Jesus was saying come, all is ready

JESUS WAS SAYING COME, ALL IS READY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 14:17 17At the time of the banquet he sent his
servantto tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for
everything is now ready.'
All Things Are Ready, Come
BY SPURGEON
“Come, for all things are now ready.”
Luke 14:17
THIS invitation was first of all made to the Jews, but it seems to me to have a
peculiar appropriateness to ourselves. It is later in the day than when first the
Lord was here and, therefore, the supper time is evidently closerathand. The
shadows lengthen, the sun of the present dispensationis nearing its setting–by
nearly 1,900 years has its day been shortened since first the Lord sent forth
His servants at supper time. The fullness of time for the marriage supper of
the Lamb must speedily arrive and, therefore, it behooves us to be more than
ever earnestin delivering the messageto the invited guests. And if all things
could be saidto be ready, even in our Savior’s day, we may sayit with still
greateremphasis now, for when He delivered this parable, the Holy Spirit was
not yet given.
But Pentecosthas now passedand the Spirit of God abides with us to
accompanythe Word, to fill it with power and to bless our souls as we feed
upon His Truth. Very emphatically, then, at this time all things are now ready
and the supper awaits the guests!I pray you do not begin to make excuses, but
be prepared to follow us when we bid you come, to go with us when we seek to
bring you in, or at leastto yield to our entreaties when, with all the sacred

violence of love, we would compelyou to come in. We will not grudge the use
of all the three increasing modes of persuasionso long as you are but led to
“Come, for all things are now ready.” There are two things clearlyin the text
and these have a close relationto one another. A plain invitation–“Come,"and
then a forcible argument–"forall things are ready.” The argument is fetched
from the Divine preparations, gatheredfrom among the dainty provisions of
the royal feast. “Myoxen and My fatlings are killed, come to the supper.” The
readiness of everything on God’s part is the argument why men should come
and partake of His Grace–andthat is the point upon which we will dwell at
this time–the readiness ofthe feastof mercy is the reasonwhy men should
come to it at once.
1. We will begin our meditation by laying down the first statementwhich
shall make our first division of discourse, namely that IT IS GOD’S
HABIT TO HAVE ALL THINGS READY, whether for His guests or
His creatures. You never discoverHim to be behind in anything. When
the guests come, there is not a scramble to get the table arranged and
the food prepared, but the Lord has greatforethought and every little
point of detail is well arranged. “All things are ready.” It was so in
creation.
He did not create a single blade of grass upon the face of the earth until the
soil and the atmosphere had been prepared for it and until the kindly sun had
learned to look down upon the earth. Imagine vegetationwithout a sun, or
without the alternation of day and night! But the air was full of light, the
firmament upheld the clouds and the dry land had appeared from out of the
sea–andthen all things were ready for herbs and plants and trees. Nordid
God prepare one single creature that has life, nor fowl that flies in the midst
of Heaven, nor fish that swim the seas, norbeastthat moves on the dry land
until He had prepared its habitat and made ready its appointed food.
There were no cattle before there were meadows for their grazing. There were
no birds till there were trees for their nests, no, nor even a creeping insect till
its portion of meat had been provided. No creature had to wait in a hungry
mood while its food was growing–allthings were ready–ready, first, for
vegetation, and then afterwards for animal life. As for Adam, when God came
to make Him as His last and noblest work of creation, all things were ready.
The gardenwas laid out upon the banks of flowing streams and planted with
all kinds of trees. The fruits were ripe for his diet and the flowers in bloom for
his delight.
He did not come to an unfurnished house, but he entered into a home which
his Fatherhad made pleasantand “All things are ready,” the Lord seems to

say, “Spring up, O herbs yielding seed.” And then, “All things are ready,
come forth you roes and hinds of the field!” And then, “All things are ready,
stand forth, O man, made in My own image!” In later times we may gather
illustrations of the same Truth of God from the ways of Godwith men. The
Ark was first of all built and the various creatures were gatheredinto it, with
all their necessaryfoodfor that strange voyage which they were about to take.
And then the Lord saidto Noah, “Come you and all your house into the Ark.”
“All things are ready, come,” was His voice to the choseneight as they entered
into the Ark. There was no need to tarry any longer. Every preparation was
made and, therefore, God shut them in. Everything is done with punctuality
and exactnessby the only wise God. The same day that a thing is needed, it is
prepared.
Take anotherevent in Providence, such as the going down of Israelinto
Egypt. God had determined that Jacoband his seedshould sojourn, awhile, in
the land of Ham, but how wiselyHe prepared the whole matter. He sent a
man before them, even Joseph, and Josephwas there upon the throne of
Egypt clothed with power to nourish them through the famine. He had been
there years before, all in goodtime to store the wheatwhile the sevenyears of
plenty lasted, that they might be well fed during the sevenyears of famine.
Goshen, also, was atthe disposal of Joseph, so that the flocks and herds of
Israelmight dwell in that fat land. Not into Egypt shall God’s Israel go till all
things are ready! And when all things are ready they will come out againwith
a high hand and an outstretched arm! So it was when the tribes migrated into
Canaanitself. God took them not to the promised land until all things were
ready. They were made to wait for the exacttime, for the Lord said, “The
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Not till the inhabitants of the land had
passedthe bounds of mercy and were condemned to die, were the Israelites
brought upon the scene to be, at once, their executioners and successors!
And when the tribes came to the river Jordan, God had prepared everything
for them, for He had sent the hornet before them to drive out the people and a
pestilence, also, forthe spies said, “It is a land that eats up the inhabitants
thereof.” The Lord God had gone before them to fight their battles before
they came and to prepare a place for them, so that when they entered they
dwelt in houses which they had not built and they gatheredthe fruit of olives
which they had not planted. They came to a land that flowedwith milk and
honey, a land in a fine cultivated condition and not a wilderness which must
be reclaimed with hard labor. Israelcame to a country which was as the
garden of the Lord, whose fruit might at once be enjoyed, for they ate of the
old corn of the land almost as soonas they passedthe Jordan. So you see, “All

things are ready,” is a proclamation which the Lord has often, in spirit, made
to those whom He choosesto bless.
Now the factthat in the greatGospelsupper all things are ready teaches us,
first, that God’s thoughts go before men’s comings. “Come, for all things are
ready.” Not, “If you come, all things will be ready,” but, “they are ready and,
therefore, come.” Grace is first, and man at his bestfollows its footsteps. Long
before we ever thought of God, He thought of us! Yes, before we had a being
and time, itself, began, in the bosom of the Eternal there were thoughts of love
towards those for whom the table of His mercy is now spread!
He had planned and arrangedeverything in His august mind from of old. He
had, indeed, foreknownand predestinated all the provisions and all the guests
of His supper! All things were settledin His eternal Covenantand purpose
before the earth was!Never think, oh Sinner, that you canoutstrip the love of
God! It is at the end of the race before you are at the beginning! God has
completed before you have begun. His thoughts are before ours and so are His
acts, for He does not say, “All things are planned and arranged,” but, “All
things are ready.” Jesus, the greatSacrifice, is slain! The Fountain for our
cleansing is filled with blood! The Holy Spirit has been given. The Word by
which we are to be instructed is in our hands and the light which will
illuminate that sacredpage is promised us through the Holy Spirit.
Things promised ought to encourage us to come to Christ, but things already
given ought to be irresistible attractions. All things are already completedby
the sacredTrinity before we come to cry for mercy. This should make us very
hopeful and eagerin our approaches to the Lord. Come, Sinner! Come at
once!This ought to encourage you, since all that God has to do in your
salvationis done before you have a thought of Him or turn one foot towards
His abode. All things are ready. Come!
This, also, proves how welcome those are who come. If you are invited to see a
friend and when you reachthe place, you find the door lockedand, after
knocking many times no one answers, forthere is no one at home, you reckon
that there is some mistake, or that the invitation was not a sincere one. Even if
your host should come to the door and let you in, but should evidently be
embarrassed, for there is no meal provided and he has made no arrangements
for your rest, you soondetectit and like a wise man you quickly move off
somewhere else, forif you had been welcome, things would have been
prepared for you. But oh, poor Soul, if you come to God, all things are ready
for your entertainment–

“Spreadfor you the festive board,
With His richestdainties stored.”
The couchof rest and quietness is prepared for you. All things are ready! How
freely does Jehovahwelcome you, how genuine is the invitation, how sincere
the desire that you should come to feast with Him!
So much upon our first remark. It is the habit of the Lord to have all things
ready for His guests.
II. Our secondstatementis that THIS READINESS SHOULD BE AN
ARGUMENT THAT HIS SAINTS SHOULD COME continually to Him and
find Grace to help in every time of need. O children of God, I will lift the
parable awayfrom the immediate use which the Savior made of it to employ it
for your good. You know, Beloved, that wheneverthe Lord Jesus Christ
invites His people to come to Him and to taste of His bounty, all things are
ready.
It was a beautiful scene by the sea of Tiberias when the Lord spoke to those
who had been toiling on the lake at fishing and said to them, “Come and
dine.” They were willing enough to dine, but they were busy dragging to the
shore those great fishes. Remember, when they did land, they found the
invitation to be no vain one, for it is written, “Theysaw a fire of coals there
and fish laid thereon, and bread.” How the coals came there and the fish, and
the bread, the Evangelistdoes not tell us, but our Lord would not have asked
them to dinner if He had not been able to give them a warm reception. There
were the fire of coals and the fish and bread laid on them.
Whenever, therefore, your Lord and Master, by His blessedSpirit, calls you
to come near to Him, you may be quite sure that all things are ready for your
immediate enjoyment. You need never pause or hesitate, but approachHim
without delay. I want to caution you againstreplying, “But, Lord, I do not feel
ready.” That is most true, but that is not an argument which you should use to
excuse yourself in holding back. It is His readiness that is the main thing, not
yours, and as all things are ready, come whether you feel ready or not!
I have heard of some Christians who have said, “I do not feel in a proper
frame of mind to pray.” My Brothers and Sisters, pray till you do! Some have
said, “I do not think I shall go up to the house of God today. I feel so unhappy,
so castdown.” When should you go so much as then, in order that you may
find comfort? “Still,” says one, “you would not have me sing a hymn when of
heavy heart, would you?” Yes, I would, I would, indeed! I would have you
sing yourself up from the depths of the sea when all God’s billows have gone
over you. David full often did so. When he begana Psalm in the deeps, he

