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For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lord's death till He come." This sentence frees the ordinance from all formalism of every kind, whether of time, manner, or place. Its purpose is evidently in harmony with the whole institution, and takes this holy supper from the circle of formality to that of the affections. Wherever the affections of the renewed heart move two or three saints thus to remember their Lord, there ever is the same result, the same spectators, the same holy, never-wearied interest elevating it far above all earth. Well adapted certainly it is to the associations of the first day of the week, with its memories of victory in resurrection, yet by no means necessarily confined to that day. Spontaneity must govern it, with only the divinely given guards, reverential decency and order to save it from profane misuse.

" Ye do show forth," etc. Is there intended in this supper a testimony to the world ? Is it before the eye of the unbelieving world that we, in this appropriation by faith of His body and His blood, show forth His death ? Verily, no. This holy feast is no public display to the curious eye of unbelief. It is with closed doors that we eat it-not from fear, as in the days long past; our Lord Jesus had again and again to free the showing forth of His goodness and love from the presence of those who "laughed Him to scorn." Babylon shall not look upon these treasures of ours that she can as little appreciate, as the swine can the pearls. Once cruel unbelief saw Him "stricken, smitten and afflicted," nevermore shall it so see Him. When next every eye shall see Him, it shall be as clad in different sort than in the evidences of human hate and scorn; in body ploughed with human scourge, or in features "marred more than any man's." In holy splendor, in burning majesty, in clouds of great glory, accompanied by the hosts that wait but upon His eye in the watchfulness of love, shall He next be seen.

Who, then, does look upon this showing forth of that death ? He to whom it is infinitely precious. Is it not written '' precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints? " Then think of it, my soul, and estimate, if thou canst, how "precious in the sight of the Lord" must be the death of His own beloved Son ! For where is it that we eat ? to what place have we boldness to enter through the blood of Jesus? The camp ? Nay. The outer court ? Nay. The holy place ? Nay. But the very holiest of all. And what is the company that we find in the holiest ? There God our Father dwells; there too the Lamb. O ye who take the bread as a mere religious form, know that God's eye looks with infinite interest on what you do, and woe indeed to him who treats with formal indifference, that in which the interest, the attention, the heart of Infinity is concentrated. Woe indeed to him who eats thus unworthily. But of this the apostle speaks a little later.

Nor are, we may well believe, the ranks and orders of heaven excluded from this happy scene. Is not this plainly indicated in that everything should be strictly according to God's order in the assembly, even if of but two or three,"because of the angels?" (i Cor. 11:) Those principalities and powers of the heavenlies are certainly no uninterested spectators of the marvelous scene, where the redeemed of Adam's race evidence their participation in the death of Him whom those angels have hymned with their songs of joy from the beginning. Oh, let us be watchful, lest thoughts wander and affections are astray in such a scene and with such company!* *[While we do not question the truth of what is said in the above paragraphs, we hesitate to apply the word " show " in the way it has been by the author. The emphasis is on the Lord's death, not on the persons to whom the death is shown. In fact no one is mentioned. The Lord's death is announced or shown, in the breaking of bread. To whom? No one is mentioned because, as has been said, the emphasis is upon what is shown. If there is thought of persons, would it not be rather to those gathered at the table? "Do this in remembrance (to call to mind) of me." It would seem that this is the thought in the word " show."-ED.]*

"Till He come." There is an end of this supper. We shall sit at a table spread "in the presence of our enemies " for the last time. Then what need will there be of emblems more ? What need of bread when our eyes shall behold the King in His beauty Himself ? What need of bread when we shall look into that face once so marred, now radiant with divine glory; that Body now glorified, yet bearing, at least to the open eye of kindred love, those marks of infinite affection that shall awaken an unending song of joy ? What need of bread when surely He, who said on earth, " Handle Me and see," will not forbid the perfect reverence of His redeemed from once more handling with our hands the Word of Life" ? What need of wine then to awaken memories of the love that is ever there-a fountain springing up in eternal refreshment for us, whose tents are forever pitched beside its flowings ? Thankful may we be for bread and wine now. More thankful still may we be that the moment hastens when we shall not need them more. There are no sweeter words in the whole joyful feast than that we keep it only "till He come."

"Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." Now, after all this perfect grace, we have a little seasoning, a little salt of powerful savor. We are apt to desire to stop our reading when we come to this verse. It seems out of harmony with the character of the scene ; but " salt is good," and we shall find it so here, although it be a solemn word indeed. For if all who partake declare the Lord's death, he who shows forth this death in a spirit of indifference or hard heartedness, as not being himself the object of the love there shown forth, puts himself as it were on the other side of the line, and becomes guilty of it. He has ranged himself in spirit on the side of those who '' discerned not the Lord's body," as we may speak, in another day, and so, because they knew Him not, they crucified the Lord of glory, (i Cor. 2:8.) Not exactly willful, intelligent hatred to the Lord is needed for this, but rather lack of exercise, and a consequent failure to enter into the true meaning of the scene. As it is a matter of grave importance, let us endeavor by the help of Him who is our Comforter, to throw a powerful sidelight from Old Testament history, upon the scene. Let us read together i Chron. 11:15 to 19.-

David, God's anointed is in the cave of Adullam; the enemy, the Philistines, are in the Valley of Rephaim, which means, "the terrible ones." David thirsts, and, apparently unconsciously, utters the longing of his heart as he remembers the cool waters that quenched his thirst in the days of childhood. " Oh! that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate." There are those there who hang upon his lips, who watch every look, who strain ear to catch every breath; and at once they are off into the Valley of Terror, which has now no terror for them. These were the very ones, who were only the other day "in distress," "in debt," " in bitterness of soul;" a poor worthless crowd; but the touch of David's love has already made them "mighty men of valor." They break through the hosts of the Philistines and bring the water back to their king. Now look at him. "Consider him " most carefully as he takes it in his hand. What does he "discern" that cup to contain? Water? No indeed. It is the blood of these men. Shall I drink, he says, the blood of these men, "for with their lives they brought it." David's eyes are not dull, David's heart is not heavy. The quickness of his affections makes him keen of sight and he discerns the rich and precious value of the simple cup of cold water, and pours it out to Jehovah as all too priceless for anyone less than Jehovah to enjoy. Worthily was it done; most worthily. Nor does it need carefulness in applying. Is it bread we take, is it wine ? Then may we indifferently and coldly eat and drink. But if it be in very deed the Lord's Body that faith "discerns" here, then surely something must be poured out to the Lord. Need we ask what? Perhaps it may be but very little, still there must be something. Perhaps only such word as I "thank Thee Lord Jesus." Perhaps not even that, but only one upward heart-carrying glance of gratitude, but something must be poured out as a result of discerning the Lord's Body, or surely, most surely, we partake unworthily; indeed we do. Oh! for that tender sensitiveness that when it takes the bread and wine, thus discerns the Lord's Body, and feeding on it, pours out the full heart in praise before the Lord.

But it becomes us most carefully to ask as to this partaking unworthily and to accept no mere human interpretation of so solemn a subject. If the danger is pointed for a warning, the antidote to the danger is like the sin offering in Cain's day graciously "crouching at the door."

"So let him eat." There is distinctly the salvation from partaking unworthily. Then let us see to what this "so" refers. "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat." Here then is the antidote to partaking unworthily. Here the eye-salve, as we may say, that shall serve to open our eyes to "discern the Lord's Body." May we not then boldly say that he who thus examines himself will never "eat unworthily," never "be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord " Jesus ? Let us ask, dear reader, have we not missed something here? Has not the blessed assurance of being free from the law led us to look down upon all self examination of whatever character, as being legal and far beneath our attainments? Let thy heart answer, my reader, dost thou habitually partake of the Lord's Supper in the spirit of one who examines himself, or has this been habitually overlooked, omitted, forgotten? I would affectionately press this upon my brethren, perhaps the more because one feels one's own deep need of the Spirit's exhortation.

