2791. A High Day in Heaven

No. 2791-48:373. A Sermon Delivered On Thursday Evening, June 27, 1878, By C. H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

A Sermon Intended For Reading On Lord’s Day, August 10, 1902.

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. {Lu 15:10}

 For other sermons on this text:
   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 203, “Sympathy of the Two Worlds, The” 196}
   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 970, “Lost Silver Piece, The” 961}
   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2791, “High Day in Heaven, A” 2792}
   Exposition on Lu 15:1-24 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3343, “Star Out of Jacob, The” 3345 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Lu 15:1-24 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3450, “Dangerous Lingering” 3452 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Lu 15:1-27 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3407, “Peter’s Prayer” 3409 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Lu 15 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2414, “Prodigal’s Climax, The” 2415 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Lu 15 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2520, “Programme Never Carried Out, A” 2521 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Lu 15 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2791, “High Day in Heaven, A” 2792 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Lu 15 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2863, “Great Forgiveness for Great Sin” 2864 @@ "Exposition"}

1. Earth has engrossed our thoughts for too long; it is time that we should lift our eyes, and look upward to heaven. Do you say that you cannot see so far as that? Look again, and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, for the Lord Jesus has left the gate wide open so that you may at least get a glimpse of what is going on in the glory-land. He has plainly declared to you many of the things which he has seen and heard from the Father; and if you will only give good heed to his words, you shall be enabled, by the eye of faith, to see what is invisible to mortal eyes.

2. So gaze on the scene depicted in our text. They have an eternal Sabbath in heaven; but the Sabbath of which our text speaks is, evidently, a special high day. They have all holy days there; but now it is a holiday as well as a holy day, for there is some special reason for unusual joy. What is it all about? Our Lord tells us that “there is joy” — very special “joy in the presence of the angels of God,” and he tells us what the reason for it is. Let us draw near, and see for ourselves this great sight, and seek to learn its lessons. The heavenly harpists are evoking from their golden harps even sweeter music than usual, they are lifting up their voices as high as even their exalted notes can possibly rise. We will listen to them, but we will also remember the reason for their jubilation. We are told, by our Lord, the special “joy in the presence of the angels of God” is “over one sinner who repents.”

3. Now, you workers for the Master, you sweepers in the dust, looking for the lost pieces of money, you candle-holders who have been shedding your feeble rays as far as you can, and who have become somewhat weary, now come and refresh yourselves by looking at some of the results of your service. And you who, in imitation of the great, good, chief Shepherd, have gone after the lost sheep, and are scratched by many a briar, and tired after your many desperate leaps over hill and dale, forget your weariness for a while, and begin to share in the joy of Christ’s servants as you see how, before the throne of God on high, they are making merry over the souls that are being saved. I do not think that anything can be more comforting to you who are serving the Lord than to see what comes from your service. You, who have been going out weeping, bearing precious seed, just wipe your eyes, and look above, and begin to anticipate the time when you shall come again with rejoicing, bringing your sheaves with you; for, up there they are shouting “Harvest home” with great delight.

4. And so while I invite the working saint, I would equally invite the seeking sinner to note the reason for this special joy of heaven. It is about people like yourselves. Oh you wandering sheep, the joy is over wandering sheep that have been found by the Divine Shepherd! Oh prodigal sons, the merriment is over sons who were dead, but who are alive again, — wanderers who were lost, but now are found! It should, surely, encourage you to hurry home while the joy-bells are still ringing, and the dance is going on. Go home as quickly as you ever can; for, while they are rejoicing over one brother like yourself, everything will be in readiness for welcoming you, and the Father will only need to say, “Let us keep up the feast, for here is another of my sons whom I had lost, but who now is found.” It is a propitious season evidently, — a time in which bright hopes ought to be kindled within you, and the birds within your soul should begin to sing in sweet anticipation of the bliss awaiting you. Arise, then, and go to your Father; he is rejoicing over those who have come back to him, and he will equally rejoice over you.

