have bread enough and to spare, | ted calf, and kill it; and let us and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was et a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 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: 23 And bring hither the fat 18. Against Heaven; against God. 22, 23. Bring forth the best robe, &c. The father directed that he should be dressed in a manner becoming a most joyous occasion, and that a suitable entertainment should be prepared. He thus manifested the joy which he himself felt, and gave his son an assurance that he was re ceived, not as a servant, but as a son. The fatted calf. An article of food peculiarly esteemed in the East. Merry; joyful. 24. Dead; as to filial duty. Is alive again; is recovered to a sense of duty. He was lost, and is found. The same idea is here expressed as in the preceding words. A child, pursuing such a course as the prodigal son had, might as well, so far as filial love and duty are concerned, during the time of his misconduct, be eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 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. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. 29 And he, answering, said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy wholly lost or dead; but when he should repent of his course, and act in accordance with filial love and duty, he would be no longer lost, but found; no longer dead, but alive. 25. Music and dancing. A usual accompaniment of festivity in the East. 29. Lo, these many years, &c. The elder son justified his anger at the welcome reception given to the prodigal, by asserting his own longcontinued filial obedience, and by complaining that, notwithstanding his upright conduct, his father had not manifested, on any occasion, so much joy in respect to him, as he was now manifesting in respect to this disobedient, wasteful child. || A kid. As compared with a futted calf, the mention of a kid was an imputation of neglect towards himself, and of whol commandment; and yet thou | make merry, and be glad: for never gavest me a kid, that I this thy brother was dead, and is might make merry with my alive again; and was lost, and is friends: found. 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath, devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me; and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should ly unjustifiable regard for the younger son. 31. Son, &c. The father reminded him, that there was a great difference between his case and that of his brother. He had always been at home, and there had occurred no occasion for any such special joy; and, besides, he was enjoying, jointly with himself, the whole estate. He had not, then, been neglected, but had been continually honored; he had no cause for complaint. And the joy manifested at the return of his brother would not detract from his happiness, or from the esteem in which he had been held; while yet, in view of the sad circumstances from which his brother had been rescued, there was a special propriety in the demonstrations of joy. Thus, in applying the parable, even if the Pharisees had been the obedient and righteous ones they professed to be, they could not be justified for exercising the spirit which they had exhibited towards the penitent sinners. But as every one would see how unreasonable was the elder son's conduct, how unkind, selfish, arrogant was his temper, so no one could fail to see that the murmurings of the Pharisees, even if their views of themselves had been right, too plainly indicated an unkind, selfish, and arrogant temper. The Saviour did not intend, by comparing them to the elder son, to allow that they had always been righteous; but taking them on their own ground, CHAPTER XVI. 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. 2 And he called him, and said reasoning with them according to their own pretensions, he meant, by comparing them to the elder son, to bring out distinctly to view the utter unreasonableness of their murmuring at him for receiving sinners, and being on intimate terms with them. REMARK. The representation giv. en of the prodigal son shows several particulars as to THE NATURE OF TRUE REPENTANCE. 1. He was deeply af fected by a view of his unhappy condition. vs. 16, 17. 2. He was deeply sensible of his guilt. v. 18. 3. He was ready to make most humble acknowledgments. vs. 18, 19. 4. He felt that he had no claim on his father's kindness, and that the lowest station in his father's family was above his deserts. v. 19. 5. In this temper of mind he surrendered himself to his father, submitting the whole case to his father's wisdom. Such are the feelings and the conduct of a penitent sinner towards God. LEARN, too, 1. How ready is God to welcome a repenting sinner! v. 20. 2. How joyful an event is the re turn to God of a wandering sinner! CHAPTER XVI. 1. And he said also, &c. Another parable follows, the design of which appears to have been to show the unto him, How is it that I hear | said unto the first, How much this of thee? give an account owest thou unto my lord? of thy stewardship: for thou 4 I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and 6 And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the chil 7. Measures. The particular measure here meant, being a dry measure, was the Hebrew cor, containing about fourteen bushels. right use of temporal blessings, or the nine gallons. || Write fifty; write a wisdom of so using our temporal bless-new bill, and, instead of a hundred ings as to secure our eternal welfare. baths, write only fifty. Thus he faFor this purpose, a person is introduced vored the debtor. who was expecting to be dismissed from his employer's service, and who shrewdly secured to himself the favor of those with whom he had had dealings, and thus provided for himself a home when he should be in destitute circumstances. A steward. The office of a steward was a very important one in wealthy families of the East. He had authority over the servants, and had the general management of affairs. The steward was sometimes one of the servants, who, for his faithfulness, had been thus promoted, and sometimes a free person. || Wasted his goods; squandered his property. 3. Dig. Under this term may here be included any hard and servile labor. 4. They may receive me; some persons may receive me. 5. So he called, &c. Having charge of his employer's pecuniary accounts, he determined, by a reduction of the bills against the debtors, to place the debtors under obligations to himself, and thus to secure their favor and their kind offices when he should be thrown into distress. 