We wait for Thee, O Son of God,
And long for Thine appearing;
"A little while," Thou’lt come, O Lord,
Thy waiting people cheering.
Thus hast Thou said:we lift the head
In joyful expectation,
For Thou wilt bring salvation.

(By P.F. Hiller in Hymns of Grace and Truth.)

Jesus, I rest in Thee,
In Thee myself I hide!
Laden with guilt and misery,
Where can I rest beside?
‘Tis on Thy meek and lowly breast
My weary soul alone can rest.

The slave of sin and fear,
Thy truth my bondage broke;
My willing spirit loves to bear
Thy light and easy yoke;
The love that fills my grateful breast
Makes duty joy, and labor rest.

(By James G. Deck in Hymns of Grace and Truth.)

When, His salvation bringing,
To Zion Jesus came,
The children all stood singing
Hosanna to His name.
Nor did their zeal offend Him,
But, as He rode along,
He bade them still attend Him,
And loved to hear their song.

Now should we fail proclaiming
Our great Redeemer’s praise,
The stones, our silence shaming,
Would their hosannas raise.
But shall we only render
The tribute of our words?
No, but with hearts made tender,
Our all shall be the Lord’s.

(By J. King in Hymns of Grace and Truth.)

"And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us,
when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?
And Jesus answered and said unto them,… Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord
doth come…. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man
cometh" (Matt. 24:3,4,42,44).

Saviour, come, Thy saints are waiting,
Waiting for the nuptial day,
Thence their promised glory dating;
Come, and bear Thy saints away.
Come Lord Jesus,
Thus Thy waiting people pray.

Lord, we wait for Thine appearing;
"Tarry not," Thy people say;

Bright the prospect is, and cheering,
Of beholding Thee that day,
When our sorrow
Shall forever pass away.

Till it comes, O keep us steady,
Keep us walking in Thy ways;
At Thy call may we be ready,
On Thee, Lord, with joy to gaze,
And in glory
Sing Thine everlasting praise.

(By Thomas Kelly (1769-1855) in Hymns for the Little Flock.)

"Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the
garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9).

Here we begin to trace the actions of divine grace with a sinner. At the same time, God’s righteous
judgment is not set aside, but maintained fully. Herein is seen the harmony of the divine attributes,
the moral unity of God. There is no conflict in His nature. Justice and mercy, holiness and love,
are not at war in Him. When He acts, all of His attributes act in harmony.

Notice that God questions the man and questions the woman; the serpent He does not question,
but proceeds instead immediately to judgment. Plainly there is something significant in this. It
cannot be thought that the One who is omniscient needed to know the things that He inquired
about; therefore, if not for His own sake, it must have been for man’s sake He asked these
questions. It was, in fact, the appeal to man for confidence in One who on His part had done
nothing to forfeit it. This was God’s gracious effort to bring Adam to own, in the presence of his
Creator, his present condition and the sin which had brought him into it.

It is in this same way that we find entrance into the enjoyed favor of a Saviour-God:"We have
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand," the "goodness of God [leading] to repentance"
(Rom. 5:2; 2:4). Confidence in that goodness enables us to take true ground before God, and
enables Him thus, according to the principles of holy government, to show us His mercy. Not on
the basis of self-righteous efforts to excuse ourselves, nor in self-sufficient promises for the future,
but "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8).

To this confession do these questionings of God call these first sinners of the human race. Because
there is mercy for them, they are invited to cast themselves upon it. Because there is none for the
serpent, there is in his case no question.

Let us notice also the different character of these questions, as well as the order of them. Each of
these has its beauty and significance.

The first question ("Where are you?") is an appeal to Adam to consider his condition_the effect
of his sin rather than his sin itself. The second and third questions ("Who told you?" and "Have
you eaten?") refer directly to the sin. This double appeal we shall find everywhere in Scripture.
If man thirsts, he is bidden to come and drink of the living water. If he is laboring and heavy
laden, he is invited to find rest for his soul. This style of address clearly takes the ground of the
first question. It is the heart not at rest here rather than the conscience roused. However, when a
sense of guilt presses on the soul, Christ is right there with reassuring words:"The Son of Man
is come to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10).

These are, as it were, God’s two arms thrown around sinful men. Thus would He seek to draw
them to Himself_appealing first to their self-interest when they are as yet incapable of any higher
motive. How precious is this witness to a love that is the very character of God (1 John 4:8,16).

How slow we are to credit Him when He speaks of "his great love wherewith He loved us, even
when we were dead in sins" (Eph. 2:4,5)! How little we believe it, even when we have before our
eyes God "in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"
(2 Cor. 5:19)! The awful cross, wherein man’s sin finds alone its perfect evidence and
measurement, manifests the overflowing grace of God. But sadly, even in view of that cross,
sinful man justifies himself rather than God, and refuses the most plain and simple testimony to
sovereign goodness, which he has lost even the bare ability to conceive.

In how many ways is God beseeching man to consider his own condition at least, if nothing else!
In how many tongues is this "Adam, where are you?" repeated to the present day!

Adam does not initially respond to the LORD‘s questions and appeals. His confession of sin is
rather an accusation against God:"The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of
the tree, and I did eat." In patient majesty, God turns to the woman. She, more simply, but still
excusing herself, pleads she was deceived:"The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Then,
without any further question, He proceeds to judgment.

Enfolded in that judgment of the tempted ones lies mercy, and in the pronouncement of a curse
upon the old creation, there appears hints of the beginning of a new creation. "I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and
you shall bruise His heel." This last expression received its plainest fulfillment on the cross. There
Satan manifested himself prince of this world, able (so to speak) by his power over men to cast
Christ out of it and put the Prince of Life to death. But that victory was his eternal overthrow:
"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out; and I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" (John 12:31,32).

This is deliverance for Satan’s captives. However, it is not the restoration of the old creation nor
of the first man. The seed of the woman is emphatically the "Second Man," another and a "last
Adam," new Head of a new race, who find in Him their title as "sons of God," as "born, not of
blood [that is, naturally], nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John
1:12,13).

The judgment of the woman and the man now follow, but they have listened already to the voice
of mercy_a mercy that can turn to blessing the hardship and sorrow, henceforth the discipline of
life, and even the irrevocable doom of death itself. Adam was an attentive listener, as we may
gather from his own next words which are an intimation of the faith that has sprung up in his soul:
"And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living." The "woman
whom Thou gavest to be with me" is once again "his wife," and he names her through whom death
had come in as the mother, not of the dying, but the living.

Thus does Adam’s faith lay hold on God_the faith of a poor sinner surely, to whom divine mercy
has come down without a thing in him to draw it out, save only the misery that spoke to the heart
of infinite love. While he bows in submissive silence to the sentence of God’s judgment, the grace
enclosed in the sentence opens his lips again. Beautifully are we permitted to see this in Adam,
a faith which placed him before God for justification. This helps us to appreciate the significant

action that follows:"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and
clothed them." Thus the shame of their nakedness is removed, and by God Himself, so that they
are fit for His presence.