5. I. In considering this passage, I shall ask you, first, to NOTICE THE TERMS IN WHICH OUR LORD JESUS DESCRIBES THIS HEAVENLY JOY: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

6. And notice, first, in these terms, that this joy is over one sinner. What the joy is over hundreds, and thousands, and millions of sinners, you can scarcely imagine; but Jesus tells us that “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner.” That one may be a poor servant girl, or a working man whose name will never be known to fame; and there is only one, but the angels are not so sparing in the praises of God that they will wait until there is a score of penitents. They see them coming home one by one, and they are glad for every opportunity of expressing their special delight at the increasing number of the redeemed; so, as they come to Jesus, one by one, the blessed spirits before the throne of God begin to sing with special thanksgiving for every sinner saved. Have you taught for a long time in your Sunday School class, and have you had only one girl saved? Do not be satisfied with that one; but, at the same time, do not forget to thank the Lord for that one. If you are not grateful to God for letting you win one soul for him, you are not likely to be allowed to win another. Remember that the conversion of one sinner is, in heaven, considered to be such a marvel that it makes a special joy there in the presence of the angels of God. Surely, then, the salvation of even one soul ought to make your spirit exalt and rejoice with very great joy. If you have lived to bring one sinner to Christ, you have not lived in vain. Has not God already given to you in that one, my dear brother, my dear sister, much more than such an unworthy creature as you might ever have expected to gain? I say again, cry for more blessing, be greedy to win hundreds of souls for the Saviour; but, still, do not neglect to praise God for the one whom he has already saved.

7. I like to dwell on the thought that the person who caused this melody in heaven was “one sinner.” I do not know what kind of a sinner that one was; but I should not wonder if the conversion of special sinners makes special joy up there. Was that “one sinner” a tax collector, a hard-hearted Jewish tax collector? Was that one sinner a prostitute, lost even to society as well as to her God? We do not know; but we do know that, just as they would rejoice in heaven over one king, or one prince, or one senator, or one philosopher, who repented, so they would over one tax collector or one prostitute. The angels and the redeemed in glory know that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”; they know that the precious blood of Christ was shed to cleanse sinners from every stain of sin; they know that the sweetest singers, throughout eternity, will be those who once were sinners, so they rejoice over any and every sinner who is saved. Out of a certain company of a hundred, there were ninety-nine people who had not gone astray — according to their notions; but the spirits in heaven did not rejoice over them. No, you mere moralists, you people who are so excellent in your own esteem, who think that you will gain admission to heaven by your own good deeds, you will never make the angels sing until you repent; but the poor lost sinner, however deeply he has plunged into crime, when he becomes a monument of the saving and renewing grace of God, sets all the golden harps ringing with the melodious music of praise and thanksgiving to the Most High.

8. Notice, next, that the rejoicing is “over one sinner who repents.” To repent is to be sorry for sin, — to undergo a complete change of mind, and heart, and life, — to turn away from self to Christ; in a word, to be converted, that is, turned completely around. Yet many people, nowadays, think very little of repentance. Some ministers, whom I know, scarcely even mention it in their preaching, so that their hearers may well imagine that it is out of date; they seem to believe in a kind of faith that ignores repentance. Well, they differ very much in their estimate from that of the angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect, for they rejoice “over one sinner who repents.” The poor sinner does not yet have the faith that moves mountains, or the heroism that takes lions by their beards, and slays them. The poor sinner has not yet preached a sermon, or even sung a hymn to the praise of God, he has simply sat down in some obscure corner, and wept over his sin; he has returned to his God, and said, “Father, I have sinned”; but that was sufficient to make the angels sing. I want you to remember this, you who are just beginning to come to Christ, — you who have only a little grace, — the very faintest evidence of the work of God’s Spirit in your soul. You are believers, or else you would not be penitents, for true repentance is accompanied always by faith; but the most prominent thing is not so much your faith as your holy mourning and moaning over sin, your sincere desire after holiness; this is the proof of that change of mind which is the essence of true repentance, and this is such a work of grace that there is joy over you in the presence of the angels of God.

9. I want you also to notice, with regard to the terms used by our Lord, that he says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God.” Is there not always joy there? Certainly. Is there ever any sorrow, up there, in the courts of the Most High? Do cherubim and seraphim ever pine, and cry, and sigh in agony? Never; then, what can this joy be which makes heaven even more joyful than it usually is? I do not know whether you or I can conceive what it must be; what I may call the ordinary, every-day joy of heaven is perfect, yet there is something over and above that in this rejoicing over penitents. It is a bliss above bliss; a joy that rises out of joy like some huge Atlantic billow that towers above all the rest of the waves. They have a special, extra, doubly-distilled joy in heaven sometimes, and that comes to them whenever one sinner repents. I think I can explain it a little by an expression of Rutherford’s, in which he says, “God is my witness that my own heaven would be seven heavens if I could only see you saved. If I could only see souls brought to Christ, my own bliss would be sevenfold bliss.” Yes, and so it is with the spirits before the throne. They are always happy; but, sometimes, the joy that is always full begins to overflow, and down from the celestial hills there rushes a sacred torrent that carries all before it, and this unusual delight of those who are in the presence of God is caused by one sinner repenting, and returning to the Lord.

