Luke 15:11-32 And he said, A certain man had two sons:… He had been under a hallucination. No doubt, if one had charged him with insanity, he would have denied the charge; and if a physician's certificate had been required to prove his soundness of mind, he could easily have got it from one of the "far country" doctors, who possibly had sat at his table while his money lasted, and freely quaffed his mixed wine; but it would not have been so easy for him to get such a certificate from his own father, or his God. And had not his actions been like the actions of a madman? If you saw a man flinging sovereigns in handfuls into the sea, would you not be disposed to look into his eyes to satisfy yourself as to whether or not the ray of reason had altogether fled away from these expressive orbs? Now, had not this youth virtually done so? And do not multitudes, in our own day and land, at race-courses and in taverns, do the same? "But they are amused," you say, "and excited at these places of resort." And so is the madman who heaves away the sovereigns. In truth, he puts the shining coins to a much more harmless use than these other maniacs. (F. Ferguson, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said, A certain man had two sons: |
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