Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 25:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 25:6. In this mountain — Zion, at Jerusalem. In his Church.

Shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast — Salvation by Jesus Christ. A feast is a proper and usual expression of joy in consequence of victory, or any other great success. The feast here spoken of is to be celebrated on Mount Sion; and all people, without distinction, are to be invited to it. This can be no other than the celebration of the establishment of Christ's kingdom, which is frequently represented in the Gospel under the image of a feast; "where many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;" Matthew 8:11. See also Luke 14:16; Luke 24:29-30. This sense is fully confirmed by the concomitants of this feast expressed in the next verse, the removing of the veil from the face of the nations, and the abolition of death: the first of which is obviously and clearly explained of the preaching of the Gospel; and the second must mean the blessing of immortality procured for us by Christ, "who hath abolished death, and through death hath destroyed him that had the power of death."

Of wines on the lees - "Of old wines"] Heb. lees; that is, of wines kept long on the lees. The word used to express the lees in the original signifies the preservers; because they preserve the strength and flavour of the wine. "All recent wines, after the fermentation has ceased, ought to be kept on their lees for a certain time, which greatly contributes to increase their strength and flavour. Whenever this first fermentation has been deficient, they will retain a more rich and sweet taste than is natural to them in a recent true vinous state; and unless farther fermentation is promoted by their lying longer on their own lees, they will never attain their genuine strength and flavour, but run into repeated and ineffectual fermentations, and soon degenerate into a liquor of an acetous kind. All wines of a light and austere kind, by a fermentation too great, or too long continued, certainly degenerate into a weak sort of vinegar; while the stronger not only require, but will safely bear a stronger and often-repeated fermentation; and are more apt to degenerate from a defect than excess of fermentation into a vapid, ropy, and at length into a putrescent state." Sir Edward Barry, Observations on the Wines of the Ancients, p. 9, 10.

Thevenot observes particularly of the Shiras wine, that, after it is refined from the lees, it is apt to grow sour. "Il a beaucoup de lie; c'est pourquoi il donne puissemment dans la teste; et pour le rendre plus traitable on le passe par un chausse d'hypocras; apres quoi il est fort clair, et moins fumeux. Ils mettent ce vin dans des grandes jarres de terres qui tiennent dix ou douze jusqu'a quatorze carabas: mais quand l'on a entame une jarre, il faut la vuider au plutost, et mettre le vin qu'on en tire dans des bouteilles ou carabas; car si l'on y manque en le laissant quelque tems apres que la jarre est entamee il se gate et s'aigrit." Voyages, Tom. ii. p. 245. - "It has much sediment, and therefore is intoxicating. In order to make it more mellow, they strain it through a hypocrates' sleeve, after which it is very clear and less heady. They lay up this wine in great earthen jars, which hold from ten to fourteen carabas: but when a jar is unstopped, it is necessary to empty it immediately, and put the wine into bottles, or carabas; for if it be left thus in the jar, it will spoil and become acid."

The caraba, or girba, is a goat's skin drawn off from the animal, having no apertures but those occasioned by the tail, the feet, and the neck. One opening is left, to pour in and draw off the liquor. This skin goes through a sort of tanning process, and is often beautifully ornamented, as is the case with one of these girbas now lying before me.

This clearly explains the very elegant comparison, or rather allegory, of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 48:11; where the reader will find a remarkable example of the mixture of the proper with the allegorical, not uncommon with the Hebrew poets: -

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth,

And he hath settled upon his lees;

Nor hath he been drawn off from vessel to vessel,

Neither hath he gone into captivity:

Wherefore his taste remaineth in him,

And his flavour is not changed."

Sir John Chardin's MS. note on this place of Jeremiah is as follows: "On change ainsi le vin de coupe en coupe en Orient; et quand on en entame une, il faut la vuider en petites coupes ou bouteilles, sans quoy il s'aigrit. "They change the wine from vessel to vessel in the east; and when they unstop a large one, it is necessary to empty it into small vessels, as otherwise it will grow sour."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

24:1-27:13 FINAL JUDGMENT AND SALVATION

The judgment of various contemporary nations leads the prophet to consider God’s final great judgment on the world. Naturally, his illustrations are taken from the world that he knew, and the nations he mentions are those of his time, but the principles of judgment and salvation that he presents are those of the unchangeable God. They will find their fullest expression in God’s mighty triumph at the end of the world’s history.

Some will mourn, others rejoice (24:1-25:12)

When God judges sinners, he will make no distinctions on the basis of status or class. All who have rebelled against God and ignored his law will be punished (24:1-5). There will be few survivors (6). In a world where people previously lived mainly to enjoy themselves, the most noticeable feature will be an absence of joy and merriment (7-11). The only ones spared in the widespread judgment will be the few who have remained faithful to God. These are compared to the odd grapes left here and there after harvest (12-13).
This remnant then praises God for his salvation. The prophet finds it difficult to share their joyous feelings, for he thinks of the sinful people around him and foresees their terrible punishment (14-16). There will be no way of escape when that day of judgment comes. The world will stagger and fall under the weight of its sins (17-20).
High rank will not save those who have rebelled against God. The rulers of nations will be thrown together like prisoners locked in a crowded dungeon as they await their final punishment (21-22). After all the sinners are removed, God will reign in glory so dazzling that even the sun and moon will appear dark by comparison (23).
At this reminder of the final triumph and glory of God, the prophet breaks forth in a song of praise to him whose victory has been planned from the beginning. When people see God destroy the things they have proudly built, they will turn and praise him (25:1-3). He will give relief to those who are oppressed and will silence the boastful oppressors (4-5).
God will celebrate his victory with a great feast, and introduce an era of joy where all signs of mourning are removed and the possibility of death is gone for ever (6-8). God’s people rejoice in his salvation (9), but his enemies suffer humiliating destruction. Their boasting cannot save them, and all their clever achievements finish in ruin (10-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He hath swallowed up death forever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it."

"In this mountain" This refers back to Isaiah 24:23 and means mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem. Part of these verses refer to the literal, earthly Jerusalem, because there is where Jesus was crucified, and that was the occasion when he destroyed death by giving his life on the Cross. On the other hand, the feast of good things for the "peoples (not people) of "all" nations is prophesied as a blessing of the Messianic kingdom, i.e., the spiritual mount Zion, the heavenly New Jerusalem.

This is one of the grandest and most wonderful passages in all the Word of God, and except for one other reference (Hosea 13:14), the very first reference to the abolition of death in all the Bible.

The feast of good things for God's people is treated first. The mention of wine "on the lees, well refined" is of interest. "Leaving , wine on the lees heightened its flavor and made it stronger."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 433. However, this also tended to cloud the wine with sediment; but the expression "well refined" showed that the Prophet was here promising the very best wine possible. We should not consider the heavenly feast in a literal, sensuous way at all. These delicious things are symbols of a whole family of enjoyments and delights which men cannot know until they get to heaven. There are echoes of Isaiah 2:2-4 here.