10. I have only one more remark to make under this first point, and it is this; our Lord does not say that the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents, but that “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Who, then, has the joy? The angels, of course, first; they must be included, because the previous parable says that, when the Shepherd comes home, “he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ ” The redeemed from among men and the holy angels are the friends and neighbours of Christ, and they all rejoice over every sinner who repents. But, first of all, this joy is the joy of God himself. The angels and the redeemed stand in his presence, they are his courtiers; but he himself is the centre, and glory, and Lord of all, and it is God himself who rejoices “over one sinner who repents.” God the Father rejoices, for has he not found his child whom he had lost, the child whom he loved, before the foundation of the world, with all the love of his infinite heart? God the Son rejoices, for has he not found the sheep which the Father gave him, — the sheep which he was pledged to bring safely home, — the sheep for which he paid the purchase price in his own heart’s blood, — the sheep which, though it had wandered far away from him, he had brought home? God the Spirit also rejoices, for did he not see, in the soul’s repentance, the fruit of his working, the result of his enlightenment, the results of his convicting, and the beginning of the whole work of sanctification? Yes, dear brothers and sisters, Father, Son, and Spirit, the one God of the spiritual Israel — rejoices greatly “over one sinner who repents.” I can hardly convey to you the delight that I have in this thought. God is always full of joy, he is rightly called “the happy God,” yet even he describes himself as being, in some mysterious manner, more happy at one time than at another. I am, of course, speaking according to the manner of men; but, then, we are only men, and we can only speak according to our own manner; as the prophet Zephaniah does when he says, “He will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” So that repentance of one sinner gives joy to the Eternal himself; who would not, then, repent of sin, and so give joy to God, and, at the same time, find the highest joy for himself?

11. So I have noticed the terms in which our Lord Jesus describes this heavenly joy.

12. II. Now, secondly, I want you, very briefly, to CONSIDER THE REASONS WHY THERE IS THIS JOY IN HEAVEN.

13. First, God rejoices over every sinner who repents, because he then sees one of his creatures delivered from the horrible power of sin. God is full of benevolence towards men; he does not wish the death of the sinner, and he is delighted when the creature, whom he has made, becomes happy because he has become holy. He is glad when those, whom he has formed, enjoy the delights which he intended for them.

14. God rejoices, too, when a sinner repents, because he then sees, not only one of his creatures, but a new creature in Christ Jesus. He sees his own handiwork in that heart. We all like to see our own work when it is well done. No one wants to see bad work, but every worker rejoices in good work; and God rejoices in the good work of regeneration, the good work of the renewal of the heart, restoration from death, and rescue from hell.

15. God especially delights in every sinner who repents, because he then sees his own child restored to him. He who has the heart of a true father knows what joy he has when he sees his boy, who has gone astray, coming back again, — when he returns from the distant land, to which he went in a bad humour, and comes home weeping and mourning, but loving and gentle, and anxious to be better. God rejoices over his returning children like this. There is no earthly father who can love as God loves, and if all the love of all the fathers in the world were made into one, it would not equal the love which God has for every one of his children; so he rejoices with special joy when he sees any one of his children repenting, and returning to him.

16. Moreover, God always rejoices in everything that is holy and good, and therefore he rejoices in a sinner’s repentance. It is a right and holy thing that a sinner should repent of wrong-doing; it is the beginning of something higher, and nobler, and better, when a soul comes to the turning-point, confesses its lost condition, and seeks to be set right; and, therefore, because the Lord is good and righteous, he will teach transgressors his way, and when he sees them walking in that way, he will rejoice and be glad concerning them.

17. III. I will not remind you of all the reasons for the great Father’s joy over returning sinners, because you can all think of them for yourselves; but I will, instead, say a little about THE JOY OF THE ANGELS OVER REPENTING SINNERS. Why is it that they, who are the friends, and neighbours, and servants of Christ, are so glad when sinners repent? They themselves are not sinners; they are not even men; they have no part in the great redemption of Christ. “For truly he did not take up angels, but he took up the seed of Abraham.” Why, then, do the angels rejoice over repenting sinners?