The covering provided by God must be seen as fully satisfying to God. Death provided this
covering. These coats of skin owned the penalty as having come in, and those clothed with them
found shelter for themselves in the death of another, and that the one upon whom it had come
sinlessly through their own sin. How full of instruction this is as to how even today man’s spiritual
nakedness is covered and he is made fit for the presence of a righteous God! These skins were the
witness of how God had maintained the righteous sentence of death, while removing that which
was now his shame, and meeting the consequences of his sin. Our covering is far more, but it is
such a witness also. Our righteousness is still the witness of God’s righteousness_the once dead,
now living One, "who of God is made unto us … righteousness," and in whom also we are "made
the righteousness of God" (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21).

The antitype in every way transcends the type; yet very sweet and significant is the first testimony
of God to the Son. It is a double testimony, first to the seed of the woman, the Saviour, and
second, a testimony to that work of atonement whereby the righteousness of God is revealed in
good news to man.

Not till the hand of God has so interfered for them are Adam and his wife sent forth out of the
garden. If earth’s paradise has closed for them, heaven has already opened. The tree of life, denied
only as continuing the old creation, stretches forth for them its branches, loaded with its various
fruit, "in the midst of the paradise [no longer of men, but] of God" (Gen. 3:24; Rev. 2:7; 22:2).

(From Genesis in the Light of the New Testament.)

Sarah wanted a son. A woman was considered not to have fulfilled her purpose in life if she had
not borne her husband a son. Sarah’s biological clock had stopped, so she asked Abraham to take
her slave woman, Hagar, as his concubine. Hagar was Sarah’s property and Hagar’s children
would be considered Sarah’s as well. There was trouble in the household as soon as Abraham
complied with Sarah’s request (Gen. 16:1-6). Finally, Sarah had Abraham dismiss Hagar and
Ishmael from the household (Gen. 21:9-11). While this may have provided temporary peace,
anyone who pays attention to the news media knows that Sarah’s suggestion is still having
repercussions and her descendants and Hagar’s are still engaging in sibling rivalry.

Sarah made a bad decision and tried to fix it by ejecting Hagar and Ishmael from her life, but her
decision is still causing trouble thousands of years later. Some of God’s people have made bad
decisions which have resulted in domestic strife. Perhaps a Christian has married an unbeliever.
Later the Christian may want to draw closer to the Lord and is dismayed to find that his or her
spouse has no such interest and, indeed, seems determined to behave like the unregenerate person
he or she was all along.

Perhaps the Christian secretly hopes the non-Christian spouse will seek a divorce and then
(according to some interpretations of 1 Cor. 7:15) he/she will be free to remarry or at least will
be left in peace and will not have to deal with the non-Christian on a daily and intimate basis. But
will divorce solve the problem? No, by the very nature of God’s design of marriage, the two
divorced persons will always be a part of each other. If there are children, both of their biological
parents will always be a part of and an influence on them mentally and physically. Even secular
writers are beginning to admit that divorce adversely affects children, often for years afterward.
If the non-Christian was behaving badly before the divorce, he or she probably will behave worse
afterwards. One of my co-workers divorced his first wife at least ten years ago and has since
remarried; but he and his first wife (who has also remarried) still periodically battle in the courts
over issues relating to the care of their daughter, now 15. The daughter can hardly find this a
pleasant situation. Sarah’s eviction of Hagar did not provide long-term peace, and divorce will not
provide peace for a Christian spouse.

Is there any hope? Suppose for some reason a believer married an unbeliever or both were
unbelievers at the time of the marriage and now one is a believer. How should the believing spouse
deal with the tensions this unequal yoke will cause in the marriage? The Apostle Peter used a
different aspect of Sarah’s behavior as a good example for women in such marriages.

"Likewise, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the Word, they also
may with the word be won by the conversation [or behavior] of the wives, while they behold your
chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of
plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man
of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which
is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also,
who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:even as
Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; whose daughters you are, as long as you do well, and

are not afraid with any amazement" (1 Pet. 3:1-6). In verse 1, the first "the Word," since it has
the definite article in the Greek, is referring to a specific Word_the Scriptures. The second "the
word" does not have a definite article and could perhaps be translated "a word" or "any word."
No one is brought to Christ totally apart from the Word (1 Pet. 1:23), but unbelieving husbands
can certainly be brought to Christ without preaching, exhorting, or verbal persuasion from their
wives. Peter is saying that if you have an unsaved spouse it is more important to live the gospel
than to tell the gospel.

Although this passage is addressed to women (Christian wives with unsaved husbands seem to
outnumber Christian men with unsaved wives), similar principles would apply to men. What a
testimony to an unsaved wife would be the totally Christ-like, self-sacrificing love of her Christian
husband (Eph. 5:25-29). Perhaps the verse, "And be not bitter against them" (Col. 3:19), might
have special meaning for Christian men married to unsaved wives. At any rate, living out the
gospel daily is far more effective in winning loved ones to Christ than daily preaching or verbal
confrontations. Practical Christian living will also help to bring peace to your home. "When a
man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. 16:7).
Some of Sarah’s behavior we should emulate; some we should not. Let us ask God for help in
winning our loved ones to Christ and bringing real peace to our homes.

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth
to meet the Bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. Those who were foolish
took their lamps and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry
made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him" (Matt. 25:1-6).

How long, O Lord our Saviour,
Wilt Thou remain away?
Our hearts are growing weary
At Thy so long delay;
O when shall come the moment,
When, brighter far than morn,
The sunshine of Thy glory
Shall on Thy people dawn?

How long, O gracious Master,
Wilt Thou Thy household leave?
So long Thou now hast tarried,
Few Thy return believe:
Immersed in sloth and folly,
Thy servants, Lord, we see;
And few of us stand ready
With joy to welcome Thee.

How long, O heavenly Bridegroom!
How long wilt Thou delay?
And yet how few are grieving
That Thou dost absent stay:
Thy very bride her portion
And calling hath forgot,
And seeks for ease and glory
Where Thou, her Lord, art not.

Oh, wake the slumbering virgins,
To heed the solemn cry;
Let all Thy saints repeat it_
"The Bridegroom draweth nigh!"
May all our lamps be burning,
Our loins well girded be;
Each longing heart preparing
With joy Thy face to see.

(In Hymns and Sacred Poems by James G. Deck (1802-1884); also condensed in Hymns of Grace
and Truth.)

While being driven through Kenya in East Africa a few years ago, my wife and I saw a large field
of red flowering plants. Our driver told us it was pyrethrum (related to the chrysanthemum). We
immediately recognized the name as the major ingredient of an insect repellant we were using to
protect against mosquitoes that carried the malaria organism.

It was of great interest to find that in a country devastated by malaria, a plant was being grown
for use in reducing the population of mosquitoes that transmit the malaria organism from one
individual to another. Malaria is one of the many aspects of the curse that God has brought upon
mankind because of Adam and Eve’s sin. But right in the middle of the area most affected by
malaria, God has also provided an antidote, a natural means of controlling the disease.

Upon further thought, we realized that the world is full of examples of God’s provision of
antidotes for the curse brought about by sin. Acetylsalicylic acid (or aspirin), found in the bark
of the willow tree, is a pain reliever and protects against heart attack and stroke. Digitalis, found
in the foxglove plant, is used to treat certain kinds of heart disease. Quinine, obtained from the
bark of the cinchona tree, was used early on as a treatment of malaria.

