[0:00] Well, if we could, this morning with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read. John chapter 19.
[0:19] John chapter 19, page 1092 in the Pew Bible. And we're looking this morning at verse 28.
[0:31] John 19 at verse 28, where John writes, After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, I thirst.
[0:47] After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, I thirst. I thirst.
[1:02] Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink. Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.
[1:13] If you're familiar with the works of the 19th century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, you'll know that these words are a well-known extract from his lengthy poem, the poem called The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
[1:29] The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It's a poem that depicts and describes the experience of an ancient mariner being lost at sea, where he was surrounded by salt water, but unable to drink any of it.
[1:44] That's why he writes, water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink. Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink. And it was this serious and severe need of water that brought distress and also death to many of the soldiers alongside the ancient mariner in the poem.
[2:01] Because Coleridge, he wrote, he says, Every tongue through utter drought was withered at the root. We could not speak no more than if we had been choked with soot.
[2:14] Four times fifty living men, and I heard nor sigh nor groan. With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, they dropped down one by one.
[2:26] Thirst brought distress, and it brought death to many of the sailors in the poem of the ancient mariner. But you know, when we come to the cruel cross of Calvary, we see that it wasn't thirst that brought distress or death to Jesus.
[2:45] Instead, thirst brought fulfillment and focus to Jesus. Thirst brought fulfillment and focus to the Savior.
[2:58] Because as we read there in verse 28, we read that after Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, he said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst.
[3:10] I thirst. This is now the fifth word in our seven-part series on the seven sayings or the seven words of Jesus from the cross of Calvary.
[3:21] We've called these seven words the seven crosswords from Calvary. But these seven crosswords, they're not a puzzle, as we've said before. They're a picture. They picture and present to us, and they portray before us the glory of the gospel in the passion and work of Jesus Christ.
[3:39] The first crossword was a word of forgiveness, where Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. The second crossword was a word of salvation, where Jesus said to the thief on the cross, Today you will be with me in paradise.
[3:56] The third crossword was a word of affection. Jesus said, as we read it there in John 19, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. And then he said to John the disciple, Behold your mother.
[4:09] The fourth crossword, which we considered last night in our preparatory service, it was a word of abandonment, where Jesus cried from the darkness of hell descending into his soul.
[4:22] He cried, Eloi, Eloi, lemma sabachthani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And this morning we come to the fifth crossword from Calvary, which is a word of torment.
[4:38] A word of torment. And it's a word of torment because this crossword from Calvary is an echo from Exodus and a howl from hell.
[4:52] This crossword from Calvary is an echo from Exodus and a howl from hell. And there are two headings this morning.
[5:03] An echo from Exodus and a howl from hell. So first of all, an echo from Exodus. An echo from Exodus. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill Scripture, I thirst.
[5:20] I thirst. John introduces this fifth crossword from Calvary with those words, after this. After this, meaning after all this.
[5:32] After Jesus had been betrayed and beaten. After Jesus had been arrested and apprehended. After Jesus had been falsely accused and even flogged. After Jesus had been mocked and maligned.
[5:45] After Jesus had been carried, had carried his cross and then been crucified on his cross. After Jesus had encountered and experienced and endured the demonic darkness of hell for three hours on the cross.
[5:59] After all this, John tells us that Jesus, knowing. Jesus, knowing that all was now finished.
[6:11] He said to fulfill Scripture. I thirst. I thirst. I thirst. I thirst. I thirst. I thirst. Now, John tells us that Jesus said, I thirst.
[6:24] Because he wants us to accept Jesus, primarily. But he also wants us to appreciate that the one who's on the cross is fully divine and fully human.
[6:37] He has two distinct natures in one person forever. He's 100% God and 100% man. He's not 50-50. He's 100% God and 100% man.
[6:49] He's the God-man. And that as the God-man, Jesus experienced everything that we go through in our lives. He experienced dependence and derision.