gradually rose and rose, and rose till he was in a perfect rapture of delight
before the Psalmwas over! All things are ready with your Lord, therefore
come whether you happen to be ready or not!
Note the times when this Truth of God ought to have powerwith you. All
things are ready, therefore come to the storehouse ofDivine promises. Are
you in spiritual poverty? Come and take what God has provided for you, for
all things are yours and all the blessings of the everlasting hills belong to all
the people of God. Are you needing strength? There is a promise, “As your
days so shall your strength be.” It is ready, come and take it! Are you needing
consolation? Do you not know that all things are ready for your comfort, that
two immutable things, wherein it is impossible for God to lie, are already set
before you? Come and take your solace!Yes, remember that all that God has
promised belongs to all those who believe the promise and that you may,
therefore, come at all times, howeverdeep your need. And if you have but
faith you shall find the specialsupply for the specialneed. All things are
ready, therefore come with holy confidence and take what is ripe enough to
gather, ripe for you. Come next to the MercySeatin prayer, all things are
ready there. The MercySeatis sprinkled with the preciousbloodof Christ.
The veil, also, is torn in two, and from betweenthe cherubim Jehovah’s Glory
now shines forth with mildest radiance. Let us, therefore, come with boldness
unto the Throne of the heavenly Grace, because everything there is ready for
the pleading suppliant. You have no need to bring anything with you. You
have no need of making preparations other than the Holy Spirit waits to give
you in the form of groans which cannotbe uttered! Come, child of God,
notwithstanding your carelessnessandindifference, or whatever it may be you
have to complain of, for though you are unready, the Throne of Grace is
ready and, therefore, draw near to it and find the Grace you need.
If at this time we feel strong promptings towards communion with Christ,
what a blessing it is that Christ is always ready to commune with His people.
“Behold,” He says, “Istand at the door and knock.” We think that we stand at
the door and knock, but it is scarcelyso. The greaterTruth, with regardto
His people, is that Jesus asksforfellowship with us and tells us that if we open
the door–andthat is all He bids His people do–He will enter in and sup with
them and they with Him. Suppose there is no supper, He will provide it–He
has all things ready. The Mastersays, “Where is the guestchamber?” He does
not say, “Where is the feast?” IfYour heart will be the guest chamber, He will
provide the supper and you shall sup with Him and He with you.
At whose door did Christ knock according to the Scriptures? It was at the
door of the LaodiceanChurch, at the door of the very Church concerning

which He had said, “Becauseyouare neither coldnor hot, I will spew you out
of My mouth.” Therefore you poor LaodiceanBelievers thatare here this
morning, if you have any promptings towards Christ, arise, for all things are
ready and before you are aware, your soul shall be as the chariots of
Amminadab! He is ready to receive us to His heart of hearts! How sweetlythis
ought to constrainus to fly into the arms of Jesus. Ithink the same thought
ought to cross ourminds with regardto every daily duty. We wake up in the
morning, but we do not know exactly what lies before us, for God’s
Providence has constantlynew revelations.
But I like to think, in the morning, that all things are ready for my pathway
through the day. That if I will go out to serve God in my ministry, He has
prepared some ear into which I am to drop a gracious wordand some heart in
the furrows of which I shall effectually sow some blessedseed!Behold, all
Providence with its mighty wheels is co-working withthe servant of the living
God! Only go forward in zeal and confidence, my Brother, and you shall find
that every step of your way is ready for you! Your Masterhas trod the road
and marked out for you the houses of refreshment where you are to tarry till
you shall come to the CelestialCity, itself, and the hallowed spots where you
shall bring glory to His blessedname! Fora useful life all things are ready for
us.
Yes, and if beyond the daily service of life we should feel a prompting to
aspire to a higher degree of holiness–ifwe want to grow in Grace and reach
the fullness of the stature of a man in Christ Jesus–allthings are ready for us!
No Christian can have a sacredambition after holiness which the Lord is not
prepared to fulfill. You that wish to be like Your Master, you that desire to
make a self-sacrifice thatwill show the powerof His Grace in you–the Holy
Spirit waits to help you–allthings shall work for you, for all things are ready!
Come, therefore, without fear.
One of these days it may be that you and I shall either be grownvery old, or
else disease willlay hold upon us and we shall lie upon the sick bed watching
and waiting for our Master’s coming. Then there shall suddenly appear a
messengerfrom Him who will bring us this word, “All things are ready, come
unto the supper,” and closing our eyes on earth we shall open them in Heaven
and see whatHe has done who so sweetlysaid, “I go to prepare a place for
you, and if I go to prepare a place for you I will come againand receive you
unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
Oh, it will be a joyous moment when we shall hear the summons, “All things
are ready, quit your house of clay, your farm, your merchandise and even her
who lies in your bosom, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and you must

be there! Therefore, rise up, My love, My fair one and come away. The winter
is over and past, the time of the singing of birds is come for you, all things are
ready, come!”
I feel tempted to linger here, but I must tear myself awayfrom this point to
pass on to the next.
III. THE PERFECTREADINESSOF THE FEAST OF DIVINE MERCYIS
EVIDENTLY INTENDEDTO BE A STRONG ARGUMENT WITH
SINNERS WHY THEY SHOULD COME AT ONCE. To the sinner, then, do
I address myself. Soul, do you desire eternal life? Is there within your spirit a
hungering and a thirsting after such things as may satisfy Your spirit and
make you live forever? Then hearkenwhile the Master’s servantgives you the
invitation. “Come, for all things are ready”–all, not some–but all! There is
nothing that you can need betweenhere and Heaven but what is provided in
Jesus Christ–in His Personand in His work.
All things are ready–life for your death, forgiveness foryour sin, cleansing for
your filth, clothing for your nakedness, joyfor your sorrow, strengthfor your
weakness–yes, more than all that you can ever need is stored up in the
boundless Nature and work of Christ. You must not say, “I cannotcome
because I have not this, or have not that.” Are you to prepare the feast? Are
you to provide anything? Are you the purveyor of even so much as the salt or
the water? You know not your true condition or you would not dream of such
a thing! The greatMasterof the house, Himself, has provided the whole of the
feast–youhave nothing to do with the provision but to partake of it! If you
lack, come and take what you lack!
The greateryour need, the greaterreasonwhy you should come where all
things that your needs canpossibly lack will at once be supplied! If you are so
needy that you have nothing goodat all about you, all things are ready. What
would you provide when God has provided all things? Superfluity of
naughtiness would it be if you were to think of adding to His, “allthings.” It
would be but a presumptuous competing with the provisions of the great
King–and this He will not tolerate. All that you need–Ican but repeatthe
words–betweenthe gates ofHell, where you now lie, and the gates ofHeaven,
to which Grace will bring you if you believe–allis provided and prepared in
Jesus Christ the Savior!
And all things are ready, dwell on that. The oxen and the fatlings were killed.
What is more, they were prepared to be eaten, they were ready to be feasted
on, they smokedon the board. It is something when the king gives orders for
the slaughterof so many bullocks for the feast, but the feastis not ready. And

when, beneath the poleax, the victims fall and they are stripped and hung up
ready for the fire, there is something done, but they are not ready. It is when
the meat is servedhot and steaming upon the table and all that is needed is
brought forth and laid in proper order for the banquet–it is then that all
things are ready!
And this is the case now. At this very moment you will find the feastto be in
the bestpossible condition. It was never better and never can be better than it
is now. All things are ready, just in the exactcondition that you need them to
be, just in such condition as shall be best for your soul’s comfort and
enjoyment. All things are ready! Nothing needs to be further mellowedor
sweetened. Everything is at the best that eternallove can make it. But notice
the word, “now.” “All things are now ready”–justnow–atthis moment! At
feasts, you know, the goodhousewife is often troubled if the guests come late.
She would be sorry if they came half-an-hour too soon, but half-an-hour too
late spoils everything! And in what a state of fret and worry is she if, when all
things are now ready, her friends still delay.
Leave food on the fire, awhile, and it does not seemto be, “now ready,” but
something more than ready and even spoiled. So does the greatMasterof the
house lay stress upon this, “allthings are now ready,” therefore come at once.
He does not say that if you will tarry for another sevenyears, all things will,
then, be ready–Godgrant that long before that space of time, you may have
got beyond the needs of persuasionby having become a tasterof the feast–but
He says that all things are ready now, just now. Just now that your heart is so
heavy and your mind is so careless. Justnow that your spirit is so wandering–
all things are ready now!
They are all ready just now though you have never thought of these things
before and dropped in this morning to see this large assemblywith no motive
whateveras to your own salvation, yet all things are ready now. Though your
sins are as the stars of Heaven and your soul trembles under an awful
foreboding of coming judgment, yet, “all things are now ready.” After all your
rejections of Christ. After the many invitations that have been thrown away
upon you, come to the supper! And if they are ready now, the argument is
come, now, while still all things are ready. While the Spirit lingers and still
strives with men. While mercy’s gates still stand wide open that, “whoever
will, may come.” While life and health and reasonstill are spared to you and
the ministering voice that bids you come can still be heard, come now, come at
once–allthings are ready–come!Delay is as unreasonable as it is wicked, now
that all things are ready.

Notice that all things were ready for those who were bid. They did not come,
but they were not mockedwhen they were bid to come. The factof all things
being ready proved that the invitation was a sincere one, although it was a
rejectedone. There are some who will not have us give an invitation to any
but to those whom we believe are sure to come, no, in a measure have come.
That is to say, they make a minister to be a mere superfluity. Why need he
come and invite those who have already begun to come?
But we believe it to be our duty and our privilege to invite the whole mass of
mankind! And even those who will not come–ifwe knew they would not come
we should not, therefore, exempt them from the bidding–for the servant was
sent to bid them to the wedding who, nevertheless, “allwith one consentbegan
to make excuse.” Theywere invited and earnestlyinvited, and all things were
ready, though they came not. O my dear Hearers, if you do not come to Christ
you will perish! But you will never be able to say you were not invited and
that there was nothing ready for you! No, there stands the feastall spread and
you are sincerely and honestly bid to come. God grant that you may come and
come at once!
IV. Now I am going to pass on to my fourth and last point, which may God
bless to the comfort of some seeking soul. THIS TEXT DISPOSES OF A
GREAT DEAL OF TALK ABOUT THE SINNER’S READINESS OR
UNREADINESS, because, if the reasonwhy a sinner is to come is because all
things are ready, then it is idle for him to say, “But I am not ready.” It is clear
that all the readiness required on man’s part is a willingness to come and
receive the blessing which God had provided. There is nothing else necessary.
If men are willing to come, they may come. They will come when the Lord has
been pleasedto touch their wills so that man has a desire towards Christ.
Where the heart really hungers and thirsts after righteousness, thatis all the
readiness which is needed.
All the fitness He requires is that first you feelyour need of Him, (and that He
gives you), and that secondly, in feeling your need of Him, you are willing to
come to Him. Willingness to come is everything! A readiness to believe in
Jesus, a willingness to cast the soul on Him, a preparedness to acceptHim just
as He is, because youfeel that He is just the Saviorthat you need–thatis all.
There was no other readiness. There couldhave been none in the case ofthose
who were poor and blind, and crippled and maimed, yet came to the feast.
The text does not say, “You are ready, therefore come.” That is a legalway of
putting the Gospel. No, the Gospelsays, “All things are ready, the Gospelis
ready, therefore you are to come.” As for your readiness, allthe readiness that

