MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 12:14-20
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
I. It is the memorial of a glorious fact. The Passover was commemorative of the safety of the children of Israel when the destroying angel passed through the land, and also of their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. And so the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is commemorative of important facts in the moral history of men. It is a memorial of the death of Christ upon the cross, and of the freedom then rendered possible to human souls. God will have the great facts of the Church’s history well remembered; hence He provides monuments of them to succeeding generations.
II. It is the token of abiding mercy. The Passover, whenever it was celebrated, reminded the Israelites of the abounding mercy of God to them, and in after-years this would be pre-eminently the case. And surely no true soul can draw near to the table of the Lord to partake of His Holy Sacrament, without being sensitive to the continued mercy of the Infinite. Hence the Sacrament is not merely a monument of bygone history, but of the continual compassion of God to the penitent sinner. His mercy endureth for ever.
III. It is the time of joyous festival. The Passover was not merely a sacrifice; it was also a feast. The sacrificial part of it found its counterpart in the death of Christ, but the eucharistic part still pertains to the Supper of the Lord. Hence it is only priestly arrogance and pretence that turns the table of the Lord into an altar of sacrifice; only superstition will be deceived by such artifice. The Supper of our Lord is a glorious festival, where men of varied customs, experiences, and temperaments are united in deepest sympathy. This feast is a bond of union. It celebrates the most jubilant memories of the soul.
IV. It is of perpetual obligation. The Passover was binding upon the Jew. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is obligatory upon the Christian, and that to the end of time. Its obligation will never be removed by Christ, and no other authority is able to remove it. Let all Christian people realise not only their obligation, but the joy of coming to the table of the Lord; there they obtain the richest feast the soul can have. LESSONS:—
1. That the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a Divine institution.
2. That it is commemorative of great facts and truths.
3. That it is to be observed by all Christly souls throughout the universe.
THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD; OR, THE ORDINANCES OF GOD, AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY SHOULD BE OBSERVED
The feast of unleavened bread was a distinct ordinance from the Passover, though following immediately upon it. At this feast the Israelites were to eat unleavened bread; probably to commemorate the fact that they had left Egypt in such haste that they had no opportunity to leaven their dough, and were consequently obliged to eat unleavened cakes. It would also remind them of the power of God in bringing them out of Egypt when they were without provision for their journey, and it would teach them a lesson of trust in the Divine providence. This feast was an ordinance of God. We observe in reference to it—
I. That the ordinances of God are clearly made known and enjoined upon man. This feast of unleavened bread was clearly made Known and enjoined upon the Israelites. And so all the ordinances of God are plainly revealed in the Scriptures, and require the observance of man.
1. They are Divinely authorised. This feast of unleavened bread was authorised by God. It was not established by Moses; he was but the exponent of the Divine will in the matter. And so the ordinances of the Christian life have higher authority for their existence than the injunction or desire of man; they are ordained of Heaven. Hence their authority is unquestionable, and will only be set aside by open profanity.
2. They are morally beneficial. The feast of unleavened bread was morally beneficial. It carried back the thought of Israel to the old days of bondage, and also to the mercy of God as displayed in their freedom. It was associated with memories the very reproduction of which in the soul could not but have a beneficial tendency. And so all the ordinances of God are morally elevating and instructive. They remind us of great truths, of glorious experiences, and animate with brilliant hopes. The ordinances of God are the banqueting places of the soul. They remind of the past; they strengthen for the present; they prepare for the future.
3. They are wofully neglected. In this respect the Jew furnishes a great contrast to the Christian. Few Jews would neglect the feast of unleavened bread; many more professing Christians neglect the ordinances of God. This neglect is prevalent; it is fearful; it is inexcusable; it is morally injurious; it will ultimately meet with its due punishment.
II. That the ordinances of God are to be observed in a spirit and temper free from sin. The Israelites in observing this feast were to put away all leaven; none was to remain in the house. And all who wish faithfully to observe the ordinances of God must put away all moral leaven from the soul. All who partake of the Passover must put away leaven; all who have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ must put away sin (1 Corinthians 5:1-8).
1. The ordinances of God must be observed in a spirit free from hypocrisy. While observing the ordinances of God, the soul must be pure, free from all duplicity of motive, and perfectly in harmony with the solemn duty in which it is engaged. God seeth the heart, and knows whether the leaven of hypocrisy is expunged. lie cannot be deceived. Hence the need of sincerity.
2. The ordinances of God must be observed in a spirit free from malice and bitterness. Those who observe the ordinances of God must not be of cruel heart, of unrighteous character, infected with error, or filled with vexation. They must be compassionate; their dealings must be characterised by equity, their minds by true wisdom, and their souls by peacefulness.
3. The ordinances of God require that the home life be in sympathy with them. There must be no leaven in the house. A man who has leaven in his house cannot join in the feast of unleavened bread. What we are at home we shall be in the ordinances of God. The home life and the ordinary worship are inseparable; they are part of the same service, and must be pure.
III. That the ordinances of God are to be observed with solemnity and propriety of moral conduct and demeanour. “And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.” It may be asked why the Israelites were to eat unleavened bread for seven days. The number seven is not used here for an indefinite time, but probably to denote the length of time between Israel going out of Egypt and the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Seven days elapsed between these two events, and hence during this time they were to eat unleavened bread, as their freedom was not complete. The ordinances of God are solemn, and must be characterised by appropriate conduct. It was a holy convocation. This feast was set apart from all profane use, and consecrated unto God. Two days of it were not to be profaned by secular toil. On the first day of the seven, appropriate sacrifices were offered (Numbers 23.) During this time it was lawful to prepare food, which was not the case on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:3). The first and last days were regarded with peculiar sanctity; the intervening days, work could be done. All the ordinances of God are holy, they should be observed with appropriate sacrifices of the heart; but they are not intended to interfere unduly with the time allowed for our secular duties.
