And the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this mountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, of wine purified from the lees.

“Having been counted worthy of this holy chrism, you are called Christians, verifying the name also by your new birth. For before you were deemed worthy of this grace, you had properly no right to this title but were advancing on your way toward being Christians.Moreover, you shall know that in the old Scripture there lies the symbol of this chrism. For at the time Moses imparted to his brother the command of God and made him high priest, he anointed him after bathing him in water. And Aaron was called Christ or anointed, evidently from the typical anointing. So also the high priest, in advancing Solomon to the kingdom, anointed him after he had bathed in Gihon. To them, however, these things happened in a figure, but to you not in a figure but in truth; because you were truly anointed by the Holy Spirit. Christ is the beginning of your salvation. He is truly the first fruit, and you are what follow. If the first fruit is holy, obviously its holiness will pass to the remainder also. Keep this teaching unspotted, for it shall teach you all things, if it abide in you.… For this holy thing is a spiritual safeguard of the body and salvation of the soul. Of this the blessed Isaiah prophesying of old time said, "On this mountain shall the Lord make for all nations a feast; they shall drink wine, they shall drink gladness, they shall anoint themselves with ointment."”

“Moreover, this same Isaiah foretells that while those who were engaged in the study of the law from childhood to old age did not believe, to the Gentiles every mystery should be transferred. His words are, "And the Lord of hosts shall make a feast on this mountain for all nations." … This was the counsel of the Almighty respecting all the nations.”

“And the Lord of Hosts shall make for all the peoples when they come to mobilize against Jerusalem. a feast of fat things which they think that it will be easy for them like fat, which is smooth and soft, will be converted for them to a feast of dregs. fat things full of marrow soft and fat like the marrow of bones, will be dregs well refined from any liquid of wine or oil, for there will be there only the dregs. All this will be in the war of Gog and Magog.”

“In this mountain. In Zion. A feast of fat things, etc. God will feed them with fat things, ממחים with things full of marrow—comp. ומוח and the marrow (Job. 21:24); ממחים is participle Pual— and then he will give them to drink lees well refined, so that they will become drunk; comp. As you have drunk on my holy mountain, etc. (Obad. 16)”

