In remembrance of Thee! My best
Friend; my elder Brother; my faithful and
sympathizing High-priest; my Advocate
with the Father; my Saviour from sin and
eternal death; my refuge and hiding-place
in trouble; the rest of my spirit in weari-
ness, my covert in every storm of temptation,
my joy in life and my hope in death. If I
forget Thee, Lord Jesus, let my right hand
forget her cunning. If I do not remember
Thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my
mouth. Let every joy forsake this ungrate-
ful heart of mine, if I do not remember Thee
above my chief joy.
Remember Thee, Thou Holy Christ, after
whom I was named Christian in my Bap-
tism, and called to be holy. Yes, Thy name
was then given to me, that at every mention
of my own baptismal name I might remem-
ber Thee. In my Confirmation I renewed
that vow, and declared before men and
angels, and before Thee, that I would be
known by Thy name, and be Thine forever.
I am now invited to Thy holy Supper,
which Thou didst institute in that night
when Thou wast betrayed. I hear Thy
voice: “Do this in remembrance of me!
It calls me away from the present into the
solemn past. My thoughts travel back over
eighteen centuries. I see Thee, with Thy
disciples, in the lonely upper room in Jeru-
salem. My faith enters into that solemn
company. I see their earnest looks of en-
quiring love, all turned to Thee. I see the
melting tenderness of Thy countenance; I
watch those eyes of Thine, beaming un-
fathomable love; I hear those words of con-
solation, such as men never spake. It is a
parting scene! Those are farewell words!
Those elements in Thy hands are memorials
which Thou art leaving behind for Thine
own, till Thou shalt appear and come again.
Thy sufferings, the dark hour of Thy bit-
ter Passion is near, Lamb of God, slain
for the sins of the world. That bread in
Thine hands speaks of Thy body broken;
that wine shows forth Thy blood shed! It
points back to Thy bloody sweat in Gethse-
mene. It points forward to the blood of the
scourge, the blood of the thorns, the nails
and the spear, in Thy sacred head, and
hands, and feet, and side. In beholding
these symbols before me on the altar, I will
remember Thine agony and bloody sweat.
Thy cross and Passion, Thy sacred wounds
and precious blood!
I need this scene of suffering and sorrow
to be brought in this lively way before me.
How prone am I, in the noise and busy stir
of the present, to forget the Past! Amid
my daily doing I am prone to forget what
Thou hast done. In my many blessings I
forget how the curse rested on Thee. In
my many joys, I forget Thy sorrows. Amid
my friends, how prone to forget Thee, the
best friend. Sitting refreshed in the shadow,
I forget the Tree of Life that shades me.
Warmed by Thy love, I forget the Sun of
Righteousness that sheds on me his genial
beams. Drinking at the stream, I forget
the fountain whence all refreshing waters
flow. O my ungrateful forgetfulness of
Thee!
But I hear Thy words again with peni-
tent heart. I would remember Thee. Let
not mine eyes be holden. Bring near to my
faith the scenes of that upper room. Banish
the distance in space and in time which sepa-
rates me from the place and the hour of
Thy sufferings. Let all be fresh before me
as it was to Thy disciples. Let it be around
me as an atmosphere in which Thy dying
words and groans are heard, and in which I
may feel the pressure of those bitter sorrows
which Thou didst endure for me.
I need it for my faith, that Thy Passion
may be real to me. I need it for my hope,
that I may be assured that what Thou didst
suffer has secured my everlasting joy. I need
it for my love, that I may love Thee in life
who didst love me even unto death. I need it
for my penitence, that in Thy dreadful suf-
ferings I may see the deep guilt of my soul.
I need it for my tenderness, that my heart
may be softened by those touching scenes
of Thy love. I need it for my gratitude,
that I may see and feel with what a price
Thou hast bought my blessings.
How it softens the heart to call to mind
even earthly friends who are absent or dead!
Their image is called up before us, not only
in those hours peculiarly fitted by their
loneliness to be devoted to absent beloved
ones; but even often in the midst of toils
and cares their forms and faces, with all the
kindness received at their hands, come over
the path of our thoughts. They look in
upon us as with angel glances, leaving the
warm memory of their love with us when
their image is withdrawn. We are called
out of the present hardening air of the secu-
lar world into one which memory creates
and fills with all that has impressed and
blessed us in the Past. How touching are
even these remembrances! But what are
all these compared with the remembrances
of Thee, Thou fairest among ten thou-
sand, and altogether lovely! Thy name is
as ointment poured forth. Thy presence
sheds a fragrance around all life’s joys and
sorrows. My heart melts with tender peni-
tence and love when in the memory of Thy
mercy I call Thee near. The cup of my joy
runneth over when Thou dost command
Thy loving kindness to me in the day time,
and when in the night Thy song is with
me, and my prayer rises to Thee, the God
of my life.
In remembrance of Me! Yes, my Sa-
viour, I will remember Thee. During these
solemn days of preparation, I will say to
the world, Stand thou there, while I shall
enter with Thee into the deep shades of
Gethsemene, go with Thee through the
shameful scenes of Thy mock-trial, travel
with Thee to the Cross, and behold Thee in
Thy last agony, and shameful death. My
believing heart shall echo Thy groans, and
mingle in Thy sorrows. During these days
I will read over the record of Thy Passion,
and follow Thee as if I were a silent sympa-
thizer in the crowd that bore Thee away,
I will seek retirement that I may be with
Thee.
Rejoice, my soul, and give thanks unto
God, for so glorious a gift, and so precious a
consolation, left unto Thee in this vale of
tears!