God cursed the ground so that it would produce thorns and thistles and cause man to labor long
and hard, "in the sweat of [his] face," in order to put food on his table. But at the same time, God
has given man the wisdom and knowledge to develop machinery and technology that reduces the
time and labor involved in plowing fields and planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops.

God pronounced upon women, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in
sorrow you shall bring forth children." But at the same time, God has helped man to develop (1)
anesthetics and methods of relaxation (such as the Lamaze method) to reduce the pain of
childbirth, and (2) medications, devices, and timing methods to help reduce the frequency of
conception that was greatly multiplied as part of the curse for sin.

Whenever we think about these many antidotes that God has provided to overcome sin’s curse
upon the world, we are reminded of the most important and wonderful antidote of all. This, of
course, is God’s remedy for the sin, death, and eternal judgment that have come upon all mankind
because of Adam and Eve’s sin (Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor. 15:21,22). He has sent His only Son into
the world which He (the Son) created (John 1:3; Col. 1:16) to become a Man. As perfect, sinless
Man, He has taken our sin and guilt upon Himself and suffered God’s righteous judgment on our
behalf. Thus, the sinner who puts his/her trust in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ is
delivered from sin (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5), from death (John 3:16; 5:24; 2 Cor. 1:10), and from
eternal judgment (Rom. 5:16,18; 8:1; 1 John 4:17).

Such thoughts surely cause our hearts to overflow in worship and praise to God for the riches and
glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6,7).

" O the glory of the grace
Shining in the Saviour’s face!"

Let us conclude with a practical application of the thoughts that have been presented here. Let us
not be like Cain who glibly "went out … and … builded a city" after having a curse placed upon
him by the LORD (Gen. 4:11,16,17; see the article by J.G. Bellett in this issue). We may often
avail ourselves of God’s antidotes for sin’s curse (as is His desire, I believe). Let us do so with
thankful hearts and with the desire to use the benefits derived therefrom to bring glory and honor
to God, rather than ease, comfort, and pleasure to ourselves. Let us use labor-saving and sweat-
reducing machinery, computers, and other devices only to have more time and energy available
to serve the Lord. Let us use contraceptives only as definitely led of the Lord in order to be better
able to devote our time and energies to bringing up the children He has already given us, or to
serve Himself in other ways.

" To God be the glory,
Great things He has done!"

Abraham

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for
an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went…. By faith Abraham, when
he was tried, offered up Isaac:and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten
son" (Heb. 11:8,17).

Abraham’s faith was tested by God in many different ways. Some of the tests he passed, some he
failed. In this article we shall focus on only the two tests mentioned in the verses just quoted.

These two tests represent the very first and the very last tests given by God to Abraham recorded
in the Scriptures. They are separated in time by about 50 years. Yet they have some features in
common. In both, Abraham was tested with respect to his willingness to be separated from persons
near and dear to him. In the first case, it was all of the relatives he grew up with in Ur of the
Chaldees. In the second case, it was his only begotten son. In the first case, it was separation by
leaving his relatives behind. In the second case, it was separation by slaying his son.

In the first case, Abraham was faithful in leaving his homeland, but he got stalled at Haran on the
way. Abraham’s father Terah had come with him, and apparently it was Terah’s desire to stay at
Haran, short of God’s goal for Abraham. For a few years, Abraham acquiesced to his father’s will
rather than to God’s commandment. But when Terah died, Abraham completed his journey to
Canaan, the land God had marked out for him (Acts 7:2-4).

The second test was much more severe for Abraham. It would have been difficult enough to get
up and leave his son Isaac behind, as he had earlier left his older relatives behind. But this time
he was asked to kill Isaac_to sever all ties with him, to give up all possibilities of seeing his
beloved son again. This time there was no stalling. Abraham did exactly what he was told to do,
until the angel of the LORD stopped him short of plunging his knife into Isaac. By this we can see
how much stronger Abraham’s faith was at the last than at the first.

Abraham, in the New Testament, is referred to as "the friend of God" (Jas. 2:23). By faith, he was
willing to be separated from earthly friends and relatives, counting it far more important and
satisfying to be the friend of God. Christians today may be called upon by God to separate
themselves from earthly friends and relatives. God may call some to go to far off countries to
serve as missionaries. Some may have to separate themselves from those near and dear to them
because of unjudged wickedness in the assembly (1 Cor. 5:13; 2 Tim. 2:20,21). Some may be
called upon the Lord to reprove a close friend or relative concerning a sinful behavior (Matt.
18:15; Gal. 6:1), at the risk of losing that person as a friend. Situations such as these may be great
trials for us. We may naturally shrink from doing anything that would cause us to be separated
from our friends and loved ones. But if the honey (Lev. 2:11) of natural affection is very strong
in a Christian, God may test that person to see if he or she will put human relationships ahead of
the relationship with God.

The lesson of faith here is this: Faith is willing to be separated from one’s earthly friends and
relatives in order to be a friend of God.

In Abraham’s second test, there was much more at stake than simply being separated from his
beloved son, Isaac. Decades earlier, God had made a promise to Abraham:"Look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall your seed
be. And he believed in the LORD, and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:5,6).
More specifically, the vast number of descendants promised to Abraham were to come through
Isaac (Gen. 17:19).

Did God know what He was doing when He asked Abraham to kill the very one who was to
provide him with a large number of descendants? Of course He did! And Abraham had gotten to
know God well enough that he had not the slightest question about what God was doing. In fact,
Abraham had gained such confidence in God that he assumed that God was going to raise Isaac
up from the dead (Heb. 11:19).

How could Abraham assume such a thing when he had never witnessed resurrection before? God
previously had introduced Abraham to the concept of resurrection when he brought life (Isaac) out
of "the deadness of Sarah’s womb" (Rom. 4:19) at the age of 90. By faith, Abraham was able to
take the lesson he had learned about the power of God in one situation and apply it to quite a new
and different situation.

Often, when God leads one of His children into a new area of service for Him, He will test that
person to see if he/she is truly trusting God totally in that service. Moses encountered frequent
opposition by the people whom God wanted him to lead. Joshua was deceived by the Gibeonites
while leading the armies of Israel against the Canaanites. The prophet of Judah was deceived by
the old prophet of Bethel while on a mission for the LORD. Both Old Testament prophets and New
Testament apostles were beaten, imprisoned, and murdered by those who opposed their testimony
for the Lord. So Abraham was tested_most severely_to see if he really still believed that God
would provide descendants for him through Isaac.

Therefore, let us not despair if we sense that God has guided us in a certain direction and
then_boom!_trouble comes in. He is only testing our faith to see if we are continuing to trust
Him totally.

Abraham thus provides us with another lesson of faith: Faith persists in depending upon the
Lord even when trials and opposition seem to be hindering God’s plans and purposes.

Sarah

"Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child
when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised" (Heb. 11:11).

The account in Genesis suggests that there was anything but faith in Sarah in this regard. "And
[the angels] said unto [Abraham] … Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the

tent door which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and
it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself,
saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said
unto Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh?… Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was
afraid" (Gen. 18:9-15).

Sarah sinned twice in this account. First, she laughed in unbelief at the words of the angelic
visitors. Then she denied that she had laughed. Where do we find faith in this?