is possibly needed is a readiness which the Spirit gives us, namely, willingness
to come to Jesus.
Now notice that the unreadiness of those who were bid arose out of their
possessionsand out of their abilities. One would not come because he had
bought a piece of land. What a greatheap Satan casts up betweenthe souland
the Savior!What with worldly possessions andgooddeeds, he builds an
earthwork of huge dimensions betweenthe sinner and his Lord. Some
gentlemen have too many acres to ever come to Christ! They think too much
of the world to think much of Him. Many have too many fields of goodworks
in which there are growing crops in which they pride themselves and these
cause them to feelthat they are persons of greatimportance. Many a man
cannot come to Christ for all things because he has so much already!
Others of them could not come because they had so much to do and could do
it well–one had bought five yoke of oxen. He was going to test them. A strong
man, quite able for plowing, did not come because he had so much ability.
Thousands are kept away from Grace by what they have and by what they
can do. Emptiness is more preparatory to a feastthan fullness. How often does
it happen that poverty and even inability help to leadthe soul to Christ?
When a man thinks himself to be rich he will not come to the Savior. When a
man dreams that he is able to repent and believe at any time and to do
everything for himself that is needed, he is not likely to come and by a simple
faith repose in Christ. It is not what you have not, but what you have that
keeps many of you from Christ! Sinful selfis a devil, but righteous self is
sevendevils! The man who feels himself guilty may, for a while, be kept away
by his guilt. But the man who is selfrighteous will never come!Until the Lord
has takenhis pride awayfrom him, he will still refuse the feastof Free Grace.
The possessionof abilities and honors and riches keepmen from coming to the
Redeemer.
But on the other hand, personalcondition does not constitute an unfitness for
coming to Christ, for the sad condition of those who became guests did not
debar them from the supper. Some were poor and doubtless wretchedand
ragged–theyhad not a penny to bless themselves with, as we say. Their
garments were tattered, perhaps worse. Theywere filthy. They were not fit to
be near respectable people–theywould certainly be no credit to my Lord’s
table–but those who went to bring them in did not searchtheir pockets, nor
look at their coats–theyfetchedthem in. They were poor, but the messengers
were told to bring in the poor and, therefore, brought them. Their poverty did
not prevent their being ready and oh, poor Soul, if you are literally poor, or

spiritually poor, neither sort of poverty can constitute an unfitness for Divine
mercy!–
“The poorer the wretch the more welcome here.”
If you are brought to your lastpenny, yes, if that is spent. And if you have
pawned all and are left in debt over your head and think that there is nothing
for you but to be laid by the heels in prison forever, nevertheless you may
come, poverty and all! Another class ofthem were maimed and so were not
very comely in appearance–anarm had been lopped off, or an eye had been
gougedout. One had losta nose and another a leg. They were in all stages and
shapes of dismemberment. Sometimes we turn our heads awayand feel that
we would rather give anything than look upon beggars who show their
wounds and describe how they were maimed. But it did not matter how badly
they were disfigured–they were brought in and not one of them was repulsed
because ofthe ugly cuts he had received!
So, poor Soul, howeverSatanmay have torn and lopped you, and into
whatevercondition he may have brought you, so that you feel ashamedto live,
nevertheless this is no unfitness for coming! Just as you are, you may come to
His table of Grace. Moraldisfigurements are soonrectified when Jesus takes
the characterin hand. Come to Him, howeversadly you are injured by sin.
There were others who were halt, that is to say, they had lost a leg, or it was of
no use to them, and they could not come exceptthey had a crutch and crawled
or hopped upon it. But nevertheless that was no reasonwhy they were not
welcome.
Ah, if you find it difficult to believe, it is no reasonwhy you should not come
and receive the grand absolution which Jesus Christis ready to bestow upon
you! Lame with doubts and distrust? Neverthelesscome to the supper and
say, “Lord, I believe; help You my unbelief.” Others were blind people and
when they were told to come they could not see the way, but in that case the
messengerwas nottold to tell them to come–he was commandedto bring
them–and a blind man cancome if he is brought. All that was needed was
willingness to be led by the hand in the right direction. Now, you that cannot
fully understand the Gospelas you desire to do. You that are puzzled and
muddled, give your hand to Jesus and be willing to be led–be willing to believe
what you cannotcomprehend and to graspin confidence that which you are
not able yet to measure with your understanding. The blind, however ignorant
or uninstructed they are, shall not be kept awaybecause ofthat.
Then there were the men in the highways. I suppose they were beggars.And
the men in the hedges. I suppose they were hiding and were probably thieves.

But nevertheless they were told to come and though they were highwaymen
and hedge-birds, even that did not prevent their coming and finding welcome!
Though outcasts, offcasts, spiritual gypsies–people that nobody caredfor, yet,
whateverthey might be, that was not the question–they were to come because
all things were ready! They could come in rags, come in filth, come maimed,
come coveredwith sores, come in all sorts of filthiness and abomination, yet
because allthings are ready they were to be brought or to be compelled to
come in.
Now, lastly, I think it was the very thing which, in any one of these people,
lookedlike unfitness, was a help to them. It is a greattruth that what we
regard as unfitness is often our truest fitness. I want you to notice these poor,
blind and lame people. Some of those who were invited would not come
because they had bought some land, or five yoke of oxen. But when the
messengerwentup to the poor man in rags and said, “Come to the supper,” it
is quite clearhe would not sayhe had bought a field, or oxen, for he could not
do it. He had not a penny to do the thing with, so that he was cleandelivered
from that temptation.
And when a man is invited to come to Christ and he says, “I do not need Him,
I have a righteousness ofmy own,” he will stay away. But when the Lord
Jesus came along to me, I never was tempted in that way, because Ihad no
righteousness ofmy own and could not have made any if I had tried! I know
some here who could not patch up a garment of righteousness if they were to
put all their rags together–andthis is a greathelp to their receiving the Lord
Jesus. Whata blessing it is to have such a sense ofsoul poverty that you will
never stay awayfrom Christ because ofwhat you possess!
Then, next, some could not come because theyhad married a wife. Now, I
think it is very likely that these people who were maimed and cut about were
so injured that they had no wife and perhaps could not getanybody to have
them. Well then, they had not that temptation to stayaway. They were too
maimed to attract the eye of anybody who was looking for beauty and,
therefore, they were not tempted that way. But they found at the ever-blessed
supper of the Lamb an everlasting wedlock which was infinitely better! Thus
do souls lose earthly joys and comforts and, by the loss, they gain supremely–
they are thus made willing to close in with Christ and find a higher comfort
and a higher joy! That maiming which lookedlike unfitness turned out to be
fitness!
One excuse made was, “Ihave bought five yoke of oxen and I go to test them.”
The lame could not do that. When the messengertouchedthe lame man on the
shoulder and said, “Come,” he could not say, “I am going out tonight to plow

with my new teams.” He had never been over the clods ever since he had lost
his leg, poor soul, so that he could not make such an excuse. The blind man
could not say, “I have bought a piece of land and I must go see it.” He was free
from all the lusts of the eyes and so far was all the more ready to be led to the
supper! When a soul feels its own sinfulness, wretchedness and lostestate, it
thinks itself unfit to come to Christ–but this is an assistanceto it–since it
prevents its looking to anything else but Christ! It kills its excuses and makes
it free to acceptsalvationby Grace.
But what about the men that were in the highway? Well, it seems to me that
they were already on the road and at leastout of their houses, if they had any.
If they were out there begging, they were the more ready to acceptan
invitation to a meal of goodfood, for it was that they were singing for. A man
who is out of the house of his own self-righteousness, though he is a great
sinner, is in a more favorable position and more likely to come to Christ than
he who prides himself in his supposed self-righteousness.
As for those who were under the hedges, well, they had no house of their own
and so they were all the more likely to come and fill God’s House. Men do not
take to hedges to sleepunder them as long as they have, even, a hovel where
they may rest their head. But oh, poor soul, when you are driven to such
distress that you would gladly hide under any hedge-whenyou have nothing
left but a fearful looking for of judgment! When you think yourself to be an
outlaw and an outcastbefore God, left to wander like Cain, a waif and stray,
lost to all good, you, I say, are the very man to come to Christ! Come out of
your hedges, then!
I am looking for you. Though you hide yourselves away, yet God’s own Spirit
will discoveryou and bring you, I trust, this very morning, to feed on Divine
Love! Trust Jesus Christ, that is all, just as you are, with all your unfitness
and unreadiness!Take whatGod has made ready for you, the precious blood
to cleanse you, a robe of righteousnessto cover you, eternal joy to be your
portion! Receive the Grace of God in Christ Jesus!Oh receive it now! God
grant you may for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Moderation;Disinterestedness;Patience
Luke 14:12-14
W. Clarkson
We find in these words of our Lord -
I. THE CORRECTIONOF A COMMON FAULT. Jesus Christ did not,
indeed, intend to condemn outright all family or socialgatherings ofa festive
character. He had already sanctionedthese by his own presence. The
idiomatic language, "do not, but," signifies, not a positive interdiction of the
one thing, but the superiority of the other. Yet may we not find here a
correctionof social, festive extravagance;the expenditure of an undue
measure of our resources onmutual indulgences? It is a very easyand a very
common thing for hospitality to pass into extravagance, andeven into selfish
indulgence. Those who invite neighbours to their house in the full expectation
of being invited in return may seemto themselves to be open-handed and
generous, whenthey are only pursuing a systemof well-understoodmutual
ministry to the lowertastes and gratifications. And it is a fact that both then
and now, both there and here, men are under a greattemptation to expend
upon mere enjoyment of this kind a degree of time and of income which
seriouslycripples and enfeebles them. Thus that is given to display and
indulgence which might be reservedfor benevolence andfor piety; thus life is
lowered, and its whole service is reduced; thus we fail to reach the stature to
which we might attain, and to render to our Masterand his cause the service
we might bring. In the matter of indulgence, direct or (as here) indirect, while
we should keepawayfrom asceticism, it is of still greaterconsequencethat we
do not approacha faulty and incapacitating selfishness.
II. AN INVITATION TO A NOBLE HABIT. "Callthe poor... and thou shalt
be blessed;for they cannotrecompense thee." An actof disinterestedkindness
carries its blessing with it.
1. It is an intrinsically excellent thing. "To do goodand to communicate" is
honourable and admirable; and to do this with no thought of return from

those who are benefited, is an act of peculiar and exceptionalworth. It takes
very high rank in the scale ofspiritual nobleness.
2. It allies us with the highest and the best in all the universe; with the noblest
men and womenthat ever lived in any land or age;with the angels ofGod
(Hebrews 1:14); with our Divine Exemplar (Mark 10:45); with the eternal
Father himself (Matthew 5:45).
3. It leaves a benign and elevating influence on our own spirit. Every man is
something the better, is so much the worthier and more Christ-like, for every
humblest deed of disinterestedbenevolence.
III. THE PROMISE OF A PURE REWARD. If the idea of recompense is
admitted, everything turns upon the characterofthe reward, so far as the
virtue of the action is concerned. To do something for an immediate and
sensible reward is unmeritorious; to act in the hope of some pure and distant
recompense is an estimable because a spiritual procedure. Our life is, then,
basedupon faith, upon hope, and especiallyupon patience. To do goodand to
be content to wait for our recompense until "the resurrection of the just,"
when we shall reap the approval of the Divine Masterand the gratitude of
those whom we have served below, - this is conduct which our Lord approves;
it bears the best mark it can bear - that of his Divine benediction. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
A certain man made a greatsupper.
Luke 14:16-24
Parable of the greatsupper