18. Well it is, first, because they are so fully in sympathy with God. Whatever pleases God, pleases them. The growth of holiness delights the Most High, and therefore it delights his loyal courtiers. The coming back of Jehovah’s wandering children gladdens him, and it therefore gladdens every servant in the family. You can see, in the parable, that the servant, who went out to speak to the elder brother, had his measure of joy over the prodigal’s return, he speaks in happy and grateful tones; and the spirits before the throne cannot help being glad when God is glad. Will loyal subjects be sighing and crying when their king has a day of special rejoicing, and is particularly honoured? It cannot be; and the angels would not be what they are — the true and faithful servants of God, — if they were not glad when God is glad.

19. But, besides that, they have also great sympathy with men. It would be worth your while to study the subject of the friendship of angels for men, — their kindly feeling, the joy with which they have often brought God’s messages to men, the delight with which they have intervened, at critical times, to accomplish the miraculous purposes on which God has sent them on the behalf of men. They are, indeed, most gracious spirits. We must not worship them, we are forbidden to do that, for we must only worship God; but we may feel an intense amity, and friendship, and respect towards those bright and blessed spirits. What we owe to them, we shall never know, I suppose, until eternity; and then we shall attribute it all to the glory of their Master and ours. Still, he who thinks well of God may think well of God’s holy angels on the principle of “Love me, love my servants.” Does he not give them charge over us, to keep us in all our ways? Do they not bear us up in their hands, lest we should dash our foot against a stone? “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation?” They are not actually akin to us; but, still, they are very near neighbours to us, and they are very kind and helpful neighbours; so, when they see a soul saved, they are very glad about it.

20. Further, they know, better than you and I do, what a soul is saved from when a sinner repents. They have looked over the battlements of heaven into the dread abyss; they remember the day when there was war in heaven, and the mighty Son of God overthrew Satan and his rebel followers, and cast them down to hell. The holy angels know that it was God’s electing love that enabled them to stand firm in that evil day. They know, too, that God passed by the fallen angels, and never gave them a hope of recovery, or promised them a Mediator; yet they do not envy men because God, in the sovereignty of his grace, has provided for them a Saviour. They rejoice to know that repenting men shall never be cast into the lake of fire, the awful place prepared for the devil and his angels. They have none of the modern infidel notions, for they have seen that there is a worm that does not die, and a fire that cannot be quenched, so they lift up their songs very gladly whenever a sinner is saved from going down into the pit.

21. Besides this, the angels know what repenting sinners gain, for they have long frequented the golden streets, and walked by the river of the water of life. They know the bliss of beholding Christ face-to-face; have they not done so ever since he returned to heaven to sit on his Father’s throne? When a man is very happy because he is very holy, he wants other people to be happy too, and he feels all the happier the more there are to share in his joy. Our proverb “The more, the merrier,” just expresses what the angels think, so they rejoice, with the utmost gladness, over those who repent, because they know that, for them, there is laid up in heaven the triple crown of life, and glory, and righteousness, that does not fade away.

22. One thought I cannot help interjecting just here. I am sure that these holy angels all believe in the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints. If they did not, they would be very foolish in rejoicing over repenting sinners. The old proverb tells us not to count our chickens before they are hatched; and if I were an Arminian, I should recommend the angels not to rejoice over a sinner who repents, for he might fall from grace, and perish, and then they would have to ring the bells of heaven backwards, or to toll them, and to recall their songs, and say, “We rejoiced too soon.” But it is not so, for they know that repentance has in it the germ of perfection. Sincere repentance is the beginning of perfect sanctification, and God will make it grow to full fruition. This grain of mustard seed will become a great tree, and those birds of paradise shall sit in its branches, and sing to God’s praise for ever; so they begin to sing even now because they know what true repentance guarantees concerning the future of everyone who truly repents and believes in Christ Jesus.

23. So I have tried to give, in as brief a time as I could, the reasons for the joy of God, and the joy of God’s servants, the angels, over repenting sinners. There are just two lessons I want each one of us to learn, and then I am finished.

