The Table of Forgiveness, The Table of Happiness

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

(Psalm 32:1)

The Hebrew word for “blessed” here is asher, and refers to a deep and abiding happiness. It is like a wave of joy that puts a smile on your face every time if washes over you.

What is the cause of such wonderful bliss? Knowing that your rebellion against God has been forgiven and God no longer looks at your sin. That the evil of iniquity is no longer charged to your account and you no longer feel the need to hide out from God.

Adam tried to hide when He rebelled against the Lord. “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). But we no longer have to be afraid—or ashamed. Because God no longer charges sin, but righteousness to our account. It is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Get the picture? God charged your sin and mine to the account of Jesus, who had no sin of His own. Then He charged our accounts with His own righteousness, and now we can be debt-free in the most important sense. Paul revelates more on this more in his letter to the Romans:

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

(Romans 4:5-8)

When we receive this wonderful righteousness by faith, the blessings and benefits of the righteous belong to us. David continues in this psalm:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

Selah.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.”

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

(Psalm 32:6-8, 10-11)

This righteousness and these benefits are portrayed for us at The Table of the Lord. The bread displays the body of Jesus given for us. The cup reveals the wonderful promises God has made to us in the blood of Christ, for Jesus declared, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

The Table of the Lord is the Table of Blessing and Benefit, the Table of Deep Happiness and Abiding Joy. Because it is the Table of Forgiveness.

The Table of Tender Mercies

Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.

(Psalm 119:76-77)

The Hebrew word translated “merciful kindness,” in verse 76, is chesed, the steadfast love by which God has promised to love us, to show us His mercy and be kind to us. It is His favor, the manifestation of His grace toward us. It is His covenant with His people, and we can trust in it fully. The “comfort” the psalm writer seeks is the comfort of a repentant heart, for he is aware of his shortcomings, and brings them to the Lord that he might find the relief of grace, mercy and forgiveness.

The word for “tender mercies,” in verse 77, speaks of a compassionate and tender love, as of a father toward his child. The psalm writer seeks the manifestation of Father God’s heart so that he may truly know and enjoy what life is all about. For he takes great pleasure in the law (Hebrew torah) of God, the wisdom and instruction He has given to His people.

So here is the eager anticipation of covenant and mercy and forgiveness, and even instruction for living from the father-heart of God. And all of this can be found at the Table of the Lord, the Table of Tender Mercies.

In Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of sins, and the tender mercies of the Father’s heart poured out for us, and we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). When Jesus took the cup and gave it to His disciples, He said, “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). It is the promise of God to be kind toward us and show us His mercy and favor, and it was won for us at the cross, where Jesus died in our place.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law of God and all its commandments, and in Him, we are made the righteousness of God. So all the blessings and promises that belong to the righteous now belong to us, if we have received the Lord Jesus.

The Table of the Lord, His body given for us and His blood shed for us, is the sign of our covenant with God, that we are truly accepted in Jesus Christ, and that the Father will show us every kindness. We can always find comfort and relief, and joy for living at this Table — the Table of Tender Mercies.

A Sign for Good

Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

(Psalm 86:17)

Today I took the Table of the Lord using this verse, for the bread and cup of His Supper, being divinely instituted, is indeed a sign of His favor*. The bread is the revelation of Jesus’ body given for us, and the cup is the sign of the New Covenant issued in His blood.

Our adversary, the devil, hates the blood of Jesus with fervent intensity, for it spells out his doom, and the destruction of all his works. So when we take of the Lord’s Table, it is a sign of God’s favor and goodness toward us that puts him to shame.

Anytime is a good time to enjoy the Table of the Lord, for as often as we eat that bread and drink that cup, we show the Lord’s death until He comes again (1 Corinthians 11:26) — that is, it is a revelation of Jesus Christ and a promise of His return. But when the devil is trying to come in on you with his strategies and schemes, that is a particularly good time to take the Lord’s Supper, for it shows the death of the Lord Jesus, by which He triumphed over satan. As David said, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalm 23:5).

So as you sit at this Table, let it speak to you of the victory you have in Jesus Christ. And remember what David said in Psalm 86:17 (rendered here from the Message Bible):

Make a show of how much You love me
So the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,
As You, GOD, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet.

The Table of the Lord is the sign of God’s favor toward you in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it puts the devil to shame.

(* Baptism is also a sign of God’s favor, divinely instituted by Jesus Christ, and demonstrates our entrance into the body of Christ and the family of God. I have written a song about this wonderful sign, called I Have Been Baptized, from our Walking Barefoot CD. You can listen to it in streaming MP3.)

