The Lord’s Supper – Robert Balmer

Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).

This declaration will probably suggest to you a scene more magnificent and blissful than any that will ever be realised on earth. It will not unnaturally lead your thoughts upward to heaven, and forward to that glorious era when the redemption of the church will be consummated, and when all her members, being collected into one harmonious and happy society, shall be admitted by the Captain of their salvation to eat and drink with him in his Father’s heavenly kingdom. To these events the figures in the text itself are elsewhere applied; for Jesus Christ is often represented as the husband, and the church as his bride and his spouse; and, in allusion to a nuptial solemnity and a marriage supper, it is said that, having ‘sanctified and cleansed her’, he will at the last ‘present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but holy and without blemish.’

But, however fitly the declaration in the text may be applied to the completion of the redemption of the church at the end of the world, that does not seem to be the epoch in reference to which the declaration is here uttered. In the preceding chapter we have an account of the tremendous judgments to be inflicted on that false and corrupt church described as the mystical Babylon, as ‘the mother of harlots’, which for so many ages was to exercise a most baleful tyranny over the nations of the earth, and to intoxicate herself with ‘the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus’. In the chapter from which the text is taken, the Lamb and his bride, that is, Jesus Christ and his church, are introduced in contrast with the mother of harlots and her paramours; and it is intimated that the destruction of the latter is to be followed immediately by the nuptials of the former.

It would seem, then, that the marriage supper of the Lamb here mentioned, refers to the commencement of the millennium, and to the glorious events by which that auspicious period will be signalised. Of that period, and of these events, it may well be said, ‘Blessed are they who shall see them, and share in them.’ The errors and corruptions, the strifes and divisions, which had previously tarnished the glory of the church, and impeded her edification and her extension, will then be done away: and the attainments of her members in knowledge and purity, in zeal and love, will far surpass those of any former period. Her boundaries will be enlarged, so as to be commensurate with those of the globe: Jews and Gentiles will be generally, if not ‘universally converted’ to the faith of the gospel, and being formed into ‘one body’, will be ‘presented as a chaste virgin unto Christ’. To the church will then ‘be granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.’ Then will be verified the beautiful predictions of the prophet Hosea, ‘I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved who was not beloved.’ ‘And I will betrothe thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betrothe thee unto me in righteousness and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in tender mercies.’

Such seem to be the period, the events, and the privileges, in reference to which it is said in the text, ‘Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb’; but there are other seasons and events and privileges to which that proclamation may be accommodated. In one of the Saviour’s parables, the kingdom of heaven, or the gospel dispensation, is compared to a ‘certain king, who made a marriage for his son’; in another, to a ‘man who made a great supper, and bade many.’ While the announcement in the text, then, refers primarily to one specific and most glorious period in the history of the church, it is evidently applicable to the successive ages of the evangelical economy. And if it may be accommodated without impropriety to the invitation to accept of pardon and salvation, addressed to sinners indiscriminately in the preaching of the gospel, it will apply with still more obvious propriety to that most holy ordinance, which we are this day to observe, and in which saints are invited to hold, with their Saviour, an intercourse peculiarly intimate, ennobling, and improving. It is of course to that holy ordinance, the ordinance of the Supper, that I intend to accommodate it. Let us, then, in dependence on divine assistance, consider some of those particulars on account of which the privilege of partaking of the Lord s Supper may be regarded as a privilege exceedingly great and valuable. And we may mention,

1. The author of the ordinance

This ordinance is the Supper; and it may not improperly be characterised as the Supper of the Lamb. It is somewhat remarkable that, with the single exception of the first chapter of John’s gospel, where we meet twice with the expression, ‘The Lamb of God,’ that appellation is given to the Saviour only in the book of Revelation; and that, in that book, it is given him more frequently than any other designation, being applied to him upwards of twenty times. Now, without adverting to other views of his character, let us consider, first, for a moment, those suggested by that instructive appellation.

