Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

stayed."quickly"night"too are Covenanters though Abraham acknowledgedthem not. Now under which of these two Covenantsthis pleasant woman was living, it is not for me tosay.Multitudes who proudly decline the priviliges ofthe Covenant of Grace enter voluntarily into a Covenant of works, dictating their own terms. They mayhave a rigid code of morals or a liberal one, but theysay to Immorality, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but nofarther, and here shall thy proud waves beYes, they are Covenanters, but not the Close Communion variety, though they may even belong to achurch with that name, having a name to live.There is a third group of Covenanters of whomGod speaks through Isaiah (28:15, 18) : "Because yehave said, 'We have made a covenant withDeath, andwith Hell we are at agreement ; when the overflowingscourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us ;for we have made lies our refuge, and under falseourselves.' "hood have we hidCould any descriptionof the alcoholic, whether in the initial or advancedstage, be more fitting of the escape mechanism whichsome call a "disease"? The symbols of their sacraments are advertised on your TV.Many years ago at our Indian Mission a Comanche and his wife had strayed into the fellowship of apeoti campmeeting and partaken of their sacramental dainties. Come time for the observance of theLord's Supper they came to the camp with the otherIndians to observe the communion. But the sessionintervened and suspended them. I suppose they neverforgot as others of us have never forgotten Dr.Carithers'action sermon on the text, "I would notthat ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannotdrink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils ; yecannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and thetable of devils."Mr. Carithers remarked afterwards that he hadnever realized before the close relationship of 1 Corinthians, chapters 10 and 11, the latter containingthe Words of Institution, the former the call forseparation.The above was not written with the intention ofdiscussing "Close Communion." But to discuss thatother question whether any member of our race hasthe right to say, "I am not a Covenanter" as thoughsuch a declaration could burst God's eternal bonds.GLIMPSES from page 402Prayer in SchoolsThe ruling by the attorney general of California forbidding prayers in public schools has been openly challenged byIrving Breyer, the school board attorney of San Francisco.A Converted ConvictDonald A. Brandeis has recently completed a State prison term of nearly three years at Raiford, Fla. The man whowas the means of converting him is serving sentences totaling 199 years. In an audience to which Mr. Brandeis spoke,with tears in his eyes, was the judge who sentenced him, theattorney who prosecuted him, the man from whom he hadstolen an automobile which led to his imprisonment, andseveral law-enforcement officers who had dealings with him.All of these congratulated him after he had spoken. He saidthat his first downward steps were drinking and smoking,at the age of six. After his conversion he organized a Bibleclass in prison. He plans to devote his life to spreading thegospel.December 21, 1955Close or Open CommunionEdwin P. Davies, Winchester"The Reformed Presbyterian standard of admission to the sacrament is that commonly referredcommunion.' "to as 'closeConstitution of R. P.page 316.Church,It is the duty and privilege of all organizations,from the Church at the top to the worldly lodgeat the bottom, to specify or to determine the termsof membershipas well as to set forth the mannerof governing their respective members. And mostof them have in them some germ of closeness toeliminate the outsider, perhaps none of them moreso than the secret order lodge.In sacred history we find this idea set forthin the twelfth chapter of Exodus in the institutionof the Passover Supper, which was the forerunnerof the Lord's Supper. In verse three we find thelimitation set for "all the congregation of Israel."In verse 48 the stranger must be circumcised andbe as one born in the land, otherwise, "no uncircumcisedperson shall eat thereof." In verse 21 itwas placed in the hands of the elders for execution. In verse seven we have the blood of the sacrifice (thelife of the flesh is in the blood, Lev. 17:11). In v! 8 we have the body of the passover lamb.In the 26th chapter of Matthew we have theparallel: In verse 8 "This is my blood of the newtestament," body."and in verse 26 "This is my Thisclosing of the passover and institution of the Lord'sSupper was again limited to a select circle. As thePassover was a close communion so also was thisfirst Lord's Supper. Judas may have eaten with theothers or he may not have done so. Luke's accountwould seem to indicate that he did : "And when thehour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostleswith him." (Luke 22:14). The Lord knew that Judashad covenanted to betray Him for thirty pieces ofsilver (the price of a slave, Ex. 21:32). In factJudas was chosen for that very purpose, to be "theson of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled"(John 17:12). Judas ate and drank unworthily with damnation to himself (I Cor. 11 :29) withoutany sign of repentance from his heart of stone, noteven after the Lord had washed his feet. Then camethat denunciation like a bolt of lightning; "I knowwhom I have chosen : but that the Scripture may befulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath liftedup his heel against (John 13:18). "He it is,me"to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it,and when he dipped the sop, he gave it to JudasIscariot, the son of Simon" (John 13:26). Still therewas no repentance from Judas, rather "After thesop Satan entered into him" sealing his doom. Thenit was that our Lord put Judas out. "That thoudoest, do (John 13:27b). Then Judas wentout, "and it was (John 13:30b), eternalnight for Judas.After attending to this matter of discipline,Jesus then said, "Now is the Son of man glorified"and proceeded with that remarkable table address,a communion between the Lord and the eleven(John 13 :31 16 :33) and the closing prayer of John17. It was a very close communion between the Lordand the eleven with Judas cast out. The Lord veryjealously guarded the sacredness of that first communion by putting out the only unworthy(unrepentent)member.405