~* ACCORDING TO THY GRACIOUS WORD *~ James Montgomery, 1771-1854 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. I Corinthians 11:26 Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face; here would I touch and handle things unseen, here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace, and all my weariness upon Thee lean. Here would I feed upon the bread of God, here drink with Thee the royal cup of Heav'n. Here would I lay aside each earthly load, here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiv'n. ~Horatius Bonar In His sovereign wisdom our Lord knew that His followers through the centuries would need a continual reminder of their faith--the sacrificial death, the triumphant resurrection, and the victorious return of Christ. For His disciples, Christ shared the Last Supper, Passover, and introduced the elements of the new covenant--His broken body and shed blood--symbolized by the unleavened bread and cup. With this supper as the model, He then gave instructions that this feast of remembrance should occur until His return in His remembrance, instead of solely in remembrance of the Exodus from Egyptian slavery. After that, it will culminate in Heaven with the saints of the ages in the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7 & 9). Not only should the communion service serve as a backward and forward reminder of what Christ has and will do for us, but it should also cause us to look within ourselves--just as the children of Israel were to purge the leaven from their homes, we are to purge the leaven, sin, from our hearts before partaking according to I Corinthians 11:28. "According to Thy Gracious Word" by James Montgomery recounts vividly the sacrificial atonement of Christ and the believer's response to Christ's command in Luke 22:19--"This do in remembrance of me." According to Thy gracious Word, In meek humility, This will I do, my dying Lord, I will remember Thee. Thy body, broken for my sake, My bread from Heaven shall be; The testamental cup I take, And thus remember Thee. Gethsemane can I forget? Or there Thy conflict see, Thine agony, and bloody sweat, And not remember Thee? When to the cross I turn mine eyes, And rest on Calvary, O Lamb of God, my sacrifice, I must remember Thee! Remember Thee and all Thy pains And all Thy love to me; Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains, Will I remember Thee. And when these failing lips grow dumb And mind and memory flee, When Thou shalt in Thy kingdom come, Jesus, remember me. *For Today*: Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16-21, 11:23-28 Reflect on this: Am I truly willing to take the backward, forward, and inward looks as I anticipate the next Passover? Music url: The Cyber Hymnal Taken from Amazing Grace -- 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions © Copyright 1990 by Kenneth W. Osbeck. Published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Return to Hymn Devotionals Index