26 Now his elder son was in the field : and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the serv- ants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thv broUier is come ; and thy fSather 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 intreated him.
i» And he answering said to hia 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 :
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for liitn 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 make merry, and be glad : for this thy bro- ther was dead, and is alive again ; and was lost, and is found.
These verses form the conclusion of the parable of the prodigal son. They are far less well known than the verses which go before them. But they were spoken by the same lips which described the younger son's return to his father's house. Like every thing which those lips spoke, they will be foimd deeply profitable.
We are taught, firstly, in this passage, how unkind and ill-natured are the feelings of self-righteous men towards gimners.
This is a lesson which our Lord conveys to us by de- ibing the conduct of the "elder brother" of the prodigal He shows him to us "angry" and finding fault of the rejoicings over his brother's return. He ahoWB him complaining that his father treated the return- ing^ prodigal too well, and that he himself had not been