"The veil that is spread over all nations" This is a Hebraism explaining what is meant by the "face of the covering that covereth all peoples," and explained even further by the following verse, "He hath swallowed up death forever." Scholars do not agree on what is meant by the destruction of the "veil," Hailey thinks that it was the veil mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:14-16.Homer Hailey, p. 207. Dummelow stated that, "The face of the covering, etc. is put symbolically for the destruction of death,"J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 433. thus making `the face of the covering that covereth all peoples' and the `veil that is spread over all nations' parallel to each other and both of them meaning death itself. We believe that both of these scholars are correct. One cannot read this without being aware of the veil of the temple and the rending of it from the top to the bottom upon the occasion of Jesus' crucifixion.

THE VEIL

That veil of the temple was a symbol: (1) of Christ himself (Hebrews 10:19-22); (2) of death, as indicated by its location (symbolically) between the church (the sanctuary) and heaven (the Holy of Holies); (3) of equality among God's children, since it separated between the High Priest and the lesser priests; (4) of the veil of darkness that prevents unbelievers from understanding the Old Testament; and (5) of the law of Moses, being actually the pivotal instrument in that whole system. These are some of the symbolical connotations of the veil of the temple, the most significant fact about that veil being that it was "rent in twain." It is in that second condition of the veil, that is, after it was rent, that it symbolized Christ's entering in "through death" into that which is beyond the veil (Hebrews 6:19); it symbolized the opening of a new and living way for all men to be saved (Hebrews 10:20); it symbolized the destruction of death as stated by Isaiah in this very chapter; and it symbolized the opening up and clarification of countless passages in the Old Testament, which cannot ever be understood apart from their connection with Jesus Christ. Christ alone is indeed the "Key to the Scriptures." (See more complete discussion of all this in my New Testament Series, Vol. 10, pp. 172-174.)

Dummelow noted that Isaiah 25:8 reads, "He hath swallowed up death in victory." He further stated that this rendition is supported by a number of early Greek versions and by the apostle Paul's quotation of this place in 1 Corinthians 15:54."Ibid. Also, it is of great significance that in that very passage Paul also quoted Hosea 13:14, "O death where is thy victory; O death where is thy sting," that marvelous passage which precedes this one chronologically has been butchered and perverted by the translators of the so-called Good News Bible, to read as follows:

"Bring on your plagues, death!
Bring on your destruction, world of the dead!
I will no longer have pity on this people." (Hosea 13:14)

This is one of the most diabolical mistranslations of God's Word! It is no translation, but a contradictory change of the meaning, entitling this so-called Good News Bible to be entitled a corrupt Bible, no Bible at all, but a book that gives what scholars think God should have said, instead of what he actually said. Add to this the fact that the inspired apostle Paul's proper rendition of the passage in his quotation is also denied and contradicted at the same time!

Why? it may be asked did translators take such liberties with God's Word. The answer is that they did so upon the same premise that Satan used when he contradicted God's Word to Eve. Oh yes, they have a silly dictum, one of the crooked rules enforced in infidel seminaries, i.e., that the same prophet could not possibly have pronounced cursing and blessings in the same prophecy, and certainly not in the same paragraph. Thus, they affirmed that what the critics wrote is "more likely" to have been what Hosea thought than what is found in the sacred text!. Now, of course, that crooked rule would destroy the words of Christ himself who mentioned heaven and hell in the same line, and also the wide gate and broad way to destruction, along with the strait gate and the narrow way to life eternal in the very same verse. Christian people should be diligently aware of what evil men are trying to do to the word of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

And in this mountain - In mount Zion, that is, in Jerusalem. The following verses undoubtedly refer to the times of the Messiah. Several of the expressions used here are quoted in the New Testament, showing that the reference is to the Messiah, and to the fact that his kingdom would commence in Jerusalem. and then extend to all people.

Shall the Lord of hosts - (See the note at Isaiah 1:9.)

Make unto all people - Provide for all people. He shall adapt the provisions of salvation not only to the Jews, but to people everywhere. This is one of the truths on which Isaiah loved to dwell, and which in fact constitutes one of the peculiarities of his prophecy. It is one of the chief glories of the gospel, that it is unto all people. See Isaiah 57:7; Daniel 5:19; Daniel 7:14; compare Luke 2:10 : ‘I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people’

A feast - A feast, or entertainment, was usually observed, as it is now, on occasion of a great victory, or any other signal success. It is, therefore, emblematic of an occasion of joy. Here it is used in the twofold sense of an occasion of joy, and of an abundance of provisions for the necessities of those who should be entertained. This feast was to be prepared on mount Zion - in the provision which would be made in Jerusalem by the Messiah for the spiritual needs of the whole world. The arrangements for salvation arc often represented under the image of an ample and rich entertainment (see Luke 14:16; Revelation 19:19; Matthew 13:11).

Of fat things - Of rich delicacies. Fat things and marrow are often used as synonymous with a sumptuous entertainment, and are made emblematic Of the abundant provisions of divine mercy (see Isaiah 55:2; Psalms 63:5; Psalms 36:8 : ‘I shall be satisfied with the fatness of thy house. ‘)

A feast of wines on the lees - The word which is used here (שׁמרים sh^emâriym) is derived from שׁמר shâmar, to keep, preserve, retain, and is applied usually to the lees or dregs of wine, because they retain the strength and color of the wine which is left to stand on them. It is also in this place applied to wine which has been kept on the lees, and is therefore synonymous with old wine; or wine of a rich color and flavor. This fact, that the color and strength of wine are retained by its being suffered to remain without being poured from one vessel into another, is more fully expressed in Jeremiah 48:11 :

Moab hath been at ease from his youth,

And he hath settled on his lees,

And hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

Neither hath he gone into captivity;

Therefore his taste remaineth in him,

And his scent is not changed.

Compare Zephaniah 1:12. It is well known that wines, unless retained for a considerable time on the lees, lose their flavor and strength, and are much less valuable (compare the notes at John 2:10; notes at John 1:11).

Of fat things full of marrow - Marrow is also an emblem of richness, or the delicacy of the entertainment Psalms 63:5.

Of wines on the lees well refined - The word rendered ‘well refined’ (מזקקים m^ezuqqāqiym) is usually applied to the purifying of metals in a furnace 1 Chronicles 28:18; 1 Chronicles 29:4; Job 28:1. When applied to wine, it denotes that which has been suffered to remain on the lees until it was entirely refined and purified by fermentation, and had become perfectly clear.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

6.And the Lord of hosts shall make. This passage has received various interpretations. Some think that the Prophet threatens the Jews, and threatens them in such a manner as to invite various nations to a banquet. This mode of expression is also found in other passages, for the Lord is said to fatten the wicked for the day of slaughter. Those commentators think that, as if the Jews were exposed as a prey to the Gentiles on account of their impiety, the Gentiles are invited to a banquet; as if the Lord had said, “I have prepared a splendid entertainment for the Gentiles; the Romans shall plunder and prey on the Jews.” But, in my opinion, that view of the passage cannot be admitted, nor will it be necessary for me to give a long refutation of it, after having brought forward the true interpretation. Others explain it as if Isaiah were speaking of the wrath of God in this manner, “The Lord will prepare a banquet for all nations; he will give to them to drink the cup of his anger, that they may be drunken.”