24. The first is a lesson of self-examination. Are you and I fit for heaven? Do we have the nature which would prepare us to dwell in the presence of the angels of God? You say, “Well, you have given us a hard task now.” No, I have not; or if so, I will help you through it. The angels rejoice “over one sinner who repents.” Do you rejoice over repenting sinners? Having yourself repented, do you feel intense sympathy for other sinners? Do you dread lest they should be lost? Do you pray that they may be saved? Do you seek, by your personal testimony and entreaty, to bring them to Christ? Can you truthfully say that it would be heaven on earth for you to see your children converted, — your servants converted, — your neighbours converted? Alas! there are many professors who do not care one little bit whether souls are lost or saved. Their one desire is to be saved themselves; but, as for doing anything to spread the gospel of Jesus, — denying themselves that the poor and ignorant may know about Christ, — that is not in their thoughts at all. But, sir, if you have no concern about another man’s soul, it is time that you should have grave concern about your own. If no joy comes to you when another is saved, you have need to be saved yourself; and if the thought of the future world, and the ruin of immortal souls, never makes you bow your head even to the dust, you need to be born again, for those who are born in the likeness of Christ weep over sinners, pray for sinners, and seek the salvation of sinners. By this test, I beseech you to examine yourselves. There is not one among us who may not well chide himself for some measure of hardness of heart and indifference about this matter. I often feel as if I could flog myself, and bite my tongue, to think that I preach so often with a dry eye, and with a heart, that is not half as earnest as it ought to be. Yet I have heard colder sermons than I generally preach, so I suppose that my brethren must be partakers in my fault, or else their manner much betrays them. And I think I know some members of the church who must make a similar confession to mine. Oh, that we were all alive to the real value of an immortal soul! If we only believed that it is born for eternal bliss, or doomed to eternal despair, I think that we should go about as with a sword in our bones, mourning because of the multitude of mankind rushing madly on Jehovah’s buckler, dashing themselves against the bosses {a} of his shield, and seeming determined to commit spiritual suicide. May God save them! Let us pray that prayer from our innermost souls. If we do not, how can we ever hope to enter that heaven where they rejoice over repenting sinners?

25. The other lesson is for any of you who are seeking Christ Jesus the Lord. I gave it to you at the beginning of the sermon; I want to give it to you again so that you may be sure to remember it. How gladly, how heartily, how immediately ought you to hurry to seek peace with God when you know how joyfully you will be welcomed! If it will make heaven all the gladder to see you come, why do you not come? I have read, sometimes, in the newspaper, an advertisement to this effect: — “A. B.” or someone else whose initials are given, “is earnestly entreated to come back to his loving father and mother. All is forgiven. Everything is made right. Do not delay; come back to us at once.” If I were to read such an advertisement as that, and it referred to me, I do not think I could have the heart to resist it. I should be thinking of my father, “What! does the old man want me as much as that?” I should be thinking of my brother, “Does he want to see me?” I should think even of the old servant of the family, “Does old Mary want to see me? She who nursed me when I was a child, does she want me back? Well, with such an invitation, I will go at once.” Dear heart, do you want to come back to God? That is a sign that the Lord wants you back. You will be glad to get back to him, but he will be even more glad to receive you than you will be to be received. And all the angels want you; they are watching and waiting for you. And many of those on earth who love our Lord, are very anxious about you. The whole Church of God, in heaven, and on earth, and the goodly fellowship of the angels, and God himself, will all be glad to receive you. Come and welcome; come and welcome; I wish I had a trumpet-tongue, so that I might sound the invitation out even more loudly. Remember that verse with which we began the service, —

    From the cross uplifted high
    Where the Saviour deigns to die,
    What melodious sounds I hear,
    Bursting on my ravish’d ear!
    Love’s redeeming work is done;
    Come and welcome, sinner, come.

You only have to trust him, and you have come to him; — to rely on him, — to depend on him, — to lean on him, — to cast yourself on him, to believe in Christ Jesus, who died, the Just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God; for, as soon as you do so, you are brought back to the great Father’s house. May the Divine Spirit bring you there now, for his love’s sake! Amen.

{a} Bosses: The convex projection in the centre of a shield or buckler. OED.

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Lu 15}

1. Then all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to hear him.

However sunken they might be, they knew their best Friend; they recognised their Benefactor, so they gathered around him. They knew who it was who smiled on them, and who would gladly lift them up; so they came clustering around him, like bees fly to the flowers: “Then all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to hear him.”

2. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners, and eats with them.”

Where bees come, wasps often come, too. This murmuring of the Pharisees and scribes was according to their nature; they were so proud, so wrapped up in themselves, they thought so contemptuously of everyone else, that they dared even to despise him whose shoe’s latchet they were not worthy to unloose. “This man,” they said, “receives sinners, and eats with them.”