The lamb is one of the most gentle, and meek, and patient, one of the most guileless, and innocent, and amiable of the irrational creatures; and the lamb was used as the sacrifice at the feast of the passover, the greatest of the Jewish festivals. This appellation reminds us that Jesus Christ was a person pre-eminently meek, and gentle, and lowly; that he was possessed of spotless innocence, and perfect purity, being ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.’ It reminds us, too, of the uncomplaining meekness, and the matchless patience with which he endured his matchless sufferings; that ‘he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and that as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.’ But above all, it is expressive of the nature and design of his sufferings; reminding us that they were of a sacrificial and expiatory character; undergone to satisfy the justice of heaven, and procure our pardon and reconciliation. Behold in him ‘the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.’ And in his resurrection and exaltation, you have a conclusive proof that his sacrifice has been accepted; that it has done what all preceding sacrifices were utterly inadequate to accomplish; that it ‘hath finished transgression, and made an end of sin’; rendering it perfectly consistent with the character and government of the Supreme Ruler to dispense pardon, and all other blessings, to our guilty and perishing race.

The principal ideas, then, suggested by the appellation in the text, are expiation of sin, remission, and eternal life. It suggests further, of course, the idea of a love that is unspeakable and immeasurable; for what but such a love could have prompted the Son of God to become man, and to submit to tortures and agonies of inconceivable severity for the sake of those who had no claims whatever to his favour, who merited, indeed, his disapprobation and his vengeance.

But in considering the author of the ordinance of the Supper, we need not restrict our thoughts exclusively to the particulars suggested by the appellation Lamb, taken in its strict and literal import. From that name, as from any other of his names, we might, without impropriety, take occasion to contemplate his character, his history, and his conduct at large. This name itself, indeed, naturally reminds us not only of his abasement and sufferings, but of his pre-existent dignity and his personal excellence, and of his official exaltation and glory. When first introduced as a Lamb, in the visions of this book, he is represented as standing in the midst between the throne and the worshippers who encompass it – ‘a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns,’ the emblem of authority, ‘and seven eyes,’ which are said to be ‘the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.’ We are thus taught, not only that his sacrifice has been accepted, and that he appears as our mediator before the celestial throne; but that, to carry forward the gracious designs of his sacrifice, he is invested with unlimited dominion, and possessed, of course, of that infinite plenitude of power, and wisdom, and goodness, requisite for the exercise of a dominion thus unlimited.

Such, then, is the character of him who is the author and master of that festival of which you are invited to participate, in the ordinance of the Supper. His name is ‘the Mighty God’, but he became bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, and he expired on a cross, to deliver you from sin and wrath; and he lives in heaven to carry on and consummate the salvation of all who believe in him. In that sacred service, you commemorate more especially these vicarious sufferings, and his propitiatory death; but to do that aright, you must keep steadily in view his original dignity, and his official glory. ‘For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come’; not the death of a mere man, or an ordinary benefactor.

From this view of his character, you may infer the magnitude of the privilege of being called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Most of you would regard it as a high honour to be invited to the table of one of the nobles or princes of the earth, even though you were not privileged to sit near him, or to converse familiarly with him. What a privilege, then, and what an honour, to sit at the table, and to enjoy the intimate and affectionate fellowship of Jesus Christ, who is ‘the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.’ 

2. The company with which you are here associated.

To the carnal eye that company may not seem a splendid or attractive one, since it comprehends not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble after the flesh. ‘Judge not, however, according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.’ ‘Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, to be heirs of the kingdom?’ What though the greater part of those who sit at the table of the Lord are lightly esteemed among men, if they stand high in the estimate of the King of Heaven, the fountain of all honours and authority. What though worldly possessions are scanty, if they are ‘heirs of that inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled’. And what though their attainments in human science are slender, if they are possessed of that celestial wisdom which is ‘a tree of life to all that lay hold on her’, and of which it may be said

 ‘All other knowledge in her presence falls Degraded, and like folly shows’ (Paradise Lost).

It must be confessed that those high attainments cannot be predicated of all who may be found seated at the table of the Lord. It is not to be denied that, through the unavoidable imperfection and fallibility, or through the criminal negligence and unfaithfulness of the office-bearers of the church, not only hypocrites and formalists, and persons whose piety is at the best but doubtful, but persons who are grossly ignorant or grossly immoral, have been allowed to come to the sacramental table.