But the Prophet had quite a different meaning, for he proceeds in making known the grace of God, which was to be revealed by the coming of Christ. He employs the same metaphor which is also used by David, when he describes the kingdom of Christ, and says, that

“the poor and the rich will sit down at this feast,
and will eat and be satisfied.” (Psalms 22:26.)

By this metaphorical language he means, that no class of men will be excluded from partaking of this generous provision. Formerly it seemed as if the Lord nourished the Jews only, because they alone were adopted, and, as it were, invited to the feast provided for his family; but now he admits the Gentiles also, and extends his beneficence to all nations.

Will make for all nations a feast of fat things. This is an implied contrast when he says, to all nations, for formerly he was known to one nation only. (Psalms 76:1.) By “a feast of fat things” is meant a banquet consisting of animals that have been well fattened.

Of liquids purified. ⁽¹⁴¹⁾ Some render the Hebrew word שמרים, (shĕmārīm,) dregs, but inaccurately, for it means “old wines,” such as the French call, vins de garde , “wines that have been long kept,” and that are preferable to ordinary wines, especially in an eastern country, where they carry their age better. He calls them liquids which contain no dregs or sediment.

In short, it is sufficiently evident that he does not here threaten destruction against Gentiles or Jews, but that both are invited together to a very splendid banquet. This is still more evident from Christ’s own words, when he compares the kingdom of heaven to a marriage-feast which the King prepared for his Son, to which he invites all without exception, because those who were at first invited refused to come. (Matthew 22:2.) Nor have I any doubt that he speaks of the preaching of the gospel; and as it proceeded from Mount Zion, (Isaiah 2:3,) he says that the Gentiles will come to it to feast; for when God presents to the whole world spiritual food for feeding souls, the meaning was the same as if he had prepared a table for all. The Lord invites us at the present day, that he may fill and satisfy us with good things; he raises up faithful ministers to prepare for us that feast, and gives power and efficacy to his word, that we may be satisfied with it. ⁽¹⁴²⁾

In this mountain. As to the word mountain, though the servants of God do not now come out of the mountain to feed us, yet by this name we must understand the Church; for nowhere else can any one partake of this food. That feast is not set down in streets and highways, the table is not spread everywhere, and this banquet is not prepared in all places. In order that we may feast, we must come to the Church. That place was mentioned, because there alone God was worshipped, and revelations proceeded from it; as also the gospel came forth from it. When he says that this banquet will be rich and sumptuous, the design of this is to commend the doctrine of the gospel; for it is the spiritual food with which our souls are fed, and is so exquisitely delightful that we have no need of any other.

(141) Bogus footnote

(142) Bogus footnote

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 25

But O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth ( Isaiah 25:1 ).

In other words, "God, I'm going to worship You and praise You. These are things that You've determined long ago, but they are faithful, they're true." Jesus said, "I am faithful and true witness" ( Revelation 3:14 ). Jesus confirmed these things are going to come to pass. He that is faithful and true saith. And Jesus, saying much of these same things as Isaiah, declares Himself as the faithful and true witness declaring these very things. God said to Daniel, "Seal up the prophecy for it is sure." It shall surely happen. And so here is Isaiah praising God for His faithfulness. Here is Isaiah praising God for His name and for the wonderful things that He has counseled of old, that He shall bring to pass.

For thou hast made of a city a heap; of a defensed city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the awesome nations will fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall ( Isaiah 25:2-4 ).

God has been and is always a strength to the poor. He is a strength to the needy. He is a refuge from the storm. How many times have we sought and found refuge in Him from the storm. He is a shadow from the heat. He is praising the Lord for being the refuge and the shadow from the heat and the blast from the awesome ones.

Now this could very definitely be a reference to the things that will be taking place at the Great Tribulation and how that God will be the refuge to His children. "Come ye apart, my children, for a while, until the indignation be overpast" ( Isaiah 26:20 ). I cannot believe, I do not believe that the church will be here when this horrible devastation that Isaiah speaks about takes place upon the earth. I do not believe that. I am so deeply convicted of the fact that the Lord has better plans for me.

Jesus said, "Pray always, that you'll be accounted worthy to escape all of these things that are coming to pass upon the earth, and to be standing before the Son of man" ( Luke 21:36 ). He will be a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat.

Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the awesome ones shall be brought low. And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all the faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it ( Isaiah 25:5-8 ).

Now if I just had read you that scripture and we weren't going along in Isaiah and I said, "Where is this scripture found?" And "He will swallow up death in victory." You'll say, isn't that in Corinthians? 1Co 15:1-58? "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" ( 1 Corinthians 15:55 ) You see, Jesus has triumphed over death, hell and the grave. And in speaking of the resurrection of Jesus Christ which brings to us the hope of our resurrection, for Paul said:

Now is Christ raised from the dead, and it has become the firstfruits of those who rise from the dead. But some of you will say, How are the dead raised? and with what body will they come? Don't you realize that when you plant a seed into the ground it doesn't come forth into new life until it first of all dies? And then the body that comes out of the ground isn't the body that you planted. Because all you planted was a bare grain, by chance, wheat or some other grain. And God gives to it a body as pleases Him. So is the resurrection from the dead. You are planted in weakness and you're raised in power. You're planted in corruption; you're raised in incorruption. You're sown in dishonor, you're raised in glory. You're planted as a natural body, you're raised as a spiritual body. For there's a natural body, there's a spiritual body. And even as you're born in the image of the earth and have been earthy, so shall you bear the image of the heaven. And of course, the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another" ( 1 Corinthians 15:20 , 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 , 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 , 1 Corinthians 15:40 ).

And he goes on and speaks about these things and then he said, "But behold, I'm going to show you a mystery. We're not going to all sleep, but we're all going to have a metamorphosis, a change of body. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trump of God shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" ( 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ).

And then shall be brought to pass this saying, "O death, where is thy string? O grave, where is thy victory?" For the sting of death was sin but it has been removed through Jesus Christ. Oh, thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so this glorious Easter proclamation. It all hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It has brought to us this glorious hope. And in that day, the death will no longer be victorious. It will be swallowed up. It was swallowed up in victory in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "And the Lord will wipe away all tears."

Now if I read that to you, you'll say, "That's in Revelation, isn't it?" Yeah, seventh chapter. "And God shall wipe away all tears." And then Revelation chapter 22, again, "And God shall wipe away all tears." The glorious day of the kingdom. "And the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it." I like that. God spoke it. You know it's going to be.

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him ( Isaiah 25:9 ),

You've been waiting for the Lord? He will come. Surely He will come.

and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust ( Isaiah 25:9-12 ).

So the devastation of chapter 24, the Great Tribulation, and then the glorious triumphs of the Kingdom Age in chapter 25, and then God's restoration of His work on Israel in chapter 26. It's unfortunate that they've made chapter distinctions because these things all flow together. And really we should go on and take chapter 26, but we're not going to until next Sunday night. But we hope that you can remember the sequence that we have here. The Great Tribulation, the beginning of the Kingdom Age, the Lord's victory and glory, and then God's glorious dealing with His people Israel. And it's always exciting. God is faithful to His promises and as we get into chapter 26 and all, we've got God's glorious work in restoration of His people. As the prophets have all foretold when once again God begins to work in their midst.

