The children, the church and the communion : two simple messages to children, from one who loves them and who wants them to love the House of God and the Table of Christ

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Books hp Charles Cuthbert Hall.

INTO HIS MARVELLOUS LIGHT. Studies in Life
and Belief. 2d Thousand. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

DOES GOD SEND TROUBLE? An Earnest Effort
to Discern between Christian Tradition and Chris-
tian Truth. 4th Thousand. Crown 8vo, $1.00.

THEM CHILDREN; Sines CHURCH ANID ianird ie
COMMUNION. 16mo, 75 cents.

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY,
Boston AND NEw YorK.

THE CHILDREN, THE CHURCH,
AND THE COMMUNION

TWO SIMPLE MESSAGES TO CHILDREN,
FROM ONE WHO LOVES THEM AND WHO
WANTS THEM TO-LOVE THE HOUSE
rmeGO0D AND THE TABLE OF CHRIST

BY

Cha kuLS CULHBERT HALL

MINISTER OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF
BROOKLYN, N. Y- ;

anmmnb | SIS

= bien (Gay

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY

Che Viverside Press, Cambridge
1895

Copyright, 1895,
By CHARLES CUTHBERT HALL.

All rights reserved.

The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.
Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.

; C. ; a 7 J
- - _
.
TO
Nabe
AND

OTHER DEAR CHILDREN

eyes

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

N memory of the Children’s Service on
Sunday eventide, which for many
years has been a part of our Church life,
and in hope of helping some young hearts
to learn more of the joy of worship, these
two sermons, selected from many, are
printed as they were preached. No apology
is made for their simplicity, nor for the
things in them which suggest the church
in which they were spoken. The loving
desire goes with them that they may carry,
clearly enough for children to understand,
encouragement for those who are, and for
those who want to be, the younger disci-
ples of the Lord Jesus.

BROOKLYN, Easter, 1895.

BLESSED LORD, Who hast caused all

Holy Scriptures to be written for our learn-
ing, grant that we may in such wise hear them,
read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them ;
that, by patience and comfort of Thy Holy
Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the
blessed hope of everlasting life; which Thou
hast given us in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

] BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus
Christ, His Only Son our Lord ; Who was con-
ceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin
Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was cruci-
fied, dead, and buried ; He descended into hell,
the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the
right hand of God the Father Almighty ; from
thence He shall come to judge the quick and
the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy
Catholic Church ; the Communion of Saints ;
the Forgiveness of sins ; the Resurrection of
the body ; and the Life everlasting. Amen.

] VE found a Friend; O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him,

He drew me with the cords of love,

And thus He bound me to Him;

And round my heart still closely twine

Those ties which nought can sever,

For I am His, and He is mine,

Forever and forever.

I’ve found a Friend; O such a Friend!
He bled, He died to save me;

And not alone the gift of life,

But His Own Self He gave me.
Nought that I have my own I call,

I hold it for the Giver,

My heart, my strength, my life, my all
Are His, and His forever.

I’ve found a Friend; O such a Friend!
So kind and true and tender,

So wise a Counsellor and Guide,

So mighty a Defender.

From Him, Who loves me now so well,
What power my soul can sever?

Shall life, or death, or earth, or hell ?
No! I am His forever.

THE CHILD IN GOD’S SANCTUARY.

“PRAISE GOD IN HIS SANCTUARY.”

PSALM cl. 1.

HE time has come, dear children, for

me to speak forth to you the special
message which, I truly believe, God gives
me to give to you. Suppose your father
were off somewhere on a journey, let us
say England ; and from England he writes
you, and the postman calls at your door
with the letter. The postman is just the
messenger between your father and you.
The postman simply gives you the mes-
sage which has been handed him to hand
you. The postman did not make up the
letter. Your father made it up, and the
postman delivered it. I feel often, when I
speak to you in the Children’s Service, like
the postman delivering a letter. It does
not seem as if it were my word I were giv-
ing you, but the word of your Father Who

12 Praise God in Hts Sanctuary.

is in Heaven, a message from Him to you,
simply delivered by me as His messenger.
I feel very much so this afternoon, for the
message which I have to give you is import-
ant, and has much to do with the strength
and happiness of your life. I know you
will listen to every word, both for my sake,
your earthly friend, and much more for the
sake of that greater, unseen Friend, ‘“ Who
loved you ere you knew Him.”