3. And he spoke this parable to them, saying,

This is really a picture in three panels, — a parable with three variations.

4-7. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the lost one, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ I say to you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety-nine just people, who need no repentance.

There, no doubt, the Saviour looked at the Pharisees, who, though they did need repentance, yet thought they did not. They brought little or no joy to him; his heart never leaped with delight over them. Good as they thought themselves to be, they did not give him so much joy as these poor tax collectors and sinners would when he had found them; and he was intent on doing that. Now, beloved, how much is a man better than a sheep? And if a shepherd will leave all his ease and comfort, to hunt after one stray sheep, how ought you and I, after the example of the Son of man, to be ready for any service, or any self-denial, by which we, too, in our poor measure may seek and save the lost!

Now we have the second panel of the picture

8-10. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she loses one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and search diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and her neighbours together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Did the woman rejoice at finding her piece of silver, that she had lost, and shall not God rejoice much more over an inestimably precious human soul, which had been lost, but which, through grace, is found again? Ah, yes! there is joy in heaven, there is joy in all heavenly hearts, there is joy in all who are the friends of Christ, when lost ones are found! This was another subtle swipe at the Pharisees and scribes, who were proved not to be the friends of the soul-seeking Saviour, because they did not rejoice with him over those whom he had found. If they had been at all like the angels in heaven, as they thought they were, they would have been glad that the Lord Jesus Christ had come to seek and to find the lost.

Then came the third most touching panel of the picture, — perhaps the best-beloved of all the parables, — one which, like a key, fits the lock of the human heart, and many a time has opened the heart

11-13. And he said, “A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ And he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days later the younger son gathered it all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his possessions with riotous living.

It is clear that his heart had gone away from his father before he went away himself. He would not have wished to take from his father his portion of goods, or to be independent of his father, if he had not felt a spirit of alienation; and, therefore, what his father did developed the latent evil; just as, often, the loving mercy of God brings to the surface the concealed sin which is in man all the while; and then he sins all the more openly. It is a grievous thing that even divine love should lead us to sin; — not in itself, but because of our evil nature, just as the sun shines, not that it may make the weeds to grow, or that it may help to lift into the air noxious fumes. With goodwill itself as its only motive, evil may come even from the pure sunlight.

14, 15. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in poverty. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

A very degrading employment for him as a Jew; — perhaps, however, the best that the citizen of that country could do for him, for there was a famine in the land; and when men are all pinched with hunger, it is not much that one can do for another. And what can one poor sinner do for another? Even though he is called a priest, and puts on fine apparel, yet what can he do for his fellow sinner?

16, 17. And he would gladly have filled his belly with the husks that the swine ate: and no man gave to him. And when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have food enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

“I, his son, perish with hunger, when there is not only enough in my father’s house for his children, but for his hirelings, too; indeed, and some to spare after that.” “Food enough and to spare.” This was the thought, which drew the prodigal home, and it ought to draw sinners to Christ. There is, in the gospel, “food enough and to spare.” You know how some would, if they could, constrict the provisions of grace; and make it out that there is food enough, but they say that if there is anything to spare, it will be a waste. Why, it is that “spare” food that is God’s bait to catch poor souls with when they are cast down; “for,” they say, “if it is to spare, then, even if my father is angry with me, he will not deny me the spare food for which there is no use, so I may as well go, and ask for a portion of it.”

18-20. I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, "I have sinned against heaven, and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of your hired servants."’ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Oh, the speed of divine love! There were delays with the son, but there were no delays with the father. At the first glance, the father’s mind is made up, and he runs to meet his returning child. And what a welcome he gives him! He “kissed him much,” is the right rendering. Truly, this was prodigal love for the prodigal son.

21, 22. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son.’ But the father —

Cutting him short, and for ever obliterating the rest of the prayer, so that he never had time to utter it, since it was too legal to be permitted by his father’s love: “But the father” —

22-25. Said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring here the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry; for 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:

At work, like the good son that he was.

25. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

Which he did not often hear, for he was of a gloomy spirit, and there had not been much reason for rejoicing recently.

26. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

“What are you all up to in making such a noise? What new thing has happened to our orderly household to make it so full of roistering and noisy gladness?”

27, 28. And he said to him, ‘Your brother is come; and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ And he was angry, —

It did not seem to him right that one, who had acted so badly, should be so honoured: “He was angry,” —

28. And would not go in:

He did not believe in revivals, so he would not attend them; he did not believe in many being converted, especially if they had been great sinners; he would have nothing to do with them.