While Sarah’s faith clearly was weak, at least at the outset, God saw in Sarah what man perhaps
failed to see, and her faith has been recorded for all to know.

We may despair of failing God so often, and having so little faith. But let us learn from Sarah this
lesson of faith: Even the weakest, tiniest bit of faith in a child of God is recognized and
appreciated by the Lord.

O Jesus, Lord, my Life, my All,
Hast Thou now set Thy love on me?
Then chain this heart, Thy captive thrall,
To beat forevermore for Thee!

"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at meat, there came a woman
having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she broke the box and poured
it on His head…. And Jesus said, Let her alone;… She hath done what she could:she is come
aforehand to anoint My body to the burying" (Mark 14:3,6,8).

I lift my heart to Thee, Saviour divine!
For Thou art all to me, and I am Thine.
Is there on earth a closer bond than this,
That "my Beloved’s mine, and I am His!"

To Thee, once bleeding Lamb, I all things owe,
All that I have, and am, and all I know!
All that I have is now no longer mine,
And I am not mine own:Lord, I am Thine!

How can I, Lord, withhold life’s brightest hour
From Thee, or gathered gold, or any power?
Why should I keep one precious thing from Thee,
When Thou hast given Thyself, Thy life for me?

I pray Thee, Saviour, keep me in Thy love,
Till Thou shalt come, or sleep shall me remove
To that fair realm where sin and sorrow o’er,
Thou and Thine own are one for evermore!

(By C. E. Mudie in Hymns of Grace and Truth.)

Introduction:What Is Faith?

The story is told of young Bobby who was asked by his mother, "What did you learn in Sunday
school today?"

"We learned about faith."

"And what is faith?" continued his mother.

"Faith is believing things that are not true," replied Bobby.

Well, either Bobby did not learn his lesson very well or his teacher did not make it very clear. But
Bobby’s faulty definition of faith isn’t very different from that found in my Webster’s New World
Dictionary:"Faith implies complete, unquestioning acceptance of something even in the absence
of proof and, especially, of something not supported by reason."

The concept of faith in the Bible is far different from this. "Faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence [or the being convinced by evidences] of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). None of
us has ever seen George Washington, either in person, or on a video, or in a photograph. Yet is
there any who has the slightest doubt as to his existence in history. Thus, while never having seen
Mr. Washington, we have faith_based on a multitude of evidences_that he really lived and really
was the first president of the United States.

Just so, none of us has actually seen God, or Jesus Christ, or the Apostle Paul. No man was
watching when "God created the heavens and the earth." There is no one living today who
observed the Lord Jesus Christ hanging on a cross or the Apostle Paul writing the Epistle to the
Ephesians. But by faith supported by a multitude of evidences, both in the Bible and from sources
outside the Bible, we believe that all these persons really exist and all these events really
happened.

Hebrews 11 presents what we might label the "Hall of Fame of the Faithful Ones." Here we read
of men and women who manifested faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel. Even though they never
actually saw their God, their history is full of convincing evidences of His existence and His divine
intervention in the affairs of mankind. In this series we shall look for lessons that can be learned
from these men and women of faith.

Abel

"By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" (Heb. 11:4). The offerings
of Abel and Cain are described in Gen. 4:2,3:"Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering
unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock."

We all know the lesson well. Cain brought that which was produced by hard labor from the

ground that had been cursed by God (Gen. 3:17-19). Abel, on the other hand, brought that which
entailed the shedding of blood. No doubt both of them had learned from their parents how God
had made provision for their nakedness that resulted from disobedience. God’s provision of "coats
of skins" (3:21), requiring first the shedding of blood, replaced Adam and Eve’s aprons of fig
leaves (3:7). Cain brought that which in a sense magnified his own human efforts, while his
brother brought that which prefigured the immense work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross on
behalf of all mankind.

So the first lesson we find here is this: Faith gives to God that which reminds Him of the
sacrifice of His Son.

There is more to be learned from the history of Cain and Abel. Some might object that Cain was
treated unfairly. After all, "Cain was a tiller of the ground" while "Abel was a keeper of sheep."
Thus, each of them offered to God what was close at hand and associated with their daily
occupation.

Let us look more closely at the account given in Scripture. What did Cain bring? Did he dig up
entire plants or bushes or trees to offer to the LORD? No, he only brought the produce from those
plants, bushes, or trees. What did Abel bring? Did he bring just the produce from his flock, such
as milk, cheese, and wool? No, he brought entire animals_the very source of the produce. So in
this regard as well, Abel’s offering was more excellent than that of Cain’s. Furthermore, while
Cain’s offering is described simply as "the fruit of the ground," Abel’s consisted of "the firstlings
of his flock and … the fat [or fattest] thereof.

This is where Abel’s faith really shined. He didn’t wait to see how many new lambs would be born
in his flock. Nor did he select for his offering those lambs which were runts or physically
defective. Rather he brought to the LORD the first and the best of his flock, having faith that the
LORD would make it up to him. In other words, Faith does not give God the leftovers, but
rather gives to God the first and the best.

Let us apply these lessons to ourselves. First, let us consider our daily devotions, meditations, and
prayers. Do we focus primarily on filling our head with facts about Bible history and doctrine?
Do we think and pray mostly about the different things we want God to do for us? Or are our
devotions and prayers largely centered about the One who has already "loved us and has given
Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph. 5:2)?

Second, let us examine ourselves as to whether we only give to God the "leftovers." Do we fill
each day with many projects and then say, "If I have any energy left at the end of the day, I will
devote it to Christ"? Do we make up a big long list of things we want to buy and then say, "If
there is any money left after satisfying my wants, I will give it to the Lord"?

In summary, two lessons of faith that we learn from Abel are these:

Faith gives to God that which reminds Him of the sacrifice of His Son.

Faith does not give God the leftovers, but rather gives to God the first and the best of our
time and our possessions.

With one exception, all of the epistles of the Apostle Paul begin with a salutation, and every
greeting begins with his name. The exception is the Epistle to the Hebrews. It begins with the
name "God."

Due to the absence of Paul’s name in the Epistle to the Hebrews (and with practically no other
evidence), its Pauline authorship has been questioned from time to time.

The only conclusive certainty on the subject is quickly settled:the Author is the Holy Spirit (2 Pet.
1:21). As to the other arguments, if Paul is indeed the human instrument, as is most probable, due
credit should be given him as the Epistle fits into a spiritual pattern of that which Paul calls "my
doctrine" (2 Tim. 3:10). H. A. Ironside suggested a trilogy based on Hab. 2:4:"The just (Rom.
1:17) shall live (Gal. 3:11) by faith (Heb. 10:38).

Questions of Pauline authorship (but not of the Epistle’s canonicity) did not arise until the close
of the 2nd century. Clement of Alexandria "supposed" Luke to have been either its author or its
translator from an unknown Jewish source. Tertullian "supposed" the Epistle to be the work of
Barnabas, but the clearly apocryphal Epistle of Barnabas bears no relationship whatever to the
Epistle to the Hebrews. Martin Luther "supposed" it to be by Apollos, but that eloquent disciple’s
own "home church" of Alexandria (Acts 18:24) always attributed Hebrews to Paul. Other
"supposed" authors are Aquila, Silas, Philip the Deacon, Clement of Rome, Philo of Alexandria,
and Priscilla.

