If the Lord’s Supper is considered to be one of remembrance with the emphasis on our Lord’s death, is the idea of praise and rejoicing out of place?
Well no, surely? When the nation mourns and commemorates its dead who died in the war, are there not very often people who officially on behalf of the nation praise the courage and devotion of the men who gave their lives? The fact that it is a sorrowful thing doesn't stop people very sincerely praising those who died for their sake. And so, surely, with our Lord? Even though we remember his sorrows, do we not do well to praise him for the love that took him to Calvary?
I see the point that, yes, it was a sad thing; and yet Calvary was a tremendous triumph, wasn't it? The Bible tells us that when Christ gave himself for our sins, it came up to God as a sacrifice of a sweet smell (Ephesians 5:2). It delighted the heart of God that here on this earth there was someone who was prepared to do his will to that extreme, and do it perfectly. So it isn't inconsistent with praise.