6. Measures. The particular measure here mentioned was the Hebrew bath, containing between seven and 8. The lord; the employer of the steward. | Commended because he had done wisely. He saw and praised the shrewdness of his steward, while, of course, he would be indignant at his fraudulent manner of proceeding. The steward showed a sagacity in promoting his own interests, which was adapted to excite commendation, but which ought to have been more honestly directed. In the thefts and dishonest practices of men, we are sometimes struck with admiration at the cunning and shrewdness which are displayed. || For the children of this world, &c. A remark made by our Saviour in commencing the application of the parable. The children of this world are those whose thoughts and aims have entire respect to the present world. The children of light, on the contrary, are those in whom divine knowledge dwells, and who are seeking the bliss of heaven. The former are wiser, that is, more sagacious, in accomplishing their objects, than the latter in endeavoring to attain theirs. || In their generation; in dren of this world are in their | which is least, is faithful also in generation wiser than the chil- much; and he that is unjust in dren of light. 9 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. 10 He that is faithful in that their dealings with the people of their day; or, as we briefly say, in their day. the least, is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another The expression They may receive you may also be explained by refer ence to a Hebrew mode of speaking, by which those words are equivalent to these-Ye may be received. The Bible frequently teaches, that, by a kind and charitable use of this world's goods, we may testify our love to the Saviour, and our obedience to him, and may secure his approbation in respect to eternal life. See Matt. 25: 34-40. 1 Tim. 6: 17-19. 9. Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. The word of here signifies by; make to yourselves friends by the mammon, &c. Mammon means wealth. See on Matt. 6: 24. Wealth is here called wealth of unrighteousness, because it is so often acquired by unrighteous means. The Saviour did not here give advice respecting wealth which 10. He that is faithful, &c. Those was known to have been acquired in who possess wealth are cautioned, in an unrighteous way; but respecting the preceding verses, to make a prop wealth in general, which (as he con- er use of it, because, as is now exveys the hint) is so often obtained in pressed in this verse, if a person is an unjust manner that the epithet found faithful in a small trust, there unrighteous is too often applicable to is reason to believe he would be faithit. This epithet was a very natural ful in a larger one; and, if he be one in connection with the parable fraudulent and unfaithful in a small he had just spoken. The advice of trust, there is reason to believe he the Saviour is, that, by a proper use would also be unfaithful if a larger of wealth, we should secure to our- trust should be committed to him. selves friends against a time of need;||| That which is least; a very small that is, by using it in obedience to God's will, for relieving the destitute and contributing to their wants, we should secure his favor. Compare Mark 10:21. Luke 14: 12-14. When ye fail; when ye cease to live. They may receive you, &c. In a vivid way of representation, those who have been relieved by the bounty of the rich, and who have gone before them into heaven, are exhibited as in the attitude of welcoming them into heaven, the everlasting abode; thus requiting the favors which the rich and benevolent showed them on earth; just as we often speak of our pious friends, who have died, as giving us, at our death, a welcome reception into heaven. trust. 11. The principle declared in the preceding verse is now directly applied. The unrighteous mammon; the wealth of this world, so called, as in v. 9, because it is so often obtained by unrighteous means. || The true riches; the real, genuine good of heaven. If you have abused earthly riches, who would think of committing to you the heavenly treasure? 12. And if, &c. And, if a person has proved himself unfaithful as a steward, in managing another man's affairs, who would be encouraged to settle on him an estate to be his own? This verse contemplates men as be ing stewards of God, having received from him a certain trust, to be man man's, who shall give you that these things, and they derided which is your own? 13 No servant 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. 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all him. 15 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. 16 The law and the prophets tinctly declared that the interests of the present world must be held as subordinate to the interests of God and heaven, else we shall fail of heaven. See on Matt. 6:24. aged according to the directions which God has communicated. Now, if they are unfaithful in respect to what has been merely entrusted to them for a temporary use, as God's agents, surely they cannot expect, after the earthly trust has expired, to receive for their own, and for permanent possession, the honors of heaven. Which is another man's; that which belongs to another, whether it be man or God that is spoken of. Who shall give, &c. A strong way of expressing negation: No one will give, or, Who would think of giving? Your own? Heaven is in this verse expressed by the words your own, because it is a permanent condition, not exposed to the fluctuations which are incident to living on another person's estate, from which the occu-comed to the heavenly mansion! pant may be displaced at the proprietor's will. As, on earth, the difference between a steward and a proprietor is manifest in respect of permanency, and the proprietor's permanency of possession would be expressed by calling the estate his own, and the steward's temporary occupancy by calling the estate another's, so the enduring bliss of heaven is expressed by calling it our own, while the fact that our earthly possession is a temporary one, shows that the right of ownership belongs to another, and that we are merely stewards of God. 13. No servant, &c. Having shown the need of employing earthly treasures in such a manner as to be found faithful to God, and as to be admitted to the greater trusts and honors of heaven, the Saviour dis CAUTION. Let no one think that only to rich men are applicable the instructions of Jesus respecting a proper use of what pertains to the present world; for who is there that is not in danger of inordinately loving the treasures and the joys of earth, and of abusing even the little which God may have intrusted to his care? Let us all bear in mind, each for himself, that we are the Lord's stewards, and that he will call us to an account. May we be found to have been faithful in our earthly trust, and be wel 15. Justify yourselves; make a show of being righteous. Compare Matt. 6: 2, 5, 16. || Highly esteemed among men — abomination in the sight of God. A saying which must be understood with reference to the pretended piety of the Pharisees, for which they were, by many, held in high estimation. But God saw through the disguise, and held them in abhorrence. The Saviour distinctly declared that, however fair was their exterior, their hearts were corrupt. Thus they afforded a complete proof of the sentiment that God sees not as man sees; that man may highly extol, while God thoroughly loathes. See Matt. 23: 27, 28. 1 Sam. 16:7. 16. The law and the prophets, &c. |