“O Lord God. Here the giving of thanks is set forth: and first, concerning the exaltation of the people; second, concerning their justification: ch. 26: in that day; third, concerning the Father's correction: ch. 27: in that day. The first is divided into two. In the first, the giving of thanks is set forth: I will exalt you, in preaching you loftily among others; I will confess, in giving thanks within myself. Ps. 9: I will confess to you, Lord, with my whole heart. Second, the matter of the thanksgiving is set forth: for you have done. And first, in general, as to the greatness of the deeds: wonders. Job 9: who does great things, etc. As to the fulfillment of the promises: faithful. Ecclus. 36: give a reward, Lord, to those who wait for you, that your prophets may be found faithful. Amen, that is, truly. Second, in particular: for you have made; and first, the works that pertain to the putting down of evils; second, those that pertain to the exaltation of good things: and the Lord will make. Concerning the first, three things. First he threatens the scourge of punishment; second, the fruit of the punishment: upon this; third, the manner of the punishment: as. He says therefore first: the city. Of Jerusalem; of strangers, estranged from God, namely of the Jews; it shall not be rebuilt forever: for neither afterward in the same place, above, 17: behold, Damascus shall cease to be a city. Micah 3: Zion shall be as a field. Ezek. 27: you have been brought to nothing. Or, of Babylon, or of any other city of the Gentiles opposing them. Upon this. Here he sets forth the fruit, in the subjection of men to God. And first he sets forth two signs of subjection. Praise: the strong shall praise you, however much subject to you; or, the Gentile people, strong in sufferings. Fear: whatever city shall fear you. Below, 60: the strength of the nations shall come to you. Second, he assigns the reason, which he first sets forth: for you have been made; to the poor, who has little though sufficient for himself; to the needy, who is in want. Ps. 93: the Lord has become for me a refuge, and my God the help of my hope. Second, he sets forth a comparison: hope, of defense, from the whirlwind, on account of the violence of the persecutor; a shelter, of consolation, from the heat, on account of the affliction of persecution. Below, 32: a man shall be as. Third, he sets forth the exposition. Spirit, that is, indignation and pride. Above, 21: as whirlwinds come from the south, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. As the heat. Here he sets forth the manner of the punishment as to affliction: as heat in thirst, it afflicts. Tumult, proud clamor, as to barrenness. And as heat under a cloud, gathered from the south wind, by which also sometimes, on account of excessive heat, the fruits of the vine are destroyed. James 1: the sun arose with burning heat, and dried up the grass, and its flower fell. And the Lord will make. Here he sets forth the things that pertain to the exaltation of the good: and this in three ways. First, as to the abundance of honor, which he describes under the metaphor of a feast, which is prepared from fat animals and refined wine, on this mountain, because there Christ suffered, whence all good things have come to us; or because there he will judge, as is said, Matt. 22: behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fatlings are killed. Second, as to the removal of evils: and he will cast down, as to the punishment of death, which he calls a bond insofar as we are bound to it by sin, and (the web) insofar as it is ordained by the just sentence of God. 1 Cor. 15: death is swallowed up in victory. Hosea 13: I will be your death, O death; your bite, O Hell. The sadness of sorrow, and he will take away. Rev. 21: God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the saints. The shame of confusion: and reproach. Above, 4: take away, etc. Some refer this to the judgment rendered in the death of Holofernes, who came against all nations; and likewise concerning the feast. And he sets forth the giving of thanks. And they shall say: we have waited, expecting patiently. Ecclus. 2: you who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. And he sets forth the reason: for he shall rest, with whom no evil can be. Ps. 131: this is my rest for ever and ever. Third, as to the oppression of enemies, namely of the Moabites, who on account of sleep were especially hostile to them. And first he sets forth their affliction: it shall be threshed. Amos 1: they threshed Gilead with iron wagons. Second, their complete subjection: he will stretch out his hands, as one prostrate, and seeking mercy or aid. Below, 49: he shall come; and the destruction of the fortifications, and the fortresses, concerning which see above, 16. Note, on that word, I will confess to the name, that confession is manifold. The first, of humility. James, last chapter: confess your sins to one another. The second, of truth. Rom. 10: with the heart one believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The third, of praise. Ps. 32: confess to the Lord on the harp. The fourth, of thanksgiving. Above, 12: I will confess to you, Lord, for you were angry with me: your fury is turned away, and you have comforted me. Also, note on that word, amen, that amen is Hebrew: and sometimes it is a verb, that is, let it be done. Deut. 27: and all the people shall say, amen. Sometimes an adverb, that is, truly. John 6: amen, amen, I say to you. Sometimes a noun, that is, truth. Rev. 3: these things says the Amen. Sometimes it is Greek, without defect, from a, which is without, and mene, which is defect. Rom. 9: who is God blessed forever, amen. Note on that word, a feast of fat things, that there is a threefold feast. The first, the household feast of the Church militant: in which he sets forth three things. First, the bitterness of the passion. Exod. 12: you shall eat it with wild lettuce. 1 Cor. 11: as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, you shall proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Second, the sweetness of love. Wis. 16: you provided them bread from heaven without labor, having in itself every delight, and the sweetness of every taste. Third, fatness, as to its effect. Ps. 22: you have made my head fat with oil. The second is the private feast of the soul: in which he sets forth three things. First, the wine of love. Song 1: your breasts are better than wine. Second, the honey of contemplation. Ps. 118: how sweet are your words to my palate. More than honey to my mouth. Third, the milk of purification, and this for growing unto perfection. 1 Pet. 2: as rational ones, without guile, desire milk. The third is the solemn feast of the heavenly court; in which he sets forth three things. First, wine unto inebriation. Song 5: eat, friends, and drink, and be inebriated. Second, honey unto satiety. Ps. 16: I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear. Third, milk unto the perfection of body and soul. Song 5: your eyes are as doves.”

