Frances Ridley Havergal :: The Bread and Wine

TWENTY-THIRD DAY - THE BREAD AND WINE.

"Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled."

In several chapters of Proverbs the Lord Jesus Christ is beautifully described under the figure of Wisdom. For He is 'the Wisdom of God,' and He is 'made unto us Wisdom.' (1Co 1:24, 30)

In this verse He gives a double Invitation,-to eat of His bread, and drink of His wine. These are the symbols of life and joy-His life and His joy.

'Come, eat of My bread.' 'Feed on Him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving.' For Jesus Himself is the true Bread from heaven. (Jhn 6:51) And he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever. For He is the Bread of Life, (Jhn 6:48) life-giving and life-sustaining.

How shall we eat? It is the old story,-only coming, only believing! For 'he that cometh to Me shall never hunger,' (Jhn 6:35) and 'we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.'

It is not a mere tasting or a bare subsisting to which Christ invites us. He says, 'Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.' For 'I am come that they might have life, (Jhn 10:10) and that they might have it more abundantly;' fulness and vigor of life, abounding pulses of vitality, fresh and strong; life that shall not and cannot fail, for 'He ever liveth,' (Hbr 7:25) and 'because I live, ye shall live also.'

How often we have sung, 'He hath filled the hungry with good things!' Are you hungry? Come, eat of His bread, leaving the husks and ashes (Luk 15:16) and you shall know what it is to be filled with good things. For 'He filleth the hungry soul with goodness.' (Psa 107:9)

It is not only the solid life-need of bread that is provided at the feast which the Lord has made for us, but Wine, the symbol of joy, 'that maketh glad the heart of man.' (Psa 104:15) 'Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price,' because the price is already paid for it. His sorrow was the price of the joy offered to us. He poured out his soul unto death, that He might pour out His joy into our lives. (Isa 53:12) He emptied the cup which His Father gave Him, that He might fill ours till it runs over. (Psa 23:5) Without price to us,-but oh, the price to Him!

The Lord Jesus says it is wine which He has mingled. Not all one kind, but mingled by Divine care and skill into a perfect draught of manifold gladness. 'If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.' (Job 36:11) That is the heritage of the servants of the Lord! (Isa 65:13-14) Did you think it was so pleasant? Did you know that He meant you to spend your years in pleasures here, as well as to give you the pleasures for evermore hereafter? (Pro 3:17) 'Come, drink of the wine that He has mingled,' and you will find out what these pleasures are, and how exceedingly real they are! No wonder you are a little skeptical about it! for 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him; but,' notice now exactly what is said, 'God HATH revealed them unto us by His Spirit.' (1Co 2:9-10) So, unless or until God reveals them to you by His Spirit, you cannot see or conceive what these pleasures are which He has prepared for those who love Him,-what this wine is which He has mingled for those who come to Him. Oh taste and see! (Psa 34:8) Come, and put your trust under the shadow of His wings; and then you shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of His house, and He shall make you drink of the river of His pleasures. (Psa 36:7-8)