THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
SERIES TWO
THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY AND VARIOUS KINDS OF MEETINGS
Message Six
The Lord’s Table Meeting
1 Cor. 11:24-25 And having given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is given for you; this do unto the remembrance of Me. Similarly also the cup after they had dined, saying, This cup is the new covenant established in My blood; this do, as often as you drink it, unto the remembrance of Me.
Matt. 26:30 And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
THE LORD’S TABLE MEETING
NEEDING TO BE PROPER AND LIVING
How to practice and conduct ourselves in the meetings is a very important matter in the church life. Christians depend very much on the meetings to be edified, perfected, and built up. If we have a living meeting, a meeting that is rich, strengthening, reigning, and in the spirit, then when people come to the meeting, they will be enriched not merely by the message but by the meeting itself. It is in the meeting that there is something living, real, and strong. Therefore, because the church life relies very much on the church meetings, we have to pay our full attention to the meetings in order to practice the church life. A meeting that is poor, low, and weak damages the church life.
We must have the Lord’s table meeting in a proper, living, strengthening, edifying, and attractive way. Once people come into such a meeting, they will be attracted, caught, and edified. Therefore, we all have to learn this one thing. In order to practice the church life, we must learn how to meet together; otherwise, the church can never be built up. We all have to endeavor by the grace of the Lord to bear the responsibility for the meeting by exercising our spirit. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 2, “The Ground of the Church and the Meetings of the Church,” ch. 5)
BEING AT THE “HELM”
OF THE BREAD-BREAKING MEETING
We will now consider how to have the bread-breaking meeting. We may think that we are experienced, but the structure of our meetings is not definite and clear. Every meeting should have a structure, and the bread-breaking meeting is no exception.
The more experienced saints should spontaneously express a proper pattern in the bread-breaking meeting; otherwise, less experienced saints will not maintain the focus of the meeting. The more experienced saints should bear the responsibility for the direction of the meeting.
In every meeting there is always the operating of the Spirit; nevertheless, the Holy Spirit still needs an outlet. Sometimes the outlet is through prayers and praises, and other times it is through the hymns. Last year in a training in Irving, Texas, we had a bread-breaking meeting. In that meeting I sensed that the Spirit was operating, and I waited, but no one made a move. Therefore, I called Hymns, #132: “Lo! in heaven Jesus sitting, / Christ the Lord is there enthroned; / As the man by God exalted, / With God’s glory He is crowned.” As soon as this hymn was sung, the entire meeting was released, and we were in the heavens.
In every bread-breaking meeting there is a need for the more experienced saints to follow the operation of the Holy Spirit and to lead the meeting according to this operation. The church is like a family with many generations meeting together. The older saints should not constantly reminisce about the old days, saying that it was like such and such “in the early days.” Neither should the younger ones be at a loss concerning the structure of the meetings. The more experienced saints should learn how to “steer” the meeting. This is different from controlling. It is to be at the “helm” of a meeting and to steer it in an appropriate direction. This is not control.
If the experienced saints in the church can be at the “helm” of the bread-breaking meeting, the meeting will progress steadily according to a proper pattern. Then the saints, including those who have been recently recovered back to the church life as well as those who have been newly saved, will be under the nurturing and cultivating of the pattern in the meetings, and they will be raised up in their experience. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Proper Aggressiveness of the Lord’s Serving Ones,” msg. 5)
PRACTICAL POINTS CONCERNING
THE LORD’S TABLE MEETING
Coming on Time to the Table Meeting
Often the attendants at the Lord’s table meeting do not come on time. At the start of the meeting, perhaps only one-third of the attendants are there; then gradually some more come. It may be twenty or thirty minutes later that all the saints have gradually come. This spoils the meeting very much. Suppose that five persons play in a basketball game. The first one comes to play by himself. Later, another one comes, and after five minutes or more the third, fourth, and fifth ones come. What kind of game would that be? Suppose again that someone invites twenty people to attend a feast. First eight come, then six more, and then gradually the rest come. The food will be spoiled by that time.
