The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 42

degro.datlon in which we speedily find him. conte.in e. proportion of sugar. The very Not an unusue.l flgore in the gree.t world- poorest of the population occasionally use dre.mo, this of the younger son-the man them e.s food. who he.d ee.criflced everything for selfish Ver. 17.-And when he came to himself. pleasure, and soon found he had absolutely Thie tardy repentance in the fa.moos parable nothing left hut suffering. Very touchingly has been the occasion of many e. sneer from the greatest, perhaps, of our English poets the world. Even satiety, even soul-hun.,.er writes of this e.wful soul-fa.mine. In his did ~ot bring the prodigal to penitei;'ce; 011110 fortune and rank still remained to him, notbmg but ab9?lnte bodily suffering, cruel but everything that can really make life hunger, drove him to take the step which in pr11cioue and bee.utiful had been wasted. the end saved him. There is no doubt it would have been far more noble on the "My de.ye e.re in the yellow leaf; young man's part if, in the midst of his 'fhe flowers and fruits of love a.re gone; downhill career, he ha.d suddenly paused, The worm, the anguish, and the grief, e.nd, with e. mighty and continued effort of Are mine alone. self-control, had turned to purity, to duty, "The fire that on my bosom preys and to God. Certainly this bad been heroic Is lone as some volcanic isle ; conduct-e. term no one would think of ap- No torch is kindled at its blaze- plying to anything belonging to the life of A funere.l pile I " the younger son of onr story. But though (Byron.) not heroic, is not the conduct of the prodigal just what is of daily occurrence in common Ver. 15.-And he went and joined himself life ? The world may sneer; bnt is not such to e. oitizen of that oountry. " That citizen," a repentance, after all, e. blessed thing? It says St. Berne.rd, quoted by Archbishop is a poor mean way, some would tell ns, of Trench, •• I cannot understand as other than creeping into heaven; but is it not better to one of the malignant spirits, who in that enter into God's city even thus, with bowed they sin with an irremediable obstinacy, head, than not at all? Is it not better to and have passed into a permanent dispo- consecrate a few months, or perhaps years, sition of malice and wickedness, are no of a wasted life to God's service, to noble longer guests and strangers, but citizens and generous deeds, to brave attempts to undo abiders in the land of sin." This is e. true past mischief and neglect, than to go sinning picture of the state of such e. lost soul, which on to the bitter end? There is something in despair has yielded itself up to the evil intensely sorrowful in this consecrating to one and his angels and their awful prompt- the Master the end of e. sin-worn life; but ings and suggestions; but the heathen citizen there is whe.t is infinitely worse. What a is well represented by the ordinary sordid deep well, too, of comfort bas the Church- man of the world, who engages in any in- taught teacher here to draw from in his famous calling, and in the carrying on of weary life-experiences I How many hired which he employs his poor degraded ruined servants of my fatller's have bread enough brothers and sisters. To feed swine, What and to spare, and I perish with hunger! e. shudder must have passed through the Among the bitternesses of his present degra- auditory when the Master ree.ohed this climax dation, not the least we.a the memory of his of the prodigal's degradation I For a young he.ppy childhood e.nd boyhood in his old Israelite noble, delicately nurtured and home. trained in the worship of the chosen people, to be reduced to the posit.ion of a herdsman "For a sorrow's crown of sorrows of those unclean creatures for which they Is remembering happier things." entertained such a loathing and abhorrence The family of the prodige.l, o.s we have that they would not even name them, but alree.dy remarked, was certainly possessed spoke of a pig as the other thing ! of wealth, e.ud was probably one of high Ver. 16.-And he would fain he.ve filled rank. In the old home there we.a nothing his belly with the husks the.t the swine did we.nting. ee.t : and no man gave unto him. So low Vers. 18, 19.-I will arise and go to my was this poor lost man reduced, the.t in his fe.ther . , . me.ke me e.s one of thy hired bitter hunger he even ce.me to long for the servants. The repentance of the prodige.l coarse but nutritious bean with which the wns ree.l. It we.a no mere sentimental herd was fed. These swine were of some regret, no momentary fle.sh of sorrow for a ve.lue when fattened for the me.rket; but be.d past. There we.s before him e. long he, the swineherd, was valueless-he might e.nd weary journey to be undertaken, and starve. The husks in question were the he-brought up in luxury-he.d to face it long bean-shaped pods of the carob tree without means. There was the shRme of (Caratonia aili~), commonly used for confession before dependents e.nd rele.tives fattening swine m Syria e.nd Egypt. They and friends, e.nd, e.s the crown of e.11, there  THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [ou. xv. 1-32.