racter and that of the holy
God. It is sufficient if the words and deeds ascribed to them truly
illustrate the spiritual principle in question. In the parable of the
unforgiving servant (Matt. 18:23-35), his lord "commanded him to be
sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be
made" (ver. 25); and afterwards he "was wroth, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him" (ver. 34). We
need not trouble ourselves about the reasonableness of these acts _on
the part of an earthly lord_. It is sufficient for the end of the
parable that they were in accordance with the usages of the age, and
thus illustrated the great truth which the parable was intended to
enforce: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye
from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses"
(ver. 35). We have still more forcible illustrations of this principle
in such parables as those of the importunate friend (Luke 11:5-8), the
unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), and the unfaithful steward (Luke 16:1-9).
The Saviour does not compare God to an indolent friend, who will not
arise to accommodate his neighbor with bread till he is forced to do so
by his importunity; nor to an unjust judge, who fears not God nor
regards men. But he _draws illustrations_ from their conduct of the
efficacy of importunate prayer; adding, at the conclusion of each
parable, its scope: "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Luke
11:9); "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night
unto him, though he bear long with them?" Luke 18:7. In the parable of
the unfaithful steward, our Lord introduces a fraudulent transaction--a
transaction so manifestly fraudulent that there is no danger of our
thinking that it could have his approbation--that he may thus illustrate
the importance of _prudent provision_ for the future. By allowing each
of his lord's debtors to diminish the amount due from him, he gains
their favor, that in time of need he may be received into their houses.
For the right apprehension of the parable, the words of the eighth verse
are of primary importance: "And the lord [the master of the steward]
commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely" [_prudently_,
as the Greek word means]. Unjust as the steward's conduct was, he could
not but commend it as a prudent transaction for the e