We are here together in the building
which we have learned to call “our
Church.” This roof, these walls, these
windows, and the furniture here gathered,
the pulpit, the great organ (which is to
many of us like a living friend), the font,
the communion table, go to make up a
place which is different from all other
places to which we go. We have many
places to which we can go. We have our
own houses and the houses of our friends ;
we have hotels, we have stores, we have
schools, we have places of amusement and
places of instruction, libraries, picture

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 13

galleries, museums. But this place, where
we are now gathered, is not like any of
the others. This is a place that stands by
itself. A certain sacred blending of light
and shadow is here. Even the sunlight,
streaming in here at noon, seems more
calm than other sunlight, and when the
evening shadows lengthen here, as they
are lengthening now, they bring with them
upon our hearts stillness and thoughtful-
ness and peace. It is a dear, happy place ;
not sad and gloomy, but happy with a hap-
piness that seems to make us better. We
never think of laughing here, as we laugh
at home, yet we are very happy often when
we are here.

We call this place, as you know, the
House of God. That is another and a
grander name for our church,— ‘The
House of God.” By this name we do not
mean to say that God lives here and no-
where else, as one of us has his house on
one street, and another has his house on
another street. But by this name we

14 Praise God in Hts Sanctuary.

always remind ourselves that we have
specially given this place to God; that we
have set apart the ground on which this
building stands, and the walls built upon
this ground, and the furniture within these »
walls, the organ with its noble voice, the
windows with their glorious colorings, —
everything here,—we have set apart as a
special gift to God, in the honor of God, to
the glory of God, for the praise of God.
And it is this great thought, with the asso-
ciations springing from it, which makes
this place seem different from any other
place to which we go.

But there is yet another thought about
this place, this church, this House of God,
which makes it dear and precious to many
of us. You will see that my text says:
“ Praise God in A/zs Sanctuary.” ‘“ Sanctu-
ary”’ is only another name for Church, but
it is such a fine, strong name, I must ex-
plain it to you. ‘“ Sanctuary’’ means a sa-
cred place of refuge and protection. It is
a thought which every child can in a mo-

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 15

ment understand. I can tell the meaning
of “sanctuary’’ in such a way a child four
years old can understand. Suppose such
a little child is playing in the nursery, and
somehow or other, as will happen even to
a little child, she gets tired, and restless,
and none of the things to play seems just
the right thing, and there is a little more
fretting, and baby is getting a little more
unhappy, and suddenly, things get very
bad indeed, for baby, being a little careless
of what she does, has tripped and fallen,
and hit her forehead on the carpet, and the
carpet has made a mark on her poor little
forehead. Not a very bad mark, but just
enough to bring all the restlessness of the
whole afternoon oyt at once in a great cry.
And now what does baby want? She
wants a “sanctuary.” I do not mean by
that that baby wants to go to church, but
she wants a sanctuary ; and what did I say
a sanctuary is? Did I not say a sanctuary
is a place of refuge and protection? That
is what baby wants: a place where she can

16 ~=Praise God in His Sanctuary.

go and pour out all the crying restlessness
in her little heart, and feel the strong,
dear clasp of loving arms around her,
and have her thoughts turned to bright
and happy things, and be at rest once ©
more. And where does baby find her
sanctuary? Does she need any one to
tell her where it is? No, indeed. God
has long before told her little baby-nature
where her sanctuary is, where her place
of refuge is; and baby spreads out her
hands and runs weeping to mother’s arms
and hides her face on mother’s shoulder,
and soon the storm of restlessness is past ;
new thoughts have come, and in the sanc-
tuary of her mother’s love baby has found
what she needed.

And as we grow older we see that every-
body and everything needs a sanctuary —
a place of refuge. Think of those icy
steamers out at sea, plunging through fear-
ful waves swept by hurricanes. Whither
were they going? If each great panting
steamer could speak to you each would say

Praise God in His Sanctuary. iy |

the same thing, the brave Teutonic, the
ice-freighted Circassia, the poor wandering
Gascogne:! “We are trying to get toa
sanctuary —a place of refuge from these
roaring storms. We are making for the
port of New York, for there we know we
can get shelter and safety, and fresh coal
and food, and a chance to repair damages
ere we put out to sea again.” And, chil-
dren, you watch your father, as he comes
home tired and cold night after night in
these anxious times. See how his face
brightens as he stands in the hall with you
about him, and takes off his overcoat and
comes in by the fire, and makes himself
fresh for the bright dinner-table. See
with what a look of pleasure he gathers
you about him and lets you talk to him of
what you have been doing. What is it?
It is “sanctuary.” Home is your father’s

1 This sermon was preached in February, 1895, dur-
ing great storms at sea. In the following week the
overdue French steamer La Gascogne reached New

York, to the joy of every one.