[7:03] He experienced, when you go through the gospel accounts, he experienced hunger and happiness. He experienced tiredness and temptation. He experienced loneliness and loss. He experiences joy and jubilation.
[7:15] He experiences sorrow and separation, pain and persecution, rejection and ridicule. Jesus experienced everything that we go through in our lives. And more.
[7:29] And more. Which is why our Bible reminds us and reassures us that Jesus, this Jesus, is our great high priest. Who is able not only to sympathize with us, but empathize with all our worries and all our weaknesses.
[7:49] Even thirst. Even thirst. That's why he says, I thirst. And you know, the thing about this thirst is that it was extreme.
[8:03] His thirst was excruciating. His thirst was, it brought agony and anguish. His thirst brought torture and torment.
[8:15] But what's interesting is that when we compare and when we cross-reference all the Old Testament prophecies and all the Old Testament promises about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, none of them actually quote this crossword from Calvary.
[8:32] None of them foreshadow and foretell these words of Jesus. I thirst. None of them do it. We read earlier in verse 24. So they said to one another, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.
[8:48] This was to fulfill the scripture, which says, and then they quote, they quote Psalm 22. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But when we cross-reference and compare all the other Old Testament promises and prophecies about Jesus, none of them actually quote this crossword from Calvary, I thirst.
[9:11] None of them foreshadow. None of these Old Testament promises and prophecies foretell and foreshadow these words of Jesus, I thirst. And as you know, in the Gospels there are many references, many references to the Old Testament prophecies, such as they're all from, some of them are from Isaiah, some are from Zechariah, some are from, many of them are from the Psalms.
[9:36] And yet John says here, After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said, To fulfill the scripture, I thirst.
[9:48] Which ought to make us think that if none of these Old Testament promises and prophecies about Jesus, if none of them actually quote this crossword from Calvary, then where is John going with this?
[10:00] What is John referring to when he says that Jesus is fulfilling scripture by saying, I thirst? Now, we said earlier that the thirst of Jesus, it didn't bring distress or death to Jesus.
[10:17] Instead, it brought fulfillment and focus. It brought fulfillment and focus. And I say that because I believe that what Jesus is fulfilling, and what Jesus is focusing on in this crossword from Calvary, is that echo from Exodus.
[10:37] It's an echo from Exodus. Jesus is bringing us back, all the way back, through history, right back to that moment with Moses during the Exodus.
[10:48] And we read it earlier in Exodus chapter 17, where the Israelites, they're criticizing and complaining against the Lord. And why are they criticizing and complaining? Because they're thirsty.
[11:00] There's no water. They're thirsty, and their thirst has brought anger and agitation, where they're questioning the Lord, and they're quarreling against the Lord's servant, Moses. And they're saying to Moses and to the Lord, Why did you bring us here?
[11:15] Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Is it to kill us? Did you bring us here to kill us and our children and all our livestock with thirst? And Moses is at the end of himself by this point.
[11:28] And he cries to the Lord saying, What am I going to do with these people? They're almost ready to stone me. And the Lord tells Moses, And you know, it's a wonderful thing what he says.
[11:41] I want you to notice what he said to Moses. Notice what the Lord said to Moses. Take your staff in your hand and stand on the rock at Horeb and strike the rock so that water will come out of it and the people will drink.
[12:02] I'll read it again. Take your staff in your hand and stand on the rock at Horeb and strike the rock so that water will come out of it and the people will drink. Now, I don't want you to miss this or misunderstand what the Lord is saying to Moses, because the Lord was saying to Moses, strike the rock. Moses, strike the rock with the staff of God's judgment in your hand. Strike the rock. Moses, use the staff, the same staff that you struck the Nile with and turned it to blood. Strike the rock with your staff, and it will pour forth water. Strike the rock, Moses. Strike the rock with the staff of God's judgment. And as Paul explains to us, Paul gives his commentary on Exodus 17 in the New Testament, and he says to us, that rock, that rock was Christ. That rock was Christ.
