Come and Dine
Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed
And supplies our every need:
O ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!
Chorus
“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”
The disciples came to land,
Thus obeying Christ’s command,
For the Master called unto them, “Come and dine”;
There they found their heart’s desire,
Bread and fish upon the fire;
Thus He satisfies the hungry every time.
Soon the Lamb will take His bride
To be ever at His side,
All the host of Heaven will assembled be;
O ’twill be a glorious sight,
All the saints in spotless white;
And with Jesus they will feast eternally.
This particular hymn was written in the early 1900’s by Charles Widmeyer. Mr. Widmeyer wrote this song to go along with a sermon he was going to be preaching from John 21. This is the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples by the sea after the resurrection. The disciples had been fishing all night with no success. Although they didn’t recognize Him, Jesus asked if they had caught anything. They said no, and He instructed them to cast their nets on other side of the boat, reminiscent of what happened in Luke Chapter 5. They fished all night. Caught nothing. Jesus instructs them to try the other side of the boat, they obeyed, and the nets were full. Verse 10-12 gave Mr. Widmeyer the inspiration for this song. That verse reads, “Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.
I love this story for several reasons. First, I love the fact that Jesus used the same scenario to show them that He was still God. He was God the first time He filled their nets after an unfruitful night at sea, and after His resurrection in their midst of questioning, wonderings, and failures, He showed them that He still had the power to fill their nets once again. Second, I love the fact that although they were probably discouraged from the failures of fishing that night, they still followed the Master’s instructions and cast the nets on the other side. He commanded, and they obeyed. And finally, I just like the fact that Jesus prepared them a meal. Can you imagine how good that food must have tasted for Jesus to have prepared it? He not only provided the fish, but God Himself prepared the meal for them. You know that meal had to be better than any Thanksgiving dish we had last week. What an example of the Lord’s provision!!
Couple of comments on the lyrics:
- “O Tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time” – When I read this lyric, I wondered if this statement could really be true. Would the Disciples testify that supping with Jesus was sweet the night He was betrayed? I tend to think that night was an awful night. Jesus talking strangely about eating His body and drinking His blood. Jesus talking about being betrayed, and each of the disciples wondering if they were the betrayer. A night filled with emotions, but I’m not sure that all the emotions would have been “sweet.” But I am reminded of two things. The disciples always wanted to be with Jesus. In John 6, Jesus asked the 12 if they would leave Him too? Peter responded by saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” There was no other place or person that satisfied their heart’s desire. He had the words of eternal life. Secondly, the Last Supper ends with the Disciples and Jesus singing a hymn. Can you imagine the praise that went up that night? Can you imagine the powerful words that would have been sung that night? An emotional night. A difficult night. And yet, a sweet night. A night with an opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet and sing songs with Him. Oh, that definitely would be sweet to sup with Him all the time!!
“Thus He satisfies the hungry all the time” – Psalm 107 could be referred to as the “Hungry” Psalm. Here’s a few promises found in that particular Psalm:
Verses 5-6 – Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Verse 9 – For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness
Verses 33-37 -He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase
There is a phrase repeated 4 times in Psalm 107, and I think it is the recipe for satisfying the hungry soul. That phrase is “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” If we are a people that praise Him for His goodness, I believe He will in turn satisfy the longing and hunger in our soul.
Like many of you, I had the opportunity to share Thanksgiving with my family. We went to Knoxville and shared a Thanksgiving meal with my parents, my brother and his family, and with aunts, uncles, and first, second and third cousins. The spread of food at my aunt’s house is always great. Ham, Turkey, Dressing, Chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, cornbread, rolls, celery with cream cheese (I had to pick out the pecans though). We had “granny cookies” pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cheesecake and more. But there were also some dishes that this picky eater just can’t eat. Sweet potato casserole, broccoli salad, cranberry something with marshmallows. I can’t imagine why anyone would eat cranberries, much less with marshmallows in it.
I guess I am a little like the Hebrew people leaving Egypt. God provided manna. They complained. God provided quail. They complained. I am blessed beyond measure, and still find myself complaining. There’s a line in this hymn that says “With His manna He doth feed, He supplies our every need.” I am convicted by these words because I often times want Him to provide more than just manna. I am looking for Him to provide my wants, not just my needs. I am complaining, and He remains faithful and is blessing and providing daily.
I hope today that you can pray – “Give me this day, my daily bread” and that the bread that He provides supplies your need and satisfies the hunger in your soul. I definitely need to remind myself of that on a daily basis.
So, Thank you Lord for your provision, and thank you for the daily manna, and yes…..thank you for the cranberry something too!