For these past twenty years I owe much, under God, to the assemblies of the Lord’s people commonly called “The Brethren,” especially for their emphasis on the exercise of worship and the duty of participating each week in the Lord’s remembrance feast. The meditations which follow are some of the fruit of this exercise of spirit which has greatly elevated my soul at times in rich communion with the Lord Himself.
The Lord’s Supper is for those who are truly born again and have the principle of grace implanted in their souls. Those who would participate are to examine themselves whether or not their soul is alive to God through the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus Christ. For believers themselves, who have such grace implanted, there must be worthy participation. The spirit is often sluggish, the mind dull, and the body lazy. It will help quicken us if we have a lively sense into Whose presence we are come and, for this, there is need of sharp spiritual perceptions.
Let us beware of coming before God with anything akin to a careless or trifling spirit. “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me,” saith the Lord (Leviticus 10:3). There needs to be “reverence and godly fear” in our approach to God. There is no higher exercise than pure worship and there is no meditation equal to that which focuses upon the sufferings and glories of our precious Saviour. Since the sun withdrew its light, and the heavens mourned in blackness, and the rocks rent in pieces when He died, consider how we should come to the remembrance of these things.
Through sixty years of preaching I have read widely and gleaned in many fields. I am surely indebted to many for spiritual thoughts and helpful suggestions, but would have no record of them to thank them by name for any help afforded. I heartily pray that these meditations, and the rich hymns accompanying, may enlarge your vision to discern the supreme excellency of God’s beloved Son and bring a new appreciation of the fact that His sufferings and death upon the cross meet all the needs of all men everywhere. The Lord’s Supper is designed to seal to your heart your interest in Christ and to draw you near to Him in holy communion.
I am greatly indebted to all who have helped me, for several in the family who have checked Scriptures, typed the manuscript, corrected any errors, and most of all for the general overhaul and polished work of the editors of Royal Life Publications who have been kind enough to publish this book for me.
Volumes I, II, and III of “Worship and Remembrance” contained 144 meditations. The 59 in Volume IV now brings the total to over 200. May they be blessed to your souls and inspire you to a new desire for the exercise of true worship. That will be my joy as well as yours. “I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).
Daniel Smith