Setting the Lord’s Table: “Remember”

Introduction to communion…

The text:

Psalm 63:title–11 (NASB)

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, 7 For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth. 10 They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; They will be a prey for foxes. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will glory, For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Most Bible scholars believe David penned this Psalm when he was hiding in the wilderness from King Saul who was seeking to take his life. Others believe this Psalm was written later in David’s life, most likely when he was in exile in the wilderness hiding from his own son, Absalom, who was seeking to take his life. Whether David was in hiding from Saul or Absalom when he wrote this psalm, we can’t know for certain. The context that matters most is given to us in the text through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the introduction to the psalm. It simply says…

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

David is the king but he isn’t living in the palace. He is in a desert. David is living in a cave, in the dark, with no real way to rescue himself. He is hungry, thirsty, uncomfortable, and his life in in danger. He needed God’s intervention. When David considered his circumstances, he turned his attention toward heaven and remembered the Lord.

Today, we are going to take communion. It is a time of remembrance. Just as David considered his situation, at this time we have an opportunity to reflect on our circumstances and remember the Lord like David did.

Just as David needed God’s intervention to be saved from the threat of death, we too needed God’s intervention. We needed Christ Jesus to come and die on the cross for our sins so our eternal souls could be rescued from death. We were helpless and wasting away, but Jesus came and satisfied our hunger, quenched our thirst and gave us eternal life.

Look again at Psalm 63 as we remember that Jesus did for us and why.

Reflect

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

(v. 9) 9 …those who seek my life to destroy it…

(v. 1) 1 My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water….

1 Corinthians 11:28 (NASB)

28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Romans 3:23 (NASB)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 (NASB)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NASB)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Remember

(v. 1) 1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly…

(v. 6-8) 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, 7 For You have been my help… 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 77:11 (NASB)

11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

1 Corinthians 11:23–25 (NASB)

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Ephesians 2:12–13 (NASB)

12 …remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Rejoice

(v. 2-5, 7) 2 …I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

7 For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy…

Psalm 9:1–2 (NASB)

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. 2 I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 71:23 (NASB)

23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; and my soul, which You have redeemed…

Has Jesus saved you from your sins?

Do you believe and know that His love is better than life?

Then you have reason to rejoice! Let’s rejoice in the Lord as we reflect and remember today.

I am going to pray and then we will take communion.

The Lord’s Table:

The Bread:

24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

The Cup:

25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Memory Verse of the Week:

Psalm 77:11 (NASB)

11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.