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The

Leading Homily.

GOD-THE FATHER.

"AND HE AROSE, AND CAME TO HIS FATHER. BUT WHEN HE WAS YET A GREAT WAY OFF, HIS FATHER SAW HIM, AND HAD COMPASSION, AND RAN, AND FELL ON HIS NECK, AND KISSED HIM. 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. 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: AND BRING HITHER THE FATTED CALF, AND KILL IT; AND LET US EAT, AND BE MERRY: FOR THIS MY SON WAS DEAD, AND IS ALIVE AGAIN; HE WAS LOST, AND IS FOUND. AND THEY BEGAN TO BE MERRY."-Luke xv. 20-24.

E have often seen at the close of a dark and stormy day, in which the clouds had swept across the sky and the rain had descended and the wind been wild, the sun suddenly burst forth at his setting, and bathe hill and valley, stream and meadow with his glory, and then with the clouds all gone from the sky and amidst the songs of happy birds the day has closed. That is like the career of the prodigal. The day of his life in the far country had been wild and desolate, with black storm-clouds flying overhead, but the evening was serene and calm, full of beauty and gladness.

F

As the prodigal lifts himself up amidst his degradation and grasps his staff and stands ready to set out on his homeward journey, there is a certain nobleness in him. He is ashamed of himself, and it is a noble shame. It is not a shame that will keep him from going back to his father just as he is, and confessing that he has done wrong. It is not the shame that springs from pride, which makes one shrink from acknowledging his sin. There are many who, having gone astray into dissipation and vice, sinking down from one depth to another, remain where they have fallen rather than openly and frankly repent. They would go back to God and duty and human love, and make a new start in life, if they could go back without pain or inconvenience, and without their disgrace being known But they are ashamed to retrace their steps in rags, and with the confession on their lips, "Father, I have sinned." That is the shame which springs from pride, and not a true penitential shame. The prodigal has no such false shame as that. He knows that he has done wrong, and he is ready to confess it, and to bear the consequences of it. As he sat in the lonely fields, thinking over his conduct, after he came to himself, he made up a simple, frank acknowledgment of his guilt, which he means to speak out bravely and straightforwardly when he gets home. "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." An honest, earnest confession this. No palliation or guises does he resort to. He does not devise any excuse for his wicked profligate course, by which he may avoid the just condemnation of his father. He does not lay the blame upon circumstances, or companionships, or the delusiveness of the far country. But his simple cry is, "Father, I have sinned." Not a word does he speak of his distress and sufferings, in order to excite pity and mercy. He is content to be even as a servant, if only he may be once more in the home. This is true repentance. It does not hide the wicked past beneath the veil of shallow excuses. It does not seek chiefly to escape punishment, as if that were the worst thing that could befal a man. It does not bargain with God, but goes to Him, trusting in His goodness, content to be even the least among His people. A man's re