But it may also be maintained, that here, if anywhere, are to be found the true followers of the Lamb; for few, if any, of his true followers will neglect to confess him in the most sacred and delightful of all his institutes. Fix your thoughts, then, for a few moments more on their character and destiny, and you will be compelled to recognize them as ‘the excellent ones of the earth’; as ‘more excellent than their neighbours’. Of all of them it may be affirmed that they ‘know the true God, and his Son, Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.’ They possess, further, that faith which substantiates things hoped for and realizes things not seen, which enables its possessor ‘to work righteousness and subdue kingdoms’, to brave the terrors and despise the pleasures of the world.

It may be further affirmed of them, that they possess genuine love to God, to him who is infinitely excellent and amiable in himself, who is the author of all the excellencies that are possessed, and of all the blessings enjoyed, by created beings, and the love of whom constitutes, as is most fit, the first and great requirement of the law. They possess, also, a warm and active love to that Saviour ‘who loved them, and gave himself for them’; who ‘is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely’; and the love of whom is a principle so indispensable, that if any man be destitute of it, he is accursed of God, and deserves to be pronounced accursed by all the holy beings in the universe.

Further, still, they cherish sentiments of brotherly kindness and of tender love to each other, and of undissembled benevolence to all men; such benevolence as prompts them to seek the present happiness and the eternal salvation of all. And, in fine, of all of them it may be affirmed, that they study to ‘keep themselves pure from the pollutions of the world’, ‘to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.’

Such are some of the chief ingredients of that spiritual character to which the Spirit of Christ is forming all his genuine disciples: and ‘if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.’ In the present world, that heavenly character is exhibited only in an immature and rudimental state; but hereafter it will be fully completed and developed in a higher sphere of existence; and when that worldly virtue which is not combined with the love of God and the faith of Christ, shall be weighed in the balances and found wanting; when the possessions of the rich, and the honours of the noble among the men of the world, shall be exchanged for the gloom of the sepulchre or the darkness of hell, ‘then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.’

Such being the character and the destiny of the genuine members of the church, the spouse of the Saviour, is it not with perfect propriety that in her corporate capacity she is represented in Psalm 45 as ‘the king s daughter, all glorious within, having her clothing of wrought gold’; and that it is said of her in the context, that ‘to her it is granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; which fine linen is the righteousness of saints?’

Surely, my friends, if you reflect on the present excellencies and the immortal prospects of the genuine disciples of the Lamb, you will acknowledge it to be a high honour and an inestimable privilege to be associated with them, to be assimilated to them in character, to share in their sympathies, to have an interest in their prayers, to hold fellowship with them at the table of our common Saviour, and to cherish the hope of being united with them hereafter in the services and fruitions of the heavenly sanctuary.

3. The provisions of which you partake in the ordinance of the Supper.

In a feast, it is naturally expected that the meat and drink provided for the guests be on a scale of magnificence correspondent to the rank and wealth of the entertainer, and to the grandeur and importance of the occasion. The author of the feast under our more immediate consideration, is the Maker and Proprietor of the universe; one object of it is to commemorate and cement the union betwixt him and his spouse; and it may be presumed, then, that his table will be stored abundantly with the most nutritious provisions and the choicest delicacies. To a person yielding himself up to the anticipations which these figures will not unnaturally suggest to a carnal mind, what a revulsion of feeling will be occasioned by the first sight of the Lord’s table! Instead of expensive and delicious luxuries brought from distant climes, each of the guests partakes only of a morsel of bread and a sip of wine.

Shall we conclude, then, that the table of the Lamb is penuriously furnished? No, my brethren. The bread and the wine are merely symbols; but what are the objects of which they are symbolical? They, as you know, are the memorials and emblems of the broken body and shed blood of the Son of God, of his vicarious sufferings and his expiatory death; and, consequently, of the forgiveness, the reconciliation, the sanctifying influence, and all the other benefits of the perfect and everlasting redemption, which his sufferings and death are the means of procuring. If, then, you partake aright of the external elements, you exercise faith in the wondrous facts and truths of which those elements are symbolical; and if you do this, Christ and all the benefits of the new covenant, are not only represented, but conveyed and applied to you in that holy ordinance.

