Hymns of the Church – Because Thou Hast Said – 26 September 2023, Anno Domini

 

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ND he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.  (Luke 22:19-20)

 

            I discovered this Communion hymn in an old Methodist hymn book. The author is Charles Wesley (1748), and the tune is, Paderborn. I could not find the composer of this tune. The Communion Service is a call to the Lord’s Table for Supper. I remember the warmest and happiest moments of my youth were at the family table at supper time. The Lord’s Table is the table of our Great God and Father, and we are the family who are called to partake of it.

 

Because Thou Hast Said

 

Because Thou hast said: Do this for my sake,

The mystical bread we gladly partake;

We thirst for the Spirit that flows from above,

And long to inherent the fullness of love.

 

‘Tis here we look up and grasp at thy mind.

‘tis here that we hope thine image to find;

the means of bestowing thy gifts we embrace;

but all things are owing to Jesus’ grace.

 

            Because Thou hast said: Do this for my sake, The mystical bread we gladly partake; We thirst for the Spirit that flows from above, And long to inherent the fullness of love. Just as a mother calls her children from the fields to come to supper, so does the Lord call His people to come to His table to commune with Him and with each other over the elements of Bread and Wine which represent His Body and Blood shed for us. The cup of which we partake is the one of joy, not the cup of sacrifice from which our Lord drank. He drank from that cup that we might be spared the death of eternal darkness. We must come to the Table gayly but in solemn contemplation of its deep reverence and meaning. Though Christ is with the believer always, He is especially spiritually present in the Lord’s supper. Not only do we nourish of souls with His Bread, but we also are endowed with a greater measure of His Spirit by way of the Cup of blessing He offers. We remember His counsel that we partake of His Supper in remembrance of Him. That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.  (1 Cor 11:23-26)

 

            ‘Tis here we look up and grasp at thy mind. ‘tis here that we hope thine image to find; the means of bestowing thy gifts we embrace; but all things are owing to Jesus’ grace. Our spirits are elevated as we partake of the Communion. If we have prepared our hearts properly prior to the occasion, we fill an exaltation in our hearts of love and reverence for that shed Blood and Broken Body symbolized by the elements. It is not simply His Person that we feel near, but also a family kinship as we are made more like Him. Our outward observance of the supper lifts our souls to a higher plane that is evidenced in our inward hearts. It is our love and devotion to our Lord in the hidden chambers of our hearts that results in an outward manifestation of that love for God and our fellow man.