This mountain is the church. ' The Lamb standeth upon mount Zion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads,' Rev. xiv. 1. Christ standeth in the church, and standing in mount Zion he is accompanied with those that his Father hath given to him before the world was. Therefore those that belong to this holy mountain, they are Christ's. ' And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make a feast for all people.' And this feast is a royal feast, a marriage feast, wherein the joy and comfort of God's people are set down by that which is most comfortable among men. The founder of the feast is ' the Lord of hosts.' It is only he that is able to prepare a table in the wilderness, that is mighty and of abihty to feast his church with a spiritual and holy banquet. We all live at his table for the feeding of our bodies, but much more in regard of our souls. He can make a feast for the whole man, for he is Lord of the conscience ; and he is to spread a table for the whole world. Nay, more, if there were so many, he can furnish a table for ten thousand worlds. He is the God of all spiritual comforts, and the ' God of aU consolation.' He is infinite, and can never be dra^-n dry, for he is the fountain of eternal life. All graces and comforts in the Scripture are called the comforts and graces of the Holy Spirit, because God is the giver of them by his Spirit. Who can take away the woimd of a guilty con- science, but he that hath set the conscience in the hearts of men ? He, if he pleaseth, can take away the burden of a grieved conscience, and supply * That is, ' Protestant.'— G.
446 THE MAERIAGE FEAST [SeRMON I,
it, instead thereof, witli new and solid comforts. He knoweth all the windings and turnings of the soul, where all the pain and gi-ief lieth ; and he cannot but know it, because he only is above the soul. He is therefore the fittest to make the soul a feast. He only can do it, and he will do it.
' In this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make a feast.'
Why is he called the ' Lord of Hosts ? '
It is an usual term to set forth the glory of God, to make his power and the gi'eatness of his majesty known amongst the children of men.
* He shall make a feast for all people.'
Tliose that are invited to this glorious feast are * all people.' None excepted, none excluded, that will come to Christ ! Some of aU sorts, of aU nations, of all lantfuages ! This hath relation to the time of the gospel. The church at first had its being in particular families, but aftei'wards more enlarged. The church at the first was of the daughters of men, and the sons of God. The children of the church mingled with a generation of corrupt persons, that would keep in no bounds ; but after Abraham's time there was another generation of the church, that so it was a little more enlarged. Then there was a third generation, a divided generation, con- sisting of Jews and Gentiles. So that, when Christ came into the world, the bounds of the chm*ch began to enlarge themselves more and more, so that now it is in this happy condition, ' Come ye aU unto me, all that are heavy laden,' Mat. xi. 28. Both Jews and Gentiles, all are invited, who- soever they are, ' nothing is now unclean,' Acts x. 15. Christ is come, and hath made ' to all people a feast of fat things.' It must be a feast, and of fat things, for aU the world shall be the better for it. The Jews shall be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in. And yet it is no prejudice to any particular man, because the things ye are to taste of are spiritual. Go to all the good things in the world : the more one hath of them the less another must have, because they are eartlily, and so are finite. But in spiritual things all may have the whole, and eveiy man in particular. Every man enjoyeth the light of the sun in particular, and all enjoy it too. So the whole church, and only the church, enjoys the benefit and comfort of this feast ; but under the name of this church come all the elect, both Jews and Gentles, and therefore it must be the Lord of Hosts that can make such a feast as this is, a feast for aU people. No other is able to do it.
This feast is ' a feast of fat things, full of marrow and of wine on the lees well refined,' the lest that can be imagined, the best of the best. A feast is promised, a spiritual feast. The special gi'aces and favours of God are compared to a feast made up of the best things, full of all varieties and excellencies, and the chief dish that is all in all, is Christ, and all the gra- cious benefits we by pi'omise can in any wise expect from him. AU other favours and blessings, whatsoever they are, are but Christ dished out, as I may speak, in several offices and attributes. He is the original of com- fort, the principle of grace and holiness. All is included in Christ. Ask of him and ye shall obtain, even the forgiveness of your sins, peace of conscience, and communion of saints. Ask of Chi'ist, as of one invested with all privileges for the good of others. But yet this is by his death. He is the feast itself. He is dished out into promises. Have you a pro- mise of the pardon of sms ? It is from Christ. Wouldst thou have peace of conscience ? It is from Christ. Justification and redemption ? It is from Christ. The love of God is derived to us by Christ, yea, and all that we have that is good is but Christ paxceUed out.