content/12/09.md
---
pagetitle: May one who doubteth of his being in Christ come to the Lord's Supper?
date: February 19, 2020
prev_url: /westminster-daily/12/08/
prev_date: Dec 8
this_url: /westminster-daily/12/09/
short_date: "1209"
this_date: Dec 9
next_url: /westminster-daily/12/10/
next_date: Dec 10
---
#### Larger Catechism
<span class="q">Q 172.</span> May one who doubteth of his being in Christ, or of his due preparation, come to the Lord's Supper?
<span class="q">A.</span> One who doubteth of his being in Christ, or of his due preparation to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, may have true interest in Christ, though he be not yet assured thereof;[^fnref:wlc1] and in God's account hath it, if he be duly affected with the apprehension of the want of it,[^fnref:wlc2] and unfeignedly desires to be found in Christ,[^fnref:wlc3] and to depart from iniquity:[^fnref:wlc4] in which case (because promises are made, and this sacrament is appointed, for the relief even of weak and doubting Christians[^fnref:wlc5]) he is to bewail his unbelief,[^fnref:wlc6] and labor to have his doubts resolved;[^fnref:wlc7] and, so doing, he may and ought to come to the Lord's Supper, that he may be further strengthened.[^fnref:wlc8]
[^fnref:wlc1]: <div class="esv"><h5>Isaiah 50:10</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p23050010.01-1">Who among you fears the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span><br /> <span class="indent"></span>and obeys the voice of his servant?<br /> Let him who walks in darkness<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and has no light<br /> trust in the name of the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span><br /> <span class="indent"></span>and rely on his God.</p> </div> </div><h5>1 John 5:13</h5> <div class="esv-text"> <p id="p62005013.05-2">I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.</p> </div><h5>Psalm 88</h5> <div class="esv-text"> <div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19088001.31-3"><span class="chapter-num" id="v19088001-3">88:1 </span>O <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, God of my salvation;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I cry out day and night before you.<br /> Let my prayer come before you;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>incline your ear to my cry!</p> <p class="line-group" id="p19088003.01-3">For my soul is full of troubles,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and my life draws near to Sheol.<br /> I am counted among those who go down to the pit;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I am a man who has no strength,<br /> like one set loose among the dead,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>like the slain that lie in the grave,<br /> like those whom you remember no more,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>for they are cut off from your hand.<br /> You have put me in the depths of the pit,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>in the regions dark and deep.<br /> Your wrath lies heavy upon me,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and you overwhelm me with all your waves. <span class="selah">Selah</span></p> <p class="line-group" id="p19088008.01-3">You have caused my companions to shun me;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>you have made me a horror to them.<br /> I am shut in so that I cannot escape;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>my eye grows dim through sorrow.<br /> Every day I call upon you, O <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I spread out my hands to you.<br /> Do you work wonders for the dead?<br /> <span class="indent"></span>Do the departed rise up to praise you? <span class="selah">Selah</span><br /> Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>or your faithfulness in Abaddon?<br /> Are your wonders known in the darkness,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?</p> <p class="line-group" id="p19088013.01-3">But I, O <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, cry to you;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>in the morning my prayer comes before you.<br /> O <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, why do you cast my soul away?<br /> <span class="indent"></span>Why do you hide your face from me?<br /> Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.<br /> Your wrath has swept over me;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>your dreadful assaults destroy me.<br /> They surround me like a flood all day long;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>they close in on me together.<br /> You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>my companions have become darkness.</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 77:1-4</h5> <div class="esv-text"> <div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19077001.20-4"><span class="chapter-num" id="v19077001-4">77:1 </span>I cry aloud to God,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>aloud to God, and he will hear me.<br /> In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>my soul refuses to be comforted.<br /> When I remember God, I moan;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>when I meditate, my spirit faints. <span class="selah">Selah</span></p> <p class="line-group" id="p19077004.01-4">You hold my eyelids open;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I am so troubled that I cannot speak.</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 77:7-10</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19077007.01-5">“Will the Lord spurn forever,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and never again be favorable?<br /> Has his steadfast love forever ceased?<br /> <span class="indent"></span>Are his promises at an end for all time?<br /> Has God forgotten to be gracious?<br /> <span class="indent"></span>Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” <span class="selah">Selah</span></p> <p class="line-group" id="p19077010.01-5">Then I said, “I will appeal to this,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”</p> </div> </div><h5>Jonah 2:4</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p32002004.01-6">Then I said, ‘I am driven away<br /> <span class="indent"></span>from your sight;<br /> yet I shall again look<br /> <span class="indent"></span>upon your holy temple.’ (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc2]: <div class="esv"><h5>Isaiah 54:7-10</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p23054007.01-1">For a brief moment I deserted you,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>but with great compassion I will gather you.<br /> In overflowing anger for a moment<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I hid my face from you,<br /> but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”<br /> <span class="indent"></span>says the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, your Redeemer.