The Table of My Inheritance

O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

(Psalm 16:5-6)

This morning I took of the Table of the Lord using this passage. Everything I need — forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, freedom from bondage, and even prosperity — is in the atonement, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ given and shed for me. And it is symbolized in the communion elements of the bread and the wine.

The significance that the use of “cup” in this verse has for me in regard to the Lord’s Table is pretty apparent. At the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus took the cup, blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Lord 22:20).

In Bible times, a covenant was marked by the shedding of blood, so that the two parties did not just make a covenant, they cut a covenant. At the cross, Jesus instituted a new and better covenant between God and man, and it was cut with the shedding of His blood. The cup of the Lord’s Table is the symbol that quickens us to that reality.

Now, the essence of covenant is in exchange: All we are and have belongs to God; all He is and has belongs to us.

• Jesus took our sin; we receive His righteousness.
• He took our sicknesses; we receive His healing.
• He took the chastisement that belonged to us; we receive His peace.

All we have is His; all He has is ours. That is why Paul calls us joint-heirs with Christ: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). Paul talks about this often:

If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1:11)

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:18)

It has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6)

That having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7)

All that the Lord Jesus Christ receives from the Father, He shares with us, holding nothing back.

Lord Jesus, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance!

(See also Yahweh, the Portion of My Inheritance and My Cup)

Blessed ~ Marked With Blood

I came across a very interesting bit concerning the origin of the English word “bless.” We find it quite often, of course, in the Bible, throughout the Old and New Testaments. It has come to represent happiness and well-being, but it originally meant “to mark with blood,” and was used of things that were sacred, or made holy.

That puts a whole new spin on it for me. It sends my mind to two distinct events in the Bible, one in the Old Testament and one in the New. In the Old Testament, it takes me to that first Passover night when each Jewish household was to take an unblemished lamb, slay it and paint its blood on the doorposts of the house. Then when the LORD passed through to strike the firstborn of each Egyptian family, He would pass over the homes where the doorposts were marked with the blood of the lamb and He would not allow the destroyer to come there. Each house that was marked with blood from the lamb was thus blessed.

In the New Testament, the original meaning of “bless” takes me to the place to which the Passover points — the cross, where the Jesus the Messiah shed His blood on our behalf and in our place. Like the doorposts of those Jewish homes in the land of Egypt, it was marked with the blood of the Lamb, and that is indeed a blessing for us.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, which was at Passover, He instituted the Table of the Lord. After distributing the bread, He took up the cup, offered thanks and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

The apostle Paul called it the cup of blessing: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). The Greek word for “communion” is koinonia, and refers to fellowship and participation.

The apostle John speaks of the blood of the New Covenant which is presented to us by this cup.

If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7,9)

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6)

The wood of the cross has been marked with the blood of the Lamb, who suffered there in our place. By that blood, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are washed and cleansed of all sin — marked by blood.

In the Table of the Lord, we call to mind the great saving event of the cross, and by faith lay hold of all its benefits and blessings.

A Table in the Presence of My Enemies

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5)

This morning I took of the Table of the Lord with this verse fully in mind. I took of it, very deliberately, in the presence of my enemies.

The particular enemy we are dealing with at this time is debt — mortgage, car note and unsecured debts. These are enemies because they represent lack, and Psalm 23 opens famously with line, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” To want, or be in want, is to be in lack. When the Lord is our shepherd, we do not have to be in lack. It is not God’s will for us.

Now, I confess that we have made some poor choices and foolishly gotten ourselves into some financial dfficulties. But it would be even more foolish for us to think that, since we got ourselves into trouble, we must therefore get ourselves out of trouble. It is foolish for a couple of reasons: First, though we have a great ability to get ourselves into trouble, we have little skill or capacity for getting ourselves out. But more importantly, we are in covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Savior and our Shepherd. He as already provided for what we cannot do ourselves. So we look to Him.