IV. That those who profane the ordinances of God are unworthy of them, and should be denied the privilege of them. “That soul shall be cut off from Israel.” Some interpret this to mean capital punishment; more probably it signifies the excommunication of the offender from the society and privileges of the chosen people, either by the public act of the proper officers, or by the direct hand of God (Genesis 17:14). And so men who neglect or abuse the ordinances of God are unworthy of them; they will derive no benefit from them; they will injure others in the use of them, and ought to be excluded from them until they return to a better state of mind. But such discipline was more rigorous in the Jewish Church than it is in the Christian. There ought, however, to be strict attention paid to the moral fitness of man for the ordinances of God. LESSONS:—
1. That there are in connection with the Church of God many ordinances to be observed by men.
2. That these ordinances should be observed with due solemnity and appropriate conduct.
3. That neglect of these ordinances is disobedience to the command of God.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 12:14-20. Passover mercies and unleavened duties are joined together by the Lord.
God’s full time must be kept in unleavened duties toward Him.… Unleavened services are appointed as a feast to Jehovah.… Such festivals in type and truth are aimed by God to holiness.… Holy convocations are intended to sanctify the name of God and His people by holy duties.
None of man’s own works must come in to interrupt God at any time.
The strict service of God denies not daily food to His servants, but allows it.
Days of deliverance by God should be days of unleavened feasting to Him.
Memorials of such days are suitable to the generations of the Church.
God’s statutes alone must make such time to be observed by His people,
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Memorial Feast! Exodus 12:14. A lover on the west coast of Scotland, when about to leave his heath-clad hills and shaggy woods for India, led his betrothed to a rugged glen, through whose precipitous channel flowed a foaming stream. Clambering down its steep and rocky sides, amid the calls and tears of the maid, he reached the edge of the flood, where grew a lovely “forget-me-not” Obtained at the peril, though not the cost, of his life, he presented it to her, begging that she would preserve it as the memorial of his love. Far more wonderful is that “Crimson Passion-Flower,” which, in the form of the Lord’s Supper, seems to say, “Forget-Me-not;” this do as a memorial of Me. As Thomas Watson says, “If a friend give us a ring at death, we wear it to keep up the memory of our friend.” Much more, then, ought we to keep up the memorial of Christ’s death in the Sacrament
“Where flowers of heaven, divinely fair,
Unfold their happy bloom.”
—Bonar.
Supper-Songs! Exodus 12:14. If ancient history is worthy of credence, Cleopatra once made a great feast or banquet of wine. Into the cup which she presented to her guest she placed a jewel worth a kingdom. Into the sacred cup which Jesus presents to His people, filled with His precious blood-shedding, He has put a pearl of great price—His Divine love. With such eucharistic joyfulness does this cup fill the believing recipient, that, like the Church in the Canticles, he exclaims: “Thy love is better than wine,”—
“That wine of love can be obtained of none
Save Him, who trod the wine-press all alone.”
—Trench.
Ordinances! Exodus 12:14-20. Fuller says that as it was necessary for the patriarchs to fix their residence near a well, so is it for believers to fix their residence near ordinances. They are morally beneficial. They refresh and strengthen. Yet not in themselves. As M‘Cheyne puts it, when a man goes thirsty to a well, his thirst is not allayed merely by going there. An English sailor having escaped from his Moorish captors in Africa, found himself thirsty in the desert. Night came on, and his thirst increased. Amid the shadows he wandered on; then lay down under a tree with his thirst still unquenched. Had it been day, he would have perceived that he was lying beside a cooling spring. He had come to the well, but his thirst was not allayed by that act; on the contrary, his thirst was increased by every step he took. In the morning, it was by what he drew out of the well that he was refreshed and strengthened. Just so, it is not by the mere act or exercise of coming to ordinances that souls obtain life and joyfulness; but by the tasting of Jesus in the ordinances, Whose flesh is meat indeed, and His blood drink indeed—
“His fountains are deep, His waters are pure,
And sweet to the weary soul.”
Commemorations! Exodus 12:14-20. During the reign of the Stuarts over the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, the youthful scion of a powerful Scotch house, whose family had once coerced their youthful monarch, was in revenge and fear confined in a dungeon. After upwards of twenty years’ solitary seclusion, where he beguiled his imprisonment with the education of a mouse, he was liberated. On the night previous to his liberation, he and the person through whose mediation his freedom had been secured, partook of a humble feast, which they always afterwards celebrated on the successive anniversaries of his liberty. With some such feelings of joyfulness and commemorative gratitude must Israel have feasted year by year. Year by year, it stirred the ashes of memory in the Jewish heart, and kindled them up into a flame of hope; while it taught them to look for a greater prophet than Moses, to long fur a grander sacrificial lamb than that of the passover, and to hope for a more glorious salvation than freedom from temporal oppression and bondage. So Christians commemorate with graceful praise the Feast of that great Paschal Lamb, looking in joyful anticipation to that full and final freedom in the Heavenly Canaan—
“Where peaceful hills and holy vales
Sleep in eternal day.”