[13:07] And you know, my friend, you come to Calvary this morning and you see Jesus is that rock. Jesus was the rock that was struck on behalf of his people. Jesus was the rock that was split open for the blessing and the benefit of his people. Jesus was the rock from which water flowed out of. And you know, you see this crossword from Calvary and you just, all you hear is an echo all the way back from Exodus. Because as Jesus Christ, as the rock of our salvation, as he was struck by the staff of God's judgment on the cruel cross of Calvary, we're being told that out of him poured rivers of living water. Out of him poured rivers of living water. And you know, the glory of the gospel is that Jesus thirsted at Calvary. Jesus was poured out at Calvary. Jesus was emptied at Calvary in order to fill his people with living water. You know, this crossword from Calvary, it's an echo from Exodus.
[14:26] I thirst. I thirst. It's an echo from Exodus. And that's why Jesus could say, this is why Jesus could say to the woman at the well. The woman of Samaria who met Jesus at Jacob's well. You remember that in John chapter 4. Jesus tells the woman that he alone is able to cleanse her. He alone is able to satisfy the deep desires of her heart. Jesus alone is able to quench the thirst of her dehydrated soul.
[14:59] And Jesus says to the woman, you remember what he said to the woman, whosoever drinks of the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. For the water that I will give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. And then you continue through John's gospel. You come to chapter 7 and Jesus, he's standing up at the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
[15:26] And the Feast of Tabernacles, it was a feast that commemorated and celebrated Exodus chapter 17. It's a feast that commemorated and celebrated the Lord's promise and the Lord's provision of water in the wilderness that poured from the rock. And the Feast of Tabernacles, it was all about receiving water from the rock. And yet you come to John 7. And Jesus, in John chapter 7, we're told that on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stands up and he cries out to the crowd, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink, because whosoever believes in me, says Jesus, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
[16:21] My friend, do you see what's been said here? At this crossword from Calvary, it's an echo all the way back from Exodus. Because when Moses struck the rock with the staff of God's judgment, he was foretelling, he was foreshadowing what would happen this day on the cruel cross of Calvary. That Jesus, the rock of our salvation, he would be struck, he would be split open, so that out of him would flow rivers of living water. My friend, Jesus was emptied at Calvary in order to fill his people with living water, to fill us to overflowing.
[17:09] And you know, with this echo from Exodus, Jesus, that's why he encourages us, all of us, he encourages all of us to come to him. He says, if anyone thirsts, he doesn't say only those at the Lord's table, if they're thirsty. No, no, no. He says, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink, because whosoever believes in me out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
[17:47] You know, I always, I love quoting hymns. I've always loved the hymn of the 19th century free church minister, Horatius Boner. He wrote, I heard the voice of Jesus say, come unto me and rest. Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.
[18:08] And what does he say? I came to Jesus, how? As I was, weary and worn and sad. I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad. But then Horatius Boner, he went on in chapter, in verse 2, he went on to say, I heard the voice of Jesus say, behold, I freely give the living water.
[18:31] Thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live. I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream. My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.
[18:48] Do you know, my friend, have you heard the voice of Jesus this morning? Have you heard the voice of Jesus in the gospel? Have you heard that voice coming from this crossword in Calvary? Have you heard Jesus saying to you, come? Because he says to you so lovingly, so lovingly, if anyone thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. Come to me and drink. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, he said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. But as we said, this fifth crossword from Calvary, it's a word of torment. It's a word of torment. It's not only an echo from Exodus, it's also a howl from hell. That's what we see secondly. This word of torment is not only an echo from Exodus, it's also a howl from hell. That's what we see secondly. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. Do you know, whenever it comes to speaking about hell, there are lots of evangelistic questions which are often posed, and they're posed in order to provoke us, maybe even to prompt us to think about the serious and solemn subject that is the subject of hell.
[20:30] evangelistic questions like, where is hell? Hell is at the end of a Christless life. What is hell? Hell is the truth realized too late. Who goes to hell? Hell is a real place, and real people go there. There are all these evangelistic questions that are posed in order to provoke us and prompt us to think about the serious and solemn subject of hell.
