Communion with Thee! Surely this must
be my happy privilege when Thou dwellest
in me, and I in Thee. The branch is in
communion with the vine; the members are
in communion with the Head. In Thy death
we died; in Thy life we live. What blessed
words are those I hear: Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock: if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Thy Holy Supper is the feast of commu-
nion. The cup of blessing, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The
bread which we break, is it not the commu-
nion of the body of Christ? I am as really
partaker of Thy true body and blood, by the
operation of the Holy Ghost, as I receive by
the mouth of my body, these holy signs in
remembrance of Thee.

The cup of blessing — the cup which has
a blessing to bestow. How great is that
blessing! It brings me into communion
with the blood of Christ — with the pardon
and life purchased with that blood. The
bread brings me into communion with the
glorified body, the true sanctified humanity
of Christ. This is Thy blessing, which
Thou, Christ, dost bestow through the
cup and the bread.

The cup is the communion — the bread is
the communion. As natural bread and
drink unites itself with my body and my
being, so as to become part of myself, and
makes myself one with it, so much more
does this bread, which is the body, and this
wine, which is the blood of Christ, make me
one with His sacred and holy life, and bring
my life into communion with His. What
words are those I read in regard even to the
sacrifices in the Old Testament, which were
merely typical: “The life of the flesh is in
the blood; and I have given it to you upon
the altar, to make an atonement for your
souls: for it is the blood that maketh an
atonement for the soul.” How much more
shall Thy life, Lord Jesus, flow into mine,
through Thine own better blood, so that my
poor life shall be enriched, my weak life
strengthened, my sinful life sanctified by this
blessed communion in Thy rich, strong, and
holy life.

This is the highest, deepest, most blessed
communion which we can have with Thee,
Thou Eternal life, on this side of Heaven.
Here we enjoy spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. We commune with Thee
in other ways; but this is the communion.
In meditation we think of Thee; in prayer
we speak to Thee; in singing we celebrate
thy praise; and in reading and hearing Thy
word we listen to Thee. But in this blessed
communion we have all these in one; be-
cause by it Thou livest in us and we in
Thee.

In this blessed communion rests, and
grows our love to Thee. In it is Thy love
manifested to us. Thy dying love instituted
it, that by it Thy love might live on in the
hearts of Thy faithful children. Thy love
to us invites us to it, and our love to Thee
constrains us to long for it as the hart longs
after the water brooks in a dry and thirsty
land.

We feast with Thee on hidden manna.
Thou showest us the secrets of Thy heart’s
love. Unto us it is given to know the mys-
tery of the Kingdom of God. In it Thou
dost reveal Thyself to us, as Thou dost not
to the world. Thou dost open our eyes that
we may know Thee in the breaking of bread.

Jesus, Thou hidden life of the soul, take
me into Thy banqueting house, and let Thy
banner over me be love. Show me Thy
covenant; let me see light in Thy light, and
love in Thy love. Shut out the world, shut
out my sins, and take me into the covert of
Thy presence, which is life; surround me
with Thy loving-kindness, which is better
than life.