78 Praise God in His Sanctuary.

sanctuary, his place of daily refuge and
protection. He feels safe and happy there
with the trustful arms of children about
him, with brighter thoughts pouring in
upon his tired brain; there, among you, ©
he gains new strength for the battle that
must begin again to-morrow morning.

Now what the mother’s arms are to the
restless baby, what the harbor of New
York is to the storm-beaten Teutonic,
what the home and the fireside are to the
tired man of business, ¢Za¢ is the church
meant to be for us all. <A place of refuge
and protection ; a Sanctuary of God, given
us in His dear mercy, that we may use
it and love it and find new thoughts
and new hopes within it; a place where
we can get away for a little time from
the things and people outside who tempt
us to do wrong, where we can get a short
and sweet relief from the drudgery of
work, where we can take in a new, fresh
supply of grand and beautiful thought, and
where we can express the very noblest and

Pratse God in His Sanctuary. 19

best that God Himself has taught us, by
pouring out our hearts in praise. And so
we all see the meaning of our text, “ Praise
God in His Sanctuary.” It says: “Come
to this House of God, come into these calm,
sweet scenes, come into the atmosphere
of worship, and get your life rested, re-
freshed, purified, renewed in faith, in hope,
in love. Come and give yourself joyously,
earnestly, reverently, to what is going on
here. Come, every one of you, and praise
God in His Sanctuary.”

Now if I have made clear to you all what
this place is for, as a House especially set
apart for God, and as a Sanctuary, —a place
of sacred refuge and protection for human
lives where they may come and be lifted
up into grander thoughts and nobler de-
sires by praising God,—TI wish to go on
and speak, in the few moments which are
left, about children coming to church.

The church and the children are two
things that belong together. The church
cannot do without the children. The chil-

20 Pratse God in His Sanctuary.

dren cannot do without the church. Sup-
pose we try to imagine what would happen
if the church were without the children
and the children without the church.
Fancy this church without any children. ©
I am not talking now about the Sunday-
school, which meets at another hour in an-
other place. Iam talking about this Sanc-
tuary: this place where we are now gath-
ered and where we meet to “praise God
in His Sanctuary” every Sunday morning
and every Sunday afternoon. I will sup-
pose there are just as many children in the
Sunday-school as ever there were; but
that none of them comes to church. They
all go home after Sunday-school and never
come back here even in the afternoon.
Now I say, imagine this church without
any children. What would happen? Well,
the first thing to happen would be that I
would think I ought to go away. The
day the children stop coming to church
I ought to stop, too. Some one else
must be the minister of the church in

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 2r

which there are no children. Now let us
imagine it, and I thank God it is pretty
difficult to imagine it with all these dear
child-faces looking at me from the pews.
But I wz// imagine it: the children all stay
away; they never come any more; and
some stranger asks the new minister,
“ Why do not the children come?” and he
says: “Oh! I am not sure that we want
them. You know, children are restless and
apt to make a noise and disturb the con-
gregation. And then, beside, the church
service is for men and women, grown per-
sons, who can understand and appreciate
what is going on. The church service
is over the heads of the children. They
cannot be supposed to understand it; and
there is nothing particularly to interest
them. And then, you know, we have the
Sunday-school for children : that is enough
like church for them; and so, for all these
reasons (the new minister goes on to say),
the children have all stopped coming to
church. We never have any, any more.’

22 Praise God in His Sanctuary.

Alas! for the church to which the chil-
dren have stopped coming! It may be a
grand and beautiful place, with fine preach-
ing and fine people. But a church without
children is like a home without children: ©
it lacks something from its life that no-
thing else can supply. A home may be
stately and magnificent with its great
rooms full of paintings and statuary and
books ; and the people who live in it may
be sweet and loving and gentle; and forth
from that home may extend blessed influ-
ences; but nothing can give completeness
to that home in the highest, tenderest sense
of human completeness unless there is
in that home the presence of a child, and
the influence of achild. The presence of
children in a home gives a certain glad-
ness and freshness and hopefulness and
courage which is their special ministry. I
know what I am speaking of; and you
know that I know. When people grow up
they get deeper and deeper in cares and
see more and more of sorrows, other peo-