We put so much stress on the Lord’s table meeting because it is very important and means very much for the church life. In order for the church to be strong, we must have a proper meeting for the Lord’s table. Therefore, we have to endeavor by the Lord’s grace to start the table meeting with all the members present. We should have a feeling of shame whenever we come late to the Lord’s table. It is a real shame to come late. If someone invited me to attend his feast and I was the last one to come, I would feel shameful. We are invited by the Lord to His table, so we have to come on time. If we all come on time, the meeting will be very much strengthened.
Being Seated Properly in the Meeting
Sometimes, the way we seat ourselves in the Lord’s table meeting is too poor. At times there are many people on one side of the room and empty seats on the other, without any balance. It is hard for those who sit in the corner to hear the meeting. We all should learn how to seat ourselves when we come to the meeting. If we are the first ones to come to the meeting, we should sit in the front, a section at a time. Those who come next should fill in the second rows, and those who come afterward can fill the remaining rows. To fill the seats in a proper order truly strengthens the meeting. When we arrive in the meeting, we should look at the situation and know where to sit. This is why we ask some brothers to be ushers.
We all love the church, and we love the Lord. In order to have a proper church life, we must learn to care for these practical matters, even though they are small.
Having a Good Start to the Meeting
Basketball players realize that in order to play a good game, they must have a good start. If they start the game in the wrong way, they will lose. We all have to learn how to start the Lord’s table meeting. It is not easy to call the first hymn. To begin with the hymn “Down from His Glory,” for example, may start the meeting with a low atmosphere, and once the meeting is “buried” by the first hymn, it is hard to resurrect it.
At least a few minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting, the brothers should start to pray rather than announce a hymn. This will immediately bring the meeting into the right feeling. However, many keep the regulation and wait until the scheduled time to begin the meeting. Someone should offer a praise to the Lord, and then some others should follow. We need not start the meeting with a hymn, according to a regulation; rather, we should start it in a living way. That will change the whole atmosphere. It is not easy to choose a hymn to begin the meeting. Instead, we should simply learn to have some prayer.
It is easy to start a message meeting by announcing a hymn, but it is hard to start the Lord’s table meeting with a hymn. It is difficult to say why this is so, but we know this from experience. Therefore, we must learn to start the table meeting by prayer, unless someone has the assurance that a certain hymn is right to start the meeting. Without the assurance, however, we should not do this. Only the proper hymn can prepare the way for a proper meeting, so unless we are very clear and the meeting is already very open and uplifted, it is better not to choose a hymn at first.
If the meeting starts in a wrong way, there is no need to adjust or correct directly. Rather, we should try the best to have another start. We may have the sense that the first hymn chosen is wrong, but we may not do anything to help the beginning of the meeting. That is simply a further mistake. After a wrong start, we have to do something right away to have the right start. This will save the meeting. If we let it go, the meeting will “float” without the proper direction.
Sometimes also we do not sense the right time to pass the bread and the cup. To pass the bread and the cup requires the right atmosphere. Otherwise, it is merely a kind of procedure or regulation. A meeting for the Lord’s table that is out of the proper order is very poor. In such a case, some may still have the boldness to express something, but they may not have the flow or direction. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 2, “The Ground of the Church and the Meetings of the Church,” ch. 5)
A PRACTICAL EXERCISE IN SELECTING HYMNS
IN THE LORD’S TABLE MEETING
One time there were many attendants in a Lord’s table meeting, but the atmosphere of the meeting was plain and somewhat indifferent. Someone selected hymn #128 in the Chinese hymnal, “I prostrate, Lord, before Thee, / Marvel at boundless grace,” and a brother changed it to Hymns, #213, “On that same night, Lord Jesus, / When all around Thee joined.” This was a good change. First, this showed that the brother knew how to change hymns; second, it showed that he knew how to touch the atmosphere. After singing Hymns, #213, there were three to four prayers that failed to match this hymn. In fact, the prayers neither touched nor came up to the level of the atmosphere. We should not ignore the atmosphere in a meeting, paying attention merely to our feeling and praying formal, conventional prayers. As a rule, after singing Hymns, #213, a brother should offer a prayer based on the feeling of the hymn to bring the atmosphere of the meeting forward. In brief, this hymn says, “Lord Jesus, at Your last supper on earth, all around You was a dark shadow, and the situation was so difficult, but You still established Your supper for us to remember You. Apparently, it is we who remember You; actually, it is You who remember us. How could we be saved on that long, long night if You had not chosen and called us? Even today we are here remembering You because of Your grace.” In our prayer we need to bring the saints’ feeling deeper into the Lord, in order for them to sense that we remember the Lord because He first remembered us. When we offer such a prayer, the feeling of the saints will be turned to the Lord.