“If we suppose (as many do) that this refers to the great joy which there should be in Zion and Jerusalem when the army of the Assyrians was routed by an angel, or when the Jews were released out of their captivity in Babylon, or upon occasion of some other equally surprising deliverance, yet we cannot avoid making it to look further, to the grace of the gospel and the glory which is the crown and consummation of that grace; for it is at our resurrection through Christ that the saying here written shall be brought to pass; then, and not till then (if we may believe St. Paul), it shall have its full accomplishment: Death is swallowed up in victory, Co1 15:54. This is a key to the rest of the promises here connected together. And so we have here a prophecy of the salvation and the grace brought unto us by Jesus Christ, into which the prophets enquired and searched diligently, Pe1 1:10. I. That the grace of the gospel should be a royal feast for all people; not like that of Ahasuerus, which was intended only to show the grandeur of the master of the feast (Est 1:4); for this is intended to gratify the guests, and therefore, whereas all there was for show, all here is for substance. The preparations made in the gospel for the kind reception of penitents and supplicants with God are often in the New Testament set forth by the similitude of a feast, as Mat 22:1, etc., which seems to be borrowed from this prophecy. 1. God himself is the Master of the feast, and we may be sure he prepares like himself, as becomes him to give, rather than as becomes us to receive. The Lord of hosts makes this feast. 2. The guests invited are all people, Gentiles as well as Jews. Go preach the gospel to every creature. There is enough for all, and whoever will may come, and partake freely, even those that are gathered out of the highways and the hedges. 3. The place is Mount Zion. Thence the preaching of the gospel takes rise: the preachers must begin at Jerusalem. The gospel church is the Jerusalem that is above; there this feast is made, and to it all the invited guests must go. 4. The provision is very rich, and every thing is of the best. It is a feast, which supposes abundance and variety; it is a continual feast to believers, it is their own fault if it be not. It is a feast of fat things and full of marrow; so relishing, so nourishing, are the comforts of the gospel to all those that feast upon them and digest them. The returning prodigal was entertained with the fatted calf; and David has that pleasure in communion with God with which his soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness. It is a feast of wines on the lees, the strongest-bodied wines, that have been kept long upon the lees, and then are well refined from them, so that they are clear and fine. There is that in the gospel which, like wine soberly used, makes glad the heart and raises the spirits, and is fit for those that are of a heavy heart, being under convictions of sin and mourning for it, that they may drink and forget their misery (for that is the proper use of wine - it is a cordial for those that need it, Pro 31:5, Pro 31:6), may be of good cheer, knowing that their sins are forgiven, and may be vigorous in their spiritual work and warfare, as a strong man refreshed with wine. II. That the world should be freed from that darkness of ignorance and mistake in the mists of which it had been so long lost and buried (Isa 25:7): He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering (the covering of the face) with which all people are covered (hood-winked or blind-folded) so that they cannot see their way nor go about their work, and by reason of which they wander endlessly. Their faces are covered as those of men condemned, or dead men. There is a veil spread over all nations, for they all sit in darkness; and no marvel, when the Jews themselves, among whom God was known, had a veil upon their hearts, Co2 3:15. But this veil the Lord will destroy, by the light of his gospel shining in the world, and the power of his Spirit opening men's eyes to receive it. He will raise those to spiritual life that have long been dead in trespasses and sins. III. That death should be conquered, the power of it broken, and the property of it altered: He will swallow up death in victory, Isa 25:8. 1. Christ will himself, in his resurrection, triumph over death, will break its bands, its bars, asunder, and cast away all its cords. The grave seemed to swallow him up, but really he swallowed it up. 2. The happiness of the saints shall be out of the reach of death, which puts a period to all the enjoyments of this world, embitters them, and stains the beauty of them. 3. Believers may triumph over death, and look upon it as a conquered enemy: O death! where is thy sting? 4. When the dead bodies of the saints shall be raised at the great day, and their mortality swallowed up of life, then death will be for ever swallowed up of victory; and it is the last enemy. IV. That grief shall be banished, and there shall be perfect and endless joy: The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. Those that mourn for sin shall be comforted and have their consciences pacified. In the covenant of grace there shall be that provided which is sufficient to counterbalance all the sorrows of this present time, to wipe away our tears, and to refresh us. Those particularly that suffer for Christ shall have consolations abounding as their afflictions do abound. But in the joys of heaven, and nowhere short of them, will fully be brought to pass this saying, as that before, for there it is that God shall wipe away all tears, Rev 7:17; Rev 21:4. And there shall be no more sorrow, because there shall be no more death. The hope of this should now wipe away all excessive tears, all the weeping that hinders sowing. V. That all the reproach cast upon religion and the serious professors of it shall be for ever rolled away: The rebuke of his people, which they have long lain under, the calumnies and misrepresentations by which they have been blackened, the insolence and cruelty with which their persecutors have trampled on them and trodden them down, shall be taken away. Their righteousness shall be brought forth as the light, in the view of all the world, who shall be convinced that they are not such as they have been invidiously characterized; and so their salvation from the injuries done them as such shall be wrought out. Sometimes in this world God does that for his people which takes away their reproach from among men. However, it will be done effectually at the great day; for the Lord has spoken it, who can, and will, make it good. Let us patiently bear sorrow and shame now, and improve both; for shortly both will be done away.”