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 23

ple’s sorrows if not their own, and nothing
keeps one from growing old and sad at
heart, or hard and bitter at heart, like hav-
ing children for one’s companions and for
one’s friends. Now this church is just
like one great home made up of many sepa-
rate homes: indeed a church is called in the
New Testament an “household of faith.”
And our meeting together in this place is
just the household coming together to praise
God in His Sanctuary, and we need the in-
fluence of children here in this common
home as much as we need it in our sep-
arate homes. This church without its
children would be a dreary, sad, stiff, and
haughty place: a place where the notes of
praise could never be truly joyous, because
lacking the fresh clear tones of a child’s
voice. Sometimes, as I stand in the pulpit
listening to a great hymn that is being
sung, I get such a thrill of joy, when quite
through the great mass of harmony there
reaches me some strain sung in the clear,
fresh treble of a child’s voice. When I

24 Praise God in His Sanctuary.

hear that it makes me as glad as if I were
walking in the fields and heard among
all the sounds of summer the music of a
lark singing its way toward heaven. The
church without the children? God forbid!
It would be a failure.

For how in the world could the church
go on if the children gave up coming?
You see what would happen: the grown
people being the only ones left in the
church would grow older and older, and
sadder and sadder, without any children
to brighten them up, and one by one the
grown people would die, and leave empty
places, for there would be no one to fill
their places if the children stopped com-
ing. Oh! children, how our dear older
friends in this church are passing away!
If there were no children growing up to
take their places, in a few years this church
would be empty. So you see the church
cannot do without the children. Without
you, my little friends, the church would
be a failure. Perhaps this is a new idea.

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 25

Perhaps you never thought before that the
church needs you. Well, realize it now,
for it is a very grand thought. It shows
you how important your lives are. And
do not think that the only reason you are
needed here is to fill up the empty places
left by the older friends who go away to
the other life; you are needed here for
what you ave now. By coming to church
you make every one happier, you strengthen
and gladden the whole place and the whole
service; and as for him who is speaking
these words to you, he could not go on
without you. His courage would just give
out altogether if he could not see your
faces here and feel that you are growing
up in the spirit of this place. I heard
such a pretty story not long since about
the dear Bishop Phillips Brooks. He went
to a town fora certain great service, and
he was to stay at a certain gentleman’s
house. And when he reached the house
the gentleman and his wife were out.
But the bishop went in. And when they

26 Praise God in Hts Sanctuary.

came home they could not find the bishop,
and they said, ‘Where can the bishop
have gone?” and just then they heard
shouts of laughter upstairs, so upstairs
they went, to find — what do you think ?—
the great bishop on the floor in the nur-
sery having a wild frolic with the chil-
dren, and the children thinking he was the
best playmate they ever knew. Ah! the
bishop knew, great minister of God that he
was, what gives courage to the tired heart
of one of Christ’s preachers, weary with
trying to influence grown people who are
set in their ways. The bishop knew the
power children have to make one’s heart
young again and brave and full of hope.
Yes, dear hearts, do not forget that the
church needs you.

But what about you? Do you need the
church? Do you need to come here even
while you are little children, and all the
way on through the days of your youth, to
praise God in His Sanctuary? Let the
last word I shall speak to you to-day be

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 37,

about this: and let me speak it right down
into the depths of your life. You can no
more do without the church than the
church can do without you. I said a
moment ago that a church without chil-
dren is as incomplete as a home without
children. I will now say what is just as
true, that children who grow up without
coming to church, if they are well enough
to come, are as incomplete as children who
grow up without a home. A child who
has no home, who has just knocked about
in the world, staying now here, now there,
brought up by strangers, has lost from its
life a most precious earthly influence, and
most probably it has either been shut up
within itself or its nature has opened out
in bad ways. The fine, gentle sides of its
nature have hardly been able to develop.
The influence of a loving home would have
made that child quite a different being.
But what it loses in not having a home is
not so great as what it loses by not coming
to church to praise God in His Sanctuary.

28 Praise God in His Sanctuary.

It is here in the sweet calm Sanctuary
of God, our Father’s House on earth, we
learn to worship and to praise, learn to
open our natures to the Holy Spirit, as
the ferns in springtime unroll their tender
fronds in sunlight. It is here in the calm
Sanctuary of God our souls find a refuge
when the storms and struggles of life
begin. But suppose as children we do
not come to church: suppose we say, “I
will go to Sunday-school but not to

’

church ;”’ suppose we get in the habit of
spending our Sundays at home, idly or
foolishly — by so doing we are forming a
habit which will slowly rise like a great
wall of stone, higher and higher, to keep
us away from the Sanctuary of our Father.

