said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the Father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and killed it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It is meet that we should make merry, and be glad for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Let us here behold, with all due attention, the moving representation which our gracious Redeemer makes of the folly of sinners, and the compassions of God; compassions, which he describes, as one who himself felt them, and who in this respect, as well as others, was the express image of his Father.

We have before us in this parable a lively emblem of the character and condition of sinners in their fallen state. They are thus impatient of the most necessary restraints, thus fondly conceited of their own wisdom; and thus, when enriched by the bounties of the great common Father, do they ungratefully run from him, and say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. (Job xxi. 14.)

Sensual pleasures are eagerly sought; and perhaps all their earthly possessions and hopes are quickly paid as the price of them. While the means of obtaining these pleasures continue, not a serious thought of God can find a place in their minds and then, perhaps, afflictions, heavy and complicated afflictions, come upon them; yet even under that pressure they will often make very hard shifts before they will be persuaded to think of a return; till at length Divine grace, working in concurrence with Providence, brings them to a better temper.

When they see themselves naked and indigent, enslaved and undone; when they come to themselves, and recover the exercise of their reason, improving it to the only purposes for which it would have been worth while to have received it; then they feel the pangs of penitential remorse; then they remember the blessings they have lost, and attend to the misery they have incurred. And hereupon they are disposed humbly to confess their folly, and to prostrate themselves in the presence of their heavenly Father, they put the resolution immediately into practice; they arise and go unto him.

But oh, let us behold with wonder and pleasure the gracious reception they find from Divine injured goodness! He sees them afar off; he pities, he meets, and embraces them ; he interrupts their complaints and acknowledgments with tokens of his returning favour. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. (Jer. xxxi. 23.) Thus does God welcome the humble penitent thus does he open the arms of his love to embrace him, and the treasures of his bounty to enrich him. He arrays him with the robe of a Redeemer's righteousness, dresses him in the ornaments of sanctifying grace, honours him with the tokens of adopting love, and invests him with the glorious privileges and immunities of his children. And all this he does with unutterable delight: he rejoices over him with joy ; he rests in his love, and, as it were, rejoices over him with singing, (Zeph. iii. 17); and this is the joyful language of the song, My children that were dead, are alive again; and though they were lost, they are found.

Let heaven and earth unite in the joy, and echo back the song. Let no elder brother murmur at the indulgence with which these prodigals are treated; but rather welcome them back into the family, and even encourage every thing that looks like a disposition to return to it. And let those who have been thus received, wander no more; but rather let

them emulate the strictest piety of those, who for many years have served their heavenly Father, without having in any notorious instances transgresssed his commandments.

SECTION LI.

LUKE XVI. 1—18.

AND he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man which had a steward: And the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him,

Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant

S

can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

May the wisdom of the children of this world in their comparatively trifling concerns excite a holy emulation in the children of light! Is it not much better worth our while to employ all the attention of our thoughts in observing opportunities for the good of our souls, and to exert all the force of our resolutions in improving them, than to labour merely for the meat which perishes, for that deceitful mammon, that treacherous friend, which will at best only amuse us for a few years, and will for ever forsake us in our greatest extremity.

Let us take occasion, from this parable, to think how soon we must part with all our present possessions; how soon we must give an account of our respective stewardships as those who must be no longer stewards. Let us therefore manage them in such a manner as may most effectually promote the great purposes of our everlasting happiness. To this end, let us remember how absolutely necessary it is that we abound in works of charity and benevolence, and that we endeavour to abstract our hearts from an over-eager attachment to these lying vanities; for surely the trifles of earth are no better. Let us not imagine that our particular address can find out the secret of serving God and mammon, since Christ represents it as an impossibility and contradiction.

May we be found faithful in what God has committed to us, whether it be little or much; and govern ourselves, not by the maxims of this vain world, but by those of the gospel!

And if the same temper that led the covetous Pharisees to deride our Lord, engage the children of this world to pour contempt upon us as visionaries and enthusiasts, we have much greater reason to be grieved for them than for ourselves. Their censures can be matter of but little account to us, when we consider that the things which are highly esteemed by men are often an abomination in the sight of God. His law is sacred, and the constitutions of his kingdom are unalterable; may the temper of our minds be so altered and disposed as may suit it! For another day, and another world, will shew that real Christianity is the only wisdom; and that all the refinements of human policy without it are but specious madness and laborious ruin!

SECTION LII.

LUKE XVI. 19-34.

THERE was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, and was buried: And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: for I have five brethren; that he may