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Q. 1. Supper?

CHAPTER XXX.

Lord's Supper.

What is to be understood by the Lord's

A. That holy ordinance, in which the sufferings and death of Christ are commemorated.

Q. 2. By whom, and at what time, was this ordinance instituted?

A. It was instituted by Jesus Christ, on that memorable night in which he was betrayed. (a)

Q. 3. What are the elements used in this institution?

A. Bread and wine. (b).

Q. 4.

What do these represent?

A. The bread broken, and the wine poured out, represent Christ's body broken, and His blood shed, when He died on the cross for the sins of men.(c)

Q. 5. Are the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper to be viewed as the real body and blood of Christ?

A. They are not, but only symbols of them. The doctrine of transubstantiation, or that the bread and wine are literally converted into the body and blood of the Redeemer, is one of the grossest absurdities ever embraced and propagated. To suppose that Christ's identical human body is present in ten thousand places at once, is the height of superstition.

Q. 6. What are some of the names given to this Christian ordinance?

(a) 1 Cor. xi. 23-25. 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 brake 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. (b) See reference a.

(c) See reference a.

A. It is called the Lord's Supper, the Sacrament, the Communion, the Breaking of bread, the Eucharist. Q. 7. Why is it called by these names?

A. It is called the Lord's Supper, because it was instituted by Him, and is to be celebrated in remembrance of Him, and is an important and rich repast for the soul. It is called the Sacrament, which means an oath, because in it Christians virtually swear allegiance to Christ, their rightful Lord and Sovereign. It is called the Communion, because it is a sacred sign of the spiritual fellowship of believers with one another, and with Christ. It is called the Breaking of bread, because the bread is broken to represent the body of Christ, broken on the cross. It is called the Eucharist, because Christ, when he instituted the ordinance, gave thanks, and Christians, when they partake of it, in grateful remembrance of the Saviour's death, give thanks also.

Q. 8. What are the nature and design of the Lord's Supper?

A. It is of the nature of a commemorating, communicating, and covenanting ordinance. It is a bond of union between Christians, a badge or mark of discipleship to Christ. It is a seal of the covenant of grace, both on the part of Christ and His people. It is a permanent ordinance-it will continue till Christ's second appearancetill he comes to judgment.—The special design of this institution is to preserve a grateful and affectionate remembrance of the blessed Saviour. It is a memorial of His death. It also expresses the guilt and wretchedness of man and the grace of God in his salvation.(d)

Q. 9. What are the considerations which lay us under obligation to observe the institution of the Lord's Supper?

A. Gratitude, personal benefit, the honor and command of Christ, and the practice of the Apostles and primitive Christians. All persons are thus bound to par

(d) 1 Cor. xi. 25, 26. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.-1 Cor. x. 16, 17. The cup of blessing, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we brake, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread,

This is their im

take of the sacrament of the Supper. perative duty, and their high privilege.(e)

Q. 10. To whom is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be administered?

A. Not to the grossly ignorant, the idiot, the openly ungodly, or the impenitent; but to all such as have, in the view of charity, experienced religion, having publicly covenanted with God and His people. This ordinance is designed only for visible Christians, females as well as males, in regular church standing, and is, therefore, to be viewed not as a converting ordinance, though in some individual cases it may have proved to be such, but as an ordinance instituted for the edification of Christians.(f)

(e) Ps. cxvi. 12, 13. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.-Matt. x. 32, 33. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.-Luke xxii. 19. This do in remembrance of me.-Acts xx. 7. 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.

(f) Ex. xii. 48. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.-Is. xliv. 5. One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.-Matt. x. 32, 33. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven.-2 Cor. vi. 14, 15, 16. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.-Ps. i. 16. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth?-Prov. xv. 8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord; but the prayer of the upright is his delight.1 Cor. x. 21. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils; yet cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils.

Q. 11. What evidence ought to be regarded as suffi cient to warrant a person to profess religion, and to come to the table of the Lord?

A. Preponderating evidence that he is a Christian -more evidence for, than against himself, that he has been renewed by the Spirit of God. Assurance of hope is not to be waited for. The degrees of evidence vary much in different Christians.

Q. 12. In what manner should the Lord's Supper be received?

A. With penitence, faith, humility, gratitude, hope, joy, and brotherly love.

Q. 13. What is required of communicants, that they may worthily partake of the Lord's Supper?

A. That they examine themselves, and endeavor to have their Christian graces in lively exercise. It is proper, that there should be suitable meditations not only before partaking of the Supper, but at and after the time of partaking of it. (g)

Q. 14. Have the Churches generally, adopted any method for the purpose of assisting Christians in the discharge of the important duty of commemorating the sufferings and death of Christ?

A. They have. A lecture preparatory to partaking of the Sacrament is established. This appointment is wise, judicious, and according to the spirit of the Scriptures. And it ought, if possible, to be attended always by Church members. To neglect it, ordinarily, argues a disrelish for this important duty, and is an evidence against one's piety.

Q. 15. What is meant by eating and drinking unworthily?

(g) 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. Purge out, therefore, the old leven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leven neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.-1 Cor xi. 28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. -2 Cor. xiii. 5. Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?-Matt. v. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.

A. It means either the not possessing at the Lord's table right views of the person, character and offices of Christ, or of the nature and design of the Lord's Supper; or else the not possessing, at the time, right feelings respecting sin, the Saviour, or this Christian duty and privilege.

Q. 16. What will be the consequence of eating and drinking the Lord's Supper unworthily?

A. The disapprobation of Christ the great Master of the feast, and exposure to the judgments of Heaven. The sin, however, is not unpardonable, if repented of, though of great magnitude. The phrase in Scripture, "he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself," means, he that eateth and drinketh in an irreverent, profane, and unworthy manner, exposes himself to the judgments of God. He incurs those temporal judgments, with which God chastises His offending people, and he will, if he remain impenitent, subject himself to final condemnation. The Greek word, rendered in this passage of Scripture damnation, might with more propriety have been rendered judgment.(h)

Q. 17. Who are proper persons to administer the sacrament of the Supper?

A. The regularly constituted Ministers of the gospel; and, in performing this service, they act in the name of Christ, and in their official capacity.

Q. 18. What are the religious services to be observed in the administration of the Lord's Supper, as warranted by the Scripture?

A. 1. Consecrating the bread by prayer, and breaking and distributing it to all the communicants; 2. Consecrating the wine by prayer, and pouring it out, and giving it to all the communicants; and, 3. Singing a hymn. It seems proper for the administrator of the ordi

(h) 1 Cor. vi. 27. 29. 30. 34. 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. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation.

*The refusal of the cup to the laity or the common people, and giving it to the clergy only, as do the Papists, is wholly contrary to Scripture, and a great sin.

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