1321 Jehovah, remember for David all his affliction; 2 How he swore unto Jehovah, vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob: 3 I will not come into the tent of my house, I will not go up to the couch of my bed; 4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, slumber to mine eyelids, 5 Until I find out a place for Jehovah, habitations for the Mighty One of Jacob. ... 6 Behold, we heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the wood. 7 Let us go into his habitations, let us worship at his footstool. 8 Arise, Jehovah, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength. 9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy. 10 For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn [in] truth unto David; he will not turn from it: Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne; 12 If thy children keep my covenant, and my testimonies which I will teach them, their children also for evermore shall sit upon thy throne. 13 For Jehovah hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his dwelling: 14 This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy ones with bread; 16 And I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17 There will I cause the horn of David to bud forth; I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. 18 His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
1331 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 Like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, upon Aaron's beard, that ran down to the hem of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon that descendeth on the mountains of Zion; for there hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore.
1341 Behold, bless Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah, who by night stand in the house of Jehovah. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless Jehovah. 3 Jehovah, the maker of heavens and earth, bless thee out of Zion.
17 But [in] prescribing [to you on] this [which I now enter on], I do not praise, [namely,] that ye come together, not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first, when ye come together in assembly, I hear there exist divisions among you, and I partly give credit [to it]. 19 For there must also be sects among you, that the approved may become manifest among you. 20 When ye come therefore together into one place, it is not to eat [the] Lord's supper. 21 For each one in eating takes his own supper before [others], and one is hungry and another drinks to excess. 22 Have ye not then houses for eating and drinking? or do ye despise the assembly of God, and put to shame them who have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you? In this [point] I do not praise.
23 For I received from the Lord, that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread, 24 and having given thanks broke [it], and said, This is my body, which [is] for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 In like manner also the cup, after having supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye shall drink [it], in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come.
27 So that whosoever shall eat the bread, or drink the cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty in respect of the body and of the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man prove himself, and thus eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. 29 For [the] eater and drinker eats and drinks judgment to himself, not distinguishing the body. 30 On this account many among you [are] weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, so were we not judged. 32 But being judged, we are disciplined of [the] Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 So that, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If any one be hungry, let him eat at home, that ye may not come together for judgment. But the other things, whenever I come, I will set in order.
(Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-22)
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue in the same communion, yet be uncharitable. This last is schism, rather than the former. There is a careless and irregular eating of the Lord's supper, which adds to guilt. Many rich Corinthians seem to have acted very wrong at the Lord's table, or at the love-feasts, which took place at the same time as the supper. The rich despised the poor, and ate and drank up the provisions they brought, before the poor were allowed to partake; thus some wanted, while others had more than enough. What should have been a bond of mutual love and affection, was made an instrument of discord and disunion. We should be careful that nothing in our behaviour at the Lord's table, appears to make light of that sacred institution. The Lord's supper is not now made an occasion for gluttony or revelling, but is it not often made the support of self-righteous pride, or a cloak for hypocrisy? Let us never rest in the outward forms of worship; but look to our hearts.
(Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-34)
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all drink of the cup, Matthew 26:27, as if he would, by this expression, provide against any believer being deprived of the cup. The things signified by these outward signs, are Christ's body and blood, his body broken, his blood shed, together with all the benefits which flow from his death and sacrifice. Our Saviour's actions were, taking the bread and cup, giving thanks, breaking the bread, and giving both the one and the other. The actions of the communicants were, to take the bread and eat, to take the cup and drink, and to do both in remembrance of Christ. But the outward acts are not the whole, or the principal part, of what is to be done at this holy ordinance. Those who partake of it, are to take him as their Lord and Life, yield themselves up to him, and live upon him. Here is an account of the ends of this ordinance. It is to be done in remembrance of Christ, to keep fresh in our minds his dying for us, as well as to remember Christ pleading for us, in virtue of his death, at God's right hand. It is not merely in remembrance of Christ, of what he has done and suffered; but to celebrate his grace in our redemption. We declare his death to be our life, the spring of all our comforts and hopes. And we glory in such a declaration; we show forth his death, and plead it as our accepted sacrifice and ransom. The Lord's supper is not an ordinance to be observed merely for a time, but to be continued. The apostle lays before the Corinthians the danger of receiving it with an unsuitable temper of mind; or keeping up the covenant with sin and death, while professing to renew and confirm the covenant with God. No doubt such incur great guilt, and so render themselves liable to spiritual judgements. But fearful believers should not be discouraged from attending at this holy ordinance. The Holy Spirit never caused this scripture to be written to deter serious Christians from their duty, though the devil has often made this use of it. The apostle was addressing Christians, and warning them to beware of the temporal judgements with which God chastised his offending servants. And in the midst of judgement, God remembers mercy: he many times punishes those whom he loves. It is better to bear trouble in this world, than to be miserable for ever. The apostle points our the duty of those who come to the Lord's table. Self-examination is necessary to right attendance at this holy ordinance. If we would thoroughly search ourselves, to condemn and set right what we find wrong, we should stop Divine judgements. The apostle closes all with a caution against the irregularities of which the Corinthians were guilty at the Lord's table. Let all look to it, that they do not come together to God's worship, so as to provoke him, and bring down vengeance on themselves.