Many times, dear children, I have spoken
to you very earnest words; but never have
I spoken more earnestly than this very
day. My whole heart is wrapped up in
what Iam saying. The church needs you
and you need the church. This place is
incomplete without you and you are in-

Praise God in His Sanctuary. 29

complete without this place. You have
something in yourselves which you can
give by coming, that adds to the strength
and beauty of the church, and the church
has something to give to you, which you
cannot find anywhere else in the earth
except in the Sanctuary of God. Come
then, as children, more and more regularly,
knowing your presence here is a joy and
an inspiration. Come as boys and girls,
as young men and young women, thinking
of this place as a home, a refuge, a Sanctu-
ary, where you can pour out your deepest
thoughts into the answering heart of Jesus,
where you can find a resting place in the
hurry of life, where you can gain fresh
strength to help you in your time of need.
Amen.

ALMIGHTY GOD, unto Whom all hearts

be open, all desires known, and from Whom
no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily
magnify Thy Holy Name; through Christ our
Lord. Amen.

THE CHILD AT THE HOLY COM-
MUNION.

THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.

1 CORINTHIANS Xi. 23.

OR a long time, especially since last

summer, I have greatly wanted a
quiet talk with you about the Holy Com-
munion. And the hour seems at last to
have come for a talk about this subject, so
great, so tender, so beautiful. I am con-
scious of three reasons why I so much
wish to speak about the Communion, or,
as it is also called, the Sacrament of the
Lord’s Supper. My first reason is: be-
cause I myself so love the service, it is a
joy to speak of it. This is, perhaps, a self-
ish reason, yet not wrong on that account.
The Communion Service is, for me, a
grand and wonderful hour, one of the most
happy hours I ever spend. When it is
drawing near, I look forward to it with

eager anticipation, as to one of the gladdest

34 ‘This do in Remembrance of Me.

things of life. When it has passed by, I
look back upon it as one of those dear
memories which make our life more rich
and more complete, and which can never
be taken away. When I am in the very ~
midst of the hour, ministering at the Holy
Table, I often think there is nothing no-
bler or more beautiful fora man to do on
earth. When I was a boy, I used to think
the Communion was something very sad
and gloomy. It seemed to me that it was
mournful as a funeral service, and for a
time I dreaded the thought of it. But that
was only because I did not understand its
meaning, and perhaps I did not understand
very well those who took charge of the
service in the church I attended. But that
idea of sadness and gloom has long since
passed away. And instead of thinking
that to go to Communion is like walking
down into some valley of shadow, silent
and sad, I now think that it is like walking
up in glorious afternoon light, upon a broad
and sunny. hill. Naturally, having such

This do in Remembrance of Me. 35

love for the Communion, I want to speak
of it.

I have another reason for wishing to
speak of the Communion: it is because
so many in whose lives I am interested
come to Communion. They know what it
means; and for many of them it has the
same joy it has forme. During the last
few years, many young lives have taken
their places at the Communion, confessing
Christ, and entering openly the life of dis-
cipleship. And a great number of these
are finding out what glorious influences
there are in this Communion Service. All
of these young lives will be glad to have
our thought take this direction now, even
though I speak of much with which they
are already familiar. To those who love
the Communion, the story of its origin and
of its meaning is never wearisome. The
more we think of its meaning, the more we
meditate upon those sublime scenes amidst
which it began, the more richly do we en-
joy it, and receive the peculiar strength

36 = This do in Remembrance of Me.

which it is meant to give. Those to whom
the Communion is a tiresome form are
they who think little about it. Many are
there who think much about it, and to
whom, as a reward of that thinking, it is |
constantly growing richer and dearer.

But I have one other reason, and the
very strongest reason, for wishing to speak
of the Communion to-day. It is for the
sake of those children who do not under-
stand what this Service is. They hear it
spoken of : they have a vague idea of its
nature. They know that their parents
and many of their friends go to it; per-
haps some of their companions, of their
own age, have lately begun to go to Com- |
munion. They feel there is something
about it which is not clear to their under-
standing, although they may have been
present looking on, when the Communion
Service has taken place, in the church.
Among these dear young lives who do
not yet understand this matter, there are
many who want to understand it; who

This do in Remembrance of Me. 37

feel there is something here which they
ought to know about, because they see
that it means so much to others. How
truly I long, in this quiet talk about the
Communion, to help those who want to
understand it, to show them how closely
the Communion is associated with Christ ;
that Christ’s own Hands have arranged
this Service, and Christ’s own Lips have
told us what it shall be; and that those
who take part in this Service, if they come
sincerely, place themselves under influ-
ences which make life happier, stronger,
more earnest, and more brave.

