Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-04-22
RE1. DR.. TglGGGaEi.
The Eminent Divine's Surda,
Sermon.
SUBJECT: practical Iestons From the
Life of Joseph"

4
xxxvii.. %. "He is governor over all tn
land Of Egypt. XIV, &c.
You cannot keep a good man down. 30,
has decreed for him a certain point Of eleva
tion. He will bring him to that though
| cost Him u thousand worlds. You sometime
find men fearful they will not be properly
appreciated. Every man comes to be valuet
at just what he is worth. You cannot writ,
| him up. and you cannot write him down
These facts are powerfully illustrated In my
subject. 1t would be an insult to suppost
that you were not all familiar with the fife o
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 mer-
chants. who carried him down into Egypt
Joseph there sold to Potiphar, man Of in
fuence and office; how by Joseph's integ-
| rity ne raised himself to high position In the
| realm until, under the false charge of a vile
wretch, he was hurled into the penitentiarv;
how in prison he commanded respect and
confidence; how by the Interpretation OF
I Pharaoh's dream he was freed and became
the chief man in the realm, the Bismarck OF
| his century; how in the time Of famine JOS
eph had the control of a magnificent store
house, 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, applied for corn he sent them
/
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 re-
turned 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 estimation until all
the affairs of that great house were COM
mitted to his charge. From his servant no
honor or confidence was withheld. When
| Joseph was in prison, he soon won the heart
OF the keeper, and though placed there for
| being scoundrel, he soon convinced the
| Jaiier that he was an innocent and trust
! worthy man. and released from close con-
| finement he became general superintendent
i OF prison affairs. Wherever Joseph was
| placed. whether a servant in the house of
| Potiphar, or prisoner in the penitentiary,
| he became the first man everywhere, and Is
an illustration of the truth lay down, that
| the world is compelled to honor Christian
| character. There are those who affect to
| despise a religious life. They speak of it
as n system OF phlebotomy by which the man
| is bled of all his courage and nobility. They
| say he has bemeaned himself. They pretend
| to have no more confidence in him since his
| conversion than before his conversion. But
| all this is hypocrisy There is 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 confide in man who shows that he has
really become a child of God and is what he
Processes to be. You cannot despse a son
OF tie Lord God Almighty. OF course we
| have no admiration for the shame of religion.
was at place a few hours after the ruff
| fans had gone into the rail train and de-
manded that the passengers throw up their
arms, and then these rutfians took the pocket
books, and satan comes and suggests to a
man that he throw up his arms in hypocrit-
ical prayer and pretension, and then steals
his SOUL For the mere pretenson of relig-
| ION We have abhorrence. Redwald, the
king. after baptism, had an altar of Chris
tian sacrifice and an altar for sacrifice to
devils, and there are many men now at
TEN mpting the same thing-half a heart for
God and half heart for the world-and it
Is n dead failure, and it is a caricature of re-
Igion, and the only successful assault ever
made on Christianity is the Inconsistency of
its professors. You may have a contempt for
pretension to religion, but when you behold
the exceliency 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 cannot help it. Though
that man be as far beneath you in estate as
the Egyptian slave of whom We are dis
coursing was beneath his rulers, by an irre-
vocable law of your nature, Potiphar and
Pharaoh will always esteem Joseph.
When Eudoxia. tho empress, threatened
Chrysostom with death, he made the reply.
Such scene rs that compes the admiration
OF the world. There was something in
Agrippa and Felix which demanded their re-
spect for Paul, the rebel against government.
l doubt not they would willingly have yield.
ed their office and dignity for a thousandth
part of that true heroism which beamed In
the eye and beat in the heart OF that uncon-
querable apostle. Paul did not cover before
Felix; Felix covered before Paul. The inf
del and wor'dling are compelle to honor In
with their lips, Christian firm In persecu-
tiOn, cheerful In poverty, trustful in losses,
triumphant in death. l find Christian men
in all professions and occupations. and find
them respected and honOred and successful. |
John Frederick Oberlin alleviating ignorance
and distress; Howard passing from dungeon |
to lazaretto with healing for the body !
and soul; Elizabeth Fry going to the profit |
gacy OF Newgate prison to shake its obdur- |
acy as the angel came to the prison at |
Philippi, driving open the doors and snap
ping loose the chain, as well as the lives of |
thousands Of followers Of Jesus who have !
devoted themselves to the temporal and |
spiritual welfare of the race are monuments /
of the Christian religion that shall not |
crumble while the world lasts. A man said |
to me in the cars: "What is religionp Judg- |
ing from the character of many professors of /
religion do not admire religion" l said:
"Now, suppose We went to an artist in the /
city Of Rome, and while in his gallery asked |
him, What is the art Of painting?' Would /
he take US out In low alley and show Us a |
mere daub OF pretender at paintings, or
would he take US down into the corridors /
and show US the Rubens, and the Raphaels, /
and the Michael Angeles? When we asked |
him, What is the art Of painting? he would |
point to the works Of these great Masters |
and say, That is painting Now, you pro- 1
pose to find the mere caricature Of religion, /
to seek after that which is the mere preten-
- h4tr o., 81 l,nA-
point you to the splendid men and women !
whom this gospel has blessed and lifted and !
crowned. Look at the masterpieces of divine |
grace If you want to know what religion is. "
We learn also from this story Of Joseph |
that the result Of persecution Is elevation. |
Had it not been for his being sold into Egypt
ian bondage by his malicious brothers and |
his false Imprisonment Joseph never would |
have become q governor. Everybody accepts |
the promise, "Blessed are they that are per-
secuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is |
the kingdom OF heaven" but they do not !
worldly as well as spiritual success. 1t is
true in all departments. Men rise to high
official positions through misrepresentation.
Public abuse is all that some of our public |
men have had to rely upon for their eleva-
tion. 1t has brought to them what talent |
and executive force could not have achieved.
Many OF those who are making great effort
for place and power will never succeed just
because they are not of enough importance
TO be abused. 1t is the nature OF men-that
is of all generous and reasonable men-to
gather about those who are prosecuted and
defend them, and they apt to forget the
fault of those who are the subjects of attack
while attempting TO drive back the slander-
ers. Persecution Is elevation. Helen Stirk,
the Scotch martyr, standing with her hus-
band at the. place of execution, said: Illus
band. let us rejoice to-day. We have lived
together many happy years. This is the hap
piest time of all our life. You We are TO
be happy together forever. BE brave row,
he brave. 1 will not say Good night to you.
for we shall soon be in the kingdom oi our
Father together" Persecution shows the +,
heroes and heroines. I 90 into another de-
partment, and 1 find that those great de-
Of Christians which have been
mcst abused have snread the most rapidly.