. It is not out and out the picture of any
man; but it is, to a certain extent, the picture of every man. This
prophecy of Scripture is not of private construction; and therefore it
is not of private interpretation. As the ideal portrait is in one
feature the likeness of this man, and in another the likeness of that
man, while it is not throughout the likeness of any; so the elder and
younger sons of this parable find at one point their closest counterpart
in angels and men, at another in Jews and Gentiles, at a third in
Pharisees and publicans, and indefinitely in as many pairs of
corresponding characters as have been, or may yet be, found in the
world.

In the first act of the drama,--the departure of the younger son, the
case of angels and men, presents by far the most exact counterpart to
the case of the two brothers. Man is the youngest child of God's
intelligent family. Elder and younger remained together in the house
awhile. You may observe sometimes in human families that the children
who have reached the years of understanding at the birth of the youngest
rejoice over the infant with a fondness second only to that of the
mother. Thus the elder brother angels of our Father's house,--the
morning stars of creation, sang together over the advent of man. But the
younger son did not remain in the house: having become alienated in
heart from the Father, he was uneasy in his presence, and sought relief
by going out of sight.

In the description of the younger son's conduct, we find a picture both
of the first fall and of the actual apostasy of each separate sinner.
"The younger said to his father, Father give me the portion," &c. Only
his words are preserved in the record; but we know that thoughts unseen
in his soul were the seeds whence these words sprang. He desired to
please himself, and therefore grew unhappy under the restraints of home.
Bent on enjoying the pleasures of sin, he determined to avoid the
presence of his father: alienated in heart, he becomes vicious in life.

The same two elements go to constitute the character and condition of
the sinful before he is reconciled to God. There is a lower and a higher
link in the chain that binds the slave. There is a body of this death,
and a soul: there is a spiritual wickedness in high places, and a bodily
wickedness in low places. The one is guilt, the other sin: the heart is
at enmity, and the life is disobedient.

The younger son did not humbly sue for a gi