The Spiritual Feast by John Fraser

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (Psalm 63:5).

It is a great mercy to enjoy divine ordinances in their purity; but it is a greater mercy to have our souls feasted in them. And we should not content ourselves with an external attendance, without drawing near to God in the institutions of his grace. The pure ordinances are precious to believers, and a day in his courts is better to them than a thousand; but they are not satisfied with the enjoyment of these ordinances, without enjoying their God and their Redeemer in them; and this is one thing by which they are distinguished from hypocrites and formalists.

David was in a wilderness, and deprived of the public institutions of religion, when he composed this Psalm: he was detained by persecution from the courts of God; and we find him expressing his high esteem and vehement desire of them. But it was not merely the external ordinances his soul desired; he thirsted after that communion with God which he had formerly experienced in his courts. He therefore says, in the first and second verses, ‘O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is: to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in thy sanctuary.’

And as he had an ardent desire for this privilege, so he had an assured and well-grounded hope of it, which he expresses in verses 3, 4, 5: ‘Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.’

In the words which I have chosen as the subject of discourse, the Psalmist expresses his humble expectation of having his soul feasted in the sanctuary. I intend, first, to show how the Lord satisfies the souls of men as with marrow and fatness; and, secondly, to point out the reason which believers have to conclude that they shall be thus satisfied in the ordinances of divine worship.

I will endeavour, then, in the first place, to show how the Lord satisfies the souls of men as with marrow and fatness. And, in general, it may be observed, that he imparts such satisfaction by condescending to hold communion with them. This is the feast which our Lord promises to every sinner who opens his heart to receive him: ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Rev. 3:20). This was also the banquet to which the spouse of Christ was admitted, when she said, ‘He brought me to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love’ (Song 2:4).).

More particularly, 1. The Lord satisfies the souls of his people as with marrow and fatness, by feasting them with the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The Son of God became incarnate, shed his blood, and fulfilled all righteousness, that he might be food for our souls. ‘The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14).

And in his incarnate person he is living bread to us, bread that gives spiritual and eternal life to our souls, and effectually prevents them from perishing. Hence these declarations of our Lord himself: ‘I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink in deed’ (John 6:51, 54, 56).

It is the mercy of sinners to have this heavenly food presented to them in the gospel; for in the mountain of the Gospel-church the Lord hath made unto all people a feast of fat things, and of wines on the lees; of fat things full of marrow, and of wines on the lees well refined. And God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. But it is the distinguished privilege of believers to have their souls feasted with the flesh and blood of Christ, and thus to be satisfied as with marrow and fatness.

The Lord feasts a sinner with the flesh and blood of Christ, when he first reveals his Son in him, when he calls him into the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord, and gives him faith in his person and righteousness. Then the soul eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of God, and so he dwells in Christ, and Christ in him. And afterwards the Lord feasts the believer, by favouring him with renewed manifestations of the glorious person of Christ, as an incarnate God, and of the suitableness and excellency of his righteousness; by enabling him to make fresh application of Christ to his soul; and by assuring him of his interest in his person and righteousness. Sometimes the Christian is enabled to say, with the assurance of faith, ‘My beloved is mine and I am his.’ ‘He loved me and gave himself for me.’ And this is to eat the bread of God, and to drink the wine which cheers the heart of God and man.

2. The Lord satisfies the souls of his people as with marrow and fatness, by showing them his glory in the face of Christ. By this means the Psalmist David desired and expected to have his soul feasted, as we learn from the second verse of this Psalm: ‘To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.’ The divine glory appears in the works of creation and providence. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night teacheth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard: their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.’ All these visible works of God proclaim the glory of their ever blessed Creator.

But his glory shines with transcendent lustre, and with far superior advantage and comfort to us, in the person of our Redeemer. He is Jehovah’s highest Servant, in whom he is eminently glorified. The manifestation of the divine glory in Christ is a complete manifestation; in him, God hath displayed all the excellencies of his nature; in him, the glory of everlasting love, of redeeming grace, and pardoning mercy, is very conspicuous; and with this the glory of divine wisdom, power, holiness, justice, and faithfulness is most strictly connected. In Christ, all other glorious attributes of the divine nature may be seen employed in advancing the glory of infinite love, grace, and mercy. Infinite wisdom hath found a ransom; infinite power hath achieved our redemption; and infinite holiness and justice have punished our sins in Christ; and the end of all these operations was the praise of the glory of divine grace, wherein we are made accepted in the Beloved.