Shall we stand.

I love the Bible, because you know that it's true. You know that what God has said He has done. And if He has done what He said you know that He will also do what He said He is going to do. You can read it with such confidence, such assurance knowing that it shall indeed be. "Heaven and earth," Jesus said, "will pass away, but My Word will never pass away" ( Matthew 24:35 ). The sureness of the Word of God. And so you can read it and you can map out your life by the Word of God and always be on safe ground. God's Word cannot fail. God's Word will not fail. You can bank on it.

May the Lord be with you and may the Lord strengthen you through this week. And may the Word be as a fire burning within your heart as God ministers to you His truth. And may your life be purged through the Word, cleansed. And may you walk with the Lord in beautiful fellowship. And may God grant to you opportunities of witnessing and serving Him. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

All who enter the Millennium-everyone who does will be a believer-will stream to Mount Zion (Isaiah 24:23) where Yahweh will provide a joyful banquet for them. Amillennialists typically take Zion as a figurative representation of the church. According to Young, the banquet signifies "the spiritual blessings that God brings to mankind through His kingdom." [Note: Young, 2:192.] Inaugural banquets were fairly customary when ancient Near Eastern kings were crowned (cf. 1 Samuel 11:15; 2 Samuel 6:18; 1 Kings 1:9; 1 Kings 1:19; 1 Kings 1:25; 1 Kings 8:62-65). The new king often bestowed favors on such occasions.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The coming great banquet 25:6-8

Having delivered His people from the Tribulation and preserved them to enter His earthly kingdom, the Lord will invite them to rejoice with Him at a great banquet at the beginning of the Millennium (cf. Exodus 24:11).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things,.... Which is to be understood, not of the ultimate glory of the saints in heaven; which is sometimes represented by a feast; and the participation of it, by sitting down with the saints at a table in the kingdom of God, and by drinking wine there, to which state the best things are reserved, Matthew 8:11, but rather of the Gospel dispensation, which lies in the ministration of the word and ordinances; and which are compared to a feast, which consists of the richest dainties, for the entertainment of the faith of God's people; and this is made by the Lord himself, who is sovereign Lord of all, the King of kings; who sits at table himself, and welcomes his guests, and is the sum and substance of the feast: and this is made in his "mountain"; the church, comparable to one for its visibility and immovableness; and for "all" his "people", Jews and Gentiles; for all that are made spiritually alive, and have a spiritual taste, and true faith in Christ, Matthew 22:4 particularly the Lord's supper itself is a feast, and a feast of love, comparable to wine; and which is better than wine, and in which wine, in a literal sense, is made use of; and in which the choicest and richest food is presented to faith; the flesh and blood of Christ, which are meat and drink indeed; here the saints are fed as with marrow and fatness, 1 Corinthians 5:7 Song of Solomon 1:2 but it seems rather to respect the marriage supper of the Lamb, in the latter day, when antichrist shall be destroyed, and Jews and Gentiles be converted, and shall join together in the participation of divine blessings, Revelation 19:1 or, best of all, the glories, joys, and pleasures of the New Jerusalem state; in which the saints shall drink of the water of life freely, and eat of the fruit of the tree of life, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations, Revelation 21:6

a feast of wines on the lees; that has been long kept on the lees, but now drawn off, and both strong and fine; of a banquet of wine, see Esther 7:2 this refers to the wine of the kingdom, Matthew 26:29:

of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined: this heap of words, and repetition of them, show the plenty of the provisions, and the richness and excellency of them; and "fat" being mentioned is a proof that the words must respect the times of the Messiah, since, under the law, fat was not to be eaten e.

e Fortunatus Scacchus, in Sacror. Elaeochr. Myrothec. l. 1. c. 40. col. 205. thinks, that as the prophet speaks of the deliverance of believers from present troubles, and of good things at the coming of the Messiah, the metaphors are taken from the customs of that age, in which feasts were not prepared without the best of ointments; nor in a royal feast were the flesh of any animals used but such as were well fed and kept, and which, according to the law were pure and clean; and agreeably he renders the whole verse thus:

"and the Lord of hosts will make to all people a feast of ointments; a feast of those (animals) that are kept; of ointments full of marrow (the richest and fattest) of those that are kept'';

"pure" beasts, well kept and clean, according to the law of Moses. So Gussetius observes, that שמן signifies not fat, but oil; and

שמרים not "lees" of wine, but bottles in which wine is "kept", Comment. Ebr. p. 868, 872. The Syriac version of the latter part of the text, though not according to the original, is remarkable;

"the feast, I say, of our heavenly and most mighty quickener, reserved and fat.''.

The interpreter seems to have in his view the great master of the feast, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.   7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.   8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

      If we suppose (as many do) that this refers to the great joy which there should be in Zion and Jerusalem when the army of the Assyrians was routed by an angel, or when the Jews were released out of their captivity in Babylon, or upon occasion of some other equally surprising deliverance, yet we cannot avoid making it to look further, to the grace of the gospel and the glory which is the crown and consummation of that grace; for it is at our resurrection through Christ that the saying here written shall be brought to pass; then, and not till then (if we may believe St. Paul), it shall have its full accomplishment: Death is swallowed up in victory,1 Corinthians 15:54. This is a key to the rest of the promises here connected together. And so we have here a prophecy of the salvation and the grace brought unto us by Jesus Christ, into which the prophets enquired and searched diligently,1 Peter 1:10.

      I. That the grace of the gospel should be a royal feast for all people; not like that of Ahasuerus, which was intended only to show the grandeur of the master of the feast (Esther 1:4); for this is intended to gratify the guests, and therefore, whereas all there was for show, all here is for substance. The preparations made in the gospel for the kind reception of penitents and supplicants with God are often in the New Testament set forth by the similitude of a feast, as Matthew 22:1, c., which seems to be borrowed from this prophecy. 1. God himself is the Master of the feast, and we may be sure he prepares like himself, as becomes him to give, rather than as becomes us to receive. The Lord of hosts makes this feast. 2. The guests invited are all people, Gentiles as well as Jews. Go preach the gospel to every creature. There is enough for all, and whoever will may come, and partake freely, even those that are gathered out of the highways and the hedges. 3. The place is Mount Zion. Thence the preaching of the gospel takes rise: the preachers must begin at Jerusalem. The gospel church is the Jerusalem that is above there this feast is made, and to it all the invited guests must go. 4. The provision is very rich, and every thing is of the best. It is a feast, which supposes abundance and variety; it is a continual feast to believers, it is their own fault if it be not. It is a feast of fat things and full of marrow; so relishing, so nourishing, are the comforts of the gospel to all those that feast upon them and digest them. The returning prodigal was entertained with the fatted calf; and David has that pleasure in communion with God with which his soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness. It is a feast of wines on the lees, the strongest-bodied wines, that have been kept long upon the lees, and then are well refined from them, so that they are clear and fine. There is that in the gospel which, like wine soberly used, makes glad the heart and raises the spirits, and is fit for those that are of a heavy heart, being under convictions of sin and mourning for it, that they may drink and forget their misery (for that is the proper use of wine--it is a cordial for those that need it, Proverbs 31:5; Proverbs 31:6), may be of good cheer, knowing that their sins are forgiven, and may be vigorous in their spiritual work and warfare, as a strong man refreshed with wine.

