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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 11:23-25
I. Remembering the Lord — 1 Cor. 11:24-25:
А. By praising instead of by praying:
1. Not to ask the Lord to do things for us.
2. But to bless the Lord with well speaking concerning His person and work — Rev. 5:13.
B. Addressing praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God:
1. Realizing the economy of the Divine Trinity — Matt. 28:19b; 2 Cor. 13:14.
2. Learning to differentiate the Lord’s names from the Father’s names (see Hymns, #65-80).
C. Calling hymns:
1. Learning to know the hymns:
а. In their categories.
b. In their contents.
c. In their focus.
d. In their sensation and taste.
2. Learning to apply the hymns at the appropriate time:
а. To start a section of the meeting.
b. To strengthen and enrich the started section.
c. To prolong and uplift the same section.
d. To follow the atmosphere of the meeting.
D. Distributing the bread and the cup:
1. Neither too early nor too late.
2. When the remembrance of the Lord reaches the high tide.
3. Better with some thanks given to the Lord — Luke 22:19a.
Focus: The proper remembrance of the Lord depends upon our proper practice.
In this lesson we want to begin to fellowship about the practice of the Lord’s table meeting. We do not want to explain what it means to remember the Lord but to say something about the practice of remembering the Lord.
To remember the Lord (1 Cor. 11:24-25) we have to praise Him, not pray to Him. Remembering the Lord at His table is by praising instead of by praying.
We do not come to the Lord’s table meeting to ask the Lord to do things for us.
At the Lord’s table meeting we should bless the Lord with well speaking concerning His person and work. Well speaking means praising by speaking the good things. Here we need to use Revelation 5:13 as a reference: “Every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them, I heard saying, To Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.”
We have to impress the saints that it is altogether not fitting to pray to the Lord at the Lord’s table when we are remembering Him. Instead, we have to praise Him, to bless Him, and to speak well about Him concerning His person. It would be helpful to itemize some of the main points concerning His person, such as His divinity, His humanity, and His statuses as the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Savior, the Redeemer, the Sanctifier, the life-giving Spirit, the Lord, etc. We have to try the best to point out the different items of the Lord’s person so that the saints can be helped in their praising. Then we also have to point out the various aspects of the Lord’s work, such as His redemptive work, His saving work, His sanctifying work, His transforming work, etc. We have to bless the Lord in such a way as to praise Him, to speak well about Him.
In the section of remembering the Lord, all our praises should be addressed directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
To address our praises directly to the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, we need to realize the economy of the Divine Trinity. Matthew 28:19b says that we are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians 13:14 refers to the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. These verses reveal the economy of the Divine Trinity to dispense Himself into His chosen and redeemed people.
We need to learn to differentiate the Lord’s names from the Father’s names. In our personal time it would be good to read Hymns, #65 through #80, concerning the names of the Lord. In order to address or praise the Lord Himself directly, we need to know His names.
In order to call the appropriate hymns in the table meeting, we need to learn to know the hymns first in their categories. The table of contents in our hymnal can help us with this, since it categorizes all the hymns. Then we need to read and even to study the contents of the hymns. We also need to find out the central thought, the focus, of each hymn. Finally, we need to know the hymns in their sensation and taste. Each hymn has its own sensation, so it has its own taste. When you know the hymns in these four aspects — in their categories, contents, focus, and sensation and taste — you know the hymns thoroughly.
We also need to learn how to apply the hymns at the appropriate time. Certain hymns are good for certain times in the meeting, so we have to know the hymns first and then apply them at the proper time.
Certain hymns are very good to start a section of the meeting. After a section of the meeting has been started, we may need another hymn to strengthen and enrich the started section. To strengthen and enrich what has been started is not so easy. Teamwork is involved here. One person starts, and all the others have to continue to strengthen and to enrich what has been started. Also, a hymn may be needed to prolong and uplift the same section. Here there is the need of skill. Something has been started and strengthened and enriched, but within a short time it may disappear. This is why we have to prolong it and uplift it.
Furthermore, to apply the hymns at the appropriate time, we need to follow the atmosphere of the meeting. If the atmosphere of the meeting is solemn, a hymn of joy, a rejoicing hymn, does not fit the atmosphere. Thus, calling a proper hymn at a proper time depends upon how much we can sense the atmosphere of the meeting.
The proper distributing of the bread and the cup also requires our learning. We should distribute the bread and the cup neither too early nor too late. This is somewhat like serving a meal. One does not serve the main course at the very beginning of the meal nor after the dessert has been finished. This is either too early or too late.
We need to distribute the bread and the cup when the remembrance of the Lord reaches the high tide. This means that the atmosphere of our remembering the Lord has reached the highest point.
Furthermore, it is better to distribute the bread and the cup with some thanks given to the Lord. We receive the bread and the wine mostly in a silent way. It is better to receive the bread that comes from the Lord and give Him some thanks. Luke 22:19a says that the Lord took the bread and gave thanks.
The focus of this lesson is expressed in the following statement: the proper remembrance of the Lord depends upon our proper practice.
