My New Testament Joseph
(Alexander Smellie, "The Secret Place" 1907)
remember Joseph; he forgot him."
Genesis 40:23
1. Was it simply that the butler was absorbed
in the affections of home, and the duties
of business? Through his imprisonment,
he had been bereft of the touch of a wife's
hand and the kiss of a child on lip and cheek.
His occupation was in danger of going
to another, and his prosperity of being
lost. It was scarcely surprising that
the treasures so nearly forfeited,
should engross him, when once
they were restored.
But home is at its best, when I am full
of the recollection of my New Testament
Joseph; and the wheels of business
never run so pleasantly as then. I gain
by thinking first of HIM.
2. Was it that at Pharaoh's court,
the butler was afraid to speak of his
obligation to a Hebrew slave? Doubtless
the stranger had conferred a measureless
blessing on him; but, among the lords
and ladies of Egypt, it required great
courage to tell out frankly his indebtedness
to an alien and a prisoner.
Just so, CHRIST in many circles is almost
a forbidden theme. HE is not fashionable
in the mirthful world. There are masters
of culture and leaders of society who
pass HIM contemptuously by. In such
surroundings, am I brave enough to be
HIS enthusiast, HIS witness, HIS champion?
3. Was it that the butler felt a kind of awe and
dread when he recalled Joseph? As congenial
and brotherly as the young captive was--
there was a curious separateness about him,
a noble scorn of much that the butler might have
condoned and approved, an impressiveness
of character to which he could lay little claim.
It may have been a relief to banish Joseph
from thought.
Just so,
JESUS is holy HIMSELF, and HE demands
holiness in me. I am glad of HIS blessings--
but I may dislike HIS commands. And yet,
the better I know them, the more resolved
I shall be to bind them on my life.
4. Was it merely that the butler was unthinking
and heedless? But he had not been so a little before--
when the fetters lay on him and the dungeon walls
shut him in. It does not commend him that he could
become oblivious of his friend, immediately after
that friend had lifted him into the king's palace.
Just so,
how greatly I am to be blamed, if I fail to keep
fresh and green, the memory of the mighty
things which CHRIST has done for me!
Mine was the worst and most shameful thraldom--
and HIS the most astonishing emancipation.
To forget the Redeemer, when HE has rescued
me from deserved Hell, and blessed me with
undeserved Heaven--
there never was ingratitude so base!
It is a command which nothing must
induce me to disregard, and which I must
hold in constant reverence. I cannot sound
the praises of my DELIVERER too loudly.
I cannot yield myself too absolutely to HIM
who sacrificed HIMSELF for me!
~ ~ ~ ~
GraceGems has published William Nicholson's superb short article,
"Christ, the Physician of the Soul".
No comments:
Post a Comment