The grand object intended was to show the exceeding riches of the grace of God, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. And this whole glory of God in Christ is inviolably connected with our salvation in him: so that if this glory cannot be lost, the salvation of every believing sinner must be absolutely certain.

A saving sight, then, of the glory of God in our Immanuel must be inexpressibly comfortable; it is a feast to the soul, and is productive of joy unspeakable and full of glory. This glory of God is represented to men in the gospel; and their not beholding it is owing to their having their minds blinded by the god of this world, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them. But it is the privilege of believers to have this glory represented to their minds by the Holy Ghost, and to have the eyes of their understandings enlightened to discern it. The Lord shows his glory to a sinner when he calls him from darkness to his marvellous light, and after wards he gives repeated discoveries of it to the Chris tian, both in his closet and in the sanctuary. Saving and comfortable views of the glory of God in the face of Christ, have often been enjoyed by his people; though, alas! many professors of religion have little experience of such a privilege. David was often favoured with manifestations of the divine glory, in the public ordinances; and it was for this reason he so much loved the habitation of his house, and the place where his honour dwelleth. One thing he desired of the Lord, that all the days of his life he might dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

It is a sight of this glory and beauty that would make a happy and delightful communion. Our having the Lord this day manifesting forth his glory to us would influence his disciples and even strangers to believe in him, and it would fill us with inexpressible joy and peace. O that he would grant us a manifestation of himself somewhat similar to that which he vouchsafed, on a certain occasion, to the elders of Israel, of whom it is said that they ‘saw the God of Israel; and upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink’ (Exod. 24:10-11). This would make a day in his courts better than a thousand.

3. The Lord satisfies the souls of his people as with marrow and fatness, by shedding abroad his love in their hearts. This was another way in which David expected to have his soul feasted. He had felt the sweetness of divine love; he had tasted that the Lord was gracious; he knew by happy experience that his loving kindness was sweeter than all the comforts of life; and he hoped to be blessed with farther experience of his love, with such experience as would warm his heart, and afford matter of a new song of praise to God; and thus he expected to be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. He says, therefore, in the third verse of this psalm, ‘Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.’

God hath expressed wonderful love to men in Christ Jesus; he hath loved vile and impure sinners who drink up iniquity like water; he hath loved enemies and rebels. Behold, what manner of love he hath bestowed upon us, in sending his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him, and in not sparing his well beloved, but delivering him up to the most dreadful sufferings for us. And, behold, what manner of love he hath bestowed on us, that such execrable wretches should be called the sons of God, that they should be put among the children, and obtain the goodly heritage of the hosts of nations.

The wonders of his love infinitely surpass conception, both in their greatness and number. His merciful kindness is great towards men. How precious are his thoughts towards us! how great is the sum of them! And the divine love, with all its wonders, is revealed to men by the gospel. The gospel proclaims glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will towards men; and on this account it is a joyful sound, and they are a happy people who hear it. But they are a people still happier who know this joyful sound; because they know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. This is the peculiar happiness of believers; the Lord manifests his love to them as he doth not to the world; he sheds it abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost; and so he satisfies their souls as with marrow and fatness.

He first sheds abroad his love in the hearts of his people, in the day of their espousals to Jesus Christ; which is a good day, a day of feasting and of gladness both to Christ himself and to the poor sinner. Afterwards, also, he feasts his people with renewed discoveries and savoury impressions of his love; and then they rejoice and are glad in it, they remember it more than wine. The Lord sometimes appears to them, as he did to his Prophet and his Church of old, saying, ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ ‘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.’

Believers are not only feasted with divine love now, but they shall be satisfied with it in heaven to eternity. There they shall have uninterrupted fellowship with Jesus Christ in his love, and shall walk in the light of his countenance for ever. They shall no more go mourning without the sun, as they often do in this valley of tears; for their sun shall no more go down, neither shall their moon withdraw her shining. And their eternal fellowship with Christ in his love will make them inconceivably happy and joyful world without end.

4. The Lord satisfies the souls of his people as with marrow and fatness, when he feasts them with new covenant promises. He hath given us exceedingly great and precious promises, promises which are filled with all the fulness of God, and which are all in Christ, yea and amen, to the glory of God. These promises are published to us all in the gospel, that we may embrace them by faith; they are unto us, and to our children, and to all that are afar off, to as many as the Lord our God doth call. But, alas! so great is the folly of men that they put from them these words of grace, and judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life. Such folly is natural even to the people of God as well as others – they reject the promises of God, while they are in a state of nature; they will not hearken to his voice, and they will have none of him. But when the Rock of Israel, in a day of power, speaks these promises to them, they no longer reject, but cordially receive them in Christ, and gladly feast upon them. Then his words are found, and they eat them; and his word is the joy and rejoicing of their hearts.