Introducing and Strengthening the Subject
of the Lord’s Table Meeting
Let us consider how to introduce the subject of the Lord’s table meeting. Hymns, #87, which says, “O Lord! When we the path retrace / Which Thou on earth hast trod,” is neither good nor bad. However, Hymns, #158 is very good. This hymn speaks of how the Lord sought and found us and how He gave Himself for us. It is a very fitting hymn to continue the feeling of the previous hymn. After singing Hymns, #213, it would be good if someone had prayed, “O Lord, we thank and praise You. Before You departed from us, You established this table for us to remember You. We see that this bread is the body You gave for us, and this cup is the blood of the covenant, the blood You shed for us. We cannot but thank and worship You. Lord, You gave Your body and shed Your blood for us as the portion You have given us. Today we come especially to remember You and express our love for You.”
How should we select a second hymn? Someone may suggest Hymns, #437, “Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him,” but this is not suitable. We must firmly grasp this principle: we need to touch the feeling of the meeting. After singing Hymns, #213 and offering a prayer on how the Lord gave Himself and shed His blood for us, we could also continue with Hymns, #65, “Jesus! that name we love.” Stanza 2 is especially appropriate, saying, “As Son of Man it was, / Jesus, the Lord! / Thou gav’st Thy life for us, / Jesus, our Lord! / Great was indeed Thy love, / All other loves above, / Love Thou didst dearly prove, / Jesus, our Lord!” This hymn continues the feeling of the earlier prayer and further strengthens the subject.
The Lord’s Table Meeting
Being for the Remembrance of the Lord’s Person,
Living, Suffering, Death, Exaltation,
and Glorification
In order to remember the Lord in the Lord’s table meeting, we need to see that it is the Lord’s person and work that are worthy of our remembrance. First, we need to see the person of the Lord, to see who He is. We must see the two aspects of His person: He is God yet man; He is the Creator yet a creature. To remember the Lord is to come into the presence of the Lord and worship Him.
Second, we need to see the Lord’s living on earth. This includes His humbling Himself, His humiliation, and His human virtues. Hence, at the Lord’s table we first need to see the Lord’s person and then His human living. Regarding the Lord’s human living, Hymns, #87 says that the Lord showed His faithfulness to God and His wondrous love and grace to men.
Third, we need to remember the Lord’s suffering and death. There are many hymns on the Lord’s death, such as Hymns, #101, #104, and #95. We may also say that this is to remember the Lord’s work in redemption.
Fourth, we need to remember the Lord’s exaltation, including His ascension and glorification. Our remembrance of the Lord consists basically around these four major points: His person, His living, His suffering and death, and His ascension and glorification. We remember the Lord for the things that transpired in the past, and we look forward to His coming back, which is something in the future. There are other items that are included in these major points; for example, the Lord’s name is included in His exaltation, and His being the eternal Savior is included in His person. Furthermore, there are many small items, such as the Lord’s humility, the Lord’s washing His disciples’ feet, and the Lord’s appearing to Mary. Nonetheless, there are four major points: first, the Lord’s person; second, the Lord’s human living, including all His situations; third, the Lord’s death; and fourth, the Lord’s exaltation.
