Luke 15:11-32 And he said, A certain man had two sons:… I. THE OCCASION OF THIS MIRTH. It was the restoration of the prodigal son. II. THE PARTICIPATORS IN THIS MIRTH. 1. The father took part in this mirth. But for him, indeed, there had been no merry-making. And in that happy party there was none so happy as the father! 2. The servants took part in this mirth. They rejoiced in sympathy with their master. "They say that if a piano is struck in a room where another stands unopened and untouched, he who lays his ear to the latter will hear a string within, as if touched by the hand of a shadowy spirit, sounding the same tone. But how far more strange that the strings of the heart vibrate to those of another." Joy meets joy, feeling meets feeling. The rapturous gladness of the father is caught, and like two torches blended, heightened by the servants as they crowd the hall, and with music and dancing begin to be merry. When a sinner is converted to God the sympathy of all holy beings is with him. 3. The prodigal himself took part in this mirth. He had the greatest cause of all to do so. Had he not been rescued from a misery worse than death — the misery of a sinful life? Had he not been restored to all the honours he had originally possessed? Oh! the blessedness of that hour when God first whispered forgiveness to our heart. III. THE EFFECT OF HIS MIRTH. It would establish the prodigal in his new mode of life. (W. G. Pascoe.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said, A certain man had two sons: |
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