Anon.
I. THE ELABORATE PREPARATION.Indicating the treasures of Divine
wisdom, forethought, power, love, expended upon the work of redemption.
II. MEN'S PREFERENCEOF OTHER THINGS — not things sinful in
themselves, but worldly pursuits, occupation, s, pleasures — to the rich
provision of the Divine bounty, and their consequentslighting of the Divine
invitation.
III. LOVE SLIGHTED TURNS TO INDIGNATION.
IV. GOD'S PURPOSESARE NOT FRUSTRATED BYTHE
DISOBEDIENCEAND UNTHANKFULNESS OF MAN. The house is filled.
If one guestrefuses to come, another is brought in to occupy his place. Drop
your crown, and another man will lift it and place it on his brow.
(Anon.)
The gospelfeast
A. P. Foster.
I. THE CHARACTERISTICSOF THE GOSPEL.
1. Its readiness. Nothing for man to do but come. The feasthas been preparing
from the foundation of the world.
2. The gospel's abundance. Grace enoughin God's heart to include all the
world.
3. The condescensionofthe gospel. No favouritism. Absolutely free. The vilest
soul is goodenough to be saved.
4. The gospel's urgency. Not force, but moral earnestness.
5. The gospel's triumph. Christ's blood is not shed for nought.
II. THE RECEPTIONOF THE GOSPEL.
1. The gospelfinds no favourable reception from —(1) The gospel-hardened.
Every invitation rejecteddoes but set more firmly in oppositiona will already
opposedto Christ. The heart grows stubborn and indifferent.(2) The
proud.(3) The preoccupied. When Mark Antony began his famous speech
with the words, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears," he well
knew that he might as well toss his words to the idle winds that swept over the
dead body of his friend, as address an audience who paid him no attention. In
the preaching of the gospel, the very factthat people are interested in it,
talking about it, working for it, heralding it far and wide, is a guarantee of its

effectiveness.We must make men think about their souls. So long as their
oxen, or their stores, ortheir wills, or their ships are in their minds, Christ
cannot getin.(4) The self-satisfied. Here is the trouble with many a man of
amiability and worth. He has a pleasanthome, friends he delights in, social
ties, all possible comforts. He needs to see that this is Dotenough. He ought to
hunger and thirst after righteousness,and at the gospelfeasthe might be
filled.
2. The gospelis tolerably certain to find receptionamong —
(1)The needy.
(2)The neglected.
(A. P. Foster.)
The gospel supper
Expository Outlines.
I. THAT GOD HAS MADE AMPLE PROVISION IN THE GOSPELFOR
ALL OUR SPIRITUAL EXIGENCIES. Thatprovision is here setforth under
the similitude of a greatsupper. That the gospelsupper may be thus
designatedwill appear if we think of —
1. Its Author. It has been provided by God himself.
2. The expense at which it was procured. Almost incredible sums have been
expended in the getting up of sumptuous entertainments. But what were they
when compared with the expense incurred here? To provide this banquet, the
Son of God became incarnate, lived a life of reproach, of poverty, of
persecution, and died the accurseddeathof the cross.
3. The greatness and variety of the blessings which are set before us. And
what tongue of man or angelcan describe them in their ineffable importance?
They include all the treasures ofgrace here, and all the inconceivable
treasures of glory hereafter.
II. THAT INVITATIONS OF THE MOST ENCOURAGING KIND ARE
GIVEN US TO COME AND PARTAKE OF WHAT GOD HAS
GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED.
1. The characters to whom they were addressed. First, to the Jews only. Then
to all men.
2. The manner in which the invitations should be applied. Moralcompulsion.

3. The motives by which they should be enforced.(1)That the provisions are
all duly prepared. "Come;for all things are now ready." The Saviour has
been made flesh; He has finished the work which was given Him to do; the
sacrifice He offeredhas been accepted;the Spirit has been poured out from on
high; the ministry of the gospelis instituted; the sacredcanonis complete.(2)
The amplitude of the preparations. "And the servant said, Lord, it is done as
thou hast commanded, and yet there is room." Although so many have been
gatheredin, the seats are not all occupied.
III. THAT THE DIVINE PROVISIONS, OF WHICH WE ARE SO FREELY
INVITED TO PARTAKE ARE BY MANY SLIGHTED AND DESPISED.
The excuses offeredare —
1. Various.
2. Frivolous.
3. Evasive.
IV. THAT THOSE WHO DESPISE THE PROVISION OF THE GOSPEL
CANNOT DO SO WITHOUT INCURRING THE GREATESTGUILT, AND
WITHOUT EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO THE MOST AWFUL
DANGER.
(Expository Outlines.)
The marriage feast
H. W. Beecher.
We know that, in every department of life, happiness, health, honour, and
prosperity, involve two essentialelements, one of which is a provision for these
things in nature and society, and the other of which is an appropriation of that
provision by those to whom it is offered. And this last is as indispensable as
the first. That which makes the offer and the provision of any validity or
usefulness is the circumstance that there is some one to acceptit. Let us look,
for one moment, at this. Godhas made greatprovision of the elements of
nature. Light — oh, how abundant! how beautiful! how sweet!— and all that
will acceptthis boon of God shall have the benefit of it. The blind cannot. The
wilfully blind cannot; for although there is light enough for thrice ten
thousand times as greata population as that which inhabits the globe, if a man
endungeons himself purposely, and shuts out the light from the room where
he dwells, the abundance of the provision and the offer make no difference
with him. He loses it and all its blessings. There is heat enough, and there are
sounds enough, for the comfort and for the solace ofthe human soul; and yet,

unless men acceptthese things, the mere factthat they have been offered to
all, and that they are abundant, will do them no good. We know that in
respectto those greatqualities of nature the abundance of provision does not
enforce acceptance. The greatprime necessitiesoflife, such as food, raiment,
shelter — God has put the elements of these things within our control, and
there is provision for all the wants of men, and for the growing needs of
society:but if men refuse to work;if they refuse to practice frugality; if they
will not put forth skill, the God of nature and the God of grace lets them pine,
and lets them starve, as much as if there had been no pro. vision. The earth
does not revealits secrets exceptto those that searchfor them; and the rains,
and the sun, and the soil, do nothing, except to the seedthat is hid in the
crevices ofthe ground. The summer is barren to the sluggard. There is
provision enough for all the wants of men, if they acceptthem on the
conditions on which they are proffered; but if they do not acceptthem on
these conditions the abundance does not insure to their benefit. When men
violate the laws of their being, howeverinnocently or ignorantly, they are
made to suffer the penalties of those violated laws, and sickness andpain come
in. And when a man is sick, though all remedies are provided, and though the
most skilful physicians are calledto their bedside, these will do no goodif he
will not acceptthe remedies that skill has found out, and that kindness is
proffering. These facts are familiar to us. They go to illustrate and confirm the
generalstatementthat something more is required than a provision and a
proffer. Thus far I have spokenof the physical laws of nature. It may be said
that this is not in the moral realm, and that the analogyis not a fair one.
Therefore, I proceedto show that in the moral realm the constitution of things
is even more marked than in the physical realm. We know that a man's
happiness or misery in this life depends upon the manner in which he
exercises his faculties. Thatis to say, it is not a matter of indifference which
way a man uses the powers of his mind, any more than which way a man
turns the keywhen he winds his watch. Turning it one way ruins it, and
turning it the other way expedites it. It makes a difference which side of the
blade of a knife you use if you would cut wood. It makes a difference which
way you work a machine. One way of working it agreeswith its nature, and
the other way of working it disagrees withits nature. And so it is with a man's
mind. It was meant to act in conformity with certain definite principles and
results. If it conforms to these there is happiness, and if it does not there is
misery. We also see in human society— which is as divinely-ordained as is
human life itself; for a man's organs are no more fitted to be put togetherto
make the individual man than individual men are fitted to co-operate together
in society— we see in human societythis same law evolved with terrible

certainty at large. If men seek happiness, honour, love, there is abundant
provision for them in society. All things are ready. They are accessible by
right conduct. If men neglectthe provision for happiness, and honour, and
love, they will miss these ends, and that, too, although God is goodand kind,
although there is a providence that is supervising human society — a
Providence that will not suffer a sparrow to fall to the ground unnoticed — a
Providence that knows that we are in need of raiment, and shelter, and food,
and nourishing care. If men do not acceptvoluntarily the provision of these
things which is made in society, there is no providence that will rescue them
from the wretchednessthat will ensue from disobedience. The administration
of God is full of goodness;but goodness in the Divine administration is
employed according to law. All philanthropy, all humanity, and all sympathy
and succour, carrieddown to grog-shops andto the Five Points, will not
assuageone pang, and will not rescue one wretch, unless he is willing to return
and co-operate,and bring himself under the influence of remedial law. Now,
at this point we reachagainthe Word of God, and are prepared to receive its
declarations, with all corroborations and presumptive analogies in its favour.
The feastof the gospelis spread. The King, in His greatbounty, sends His
servants forth to say to all, "Come to the marriage supper." To lay aside the
figure, God makes the proffer of forgiveness, ofamnesty for the past, and of
unbounded joy and happiness for the future. If you acceptthe provision,
which is ample enough for every human being on the globe, you are blessed;
but if you neglectit, or refuse it, that provision, if multiplied a myriad times,
would be of no more avail to you than light to the blind, sound to the deaf, or
food to the dead. It is a provision that is invalid if you fail to acceptit. If you
take it you live; if you reject it you die. Although, then, the doctrine of the
Fatherhoodof God is one of the most blesseddoctrines of the Bible, and one of
the most animating to our hope, we must not pervert it, and suppose that,
because Godadministers as a universal Father, therefore, all sorts of men,
under all sorts of circumstances, are perfectlysafe. I would not take awayone
single whit of the beauty, or attractiveness,orencouragementof the thought
that God loves, and that everything that love cando will be done to make men
happy here, safe in death, and glorious hereafter;but I warn you not to
suppose that everything canbe done merely because Godloves. There are
limitations even in an infinite God.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The greatsupper
H. McNeile, D. D.