Now, these spiritual benefits, procured not by ‘corruptible things as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Christ,’ are as indispensable to the life and happiness of our immortal souls, as material food can be to the sustenance of our mortal bodies. ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.’ Unless you partake of those spiritual benefits and those heavenly provisions, you must become the victims of a death incomparably more dreadful than that of the body; a death consisting not in the annihilation of existence, but in the extinction of happiness and hope, and in the endurance of ceaseless pain and anguish. But in partaking of these spiritual benefits and provisions, the spiritual life within you is nourished and invigorated; you become assimilated to the angels of heaven, and qualified to share in their heavenly services and enjoyments.

Surely, then, we use language which, though figurative, is yet the language not of hyperbolical exaggeration, but of truth and soberness, when we say that the bread given in the Lord’s Supper, though it convey no nourishment to the unbelieving and profane, though to them it be the savour of death unto death, is to the believer the ‘hidden manna’, ‘bread from heaven,’ ‘angels food.’ And is not that an additional and most powerful confirmation of the declaration in the text: ‘Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.’

I have thus directed your attention to the author of the ordinance, the company, and the provisions. From what has already been said, it is manifest that it is a high honour, and a distinguished privilege, to be called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. But there are various other considerations which might have been adduced if time had permitted. I might have adverted more fully to the truths exhibited in the ordinance, and to the sentiments and affections which it is intended and adapted to awaken and to nourish. The truths exhibited are the most momentous and instructive that can occupy the human mind, or any mind; they constitute the most illustrious manifestations ever given of the character and attributes of God; they are more intimately connected than any other class of truths with human happiness and improvement; and they engage the intense study of angelic intelligencies. Among the sentiments and affections which the ordinance of the Supper is fitted to excite and invigorate, may be mentioned penitence, faith and affiance, love to God, gratitude to Christ, love to all men, zeal in the divine service, and submission to the divine will. These are the best and holiest sentiments that can be cherished by the human spirit, and the most conducive to its happiness.

I might have adverted more particularly also to the improving and delightful nature of that communion which is implied in the Lord’s Supper. ‘A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry.’ When men entertain their friends to a nuptial solemnity, or on any occurrence of special importance and joy, they reckon it incumbent on them not only to provide nutritious food and costly delicacies for the bodily palate, but by improving and amusing conversation to edify and gratify the mind. And is there aught correspondent to that in the ordinance of the Supper? Look to the service, and you find that when not performed in solemn silence, only a solitary voice is heard guiding the meditations of the company. Independently, however, of anything that is said, the service itself, as we have seen, brings before the mind truths the most grand and interesting. It tends also to inspire the worshippers with sentiments of mutual love, and is thus to them a medium of delightful and improving fellowship; and in that service their fellowship is not only with one another, but with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ; for while their souls ascend to their God and Saviour in grateful emotions, and in devout aspirations, the influences of the good Spirit descend on them, exciting them to holy resolutions, and inspiring them with ‘a peace that passeth understanding, with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.’

I might have adverted more particularly, also, to the vast expense at which the table of the Lord has been furnished. I am aware that when the scripture speaks of the Saviour as having paid a price and a ransom, the price is referred to as paid not for things, but for persons – not for the blessings of salvation, but for those whom he came to save; and for that phraseology there is doubtless a reason in the nature of the subject. But though it be a slight deviation from the scripture language to speak of the blessings of salvation, as bought or purchased, it may yet be allowed in compliance with common usage. And for us what an incalculable privilege must it be reckoned to sit at the table of the Lord, if we are to estimate it by the price at which the table has been furnished. That price is one ‘all price beyond’: compared with it, thousands of gold and silver, all the treasures of material nature, nay, all the hosts of the intelligent creatures, are only as the small dust of the balance, ‘nothing, less than nothing, and vanity.’ ‘Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.’