That is where the Table of the Lord comes in — it is a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the covenant we have in Him. The bread reveals His body given for us, and the cup is the cup of the New Covenant made in His blood. In Him we have all we need, for as the apostle Paul said, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

So I took of the Table of the Lord in the presence of my enemies. But first, I took all our bills, our mortgage and car note coupons, and everything that represents debt and lack in our finances, and I set them on the coffee table. Then in between them and me, I set the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Table, and I declared, “You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

Then I looked at all those bills and notes, and I spoke to them: “I’m serving you notice, we are going to overcome you.” I thought of Caleb’s words, when the twelve spies reported back to Moses after spying out the promised land. Ten spies gave a sorrowful report about how, though the land was indeed a good land overflowing with milk and honey, it was also filled with giants. But Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). He agreed with Joshua, who said, “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them” (Numbers 14:9). (See When Its All About God)

Then I thought of Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him [satan, the accuser of the brethren] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (See The Word of Your Testimony)

The blood of the Lamb is what is revealed to us in the cup of communion. It is a cup that runs over with the blessing of the Lord. It is how we overcome all our enemies. It is a cup of salvation. The psalm writer said, “What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD” (Psalm 116:12-13).

And that’s exactly what I did. I ate the bread and drank the cup from the Table of the Lord and claimed my victory in Jesus Christ. I ate of the table He prepared for me in the presence of my enemies. For the Lord is my shepherd, my savior, my healer, my provider, and there is no enemy in the world that can stand up to Him.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, God has a table prepared for you in the presence of you enemies. Are you partaking of it?

(See also Warring with the Bread and the Cup and A Table of Victory Prepared for You)

Partaking of the Divine Nature

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

We were created to share in the divine nature, the nature of God. Adam was created in the image of God and received the breath of life from God’s own lips. Though he fell through disobedience, and disconnected from the divine nature, the Lord Jesus Christ came to restore and reconcile us to the Father. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been given a new birth — born from above by the Spirit of God. We have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are of the body of Christ and have the mighty resurrection power of God at work in us:

What is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which he worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:19-21)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

We are partakers of the divine nature. One who partakes is one who takes part. The Greek word is koinonia. It refers to partnership, participation, fellowship, commonality. See how it is used in the following passage:

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [koinonia] of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion [koinonia] of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers [koinonia] of the altar? (1 Corinthians 10:16-18)

Communion refers to the Table of the Lord — the bread and the cup, the body and the blood. It is the sign of our participation in the body of Christ, our common union with the Lord Jesus. We are identified with Him; He is identified with us. We are part of Him; He is part of us, even as the bread and wine which we consume becomes a part of us.

This is what the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed toward. By eating of the sacrifices, there was an identification made between the sacrifice and the one who ate of it. The sacrifice represented them, and indeed became a part of those who ate. Paul said they were “partakers of the altar” (this was, of course, a figure of speech where “altar” actually speaks of that which was sacrificed).

What does it mean to be a partaker of the divine nature? The Greek word for “divine” is theois, and means to be god-like. “Nature” speaks of what we are in essence. To partake of the divine nature means to be god-like in essence. Though some Christians may be scandalized by it today, the early church caught the meaning of this and spoke of it as theosis, "becoming a god." Athanasius of Alexandria, a fourth century Greek Father of the Church, said this: “The Word became flesh, in order that we might become acceptable to Divinity. He was incarnate in order to deify us. He became man in order that we might become gods—participants of the Divine nature.” Far from being scandalized by this, the Church embraced this as part of orthodox Christian faith.

How do we participate in the divine nature? First, we need to understand that there are some aspects of the divine nature in which we could never share. For example, God is all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere present. These are attributes which are in incommunicable. We are incapable of experiencing them. They belong to God alone. But there are other attributes of God in which we may share with Him. In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter tells us that “[God’s] divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” That which He gives to us by His divine power is itself divine in nature.

What are these gifts of His divine power? Peter lists some of them in 2 Peter 1:5-7: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. The apostle Paul has a similar list which he names as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are gifts of God, fruits of the Spirit, attributes of the divine nature of which we have been made partakers.

In Christ, God has made us partakers of the divine nature. Learn how to walk in the gifts given by His divine power, and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8). When you understand who you are in Christ, and who He is in you, the world will change.

Reminding God

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD,
do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

(Isaiah 62:6-7)

In addition to being all-powerful, all-wise and everywhere present, He is also all-knowing. But does He have a faulty memory the He needs to be reminded? Then why does He set watchmen on the wall and tell those who make mention of Him to give Him no rest?

The Hebrew word behind “make mention” is zakar and means to remember, to remind, to cause to remember. “You who make mention of the LORD” are literally the Lord’s remembrancers. Their job is to remind Him relentlessly until He has established what He has promised.

God has a wonderful memory, but there are some things He chooses to forget:

I, even I, am He who blots your transgressions
for My own sake;
And I will not remember [zakar] your sins.

