THERE is no institution more delightful to the Christian than the holy
sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. It is a touching remembrance of a
Redeemer’s love—a refreshing means of grace to the soul—a happy communion
of the Lord’s believing family—and a gladdening foretaste of the marriage
supper of the Lamb. With what heartfelt gratitude should believers
rejoice in such a feast!
But it is not to all a feast of joy. Some neglect it from a total want
of inclination; some receive it in a careless, worldly spirit, and to
them it soon becomes an empty form, like a vessel in which is no water;
while others regard it as an awful mystery—as something too high for such
as they are, and, like the holy of holies in the temple, beyond the reach
of common men.
This sense of mysterious awe may be traced, in great measure, to the
startling words of St. Paul in 1 Cor. xi.. 29, “He that eateth and
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord’s body.” Nor can there be any question, that the
impression made by such strong and fearful language should be that of the
deepest possible solemnity. St. Paul spoke by inspiration, and that man
must indeed be a bold transgressor, who does not feel awed and solemnized
when he reads such a caution from the Holy Ghost. But yet the Christian
is not right if he lays aside the subject under the first sense of solemn
awe, or excludes himself from a delightful privilege, because he sees
solemnity in the ordinance, and apprehends some possible danger in its
misuse. He ought rather to take the Word of God, and study it carefully,
in order to ascertain the real nature of the service, and the kind of
character to which the words refer. This is the course for sensible and
right-minded men; and to assist such in this investigation, is the object
of the present tract.
There are five passages in the Bible distinctly referring to the Lord’s
Supper, as an appointed institution in the Church, namely, Matt. xxvi.
26–29; Mark xiv. 22–25; Luke xxii. 13–20; 1 Cor. x. 16–21; and xi. 18–34.
{4} As the last of these is much the fullest, it may be well to adopt it
as the basis of our enquiry; and we shall be able to learn from it the
authority and nature of the Lord’s Supper, the danger of coming
unworthily, and the character of those who do so.