[21:04] But you know, Jesus is the only one who could ever speak with authority on this serious and solemn subject of hell. And he was the only one who could ever speak with authority because he created hell.
[21:19] He created hell. We see that in the Gospels. Matthew's Gospel. We're told that when Jesus spoke about the day of judgment. He said, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, and he'll sit on his glorious throne, he'll gather all nations, and he will separate people as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. And the king will say to those on his right, come. You blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared or created from before the foundation of the world. But then he will say to those on his left hand, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal and everlasting fire, prepared and created for the devil and his angels. So Jesus is the only one who can actually speak with authority on the serious and solemn subject of hell because he created hell. In fact, throughout his ministry, Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. He depicts and he describes hell as the place where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.
[22:35] He describes it as outer darkness, as deep darkness, demonic darkness, where there's no light and there's no life. He describes it as the second death. It's eternal death. It's the lake of fire. It's eternal fire. It's an everlasting flame. It's the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
[23:00] My friend, Jesus spoke more about the serious and solemn subject of hell more than he did about heaven. He even told a parable about hell. And he told a parable about hell in order to emphasize and explain not only the chasm that exists between heaven and hell, but he also told the parable in order to emphasize the heat of hell. We're told about the rich man and Lazarus, where the rich man, he prays and he pleads.
[23:37] He says, send Lazarus. Send Lazarus. Send Lazarus. That he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am being tormented in this flame. And you know, when we hear what Jesus says here on the cross, it's not only an echo from Exodus where Jesus has been emptied to fill his people. No, this is a howl from the depths of the darkness of hell, which Jesus experienced and endured on the cross. I thirst. I thirst. And you know, we immediately realize that when we look at this verse, we realize that we don't need to ask why Jesus would speak more about hell than he did about heaven.
[24:34] Because you come to this crossword of Calvary. And you should know immediately why he spoke to you more about hell than he does about heaven. Because he's speaking here out of love.
[24:53] He's speaking here out of love. And my friend, Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven because he loves us. And he doesn't want any of us to go there. Of course, some will argue, some will say, how can a good God send good people to hell? But that's the lie, isn't it? That's the lie.
[25:17] Because we're not good. We're not good. We know we're not good. We don't need our Bible to tell us that we're not good. Because we know in our heart, we know in our lives, we know in our experience that we're not good. But our Bible does tell us, and it says to us, that there's none good except God alone. More than that, our Bible tells us that our sin is serious.
[25:41] Our sin not only severs our relationships with many other people that we know, and our sin brings sickness and suffering and sorrow into our lives, but our sin, it creates the greatest severance with God. It separates us from our God who is holy and righteous and a consuming fire. But you come back to this word, and you see that the glory of the gospel is that in this word, God is demonstrating to you. He's displaying to you his love in the person of Jesus Christ, because he is there as the one who was delivered up. He was sent.
[26:30] He was given. And he knew no sin. And yet, he became sin for us. He became our substitute, our sin offering, our sin bearer, where he would encounter, and he would experience, and he would endure all the horrors and all the heat of our hell on our behalf, so that we could be made righteous, so that we could be made children of God, so that we could be set free from the power of sin and the power of demonic darkness and death.
[27:08] Jesus is crying out of love. I thirst. I thirst. And you know, this is why this fifth crossword from Calvary, it's not only an echo from Exodus, it's also a howl from hell. It's a word of torment, where Jesus was tormented in your place. In my place condemned he stood.