(Isaiah 43:25)

God has a wonderful memory, but He is not one bit offended by His people reminding Him of those things He has spoken. Consider this prayer of Jacob, and how he reminded God of the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac:

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you … For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” (Genesis 32:9, 12 )

In the Psalms, the book of praises, we find this:

LORD, remember [zakar] David
  And all his afflictions;
How he swore to the LORD,
  And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
“Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed;
  I will not give sleep to my eyes
  Or slumber to my eyelids,
Until I find a place for the LORD,
  A dwelling place for the Mighty one of Jacob.”

(Psalm 132:1-5)

The psalm writer shrewdly reminds the Lord of the vow David made to Him. I say “shrewdly,” because his real aim is to remind God of the promise He made right back to David concerning his line:

The LORD has sworn in truth to David;
  He will not turn from it;
“I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.
  If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
  Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”

(Psalm 132:11-12)

In this roundabout way, the psalm writer brings to God’s remembrance the promise He made (this promise is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David who now rules and reigns forever).

We also find remembrances in the New Testament. Jesus said of the Table of the Lord, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This, of course, is something we do for the sake of our own remembrance. But it can also be an occasion to remind the Lord of the promises He has made to us in the covenant of Jesus’ shed blood. It is the new and better covenant God foretold in the Old Testament. It is based, not only upon better promises, but also upon a better sacrifice (which is the lesson in the book of Hebrews). As we, in faith, take the bread and the cup of communion, we not only remind ourselves of God’s promises, we are putting Him in mind of them.

How long are we to remind God of His promises? He tells His watchmen to give Him no rest until He establishes what He has promised. This calls for faith, which includes patience and persistence. Do not give ever give up reminding God of His Word until you see all the things He has promised established in your life.

Now, if you will excuse me, it is time for me to go to the Table of the Lord.

(See also Warring With the Bread and the Cup)

Warring with the Bread and the Cup

Do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19)

Yesterday I took the Table of the Lord, and I took it in the mode of warfare. Jesus said of this Table, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” To remember is to recall something to mind, to relive the experience of something. The remembrance of which Jesus speaks is not a passive remembering, but a very intentional one.

So I took of the Table to put myself in mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, His body given for me, He blood shed for me. I took it to recall to my heart the covenant promises He has secured for me. For He said, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

I also took the Table to put God in mind of His covenant promises to me, for I was drawing on them to see them come forth in my life. Just as one places a demand on a check by presenting it to the bank and cashing it in, I was placing a demand on the provisions of the covenant God made with me in the blood of Jesus Christ. I’m done with making my own provision for anything anymore; I’m depending upon the provision God has made for me. If I can’t have it through the covenant of God — believe me — I don’t need it and I don’t want it! For His provision is all the blessing and abundance of heaven itself.

Finally — and here is where it became spiritual warfare — I took the Table of the Lord to put satan in mind of the body of the Lord Jesus given for me and the blood of the Lord Jesus shed for me. I wanted the devil to know that I know who I am in Christ, what I have in Christ, and what I can do in Christ. I wanted to put him in mind of the fact that I belong to Jesus Christ and He belongs to me, and that I am in covenant with Almighty God. This means that to mess with me is to mess with God. I wanted the devil to know that I would not be accepting his lies and accusations, his fears, his poverty, his sicknesses, his bondages, or anything else he wants to deliver to my doorstep — I’m refusing delivery! I wanted him to recall how and where and why his head was crushed. I wanted to serve notice that I am in receipt of God’s promises and that I am enforcing the provisions of the covenant I have in the blood of Jesus, and that satan and his devils will have to clear off all that is mine.

There is, of course, much more to the Table of the Lord than spiritual warfare. There is intimate and profound fellowship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There is spiritual nourishment, refreshment and strengthening. There is the intense joy of His manifest presence. But there is also a time for warring with the bread and the cup.

The Table of Hope

“Fill me with hope, LORD,” I said.

“Come to My table,” He answered.

The Table of the Lord is the place where hope is renewed.

Remembering the Benefits at the Table of the Lord

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits.

(Psalm 103:2)

Do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19)

The other day, as I went to Table of the Lord, He put me in mind of Psalm 103. I had actually begun meditating on another psalm at the time when 103 entered unbidden into my thoughts. So I went with it.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:1-5)

Remembering. That is what the Lord’s Table is about. It is a continuing sign of covenant. When Jesus took the cup, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). “This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).