Which item should we remember when we gather around the Lord’s table? Should we remember the Lord’s person, His living, His death, or His exaltation? How can we discern? If we sing Hymns, #213, followed by Hymns, #158 to bring in a subject, we are remembering the third item of the Lord—the Lord’s death in His work. The Lord’s death, however, did not begin with His crucifixion. His death began with His birth in the manger in Bethlehem. It would be very good to sing Hymns, #158 in order to remember the Lord’s death in His redemptive work. If after singing Hymns, #158, the meeting is strong and does not need further strengthening, and the spirit is high and does not need further uplifting, what should we do? One of the brothers may add a prayer.
Blessing the Bread and the Cup
When the Meeting Reaches a Climax
What should we do after a strong prayer has been offered and there is a need to maintain the spirit? We may bless the bread and the cup. Brothers and sisters, we must pay attention to this: when the spirit of the meeting is at its highest point, when the meeting has reached a climax, there is no need to choose a hymn or add a prayer for strengthening. Instead, there should be brothers who take the lead to bless the bread and the cup. There are no regulations in our meeting regarding how many hymns should be sung and how many prayers should be offered before we bless the bread and the cup. One time in a Lord’s table meeting, everyone sang over and over, they prayed, knelt down and stood up, and prayed and sang again for at least fifty minutes, but no one would bless the bread and the cup. This can be compared to country people who invite others to a meal at twelve noon but still have not served them by three o’clock in the afternoon. We need to take care of the atmosphere and feeling of the meeting. I hope that the churches in different places will instruct the saints regarding these points.
We need to be watchful in spirit in the table meeting. We must bless the bread and the cup when the meeting reaches a climax and cannot go any higher. After we bless the bread and the cup and pass them around, there is a need to maintain the spirit with a hymn. We may use Hymns, #136, “Gazing on the Lord in glory, / While our hearts in worship bow,” or Hymns, #226, “For the bread and for the wine, / For the pledge that seals Him mine.” In contrast, Hymns, #226 bears a flavor of ritualistic formalities. We must touch the feeling of the meeting. In order to not allow the spirit to be weakened when we pass the bread and cup, we need to select a hymn that can maintain the spirit. At this point the selection of a hymn greatly depends on the prayers offered during the blessing of the bread and the cup. After singing Hymns, #158, someone may bless the bread and the cup, praying, “O Lord, thank You for first remembering us. You shed Your blood and died for us in this wilderness. The bread and the cup show us the story of Your giving up Your life and shedding Your blood for us. The scene of Your crucifixion is before our eyes. You wore a crown of thorns, and Your head was full of bruises. Lord, we thank You.” Someone else may continue and pray, “Lord, the picture of Your coming down to the earth from heaven to shed Your blood and die for us is vividly before us.” In such a case it would be good if someone selected Hymns, #95, “O Head once full of bruises, / So full of pain and scorn.” The hymn selected should be according to the prayer that blessed the bread and the cup.
Hymns, #93, “Lord, we treasure with affection / All Thy path of sorrow here,” is also good. This hymn is better than Hymns, #95 in continuing Hymns, #158. The fourth stanza of Hymns, #93 is the highest, speaking of sin’s distance and how far-reaching it is: “Thou didst measure then sin’s distance, / Darkness, wrath and curse were Thine; / Man-betrayed, by God forsaken; / Thus we learn Thy love divine!” The contents of this stanza show the far-reaching scope of sin. Even though the Lord went through all these sufferings, we do not know the far-reaching scope of sin. Nevertheless, the Lord experienced all these things personally, measuring out the distance of sin, enabling us to see the length of sin’s distance: darkness, wrath, and the curse. It is not until we have such a realization that we can know the loveliness of the Lord. If we want to touch the feeling of a meeting, we must at least understand the meaning expressed through the words of the hymns. (CWWL, 1952, vol. 1, “Guidelines for the Lord’s Table Meeting and the Pursuit in Life,” msg. 4)
Turning from Praising the Lord
to Worshipping the Father
At the climax of the Lord’s table meeting, in order to maintain the spirit of the meeting after the bread and the cup have been blessed and passed, there is the need to fill up the rest of the time with hymns and prayers. Then the meeting should turn to the second section, which is the worship of the Father.