      II. That the world should be freed from that darkness of ignorance and mistake in the mists of which it had been so long lost and buried (Isaiah 25:7; Isaiah 25:7): He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering (the covering of the face) with which all people are covered (hood-winked or blind-folded) so that they cannot see their way nor go about their work, and by reason of which they wander endlessly. Their faces are covered as those of men condemned, or dead men. There is a veil spread over all nations, for they all sit in darkness; and no marvel, when the Jews themselves, among whom God was known, had a veil upon their hearts,2 Corinthians 3:15. But this veil the Lord will destroy, by the light of his gospel shining in the world, and the power of his Spirit opening men's eyes to receive it. He will raise those to spiritual life that have long been dead in trespasses and sins.

      III. That death should be conquered, the power of it broken, and the property of it altered: He will swallow up death in victory,Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 25:8. 1. Christ will himself, in his resurrection, triumph over death, will break its bands, its bars, asunder, and cast away all its cords. The grave seemed to swallow him up, but really he swallowed it up. 2. The happiness of the saints shall be out of the reach of death, which puts a period to all the enjoyments of this world, embitters them, and stains the beauty of them. 3. Believers may triumph over death, and look upon it as a conquered enemy: O death! where is thy sting? 4. When the dead bodies of the saints shall be raised at the great day, and their mortality swallowed up of life, then death will be for ever swallowed up of victory; and it is the last enemy.

      IV. That grief shall be banished, and there shall be perfect and endless joy: The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. Those that mourn for sin shall be comforted and have their consciences pacified. In the covenant of grace there shall be that provided which is sufficient to counterbalance all the sorrows of this present time, to wipe away our tears, and to refresh us. Those particularly that suffer for Christ shall have consolations abounding as their afflictions do abound. But in the joys of heaven, and nowhere short of them, will fully be brought to pass this saying, as that before, for there it is that God shall wipe away all tears,Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4. And there shall be no more sorrow, because there shall be no more death. The hope of this should now wipe away all excessive tears, all the weeping that hinders sowing.

      V. That all the reproach cast upon religion and the serious professors of it shall be for ever rolled away: The rebuke of his people, which they have long lain under, the calumnies and misrepresentations by which they have been blackened, the insolence and cruelty with which their persecutors have trampled on them and trodden them down, shall be taken away. Their righteousness shall be brought forth as the light, in the view of all the world, who shall be convinced that they are not such as they have been invidiously characterized; and so their salvation from the injuries done them as such shall be wrought out. Sometimes in this world God does that for his people which takes away their reproach from among men. However, it will be done effectually at the great day; for the Lord has spoken it, who can, and will, make it good. Let us patiently bear sorrow and shame now, and improve both; for shortly both will be done away.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

Good Cheer for Christmas

December 20th, 1868 by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892)

"And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined."--Isaiah 25:6 .

We have nearly arrived at the great merry-making season of the year. On Christmas-day we shall find all the world in England enjoying themselves with all the good cheer which they can afford. Servants of God, you who have the largest share in the person of him who was born at Bethlehem, I invite you to the best of all Christmas fare--to nobler food than makes the table groan--bread from heaven, food for your spirit. Behold, how rich and how abundant are the provisions which God has made for the high festival which he would have his servants keep, not now and then, but all the days of their lives!

God, in the verse before us, has been pleased to describe the provisions of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Although many other interpretations have been suggested for this verse, they are all flat and stale, and utterly unworthy of such expressions as those before us. When we behold the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed--when we see him offered up upon the chosen mountain, we then discover a fulness of meaning in these gracious words of sacred hospitality, "The Lord shall make a feast of fat things, of fat things full of marrow." Our Lord himself was very fond of describing his gospel under the selfsame image as that which is here employed. He spoke of the marriage-supper of the king, who said "My oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready;" and it did not seem as if he could even complete the beauty of the parable of the prodigal son without the killing of the fat calf and the feasting and the music and dancing. As a festival on earth is looked forward to and looked back upon as an oasis amid a desert of time, so the gospel of Jesus Christ is to the soul its sweet release from bondage and distress, its mirth and joy. Upon this subject we intend to speak this morning, hoping to be helped by the great Master of the feast.

Our first head will be the feast; the second will be the banqueting-hall--"in this mountain;" the third will be the Host--"The Lord shall make a feast; and the fourth shall be the guests--he shall make it "unto all people."

I. First, then, we have to consider THE FEAST.

It is described as consisting of viands of the best, nay, of the best of the best. They are fat things, but they are also fat things full of marrow. Wines are provided of the most delicious and invigorating kind, wines on the lees, which retain their aroma, their strength, and their flavour; but these are most ancient and rare, having been so long kept that they have become well refined; by long standing they have purified, clarified themselves, and brought themselves to the highest degree of brightness and excellence. The best of the best God has provided in the gospel for the sons of men.

Let us attentively survey the blessings of the gospel, and observe that they are fat things, and fat things full of marrow. One of the first gospel blessings is that of complete justification. A sinner, though guilty in himself, no sooner believes in Jesus than all his sins are pardoned. The righteousness of Christ becomes his righteousness, and he is accepted in the Beloved. Now, this is a delicious dish indeed. Here is something for the soul to feed upon. To think that I, though a deeply guilty one, am absolved of God, and set free from the bondage of the law! To think that I, though once an heir of wrath, am now as accepted before God as Adam was when he walked in the Garden without a sin; nay, more accepted still, for the divine righteousness of Christ belongs to me, and I stand complete in him, beloved in the Beloved, and accepted in him too! Beloved, this is such a precious truth, that when the soul feeds on it, it experiences a quiet peace, a deep and heavenly calm, to be found nowhere on earth besides.

This is a kind of honey which never cloys, to be assured by the word of God, and by the witness of the Holy Ghost within you, that you are reconciled and brought nigh by the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is a choice mercy. This is a fat thing indeed; but this is not all, it is a fat thing full of marrow too. There is an inner lusciousness in it when you reach the heart and soul of the matter, transcendent in richness; for remember that this righteousness, this acceptance, this justification, becomes ours in a perfectly legal way, one against which Satan himself cannot raise a demurrer, for our Substitute has paid our debt, therefore are we righteously discharged. Christ has fulfilled the law, and made it honourable for us, and therefore are we justly accepted and beloved. Here is marrow indeed when we perceive the truth and reality of the substitution of Jesus, and grasp with heart and soul the fact of our great Surety standing in our stead at the bar of justice, that we might stand in his stead in the place of honour and love. What bliss it is to cry with the apostle, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Come hither, all ye whose spiritual tastes are purified by grace, and feed upon this choice provision, which shall be sweet to your taste, sweeter, also, than honey and the honeycomb.