The making of covenant is the shedding of blood, but the essence of covenant is in exchange: He gives me all that is His; I give Him all that is mine. Isaiah shows us a vivid picture of the exchange Jesus the Messiah made for us:

Surely He has borne our griefs [literally “sicknesses”]
And carried our sorrows [literally “pains”];
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted [as if for His own account]

But He was wounded for our transgression,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

In the New Testament, Paul tells us that

He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. He took our sicknesses and pains and gave us His healing. He took our chastisement and gave us the wholeness of His shalom (His peace). He took our poverty and gave us His riches. These are benefits that belong to us in the new covenant which is in His blood.

Now, it is true that, as many have said, we seek not the gift, but the Giver. So we come to the Table of the Lord in remembrance of the Benefactor. But it is also quite appropriate to remember the benefits Jesus came to give us. He went to the Cross that we might receive and enjoy all the elements of salvation. It would be rude and ungrateful of us to neglect that for which Jesus gave His body and shed His blood.

The Table of the Lord, therefore, is a powerful opportunity to remember the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross and apply the benefits.

• If you have sinned, it is an opportunity to confess and receive forgiveness and cleansing.
• If you are sick, it is an opportunity to receive healing.
• If you are in the bondage of addictions, emotional or mental confusions, demonic influences, or other strongholds, it is an opportunity to receive deliverance and freedom.
• If you are in need of guidance, it is an opportunity to receive the wisdom of God.
• If you are in need of finances or other resources, it is an opportunity to receive the provision of the Lord. He will satisfy your mouth (your desires) with good things.
• If you are in need of renewal and refreshing, it can be found at the Table.
  

Paul said, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The Table of the Lord is the witness of the exchange made at the Cross. It speaks to us of the victory Jesus won and the provision of God poured out for us.

Come often to the Table of the Lord and remember all His benefits. As you come, bring all the concerns of your life and let them be dealt with by the promises of God and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which cries out on your behalf. Then go forth, walking confidently in the victory He has won for you.

Rendering Thanks

What shall I render to the LORD
For all His benefits to me?
I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD
Now in the presence of His people.
(Psalm 116:12-14)

How do we thank the LORD for all His benefits to us?

1. Take up the cup of Salvation. We receive what has been given--embrace it, welcome it. God has given us the cup of salvation, so the way we give thanks is to drink of it. Many people would object saying, “Oh, I’m not worthy,” as if it had anything to do with our worthiness. It does not. It is about His worthiness. It is the salvation that comes from Him. And it is about Jesus, for the Hebrew word for “salvation,” yeshuah, is the Hebrew name of Jesus, Yeshua.
2. Call on His name. How do we render thanks to the Lord? By receiving the cup of salvation--Jesus, His Son. How do we receive this cup? By calling on the name of the Lord. The Bible says that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). His name is Jesus.
3. Give witness to His goodness. Testify. Say out loud how good the Lord has been to you. Speak of His salvation cup. Go public with it. Don’t hold back--let it all out. When your cup overflows, let it overflow on others.

Jesus has a cup overflowing with blessings and benefits for you--salvation, freedom, forgiveness, healing, protection, prosperity. Call on His name and drink deeply from that cup.

For more about the benefits of the Lord, see Six Things the devil Wants You to Forget (But God Wants You to Remember).

A Table of Victory Prepared for You

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

(Psalm 23:5)

This is not a picture of heaven, for there are no enemies there. It is not about the “sweet by and by” but about the “here and now.” It is about heaven on earth. The table comes from heaven and is prepared by the LORD our Shepherd, but it is set before us on earth, in full view of our enemies — and it causes them to tremble.

You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Psalm 23:5-6)

• This is a table of covenant, for it is the Lord Yahweh, our covenant God who prepares it.
• This is a table of anointing.
• This is a table of abundance and prosperity.
• This is a table of the sure mercies and goodness of God.
• This is a table of abiding in His presence.
• This is the Table of the Lord!

Jesus has prepared this table for all who come to Him.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20)

This table is prepared for us even in the presence of our enemies — or perhaps we should say, especially in the presence of our enemies. It is a powerful weapon of our spiritual warfare:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but might in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

At this table, we see that God’s enemies are ours, but we also see that our enemies are His, for that is part of our covenant provision with Him.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

When we eat of this covenant table, we are submitting to God and resisting the devil — and he has no choice but to flee. Notice that he flees, not just from before God, but from before us.

As you take of this table, let the thoughts of your heart recall all the provisions of the covenant it represents. For it is at this table where you can deal most effectively with all your enemies:

• Sin is defeated by the forgiveness of God.
• Sickness is defeated by the healing of God.
• Poverty is defeated by the provision and prosperity of God.
• Brokenness is defeated by the peace, the wholeness of God.
• Fear is defeated by the faith of God.

