In Isaiah 53, we read about the great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus: “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief … You make His soul an offering for sin … He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Then these words of our verse above are a fitting response to such a sacrifice, as the souls of believers are affected with fervent desire to magnify the name of this blessed Redeemer and to maintain a genuine memorial to His honor.

The soul is the center of our emotions, affections, and desires. The inmost soul of the Lord Jesus was affected to depths beyond our understanding when He suffered for us at Calvary, and thus our souls are at least in some measure touched as we meditate upon this great sacrifice. Our hearts cry out for a fitting memorial.

All around is the darkness of night—no enlightened understanding of the wonder of the value of that great work of redemption, no recognition of the great glory of our adorable Lord. How precious, therefore, is the provision the Lord Jesus has made for us in the breaking of bread. It is not a material image of stone or of gold, but it is a spiritual memorial to be observed often in heartfelt remembrance of Him. How perfectly does it answer to the desire of our soul toward His precious name! Let us therefore respond in quiet, meditative remembrance of Himself, with thankful, adoring worship and overflowing praise to the Father and the Son: “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).