But may we now look a little closer at the word and ask, What is to be the object of our self-examination ? Is it to raise any doubt as to our own acceptance with God ? Far be it. I look up to see the grounds for that, and not within. Jesus, at God's right hand, measures that acceptance, and to find that measure out I must examine Him, and not myself. Mark it well, dear Faint-heart, or brother Little-faith, or sister Despondency, and be careful that you never examine yourself to see if you are accepted of God, but the Lord Jesus Himself. Man's pride, hidden indeed under a thin veil of a false humility, would tell you to do just this, but not one syllable of God's word. Such examination would most surely either keep you away altogether in despair, or send you to His table, a proud self-satisfied guest, to eat judgment to yourself as partaking unworthily.

But, says one, is it not written," Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith "? (2 Cor. 13:5.) Yes indeed, and it is also written, "Touch not, taste not, handle not," and both Scriptures are ever taken out of their context and quoted in diametrically the opposite sense to that which was unmistakably the writer's intention. Why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances (such as) touch not, taste not, handle not, having to do with that which perishes in the using, and is of this passing world, while ye are dead to all such with Christ ? So the apostle writes to the Colossians; and so the same apostle writes to the Corinthians a second time; and taking into full recognition their confidence in their own Christianity, uses an argument to establish his apostolic authority over them, the force of which they cannot question. He says, "Since ye seek proof of Christ speaking in me, examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. If ye are in the faith, then Christ speaks in me;-if Christ speaks not in me, ye are not in the faith. Both propositions are assumed as incontrovertible, while the clause taken from its context is made to mean exactly the opposite of the truth. But if this, "Let a man examine himself" does not mean to see if he be in the faith-if he be a Christian at all-what does it mean ? Does it mean let a man examine his conduct, his walk, and see if it be in conformity with that which he is going to show forth in the Lord's supper ? Surely, it must at least include this. But I am inclined to think that it is somewhat wider than that. If this were the case, would it not have been equally easy for the apostle to have written, Let a man examine his ways. But it is himself. '' Prove " himself, as it is more literally-find out the touching tender relation that he himself bears to that rich feast of which he is about to partake. Let him see how he is indeed the object of the love there shown forth and (judging indeed his ways in view of that love) " so let him eat."

Perhaps an illustration from the Old Testament may again help. Look at that man who stands with bowed head "in the place that the Lord his God has chosen," with well-filled basket of the first-fruits of his inheritance on the ground before him, and listen carefully as he speaks. Presently it shall be said of him. He worships, but before that he will "examine himself " in our hearing. "A Syrian ready to perish, was my father." A wholesome consideration wherewith to begin. He discerns in his examination, the very root whence he came-a humbling truth, but since it is the first step on a path that leads him to worship, shall we not stand at his side and begin that path and walk it with him. Discern my soul, whence thou didst spring. Who was thy father ? In the deepest, truest sense that first man was a Syrian, one whose proper dwelling-place was upon the heights (which is the meaning of the word Aramean or Syrian) but a lost man-one wandering about as lost.* *The same word here translated "ready-to-perish," is "lost" in Psalm 119:176.*

Second:"And he went down into Egypt and so-journeyed there with a few, and became a nation, great, mighty, and populous." Indeed he went down. He stepped from the heights or rather fell therefrom, to Egypt, the land that speaks of God unknown and unrecognized, with only blessings received as the ox receives its grass, with no knowledge of the giver. A fall indeed.

Third:"The Egyptians evily treated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage." Here let memory do its work. Examine thyself. Does it not tell out thy history. Need we multiply words here?

Fourth:"And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice?" Whence too was our relief ? Helpless as poor Peter as the waves began to shut out the light from his eyes:weary with a fruitless striving we too cried unto the Lord, and then-

Fifth:Remember, oh, remember the " mighty hand," the "outstretched arm" that lifted us up. Remember the "great terribleness," "the signs, the wonders;" remember "the dark night," "the judgment abroad," "the dying Lamb." Remember the storm that broke full on Him alone, and then remember the dark sea of Egypt. Remember all, and now-

Sixth:What was the end, the contrast to all this ?

"This place," a land that floweth with milk and honey. That is for us, the heavenly places where we are blessed with spiritual fountains that abound for us in Christ, and-
Seventh:That basket with its first fruits tells it all, and so our basket of faith that takes in our first-fruits, tells out our blessings, and he and we may bow our head together and worship. F. C. J.