[27:42] It should amaze you, my friend, that this word is so loving. It's so full. It's a word of torment. But it's a word of torment that should cause us to respond in thanksgiving. It's a word of torment that should cause us to respond in thanksgiving. And you know, what better way to communicate and to convey our thanksgiving to the Lord than communion? What better way to thank the Lord Lord than sitting at the Lord's Supper? Because the Lord's Supper is a thanksgiving meal. In fact, in other traditions, the Lord's Supper is referred to as the Eucharist. The Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. So it's a thanksgiving meal. And that's what we're doing this morning. We're doing the very simple action of saying thank you to Jesus. That's what you're doing. You're saying thank you to Jesus. You're simply giving thanks. We're giving thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his grace and for his glory. We're saying thank you to Jesus. I hope you're thankful to Jesus.
[29:03] We should be giving thanks to the Lord. And you know, that's what really actually fences the Lord's table. I don't fence the Lord's table. The Lord fences his table. And as you can see, there's that visual and visible distinction that's been made here this morning. A line has been drawn, you could say. A line has been drawn. But that line is not a message of stay away. You're not welcome.
[29:30] No. This line is drawn with a message. Come. You need to come. Come and take your place at this thanksgiving meal. Because as I've said many times before, and I'm sure I'll keep saying it to you, it's not about if you're good enough. It's not about if you're worthy enough. It's not about if you know enough. Because none of us, none of us, none of us are good enough or worthy enough or know enough.
[30:09] The only reason you should come to the Lord's table and partake of the Lord's Supper is if you want to say thank you to Jesus. That's the only reason you should come. That you're so thankful. So thankful for what he did on the cross in your place. And if you're thankful, you'll be here. You'll be here not because you're good enough or know enough or worthy enough. You'll be thankful. You'll be here because you're thankful. You're thankful to be here. And I suppose the question is, are you thankful to the Lord? Are you thankful to the Lord for his grace and his goodness and his glory? Are you thankful for his love? Are you thankful that he laid down his life for you? Are you thankful for him being your substitute and him being your sin offering and him being your savior? Are you thankful, my friend?
[31:11] Are you thankful to the Lord? And the thing is, I know that some of you are so thankful to the Lord. I'm thankful to the Lord for being with you. Thankful to the Lord for bringing you through some of the most difficult times and dark times of your life. Times where you experienced sickness or suffering or sorrow in your life. And yet you're not here. You're not here. And yet the Bible is saying to you, you should be here because you're thankful. You should be partaking of the Lord's Supper and participating in this Eucharist, this Thanksgiving meal. Not because you're good enough, not because you're worthy enough, not because you know enough, but simply because you're thankful.
[31:59] You want to say thank you to Jesus. You know, I was thinking this morning, if I could say to anybody not sitting at the table, who knows they should be there? I was thinking of what the disciples said to Bartimaeus. He had cried to Jesus for mercy. Jesus had heard him. And the disciples came to Bartimaeus and they said, get up. The master is calling you.
[32:36] Get up. The master is calling you. And my friend, that's what Jesus is saying to you this morning. Get up. Come to this table because the master is calling you. You're invited to this banquet. You're invited to say thank you.
[32:56] You're invited for this Thanksgiving meal. So come to the Lord's table. Come to the Lord's table with a thankful heart. The master is calling you. So get up. Come forward and sit at his table. I'll never forget Peter's testimony. That's when Peter came to the Lord's table.
[33:24] He got up. He came forward. And he sat because he was thankful. My friend, if you're thankful, come to his table. Come to his table singing this Thanksgiving hymn of Psalm 118.
[33:44] As we're going to sing it together. Psalm 118 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 118. It's on page 398 in the blue psalm book.
[34:05] And if there's anybody who's not yet at the Lord's table during this singing, just come and take your place. The master says, get up because he's calling you.
[34:17] And if you want to come forward and you haven't yet, do not worry about the session. We'll deal with that later. You just come.
[34:29] Psalm 118 at verse 15. In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health. The Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly.
[34:41] The right hand of the mighty Lord, exalted is on high. The right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly. I shall not die, but live and shall the works of God discover.
[34:53] The Lord hath me chastised soar, but not to death given over. O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness. Then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless.
[35:06] We'll sing on down to the verse mark 21 of Psalm 118 to God's praise. Psalm 119.