Let us suppose a person to have come
here this afternoon, who had never before
in his life heard of the Communion, who
had not the slightest idea what we mean
by the word. He hears the notice given
that there will be Communion here next
Sunday; he hears what has just been said
about the noble and happy nature of that
service. His curiosity is aroused. He
wants to know all about it. He comes to

38 = This do in Remembrance of Me.

me to be told about it. He begins to ask
questions. It is easy to imagine the ques-
tions he would ask. Let us ask them, and
try to answer them. His first question
would be: “ What kind of a service is the '
Communion Service?”’ ‘Then he would
ask: “Who gave you the idea of such a
service ?”’ Then I presume he would ask:
“Of what use is this service?” And then
his last question might be: “Who may
come to the Communion ?”’

This person, who has never before in
his life heard of the Communion, listens to
all that has been said, and then we may
imagine him coming to me and saying:
“What kind of a service is the Commu-
nion?’’ The best answer I could make
to that question would be: ‘‘ Come next
Sunday and see for yourself.” He accepts
my invitation and he comes. What does
he see? He sees a great congrega-
tion gathering silently and thoughtfully
by scores, and fifties, and hundreds, until
the church is almost filled. And here, set

This do in Remembrance of Me. 39

forth before the people, he sees a table,
covered with a snow-white cloth. On the
table are set cups of wine and plates of
bread. A hymn is sung, the Bible is
read, and earnest prayer for God’s bless-
ing is made. Then some young lives
come and stand before the table in the
presence of the congregation, and this is
a Sign that each of those young lives
has acknowledged Jesus as Saviour, and
is willing that every one shall know it.
Then, when some sweet words of Jesus
have been repeated, these plates of bread
and these cups of wine are lifted from the
table, and are carried up and down the
church, and every one is given the chance
to eat a small morsel of bread and to
taste a few drops of wine. Then after
making gifts for the poor, and after sing-
ing a joyful hymn, the people go away,
greeting each other kindly as they go. If
this person who had never heard before of
the Communion were looking on at this

strange scene, he might ask: “Is the

40 This do in Remembrance of Me.

Communion Service always like this in
all churches?” I would answer: No, not
always so. There is always bread and
always wine; but there are many differ-
ent ways of carrying on the Communion '
Service. I have described how it is done
in this church, but it is done differently
in many other churches. Once I received
the Communion in a church where the
people sat at a long table, as long as the
church, and passed the bread and the
wine from one to another as they sat.
Often I have received the Communion in
churches where those who wished to take
the bread and wine left their seats, and
came forward to the minister, and knelt
at a railing in front of him, and received
the bread and wine from his hands. Many
times I have taken Communion in the sick
room, where one person was lying in bed
suffering, perhaps dying, and where the
others sat or stood or knelt about the
room, wherever they could find places.
There are still other ways of which I have

This do in Remembrance of Me. 41

not spoken. But these differences do not
alter the Communion: there is always the
bread and the wine, always the stillness
of prayer and earnest thought; always, to
some extent, the sweet sense of compan-
ionship with friends who believe much
that we believe, and who love much that
we love.

But now, suppose this friend who never
before had heard of the Communion were
to watch the service. His first question:
“What kind of a service is it?’ would
be answered by what he saw then and
there taking place. But when he had
watched it all, his next question would, I
think, be even more eagerly asked than
the first: ‘“‘ Who gave you the idea of such
a service? How strange to bring food
into church and eat it there: people surely
may eat what they need at home. Where
did the idea of this service come from?”
It would be a sufficient answer to the
question to say: Jesus Christ said, “ Do
this in remembrance of Me.”’ There are

42 Ths do in Remembrance of Me.

some things we do in church that we plan
and arrange for ourselves, but the Com-
munion Service is Christ’s own planning.
He started it with His own Hands and
with His own Voice: and we, in carrying '
it on, are doing what He began, and what
He has told us to continue. He began
this Service the night before He diedvGnm
the Cross. He got together His own
dearest friends, and had a perfectly won-
derful talk with them about what they
were to do after He had risen from the
dead, and had passed out of their sight.
He said: ‘Do not be troubled or anxious
because you do not see Me. I shall come
back again some time, so that you can see
Me, and in the mean time the Blessed
Holy Spirit will stay in your hearts all the
time to make you strong and brave. He
will show you that I am still with you,
although you cannot see Me. I want to
give you a Sign, something you can kcep
in remembrance of Me always, something
which means much to Me, and will mean

