of the Church.
Jesus. Martin Luther, of the Order of St. Augustine, salutes his friend Hermann Tulichius. Whether I will or not, I am compelled to become more learned day by day, since so many great masters vie with each other in urging me on and giving me practice. I wrote about indulgences two years ago, but now I extremely regret having published that book. At that time I was still involved in a great and superstitious respect for the tyranny of Rome, which led me to judge that indulgences were not to be totally …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Concerning the Lord's Supper
There are two passages which treat in the clearest manner of this subject, and at which we shall look,--the statements in the Gospels respecting the Lord's Supper, and the words of Paul. (1 Cor. xi.) Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree that Christ gave the whole sacrament to all His disciples; and that Paul taught both parts of it is so certain, that no one has yet been shameless enough to assert the contrary. Add to this, that according to the relation of Matthew, Christ did not say concerning the bread, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

The Secret of the Lord
T. P. I Cor. xi. 9; Eph. v. 23 In the depths of His bright glory, Where the heavens rejoice, I have seen Him, I have known Him, I have heard His voice. He has told me how He sought me In the cloudy day, On the waste and lonely mountains Very far away. Words unutterable He speaketh, Words that none can tell; Yet, O Lord, Thy wondrous secret Knows my heart full well. I, in wonder and in silence, Listen and adore, Whilst the heart of God He tells me-- Whilst my cup runs o'er. Blessed light, within …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

(On the Mysteries. Iv. )
On the Body and Blood of Christ. 1 Cor. xi. 23 I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, how that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, &c. 1. Even of itself [2445] the teaching of the Blessed Paul is sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, of which having been deemed worthy, ye are become of the same body [2446] and blood with Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, That our Lord Jesus Christ in the …
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

The Beatific vision.
Reason, revelation, and the experience of six thousand years unite their voices in proclaiming that perfect happiness cannot be found in this world. It certainly cannot be found in creatures; for they were not clothed with the power to give it. It cannot be found even in the practice of virtue; for God has, in His wisdom, decreed that virtue should merit, but never enjoy perfect happiness in this world. He has solemnly pledged himself to give "eternal life" to all who love and serve him here on earth. …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven

If Anyone Shall Despise those who Out of Faith Make Love-Feasts and Invite the Brethren...
If anyone shall despise those who out of faith make love-feasts and invite the brethren in honour of the Lord, and is not willing to accept these invitations because he despises what is done, let him be anathema. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XI. Whoso spurns those who invite to the agape, and who when invited will not communicate with these, let him be anathema. There are few subjects upon which there has been more difference of opinion than upon the history and significance of the Agape or Love-feasts …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

That by Men who are Fasting Sacrifices are to be Offered to God.
That by men who are fasting sacrifices are to be offered to God. That the Sacraments of the Altar are not to be celebrated except by those who are fasting, except on the one anniversary of the celebration of the Lord's Supper; for if the commemoration of some of the dead, whether bishops or others, is to be made in the afternoon, let it be only with prayers, if those who officiate have already breakfasted. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XLI. The holy mysteries are not offered except by those who …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Entering the Gospel Field
During the seven years that had elapsed since my call to preach the gospel, years in which God had so wonderfully taught me and so gently led me, I never doubted my call. By the help and grace of God I had been able to live pleasing to the Lord, and throughout the entire time had no knowledge of his condemnation or displeasure. I was still engaged to the young man of whom I have already spoken; and after my healing, began to make preparations for the wedding. I was fully submitted to the Lord on …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

Second Sunday in Lent
Text: First Thessalonians 4, 1-7. 1 Finally then, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, even as ye do walk,--that ye abound more and more. 2 For ye know what charge we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; 4 that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Tenth Sunday after Trinity Spiritual Counsel for Church Officers.
Text: 1 Corinthians 12, 1-11. 1 Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led. 3 Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema [accursed], and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

A Question for Communicants
"What mean ye by this service?"--Exodus 12:26. IN A SPIRITUAL religion, everything must be understood. That which is not spiritual, but ritualistic, contents itself with the outward form. Under the Jewish dispensation, there was a very strong tendency in that direction; but it was kept to some extent in check. Under the Christian faith, this tendency must not be tolerated at all. We must know the meaning of what we do; otherwise we are not profited. We do not believe in the faith of the man who was …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892

He Accuses Abaelard for Preferring his Own Opinions and Even Fancies to the Unanimous Consent of the Fathers, Especially Where He Declares that Christ did Not
He accuses Abaelard for preferring his own opinions and even fancies to the unanimous consent of the Fathers, especially where he declares that Christ did not become incarnate in order to save man from the power of the devil. 11. I find in a book of his sentences, and also in an exposition of his of the Epistle to the Romans, that this rash inquirer into the Divine Majesty attacks the mystery of our Redemption. He admits in the very beginning of his disputation that there has never been but one conclusion …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Second State of Prayer. Its Supernatural Character.
1. Having spoken of the toilsome efforts and of the strength required for watering the garden when we have to draw the water out of the well, let us now speak of the second manner of drawing the water, which the Lord of the vineyard has ordained; of the machine of wheel and buckets whereby the gardener may draw more water with less labour, and be able to take some rest without being continually at work. This, then, is what I am now going to describe; and I apply it to the prayer called the prayer …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

From the Latin Translation of Cassiodorus.
[3712] I.--Comments [3713] On the First Epistle of Peter. Chap. i. 3. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who by His great mercy hath regenerated us." For if God generated us of matter, He afterwards, by progress in life, regenerated us. "The Father of our Lord, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" who, according to your faith, rises again in us; as, on the other hand, He dies in us, through the operation of our unbelief. For He said again, that the soul never returns a second …
Clement of Alexandria—Who is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved?

The Loftiness of God
ISAIAH lvii. 15. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. This is a grand text; one of the grandest in the whole Old Testament; one of those the nearest to the spirit of the New. It is full of Gospel--of good news: but it is not the whole Gospel. It does not tell us the whole character …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Of Preparation.
That a Christian ought necessarily to prepare himself before he presume to be a partaker of the holy communion, may evidently appear by five reasons:-- First, Because it is God's commandment; for if he commanded, under the pain of death, that none uncircumcised should eat the paschal lamb (Exod. xii. 48), nor any circumcised under four days preparation, how much greater preparation does he require of him that comes to receive the sacrament of his body and blood? which, as it succeeds, so doth it …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Rules to be Observed in Singing of Psalms.
1. Beware of singing divine psalms for an ordinary recreation, as do men of impure spirits, who sing holy psalms intermingled with profane ballads: They are God's word: take them not in thy mouth in vain. 2. Remember to sing David's psalms with David's spirit (Matt. xxii. 43.) 3. Practise St. Paul's rule--"I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the understanding also." (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) 4. As you sing uncover your heads (1 Cor. xi. 4), and behave yourselves in comely reverence as in the …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

1 Corinthians 11:24 NIV
1 Corinthians 11:24 NLT
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