Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Table of Splendor and Majesty

The Lord’s works are great,
Studied by all who delight in them.
All that He does is splendid and majestic;
His righteousness endures forever.
He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
He has provided food for those who fear Him;
He remembers His covenant forever.
(Psalm 111:2-5 HCSB)
The works of the Lord are great. They are studied — earnestly pursued, carefully sought out, diligently researched — by those who desire and take delight in them. For the works of the Lord reveal something about the character of God, what He is like and what He desires.

Those who take delight in His ways study and mediate on them; they understand that, as Spurgeon said, “What God has done once is a prophecy of what He intends to do again (The Story of God’s Mighty Acts). The works of the Lord are not just a testimony of what once way, but also what is now and what shall be, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” Hebrews 13:8).

Everything God does is grand and glorious, full of splendor and majesty. They demonstrate that everything He does is exactly right, just, proper, true and prosperous. These are wonderful works — that is, distinguished and unique, extra-ordinary, surpassing all others — and He has caused them to be remembered by His people, for they do not speak of what He was but what He is. His grace and compassion are just as much for us today as they were for yesterday, and they will be here for us tomorrow as well.

Out of His grace, God has given food to those who fear Him, because He is always remembering His covenant, and He has caused us to remember, too, so that we may draw on His provision for us. In this, we can see the Table of the Lord.
  • It is a table of sustenance. This is the food and drink God has prepared for those who know, love and fear Him. Jesus is the “bread of life … which comes down from heaven. that one may eat of it and not die” (John 6:48, 50). By faith, we eat His body and drink His blood (John 6:53-58) and it is for us spirit and life (John 6:63).
  • It is a table of remembrance. Here we remember the wonderful works of God on our behalf. As Jesus took the bread, blessed it and gave it to the disciples, He said, “This is My body which is given for You; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
  • It is a table of covenant. Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Jesus, our High Priest, who has offered His own body and blood for our sakes, is now forever seated at the “right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1), that is, the throne of God. He is there as the “Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). If God was faithful to remember His former covenant, how much more will He remember the new and better covenant we have in Jesus Christ, when the one who cut it with His own blood is always seated before Him?
The Table of the Lord is a table of splendor and majesty. It reveals to us the Lord Jesus Christ, brings us again to the reality of what He has done for us, focuses our hearts on the source of all true delight and prophecies the wonderful works God has in store for us today.

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