This do in Remembrance of Me. 43

much to you as you grow to understand
Me better. I want to give something so
simple that all who believe on Me and
love Me can have it wherever they are,
and every time they look at it and use it,
they will have their thoughts of Me made
fresh and new, and they will have their
own lives made glad and strong. I will
choose as this Sign bread and wine:
things that everybody knows about and
everybody can get. Let the bread always
mean to you, My Body, which I am going
to give as an Offering for the sins of the
world. Let the wine always mean to you
My Blood, My very Life, which I am giv-
ing for you, that you may have Its power
in yourselves, to make your lives new and
fresh and strong. I give you this dear
and simple Sign, in token of My love, in
token that, although you cannot see Me
always, I am a/ways with you, that I will
never leave you nor forsake you, that I
will come again to you. Now, if you
care for me, you will keep this Sign as a

44 This do in Remembrance of Me.

precious thing. You will love it. You
will delight in setting it before your eyes,
and taking it again and again and again,
with the feeling that every time you take
it, it is really coming straight from My
Hands to you. And the joy you will have
in using this Sign will be measured only
by how much you really care for Me. If
I am really the Master, the great Ruling
Influence in your life, this Sign of Com-
munion will become to you full of the
most dear, inspiring associations, memo-
ries and hopes. It will be a help, beyond
words, in assisting you to keep a fresh,
living sense of My love and My faithful-
ness. Here then, I give you the Sign.
Take this bread as I give it, take this
wine as I bestow it. Let it mean to you
what it means to Me. Let it be in your
life a memory of what has been, an assur-
ance of what is, a pledge and promise of
what is yet to be. This do in remem-
brance of Me.”

Oh! you dear young hearts! Is there

This do in Remembrance of Me. 45

not much in this that appeals to you?
You who have already claimed your place
at the Communion, are you not glad that
into your life this wondrous Sign is given
of a love which has suffered for you in the
bitter past, which hovers over you in the
present with unspeakable joy and hope,
which is planning for you in the future, such
things as pass man’s understanding? Are
you not glad that as earthly life with its
many interests demands time and thought,
and often covers you with clouds of care,
you have this wondrous Sign of Communion
within your reach, bringing so near to you
the Saviour’s affection, and giving you op-
portunity to show your affection for Him?
And you, beloved children, who have not
yet come into those places which are wait-
ing for you at the Communion, do you
catch, from what I have said, any of the
joy that is in store for you? This Sign is
for you also. Jesus is looking upon you
with His great love, and many of you are
beginning to feel that He is looking on

46 This do in Remembrance of Me.

you, and you are turning yourselves with
many new desires toward Him. Perhaps
Iam at this very moment speaking to some
boy or to some girl who is filled with these
new desires and thoughts, who hardly un-'
derstands what has taken place, who only
knows that there is a yearning words can-
not express to be a disciple of Christ. To
you He is holding out this Blessed Sign ;
and soon, ah! very soon, may you take it
and use it, and know the comfort of having
it.

But what I have just said leads me on to
the next question which you remember we
imagined the man to be asking who was
looking upon the Communion Service for
the first time in his life. We have an-
swered his first question: ‘ What is this
service like ?”’ And we have answered his
second question: ‘‘ Who gave you the idea
of this service ?’’ Now, almost surely, his
next question would be: “Of what use is
this service?”’ To one who does not care
for Christ, or wish to be like Him, I will

This do in Remembrance of Me. 47

quite frankly say: To you there is no use
in this service —it simply means nothing
at all. You do not see anything in it.
What use can there be in sitting in church,
eating a morsel of bread, tasting a few
drops of wine? But is not that true in a
great many ways? I may have some things
which are very precious to me for the sake
of the one who gave them, or of the event
of which they remind me: while to another
who does not know the friend who gave
them, or the reason they were given, the
things mean simply nothing. The Com-
munion is precious and useful only to those
who know the dear Lord Jesus, and under-
stand why He gave us this Sign. It can
hardly do any one good to come and simply
eat bread and drink wine. There is no-
thing in the bread and wine by themselves
which can help us. They only help us
when our thought connects them with Him
Who has explained to us that of which
they are a Sign. But to one who is drawn
to the Communion by the love of Christ,

48 This do in Remembrance of Me.

help comes in many ways, and the use of
the service is easily explained.

The Communion is useful as an act of
obedience. Jesus says plainly: “ This do.”
And you remember what the mother of '
Jesus said to the servants at the marriage
in Galilee: “Whatsoever He saith unto
you, do zt.” Even if the Communion had
never brought any comfort or joy into any
one’s life, we might be perfectly sure that
we need it, because Christ has told us to
doit. I always think of this at the Com-
munion: this is something Jesus tells me
to do. I am obeying His own wise Word
when I come to this table and eat what
is thereon. And I feel sure that if one
begins by coming as an act of obedience,
doing this simply because He tells us to
do it, we shall be made stronger and shall
find out how much more it is than merely
an act of obedience.

