Lyrics
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!
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.
Public domain hymn text (1907). Words and music by C. B. Widmeyer.
The Story Behind the Hymn
'Come and Dine' takes its title directly from John 21:12, where the risen Jesus, having prepared a charcoal fire and cooked fish for His disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, simply says, 'Come and dine,' an unusually plain, domestic invitation set right after the drama of the resurrection.
C. B. Widmeyer wrote the hymn in 1907, drawing on that quiet post-resurrection scene rather than on the more commonly referenced Last Supper, choosing a meal defined by ordinary hospitality over one loaded with ritual and sacrifice.
The hymn's chorus also folds in references to two of Jesus's feeding miracles, multiplying loaves and fishes for a crowd and turning water into wine at Cana, tying together several biblical meals into a single, sustained image of abundant provision.
Unlike hymns of invitation built around guilt or urgency, this one leans almost entirely on hospitality, using the language of a host calling hungry guests to a table rather than a judge calling defendants to account.
That table imagery gave the song particular usefulness at Communion services and fellowship gatherings, where its plain, repeated call to 'come and dine' could frame either the literal meal being shared or the broader spiritual invitation it represented.
The song's steady, march-like rhythm and simple repeated chorus made it well suited to congregational singing, requiring no complex harmonies or vocal range to join in fully from the very first chorus.
Its lasting appeal rests in that same directness: rather than arguing for God's generosity, it simply describes a meal already prepared and repeats the invitation to come eat, trusting the image itself to carry the message.