And after this, believing souls are frequently regaled with the precious promises. The Lord suggests them, and carries them home with power; which is always attended with sweet meditations upon them. Sometimes he says to them, ‘I will betroth thee unto me for ever; I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and judgment, in loving kindness and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord.’ Sometimes he says to them, ‘I am the Lord thy God: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.’ Sometimes he says, ‘I, even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins.’ And, ‘I will subdue thine iniquities, and cast all thy sins into the depths of the sea.’ Sometimes he says to them, ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.’ And sometimes he tells them, that ‘because he lives, they shall live also.’ By these means he satisfies their souls as with marrow and fatness, and fills them with joy and peace in believing.

5. The Lord also satisfies the souls of his people, by filling them with his Spirit. We are famishing while we are in a state of nature, ‘having not the Spirit’; for while without the Spirit, we are also without Christ. But when the Lord, according to his promise, puts his Spirit within us, then our starving souls begin to be feasted; for this blessed Spirit shows us the things of Christ, and applies him to us; by which means we are enabled to eat his flesh and drink his blood. And after the Holy Ghost is thus given, he is never taken away.

Believers have both the person and the graces of the Spirit constantly dwelling in them, according to the divine promise, ‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you’ (John 14:16-17). ‘Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up to everlasting life’ (John 4:14). ‘In that day sing ye unto her, a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day’ (Isa. 27:2-3).

Whence is it that the grace of God in believers is at no time entirely destroyed by strong corruptions? The reason is that the Holy Spirit dwells constantly in them, and waters them every moment. Believers, however, do not always enjoy the sensible influences of the blessed Spirit, and do not always feel his powerful operations on their hearts. On the contrary, they feel much deadness, darkness, and hardness, and often groan under the prevalence of iniquity. But the Lord is pleased sometimes to pour out the influences of his Spirit upon them in a sensible manner, by which means their souls cleaving to the dust are revived, their darkness is dispelled, and they gain considerable advantage over their corruption. And all this affords great satisfaction and comfort unto them. They are satisfied as with marrow and fatness.

It is the promise of our Redeemer that if a man believe on him, ‘out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’: and ‘this spake he of the Spirit, which they who believe in him should receive’ (John 7:38, 39). The Apostle John had a good feast, when he ‘was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day’: and if the same privilege were vouchsafed to us on this Lord’s day, and this communion-day, we should have good reason to say of it, ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ When a soul is filled with the Spirit, it must be filled with heavenly consolation; for he is the God of all comfort, and he is emphatically styled the Comforter. This is the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, which proceedeth from the throne of God and of the Lamb, the streams of which make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. Let us look up to the Lord, then, for the effusion of his Spirit on this occasion; let us seek that the showers may come down in their season, even showers of blessings, to make the places round about his hill a blessing; that the north wind may awake, and the south wind come and blow upon our garden, that the spices thereof may flow out, and that our beloved may come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits. Then should we be satisfied with the fatness of his house, and drink of the river of his pleasures.

6. The Lord satisfies his people as with marrow and fatness, when he revives former experiences of this kind. Often he gives them, so to speak, a new feast upon an old experience. This he gave to Jacob when he appeared to him at Padanaram, putting him in mind of his appearance to him at Bethel. ‘The angel of God spake unto him in a dream, saying, “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me”’ (Gen. 31:11, 13). And we find Jacob again feasting on the same experience when he was stretched on the bed of death. Accordingly he says to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me’ (Gen. 48:3).

Perhaps you are complaining, O Christian, that it is not with you as in months past, when the candle of the Lord shone upon your head, and when by his light you walked through darkness. The Comforter that should relieve your soul is far from you: the Lord seems to have forgotten you, and to stand at a distance from you, and all your present experience is only an experience of much darkness and confusion, of much deadness and hardness, of much doubting and unbelief, and of much corruption and wickedness; by which you are greatly discouraged. But think of the years of the right hand of the Most High, call to remembrance the time and place in which Jesus once met with you and manifested forth his glory, when he drew you with the bands of love, and with the cords of a man.