All these provisions belong to us in the covenant we have with God through the body of Christ given for us and the blood of Christ shed for us.

The LORD your Shepherd has prepared a table for you in the presence of your enemies. Come and dine, and experience there the victory you have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Table of the Lord is the Tree of Life

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for may for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)

In the Garden of Eden, Eve thought that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food, so she ate of it. But the fruit was deadly. It could not be otherwise since it was eaten apart from the will of God.

In the Upper Room, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus offered a different food — Himself. He is the bread and drink that sustains us. His body, given to the stripes and the cross, and His blood, brutally shed to pardon and deliver us, are life for us. The bread and the wine are the symbols which minister the reality of these things to us in the Table of the Lord.

The Table of the Lord gives us a tangible answer to some basic concerns Jesus raised in the Sermon on the Mount:

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

These questions express legitimate concerns, for the Father agrees that we need all these things. Many people fail to realize that every physical problem is based on a spiritual need, and they try to use material things to solve what is a spiritual problem — that is eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The real answer to these needs, however, is found in the spiritual realm. That is why we must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, for only then do we discover that all these things have been taken care of.

That is what we are doing when we come to the Table of the Lord — seeking the kingdom of God. Jesus is the righteousness of that kingdom, and He took our sin on Himself so we, too, might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). The blood He shed for us is the very basis for the covenant of God’s kingdom. In that covenant, we find every provision, physical and spiritual.

In the Table of the Lord we discover that Jesus is the answer to our every need — the Tree of Life.

• What shall we eat? “Take eat; this is My body.”
• What shall we drink? “This is My blood of the New Covenant. Drink from it.”
• What shall we wear? “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14)

The Table of the Lord is the Tree of Life.

Judge Me, LORD

Vindicate me, O LORD,
For I have walked in my integrity.
I have also trusted in the LORD;
I shall not slip.

(Psalm 26:1)

“Vindicate me, O LORD.” That’s how the NKJV renders it. The good old KJV has, “Judge me, O LORD.” The Message says, “Clear my name, GOD.”

Though David believes himself to be in the right, he is willing, even desiring, for God to come and weigh his heart. There is a sort of ambivalence or apathy here. He hopes to be proven in the right, but he is willing to be found in the wrong, so that he may be corrected.

The judgment of God is not a bad thing. It is a very good thing. For one thing, God Himself is good, so all He does is good. For another, the judgment of God is what comes and sets thing right.

I don’t know about you, but I want God to come and set my heart right. It often gets out of whack — in fact, I was born with my heart out of whack — and I want it to function properly, so I can walk in fellowship with God, in the inheritance and destiny He has always had for me.

So I want God to judge my heart, but I want Him to do it according to His mercy. You see, it is the judgment of God that comes and sets things right, but it is His mercy that sets me on the right side of His judgment. When God finds something wrong in my life, I don’t want Him to get rid of me, I want Him to get rid of it. In other words, His judgment deals with the sin in my life, but His mercy holds on to me. His mercy is the flip side of His judgment.

The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Here is both the justice and mercy of God. I don’t want God to simply forgive my sin; I want Him to cleanse me from it, to remove it from my life altogether. I want Him to deal with my heart and bring into line with His heart, which is nothing but good. That is the only effective way I know of dealing with the issues of my heart—bring them to the Lord. I seek no other way, for my trust is solely in Him.

So this morning I have cried out to the LORD, as David did, “Judge me, O LORD — if my heart is wrong, then set it right. If my heart is right, then back me up.”

I had already planned, as part of my devotional time this morning, to partake of the Table of the Lord. The elements were laid out before me and as I thought on “Judge me, O LORD,“ I began to remember again that I was seated before the divinely instituted sign of that very thing. God judged me, and vindicated me many years ago on the Cross. Jesus gave His body and shed His blood to bring forgiveness and cleansing — to set my heart right with God. The Table of the Lord ministers the reality of that to my soul.

So I took the bread and the cup, and with each bite and each draft (I don’t do just a little dab and sip), I began welcoming and receiving the vindication God has for me — forgiveness, cleansing, healing, deliverance, freedom, blessing, favor, prosperity of soul and in all other things — the fullness of salvation.

If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you have already been judged and set right. Now let the reality of that work through you like leaven. Let Him judge your heart and set it free from the darkness that encroaches, to bring you into a joy-filled life and a world-changing walk with Him.