Since I was not able to write more fully about the duty of preparing to partake of the Lord's Supper in my previous letter, I will this time prayerfully write a little about the three parts according to which we are to examine ourselves.

The Form for the Administration of the Lord's Supper speaks very plainly of them, also Lord's Day 30 of our Heidelberg Catechism. The first part is – That everyone consider by himself, his sins, to the end that he may abhor and humble himself before God.

The second part – whether we believe the faithful promise of God that all our sins are forgiven us only for Christ's sake.

The third part – whether we henceforth purpose to show true thankfulness to God in our whole lives and to walk uprightly before Him.

Or if we state it more briefly – The true communicant 1^st, abhors himself; 2^nd, believes in Christ; 3^rd, pursues after sanctification. Hence if one is truly to commemorate the death of the Lord he must obviously be really conscious of his sins, and that he is worthy of death and condemnation; he must weep and mourn because of these things, and deeply humble himself before God. The Lord indeed also says in His Word: "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God."

The Spirit of God convinces the elect sinner of sin, righteousness and judg­ment, and such a sinner ultimately bows into the dust before God. They are all made to sincerely sorrow after God, because they have insulted and provoked Him to wrath by their sins. They have done that which is evil in the eyes of the Lord, which causes them to weep bitterly by night and day. They loathe themselves in dust and ashes, and this true self-abhorrence is the fruit of the discovering light of the Holy Spirit. They also have an aversion to all sin and love to all righteousness.

The publican stood in the back part of the temple but the Pharisee in the fore part. The Pharisee did see the publican but the publican did not see the Pharisee. He saw no one but him­self in his state of deep misery and wretchedness, accompanied with a view of the righteousness and holiness of God. He saw the long record of his guilt and sins and was so ashamed that he did not dare to raise his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast and cried: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'' Oh, what sorrow filled his heart! This sorrow is evident in God's people because He has shed His love abroad in their hearts. Without the manifestation of the love of God there can never be sorrow for sin; consequently, if grieving for sin and a sorrow after God are not known, Christ and His infinitely sufficient righteousness cannot be indispensable to a person.

With God's true people sin begins to weigh as a burden too heavy to bear. They seek atonement for their sins in the blood of Christ. The true communicant therefore believes in Christ.

Faith is a gift of God, and a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Besides, there is no one with whom we are so totally unacquainted and who is so hidden from us as Christ.

Now then, what conclusion must you make concerning yourself?

Let us for a moment return to the publican in Luke 18. How wretched this man felt! Sinful and ungodly and self-condemned! He was oppressed and troubled on all sides. Oh, he must die and then appear before God; what will the outcome be? Does God permit him to perish in despair? No, there is still a way out, salvation is still possible. In what way? "Oh God, be merciful to me a sinner." God may yet grant him grace. The devil obscures grace, but the Spirit of God displays the fulness of grace. The Spirit of God glorifies Christ in the heart of a lost sinner, but he also bestows grace by which the soul, totally helpless in itself, flees to that Christ.

For God's true people, bare Scripture passages or stanzas from the Psalms accompanied with emotional agitations do not suffice, but they need Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. Through Him alone God can be reconciled and pacified toward them. The centurion testified on the one hand, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof," and on the other, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.'' He acknowledged Christ to be the Son of God who possessed all power and dominion, and the Lord Jesus said of this man: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." And by as much as our knowledge of self and of God increases during our lives, by just so much will our souls bow more deeply before God. Just think of Abraham the father of the faithful.

God does not intend that we should become important but that we should become insignificant in our own estimation. Yes, by the more abundant shedding of the light of the Spirit of God upon us and a fuller realization of what has become of us in the fall of Adam we shall the more feel the need of a knowledge of Christ, and to be washed, purified and sanctified in His blood. The Lord has preserved a poor and afflicted people, which shall trust in the Name of the Lord.

How fortunate for us when the Spirit of God constantly contends with us and turns us away from everything so that we may take refuge by faith to this precious Mediator, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. How precious and valuable are the exercises of faith!

In the form for the administration of the Lord's Supper we read – "whether you believe this faithful promise of God...," not – "whether you firmly believe..." We must pay special attention to this expression also. In natural life eating presupposes hunger. Small children cannot live without food any more than adults can. It is emphatically said of Joseph in Genesis 47:12: "And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household with bread, according to their families.'' And in chapter 50:21 we read, "I will nourish you, and your little ones." When manna fell in the wilderness, do you suppose that only the adults ate of it? Surely no; all the people were fed with it.

Christ is the bread of life which fell from heaven and that giveth life to the world. He is the food and drink which satisfies unto life eternal. At the Lord's Supper, the children's bread is distributed. The Lord's Supper is for the concerned as well as for the established church. Think of the night in which the Lord Jesus was betrayed and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was instituted. The Lord Jesus sat at meat with his disciples. Were they experienced and established Christians? The Bible teaches us the contrary. Nevertheless, Jesus sat at the table with them and gave them bread and wine.

A communicant must be a gracious person and must have saving faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please God"; and even the most deeply concerned of God's people possess the faith. There are individuals in the church who can always believe and there are those also who never believe. For the one as well as the other there is no foundation in the Word of Truth. The man in the Gospels said to the Lord Jesus: "Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief."

God's work may indeed lie concealed under manifold accusations and inter­nal mockeries. How severe the strife can be at times! Often times it is said within: "All will fail in the end'' Sometimes their life draws nigh to the grave. To what a low condition can one sink sometimes and yet be a possessor of faith, of true saving faith. Our forefathers made a distinction between an assured confidence and that act of faith by which a person takes refuge to Christ.

All the children of God know the times, the one more and the other less, when they believed the faithful promise of God. The promises of God are founded upon:

1. the eternal and unchangeable purpose of God,
2. the righteousness of the Surety,
3. the covenant of God which can never be removed.

Now, as regards the promises of God, it is never the measure of faith, but the reality of faith which matters.

How many times have the promises of God strengthened and encouraged the people which are so often buffeted! Sometimes there is such gladness in their hearts that for the moment nothing disturbs their peace. There can be such liberty that at that time they would be able to die. Is it now possible for faith to be in exercise outside of Christ and without resting upon His finished work? But consider also that wherever grace is really in the heart there will be also a tendency to grow, increase and become strong. "Let us go on unto perfection."

And finally, the third point according to which each must examine himself is: whether we give evidence of that faith in a holy walk. God renews His people by His Holy Spirit. In principle they become enemies to all sin and delight in all righteousness. Sin continues to cleave to them to the very last, but they are inclined henceforth to show forth thankfulness to God throughout their entire life. Should not heart and mouth extol the Name and attributes of God considering that the deliverance through the blood of the Lamb is so great and that it is bestowed upon those who are the unworthiest of all?

Besides this, the law which was formerly a glass to discover to them their sin and guilt and afterwards became a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ, it now becomes a law of love in their hearts. They exclaim with David: "O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day." All hatred and enmity is laid aside and they have an earnest desire henceforth to live in pure love and unity with their neighbor. They may have many enemies but they harbor malice toward none. They hate sin and look forward to the day when they will be forever delivered from the vexing power of sin, to glorify God according to the desire of their hearts.

Now, such persons may partake of the Lord's Supper.