The Epistle’s theme is the superiority of Christ:greater than angels, greater than Moses, greater
than Aaron and all other high priests. Its object, said Dr. Barnhouse, is to "stop the Hebrews from
being Hebrews." Paul, in order to exalt Christ alone, and realizing that his apostleship would have
no weight in convincing his Jewish (Hebrew) audience of whom the Nazarenes and Ebionites
rejected him and his writings, he omits his name, omits his usual salutation ("Paul, an apostle"),
and goes right to his subject:God the Son is speaking now. To the Jew, Paul became a Jew (1 Cor.
9:20), hiding his personal identity. He brings the recognized authority of the Old Testament:
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son" (or "God the Son now speaks") (Heb.
1:1,2).

Note that Paul wrote that God has spoken "to us," not "to you." This eliminates the possibility of
Gentile authorship, as Paul was a Hebrew (Phil. 3:5). However, he was not the "apostle to the
circumcision" (Hebrews) as was Peter (Gal. 2:7). Peter wrote two epistles to Hebrews who were
"strangers scattered throughout" many lands (1 Pet. 1:1; 2 Pet. 3:1). Peter referred to "our
beloved brother Paul" having "written unto you" (scattered Hebrews) (2 Pet. 3:15). What other
epistle than Paul’s to the Hebrews could Peter be referring to? What other epistle is so well
described as "in which are some things hard to be understood" (2 Pet. 3:16)? Whose epistles, other
than Paul’s, close with "Grace be with you" (see 2 Thess. 3:17,18)? Who but Paul refers to "our
brother Timothy" (2 Cor. 1:1; Philem. 1; Heb. 13:23)? Where was Paul on the date ascribed to
the Epistle to the Hebrews, if not in Italy (Heb. 13:24)?

The Apostle Paul’s doctrine is particularly focused on the dispensational counsels of God; John’s,
on the manifestation and communication of eternal life; Peter’s, on the pilgrim path of the
believer. The Epistle to the Hebrews clearly reflects Paul’s characteristic doctrines in overall
distinction and detail.

"And He took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body
which is given for you:this do in remembrance of Me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying,
This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19,20).

"This do_remember Me!"
O blessed, living Lord,
What depths of grace we now can trace
In that most precious word!
When darker grew Thy path,
When o’er Thee loomed the cross,
With nought down here Thy heart to cheer,
Thou didst remember us!

"This do_remember Me!"
The sword about to wake,
Thy sweat as blood upon Thee stood
When Thou the cup didst take!
There on the altar bound
Wast Thou that night of woe,
When man’s dark hour and Satan’s power
Their deepest gloom did throw!

"This do_remember Me!"
O deep desire of love,
As round Thy soul those waves did roll_
The wrath of God above!
Made sin upon the tree,
What blackness veiled the sky!
What torrents, dread, bowed low Thy head
As Thou for us didst die!

"This do_remember Me!"
O what a savor sweet,
For God above_for man what love_
In all Thy work complete!
Now gathered round Thyself,
With heart and conscience free,
O Lord, once dead, our living Head,
We do remember Thee!

(By George W. Fraser (1830-1896) in Hymns of Grace and Truth.)

"The LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not
respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why
are you wroth? and why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and
if you do not well, sin lies at the door" (Gen. 4:4-7).

At least three sins committed by Cain are recorded in the first few verses of Genesis 4. The LORD
responded to each one. The first sin has to do with the offering Cain brought_the fruit of that
which was under a curse. It may not seem all that serious. But Cain surely had learned from his
parents what the LORD desired in an offering. Whether he was stubbornly rebellious or forgetfully
insensitive to God’s will, Cain missed the mark (which is the literal meaning of the word for "sin"
in both the Old and New Testaments). The LORD responded by not having respect "unto Cain and
to his offering," whereas He "had respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Gen. 4:4,5). We are not
told what the LORD did to show His respect and lack thereof to the two offerings. Perhaps He sent
fire down to consume Abel’s, but not Cain’s offering (see 1 Ki. 18:38; 2 Chron. 7:1).

Cain’s second sin was in becoming angry when the LORD did not accept his offering. This time
the LORD appealed to Cain to think about why he was angry. He told Cain that there was still
opportunity for him to turn around, do the right thing, and be accepted by the LORD. However,
if Cain would not turn around, if he were to continue in his angry, rebellious spirit, then notice
was given to him that "sin lies [or crouches] at the door." In other words, Cain would be opening
himself up to the potential for even greater sin. Sin is presented here in the figure of a crouching
wild beast, ready to pounce on its victim (see 1 Pet. 5:8 for a similar picture).

Cain did not heed the LORD‘s warning, did not control his anger, and allowed sin to pounce on
him and consume him. "Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him" (4:8). Once again,
the LORD spoke to Cain:"What have you done? the voice of your brother’s blood cries unto Me
from the ground. And now you are cursed" (4:10,11).

(It might be noted here that at least one Bible scholar translates verse 7 as "a sin-offering lies at
the door. The Hebrew word here is commonly translated both "sin" (as in Gen. 18:20; 50:17; and
many other places) and "sin offering" (as in Lev. 4:3,8 and many other places). The context must
be used to decide which translation is appropriate. While it is wonderfully true that God has made
full provision for man’s sin, it does not seem fitting to use "sin offering" in the particular context
of Gen. 4:7. Using that would essentially be saying, "If you do not bring your anger under control
and continue sinning, don’t worry:there is still a sin offering available for you." Such language
takes away the gravity and seriousness of sin and does not seem to fit with the rest of Scripture.)

There is an extremely important point to be made from this passage (a point that is entirely missed
if we use the translation "sin offering" in verse 7). We all sin, we all fail, we all make
mistakes_often, and in a great variety of ways. The major problems that have occurred
throughout the history of the world are not, I suggest, a result of man’s basic propensity to sin per
se. Rather, they are a result of man’s pride and ego not allowing him to receive reproof and
correction and to confess and acknowledge his sins and failures. Cain’s original failure_bringing

a faulty offering_could easily have been remedied, and all would have been fine. Even his second
sin_anger toward the LORD_could have been repented of and he would have been accepted. But
Cain passed up these opportunities to make things right, and added to his fame as mankind’s
firstborn son the infamy of being the world’s first murderer. A curse was pronounced upon Cain
and perhaps the ultimate result of that curse is that every single descendant of Cain died in the
great flood in Noah’s day.

In Matt. 18:15-17 the Lord gives us instruction for dealing with fellow believers who sin against
us. "Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone:if he shall hear you, you have gained
your brother." If every sinful act were dealt with in this way, and if the sinner were always to
respond in the right way_hearing his brother_what a different world we would be living in
today! Think what this would do to the rate of marital separations and divorces, employee firings,
student suspensions, divisions in the body of Christ, and wars within and among nations!

That original sin or offense or trespass referred to in Matt. 18:15 might be a relatively small
matter, say a nasty or slighting word spoken to another. But if the offender stubbornly refuses to
acknowledge that there was anything wrong with what was said, the end result could be
excommunication and being treated as a heathen by the local assembly (18:17).