The remembrance of such experience may be refreshing to you, especially if you reflect, that what he then was to you he still continues to be. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and his love is constant and invariable. Though your good frames are exceedingly variable, and your love like a reed shaken by the wind, yet his love is like the great mountains, permanent and immovable; it is at all times equally great, equally strong and vigorous; and though for a small moment he forsakes you, yet with everlasting kindness will he have mercy upon you.

By such means then doth the Lord satisfy his people as with marrow and fatness.

2. I now proceed to point out some of the reasons which believers have to conclude that their souls shall be satisfied in the ordinances of divine worship.

And, 1. They may reasonably found such a conclusion upon the divine goodness. The Lord is rich in grace, and abundant in goodness and truth. How great is his goodness! and how great is his beauty! His goodness, like his Being, and all the other excellencies of his nature, is infinite; and it hath a strong tendency to flow out to the creatures in acts of kindness and beneficence. His goodness is extended to all, and his tender mercy is over all his works. The Lord hath a particular pleasure in displaying this perfection of his nature; he doth good not only to them who are good, but also to the evil and the unthankful. Because he loves to show the riches of his goodness and liberality, he hath prepared great goodness for them who fear him, and for them that trust in him, before the sons of men. His people, therefore, need not be afraid that he will suffer their souls to famish. Infinite goodness supplies their bodily wants, and it will not neglect their souls, which are incomparably more precious than their mortal bodies. He will supply all their needs, according to his riches in glorious grace by Christ Jesus. Out of the immense treasures of his goodness he satisfies their mouths with good things; so that their youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Let believers, then, trust in his goodness. And if you, unbelieving sinners, whose necessities are great, would now begin to trust in the divine goodness, you would not be disappointed. ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.’ His mercy is in the heavens; and how excellent is his loving-kindness! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of his wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his house, and drink of the river of his pleasures.

2. Believers may ground an expectation of being satisfied as with marrow and fatness, on the incarnation, the humiliation, and death of Christ. Our Redeemer became incarnate, that his flesh might be food to the souls of men; and he died in human nature, to procure to us the blessings of divine goodness, which we greatly needed. God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. He hath been at infinite expense to satisfy the souls of men; and certainly he will not suffer this expense to be all in vain. 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? And how shall he not satisfy his people with all spiritual blessings?

3. The fulness laid up in Christ is also a good foundation for such a hope. All good things are not only purchased by our Redeemer, but also given into his hand, that he may impart them to men. It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. He is the great repository of all the grace, and all the mercies of the new covenant: they are the sure mercies of David: in him they are secured to all the spiritual seed, who receive of his fulness, and grace for grace.

4. Believers may also conclude from the divine promise, that their souls shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. Such satisfaction the Lord hath promised to his people; and they should trust in his gracious word, for faithful is he who hath promised. He hath promised his gracious presence, and his abundant blessing, to them in his ordinances. ‘In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee’ (Exod. 20:24). And as he hath promised to bless their persons, so he hath promised to bless their spiritual provision. ‘I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread’ (Ps. 132:15). These are very ancient promises; but they are still remembered by the God that made them, and can never be forgotten by him. He giveth meat unto them that fear him; for he is ever mindful of his covenant.

5. Believers may conclude that their souls shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, from their being blessed with the spiritual appetite. God hath given a mouth to the human body, because he intended to provide the food convenient for it; and he opens the mouth of men’s souls, because he means to fill them with the blessings of his goodness. There is an inseparable connexion between the spiritual appetite and spiritual satisfaction. ‘He hath filled the hungry with good things; but the rich he hath sent empty away’ (Luke 1:53). ‘Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled’ (Matt. 5:6). ‘O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works unto the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness’ (Ps. 107:8-9).

6. Their former experience of the Lord’s satisfying them may also encourage believers to hope that he will again satisfy them, as with marrow and fatness. This was one reason of the Psalmist’s expectation, as we learn from the second verse of this psalm. He had formerly seen the power and glory of God in his sanctuary; and therefore he expected to have his soul again refreshed with a similar feast. The kindness which the Lord hath already shown to his people, is an earnest of what he will yet do for them. He dealt bountifully with his servant David; he was a Shepherd to him, and suffered him not to want; he made him to lie down in green pastures, and led him beside the still waters; he prepared a table for him in the presence of his enemies; he anointed his head with oil, and his cup overflowed. And his conclusion from all these premises is, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever’ (Ps. 23). Every other believer, who has tasted that the Lord is gracious, ought to reason in the same manner.