I. "A certain man made a greatsupper" — the movement originatedwith
himself, in his own mind — HIS OWN FREE BOUNTY— his own generosity
— his unsolicited willingness to make others partakers of his rich enjoyments.
The man here supposedrepresents Almighty God Himself; and the action
here ascribedto Him represents the preparation of Christianity — that rich
and saving feastfor a perishing world. It originated (if an eternalpurpose can
properly be saidto have had a beginning) in His own mind, His own free love,
His own unsolicitedwillingness to make fallen men partakers of His own
happiness, "that they might be filled with the fatness of His house — that they
might drink of the river of His pleasures" (Psalm36:8). See, then, the nature
of the preparation. It is the mode adopted by Divine wisdom to render it a
right thing — a righteous thing — for a sovereignLawgiverand upright
Judge to deal with convicted rebels as a pardoning father and a sympathizing
friend; it is, in the language of St. Paul, that "God may be just, while He
justifies the ungodly" (Romans 3:19-26;Romans 5:6-8). Behold, also, the
extent of the preparation. It knows no earthly bounds, it extends to heaven; its
value is not to be measuredby earth, but is to be found in the harmonized
perfections of God.
II. Now look at the INVITATION TO IT. He saidto his servant, at the supper
time, Go and "sayto them who were bidden, Come; for all things are ready."
This represents the commissionto preach the gospel. St. Paul was determined
to know nothing else, and preachnothing else. He accountedit the most
distinguishing and the most exalted of the favours bestowedupon him, that he
should declare among the Gentiles the "unsearchable riches of Christ" — in
other words, the preparation of the GreatSupper. And he exhorted — i.e., he
pressedthe invitation upon men — earnestly, that they might "not receive the
grace ofGod in vain"; and urgently, because the time was short: "Now," he
said, "is the appointed time, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:1,
2).
III. And now having so spokenof the preparation and the invitation, our next
theme is a painful one — THE RECEPTIONTHAT THIS INVITATION
MET WITH. The force of this portion of the parable lies in this — that the
objects which, in their effects, became destructive, were in themselves lawful
and right. The contrastis not betweensin and duty, but betweenduty and
duty — betweenduty number two and duty that ought always to be number
one. The contrastis not betweenthe house of gambling and the house of God
— it is not betweenintemperance and uncleanness onthe one side, and prayer
and praise on the other; no, it is not that phase of human guilt that is
exhibited; the contrastis rather betweenthe countinghouse and the church,

the shop and the house of God, domestic enjoyments and secretprayer. The
contrastis betweenthe attractions which the lawful occupations ofthis world
possessforthe natural heart of man, and the secretrepugnance felt by that
heart to the enjoyments of God.
IV. But the parable does not end there; the servants came in and repeatedthis
answer, and the masterwas not satisfied;then he told the servants "to go out
into the streets and lanes of the city, and to bring in the poor and the maimed,
and the halt and the blind." There is an intimation in this part of the parable
that a powerwould accompanythe invitation such as would not be refused —
such as would secure a company — such as would not leave the seats around
the Master's table unoccupied, but, on the contrary, that his house should be
filled. Now, think of this secretpower. Here, again, we refer to the persons
and resourcesofthe Godhead. Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He
shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever." He
shall present the preparation for the supper, and He shall urge the invitation,
so as to supersede all pre-engagements,and put an end to all excuses. He has
powerto secure a gracious result without the slightestinterference with the
free operationof the moral machine that He has made. Nothing else can
secure this; there is to be no force, and yet the result is to be secured;no
actionconstrained, and yet the charactertotally altered. "Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power" (Psalm110.). The will rules the man; and who
rules the will? There is revelation of a secretpower, which, touching the will,
secures allthat follows in the man's life with perfect freedom. Look at a large
and complicatedmachine under the control of a little fly-wheel; that locked,
the machine is stationary; that liberated, the machine goes on. See, the
machine is stationary, and ignorant violence is made use of to make it go on,
but in vain — blows are aimed at it to make it go on, in the wrong place, all in
vain — it may be broken, but it cannotby violence be made to work — sledge-
hammers are raisedon it in vain; but see, a little child, properly instructed,
with a little finger frees the fly-wheel, and the whole machine goes forwardin
its work; every arm, and every lever, and every wheelperforms its appointed
actionduly and freely. It was that touch that did it — that touch is promised,
of God, to us — in hope of it we preach, without it we preachin vain; all is
sounding brass and tinkling cymbal without this.
(H. McNeile, D. D.)
A greatfeast
J. Sutcliffe.

I. With regardto THE NATURE OF THE FEAST. "A certain man made a
greatsupper and bade many." What, then, is this feastwhich our Lord has
provided, and of which He has sent His servants to invite men to come and
partake? First, as bread satisfies hunger, and is necessaryto sustain life, so
Jesus Christ is that true bread which cometh down from heaven — the bread
of the soul — the bread that alone can satisfyand sustain the spiritual and
eternal life of man. His flesh is given as meat, and His blood as drink; and this
is the feast. I cannot enlarge upon the particulars of this feast, but observe
that a feastis not merely bread, it is fulness of bread; it is a rich provision —
there is variety of provision. This the gospelgloriouslyattests;here is
everything that man canwant; here is not only pardon for the guilty,
reconciliationfor him that is at enmity with God, but all the rich provision of
grace, allthe fulness and comfort of the Spirit of God; all the plenitude of His
promises is here; there is nothing that the soul can eator desire, in any state
or condition in which it is seen, but is to be found here; in the gospelfeast
there is all that is wholesome,suitedto its tastes, its appetites, its desires, its
lofty capacities,and capable of fully and eternally satisfying them. Here, then,
the children of God see their privilege. The Saviour is an omniscient Saviour
and an omnipresent Saviour — a Saviour presentwith the Church, knowing
every case, everyheart, and every want; and He has in Himself fulness to
satisfy every longing desire or wish.
II. We are to considerTHE CONDITION OF THOSE WHO WERE FIRST
BIDDEN TO THIS FEAST, AND FOR WHOM IT WAS SPECIALLY
PREPARED.I say speciallyprovided; for you will recollectthat these persons
were the children of the promise — the heirs of the covenant. "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospelamong all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
So St. Paul says, "the gospelis the powerof God unto salvationto every one
that believeth; to the Jew first." The three principal grounds on which men
slight the gospelare here referred to — they are common, not to the Jews
only, but common to the Gentiles. The first ground is wealth. The first said, "I
have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it." The
disposition of mind by which a man is induced to seek the increase ofwealth is
opposedto the gospelThis disposition is so fatalto many that it operates, as in
the ease ofthe parable, utterly to exclude them from tasting the supper. It
does not so fill and choke up the appetite — it does not so corrode the taste as
to prevent their enjoying, as to prevent their fully partaking of this blessing,
but it eats them off altogether — they cannot taste of this supper. Is it not so
with your hearts, while you are coveting the world? Can you enjoy Christ?
You cannot!

2. The seconddisposition of mind which excludes men from tasting the supper
of the gospelgrace,is that which involves them in the vortex of this world's
cares. This is figured in the parable by the yoke of oxen — "I have bought five
yoke of oxen, and must needs go and prove them."
3. Another said, "I have married a wife";and therefore he was in a greater
strait than the other two — he said positively, "I cannotcome!" This parable
is against those moral people — those honest people — those people whose
lives are so irreproachable and blameless in everything exceptthe matter of
their salvation. It applies to those that are comparativelyenlightened, to those
that would be shockedatgross immorality, to those who would not exhibit in
their lives, on any account, those vices which they condemn in others; but sin
sits enthroned in their heart, in the shape of a secretand subtle covetousness,
in a characterthat absorbs them in their pleasures, and steals and weans their
affections from God. And this is, perhaps, the most awful case ofall. Go and
preach the gospelto those who have no ground of justification; and if you can
get them to listen to the gospel, they will fall down at your feetand confess
their sin. Examine, trace in your hearts the working of this worldliness,
considerthe objections that hold you back from Christ, and you will find that
they resolve themselves into the excuses ofthose who were first bidden to this
feast. It is the land and the oxen, it is the pleasure of this world, all which
perish in their using, and will leave you hungry and naked, and poor and
wretchedat the bar of God! I come now to speak of —
III. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO REALLY DID ENTER IN AND
PARTAKE OF THIS SUPPER. You will observe that those who were thus
bidden the secondtime were describedby this character, which marked the
destitution of man: "Bring in hither the poor and the maimed, and the halt
and the blind"; for this was the spiritual condition of the Gentile world. It
marks their destitution — they are poor, they are without God and without
hope in the world. In the heathen countries they were without Christian
ordinances, without Christian Sabbaths, without Christian instruction. The
verse also relates to those who might justly make excuse upon any ground
than that of the gospelinvitation; who might by self-abasementand humility
of spirit say, "How can it be? How canit be that the Prince, the King, and
Lord of this supper should send for me? You must be deceiving, you must be
making game of me — you must intend some derision; the invitation cannot
be for me." "Go," says the King, "and compelthem to come in; go and tell
them how large the offer is."
(J. Sutcliffe.)

The feastonly for those who can appreciate it
Bishop Temple.
Now why is it difficult to us to representto ourselves this unwillingness?
Becausewe always think of the greatsupper simply as so much unmeasured
happiness, so much unmixed delight. It will be happiness, it will be delight,
but only to those who can appreciate it; not to the base, not to the selfish, not
to the false, not to the weak, notto the impure. It will be the highest happiness
of which human nature is capable;but it can only be tastedby those who are
of kindred nature to Him who gives it. Those who would not come when they
were invited would not have found it a happiness if they had come. Now this,
the very principle of the parable, is just as applicable to our daily life as it is to
any such criticalmoment as the parable supposes. We are invited to a
spiritual feast;to a feastof that happiness which is gotfrom perfect self.
mastery, from peace with our consciences, fromhaving no cloud betweenus
and those whom we love, from having no cloud betweenus and God. We know
perfectly well that this is a very realhappiness. We have had foretastes ofit
now and then, quite enough to show what it is like. But this duty, which thus
seems everto pursue us and give us no rest, it is so exacting, it is so dull, it is
so unrewarded, what wonder that we turn away? No, indeed it is not. There
are those who find it so;those, namely, who refuse the invitation, and go to
this and to that; and then — not in repentance, but in sullen acquiescence;not
because their hearts are touched, but because they fear consequences,and
because they are disgusted with the pleasure which they have preferred to
duty — come back, like Balaam, to obey in deed but not in spirit. Such men
learn what is meant by the words "None of those men who were bidden shall
taste of My supper." To them the supper is no supper at all. To them that
obey in an unloving, discontented, sulky mood there is indeed no happiness in
obedience. Theyobey, and find no peace in obedience. Theydeny themselves
for the sake ofothers, and instead of loving those whom they thus benefit all
the more, they love them all the less. They conquer the outburst of temper,
and substitute an inward brooding of ill-will. They resisttemptation, and feel
a kind of resentment againstProvidence for having put this hard task upon
them. They come, but they do not taste the supper, for they refusedit. But it is
a real pleasure, a pleasure above all other pleasures, to those who come
heartily and gladly, who make the needful sacrifice with a ready spirit and
with a resolute cheerfulness, forcing awayfrom their minds all gloomy
suggestionsand all discontentedfeelings, recognizing in the trifle which calls
them as sure a summons from the Great King as if it had been the royal
messengerDeath;seeing in eachinvitation to Christian effort a call, not to