[35:42] Psalm 119.
[36:12] Psalm 119.
[36:42] Psalm 119.
[37:12] Then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless. Then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless.
[37:31] This is the gate of God by it. The gate of God by it. The just shall enter in.
[37:48] The grace of God by it. The grace of God by it. And the grace of God by it.
[38:07] Please be seated. when we now come to the sacrament of the lord's supper and i just want to speak for a few moments about the sacrament as we come to it some of you or hopefully all of you will have received a little piece of paper on the way into church this morning it was a slip or a question from the heidelberg catechism the heidelberg catechism is a document which actually celebrates its 460th birthday this year it was composed and compiled in the city of heidelberg in germany in 1563 and it was written out of this passion this desire to teach the next generation about the biblical truths of god's word and the reformed doctrines of the christian faith and the heidelberg catechism it's still used in many of the dutch reformed churches today it expresses and explains these fundamental truths using the simple form of questions and answers much like a shorter catechism which many of us will be familiar with but as i was preparing to address the table this morning i was reminded i was reflecting on question 75 in the heidelberg catechism and it asks this question how does the lord's supper remind you and reassure you that you share in christ's one sacrifice on the cross and all his benefits and this is the answer that's given and i love what i love about the answer is that it's very pastoral that's very personal it's a very personal answer how does the lord's supper remind you and reassure you that you share in christ one sacrifice on the cross and in all his benefits the answer christ has commanded me and all his believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him and with this command come these promises first as surely as i see with my eyes the bread of the lord broken for me and the cup shared with me i know that his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me secondly as surely as i receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the lord they are given to me as sure signs of christ's body and blood to feed and nourish my soul for eternal life i don't know if you notice those opening words of the answer it says christ has commanded me christ has commanded me christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him so my friend the lord's table the lord has not only invited you to his table he's invited you to come and sit at his supper but he's not only invited you he has commanded you he has commanded you to come and sit at his supper therefore to those who have not yet come not to come is disobedience to christ's command not to come is disobedience to christ's command christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance often so why well we're told why why we're to do it because partaking and participating in the lord's supper comes with promises there are promises today you're promised that with these simple elements of bread and wine they're simple elements but these are symbols that you can touch and that you will taste
[42:13] with your senses more than that they're signs and they're seals to you they're signs and seals to you of christ's body in the bread and christ's blood symbol symbolically presented to you in the wine and so by taking partaking of these symbols and participating in the supper they are as calvin says in a spiritual sense they feed you and they fill you they nurture you and they nourish you they are there to strengthen you and they are there to sustain you in your soul in the pilgrim's progress they are there for you it's all for your good so how does the lord's supper remind you and we assure you that you share in christ's one sacrifice on the cross and all his benefits he has commanded me that's why we're here he's commanded me all believers with me to eat this broken bread to drink from the cup to remember him and with this command come these promises as surely as i see with my eyes this broken the bread of the lord broken for me and the cup shared with me and passed round to me i know that his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me secondly as surely as i received from the hand of the minister so i'll pass it on to the elders and when i taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the lord they are given as sure signs and sure symbols of christ's body and blood to feed to feed on and to nourish your soul for eternal life wonderful reminder of the blessings and the benefits of gathering around the lord's table now we read our scriptural warrant for the sacrament of the lord's supper it's in first corinthians chapter 11 and verse 23 everything we do we have to do it according to the bible so there's a warrant for what we do and that's why we read our warrant before we come to the lord's table our warrant is first corinthians chapter 11 and verse 23 where paul writes for i received from the lord what i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the night when he was betrayed he took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me in the same way also he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes and so according to the institution and command and the example of our savior that we'll give thanks together so let's pray together oh lord our god we give thanks to thee for these precious moments in life moments where we can come aside and rest a while where we can come to the lord's table and partake of and participate in the sacrament of the lord's supper a sacrament that reminds us and reassures us that i am his and he is mine that his broken body was all for me his shed blood was all for me that i might live and have that promise of eternal life that we can say even as we were singing i shall not die but live and shall the works of god discover it is a wonder to us that we are here at all that we have this great and glorious