</p> <p class="line-group" id="p23054009.01-1">“This is like the days of Noah to me:<br /> <span class="indent"></span>as I swore that the waters of Noah<br /> <span class="indent"></span>should no more go over the earth,<br /> so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and will not rebuke you.<br /> For the mountains may depart<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and the hills be removed,<br /> but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”<br /> <span class="indent"></span>says the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, who has compassion on you.</p> </div> </div><h5>Matthew 5:3-4</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p40005003.01-2"><span class="woc">“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</span></p> <p id="p40005004.01-2"><span class="woc">“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.</span></p> </div><h5>Psalm 31:22</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19031022.01-3">I had said in my alarm,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>“I am cut off from your sight.”<br /> But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy<br /> <span class="indent"></span>when I cried to you for help.</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 73:13</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19073013.01-4">All in vain have I kept my heart clean<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and washed my hands in innocence.</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 73:22-23</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19073022.01-5">I was brutish and ignorant;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>I was like a beast toward you.</p> <p class="line-group" id="p19073023.01-5">Nevertheless, I am continually with you;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>you hold my right hand. (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc3]: <div class="esv"><h5>Philippians 3:8-9</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p50003008.01-1">Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—</p> </div><h5>Psalm 10:17</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19010017.01-2">O <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, you hear the desire of the afflicted;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 42:1-2</h5> <div class="esv-text"> <div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19042001.21-3"><span class="chapter-num" id="v19042001-3">42:1 </span>As a deer pants for flowing streams,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>so pants my soul for you, O God.<br /> My soul thirsts for God,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>for the living God.<br /> When shall I come and appear before God?</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 42:5</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19042005.01-4">Why are you cast down, O my soul,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and why are you in turmoil within me?<br /> Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>my salvation</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 42:11</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19042011.01-5">Why are you cast down, O my soul,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and why are you in turmoil within me?<br /> Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>my salvation and my God. (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc4]: <div class="esv"><h5>2 Timothy 2:19</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p55002019.01-1">But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”</p> </div><h5>Isaiah 50:10</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p23050010.01-2">Who among you fears the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span><br /> <span class="indent"></span>and obeys the voice of his servant?<br /> Let him who walks in darkness<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and has no light<br /> trust in the name of the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span><br /> <span class="indent"></span>and rely on his God.</p> </div> </div><h5>Psalm 66:18-20</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p19066018.01-3">If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>the Lord would not have listened.<br /> But truly God has listened;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>he has attended to the voice of my prayer.</p> <p class="line-group" id="p19066020.01-3">Blessed be God,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>because he has not rejected my prayer<br /> <span class="indent"></span>or removed his steadfast love from me! (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc5]: <div class="esv"><h5>Isaiah 40:11</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p23040011.01-1">He will tend his flock like a shepherd;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>he will gather the lambs in his arms;<br /> he will carry them in his bosom,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and gently lead those that are with young.</p> </div> </div><h5>Isaiah 40:29</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p23040029.01-2">He gives power to the faint,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and to him who has no might he increases strength.</p> </div> </div><h5>Isaiah 40:31</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p23040031.01-3">but they who wait for the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span> shall renew their strength;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>they shall mount up with wings like eagles;<br /> they shall run and not be weary;<br /> <span class="indent"></span>they shall walk and not faint.</p> </div> </div><h5>Matthew 11:28</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p40011028.01-4"><span class="woc">Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.</span></p> </div><h5>Matthew 12:20</h5> <div class="esv-text"><div class="block-indent"> <p class="line-group" id="p40012020.01-5">a bruised reed he will not break,<br /> <span class="indent"></span>and a smoldering wick he will not quench,<br /> until he brings justice to victory;</p> </div> </div><h5>Matthew 26:28</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p40026028.01-6"><span class="woc">for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.</span> (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc6]: <div class="esv"><h5>Mark 9:24</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p41009024.01-1">Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc7]: <div class="esv"><h5>Acts 2:37</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p44002037.01-1">Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”</p> </div><h5>Acts 16:30</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p44016030.01-2">Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div>
[^fnref:wlc8]: <div class="esv"><h5>Romans 4:11</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p45004011.01-1">He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,</p> </div><h5>1 Corinthians 11:28</h5> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p46011028.01-2">Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div>