THE
COMMUNION AND COMMUNICANT.

BY THE
REV. EDWARD HOARE, A.M.,
INCUMBENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, RAMSGATE.

LONDON:
J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY,
MDCCCXLVII.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

THE SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES of our PROTESTANT CHURCH.  Second Edition.  Price 3s.

THE TIME of the END; or, The World, the Visible Church, and the People of God, at the Advent of the Lord.  Third Edition.  Price 1s. 6d.

BAPTISM, as Taught in the Bible and the Prayer-Book.  No. 6.—Tracts for Churchmen.  Second Edition.  Price 2½d.

THE COMMUNION AND COMMUNICANT.

There is no institution more delightful to the Christian than the holy sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  It is a touching remembrance of a Redeemer’s love—a refreshing means of grace to the soul—a happy communion of the Lord’s believing family—and a gladdening foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb.  With what heartfelt gratitude should believers rejoice in such a feast!

But it is not to all a feast of joy.  Some neglect it from a total want of inclination; some receive it in a careless, worldly spirit, and to them it soon becomes an empty form, like a vessel in which is no water; while others regard it as an awful mystery—as something too high for such as they are, and, like the holy of holies in the temple, beyond the reach of common men.

This sense of mysterious awe may be traced, in great measure, to the startling words of St. Paul in 1 Cor. xi.. 29, “He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”  Nor can there be any question, that the impression made by such strong and fearful language should be that of the deepest possible solemnity.  St. Paul spoke by inspiration, and that man must indeed be a bold transgressor, who does not feel awed and solemnized when he reads such a caution from the Holy Ghost.  But yet the Christian is not right if he lays aside the subject under the first sense of solemn awe, or excludes himself from a delightful privilege, because he sees solemnity in the ordinance, and apprehends some possible danger in its misuse.  He ought rather to take the Word of God, and study it carefully, in order to ascertain the real nature of the service, and the kind of character to which the words refer.  This is the course for sensible and right-minded men; and to assist such in this investigation, is the object of the present tract.

There are five passages in the Bible distinctly referring to the Lord’s Supper, as an appointed institution in the Church, namely, Matt. xxvi. 26–29; Mark xiv. 22–25; Luke xxii. 13–20; 1 Cor. x. 16–21; and xi. 18–34. [4]  As the last of these is much the fullest, it may be well to adopt it as the basis of our enquiry; and we shall be able to learn from it the authority and nature of the Lord’s Supper, the danger of coming unworthily, and the character of those who do so.

I.  The Authority.

It is not a scheme of man’s contrivance, or the result of merely human wisdom, but was ordained by our blessed Lord himself, and enjoined on his people by his twice repeated words.

The first occasion was on the night before his crucifixion, when he was eating the Paschal Supper with his disciples.  He then gave them bread and wine, and said, “This do in remembrance of me.”  Here, therefore, is his own plain command—and one command from him is enough for the Christian.

But He did not leave the subject there; for after his ascension to the right hand of God, he was still mindful of his sacrament, and repeated his command by express revelation to St. Paul.  He had already spoken plainly, so that none could mistake him; and three evangelists had left his words in writing, so that none could doubt as to his language: but yet, as if to prevent the possibility either of forgetfulness or mistake, when he called a new servant to his apostleship, he made to him a second revelation of his will; for on turning to verse 23, we find that St. Paul did not receive the doctrine of the sacrament from those who were apostles before him, but from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.  “I 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.”

Now, to those who are anxious to know how they ought to act, these twice repeated words of Jesus surely give a simple answer.  Some persons think it safer to abstain and wait; but is it not the safest thing simply to obey the commands of Jesus?  To follow your own judgment, and to give way to doubts and fears, can never be so safe as to throw yourself like a little child at the feet of your Saviour, and there say, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”   You wish to be Christ’s disciple, so begin at once to do what Christ commands.

II.  The Nature.

The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is,

(1.) An act of remembrance.  When our Lord gave the bread and wine to his disciples, he said, “Do this in remembrance of me:” and when they are given to us, we receive them in remembrance of Christ.  We know in common life what a value we put upon any token of affection, on a book, ring, or picture, which has been given as a memorial by some dear departed friend.  It becomes sacred in proportion to our love for those who gave it, and when that love is strong we care far more for it than for other things of incomparably greater value.  This act is a memorial or remembrance of Christ; an outward sign to show how much we love him.  He is in heaven at the right hand of God, so that none can see him; but, while the world rejects him, we remember him; and when we receive that bread and wine, we set to our seal that he is our soul’s beloved, that we live on his grace, and can never forget his mercy.

But we do not merely show our remembrance of his person and character; the communion is especially a remembrance of his death.  It was appointed on the very night before his crucifixion, and the broken bread represents his body crucified, while the wine is a figure of his blood so freely shed for our sins.  “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death until he come.”—Verse 26.  Now, there never was an act so full of love as that; the world’s whole history contains nothing like it; the Son of God endured the curse of rebel man.  Nor did anything ever done so closely affect our deepest interests; our whole hope of eternal life depends on what he then endured for us.  Had he not suffered in our stead, we had all surely perished; but now, because he has borne that curse which we deserve, believing in him we are no less surely