I shall now conclude with some improvement of this comfortable subject. Are there any here whose souls the Lord hath already feasted and satisfied on this occasion, or whom he is now feasting with his goodness? Is the Lord making his goodness to pass before you, and causing you to taste the sweetness of his love? I would then exhort you to study humility, and to guard against the sin of pride. You are in danger of being exalted above measure, by reason of the remaining corruption of your heart. And if you indulge pride, you are in danger of a thorn in the flesh, and a messenger of Satan to buffet you. The Lord will not fail to testify his detestation of pride, even in his own people. Humble yourselves, then, under his mighty hand. What are you or your father's house, that the Lord hath brought you hitherto? You are less than the least of his favours, and it is only his sovereign goodness that makes you to differ from others.

I would also exhort you to be thankful for the kindness of God to you, and to praise him for it. This was David's good resolution: ‘My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.’ The divine goodness to you is great, and demands your warmest gratitude. It is a high privilege to be feasted in divine ordinances, to be brought to the banqueting-house, and have the banner of love displayed over us. This is a most comfortable token for good; for it is an evidence of the Lord’s electing love, and of one’s being brought into a happy state of fellowship with God, according to these words of the Psalmist: ‘Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple’ (Ps. 65:4).

It is also a foretaste and an earnest of the heavenly happiness; it is the first fruits of the Spirit, which ensure the full vintage of eternal glory. If the Lord now feasts your soul as with marrow and fatness, it is an earnest of your sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, and feasting with them at the table which shall never be drawn. O then love the Lord, all ye his saints, and praise him for his goodness.

It is to be hoped that there are some in this audience who have an appetite for the spiritual feast, though they cannot say that their souls are at present ‘satisfied as with marrow and fatness’. Is your soul thirsting after Christ and his fellowship? Is your flesh longing for him in a dry and thirsty land, in which there is no water? And are your heart and your flesh crying out for the living God? Then be assured that such a desire shall not always remain unsatisfied; for he is faithful who hath promised to satisfy it. The Lord will fulfil the desire of them that fear him. Such a frame is a very proper one for a communion-table, and there is none better. Come, then, to the table of the Lord, in the multitude of his tender mercies: come trusting in mercy, and opening your mouth wide that he may fill it. And though you should not be so much satisfied as you desire, be not discouraged on that account; for as it is good to come to this holy table with a spiritual appetite, so it is good to remove from it with such an appetite; and the full satisfaction of this appetite is happiness reserved for heaven, and not to be expected upon earth. The saints of God continue all their days to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Are there any serious persons here complaining of the want of a spiritual appetite? This is a frequent complaint of the people of God. They not only complain that they are not feasted, but also that they have no appetite for the spiritual feast. For this you ought no doubt to be humbled and grieved, O Christian; and for this you will be grieved. But you are conscious of desiring the spiritual appetite as well as the spiritual feast and both your desire of it, and your grief for the want of it, are evidences of your having it in some degree; for you could not have such a desire, or such grief, if you did not value the food of your soul, and account the fellowship of Christ desirable. Endeavour, then, to come believingly to a communion-table, that you may get your spiritual appetite increased, and your soul filled with good things.

You, unbelieving sinner, have no appetite at all for the spiritual feast; you desire not Christ or his blessings. But be assured that you need the spiritual feast as well as believers. Your soul is starving to death without it; for Christ tells you, that ‘if you eat not the flesh, and drink not the blood of the Son of man, you have no life in you.’ And how terrible is it to be without eternal life, and to die the second death!

Know, also, that you have access to the spiritual feast, as well as believers. Though you are not allowed to approach a communion-table, yet you are allowed and warranted to come to Christ, and participate of his abundant grace; for the feast of fat things is made for all people, and you are earnestly invited to partake of it. ‘Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars, she hath killed her beasts, she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens, she crieth on the highest places of the city, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled’ (Prov. 9:1-5). ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready come unto the marriage’ (Matt. 22:4). The charge of our great Master to his servants is, ‘Go out into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled’ (Luke 14:21-23). O make not light of these gracious invitations, and go not away from Christ to your farm, or to your merchandise; lest the Lord swear that you shall never taste of his supper. Come now to Jesus Christ, while you have access to him; and open your mouth wide, that he may fill it. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

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Preached before the dispensation of the Lord's Supper at Auchtermuchty, February 5th, 1792.