What is it that keeps us from "hearing" our brother? It is our pride, our ego, our self-esteem. This
"pride of life" (1 John 2:16) was the very first sin of the human race (Gen. 3:5,6), and no doubt
is the very last sin to be eradicated from the most mature Christians.

God has many ways of showing us our sins. "All Scripture … is profitable … for reproof" (2 Tim.
3:16). "The Comforter [or Holy Spirit] … will reprove the world of sin" (John 16:8). "I charge
you … reprove, rebuke, exhort" (2 Tim. 4:1,2 along with Matt. 18:15 and others). If I do not
respond to the teachings and reproofs of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, God may send a human
messenger to reprove me. (I think we all would far rather be reproved by Scripture or the Holy
Spirit than by a fellow human being!)

When reproved by another, how do we respond? The Book of Proverbs describes those who
do_and do not_respond to reproof. On the one hand, "he who regards reproof shall be honored
… is prudent" (13:18; 15:5); the ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise"
(15:31,32). On the other hand, "he who refuses reproof errs" (10:17); "he who hates reproof is
brutish … shall die" (12:1; 15:10).

Let us not despise reproof just because it may be given to us by one younger than we. Remember
how the LORD gave young Samuel a message of reproof to deliver to old Eli (1 Sam. 3:10-18).
A fellow who is serving a life sentence in the state prison once told me that his children appealed
to him to change his way of life … and he ignored them. Just a few weeks later he was arrested
for murder. The exhortation to Timothy, "Rebuke not an elder," means literally, "Do not rebuke
an elder sharply, or strike him with your words." The Apostle goes on to say, "But entreat him
as a father" (1 Tim. 5:1).

May we allow the Holy Spirit to do His needed work of showing us our pride and delivering us

from it. Thus, may we be faithful in hearing and receiving reproof before "secret faults" develop
into "presumptuous sins," and these in turn lead to "great transgression" (Psa. 19:12,13).

(Ed. note:This is the last of a series of three articles on Matt. 18:20 and the Lord’s Supper. All
three are based on lectures given at Bible Truth Hall, Nassau, Bahamas, April 1995.)

In the first article in this series (July-August 1996 issue), Byron Crosby presented the foundational
truths concerning Matt. 18:20 and its context. In the second article Paul Canner built upon that
foundation and elaborated on the meaning and practical application of each phrase of this verse.
In particular, he discussed the types of assembly meetings that seem to be implied by this verse.
In the present article, we shall consider in greater detail one of those meetings of the assembly,
namely, the Lord’s Supper.

I was asked by the brethren at Bible Truth Hall if I would speak on the Lord’s Supper. I was
thankful for the privilege to do this. As I reviewed this precious subject, so dear to the Lord’s
heart, my own heart was stirred afresh by some of the verses that I studied. My prayer is that the
Lord might stir our hearts also as we look tonight at some of the scriptures that call our attention
to that wonderful privilege that we have each week of remembering the Lord in His death.
Although the Lord’s Supper is also called the breaking of bread meeting, the remembrance feast,
or communion, we will refer to it in the following seven questions as the Lord’s Supper.

1. What is the Lord’s Supper?

2. How important is the Lord’s Supper?

3. When did the Lord institute His Supper?

4. What should our attitude be at the Lord’s Supper?

5. Who is there when we gather together for the Lord’s Supper?

6. What is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper?

7. How often should we keep the Lord’s Supper?

1. What Is the Lord’s Supper?

At the institution of the Lord’s Supper we read these words:"And He took bread, and gave
thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you:this
do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new
testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19).

Although the Apostle Paul was not present at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, he wrote:"For
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same
night in which He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and

said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you:this do in remembrance of Me. After
the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new
testament in My blood:this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me" (1 Cor. 11:23-
26).

What then is the Lord’s Supper? It is a remembrance meeting. We are remembering One who
accomplished something for us in the past. I have a picture on my wall at home. It is a picture of
my mother. As I look at that picture, I remember her and all that she did for me. (It makes me
wish that I could have her back for a while to thank her for all the things that she did for me.) The
Lord has not given us a visual picture of Himself to help us remember Him, but He has given us
that which symbolizes how much He loved us. The Lord has given us the bread and the cup to
remind us of His death for us. The bread reminds us of His body given for us and the cup reminds
us of the blood that He shed on Calvary to redeem us. Both together remind us of all the suffering
and agony that He passed through for us when He bore our sins in His own body on the cross. It
is the desire of the Lord Jesus that we not forget what He did for us, but that everyone redeemed
by His precious blood should remember Him. Remembering Him in His death will cause us to
praise and worship Him more and more.

2. How Important Is the Lord’s Supper?

The importance of the Lord’s Supper is seen in the way that the Holy Spirit leads the Apostle Paul
to speak of it. Although Paul was not present at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, he received
a direct revelation from the Lord for the Church regarding His Supper:" I have received of the
Lord that which also I delivered unto you" (1 Cor. 11:23). This statement shows us the
importance of the Lord’s Supper.

The Lord told the Samaritan woman that the Father seeks worshipers to worship Him "in spirit
and in truth" (John 4:23,24). He is still seeking worshipers. The Lord is not looking so much for
the service of our hands as He is looking for the worship of our hearts. The praise and worship
that arises from our hearts as we remember Him will cause us to go out and serve Him. So as we
think of the Lord’s request, " This do in remembrance of me," let us never give the Lord’s
Supper a secondary place in our walk with the Lord. May those of us who have been remembering
the Lord for many years never let the Lord’s Supper become simply a ritual or something we do
without the heart’s affections being touched. May the Lord’s words reach our hearts so that as we
come together to remember Him in His death for us, we may hear His voice saying to us, " This
do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."

3. When Did the Lord Institute His Supper?

The Lord instituted His Supper on the very night that He was betrayed by Judas (1 Cor. 11:23).
Have you ever had a close friend who has betrayed you? Here was Judas who had walked with the
Lord Jesus for three years, who knew Him well, who had heard the words of truth that He taught.
Yet he betrayed Him! " Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who did eat of My
bread, has lifted up his heel against me" (Psa. 41:9). Yes, His own familiar friend betrayed
Him!

The Lord Jesus was troubled by that fact. Sorrow filled His heart when He thought of that coming
betrayal. Remember what the Lord said to His disciples in the upper room just before He instituted
the Supper:" One of you will betray me." Yes it was the same night in which He was betrayed
that He said, "This do in remembrance of Me." I believe that this betrayal is mentioned in
connection with the Lord’s Supper so that we might think of the sorrow that filled the heart of the
Lord Jesus at that time. The Lord keenly felt the betrayal by one of His disciples. The fact that
our Lord would ask us to remember Him on the very night in which He was betrayed should
deepen our desire to remember Him. One of our hymns says it so well:

On that same night, Lord Jesus,
When all around Thee joined
To cast its darkest shadow
Across Thy holy mind,
We hear Thy voice, blest Saviour,
"This do, remember Me":
With joyful hearts responding,
We do remember Thee.

