"THE LIPS OF THE RIGHTEOUS FEED MANY"
Proverbs 10:21a

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Welcome to Jehovah's Banqueting House, under the banner of love (Song of Solomon 2:4). My name is Daniel E. Parks. I will be your server for the sake of Jesus, the Master (2 Corinthians 4:5). It is my hope to fulfill the promise that "the lips of the righteous feed many". Should you choose to dine with us today, here is your menu.

I will first bring water for the cleansing of your palate from all worldliness. But this is not just any water. I will serve you "living water", the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). It will savingly cleanse you "through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). It is called living water because it gives life (John 6:63), and forever sustains the life it gives (John 4:13f): "Whoever drinks of [earthly] water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." And "he who believes in [Jesus], as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). This water is from "a pure river of water of life" - the everlasting love and sovereign grace of Jehovah - "clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1). "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17).

After serving you this living water, I will bring to you a platter of bread for your enjoyment while waiting for your main entrée. But not just any bread. This bread is Christ (John 6:32ff). Christ is the "bread of God" (v.33), the bread God Himself has prepared. It is prepared from "the finest of wheat" (Psalm 81:16). It was ground in the mill of God's justice, when the body of Christ, because it bore the sins of God's elect, was "stricken, smitten by God and afflicted", "wounded for our transgressions, ... bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:4f). Its flour was moistened with the tears of Christ. Its dough was kneaded by the firm but loving hand of God. It was subjected to the heat of God's wrath in the oven of affliction on Mount Calvary until Christ cried in victory, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). After three days it was brought forth for our consumption – ever warm and ever fresh. It will never become stale or moldy.

Christ is the "true bread" (v.32), the only bread that will satisfy spiritual hunger. Christ is the "living bread" (v.51), in contrast to the lifeless gods and ceremonies and ordinances of earthly religions. Christ is the "bread of life" (vv.35, 48). As the "living bread," He possesses life. But as the "bread of life," He bestows and sustains His own life to all who partake of Him in fulfillment of His promises: "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die" (v.50); "He who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (v.57); "He who eats this bread will live forever" (v.58); "he who believes in Me has eternal life" (v.47); "He who comes to Me shall never hunger" (v.35).

And although this bread is unleavened, free from the impurity of sin, it will satisfy you better than any yeast roll you ever ate. This is true because it is the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8).

With this necessary staff of life I will bring to you also the luxury of "honey from the rock" guaranteed to satisfy you (Psalm 81:16). This rock is Christ, the "Rock of our salvation" (Psalm 91:5). Its product was extracted from the hardness of His afflictions. It will cause you to exclaim: "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than [earthly] honey to my mouth!" (Psalms 119:103); "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than [earthly] honey and the honeycomb" (Psalms 19:10). And although too much of this world's honey will make you sick (Proverbs 25:16), the more of this honey you eat the healthier you will be.

With this necessary bread and luxurious honey I will bring to you milk also. But not just any milk. This milk is the gospel of Jesus Christ, "the pure milk of the word" (1 Peter 2:1-3). It is for all who have had their palates cleansed with the "living water". They will afterward "lay aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, [and] as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious". It is "pure milk" because "Every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5), and because it is unadulterated with the inventions and doctrines and works of man.

This honey comes from Canaan, "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). This land was prepared by God for all those whom He brings out of Egypt; and it was made by Him to be "the glory of all lands" (Ezekiel 20:6, 15). Only from this land, the church of Christ, can one obtain this "honey from the rock" and this "pure milk of the word".

Having served you "living water" for your cleansing, the "bread of God" for your life, "honey from the rock" for your luxury, and "pure milk" for your growth, I will then bring to you the main course: "solid food" (Hebrews 5:12-14), "strong meat" (KJV). Although you will never tire of the "pure milk of the word", "everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe" (v.13). The Master therefore here in this "solid food" provides you with nourishment into which you can sink your teeth (v.14): "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

This "solid food" is the deeper truths about Christ (6:1?3): "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ [i.e., the milk], let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." It is the Master's will that all His diners be found "attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2f).

In this main course of your meal you will learn truths that ever remain mysterious and unknown to unbelievers and mere babes in Christ. You will be blessed to understand the doctrines of the Holy Trinity, of God's predestination and election of certain sinners to salvation, of the abrogation of the Old Covenant and the Mosaic Law and the replacement of them with the New Covenant and the Law of Christ, and so forth.

With this "solid food" I will bring to you also "wine that makes glad the heart of man" (Psalms 104:15). This wine is symbolic of the blood of Christ, which He calls "My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). It is also symbolic of His sweet love, for which reason you will henceforth ever request, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth – for Your love is better than wine" (Song of Solomon 1:2). His blood and love will surely gladden your heart.

But there is more! This wine is also symbolic of the exhilarating effect of Christ's Holy Spirit, for which reason you will henceforth ever obey the admonition "do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:18-20).

It is my prayer that this wine will fully inebriate you!

Christ Himself invites you to the table He has spread (Isaiah 55:1f): "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance."

As you can plainly see from His invitation, the food He has prepared is without equal in this world. So why would you choose to dine elsewhere? And though you may dine here to your heart's content, never rising from the table, you will never diminish what He has provided. And it is free!

This food is served to you through "the lips of the righteous" – through the ministers of Jehovah preaching to you that glorious gospel of His free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ. You will never find such fare offered by the lips of works-religionists in the diners of churchianity.

And "the lips of the righteous feed many"! Jehovah has prepared this meal for "a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues" (Revelation 7:9). Will you be found dining among them?

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