Lost Coin; Luke 15:8-10

Church History: 8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

The scope of this parable is the same with the former:

1. To express the joy that is found with God and his holy angels, at the recovery and conversion of a notorious sinner.
2. To justify Christ in conversing with such sinners in order to their repentance and conversion, from the malicious reflections of the Pharisees made upon our Savior for so doing: the sense of the words seems to be this, "If you do all justify the diligence and care of a woman, using all possible means to recover the loss of a piece of silver that has Caesar's image upon it, why (might our Savior say) will you Pharisees censure and condemn me for seeking to recover and save lost sinners, that have the image of an holy God instamped upon them?"

The conversion of a sinner from a course and state of sin and wickedness, is highly acceptable and pleasing unto God.

It is reasonable to suppose, that the holy angels in heaven do conceive a new joy at the notice and news of a sinner's repentance and conversion unto God: how the angels come by this knowledge, whether by virtue of their ministry here below, or whether God is pleased to reveal it to them above, as a thing extremely welcome and delightful to good spirits, it is neither material to enquire, nor possible to determine. But their happiness not being intensively infinite, it is certain that they may be happier than they are.

God is not only willing to receive and embrace returning and repenting sinners, but the news of their repentance is entertained with so much joy in heaven, that if it be possible for the blessed inhabitants of that place to have anything added to their happiness, this will be a new accession to it.5