Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-10-16

arybody was turning toward you look
Of suspicion. Even your best friends
seemed to be wavering Then that
man came forward and with pen or
voice or check book tided you over the
difficult place You told him then you
would never forget him. You told him
if he was ever in trouble half of what
Won have would be his. Is it? Have
Won ever divided with him? He has
had his troubles since your day of trou-
bles. Have you gone to him with help?
You say, He has not come and asked
me for help" Did you ask him for
help when in that darkest day of your
life he sprang to your side? No. He
came because you needed him. o man,
how have you treated your Joseph, en-
jailed today in the Egyptian dungeon?
The butler Of my text was an in
crate. He was more to be condemned
than that. He turned his back upon his
friend-for what? For false friends.
No sooner did he get back to the pal
ace than one after another of the cour-
tiers in all probability came up to him
and congratulated him. "Ah," they
said, I'VE are So glad to see you back!
We missed you so much. Nothing
went right at the royal banquets while
you were away" Especially were the
underbutlers and the walters profuse
in their praise and laudations to his
face. Then a smile of satisfaction
1c hn hJ1f1
nance as he says: "Ah, 1 am glad 1
have such good friends here! l am
glad l do not have to associate any
longer with those criminals down in
the Jail. These are my friends, my
true friends!"
Not Real Friends.
But were all the courtierS who came
forward and congratulated the chief
butler on his restoration to office his
friends? Five hundred men of Pha-
raohs court already had been plotting
for his Office and wished he might new
er come back. In all probability the
second cupbearer, who congratulated
him, was biting his lips with anger I'M
til the blood came. Course him. hear
him say. Curse him! Why did he not
die and make way for my promotion
Curse him, curse himr' All through
the palace could be heard the words,
Course him, curse himv' from those
who wanted his place. Now, my
friends, can you and 1 afford to turn
our backs upon old friends and true
friends for those who are merely hon.
oring us in our success for what they
get out of us?
But l cannot close without just one
more thought suggested by my text.
The greatest opportunities of gospel
| service may come to a man through his
past experience if he renounces his sins
and remembers his faults. l have alb
solutely no more respect for this selfish
character of the butler than l have for
Judas or an Iago or for a Lady Mac
beth or a JeZebel. He was miserable,
contemplate, despicable hireling, with
a heart of stone. He would forget
any one who mad served him. But no
sooner did Pharaoh dream his dream
and no one could interpret it than at
once the butler thought of Joseph. You
| can see him, with flushed cheek and
CLASSY eye, pushing his way into the
| throne room. You can see him With
| reverence and sorrow written upon his
! face. All" he says, master, l have
| done wrong. l have forgotten my
friend Joseph who is now in prison
! Send for him, and he will interpret thy
! dream" Pharaoh sent for Joseph. 10
seph came. The chief butler at the
| last moment was able and willing to
! open the way for the future prime min
| lister to save a nation from disease and
| hunger and death. My friends, at this
| the sixth hour, the ninth hour, the tenth
| hour, the eleventh hour, of your refusa
! to do your duty to the King of kings
and Lord Of lords will you not speak
the right word? Will you come tt
Christ and bring your sinful friends t.
| Christ as the ungrateful butler brought
| Joseph and Pharaoh face to face?
You are the father of a home. Yor
have no nursery, for your boys are al
ready grown But they have all grown
away from God. Your hair is white
Your time is short. No one can brine
those boys to God but you. You know
it. They idoHze you. They believe yor
are the one person to lead them, ani
you alone. o father, confess to Coo
your sins. Confess to your boys youl
sins 1t is the eleventh hour 1t is
! late. but not too late. Bring your boys
to Christ as the butler brought JOSEPH
and Pharaoh face to face. You car
10 it. Believe me, you can do it.
As I speak to father, as speak tt
mother, as 1 speak to wayward friends
thus may be speaking to the stranger
within the gates who thinks he has nc
friend. Stranger, think not thus any
more. This is not strange place. This
is Gods house. Perhaps years age
there was some young man or some
young woman who might have brought
YOU to Christ if he or she had tried
DIT tho 0Tn0rf1TF1itv v,-o- ,,ocrIoc4oI