Hebrews 10:17 is a quotation of the Septuagint translation of Jeremiah 31:34.  In the Jeremiah passage, God announces the coming of a new covenant.  This new covenant will replace the old Mosiac covenant in which sins were "remembered" by various prescribed offerings and sacrifices.  Yet in the promised new covenant, God will no longer "keep in mind" the sins of His people.  The author of Hebrews tells us that God no longer "keeps out sins in mind" becuase "we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus once for all" (10:10); "by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being sanctified" (10:14).

The Lord's Table is truly a memorial supperin which we remember the Lord's death until he comes.  Yet it is also a sacrament in which we recall that God no longer remembers our sins because of Christ's blood shed to effect the new covenant (Luke 22:20) that Jeremiah foretold.  Although God is omniscient, He no longer "keeps in mind" our sins and lawless acts because of Christ, who "has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Hewbrews 9:26).

Often, recalling the simple difference between scriptual words can prove illuminating.  For example, consider the words "altar" and "table."  After the pattern of the Old Testament, "altar" refers to the physical location where a sacrifice is made.  On the other hand, "table" describes the place where one partakes of a meal, usually with others.

Following the Old Testament type, we should probably view the cross figuratively as the altar where Christ sacrificed Himself for His people.  Quite differently, the eucharist is appropriately described as the Lord's Table.  Sacrifices are made at an altar; meals are shared at a table.  Wonderfully, altars are no longer needed in Christian liturgical celebration, for "He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself" (Hebrews 7:27b).

Equally wonderfully, tables persist as liturgical furniture until "He comes," because we share -- commune, participate in -- the continuing benefits of His body and blood when we receive the Lord's Supper at His table (I Corinthians 10:16).

Come, partake of the feast!