4. What Should Be Our Attitude As We Come to the Lord’s Supper?

The very fact that we have come together to remember the Lord in His death for our sins would
cause us to come in an attitude of reverence and godly fear. When we realize that our sins caused
Him to be forsaken of His God and Father, we cannot help but come with a sense of sorrow for
all that He suffered for us. This sorrow would be mingled also with a deep sense of joy with the
realization of His love in giving Himself for us. Sad to say, this attitude was not true of some of
the believers living in Corinth. Some had been coming to the Lord’s Supper in a drunken state (1
Cor. 11:20,21). As a result they were forgetting why they had come together. Notice how the
Holy Spirit through Paul warned them of the consequences of their actions. "Wherefore,
whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily [or in an unworthy
manner] shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and
so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats
and drinks damnation [or judgment] to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body" (1 Cor. 11:29).
The judgment of the Lord had already fallen on some of the Corinthians. This judgment meant
sickness to some and physical death to others (verses 30-32).

The above verses make it very plain that when we eat of that bread and drink of that cup we are
not to do so in an unworthy manner. Remembering the Lord in His death is a solemn and holy
privilege. It is something like a funeral service. When we think of His death we would not be
whispering to someone else about things that happened during the week or thinking about other
things not pertaining to remembering the Lord in His death. A worthy manner is a quiet, reverent,
thoughtful, and thankful attitude.

How can I prepare myself for the Lord’s Supper? We have the answer in the verses already
quoted:" But let a man [this includes both brothers and sisters] examine himself, and so let

him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." We need to examine ourselves before we come
to the Lord’s Supper. Saturday evening or early Lord’s day morning I need to be quiet before the
Lord. I need to allow Him to search my heart and reveal to me sinful actions and thoughts that
have been true of me during the past day or week. There could be thoughts of jealousy, bitterness,
or pride. There might be words I have spoken or actions that I have engaged in that are sinful. I
need to judge these and confess them to the Lord before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. How can
I remember the One who died for my sins when I have unjudged sin in my life? If I do, the Holy
Spirit will be grieved, and as a result my unjudged sin will have the effect of lowering the spiritual
tone of the remembrance meeting.

This self examination is not for the purpose of deciding whether one will remember the Lord in
His death or not. No, that is not the reason for examining ourselves. The examination is for those
already in fellowship. Once one examines himself, there is no question of not partaking: So let
him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." A young brother once came to me before the
breaking of bread and said, "I don’t feel worthy to remember the Lord this morning." We may
not feel worthy and this often is because we have allowed some things to come into our lives that
have broken our communion with the Lord. The Lord knowing this wants us to examine ourselves
and then eat of that bread and drink of that cup.

I would like to quote from two hymns that we often sing at the Lord’s Supper. The two verses
quoted refer beautifully to the attitude that we should have at the Lord’s Supper:

We think of all the darkness
Which round Thy spirit pressed,
Of all those waves and billows
Which rolled across Thy breast.
Oh, there Thy grace unbounded
And perfect love we see;
With joy and sorrow mingling,
We would remember Thee.

I have joy because He died for me, but also sorrow because my sins were what caused Him so
much pain. Here is the second hymn:

O how our inmost hearts do move,
While gazing on that cross;
The death of the Incarnate Love!
What shame, what grief, what joy we prove,
That He should die for us!

5. Who Is Present When We Come Together for the Lord’s Supper?

The answer to that question is found in Matt. 18:20:"For where two or three are gathered together

in My Name, there am I in the midst of them." What a promise that is! If we are gathered unto
His Name He Himself (think of it!) is in our midst. Do we show by our actions that we believe
this? If we really believe this wouldn’t we always try to be there … and on time? Or perhaps even
a little early? How easy it is for us to be forgetful of His promise to be in our midst. We need to
remind ourselves of the precious reality of His presence in our midst. When we gather together
to observe the Lord’s Supper we are going to remember Him!

6. What Is the Purpose of the Lord’s Supper?

The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember the Lord in His death. Every time we gather to
remember the Lord, we announce His death. "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,
ye do show the Lord’s death till He come" (1 Cor. 11:26). Remembering the Lord in His death
will produce praise and worship of the Father and the Son. The Lord’s Supper has been called a
"praise meeting." Surely that is true. But it is good to be reminded that praise and worship are the
inevitable result of remembering the Lord and not, first of all, the purpose of the Lord’s Supper.
I remember hearing a brother once say, "Sometimes I just don’t feel that I will be able to praise
the Lord the way I should." Well, that is probably true of many of the Lord’s people much of the
time. We cannot produce praise and worship in or of ourselves. Suppose a brother, thinking ahead
to the remembrance meeting, says to himself, "Well I shall probably have to get up and pray or
give thanks for the bread and the cup." That is looking to one’s self for strength to produce praise.
Praise is produced by the Holy Spirit as we meditate upon the sufferings of the Lord. When we
are reminded by the scriptures or the hymns that are sung of what He did for us, the Holy Spirit
produces corresponding worship in our hearts.

There is a hymn that suggests how worship is produced:

When we see Thee as the Victim
Nailed to the accursed tree,
For our guilt and folly stricken,
All our judgment born by thee,
Lord, we own, with hearts adoring,
Thou hast washed us in Thy blood:
Glory, glory everlasting,
Be to Thee, Thou Lamb of God!

The type of hymns to be sung. Let us consider now the type of hymns that the Holy Spirit would
lead a brother to give out in the breaking of bread meeting. We have come together to remember
the Lord in His death. We have not come together to remember our blessings or the experiences
or trials of life. Hymns that focus on our trials, such as "Our Times Are in Thy Hand," or on our
blessings, such as "O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice on Thee," are not hymns that the Holy
Spirit would normally lead a brother to give out. Hymns that focus instead upon the Lord’s
sufferings and death and our praise of Him are what the Holy Spirit would normally lead one to
give out in the remembrance meeting. Now if a brother does give out a hymn that, perhaps, is not
so suitable, even then we usually can find something in the hymn that will cause us to praise and

worship Him.

Prayer and praise are not gifts. I would like to speak for a moment to some of the younger
brothers. You may perhaps think that you cannot pray as well as others and therefore you are
afraid to get up and thank the Lord. But remember, prayer and praise are not a gift. The prayer
does not have to be long. It can be a very short prayer just thanking the Lord for dying for our
sins on Calvary. Prayer and praise are just the overflow of the heart to the Lord for what He is
and for what He has done.

7. How Often Should We Keep the Lord’s Supper?

What does the Bible say? " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup." The earliest
disciples met daily for this purpose (Acts 2:46). Later they met on the first day of the week (Acts
20:7). Should it be less than once a week? The Lord has graciously opened the door in most
countries for believers to gather together on Sunday. Most believers also have this day off from
their employment. So we can thank and praise our God and Father that the way is open for most
of us to keep the Lord’s Supper once a week. If we were to remember the Lord less often than
once a week would we not be robbing Him of the praise and worship that He so much deserves?
It would become easier and easier to forget all that He has done for us.

