The Frankfort roundabout., 1892-01-16
Joseph, the Pure.
GEORGE DARSIE.

The story of Joseph is the most i'm
teresting. the most touching and the
most wonderful in the Old Testa-
ment 1t fills the heart with noble
emotions, the eyes with pitying tears,
the mind with lofty conceptions of
life and duty. No young man can
study it and not be made better and
purer thereby.
His character, so far as the record
shows, was absolutely without flaw.
And when we remember the impair
tiality with which the Bible paints
the faults as well as the virtues of
its heroes, we may rest assured that
few, if any, demerits marred the
lovely character of Joseph. And it
was not mere negative fiawlessness
either. He was tried by the severest
tests possible.
For one thing, he was the fayorite
child of his old father. Now fay orit-
ism among children, while productive
of domestic discord and unwise from
any standpoint, Injuries no one SO
much as the child toward which it is
exercised. making him wayward, ty-
ranical, selfish and every way worth
less and disagreeable. But if it left
any bad results on Joseph, they fail
to appear.
From being the INDUCED and pet
ted child of his father he suddenly
becomes the Egyptian slave. What
fearful change! Then under false
accusation of his masters wife, he is
flung into a filthy Egyptian dun
geon. Thence after ten years. inn
prisonment he is elevated to be
Viceroy of Egypt, second only to
Pharaoh. Every new experience is a
severe test of his character, but his
final and unexpected promotion is
the severest of all. Very few can
stand prosperity and especially sud-
den prosperity But Joseph stood it
and stood all his trying changes of
fortune without betraying at any
point either flaw or weakness.
The general qualities of his char
acter, as they stand out before us in
his history, are Frankness and Sim
cerity, Forbearance and Forgiveness,
Serenity and Cheerfulness, Faith and
Patience, Wisdom and Prudence.
How easy to illustrate these from the
facts of his life. But / have only
time to speak in emphasis of his Per-
sonal Purity. / have called him Jo-
seph, the Pure, and such he was.
There is no greater charm in any
young man than personal purity
And Joseph's purity stood che ordeal
of fearful temptation. Repeated ex-
posure and solicitation fail to break
it down or even dim it's luster. Not
one young man in hundred would
have resisted successfully, or have
come out unscathed as he did. 1t
demonstrates how clean he was in
thought and desire, how strong in
his moral integrity and how absolute
in his obedience to the dictates of
conscience.
Three things nightly aided him
in putting aside the temptation to
unchasteness. One was the fact that
his master fully trusted him. And
it ought to be a strong inducement
to every young man to-day to live a
clean life that his family and his
friends trust him, that he has
their good opinion and that he ought
to be ashamed to abuse the conf.
dence thus reposed in him. Joseph
was aided also by his own selfre-
spect. He said, "How can do this
great wickedness?" Emphasis on
the word 81" 81 think too much Of
myself to descend to such a sin;
respect myself too highly to go down
quite that low" And what nope is
there for any young man who is des-
titute ofselfrespeet? How this splen-
did quality needs cultivation and
strengthening among the young men
of our own community, in order to
guard them against the snares of un-
chasteness which are spread for their
feet. Young men, have self-respect |
and you too will be saved from 'this
great wickedness."
The third thing which aided Jo-
seph in resisting temptation was the
fear of God. 1t is written that 1.-THE
fear of the Lord is to hate evil" and
it is true. Chow can 1 do this great
wickedness and sin against God?"
was the way Joseph put it. In other
words, ~ can not thus transgress
Gods holy law and bring down upon
myself his righteous condemnation"
And young man, if you have the fear
of God before your eyes, neither can
you. If you live every day remem-
bering "thou, God, seest me-" it will
deter you too from evil, and aid you
in maintaining the personal purity
which is ever the crown and glory Of
young manhood