that the Jews were
the first to be invited. "But they all with one mind began to make
excuse." Next then the poor of the city were invited. Still there was
room. Next the off-casts and beggars were invited. These included the
very lowest of the Gentile nations, and comprehend all that live,
every creature.

Now I ask, in the name of all that is reasonable, can we, dare we,
accuse the Lord of dealing deceitfully? Perish the thought forever.
No! He invites all because it is his blessed will to see all come
and sit at his table spread with the great love feast which he has
prepared for all who are willing and desire to come. This very thought
is the joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue. And it is a joy
which no man taketh from me, because it rests on the rock of Divine
Truth. But a preparation is necessary. We can hardly separate the
parable under consideration from the one recorded in Matthew
twenty-second chapter. There we read of a wedding dinner made by a
king, to celebrate the marriage of his son. And when the king came in
he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And the king
said: "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?
And he was speechless." And why was he speechless? If he would have
had any reasonable excuse to offer for the unprepared appearance which
he made, would he have been speechless? Reason says at once. He would
have urged his inability to procure a suitable dress for the occasion,
as the cause for his appearing in the way he did, if any such cause
had existed. And the king knew this full well; otherwise he would not
have required all to have on the wedding garment.

I now call your attention to the closing words of the parable: "I say
unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my
supper." The reason for this is found in the fact that they would not
come. They were the first to be invited. Had they come, they would
have received the right hand of welcome. But notice the unreasonable
excuses they made. One had bought a piece of ground, and he must go
and see it, as if night were the time to look at land. Another must
try the five yoke of oxen he had that day bought, as if night were the
best time to do this. Another had married a wife and could not come,
as if night were not a suitable time to enjoy a rich supper with his
bride. We wonder at these vain and almost unnatural excuses; but do we
find the excuses of men any more reasonable to-