pain, but to joy; not to a task, but to a supper; not to a loss, but to a service in
the King's court.
(Bishop Temple.)
The gospelfeast
D. C. Hughes, M. A.
I. A TYPE OF THE GOSPELOF CHRIST.
1. Of the nature of the gospel. A supper. It is God's provision to satisfythe
soul's hunger.
2. Of the abundance of God's provision in the gospel. A greatsupper.
(1)Every want of the soul can be satisfiedby the gospel.
(2)Satisfiedfor ever.
3. Of the freeness ofthe gospel.
(1)In the grace whichprovided it.
(2)In the generousnesswhich invites to it.
II. A TYPE OF THE TREATMENT THE GOSPELRECEIVES.
1. The term usedto express this treatment is very noticeable. Excuse. Not
positive refusal, yet not acceptance.
2. The excuses mentioned are noticeable.(1)Thoughoften rendered, how
untenable. Feastoccurring probably in evening, would not have interfered
with land speculatoror enterprising farmer; and the young husband could
have takenhis bride with him.(2) Though differing in their phases, how
similar in spirit. Setting personalgratificationabove the claims of God.
III. A TYPE OF THE EFFECT OF THIS TREATMENTON THE DIVINE
MIND.
1. The Divine resentment is here stated.
2. Freshorders are given.
3. New decree declared.Lessons:
1. The provision God has made for us in Christ — how satisfying and
abundant.
2. Excuses forprocrastination — how common — how dangerous.
3. When God says, "None ofthose who were bidden shaft taste," etc., sealsthe
doom of such.

(D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
On receiving the grace of the gospel
John Crump.
The eating of bread mentioned in previous verse imports the enjoyment of
eternal goods, both for necessityand delight, in heaven. But our Lord here
takes that man off, and us in him, from a generaladmiration of their
happiness in heaven, to a particular application of the means conducing to
that happiness, even the receiving the grace of the gospel. They that would eat
bread, or enjoy fellowshipwith God in heaven, must first eatbread, or
partake of the gospel-provisionhere on earth.
I. THE WAY TO ENJOYTHE ETERNAL, GOOD THINGS IN THE
KINGDOM OF GLORY IS TO CLOSE WITH THE SPIRITUAL GOOD
THINGS IN THE KINGDOM OF GRACE.
1. "Eating bread" implies most intimate and immediate union with God.
2. It denotes the abundant supply of all wants.
3. The full and familiar enjoyment of goodcompany.
4. Complete satisfactionin the fruition of all contents and delights.
II. WHAT ARE THOSE SPIRITUAL GOOD THINGS WHICH WE ARE
TO CLOSE WITH IN THE KINGDOM OF GRACE?
1. Spiritual privileges provided for us in the grace of the gospel(Isaiah55:1;
Zechariah 13:1). Reconciliation, adoption, remission, sanctification, vocation,
salvation. This gospelprovision is the plank after the shipwreck, or the ark in
the midst of the deluge. No other wayof escaping destructionor obtaining
salvation.
2. Spiritual ordinances for the conveying of spiritual privileges, and ensuring
them. Preaching. Sacraments.
3. Spiritual graces forthe improvement of spiritual ordinances (Galatians
5:22). These are the clusters of grapes to make us in love with the Holy Land,
notwithstanding oppositions. This fruit grows nowhere but in Christ's garden.
The Vine which bears it is Himself.
4. Spiritual duties for the expressionof spiritual graces. Praying;hearing;
exhorting one another, etc.
III. HOW ARE WE TO CLOSE WITH THESE SPIRITUAL GOOD
THINGS

1. We are to receive them by faith, embracing the grace of the gospel(John
1:12).
2. We are to walk as we have receivedChrist (Colossians 2:6);leading a holy
life by virtue drawn from Him through our union with Him; giving the world
a proof in our holy life of the virtue in Christ's death for rectifying our
crookednature.
IV. WHY WE MUST CLOSE WITH SPIRITUAL GOOD THINGS, IF WE
WOULD ENJOYETERNAL. Because the one is part of the other. Saints in
heaven and saints upon earth make up but one family. Grace is the beginning
of glory; some compare it to the goldenchain in Homer, the top of which was
fastenedto the chair of Jupiter. Grace will reachglory, and it must precede
glory.
Use 1. This informs us —(1) That it is goodfor man now to draw near to God
(Psalm 73:28). It tends to his everlasting happiness.(2)See their vanity who
draw back from God, or bid God depart from them when He comes near
them in the means of grace vouchsafedto them (Psalm 73:27;Job 21:14). Sin
divides betweenGod and the soul.
Use 2. Yet this doth not make, but many may partake of gospelmercies in the
kingdom of grace, and yet never come to glory. Those who have slighted their
privileges and advantages will receive the greatercondemnation.
Use 3. Would you come into the kingdom of glory?(1)Come into the kingdom
of grace.(2)Live as under the laws of this kingdom of grace.
(a)Perform allegiance to God, yielding yourself to Him.
(b)Expect protection from God, and draw nigh to Him (James 4:8).
(c)Pray that the territories of the kingdom of grace may be enlarged more and
more upon the face of the earth.
(d)Prepare for the translation of the kingdom of grace into the kingdom of
glory (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).
(John Crump.)
Refusing the Divine call
Nicolas de Dijon.
The electionof the just, and the reprobation of the wicked, are inscrutable
mysteries. Yet, as much as is necessaryfor us to know, Jesus reveals to us in
this parable, without satisfying vain curiosity.

I. ON THE CALL EXTENDED TO MEN.
1. Nature of this call.
(1)It is Divine.
(2)It is holy.
(3)It is a free call.
(4)it is a universal call.
2. Manner of this call.
(1)God calls men outwardly: by teaching and preaching, in order to take away
the darkness ofunderstanding causedby original sin.
(2)God calls me. inwardly: by the inspiration of Divine grace.
II. ON THE DECLINING OF THE INVITATION.
1. Cooperationwith the Divine call is necessary.
2. Man often refuses to co-operate withthe Divine call:
(1)Becausehe is attachedto earthly things.
(2)Becausehe is enslavedby the vice of pride.
(3)Becausehe is the slave of his own flesh.As the Jews lostall taste for the
manna, because they longed for the flesh-pots of Egypt, so all taste for the
sweetness ofspiritual joys is lostby carnallust.
III. ON REPROBATION. Mostawful is the judgment of being excluded from
Divine charity and communion; but, at the same time, it is most just.
1. The wrath of the king againstthose who were invited, but who refused to
come, was just. With God, wrath is not the eruption of passion, but the zealof
justice, directed againsthim who, by not accepting His loving invitation, has
insulted His infinite majesty.
2. The sentence pronounced by the king was just.(1) God does whateveris
necessaryfor our salvation.(2)But man, the sinner, is not willing to be saved
(Matthew 23:37). Man must do what he is able to do, and pray for what he is
not able.
3. His sentence of reprobation is most just.(1) He gives them up to the desires
of their heart, as He suffered those who were invited to go after their business
(Romans 1:23, etc.).(2)God invites others insteadof those who were first
invited, that His house may be filled, and that the latter may be for ever cut
off from the hope of recovering their place. Thus David was electedinsteadof

Saul; Matthias instead of Judas.(3)He condemns irrevocably those who
decline the invitation (Proverbs 1:24-26).
(Nicolas de Dijon.)
The greatsupper
J. Burns, D. D.
I. THE INVITATION.
1. The time of the invitation. Evening. At the introduction of the gospel
dispensation.
2. The nature of the invitation — "Come."
(1)Free.
(2)Generous.
(3)Direct.
3. The persons by whom the invitations were sent — "His servants." Apostles,
disciples, etc.
II. REJECTION OF THE INVITATION.
1. The unanimity of their refusals.
2. The various reasons which they assigned.
(1)The inspectionof new-bought property.
(2)Engrossing business.
(3)Domestic duties.
III. FURTHER INVITATIONS ISSUED.
1. How extended the commission.
2. How benevolentthe arrangement.
3. How urgent the appeal.
(1)That in the gospel, abundant provision is made for the spiritual wants of
mankind.
(2)That the invitations of Divine mercy include all ranks and conditions of
men.
(3)That these invitations are free and full, and urgently and sincerely
presentedby the Lord Jesus Christ.
(4)That only self-excluders will be refused a place at the feastof salvation.

(5)That it is the duty and interest of all, immediately and gratefully to obey
the invitation and sit down at the gracious banquet.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The greatfeast, and its Maker
John Crump.
I. THE MAKER OF THE FEAST. Christ God-Man, or God in Christ, is a
bountiful Benefactorto man. God in Christ is here calleda Man —
1. By way of resemblance;those properties of any worth appearing in man, or
spokenof man, being more eminently in God: as
(1)Sovereignty;
(2)pity;
(3)rationality.
2. By Ray of reality.(1) In respectof Christ, by whom this gospel-provisionis,
wherein God shows Himself such a Benefactor. Christhas
(a)the blood of a man;
(b)the bowels of a man;
(c)the familiarity of a man.(2) In respectof man for whom this gospel-
provision is, wherein God shows Himself such a Benefactor. The grace ofthe
gospelis called"the kindness and love of God our Saviourtoward man." And
that —
(a)by way of distinction from other creatures in general;
(b)by way of opposition unto fallen angels in particular.(3) In respectof the
ministers of the gospel, through whose hands this gospel-provisionis
distributed. Uses.
1. Observe the condescensionofGod.
2. The advancement of man.
II. THE FEAST. Supper — chief meal of the day: intimating the abundance of
the provision made for the recoveryof lostman.
1. What is this gospel-provisionfor the goodof souls? It is the only way of
man's salvation since the Fall, begun in grace, and swallowedup or perfected
in glory.
2. How does the provision appearto be so plentiful?(1) Look at the Makerof
the feast. God, rich in mercy, greatin love.(2) The materials. Christ Himself.