Meditate upon a second blessing of the covenant of grace, namely, that of adoption. It is plainly revealed to us, that as many as have believed in Christ Jesus unto the salvation of their souls, are the sons of God. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." Here, indeed, is a fat thing. What, shall a worm of the dust become a child of God? A rebel be adopted into the heavenly family? A condemned criminal not only forgiven, but actually made a child of God? Wonder of wonders! "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God!" To which of the kings and princes of this earth did he ever say, "Thou art my son"? He has not spoken thus to the great ones and to the mighty, but God hath chosen the base things of this world and things that are despised, yea, and things that are not, and made these to be of the seed royal. The wise and prudent are passed over, but babes receive the revelation of his love. Lord, whence is this to me? What am I and what is my father's house, that thou shouldst speak of making me thy child? This gloriously fat thing is also "full of marrow." There is an inner richness in adoption, for, "if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Well does the apostle remind us that if children, then heirs, for we are thus assured of our blessed heritage. "All things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Here are royal dainties of which the Word has said most truly, "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house."

Passing on from the blessing of adoption, let us remember that every child of God is the object of eternal love without beginning and without end. This is one of the fat things full of marrow. Is it so, that I, a believer in Jesus, unworthy as I am, am the object of the eternal love of God? What transport lies in that thought! Long before the Lord began to create the world, he had thought of me. Long ere Adam fell or Christ was born, and the angels sung their first choral over Bethlehem's miracle, the eye and the heart of God were towards his elect people. He never began to love them, they were always "a people near unto him." Is it not so written, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee"? Some kick at the doctrine of election, but they are ill advised, since they labour to overturn one of the noblest dishes of the feast; they would dam up one of the coolest streams that flow from Lebanon; they would cover over with rubbish one of the richest veins of golden ore that make rich the people of God.

For this doctrine of a love that hath no commencement, is the best wine of our Beloved, and "that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of them that are asleep to speak." How joyously doth the heart exult and leap for very joy when this truth is brought home by the witness of the Spirit of God! then the soul is satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord.

Equally delightful is the corresponding reflection that this love which had no beginning shall have no end. He is a God that changeth not. "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Where he has once set his heart of love upon a man, he never turns away from doing him good. He saith by the mouth of his servant the prophet, that he hateth putting away. Though we sin against him often, and provoke him to jealousy, yet still, as the waters of Noah, so is his covenant to us; for as the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so he swears that he will not be wroth with us nor rebuke us. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." "I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

Why, beloved, this indeed is a fat thing; and I may add that it is full of marrow when you remember that not merely has the Lord thought of you from everlasting, but loved you. Oh! the depth of that word "love," as it applies to the infinite Jehovah, whose name, whose essence, whose nature is love! He has loved you with all the immutable intensity of his heart, never more and never less; loved you so much that he gave his only begotten Son for you; loved you so well that nothing could content him but making you to be conformed into the image of his dear Son, and causing you to partake of his glory that you may be with him where he is! Come, feed on this, ye heirs of eternal life, for here are fat things full of marrow.

We should not, beloved, have completed this list if we had omitted one precious doctrine, which needs a refined taste perhaps, but which, when a man hath once learned to feed on it, seemeth to him to be best of all--I mean the great truth of union to Christ. We are plainly taught in the word of God that as many as have believed are one with Christ: they are married to him, there is a conjugal union based upon mutual affection. The union is closer still, for there is a vital union between Christ and his saints. They are in him as the branches are in the vine; they are members of the body of which he is the head. They are one with Jesus in such a true and real sense that with him they died, with him they have been buried, with him they are risen, with him they are raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places. There is an indissoluble union between Christ and all his people: "I in them and they in me." Thus the union may be described:--Christ is in his people the hope of glory, and they are dead and their life is hid with Christ in God. This is a union of the most wonderful kind, which figures may faintly set forth, but which it were impossible for language completely to explain. Oneness to Jesus is one of the fat things full of marrow. For if it be so, indeed, that we are one with Christ, then because he lives we must live also; because he was justified by his resurrection, we also are justified in him; because he is rewarded and for ever sits down at his Father's right hand, we also have obtained the inheritance in him and by faith grasp it now, and enjoy its earnest. Oh, can it be that this aching head already has a right to a celestial crown! That this palpitating heart has a claim to the rest which remaineth for the people of God! That these weary feet have a title to tread the sacred halls of the New Jerusalem! It is so, for if we are one with Christ, then all he has belongs to us, and it is but a matter of time, and of gracious arrangement when we shall come into the full enjoyment thereof. Truly, in meditation upon this topic, we may each of us exclaim, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips."

I cannot bring forth all the courses of my Lord's banquet; one serving man cannot bear before you the riches of such a surpassing feast; but I would remind you of one more, and that is the doctrine of resurrection and everlasting life. This poor world dimly guessed at the immortality of the soul, but it knew nothing of the resurrection of the body: the gospel of Jesus has brought life and immortality to light, and he himself has declared to us of Jesus, that he that believeth in him shall never die. "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet should he live." Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Not the soul only, but the body also shall partake of immortality, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. We expect to die, but we are assured of living again. If the Lord come not, we know that our bodies shall see corruption; but here is our comfort, we dread no annihilation, that dark shadow never crosses our spirits; we dread no hell, no purgatory, no judgment--Christ hath perfected for ever them that are set apart; none can condemn whom he absolves. The saints shall judge the angels, and sit with their Lord in the day of the great assize. To us the coming of Christ will be a day of joy and of rejoicing: we shall be caught up together with him; his reign shall be our reign, his glory our glory. Wherefore comfort one another with these words, and as ye see your brethren and your sisters departing one by one from among you, sorrow not as those that are without hope, but say unto each other, "They are not lost, but they have gone before," for, "blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." Here are fat things full of marrow, for ours is a glorious hope, and full of immortality. Our expected immortality is not that of mere existence, it is not the barren privilege of life without bliss, existence without happiness--it is full of glory; for "we shall be like him when we shall see him as he is;" we shall be with God, at whose right hand there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore. He shall make us to drink of the river of his pleasures; songs and everlasting joy shall be upon our heads, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

"Oh, for the no more weeping, Within that land of love!

The endless joy of keeping The bridal feast above!

Oh, for the hour of seeing My Saviour face to face!

The hope of ever being In that sweet meeting-place."

Thus I have set before you a few of the fat things full of marrow which the King of kings has set before his guests at the wedding feast of his love.

Changing the run of the thought, and yet really keeping to the same subject, let me now bring before you the goblets of wine. "Wines on the lees--wines on the lees well refined." These we shall consider as symbolising the joys of the gospel. What are these? I can only speak of those which I have myself been permitted to sip at. One of the dearest joys of the Christian life is a sense of perfect peace with God. Oh, I tell you when one is quiet for awhile, and the din and noise of business is out of one's ears, it is one of the most delicious things in all the world to meditate upon God, and to feel he is no enemy to me, and I am no enemy to him. It is beyond comparison cheering, musingly to feel, I love him. If there be anything which I can do to serve him, I will do it. If there be any suffering which would honour him, if he would give me the strength to endure it, it should be my happiness, though it caused me to die a martyr's death a thousand times. If I could but honour my God, my Father, and my Friend, all should be acceptable to me. There is nothing between the Lord and me by way of difference or alienation; I am brought nigh through the blood of his dear and only begotten Son. He is my God, my Father, and my all, and I am his child. Some of us have tried the imaginary happiness of laughter; we have mixed with the giddy throng, and tasted the wines of the house of carnal merriment, but our honest experience is that one single draught from the cup of salvation is worth rivers of worldly mirth.

