whose supper
Here's a snippet from a book which I recently bought secondhand, and which I've been delighted with ever since it arrived. Right from the first glance at the contents page!
"It is the Lord's supper, the Lord Christ's supper. The apostle, in his discourse concerning this ordinance, 1 Cor 11: 23 etc, all along calls Christ the Lord, and seems to lay an emphasis upon it; for, as the ordaining of this sacrament was an act of his dominion, and as his churches' Lord he appointed it, so in receiving this sacrament we own his dominion, and acknowledge him to be our Lord. This also puts an honour upon the ordinance, and makes it look truly great; however, to a carnal eye, it has no form nor comeliness that it is the supper fo the Lord. The sanction of this ordinance is the authority of Christ; the substance of this ordinance is the grace of Christ. It is celebrated in obedience to him, in remembrance of him, and for his praise. Justly it is called the Lord's supper, for it is the Lord Jesus that sends the invitation, makes the provision, gives the entertainment; in it we feed upon Christ, for he is the bread of life; we feed with Christ, for he is our beloved and our friend, and he it is that bids us welcome to his table. In it Christ sups with us, and we with him; he doth us the honour to sup with us, though he must bring his own entertainment along with him ...
"Let our eye, therefore, be to the Lord, to the Lord Christ, and to the remembrance of his name in this ordinance. We see nothing here, if we see not the beauty of Christ; we taste nothing here, if we taste not the love of Christ. The Lord must be looked on as the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, and all in all in this solemnity. If we receive not Christ Jesus the Lord here, we have the supper, but not the Lord's supper."
It's from 'The Communicant's Companion,' by Matthew Henry, and this piece comes from the first chapter. I bought it from peterreynoldsbooks.com, and it's not the first excellent book I've had from there. It's probably the one I've talked about most though - resulting in several people wanting to borrow it, so I should really stop talking about it and finish it so I can pass it on. (If you want a look, email me at the usual address!)
"It is the Lord's supper, the Lord Christ's supper. The apostle, in his discourse concerning this ordinance, 1 Cor 11: 23 etc, all along calls Christ the Lord, and seems to lay an emphasis upon it; for, as the ordaining of this sacrament was an act of his dominion, and as his churches' Lord he appointed it, so in receiving this sacrament we own his dominion, and acknowledge him to be our Lord. This also puts an honour upon the ordinance, and makes it look truly great; however, to a carnal eye, it has no form nor comeliness that it is the supper fo the Lord. The sanction of this ordinance is the authority of Christ; the substance of this ordinance is the grace of Christ. It is celebrated in obedience to him, in remembrance of him, and for his praise. Justly it is called the Lord's supper, for it is the Lord Jesus that sends the invitation, makes the provision, gives the entertainment; in it we feed upon Christ, for he is the bread of life; we feed with Christ, for he is our beloved and our friend, and he it is that bids us welcome to his table. In it Christ sups with us, and we with him; he doth us the honour to sup with us, though he must bring his own entertainment along with him ...
"Let our eye, therefore, be to the Lord, to the Lord Christ, and to the remembrance of his name in this ordinance. We see nothing here, if we see not the beauty of Christ; we taste nothing here, if we taste not the love of Christ. The Lord must be looked on as the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, and all in all in this solemnity. If we receive not Christ Jesus the Lord here, we have the supper, but not the Lord's supper."
It's from 'The Communicant's Companion,' by Matthew Henry, and this piece comes from the first chapter. I bought it from peterreynoldsbooks.com, and it's not the first excellent book I've had from there. It's probably the one I've talked about most though - resulting in several people wanting to borrow it, so I should really stop talking about it and finish it so I can pass it on. (If you want a look, email me at the usual address!)
posted by cath at
11:48 pm
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