From the outset, the sixteenth-century Scottish Reformed Church was firm in its pursuit of tutoring and examining communicants, and this preparation intensified in the weeks leading up to the administration of the Lord’s Supper. The First Book of Discipline (1560) enjoined, “All ministers must be admonished to be more careful to instruct the ignorant than ready to serve their appetite and to use more sharp examination than indulgence in admitting to that great Mystery such as be ignorant of the use and virtue of the same. And therefore we think that the administration of the Table ought never to be without examination passing before and specially of them whose knowledge is suspect.”
My dear christian friends, you have been witnesses this day of one of the most solemn scenes presented to view on this sinful earth—the ministerial induction of a servant of Jesus Christ into a congregation of his church. Nay more, ye yourselves have been this day parties in this very transaction, and sharers in all its awful responsibilities. Even as your pastor, so ye also will have to give account in this matter; and as he has received the usual address, stirring him up to the diligent fulfilment of his duties, so do ye now receive the word of exhortation, which, by the appointment of my presbyters, I am delegated to address unto you. May the Lord help us all to improve this solemn occasion!
The sacred writer informs us that “Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon. And offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them; and they died before the Lord.” This was truly a most distressing event, and one that was calculated to produce a deep and indelible impression on the minds of all concerned. The day of the occurrence was that on which the tabernacle, so long in building, was first opened.
‘Tis evident by the common experience of mankind, that love cannot lie idle in the soul. For every one hath his oblectation and delight, his tastes and relishes are suitable to his constitution, and a man’s temper is more discovered by his solaces than by anything else: carnal men delight in what is suited to the gust of the flesh, and spiritual men in the things of the Spirit.
The church of Jesus Christ appears in scripture under many images and descriptions. Among other things, we find it likened to a temple, an olive tree, a bride, and a kingdom. Each image paints a different, but complementary perspective or emphasis regarding the church’s nature, work, and calling. Though there are nuances and shades of meaning unique to each of these images and descriptions, none of them implies an idea of independence. The temple has a foundation, the olive tree has a stock and roots, the bride has a husband, and the kingdom has a king.