When we worship the Father, we do not need a new beginning; we simply need to make a turn. A hymn for praising the Father is also a hymn for worshipping the Father. Although the worship of the Father is another section, it still needs to be linked to the previous section. For example, in the first section of the table meeting if we have seen the Lord’s redemptive love that seeks and brings us back, we should turn to the worship of the Father with this feeling. In such a feeling we can worship God the Father for sending the Lord Jesus to the earth. Hence, our praising and singing will provide a flavor of the Father’s sending of the Son. However, if we select Hymns, #178, “Our hearts are full of Christ and long / Their glorious matter to declare,” we will certainly go backward. This is not acceptable. Instead, Hymns, #42 would be a good choice, “By Thee, O God, invited, / We look unto the Son, / In whom Thy heart delighted, / Who all Thy will hath done; / And by the one chief treasure / Thy bosom freely gave, / Thine own pure love we measure, / Thy willing mind to save,” because it meets the requirement of worshipping the Father, and its taste is also higher.
When we worship the Father, we often call Hymns, #33 or Hymns, #52, without paying attention to the theme of our remembrance of the Lord. Hence, our spirit often cannot follow when it is time to worship the Father. This is because we do not enter into the atmosphere and feeling of the meeting; we do not enter into the spirit of the hymns that were selected in the section on remembering the Lord.
Bringing the Worship of the Father to a Climax
and Sending People Off
If we have seen the Lord’s redemptive love, when we turn to worship the Father, the feeling of such worship should be based upon the Father’s sending His beloved Son to redeem us. Thus, we should select a second hymn. If we select Hymns, #52, however, it may be too quick. We can also turn from the feeling of the Lord’s coming to seek us to the praise of the Father’s love, matching this with prayers that praise the Father’s love and then proceed forward. Even though Hymns, #299, “A mind at perfect peace with God,” is not a hymn on the worship of the Father, it can be used. After singing this hymn, it would be good if someone were to stand up and pray, “O Father, thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to seek us. In Your love we were sought and brought back. Now before You in Your house, we enjoy the love You prepared for us in eternity.” After such a prayer, we can call Hymns, #43, “‘Abba, Father,’ we adore Thee, / While the hosts in heaven above / E’en in us now learn the wonders / Of Thy wisdom, grace, and love. / Soon before Thy throne assembled, / All Thy children shall proclaim / Abba’s love shown in redemption, / And how full is Abba’s name!” Singing this hymn can be compared to putting on a vest in fall; we feel just right, neither cold nor hot.
It is good for a brother to choose Hymns, #45, but we should avoid singing two hymns of a similar nature in succession. It would be too much for us to sing Hymns, #45 after singing Hymns, #43. After the singing, either a brother or a sister can offer a prayer, saying, “Our God, because You have chosen us before the creation of the world, now in Your love we have come back to Your house.” This is another turn, from the praise of the Father’s love to the praise of the Father’s choosing. After the praises we can call Hymns, #33, “Father, long before creation, / Thou hadst chosen us in love; / And that love, so deep, so moving, / Draws us close to Christ above, / And will keep us, and will keep us, / Firmly fixed in Christ alone…” This is truly good and can be compared to singing hymns of ascent, going up higher and higher, step by step, waiting for the bread and the cup to be put back on the table. Then at the end of the hymn, that is, at the climax of the worship of the Father, a brother should lead everyone to stand up and conclude the meeting with a prayer.
However, sometimes even though the meeting has ended, everyone may still be unwilling to depart and want to continue. At this time there is the need for sending off by singing the last stanza of Hymns, #33 again. I hope that we could all see that this is a lesson we should learn and practice. In this way we will be able to function in the meetings.
