Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 235, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 October 1915 — Goodness in a Dungeon [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Goodness in a Dungeon

By REV.L.W. GOSNELL

A iBUiM to lU D—BNa ItoStoto 4 Clacaea

TEXT—He was there In the prison. But the Cord was with Jos«ph.—Gen. 39:20. 21.

Joseph’s prison was made gloomy by physical discomfort; by the mys-

tery of his suffering, although an innocent man; and by the fact that after his kindness to the chief butler the latter forgot him. Yet there was light in the prison and that in several directions. Prisoners of the Lord. To begin with, the text tells us that “the Lord was with Joseph.’’ As we express it

sometimes in singing one of our hymns:

Prisons would palaces prove If Jesus would dwell with me there. Paul was enabled to write the epistle to the Philippians with its keyword, “Rejoice,” from the Roman prison. John Bunyan in his “den” at Bedford saw Immanuel’s land and the Delectable mountains. Madam Guyon said the Lord had shut her up in prison like a bird, with nothing to do but sing.

Again, the Lord gave Joseph favor In the sight of the keeper of the prison (Gen. 39:21). The hearts of kings are in the hand of God and his afflicted people may be certain that God is not at a loss when he wishes to relieve them. Stories more fascinating than fiction could be written from the lives of Christians who have been given favor in the sight of the great ones of earth.

The Lord kept Joseph unselfish. Most of Us would have felt justified in nursing our troubles, but this man had “a heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathize.” One morning Joseph noticed that his fellow prisoners, the butler and baker, looked sad. He immediately inquired the cause and proceeded to help them to the best of his ability. After all, the best way to bear one’s burdens is to help bear the burdens of others. Moreover, although Joseph little realized it, his interest in these prisoners marked a crisis in his life; as a result of it he finally came to the throne of Egypt, but he was ready for the crisis only because he was daily caring for the interests of others. How little we know of the crises which every day will bring forth, and how we need to walk habitually so as to please God if we are to meet these crises adequately! It is evident that the Lord preserved the faith of Joseph. We recall his own dreams when in his father's house, and the assurance they gave him that he would come to a place of elevation over his father and brethren; but here he was in the dungeon and he would have seemed justified had he lost faith in dreams. Yet that this was not the case is evident from his interpretation of the dreams of the butler and baker, and his confidence that God would bring them to pass. Psalm 105:19 (R. V.) tells us that “until the time that his word romp to pass, the word of the Lord tried him.” The Lord kept Joseph unretaliating. When speaking with the* chief butler he said, “I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon” (Gen. 40:15). Not a word does he utter concerning that wicked woman, Potiphar’s wife, who had designed his ruin. How slow even Christians are to learn that they need do no unkind thing in order to fulfill the plans of God! “He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday.” Hoping in God. Altogether, God was training Joseph to hope in hinjself alone and to obey him in any event. Doubtless his hopes of deliverance were high when the chief butler left the prison, yet two long years passed before deliverance came. By the grace of God Joseph was kept from growing rebellious, but persisted in the way of duty. When God finds a man who will plod on, delighting to do his will under all circumstances, he will quickly set him In a large place and put a scepter in his hand. Joseph was in training for a throne and so are all true followers of Christ. What a misfortune if the chief butler had remembered Joseph according to his promise! Joseph might have been delivered from the prison and sent away a free man out of the land, but scarcely more than this. How his story encourages us to trust and not be afraid! The Christian’s Easy Chair. An aged Christian woman living tn deep poverty was asked how she bore her troubles. She said when they became especially heavy she sat in her easy chair and rocked them away. The visitor looked about for this wonderful chair, but saw no trace of it, until finally the happy saint explained that it was Romans 8:28, "AU thiqgS Work together for good to them (bat love God.” ■ “.