The Communion is useful as an act of
remembrance. This is a very sweet use.
When we come to this snow-white table,

This do in Remembrance of Me. 49

and see the bread and wine upon it, when
we take our place in the beautiful silence,
and lift our voice in the beautiful hymn,
when we taste the precious Sign, our mem-
ory becomes full of Christ. We think
back to the hour when His own Hands
spread the feast, and His own Voice said,
“Do it.” And we can realize Christ in
his pure and holy Person, as our Saviour,
Master, Friend, King. We feel so strongly
the effect of this strong and vivid remem-
brance of Christ, it has seemed, sometimes,
after such a service as if we had really
looked upon Him with our eyes and spoken
to Him. And as we go on into our daily
life, that fresh memory follows us, and
keeps long with us, and blesses us.

The Communion is useful as an act of
belief. When one who loves Jesus takes
that Sign in the Spirit in which Christ
gave that Sign our belief in the true reality
and power of His Blessed Death is made
stronger. He has told us what the Bread
and Wine are ever to mean to us: the

50 =This do in Remembrance of Me.

Bread His Body, the Wine His Blood, and
when we come to His table, and take this
Sign as if from His own Hand, oh! how
it strengthens us: the Holy Spirit seems
to tone up all our thought and our life; ©
peace is spread afresh over our hearts,
earnest love warms them, holy thoughts
take possession of them; and we often
come away from that dear table feeling as
if Christ’s very Arm was around us to hold
us up and keep us safe.

The Communion is useful as an act of
loyalty. Before almost every Communion
you will see some lives coming forward
and taking their stand in front of this
table, and gladly acknowledging Christ.
And that is what the whole service is, for
all who truly take part in it. We acknow-
ledge that we trust Christ as our Saviour
Who loved us and gave Himself for us, to
redeem us by His most precious Blood.
We say to the world by this glad act of
Communion, that we believe Jesus died for

us, and that the true purpose of our heart

This do in Remembrance of Me. 51

is to serve with our life and strength this
Blessed Master, until He comes again.

The Communion is useful as an act of
fellowship. There is no fellowship on earth
more beautiful, more cheering, more able
to keep the heart strong and courageous,
than the fellowship of those who have a
common love for the Lord Jesus. That
_ fellowship is a great bond, binding hearts
to one another. Never is that fellowship
more strongly felt than at the Commun-
ion. Let discouraged hearts come, and
be cheered by the fellowship with other
hearts. It is a fellowship not only with
our friends whom we can see, but with
unseen friends, some of them with Christ
in Paradise. At His table we “gaze be-
yond the things we see.”” We realize that
we are not in spirit separated from those
precious ones who are with Him, and that
because He lives, they live also.

The last question is: Who may come
to Communion? Any one may come to
- see this beautiful Service. I wish many

52 This do in Remembrance of Me.

of you would come, if only to under-
stand better the meaning of it all by
seeing and hearing. Come, and place
yourself under the influence of the Com-
munion hour, for it will help you as no
other hour can help. Any one may Zake
the Communion who loves Christ, who
understands what the Communion means,
and who is willing to acknowledge the
Lord as Saviour and Master. Dearest
child, will you bravely and sweetly ac-
knowledge Him? Will you do this for
your own sake, to make your life more
free to grow up in His service? Will
you, above all, do this in remembrance of
Him? Amen.

NOW the light has gone away,
Saviour, listen while I pray —
Asking Thee to watch and keep,
And to send me quiet sleep.

Let my near and dear ones be
Always near and dear to Thee :
O bring me and all I love
To Thy happy Home above.

Thou, my best and kindest Friend,
Thou wilt love me to the end ;
Let me love Thee more and more
Always better than before.
Amen,

© HOLY SAVIOUR, the Friend and Com-

panion of every child, grant that we who
love Thee may so truly seek to do all things in
remembrance of Thee; that our hearts shall
be pure, our wills earnest, and our lives de-
voted to Thy service, both now and in all days
and years to come, for Thy dear Name’s sake.

Amen.

[_IGHTEN our darkness, we beseech Thee,

O Lord, and by Thy great mercy defend
us from all perils and dangers of this night,
for the love of Thy Only Son, our Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.

"THE Peace of God, which passeth all under-

standing, keep your hearts and minds in the
knowledge and love of God and of His Son
Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of
God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the
Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with
you always. Amen.

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