PRAYERS IN THE TABLE MEETING
Like the singing of hymns, the prayer in the table meeting has different sections. There are opening prayers, introductory prayers, strengthening prayers, spirit-uplifting prayers, spirit-maintaining prayers, turning prayers, correcting prayers, time-filling prayers, concluding prayers, and sending-off prayers. Just as singing has its steps, prayer also has its process with many sections. I hope that we will remember this principle and will practice it diligently so that we may function in the meeting, like an experienced basketball team. (CWWL, 1952, vol. 1, “Guidelines for the Lord’s Table Meeting and the Pursuit in Life,” msg. 5)
THE PRINCIPLE OF PRAYING IN A LORD’S TABLE MEETING
Fitly Connected to One Another
We must pay attention to a few principles when we pray at a table meeting. First, our prayers must be fitly connected to one another. After singing a hymn that was selected according to the spirit of the meeting, we should utter a prayer to follow the hymn; we should not pray in a disconnected way. We should sense the feeling of a meeting by following the Spirit’s moving within us. In a meeting we should be like those in a relay race in which we may not run outside the lane. After singing the first hymn, someone should follow with a prayer. After the first prayer someone else should follow with a second hymn or a second prayer, and perhaps there should be a third prayer. The entire meeting, including the selection of hymns, prayers, reading of Scriptures, exhortation, or testimony, should be carried out as if we are in a relay race; there should not be another beginning halfway through the meeting.
The present situation in our meetings is that we have one beginning after another, with each person making his own move. Five people have five different activities; ten people have ten different activities. From the beginning to the end, our meetings are continually being restarted. Thus, the entire meeting is disconnected, without a distinct beginning, progression, or conclusion. This is a serious mistake. We must firmly grasp this principle: with the exception of the beginning prayer, all subsequent prayers, whether it is one prayer or ten prayers, must be connected with each other and closely follow each other.
Moving Forward in the Spirit
Second, our prayers should move forward; they should not remain in the same place. Immediately after we offer a prayer in relation to a hymn, we must move forward in our spirit. We must not only move further but also move higher. For instance, when we follow Hymns, #158 with a prayer, our spirit must not remain in the same place; it should move forward. Horizontally, our prayer should advance further; vertically, it should climb higher. The first prayer leads to the subject; hence, the second prayer should climb one step higher, and then when another hymn is selected, it should climb even higher. We must hold on to this principle. Just as in writing a composition, we keep moving higher and further.
Maintaining the Feeling of the Meeting
Third, as we move forward in the meeting, we must learn to maintain the feeling of the meeting in our prayers and hymns. This simply means that we cannot proceed independently. As we move forward in selecting a hymn, and especially when we pray, we should bring the brothers and sisters with us. The more we pray, the more they will say Amen; the more we pray, the more they will be drawn to the center. The brothers and sisters may not be uplifted in their spirit before we pray, but after we pray, their spirits should climb higher and higher.
Suppose the brothers and sisters are in the feeling of the Lord’s suffering, yet our prayer is concerning the Lord’s glorification in heaven. Our feeling does not match the feeling of the brothers and sisters. According to our feeling, we have already climbed up to heaven, but the brothers and sisters are still prostrate on earth. This is not appropriate. We need to take care of the feeling of the brothers and sisters as we move upward. Hence, prayer requires a great deal of exercise. In a three-legged race we must take care of our partner who is bound to us; we cannot simply run as fast as we wish. Likewise, as we move forward in a meeting, we must bring the brothers and sisters with us and run with them. Do not disregard this matter. This requires a considerable amount of exercise.
