Some people when urged to come to the Lord's Supper excuse themselves, by saying that--"they are not prepared to come."
But this will not release any one from the command of Christ--"This do."
What the preparation is that we need in order that we may come, in a proper way, to this holy sacrament, is clearly pointed out in the exhortation that occurs in the communion service of our church. Here the minister says--"Ye who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort." And there is no excuse for persons not being in the state these words describe: for this is just what God's word, and our own duty and interest require of us. If we have not yet done what these words require, we ought to do it at once; and then there will be nothing in the way of our obeying the command of Christ, when he says--"This do, in remembrance of me," By all the authority which belongs to him our Saviour _commands_ us to keep this holy feast. And the first reason why we ought to "do this," is because of its connection with the word of his command.
_The second reason why we ought to "do this"--is because of its connection with the memory of his sufferings_.
We are taught this by the word _remembrance_, which our Saviour here uses. He says, "This do in remembrance of me." This means in remembrance of my sufferings for you. And _this_ is the most important word used by him when he established this sacrament. It is the governing word in the whole service. It is the word by which we must be guided in trying to understand what our Lord meant to teach us by all he did and said on this occasion.
You know how it is when we are trying to understand the music to which a particular tune has been set. There is always one special note in a tune, which is called the _key-note_. The leader of a choir, when they are going to sing, will strike one of the keys of the organ, or the melodeon they are using, so as to give to each member of the choir the proper key-note of the piece of music they are to sing. It is very important for them to have this key-note, because they cannot have a proper understanding of what they are to do without it. This holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper is like a solemn song. And the key-note of the music to which the song is set is this word--_remembrance_. It teaches us that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a _memorial_ service. And, in going through the music to which the song of this service has been set, every note that we use must be a memorial note. And the language used by our blessed Lord when he established this Supper, or sacrament, must be explained in this way. When he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying--"This is my body, which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me," he meant that we should understand him as saying--"This is the _memorial_ of my body." And when he gave them the cup, and said--"This is my blood of the New Testament," he meant that we should understand him as saying--"This is the _memorial_ of my blood." And we are sure that this was the meaning, for two reasons.