[46:15] invitation to come and taste and see that art good and lord as we taste and as we see we pray that these things these symbols of bread and wine that they would be blessed to us blessed to us in reminding us and reassuring us that we are the lord's that we are his flock that as he says my sheep hear my voice and i know them and they follow me and i give to them eternal life and they will never perish neither shall they be plucked out of my hand continue with us lord we pray bless us together for we ask it in jesus name and for his sake amen well the lord jesus on the night when he was betrayed he took bread and when he had taken bread he broke it and he said this is my body which is for you it's broken for you do this in remembrance of me in the same manner also we're told that after supper he took the cup and when he had given thanks he handed over the cup and he said this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me and as paul reminds us all of us for as often as you eat this bread and you drink the cup you proclaim the lord's death you proclaim his death until he comes how does the lord's supper remind you and reassure you that you share in christ's one sacrifice on the cross and all his benefits christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him and with his command come these promises first as i surely see with my eyes the bread of the lord broken for me and the cup shared with me i know that his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me secondly as surely as i received from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the lord they are given to me as sure signs of christ's body and blood to feed and nourish my soul for eternal life friends by sitting at the lord's table and partaking of the lord's supper we have publicly proclaimed the lord's death until he comes and our public proclamation using these simple signs and symbols and seals you could say of christ's body and blood they promise to feed us they promise to fill us they promise to nurture us they promise to nourish us they promise to strengthen us and sustain us so that as we leave this eucharist meal this thanksgiving meal as we leave here with thankful hearts that's how we should leave so thankful to the lord but as we leave we will go on with this desire this determination to love the lord more deeply to look to the lord more closely to listen to the lord more earnestly to lean upon the lord more consistently and to live for the lord more faithfully to keep coming back to the lord because he is the lover of our soul
[50:21] but you know i don't want to conclude without a word to those who are not sitting at the table this morning and i suppose the only question i have for you is why ask yourself that question why why why are you not here why are you not at the lord's table this morning because as we read christ has commanded me christ has commanded me christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and to drink the cup of remembrance of him so the question is are you a believer do you believe in your heart do you confess with your mouth that jesus christ is your lord and savior and if that's the case then you must come you must come because not to come to the lord's table is disobedience to christ's command it's very simple not to come as disobedience to come is obedience and so you're exhorted you're encouraged to come so come i hope and pray that if we're spared to see another communion season if we're spared to see it that there won't be this separation between us it's lovely to see you here it's always great to see you in church but i want to see you come and confess that jesus is your lord and jesus is your savior i want you to come and say thank you to jesus for what he has done for you because you know what he's done for you but you are commanded to come and say thank you to him well may the lord bless these thoughts to us we'll conclude this morning we're going to sing the closing words of psalm 72 psalm 72 in the scottish psalter it's on page 314 singing from verse 17 down to the end of the psalm psalm 72 at verse 17 this is a psalm that was written by solomon but it's a psalm that presents to us and proclaims to us the greater than solomon solomon's name didn't endure forever there's only one name that endures forever there's only one name that lasts like the sun and it's the name that it's above every other name the name of jesus his name forever shall endure last like the sun it shall men shall be blessed in him and blessed all nations shall him call now blessed be the lord our god the god of israel for he alone doth wondrous works and glory that excel and blessed be his glorious name to all eternity the whole earth let his glory fill amen so let it be we'll sing these verses in conclusion and just a reminder to you there's tea after the service so please do stay behind if you can now psalm 72 from verse 17 to the end to god's praise is near forever shall endure above above see our come in
[54:19] Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel.
[54:35] For He alone, the wondrous works in glory, Thou didst stand.
[54:55] And blessed be His glorious name, to all eternity.
[55:13] The whole that let His glory fill, Amen.
[55:28] So let it be. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.
[55:44] Amen.