In the age of Malachi, the last of the Hebrew prophets, the priests were so extremely profligate that they said, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ In our own times there are persons who do not avow themselves in words the enemies of the Saviour, who yet express practically, though not verbally, a similar opinion. Not one individual is here, it may be hoped, who will not recoil with horror from the utterance of such a sentiment; and may it not be further hoped, that after what has now been said, some who have hitherto neglected the Supper of the Lord will immediately examine that part of their conduct, repent of it, and amend it, without any unnecessary delay.

In the sentence immediately following the text, the angel who addressed John said unto him, ‘These are the true sayings of God’; intimating that, like some other statements to which a similar notice is appended, the declaration in the text is a declaration not only of indubitable certainty, but of special importance, deserving ‘the more earnest heed’ of the reader and of the hearer. And viewing the declaration in reference to the Lord’s Supper, is it not important and interesting as well as true?

Not to insist further on the magnitude of the privilege which we have been contemplating, I would advert briefly, before concluding, to a collateral topic of great importance mentioned also in the text; and what I say on it may be regarded as ‘the fencing of the tables’. ‘Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ‘Called’ – does not that term intimate that none but those who are called have a right to come to the Lord’s table, and that there are certain qualifications indispensable to capacitate for that holy ordinance? Even the external call inviting sinners to accept of the blessings of salvation, and to enter into an intimate union with the Saviour, constitutes an inestimable privilege. But they only who have acquiesced in that call, and who are called effectually and internally – they only who have been affianced to the Lamb, and who have accepted of the blessings procured by his blood, are qualified for communion with him in the ordinance of the Supper. It is said accordingly, that they who are with the Lamb ‘are called, and chosen, and faithful’; and it is further said, that ‘when the marriage of the Lamb is come, his wife had made herself ready.’

At marriage suppers, and other festivals in ancient times, it was customary for the master of the feast to provide suitable dresses for all the guests; and it would have been an insufferable insult if any of them had appeared without the robe provided for him. Thus, too, it is with respect to the marriage supper of the Lamb, the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. To be qualified for it, you must be arrayed in the spotless robe of the Saviour’s imputed righteousness; in other words, you must be ‘justified by his blood’; and you must have on also the robe of personal holiness, that ‘fine linen, clean and white; which fine linen is the righteousness of saints.’

Let me now then ask you the questions obviously suggested by this statement. Are you ‘become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God?’ Have you reason to think that you have put on the wedding garment; that you have obtained justification by the blood, and regeneration by the Spirit of Christ? Under a profound conviction of your guilt or demerits, and your danger as sinners, have you renounced all self-reliance; and are you exercising an humble dependence on Jesus Christ as the ‘end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth?’ Are you looking to him for deliverance from the power as well as the punishment of sin, and for restoration to the image as well as the favour of God? Have you submitted to him not only as a Saviour to redeem, but as a Prince to rule over you? Do you cherish towards him sentiments of cordial admiration and ardent love; and are these sentiments embodied and exemplified in a course of holy obedience?

Let intending communicants ask themselves these plain, but most momentous questions, as in the presence of the Searcher of hearts, and let them act accordingly.

It is most necessary that you examine yourselves carefully and impartially. Often, brethren, have you been urged to submit to Jesus Christ as your prophet, and priest, and king; as your prince and Saviour. Often have I endeavoured ‘to espouse you unto one husband, that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.’ Can you say then that he is enthroned in your affections, and that your whole persons are consecrated to him, that though ‘other lords besides him had the dominion over you, yet now by him only do you make mention of his name,’ and that ‘the desire of your souls is to him, and to the remembrance of his name? If so, it is not presumptuous for you to profess your allegiance and attachment to him. If you have been ‘drawn to him with the cords of a man, with bands of love,’ and brought within the bond of the covenant, fear not to consolidate the alliance, and to strengthen the attachment, by coming to his table, and partaking of the signs and seals of the covenant.

And in the service, may you feel how blessed a thing it is, to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb. May your souls flow forth to him in streams of affectionate admiration and gratitude. May he ‘rejoice over you as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride.’ And may your spiritual instructor experience the feelings of the Saviour’s forerunner when he said, ‘The bridegroom is he who hath the bride; but the friend of the bridegroom who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.’ Amen.