An Address on the Importance of the Lord’s Supper

Sometimes you stumble upon a book by accident, and it becomes a blessing, helping you to grow as a result.  I’ve opined before about how the Lord’s Supper, in some congregations, is given a diminished importance, when it should be the focal point of our Lord’s Day gathering (see that article here).  This was something that was a problem almost 200 years ago as well.

Today’s addition to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary is a short book (just 16 pages), but it is full of valuable observations about the importance of the Lord’s Supper in the life of a Christian.

AddressOnLordsSupper

Now, I’ll tell you ahead of time, I don’t know the religious background of the author, and I don’t agree with some of his interpretations of a couple passages.  But there are enough good points in this book that we thought it to be well worth sharing with you.  Here’s a couple short excerpts:

The institution itself is well adapted to commemorate this interesting event. The broken bread is a just and striking emblem of the body of Christ, which was wounded and crucified; and the cup of wine is an effectual memorial of his blood shed for the remission of sins; it also reminds us of the obligations and blessings of the new covenant which was sealed and ratified by his blood. And by partaking of these elements, the disciples of Jesus are naturally led to reflect upon the relations in which they stand, and the duties which they owe to their common Lord, and to each other.

and

We live in a state of frailty and imperfection; the objects of sense have too much influence upon our minds; and kind and amiable as the friend of sinners is, we are too apt to forget him. But Jesus well knew that a constant affectionate remembrance of him at his table, would inspire his followers with a penitential sorrow for sin, kindle in their bosoms an unfeigned ardent love to him, a lively gratitude for the blessings they derive from his gospel, animate them with heroic zeal and fortitude in his cause, unite them to each other in the bonds of undissembled affection, and that it would induce them to aspire to the highest attainments in universal excellence. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper tends to perpetuate the memory of his sufferings and death, not only in our own hearts, but also in the church and in the world. By frequenting his table, we openly profess our value and esteem for a crucified Redeemer; show that we are not ashamed of our Master, but glory in our relation to him; that we are not ashamed of his gospel, but obedient to its requisitions, and that we are not ashamed of his cross, but cheerfully enlist ourselves under its banner.

We’ve gone through this book, updating the spelling and punctuation, correcting any mistakes, and reformatting the entire booklet to give you the best possible reading experience (trust me…you should have seen what we had to work with to begin with…it was a MESS!)

To read or download this book, just click the link below!

Scott, James – Address on the Lords Supper (James Scott)

-Bradley S. Cobb

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