Using Utterances of Poetic Quality
Fourth, as a rule, all our prayers should contain utterances of poetic quality. We should pray with words that bear a poetic character; it is not good to pray with words that are too plain. For example, the Canaanite woman cried out to the Lord Jesus: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David!” (Matt. 15:22). Her prayer has a poetic nature as evidenced by the utterances Have mercy on me and Son of David. She came to ask the Son of David to heal her daughter. Without the poetic characteristic she might have asked the Lord in a rough way, “Just heal my daughter.” This kind of prayer is not wrong. She might have also said, “Jesus, my daughter is ill. Go quickly and heal her!” This would make her sound like a bandit who always speaks rudely to coerce people to do something, saying, “You do this!” However, although she was a Canaanite woman, when she came to pray before the Lord Jesus, her prayer was poetic: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter suffers terribly from demon possession” (v. 22). Her utterances are refined and pleasant to the ears. Hence, there is a great deal for us to learn regarding prayer.
The Lord Jesus was even more poetic in His reply. He was not like us; we might have said directly, “Go away; I cannot heal your daughter.” The Lord did not do this; rather, He replied in a mild way, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (v. 26). The word dogs implies many things. The Canaanite woman’s answer was very proper: “Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (v. 27). The conversation between her and the Lord contains numerous poetic utterances. There is no direct mention of the daughter’s problem, yet the purpose of the entire conversation is for the daughter. This is being poetic. The Lord’s response is also very poetic. He did not say, “These Gentiles do not know God; even the children of Israel do not have such faith.” Instead, He said, “Great is your faith! Be it done to you as you wish” (v. 28). The Lord’s response is as poetic as the Canaanite woman’s prayer.
Furthermore, Jacob’s blessing of his sons (Gen. 49:1-28), Moses’ blessing of the children of Israel (Deut. 33), and the prayer of Samuel’s mother (1 Sam. 2:1-10) are passages in the Old Testament that are rich in poetic qualities. These qualities are especially evident in the Psalms. For example, Psalm 51 is David’s psalm of repentance. He says, “Therefore You are righteous when You speak; / You are clear when You judge… / Purge my sin with hyssop, and I will be clean; / Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow… / Create in me a clean heart, O God, / And renew a steadfast spirit within me” (vv. 4-10). On the surface, these expressions seem to be very plain, but in actuality, they possess rich poetic qualities. I hope that we will all pay attention to this matter and will be exercised in it. God is full of feeling. A person with much feeling tends to be poetic in utterance, whereas a person with little feeling tends to be rough in his expressions. The more a person touches God, the richer his feeling will be, and consequently, the more poetic his utterances will be.
However, do not think that merely being poetic is good enough; the most important thing concerning prayer is that it should touch people’s spirit. The more we are in the spirit, the more feeling we have; the less we are in the spirit, the less feeling we have. The outward feeling of man is shallow; the inward feeling of man is deep. The spirit of man is the deepest part of man. The more we pray by the spirit, the more feeling we will have, and consequently, our utterances will be more poetic. Moreover, the more poetic our utterances are, the more we can touch the feelings of others. If our prayer is full of poetical utterance, it is easier for us to touch the spirit and the feeling of the saints. But if we use fancy words merely for the sake of being poetic, it will be ineffective and worthless.
In our service to God we must learn to be keen and tender in our feeling. We should not use common and rough expressions. Although our prayers are neither poems nor psalms of praise, through them we can touch the Lord who has the most feeling and who is the most exalted and glorious. Therefore, when we come before the Lord to speak to Him, our utterances should be full of poetic qualities and rich in feeling.
Bringing the Saints into the Revelation
Fifth, our prayers should not only move forward and upward, they should also bring the atmosphere of the meeting to the subject of the meeting. For example, the first section of the Lord’s table meeting is for the breaking of the bread. After a few hymns and prayers we should bring the meeting toward the bread and the cup, to the feeling of breaking the bread. However, some prayers do not turn our feeling to the Lord’s table but rather draw our feeling further away from it. Suppose the atmosphere at the Lord’s table is that the Lord died and shed His blood for us, yet a brother prays in tears, “O Lord, no one but You can understand the hardship we suffer on earth.” We cannot say that such a prayer is wrong. However, this prayer merely takes us to a Roman execution place to see the persecution of Christians; it does not show us the Lord’s table.