"Solid joys and lasting pleasures Only Zion's children know."

A quiet heart, resting in the love of God, dwelling in perfect peace, hath a royalty about it which cannot for a moment be matched by the fleeting joys of this world. Our joy sometimes flashes with a brighter light, but even then it is not less pure and safe. You may look upon this wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, for there is no woe, no redness of the eyes reserved for those who drink even to inebriation of this sacred wine. This sacred exhilaration is caused by a sense of security. A child of God, when he has looked well to his Redeemer, and seen the merit of the precious blood, and the power of the never-ceasing plea, feels himself safe, perfectly safe. I do not understand the child of God reading his Bible and yet being afraid of being cast into hell. I can understand that the fear may cross his mind lest after all he should prove a castaway; but as he approaches once again to the foot of the cross, and looks up to Jesus, he feels that it cannot be. None were ever cast away who stood at the cross foot; for it is written, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." A child of God, with no hope but what he finds in Christ, has no cause to think his eternal state to be insecure. All are safe who are in Christ, even as all were safe who were in Noah's ark. No flood, no storm could hurt the man of whom it was said, "The Lord shut him in." The Lord has shut in all his people in Christ, and they are eternally safe in Christ. When the spirit knows that "there is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus," then is it replenished with delight. When one feels that live or die, or work or suffer, all is well, how free from care is the heart! How divinely joyful to know that if one should lose all his earthly substance, the Lord will provide; that if one should be tempted, tempted greatly, yet with the temptation the way of escape shall be made! here is assurance rich with consolation. When one feels that all is safe, all safe eternally, for life or death all secured, I tell you that this is wine on the lees, wine on the lees well refined, and he who wins a draught thereof need not envy the angels their celestial banquets.

This joy of ours will sometimes rise to an elevation yet more sublime when it is caused by communion with God. Believers, while engaged in prayer and praise, in service and in suffering, are enabled by the Holy Spirit to hold high converse with their Lord. Do not imagine that Abraham's speech with God was an unusual privilege. The father of the faithful did but enjoy what all the faithful ones participate in according to the grace given them. We tell to God our griefs; discoursing upon our sorrows not in fiction, but declaring them in real conversation, as when a man speaketh with his neighbour: meanwhile the Lord's Spirit whispers to us with the still small voice of the promise, such words as calm our minds and guide our feet. Yes, and when our Beloved takes us into the banqueting-house of real conscious fellowship with himself, and waves the love-banner over us, our holy joy is as much superior to all merely human mirth, as the heavens are above the earth. Then do we speak and sing with sacred zest, and feel as if we could weep for very joy of heart, for our Beloved is ours and we are his. His left hand is under our head, and his right hand doth embrace us, and our only fear is lest anything should grieve our Beloved and cause him to withdraw himself from us; for it is heaven on earth, and the fair antepast of heaven above to see his face, to taste his love. Communion with Christ is as the wine on the lees well refined.

We will place on the table one goblet more, of which you may drink as much as you will. We have provided for us the pleasures of hope, a hope most sure and steadfast, most bright and glorious--the hope that what we know to-day shall be outdone by what we shall know to-morrow; the hope that by-and-by what we now see, as in a glass darkly, shall be seen face to face. We shall say, as in heaven, as the Queen of Sheba did in Jerusalem, "The half hath not been told us." We are looking forward to a speedy day when we shall be unburdened of this creaking tabernacle, and being absent from the body shall be present with the Lord. Our hope of future bliss is elevated and confident. Oh, the vision of his face! Oh, the sight of Jesus in his exaltation! Oh, the kiss of his lips--the word, "Well done, good and faithful servant" from that dear mouth! and then for ever to lie in his bosom. Begone, ye cares, begone, ye sorrows; if heaven be so near, ye shall not molest us. The inn may be a rough and poverty-stricken one, but we are only travellers, not tenants upon lease. This is not our place of resting; we are on our journey home! Beloved, in the prospect of the quiet resting-places in the land which floweth with milk and honey, you have wines on the lees well refined.

If we were not limited to time this morning, as, alas! we are, I should have reminded you that these joys of the believer are ancient in their origin, for that is shown in the text. Old wines are intended by "wines well refined;" they have stood long on the lees, have drawn out all the virtue from them, and have been cleared of all the coarser material. In the East, wine will be improved by keeping even more than the wines of the West! and even so the mercies of God are the sweeter to our meditations because of their antiquity. From old eternity, or ever the earth was, the covenant engagements of everlasting love have been resting like wines on the lees, and to-day they bring to us the utmost riches of all the attributes of God. I should also have reminded you of the fulness of their excellence, because the wine on the lees holds its flavour, and retains its aroma; and there is a fulness and richness about the blessings of divine grace which endears them to our hearts. The joys of grace are not fantastical emotions, or transient flashes of a meteoric excitement, they are based on substantial truth; are reasonable, fit, and proper. They belong not to the superficial and frothy emotions of mere feeling, but are deep, solemn, earnest motions, justified by the clearest judgment. Our bliss is not of the foam and the surge, it dwells in the innermost caverns of our heart. I would also remind you of their refined nature. No sin mingled with the joys of the gospel and the delights of communion--they are well refined. Gospel joys are elevating, they make men like angels. As in the gospel God comes down to men, so by the gospel men go up to God. I might also have shown you how absolutely peerless are the provisions of grace. There is no feast like that of the gospel, no meat like the flesh of Jesus, no drink like his blood, no joys like that which crowns the gospel feast.

II. I can say no more: the table is before you, and now we must pass on with great brevity to notice THE BANQUETING-HALL.

"In this mountain." There is a reference here to three things--the same symbol bearing three interpretations. First, literally, the mountain upon which Jerusalem is built. I do not doubt that the reference is here to the hill of the Lord upon which Jerusalem stood; the great transaction which was fulfilled at Jerusalem upon Calvary hath made to all nations a great feast. It was there where that centre cross bore upon it One who joined earth and heaven in mysterious union; it was there where amidst thick darkness the Son of God was made a curse for men; it was there where sorrow culminated that joy was consummated. On that very mountain where Jews and Gentiles met together, and with clamorous wrath cried, "Let him be crucified"--it was there in the giving up of the Only-begotten, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed, that the Lord made a feast of fat things. Everything I have spoken of this morning is found in Christ. He is the resurrection and the life: in him we are justified, adopted, and made secure; every drop of joy we drink streams from his flowing veins.

