Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face To Face

Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;

Here would I touch and handle things unseen,

Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,

And all my weariness upon Thee lean.

This is the hour of banquet and of song;

This is the heavenly table spread for me;

Here let me feast, and feasting, still prolong

The hallowed hour of fellowship with Thee.

Here would I feed upon the bread of God,

Here drink with Thee the royal wine of heaven.

Here would I lay aside each earthly load,

Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

Too soon we rise: the symbols disappear;

The feast, though not the love, is past and gone.

The bread and wine remove: but Thou art here,

Nearer than ever, still my shield and sun.

Feast after feast thus comes and passes by;

Yet, passing, points to the glad feast above,

Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,

The Lamb’s great bridal feast of bliss and love.

HORATIUS BONAR (1808–1889)

THE LORD’S SUPPER has always been a special time for Christians. It is a time of soul-searching, but also joy. We remember Christ’s death, but also His resurrection. Christ is the host of this meal; we have fellowship with Him as we eat and drink.

Different denominations have adopted different practices concerning the Lord’s Supper. And in every tradition, it is possible for the sacrament to lose its meaning. For Horatius Bonar, a maverick Scottish Presbyterian, the important thing was that it would be a personal encounter with Christ. You can sense the rich interaction in these lines, the flux of emotions, and the warm devotion to the Lord, his “shield and sun.”

For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.”

1 Corinthians 11:23-24