28. Therefore his father came out, and entreated him.

Oh, the goodness of the father, not only in receiving the returning prodigal, but in entreating this indignant and erring son, for he was greatly erring in this matter, and was not showing the true spirit of a son.

29, 30. And he answering said to his father, ‘Lo, I served you these many years, neither did I transgress your commandment at any time: and yet you never gave me a kid, so that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as your son was come, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you have killed for him the fatted calf.’

“I am a consistent Christian; I have maintained the excellency of my moral character. I have tried to be orthodox, and attentive to all religious duties. You know that it is so; yet I seldom have any joy in my religion. ‘You never gave me a kid.’ I go trembling and mourning all my days. I get very little delight out of my religion; yet here is one just converted, and all this fuss is made over him; and he is rejoicing, too. You feast him with the best fatted calf. He is as glad as glad can be, and everyone is glad about him; and no one seems to take much notice of me. I go on my steady quiet course, and I have never caused you such grief as your son has done.”

31. And he said to him, —

So beautifully,

31. ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

And that is what the Lord seems to say to the believer, when he gets into that naughty spirit of the elder brother, and does not like to hear of sinners of the deepest dye being brought to Christ, and who disapproves of the jubilation and excitement at revival times. The Lord says to him, “Suppose you have not had such enjoyments; you may have them if you like, for you are always with me. There is joy enough in that fact; and all that I have is yours. You are joint-heir with me. I have given you everything; what more do you want?”

32. And it was meet —

It was fitting, it was proper, —

32. That we should make merry, and be glad: for your brother —

“For he is your brother. Notwithstanding your richer experience, and your deeper Christian knowledge, and your high standing in the church, this poor prodigal, who is just saved, is your brother; so it is fitting that we should make merry, and be glad, for your brother” —

32. Was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.’ ”

 {See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Gospel, Invitations — Come And Welcome” 508}
 {See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Man Fallen — Mourning Over Transgressors” 473}
 {See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Gospel, Invitations — Come And Welcome” 509}

Gospel, Invitations
508 — Come And Welcome <7s., 6 lines.>
1 From the cross uplifted high,
   Where the Saviour deigns to die,
   What melodious sounds I hear,
   Bursting on my ravish’d ear!
   Love’s redeeming work is done;
   Come and welcome, sinner, come.
2 Sprinkled now with blood the throne,
   Why beneath thy burdens groan?
   On my pierced body laid,
   Justice owns the ransom paid.
   Bow the knee, and kiss the Son;
   Come and welcome, sinner, come.
3 Spread for thee the festal board
   See with richest dainties stored;
   To thy Father’s bosom press’d,
   Yet again a child confess’d,
   Never from his house to roam,
   Come and welcome, sinner, come.
                  Thomas Haweis, 1792.

Man Fallen
473 — Mourning Over Transgressors
1 Arise, my tenderest thoughts, arise,
   To torrents melt my streaming eyes;
   And thou, my heart, with anguish feel
   Those evils which thou canst not heal.
2 See human nature sunk in shame;
   See scandals pour’d on Jesus’ name;
   The Father wounded through the Son:
   The world abused, and souls undone.
3 See the short course of vain delight
   Closing in everlasting night:
   In flames that no abatement know,
   Though briny tears for ever flow.
4 My God, I feel the mournful scene;
   My bowels yearn o’er dying men;
   And fain my pity would reclaim.
   And snatch the firebrands from the flame.
5 But feeble my compassion proves,
   And can but weep where most it loves;
   Thy own all saving arm employ,
   And turn these drops of grief to joy.
                     Philip Doddridge, 1755.

Gospel, Invitations
509 — Come And Welcome <8.7.4.>
1 Come, and welcome, to the Saviour,
      He in mercy bids thee come:
   Come, be happy in his favour,
      Longer from him do not roam;
         Come, and welcome,
      Come to Jesus, sinner, come!
2 Come, and welcome; start for glory,
      Leave the wretched world behind:
   Christ will spread his banner o’er thee,
      Thou in him a friend shalt find;
         Come, and welcome,
      To a Saviour good and kind.
3 Come, and welcome: do not linger,
      Make thy happy choice today;
   True thou art a wretched sinner,
      But he’ll wash thy sins away:
         Come, and welcome,
      Time admits of no delay.
                     Albert Midlane, 1865.