A second meaning is the church. Frequently Jerusalem is used as the symbol of the church of God, and it is within the pale of the church that the great feast of the Lord is made unto all nations. I am in the truest sense a very sound churchman. I am indeed a high churchman; a most determined stickler for the church. I do not believe in salvation outside of the pale of the church. I believe that the salvation of God is confined to the church, and to the church alone. "But," says one, "what church?" Ay! that's the question: God forbid I should mean by that either the Baptist church, or the Independent church, or the Episcopalian church, or the Presbyterian, or any other--I mean the church of Jesus Christ, the company of God's chosen, the fellowship of the blood-bought, the family of believers, be they where they may, for them is provided the feast of fat things. Whatever outward and visible church they may have associated themselves with, they shall drink of the wines on the lees well refined; but the feast is only to be found where they are found who put their trust in Jesus. There is but one church in heaven and earth, composed of men called by the Holy Ghost, and made to live anew by his quickening power; and it is through the ministry of this church that an abundant feast is spread for all nations, a feast to which the nations are summoned by chosen herald, whom God calls to proclaim the good news of salvation by Jesus Christ.

But, brethren, the mountain sometimes means the church of God exalted to its latter-day glory. This mountain is to be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. This text will have its grandest fulfillment in the day of the appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Then shall the glory of the gospel be unveiled more clearly than at this present. Men shall have a fuller perception of the glory of the Lord, and a deeper enjoyment of his grace; while happiness and peace shall reign with unmolested quiet. Soon shall come the golden age which has been so long foretold, for which we cry with unceasing expectation. The Lord send it speedily, and his be the praise.

III. Thirdly, let us think of THE HOST of the feast.

"In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things." Mark well the truth that in the gospel banquet there is not a single dish brought by man. The Lord makes it, and he makes it all. I know some would like to bring a little with them to the banquet, something at least by way of trimming and adornment, so that they might have a share of the honour; but it must not be, the Lord of hosts makes the feast, and he will not even permit the guests to bring their own wedding garments--they must stop at the door and put on the robe which the Lord has provided, for salvation is all grace from first to last, and all of him who is wondrous in working, and who doeth all things according to the counsels of his will. Out of all the precious truths which I spoke of at the beginning of this sermon, there is not one which comes from any source but a divine one; and of all the joys which I tried feebly to picture there is not one which takes its rise from earth's springs; they all flow from the eternal fount. The Lord makes the feast; and, observe, he does it, too, as the Lord of hosts, as a sovereign, as a ruler, doing as he wills amongst the sons of men, preparing what he wills for the good of his creatures, and constraining whom he wills to come to the marriage-feast. The Lord provides sovereignly as Lord of hosts, and all-sufficiently as Jehovah. It needed the all-sufficiency of God to provide a feast for hungry sinners. No other than the infinite "I AM" could provide a feast substantial enough to supply the wants of immortal spirits; but he has done it, and you may guess of the value of the viands by the nature of our entertainer. If God spread the feast it is not to be despised; if the Lord has put forth all the omnipotence of his eternal power and Godhead in preparing the banquet for the multitude of the sons of men, then depend upon it it is a banquet worthy of him, one to which they may come with confidence, for it must be such a banquet as their souls require, and such as the world never saw before.

O my soul, rejoice thou in thy God and King. If he provides the feast, let him have all the glory of it. "Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." O King immortal, eternal, invisible, thou feddest thy children in the wilderness with manna which dropped from heaven, and with water that flowed out of a flinty rock, and they gave thanks unto thy name; but now thou fillest us with nobler food. They did eat manna and are dead, but we live on the immortal bread, even Jesus, and therefore we can never die. They drank of the water which flowed from the rock, and yet they thirsted again, but we shall never thirst, but for ever abide near to thyself, while the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed us, and lead us unto living fountains of water. Therefore, blessed be thy name, yea, a thousand times blessed be thy name, O thou Most High! Let all heaven say "Amen" to the praises of our hearts, and let the multitude of thy children here on earth, for whom this feast is spread, laud and magnify and bless thy name from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same.

IV. Lastly, a word or two upon THE GUESTS.

The Lord has made this banquet "for all people". What a precious word this is! "For all people." Then this includes not merely the chosen people, the Jews, whose were the oracles, but it encompasses the poor uncircumcised Gentiles, who by Jesus are brought nigh. The barbarian is invited to this feast; the Scythian is not rejected. The polished Greek finds an open door; the hardy Roman shall meet with an equal welcome. Caesar's household, if they come, shall receive a portion, and so shall the beggar's brethren. Blessed be God for that word, "unto all people," for it permits missionary enterprise in every land; however degraded a race may be, we have here provision made for it. This feast of fat things is made as much for the Sudra as for the Brahmin; the gospel is as much to be preached to the degraded Bushman as to the civilised Chinese. Dwell on that word, "all people," and you will see it includes the rich, for there is a feast of fat things for them, such as their gold could never buy; and it includes the poor, for they being rich in faith shall have fellowship with God. "All people." This takes in the man of enlarged intelligence and extensive knowledge; but it equally encompasses the illiterate man who cannot read. The Lord makes this feast "for all people;" for you old people, if you come to Jesus you shall find that he is suitable to you; for you young men and maidens, and you little children, if you put your trust in God's appointed Saviour, there shall be much joy and happiness for you--"For all people"? Methinks, if I were now seeking and had not laid hold on Christ, this word, "all people" would be a great comfort to me, because it gives hope to all who desire to come. None have ever been rejected of all who have ever come to Christ and asked for mercy. Still is it true, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Some very odd people have come to him, some very wicked people, some very hardened people, but the door was never closed in any one's face. Why should Jesus begin hard dealings with you? He cannot, because he cannot change. If he says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," make one of the "hims" that come, and he cannot cast you out. There is another thought, namely, that between the covers of the Bible there is no mention made of one person who may not come. There is no description given of a person who is forbidden to trust Christ. I should like you to look the book through, you who dream that Jesus will reject you, and find where it is said, "Such a one I will reject; such a one I will refuse." When you find such a rejecting clause, then you will have a right to be unbelieving, but till you do I beseech you do not needlessly torment yourself. Why needlessly sow doubts and fears? There will be enough of them without your making them for yourself. Do not limit what the Lord does not limit. I know he has an elect people; I rejoice in it--I hope you will rejoice in it too one day; and I know that his people have this marrow and fatness provided for them and for them alone; but still this does not at all conflict with the other precious truth that whosoever believeth in the Son of God hath everlasting life. If you believe in Jesus Christ, all these things are yours. Come, poor trembler, the silver trumpet soundeth, and this is the note it rings, "Come and welcome, come and welcome, come and welcome." The harsher trumpet of the law which waxed exceedingly loud and long at Sinai had this for its note, "Set bounds about the mount: let none touch it lest they die." But the trumpet for Calvary sounds with the opposite note; it is, "Come and welcome, come and welcome, sinner, come! Come as you are, sinful as you are, hardened as you are, careless as you think you are, and having no good thing whatsoever, come to your God in Christ!" O may you come to him who gave his Son to bleed in the sinner's stead, and casting yourself on what Christ has done, may you resolve, "If I perish, I will trust in him; if I be cast away, I will rely on him." You shall not perish, but for you there shall be the feast of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. The Lord bless you very richly, for his name's sake. Amen.