If our spirit is focused on the bread and the cup and a prayer is offered regarding the Lord’s suffering on earth, a brother should follow the prayer and the atmosphere of the meeting to select Hymns, #226, “For the bread and for the wine, / For the pledge that seals Him mine, / For the words of love divine, / We give Thee thanks, O Lord.” This will bring us into the feeling of the bread and the cup. When we come to the fourth stanza, we should all stand up and prepare for the breaking of the bread. After singing, someone should offer a prayer of blessing to receive the bread and the cup from the Lord’s hand.
Avoiding Formalities
Sixth, we should avoid formal prayers at the table meeting; instead, we should use words of revelation and words that convey spiritual facts. For instance, at the beginning of the table meeting, a brother may pray, “O Lord, once again we come to Your table.” This word is formal; it is not of revelation. After singing Hymns, #226, we should normally have a certain feeling or seeing concerning the bread and the cup. We should not pray with formal phrases, such as “once again we…,” especially if such a prayer was offered earlier in the meeting. Suppose we were invited to a meal and have been sitting for a while at the dinner table. When the food is put on the table, we should take it and eat. It would be formal for us to say, “Once again let us come and eat.”
When we pray, we should simply say, “O Lord, we thank You for the bread and for the cup; we are here in remembrance of You. O Lord, thank You for giving us the bread and the cup.” The principle is that we mention the bread and the cup directly. We can also say, “O Lord, our hearts are filled with sweetness as we sing with our mouths and behold the bread and the cup with our eyes. O Lord, You are the sweetest One.” This is somewhat poetic. After this we can pray with words of revelation concerning the bread: “O Lord, although we are here breaking the bread, the bread was actually broken on the cross.” This word is significant because it shows that we can break the bread today because the Lord was broken at the time of His crucifixion. We should continually refer to the bread in our prayers. For instance, we may say, “Lord, we praise You that You were broken; You are no longer unbroken. Because You were broken, we can have Your life, Your very person.” After we have finished praying concerning the bread, we should go on to speak concerning the cup, still using words of revelation and of a poetic nature.
Then all the saints will have the inward revelation: “O Lord, the bread is so good, and the cup is so sweet. You received the cup as a portion on our behalf. You drank the cup of wrath so that today we have the cup of blessing. It is because You shed Your blood and died for us that the cup of wrath has become the cup of blessing. In this cup we see the precious blood You shed for us. It is because You shed Your blood that our sins were taken away from us, and God’s riches have come to us. O Lord, now we receive this bread and this cup from Your hand. While we are receiving them, we pray that You would add Yourself as a blessing to us. Lord, may we touch the reality of this bread and this cup, not merely the outward bread and cup. Lord, may we break this bread and drink this cup in our daily living.” We must bring the brothers and sisters into the feeling of the bread and the cup.
Through our prayer both the bread and the cup are unveiled to the universe. After our prayer everyone should have seen the bread and the cup. This kind of revelation is not received instantly. Therefore, we need to spend the time and energy to exercise diligently. If in every locality there are ten saints who know how to select hymns and another ten who know how to pray, the situation of the various meetings will surely be living and full of the life supply. Thus, everyone will love to come to the meeting and live the church life. (CWWL, 1952, vol. 1, “Guidelines for the Lord’s Table Meeting and the Pursuit in Life,” msg. 6)
Appendix:
1. The piano service should be considered.
2. If there are no musical instruments or serving ones, you can play accompaniment with an audio device which connects the smartphone via Bluetooth; the accompaniment can be found on hymnal.net: https://www.hymnal.net/
Discussion:
1. How to arrange the meeting place for the Lord’s Table?
2. How to prepare the bread and the cup?
3. How to arrange the piano service or how to play accompaniment with an audio device?
4. How to select proper hymns for the Table Meeting?
5. How to apply hymns according to the flow in the meeting?
6. How to offer proper prayers in the section of remembering the Lord?
7. How to bless the bread and the cup at the appropriate time?
8. How to distribute the bread and the cup?
9. How to offer proper prayers in the section of worshiping the Father?
