. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. IT is an undeniable fact, that many who have lived a profligate life are received afterwards to God’s favour; and that many who have been externally moral are excluded from it. But this ought not to be a stumbling-block to us, since there will always be found a corresponding difference of character in the persons rejected or received. The Prodigal had been abandoned;