St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-06-06

COV1NOlONs (
THE STORY OF JOSEPH.
Rev. Dr. Talmage Deduces Some
Practical Lessons
Frso the Story Of JosepA's BosAass e.1
1iss to Power ia EgyPtNen Are
Often Placed - the Read t0
Fowes by Fersec1tioa.
The following discourse by Rev. I.
Dewitt Talmage is based on incidents
Of the career of Joseph. 1t is based on
the texts:
They drew and lifted up Joseph out of the
pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites Tor
twenty pieces Of silver.-Genesis xxxvi. u
He IN governor over all the land OF Egype,-
Genesis xiv, 81
You can not keep . good man down.
God has decreed for him . certain
point Of elevation. He will bring him
to that though it cost Him thousand
worlds. You sometimes find men fear
full they will not be properly appre-
ciated. Every man comes to be valued
1t just what he is worth. You can not
write him up, and you can not write
him down. These facts arc 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 . 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 Poti-
phar, = man of influence and Office.
How by Joseph's integrity he raised
himself to high position in tho realm,
until under the false charge of . vile
wretch he was hurled into the peni-
tentiary. How in prison he command
ed respect and confidence. How by
the Interpretation of Pharaoh's dream
he was freed and becam. the chief
man in the realm, the Bismarck Of his
century. How in the time of famine
Joseph had the control of . magnificent
storchouse which he had filed during
seven years of plenty. How when his
brothers, who had thrown him into
the pit and sold him into captivity, ap-
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 20
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 tho
heart 'of the keeper, and though placed
there for being . scoundrel. he soon
convinced the jailer that he was IN in
nocent and Trustworthy man, and re-
leased from close confinement he be-
came general superintendent of prison
affairs. Wherever Joseph was placed,
whether . servant in the house Of Poti-
phar, or . prisoner In the penitentiary,
he became the first man everywhere,
and is an illustration Of the truth
I lay down, that the world is
compelled to honor CaHistian char
acter. There are those who
affect to despise . religious life. They
speak of It as . system of phlebotomy
by which man is bled Of al 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 conver-
sion. But al this is hypocrisy. There
Is . great deal Of Hypocrisy in the
church, and there il . great deal Of
hypocrisy outside the church. It is
impossible for any man not TO admire
and confide in = 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 ad-
miration for the sham Of religion.
was 1t . place . few hours after
the ruhiaus had gone into the rail
train and demanded that the passen-
gers thro:v up their arms, and then
these ru1lians took the poclket-boolks;
and Satan comes and suggests TO .
man that he throw mp his arms in hyp-
ocritical prayer and pretension, and
then steals his soul For the mere pre-
tension Of religion we have abhor-
renee. Redwald. the king. after hap
tism, had IN altar Of Christian sacri-
6cc and IN altar for sacrifice to devils;
and there are many men now attempt
ing the same thing-half = heart for
God and half heart for the world
and IL il . dead failure, and It IL . car
feature of religion, and the only sue
cessful assault ever made on Chris
tianity il the Inconsistency Of its
professors You may have . con-
tempt for pretension to religion,
but when you behold the excellency Of
Jesus Christ come ont In the life Of
one Of His disciples, al that there II
good and noble in your soul rises up
into admiration, and you can not help
meath you in estate as the Egyptian
slave Of whom we are discoursing was
beneath his rulers, by IN irrevocable
law Of your nature, Potiphar and
Pharoh will always esteem Joseph.
When Eudoxia, the empress, threat
ened Chrysostom with death, he made
the reply: Tell the empress l
fear nothing but sim" Such .
scene as that compels the admiration
of the world. There was something
in ARrippa and Felix which demanded
their respect for Paul, tho rebel against
government I doubt not they would
willingly have yielded their once and
dignity for thousandth part Of
that true heroism which beamed In tho
eye and beat In the heart Of that un-
conqueEable apostle. Paul did not
cover before Felix; Felix covered BE-
fore Paul. The inildel and wording
are compelled TO honor in their heart.
although they may not eulogise with
their lips, Christian arm In perseeu-
ton, cheerful in poverty. Gustf1l In