The sincere milk of the word. The promises. Work of grace in soul. Sum up all
this: here is solidity, plenty, variety; here is for necessityand delight, for
health and mirth. 'Tis a greatsupper.(3) The vessels. Ordinances:"golden
vials full of odours."(4)The guests. Suchas are clothed with the righteousness
of Christ. Kings and priests unto God.(5) The attendants. Ministers instructed
by God.
III. THE PERSONSBIDDEN.
1. Adam was invited, and with Him the whole race of mankind.
2. Noahwas invited, and with him the old world.
3. Abraham was invited, and with him the whole nation of the Jews.
4. Moseswas invited, and with him the Jews had a fresh invitation under that
pedagogyof his which was to bring them to Christ.Uses:
1. Information. This shows us God's desire for man's happiness. He not only
propounds a way for man to be happy, but invites man to acceptof it. How
inexcusable, then, is man if he refuse.
2. Caution.(1)Though men are thus generallyinvited, yet other fallen
creatures have not so much as an invitation; so that there is somewhatof
distinguishing mercy in the very invitation (Hebrews 2:16).(2)Though men
are thus generallyinvited, yet they are very hardly persuadedreally to close
with the invitation.(3) Though men are thus generallyinvited, yet they will not
be continually invited.(4) Though men are thus generallyinvited, yet they will
be as generallyrejected, if they continue slighting God's invitation.
3. Be exhorted to hearkento this calland invitation of God. To move you to
accept:considerseriously —
(1)God communes with us in a way of familiarity (Isaiah1:18).
(2)God commands us in a way of authority (1 John 3:23).
(3)God beseechesus in a way of entreaty (2 Corinthians 5:20).
(4)Upon refusal, God threatens us in a way of severity (Proverbs 1:24,
32).Theywho will not fecalupon these gospeldainties, "shall eatof the fruit of
their own way." They that sow the wind of iniquity shall reap the whirlwind
of misery.
(John Crump.)
The gospelfeast
J. W. Reeve, M. A.

I. WITH RESPECTTO THE INVITATION. Although the dispensations of
God to Jew and Gentile may be different, the declarationof the gospelis the
same. It is especiallyworth noting how perfectly free from all impossible
conditions, on the part of man, is the gospelinvitation.
II. Now look at THE WAY IN WHICH THIS INVITATION WAS
RECEIVED. "Theyall with one consentbegan to make excuse." Theywanted
to do something else instead. And in this reply we see a lesson, how, when the
passions ofman are setagainst the truth, how additionally hard and
presumptuously bold they make the heart. The spirit which actuatedthese
excuses was worldliness — preferring something to God. And this is strictly
true of every one who has not really closedwith the gospelinvitation now.
III. Observe again, that THE PERSONSETERNALLY EXCLUDED FROM
THE GOSPEL-FEASTARE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BIDDEN TO IT;
the invitation is, therefore, real: God means what He says. It was in all good
faith that the invitation was given, and it is in all seriousnessthat God speaks
when the invitation has been refused. I warn you againstmaking excuses to-
day, lest when you would acceptthe Lord's gracious invitation, you cannot;
lest you become too blind to read, too lame to go to the house of God, and too
deaf to hear — altogethertoo infirm to get any good. Now, I repeatto you,
you know these things are true; you understand these things; you are
perfectly well aware that what I say is the expositionof the parable, and you
are perfectly aware that as long as you neglectGod's invitation, you are
wrong. You cannot say, "Lord, forgive me, for I know not what I do." You do
know;your conscience speaksto you now: do not harden it by neglect.
1. I would, in conclusion, say, take these four considerations home with you:
Consider, first, to-night, dear brethren, before you lay your heads upon your
pillows, the greatness ofthe Host that invites you. ConsiderHis love, His
power, if you apply to Him, to overcome every hindrance, His grace to give
you all needful strength, His mercy, which will embrace you in His arms, and
take you to His heart.
2. The excellence ofthe feast. He sets before you salvation, pardon, peace,
eternal life. Are not these things worth having? Are they not necessaryto the
welfare of your soul? Where canyou get them, but in the way you are called
to acceptnow?
3. The blessedness ofpartaking of this gospel-feast.
4. The misery of refusing — of never tasting the gospel-supper— never,
never! — never knowing pardon of sin — never knowing peace ofconscience.
(J. W. Reeve, M. A.)

The greatsupper
W. M. Taylor, D. D.
I. THE FEAST. This is the gospelwhich God has provided for mankind and
sinners. Great preparations had to be made before it was available for men.
The law which we had broken had to be satisfied;the penalty which we had
incurred had to be endured; the obedience in which we had failed had to be
rendered. None of these things, however, could be done by man for himself.
Christ therefore took human nature, etc.
1. A feastin respect of the excellenceofthe provision which it sets before us.
Pardon of sin, favour with God, peace of conscience, renewalofthe heart,
access to the throne of grace, the comforts of the Holy Spirit, the exceeding
greatand precious promises of the Scriptures, and a well-grounded hope of
eternal life.
2. A feastin respect, of abundance, for the supply is inexhaustible.
3. A feastin respectof fellowship. The blessings of the gospelare for social,
and not simply for private, life; and what circle of earthly friends can be put
into comparisonwith that into which we enter when we seatourselves atthe
gospeltable? Communion, not only with best and wisestof earth, but with
redeemedbefore throne; yea, fellowship with Father, and His Son Jesus
Christ.
4. A feastin respectof joy. The Giver of it and the guests at it rejoice together.
II. THE INVITED GUESTS. The invitation to this feastis given to every one
in whose hearing the gospelis proclaimed. A great privilege, also a greatperil.
God's invitation is not to be trifled with or despised. In the court language of
GreatBritain, when a subject receives aninvitation to the royal table, it is
said that her Majesty"commands" his presence there. So the invitations of
the King of kings to His gospelbanquet are commands, the ignoring of which
constitutes the most aggravatedform of disobedience.
III. THE RECEPTIONGIVEN BY THOSE FIRST INVITED, TO THE
CALL, WHICH HAD BEEN ADDRESSEDTO THEM. Animated by one
spirit, moved by one impulse, under the influence of the same disposition, they
all began to make excuse. Eachof them consideredsome worldly thing as of
more importance to him than the enjoyment of the feast;and that is just
saying, in another way, that they all treated the invitation as a matter of no
moment. Their excuses were allpretexts. If the heart is seton anything else, it
cannot be given up to Christ; and every excuse that is offered for withholding

it, whether the excuse itself be true or not, does not give the realreasonfor
His rejection. That must be sought in the fact that the heart is seton
something else which it is not willing to part with, even for Him. It is the old
story. "One thing thou lackest:" but that one thing is everything, for it is the
love of the heart.
IV. THOSE WHO PERSISTENTLYDECLINE TO COME TO THE FEAST
SHALL BE FOR EVER EXCLUDED FROM ITS ENJOYMENT.
V. NOTWITHSTANDING THE REJECTION OF THIS INVITATION BY
MULTITUDES, GOD'S HOUSE SHALL BE FILLED AT LAST.
(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The love of this world is a hindrance to salvation
F. G. Lisco.
I. REASONS WHY THE LOVE OF THIS WORLD IS A HINDRANCE TO
SALVATION.
1. On accountof its powerover the heart.(1)It is not attentive to the greatness
of Divine grace.(2)It disregards the means of this grace, through which the
sinner must be brought to the fellowshipof it.(3) It hardens the heart against
the repeatedinvitations of God.(4)It does despite to the free grace of God,
which has at once provided everything necessaryfor our salvation, and invites
us to partake of it without any personal desert.
2. On accountof its nature.(1) It is directed to what is earthly, perishable.
(a)To goods and pleasures.
(b)To honour, influence, and consideration.
(c)To ties and connections.(2)It prefers that to what is heavenly and
eternal.(3)It lays claim, in doing so, to a right frame of mind (vers. 18, 19),
considering itself to have a proper excuse, and thus manifests its ingratitude,
levity, and obstinacy.
II. PROOF THAT THE LOVE OF THE WORLD IS SUCH A HINDRANCE.
1. From the consequencesresulting to the despisers.(1)Theydraw upon
themselves the anger of God.(2)They forfeit the offered salvation.
2. From the subsequentprocedure of God, who still manifests His mercy and
grace;(1)In that He continues to invite men to the blessings of salvation;(2)
and even the most wretched of men;(3) and all, without exception, in the most
pressing manner.

(F. G. Lisco.)
The gospelfeast
James Foote, M. A.
Though this parable resembles, in some respects, that of the marriage feastin
the twenty-secondchapterof Matthew, it is a distinct and independent
parable.
1. What those gospelblessings are to which we are here invited under the
comparisonof a feast. We are invited, then, to partake of the blessing of
knowledge, saving knowledge, the knowledge ofGod, the knowledge ofthe
truth.
2. Let us observe what is implied in coming to this feast. It supposes, then, a
desire and endeavour to obtain these blessings, andan actualacceptanceof
them just as they are offered.
3. God employs His servants to invite persons of all descriptions to this feast.
4. We are reminded by this parable that multitudes rejectthe gospelinvitation
with vain excuses.
5. Once more, this parable teaches that, howevermany may have hitherto
refused the invitation, ministers are bound to persevere in most earnest
endeavours to bring in sinners. The office of ministers, in this respect, is
weighty and responsible.
(James Foote, M. A.)
God's banquet
J. A. Seiss, D. D.
From the earliestages it has been common to speak ofGod's merciful
provisions for fallen men under the imagery of a fast. Thus Isaiah sung: "In
this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a fewestoffat
things, a feastof wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the
lees well refined." And so familiar was this conceptionto the ancientJews,
that many of them were led to indulge the grossestnotions about feasting and
banqueting in the kingdom of the Messiah. Manyof the Rabbins took it
literally, and talked and wrote largely about the blessedbread and plenteous
wine, and delicious fruits, and the varieties of fish, flesh, and fowl, to be
enjoyed when once the Messiahshouldcome. It was to this coarse eating and

drinking that the man referred whose exclamation — "Blessedis he that shall
eat bread in the kingdom of God" — calledforth this significant parable. But,
although the Jews much perverted the idea, it still was a proper and
expressive figurative representationof gospelblessings. The SaviourHimself
takes up the idea, approves and appropriates it, and proceeds to speak of the
provisions of grace as a δειπνον — a supper — a feast— a banquet. Very
significant also is this imagery.
1. A feastis not a thing of necessity, but of gratuity. If a man makes an
entertainment to which he invites his friends and neighbours, he does it out of
favour and goodfeeling towards them. It is because he takes an interest in
their happiness, and is pleasedto minister to their enjoyment. And precisely
of this nature is the blessedgospel.
2. Again: a banquet is furnished at the costof him who makes it. And so the
gospelcomes to men free of expense to the guests. All that it embraces is
proposedwithout money and without price.
3. A banquet also implies the spreading of a table, plentifully supplied with all
inviting, wholesome,and pleasantviands. It is an occasionwhenthe very best
things, and in the greatestprofusion, are set before the guests. True, "the
kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink"; but it is to our inner life what the
most precious viands, are to the body. The soul has appetites, and needs meat
and drink as well as the physical man. It must be fed, nourished, and
refreshedwith its appropriate spiritual aliment, or the man must starve and
die, notwithstanding the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And
this life-giving spiritual food is what God has provided for us in the gospel.
4. A banquet is also a socialthing. It involves the coming togetherof
multitudes to exchange civilities, to form and strengthen fellowships, and to
enjoy communion with eachother, as well as with the maker of the feast. The
gospelembraces a holy fellowshipof believers with believers, and of eachwith
God. It embraces a coming togetherof men in common brotherhood and
communion with eachother and with the Master, as full of sweetness,cheer,
and blessednessas the viands of which they are invited to partake.
Christianity is a socialreligion.
(J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
Come; for all things are now ready.
The gospelinvitation
J. Burns, D. D.

