The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1885-03-18
PULPIT UTTERANCES
Christian Character Win Always
Command Respect.
-From Dungeon to Palace"-A Good Man
Can Not BE Kept Down-A sermon =
b" .- by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage. w.

,ext Genesis xii, Al: :'"And Pharoah said
anto Joseph, See, have set thee over all
The land of Egypt" DR.. Talmage said:
You can not keep o, good man down.
God has decreed for him certain point of
elevation. He will bring him, to that,
though 1t cost Him Thousand worlds.
You sometimes find men fearful they will
aot be properly appreciated. Every man
comes to be valued at just what he is
worth. You can not write him up, and you
can not write him down. These facts are
powerfully illustrated in my subject. 1t
would be an insult to suppose that you
were not all familiar with the life of
Joseph. How his jealous brothers threw
him into a pit, but seeing caravan of
Arabian merchants trudging along on their
camels, with spices and gums that loaded
The air with aroma, sold their brother to
these merchants, who carried him down
Into Egypt; Joseph was there sold to
Potiphar,a "a man Of influence and office. How
by Joseph's integrity he raised himself to
high position in the realm until under the
false charge Of vile wretch he was hurled
into the penitentiary. How in prison he
commanded respect and confidence. How
by the Interpretation of Pharaoh's dream
he was freed and became the chief man in
the realm, the Bismarck of his century.
How in time Of famine Joseph had the con-
troll Of magnificent store house which he
had filled during seven years of plenty.
How, when his brothers, who had throw,
him into the pit and sold him into captivity,
applied for corn, he sent them home with
the beasts Of burden borne down under the
beft of the corn sacks. How the sin against
their brother which had so long been hid
den came out at last, and was returned by
that brothers. forgiveness and kindness
the only revenge he took.
You see, in the first place, that the
world is compelled to honor Christian
character. Potiphar was only a man Of
the world, yet Joseph rose in his estima-
tiop until all the affairs Of that great
house were committed to his charge
From his servant no honor or confidence
was withheld. When Joseph was In
prison he soon won the heart of his keeper
and, though placed there for being a
scoundrel, he soon convinced the taller
that he was an innocent and trustworthy
man, and, released from close confne-
ment, he became general superintendent
of prison affairs. Wherever Joseph was
placed, whether a servant in tho house of
Potiphar or a prisoner in the penitentiary,
he became the first man everywhere, and
is an illustration Of the truth l lay down,
that the world is compelled to honor
Christian character.
There are those who affect to despise q
religious life. They speak of it as a sys-
tenn Of phlebotomy by which the man is
bled Of oil his courage and nobility. They
say he has demeaned himself They pre-
tend to have no more confidence in him
since his conversion than before his con-
version. But all this is hypocrisy. There
is a great deal of hypocrisy in the church.
And there is a great deal of hypocrisy
outside the church. 1t is impossible for
any man not TO admire and conhde in
a man who shows that he has really
become a child Of God, and is what
he processes TO be. You can not despise
n son Of the Lord God Almighty. or
course, we have no admiration for the
sham of religion, we have abhor-
renee. Redwald, the King, after
his baptism, had an altar of Chris
tian sacrifice and an altar for sacri-
fee to devils; and there are many men
now attempting the same thing-half
heart for God and half a heart for the
world-and 1t is dead failure, and it is
caricature Of religion, and the only sue
cessful assault ever made upon Christian
ity is the inconsistency OF its professors.
You may have a contempt for pretension
to religion, but when you behold the ex-
cellency Of Jesus Christ come out in the
life of one Of His disciples, all that there
is good and noble In your soul rises up into
admiration, and you can not help II.
There was something in Agrippa and Fe-
lix which demanded their respect for Paul,
the rebel against government. l doubt
not they would willingly have yielded
their office and dignity for a thousandth
part Of that true heroism which beamed in
the eye and beat In the heart of that un-
conquerable apostle. Paul did not cover
before Felix; Felix covered before Paul.
The inidel and wopldling are compelled to
honor in their hearts, although they may
not eulogize with their lips, a Christian
firm in persecution, cheerful in poverty,
trustful in losses, triumphant in death.
find Christian men in all professions and
occupations, and find them respected and
honored and successful.
= A man said TO me In the cars: "What Is
religion1 Judging from the characters OF
many professors Of religion do not admire |
religion" said: snow, suppose we went |
to an artist in the city Of Rome and while |
in his gallery asked him: What is the art |
OF paintingp would he take us out In low |
alley and show us a mere daub Of pre-
tender Of paintingY or would he take us
down into the corridors and show us the
Reubens, and the Raphnels, and the
Michael AngelosS When we asked him:
what is the art Of paintngp he would
point TO the works Of these great masters
and say; That. is painting.' Now, you
propose TO find the mere carlcature Of re-
ligion, TO seek after that which Is the mere
pretension of holy life, and you call that
religion. Ipoint you TO the splendid men
and women whom this Gospel has blessed
and lifted and crowned. Look at the mas
terpieces of Divine grace II you want to
know what religion is."
We learn also from this story Of Joseph
that the result Of persecution is elevation.
Had IL not been for his being sold into
Egyptian bondage by his malicious broth-
ers, and his false imprisonment, Joseph