Let us notice something about the first day of the week as it is mentioned to us in Acts 20. Paul
stopped at Troas on his way back to Jerusalem and we read:"We sailed away from Philippi after
the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven
days" (Acts 20:6). It seems that Paul wanted to be there for the remembrance meeting. " And upon
the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto
them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight" (verse 7). Does
this account not remind us that we should make every effort to be somewhere on the Lord’s day
where we can remember the Lord in His death with His own people? Even when we are traveling,
perhaps on vacation, if it is at all possible we should try to plan our trip in such a way that we can
be near an assembly on the Lord’s day. It is one way we can encourage one another and also bring
refreshment to the heart of the Lord. May the Lord Jesus give us increasingly to value the
remembrance of Himself until He comes again. The words of the following hymn suggest to us
the attitude of the believer’s heart regarding the Lord’s Supper:

According to Thy gracious Word,
In deep humility,
This will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember Thee.

"And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right
hand; and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And
they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. And after that they had mocked
Him, they took the robe off from Him, and put His own raiment on Him, and led Him away to
crucify Him" (Matt. 27:29-31).

O Head, once full of bruises,
So full of pain and scorn_
‘Mid other sore abuses,
Mocked with a crown of thorn!
O Head e’en now surrounded
With brightest majesty_
In death once bowed and wounded
On the accursed tree!

Thou Countenance transcendent!
Thou life-creating Sun;
To worlds on Thee dependent_
Yet bruised and spit upon!

O Lord, what Thee tormented
Was our sin’s heavy load;
We had the debt augmented
Which Thou didst pay in blood.

We give Thee thanks unfeigned,
O Saviour, Friend in need.
For what Thy soul sustained
When Thou for us didst bleed!
Grant us to lean unshaken
Upon Thy faithfulness,
Until, to glory taken,
We see Thee face to face.

(By Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153) in Hymns for the Little Flock and Hymns of Grace and
Truth.)

In Gen. 4:17 we are told that Cain builds a city. He has a thriving, prosperous family. Through
their skill and industry the face of the world flourishes and looks well. All is respectable, and the
people are pleasant and friendly to one another. The murder of Abel is forgotten. Man does not
hear the cry of blood, but rather the sound of the harp and the organ. His inventions have stifled
his convictions. Cain is an honorable man, but he is as thoroughly separated from the presence of
God as when his hand was freshly stained with the blood of his brother. The ease and indifference
with which Cain could turn his back upon the LORD, and upon the recollection of his brother’s
blood, is astounding. He got a promise of security (verse 15), and that was all he cared for. And
quickly, under his hand, accommodations and delights of all sorts fill the scene.

In some sense this is very alarming. But is not this the "course of this world" (Eph. 2:2)? Was it
not man that slew the Lord Jesus? Does not the guilt of that deed lie at every man’s door? And
what is the course of the world but the ease and indifference of Cain in this highest state of guilt?
The earth has borne the cross of Christ; and yet man can busy himself with garnishing and
furnishing the earth, and making life on it convenient and pleasurable without God. This is solemn
and awful when we look at it in full divine light. Cain was a respectable citizen of the world, but
all the while he was a heartless forgetter of the sorrows of Abel! His ease and respectability are
the blackest features of his history. He went away as soon as he got a promise of security; and that
promise he used, not to soften his heart and overwhelm him with convictions of all that had
happened, but to give him full occasion to indulge and magnify himself.

We read in the New Testament of "the way of Cain" (Jude 11). It may be_in fact is_run by
others. And what a way does this chapter show it to be! Cain was an infidel, a man of his own
religion_not obedient in faith to God’s revelation. He practiced the works of the liar and the
murderer; he hated the light; he cared nothing for the presence of God which his sin had forfeited,
or for the sorrow of his brother which his hand had inflicted. And, as such a one, he could take
pains to make himself happy and honorable in the very place which thus witnessed against him.

Is this "the way of Cain"? Is man still like this? Yes! and nature outlives a thousand restraints and
improvements. For at the end of Christendom’s career it will even then be said of a generation,
"They have gone in the way of Cain" (Jude 11).

This is deeply solemn, beloved, had we but hearts to feel it. There is, however, a rescued,
separated people. Seth’s family are after another order altogether. They are not seen in cities,
furnished with accommodations and pleasures, apart "from the presence of the LORD" (Gen. 4:16)
like Cain; but as the household of God, they are separated from that world that lay "in the wicked
one," to the faith and worship of His Name. They are strikingly opposed to the way of Cain, and
remarkably sensitive to the way of God.

The details about these believers living prior to the flood are very scanty; but through it all there
is this heavenly character. They do not supply history for the world; but they do supply instruction
for the Church. Their conduct asks, "What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion has light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14). Their religion is characterized by

separation from the world, and so are their habits.

They "call upon the name of the LORD" (Gen. 4:26). The name of the LORD is the revelation He
has been pleased to make of Himself. Immanuel, Jesus the Lord our Righteousness, Jehovah, God
Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit_these are among His names graciously and
gloriously published by Himself. And "to call upon the name of the LORD" was service or worship
of God in spirit and in truth.

This was the religion of these earliest saints. It was the religion of simple faith and hope. They
worshiped God, and apart from the world they waited in hope. "The work of faith" and "the
patience of hope" are seen in them. Something of the Thessalonian spirit breathed in them. For
they served the living and true God, and waited for His Son from heaven, who had already
delivered them (1 Thess. 1:9,10).

In their ways and habits the family of Seth are only seen as a people walking across the surface
of the earth, till their bodies are either laid under it (Gen. 5:8), or are translated to heaven above
it (5:24). All around them is as Babylon to them, and their harps are on the willows (Psalm 137).
Cain’s family have all the music to themselves. But Seth’s family are a risen people. Their
citizenship is in heaven. They look for no estates or cities. Nothing is told us of their place or their
business. They are strangers where even Adam was once at home and, much more, where Cain
still was.

They are the earliest witnesses of this heavenly strangership. They leave the world to Cain. There
is not the symptom of a struggle, nor the breath of a complaint. They neither say nor think of
saying, "Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13). In
habits of life and principles of conduct, they are as distinct from their injurious brother as though
they were of another race or in another world. Cain’s family make all the world’s history. They
build its cities, they promote its arts, they conduct its trade, they invent its pleasures and pastimes.
But in all this Seth’s family are not seen. The one generation call their cities after their own
names; the other call themselves by the name of the LORD.

We may bless the Lord for this beautiful portrayal of heavenly strangership on earth and ask for
grace to know some of its living power in our own souls. After this pattern the Lord would have
us in the world, but not of it; of heaven, though not as yet in it (except in Christ). The Apostle
Paul, in the Holy Spirit, would so have us, taking example from those whose "conversation is in
heaven" (Phil. 3:20). Peter, in the same Spirit, would so have us "as strangers and pilgrims"
abstaining "from fleshly lusts" (1 Pet. 2:11). James summons us, in the same Spirit, to know that
"the friendship of the world is enmity with God" (Jas. 4:4). And John separates us as by a stroke:
"We are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness" (1 John 5:19).

May God grant that our practical lives as saints of God might become more and more delivered
from "the way of Cain," from association with the world in all its most respectable as well as its
basest forms. May we rather become more like the family of Seth, separated unto and calling
"upon the name of the LORD." It is for the Church, surely, to walk in this elevation and
separateness. What is according to the call of God, and what is worthy of heavenly hopes, but

this? Compared to these and like witnesses, our testimony is feeble indeed.

Lead us, Lord, we pray Thee!