I. THE FEAST.
1. The author of this feast.
2. The provisions.
(1)Abundant.
(2)Various.
(3)Statable.
3. The characteristics ofthe feast.
(1)It is a sacrificialfeast.
(2)It is a greatand universal feast.
(3)It is a gratuitous feast.
(4)It is a heavenly feast,
II. THE INVITATIONS — "Come." Now this implies distance. All men far
from God, etc. Prodigal
1. To what must they come? To the Word of God. To the preachedgospel
(Romans 10:15).
2. How must they come? By repentance. Humbly, believingly, unreservedly,
immediately.
3. To whom may this invitation be addressed? To the young, middle-aged, and
to the old. To the moralist, profligate, and backslider. To the rich and poor,
the learnedand illiterate.
III. THE MOTIVE URGED — "Forall things are now ready."
1. The Father is ready. To embrace the repenting prodigal.
2. The Son is ready. To speak forgivenessand peace.
3. The Spirit is ready. To regenerate and save.
4. Ministers are ready. "And now then as ambassadors," etc.
5. The ordinances are ready. And you are freely welcome.
6. The Church is ready. To own you as her sons, etc.
7. Angels are ready. To bear the tidings of your repentance to glory.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The gospelinvitation
David Swing.

The invitation to come is in harmony with the kingdom of heaven, and in
harmony with the characterofman. An invitation implies a happiness. When
a calamity or a sorrow is before us, we are not invited to it — we are drawn
hither by an irresistible power. But when earth has a joyful event, or one that
promises happiness, invitations are issued, because it is not conceivable that
man would need to be driven towardhappiness. Thus the invitation
harmonizes with the kingdom of Christ, for it is a happiness. Whether you
contemplate that kingdom as reaching through eternity with its blessedness,
or as filling earth with its virtue and faith and hope, it is the highest happiness
of which we can conceive. It is, indeed, a feastof love, of knowledge,ofvirtue;
and hence is a blessedness worthyof the word "Come." The word is also in
harmony with the characterofman, for, being a free agent, he is not to be
forcedtowards blessedness,but only invited.
I. Now this word "COME" CONTAINS NO DEEP MYSTERY. It is not a
tantalizing request to do what we cannotdo. It is not irony, as though one
should sayto a blind man, "See this rose!" or a deaf mind, "Oh! please hear
this music." The Bible is the lastbook in the world to be accusedoftrifling
with the soul, for it is the soul it loves, and for it it prays and weeps. It is not to
be inferred from this that the heart cancorrectitself and forgive itself and
sanctify itself; but what is to be inferred is that the will is not a mockery, not a
dead monarch, but is a king upon a throne, and can command the soul to go
many a path that leads to God. You can all start upon a heavenly road, for
there is not a movement of the heart towardGod that is not a part of this
large "Come." Where the human ends and the Divine begins no one can tell,
any more than in nature one can tell where the rain and earth and sunshine
ceaseto work in the verdure, and where they are supplanted by the presence
of God. There is no tree that stands in the woods by its own act. God is there.
So no Christian stands up strong in his own sole effort. God's grace is
somewhere. Butyet, for all this, greatis the powerand responsibility of the
soul. Nothing in religion canbe true that renders void the law of personal
effort.
II. But we pass by this "coming," and go to the secondthought — "ALL
THINGS ARE READY." I shall not restrict myself here to the exactimport of
the text, but shall acceptofthe words in all their breadth and application.
1. Religionis ready for you. Having passedthrough myriad shapes — Pagan,
Mosaic, Grecian, Roman— religion seems to have found in the gospelof
Christ a final readiness forhuman use. Reasonmay learn to deny all religion,
science may hear and then teachatheism, but when the thought turns to a
positive religion, there is at last one ready, the religion of our Lord; it is ready

for you and me. But when we have declaredit ready as a philosophical system,
we have only told half the truth, for to this it adds the readiness ofan ever-
living Father and Saviour standing by eachof you as a mother, and waiting to
welcome you.
2. Let us proceednow to our secondhead: You are ready for this religion. I do
not mean that you feel ready, for there are doubts and sins that stand between
the souland religion. The obstacle is not in the world without, but within. But
I have said you are ready. In what sense?In this: that your life has come to its
responsible, intelligent years. The lineaments of God — knowledge, wisdom,
reason, love, hope, life — have all unfolded, and here we are all to-day,
moving in all the spiritual qualities of Deity, and yet are willingly in the vale of
sin. The ignorance of youth has passedaway:we are children no more. Vice
has revealedher wretchedness, andvirtue her utility and beauty, and with
intellects so discerning, and with an experience so complete, and then clothed
with the attributes of God, we are all marching to the grave, a solemn gateway
betweenactionand judgment, betweentime and eternity. These facts make
me declare we are ready for that sentiment called religion, that makes man
one with God. I confess that we all are ready for the gospelofChrist — ready
for its virtue, its mediation, its sunny hopes.
3. Societyis ready for you to acceptthe gift. I hope that old day has wholly
gone when men were afraid to profess Christianity lestan outside world might
ridicule the "new life." Little of this fear is any longer per. ceptible. I imagine
that the growth of individual liberty — the growth of the consciousnessofit,
rather — has silencedboth the ridicule and the sensibility to it. It is only
ignorance and narrowness that ever ridicule the professionof religion. But we
pass from this consciousreadiness to that of need and fact. Societyis toiling
to-day under the awful calamities of vice, slavery, dishonour, and crime, and
is sorrowfully ready for millions of wickedones to read and imitate the life of
Jesus Christ. When societywas ruled by brute force, as in the days of Caesar
or Peterthe Great, it mattered little what might be in the hearts of the
populace, for, if it was crime, there was a policeman for eachcitizen; and if it
was sorrow in the heart of womanor child or slave, nobody cared. But in our
day, when the vice of the heart breaks out, and there is more reliance upon
educationthan upon the knout or chains, and when the upper classeshave
reachedan education that makes indifference to sorrow impossible, in such an
age societybegs the Christian religion to come to its help. In the old empire of
Cyrus there were, all along the highways, criminals with hands or feetcut off,
or heads of offenders raised up, to keepthe populace in constantfear. What
that age demanded in its heart was not a gospel, but an ever-presentpolice. It

did not know of anything better. But our land, basedupon the nobleness and
equality of man, and springing up out of brotherly love, and every day
strengthening this sentiment by education, silently begs that its millions, high
and low, shall come unto Jesus Christ.
(David Swing.)
The banquet
Dr. Talmage.
1. The Lord Jesus ChristHimself is ready. No banqueter ever waited for his
guests so patiently as Christ has waited for us.
2. Again, the Holy Spirit is ready. That Spirit is willing to come to-night at our
call and lead you to eternal life; or ready to come with the same power with
which He unhorsed Saul on the Damascus turnpike, and broke down Lydia in
her fine store, and lifted the three thousand from midnight into midnoon at
the Pentecost. With that powerthe Spirit of God this night beats at the gate of
your soul. Have you not noticed what homely and insignificant
instrumentality the Spirit of God employs for man's conversion? There was a
man on a Hudson river-boat to whom a tract was offered. With indignation he
tore it up and threw it overboard. But one fragment lodgedon his coat-sleeve;
and he saw on it the word "eternity"; and he found no peace until he was
prepared for that greatfuture. Do you know what passage it was that caused
Martin Luther to see the truth? "The just shall live by faith." Do you know
there is one — lust one — passagethat brought from a life of dissolution?
"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil
the lusts thereof." It was just one passagethatconverted Hedley Vicars, the
greatsoldier, to Christ: "The blood of Jesus Christ cleansethfrom all sin." Do
you know that the Holy Spirit used one passage ofScripture to save Jonathan
Edwards? "Now, unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise
God, our Saviour, be glory."
3. The Church is ready.
4. The angels of God are ready.
5. Your kindred in glory are all ready for your coming. Some of these spirits
in glory toiled for your redemption. When they came to die, their chief grief
was that you were not a Christian. They said: "Meet me in heaven"; but over
their pillow hung the awful possibility that perhaps you might not meet them.
(Dr. Talmage.)

God's anxiety for man's salvation
I. GOD IS VERY URGENT WITH MEN TO ACCEPT OF GOSPEL-
PROVISION FOR THE GOOD OF THEIR SOULS. He speaks once and
again(Jeremiah 7:25). This truth will thus appear:
1. By the severalacts ofGod put forth in gospel-provisionfor man's
salvation.(1)He has prepared the provision without any desertor desire of
ours (Titus 3:4, 5).(2)The means of grace are vouchsafedto many that do not
improve them (Matthew 11:16, 17, 21).(3)Godpropounds a way, and offers
help to do us good, before we inquire after it (Isaiah 65:1).(4) God forbears
His wrath when we do not presently close with His mercy. He stays, though
man lingers.(5)God reproves where we are defective, and happy are the
wounds of such a friend. He who first reproves is unwilling to punish.(6) God
stops our way when we are running headlong to our own misery (Hosea 2:6).
Many times He keeps us short that He may keepus humble.(7) God makes us
considerour ways, and recollectour thoughts, whither our course tends
(Haggai1:5).(8) Notwithstanding our obstinacy, God persuades us by a sweet
and holy violence. He not only stops our way, but changes our wills.
2. By the manner of God's speaking to sinners in the Scriptures.(1)By way of
interrogation— "Why will ye die?" (Ezekiel18:31).(2)By way of lamentation
(Luke 19:41, 42).(3)By way of protestationwith the strongestasseveration
(Ezekiel33:11).Uses.
1. This informs us that the destruction of man is a thing displeasing to God.
2. But though God be thus urgent about the salvationof man, yet He is quick
and peremptory in the destruction of many. Although He seemto come slowly
to punish man, yet His hand will fall heavily upon those who abuse His
patience.
3. Answer God's urgency with you to acceptof gospel-provision.(1)Be urgent
with your own hearts to turn to the Lord by faith; and then be as urgent to
bless His name for turning them.(2) Urge your hearts to turn from all sin by
true repentance.
II. THE SERVANTS SENT OUT.
1. All the prophets.
2. Pre-eminently, Christ Himself.
3. The servants of Christ.

Jesus was saying come, all is ready

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