The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-04-23
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Story Of Josephs Bondage and
Rise to Power.
Men often Do Not Succeed In Life Be-
cause They Are Not of Sufficient
Importance" to be a Target
for Abuse.


dents in the career of Joseph as the
subject for recent sermon, bEsing his
remarks on the texts:
They drew and lifted up Joseph Oyt of the
pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites tor
twenty pieces of silver Genesis xxxfl, %.
He is governor over all the land Of Egypt
Genesis xiv, %
You can not keep good man down.
Gcd has decreed for him a certain
point of elevation. He will bring him
to that though Il cost Him thousand
worlds. You sometimes find men fear
full they will not be properly appre-
ciated. 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 by 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 pit, but, seeing a caravan of
Arabian merchants trudging along on
their cameis, 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 Poti-
phar, 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 peni-
tertiary. How in prison he command
ed respect and confidence. How by
the Interpretation of Pharaoh's drea m
he was freed and became the chief
man in the realm, the Bismarck of his
century. How in the time of famine
Joseph had the control of a magnificent
storehouse which he had filed during
seven years Of plenty. How when his
brothers, who had thrown him into
the pi, and sold him into captivity, APP
piled for corn, he sent them home with
the beasts of burden borne down under
the heft Of the corn sacks. How the
sin against their brother which had so
long been hidden came out at last and
was returned by that brothers for
giveness and kindness-the only re-
venge he took
You see, in the first place, that the
world is compelled to honor Christian
character. Potiphar was Only man
of the world, yet Joseph rose in his es-
timatlon until all the affairs of that
great house were committed to his
charge. From his servant no honor
or confidence was withheld. When Jo-
seph was in prison he soon won the
heart of the keeper, and though placed
there for being a scoundrcl, he soon
convinced the jailer that he was an in
nocent and trustworthy man. and re-
leased from close confinement he be-
came general superintendent of prison
affairs. Wherever Joseph was placed,
whether a servant in the house of Poti-
phar, or prisoner in the pcnitentiary,
he became the first man everywhere,
and is an illustration of the truth
l lay down, that the world is
compelled to honor Calistian char
acter. There are those who
affect to despise religious life They
speak OF it as system of pile botomy
by which man is bled of all his courage
and nobility. They say he has be-
meaned himself. They pretend to
have no more confidence In him since
his conversion than before his CONVEX
sion. But all this is hypocrisy. There
is a great deal of hypocrisy in the
church, and there is great deal of
hypocrisy outside the church. 1t is
impossible for any man not to admire
and contde in a man who shows that
he has really become child of God.
and is what he Processes to be. You
can not despise son of the Lord God
Almighty. Of course we have no adj
miration for the sham of religion.
L was at place few hours after
the rutfians had gone into the rail
train and demanded that the passen
gers throw up their arms, and then
these rutiians took the pocket books:
and Satan comes and suggests to a
man that he throw up his arms in hvp-
ocritlcal prayer and pretension, and
then steals his soul. For the mere nre
tension of religion we have abhor-
renee. Redwald, the king, after bap-
tlsm, had an altar of Christian sacri-
flee and an altar for sacrifice to devils.
and there are many men now attemnt
ing the same thing-half heart for
God and half heart for the world
and it is dead failure, and it is a car
feature of religion, and the only suc-
cessful assault ever made on Chris
tianity is the inconsistency of it's
professors. You may have con-
tempt for pretension to religion.
but when you behold the excellency of
Jesus Christ come out in the life of
one of His disciples, all that there is
good and noble in your soul rises m
into admiration, and you can not help
it. Though that man be as far be
meath you in estate as the Egvptian
slave of whom we are discoursinr was
beneath his rulers, by an irrevocable
law Of your nature, Potiphar and
Pharoh will always esteem Josepb.
When Eudoxia, the empress, threat
ened Chrysostom with death, he made
the reply: Tell the empress |
fear nothing but sin" Such a
scene as that compels the admiration
OF the world. There was something
IN Agrippa and Felix which demanded
their respect for Paul, the rebel against
government. doubt not they would
willingly have yielded their office and