“And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things,.... Which is to be understood, not of the ultimate glory of the saints in heaven; which is sometimes represented by a feast; and the participation of it, by sitting down with the saints at a table in the kingdom of God, and by drinking wine there, to which state the best things are reserved, Mat 8:11, but rather of the Gospel dispensation, which lies in the ministration of the word and ordinances; and which are compared to a feast, which consists of the richest dainties, for the entertainment of the faith of God's people; and this is made by the Lord himself, who is sovereign Lord of all, the King of kings; who sits at table himself, and welcomes his guests, and is the sum and substance of the feast: and this is made in his "mountain"; the church, comparable to one for its visibility and immovableness; and for "all" his "people", Jews and Gentiles; for all that are made spiritually alive, and have a spiritual taste, and true faith in Christ, Mat 22:4 particularly the Lord's supper itself is a feast, and a feast of love, comparable to wine; and which is better than wine, and in which wine, in a literal sense, is made use of; and in which the choicest and richest food is presented to faith; the flesh and blood of Christ, which are meat and drink indeed; here the saints are fed as with marrow and fatness, Co1 5:7, Sol 1:2 but it seems rather to respect the marriage supper of the Lamb, in the latter day, when antichrist shall be destroyed, and Jews and Gentiles be converted, and shall join together in the participation of divine blessings, Rev 19:1 or, best of all, the glories, joys, and pleasures of the New Jerusalem state; in which the saints shall drink of the water of life freely, and eat of the fruit of the tree of life, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations, Rev 21:6. a feast of wines on the lees; that has been long kept on the lees, but now drawn off, and both strong and fine; of a banquet of wine, see Est 7:2 this refers to the wine of the kingdom, Mat 26:29, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined: this heap of words, and repetition of them, show the plenty of the provisions, and the richness and excellency of them; and "fat" being mentioned is a proof that the words must respect the times of the Messiah, since, under the law, fat was not to be eaten (e). (e) Fortunatus Scacchus, in Sacror. Elaeochr. Myrothec. l. 1. c. 40. col. 205. thinks, that as the prophet speaks of the deliverance of believers from present troubles, and of good things at the coming of the Messiah, the metaphors are taken from the customs of that age, in which feasts were not prepared without the best of ointments; nor in a royal feast were the flesh of any animals used but such as were well fed and kept, and which, according to the law were pure and clean; and agreeably he renders the whole verse thus: "and the Lord of hosts will make to all people a feast of ointments; a feast of those (animals) that are kept; of ointments full of marrow (the richest and fattest) of those that are kept''; "pure" beasts, well kept and clean, according to the law of Moses. So Gussetius observes, that signifies not fat, but oil; and not "lees" of wine, but bottles in which wine is "kept", Comment. Ebr. p. 868, 872. The Syriac version of the latter part of the text, though not according to the original, is remarkable; "the feast, I say, of our heavenly and most mighty quickener, reserved and fat.''. The interpreter seems to have in his view the great master of the feast, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Mountain of Sion, a figure of the Church, and of heaven. The Jews shall feast: yea, some of all nations shall partake of the blessed Eucharist, and obtain heaven. The expressions are too grand for a corruptible feast. (Calmet) — Wine. Literally, “of vintage,” (Haydock) on which occasion great rejoicings were made. (Hesiod, Hercul. 297.) — Protestants, “of wines on the lees.” (Haydock) — In the East, the wines were very thick, Psalm lxxv. 9. (Calmet) — On the rejection of the Jews, the Gentiles were converted. (Worthington)”

“in this mountain--Zion: Messiah's kingdom was to begin, and is to have its central seat hereafter, at Jerusalem, as the common country of "all nations" (Isa 2:2, &c.). all people-- (Isa 56:7; Dan 7:14; Luk 2:10). feast--image of felicity (Psa 22:26-27; Mat 8:11; Luk 14:15; Rev 19:9; compare Psa 36:8; Psa 87:1-7). fat things--delicacies; the rich mercies of God in Christ (Isa 55:2; Jer 31:14; Job 36:16). wines on the lees--wine which has been long kept on the lees; that is, the oldest and most generous wine (Jer 48:11). marrow--the choicest dainties (Psa 63:5). well refined--cleared of all dregs.”

“Thus the first hymnic echo dies away; and the eschatological prophecy, coming back to Isa 24:23, but with deeper prayerlike penetration, proceeds thus in Isa 25:6 : "And Jehovah of hosts prepares for all nations upon this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things rich in marrow, of wines on the lees thoroughly strained." "This mountain" is Zion, the seat of God's presence, and the place of His church's worship. The feast is therefore a spiritual one. The figure is taken, as in Psa 22:27., from the sacrificial meals connected with the shelâmim (the peace-offerings). Shemârim mezukkâkim are wines which have been left to stand upon their lees after the first fermentation is over, which have thus thoroughly fermented, and have been kept a long time (from shâmar, to keep, spec. to allow to ferment), and which are then filtered before drinking (Gr. οἶνος σακκίας, i.e., διΰλισμένος or διηθικὸς, from διηθεῖν, percolare), hence wine both strong and clear. Memuchâyı̄m might mean emedullatae ("with the marrow taken out;" compare, perhaps, Pro 31:3), but this could only apply to the bones, not to the fat meat itself; the meaning is therefore "mixed with marrow," made marrowy, medullosae. The thing symbolized in this way is the full enjoyment of blessedness in the perfected kingdom of God. The heathen are not only humbled so that they submit to Jehovah, but they also take part in the blessedness of His church, and are abundantly satisfied with the good things of His house, and made to drink of pleasure as from a river (Psa 36:9). The ring of the v. is inimitably pictorial. It is like joyful music to the heavenly feast. The more flexible form ממחיים (from the original, ממחי = ממחה) is intentionally chosen in the place of ממּסהים. It is as if we heard stringed instruments played with the most rapid movement of the bow.”