John Kitto Morning Bible Devotions: March 19

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John Kitto Morning Bible Devotions: March 19

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Remember Me When It Shall Be Well with Thee

Gen_40:14

Some have thought, as will be shown in tomorrow’s paper that Joseph’s anxiety to find a place in the remembrance of the chief butler, when he should become prosperous, was not altogether free from objection. It must be confessed that his words have a worldly sound. But since God so generally works by means, and does signally so work throughout the history of Joseph, it may be thought that he was right in taking such means as appeared to him proper for effecting his deliverance; nor is it needful to suppose that he thereby abandoned his trust in God. It may, however, be written here as one of those instances of human weakness, from which the history of no one of the patriarchs is wholly free. We incline to this view. Joseph desires the influence of this man, to speak on his behalf to the king; which does not appear, as if it was then strongly present to his mind, that he had direct access to a greater King than Pharaoh, who, he had full reason to suppose, had a special regard for him, and would not suffer a hair of his head to perish. If this be a correct view of the case, we are not, nevertheless, to be hard upon Joseph; but the fact should be pointed out, lest that which may be regarded as a temporary failure of his faith, should be hastily deemed a rule of conduct. The strongest faith has at times wavered; and if in this instance Joseph’s faith was for a moment shaken, it may be said in his behalf, that very few, perhaps none, have lived whose faith would not, under the same circumstances, have been shaken far more. It was a trying moment—when he had to tell this man, who had been but a short time a prisoner, that in three days he would go forth from his dungeon, and be restored to light and honor—and to feel that for himself, who had lain in bonds so much longer, there was no such prospect. Ask any one who has been shut up in the prison-house, whether at any time the sense of bondage is so strong and painful, and the craving for liberty so intense, as at that moment when a fellow-prisoner goes forth to freedom. It was under the influence of this strong and natural feeling that the captive Joseph spoke.

But again, although God works by means, it is by means of his own choosing. There is not one point more clearly taught by the history of Joseph than this. Every human plan and contrivance—every calculation of probabilities, come to naught, or if attended with any effect, that effect is altogether different from what was intended—is even adverse to it. God, in his own time, is seen moving the hearts of men, and turning their devices to accomplish his own high purposes—and even the fierce and proud wrath of man is constrained to glorify his providence and grace.

Without, however, inquiring further, whether Joseph was right or wrong in bespeaking the interest of the great man whom the Lord had given him an opportunity of obliging, let us see how exactly the words he employs are such as form the general rule of conduct in the world: “Remember me, when it shall be well with thee.” Are not these the words which, although not uttered in the streets and high places, are muttered in the world’s universal heart? Is there any one of our readers who can look around him—who can look at home—without being able to instance this insatiate craving to be remembered, thought of, favorably considered, by those who stand well with the world? What anxiety to hold a place in their esteem! How proud to claim the honor of their acquaintance! What struggle to obtain their notice! What labor to win their interest! How highly prized, how boasted of, how exaggerated their slightest attentions! Have they expectations?—what trouble to bespeak their remembrance when it shall be well with them! Are they prosperous?—how eager to know them, now it is well with them! Have they wealth?—how ready to bow down and worship, to lick the very feet of the golden god! Have they rank?—what solicitude to obtain some notice; how inordinately a nod, a smile, a word is prized! Oh, this terrible world-worship, which defiles the very church of God, and which eats as doth a canker the soul of man! Will it stand the fire which is appointed to burn up all the hay, the straw, and stubble of the world?

When did we ever hear of people anxious for the remembrance of those on whom the world has frowned, or whom it has not favored? How rarely is it said—if it ever be said—“Remember me when it shall be ill with thee!” Yet the remembrances of the afflicted and cast-down are of infinitely more real value, for this world and for the world to come, than all the recognitions of the prosperous and the powerful, which men prize so highly. Is not the prayer of the poor and the afflicted swiftly heard in heaven? Is not their blessing powerful for good to him who is honored with it? Indeed, if we knew how dear that prayer, how precious that blessing is in the sight of God—if we lived less for this world, and more for the world hereafter—the beck of nobles, and the smiles of Caesars would seem most worthless in the comparison.

This is a matter in which it cannot be said that the Scripture utters any uncertain sound. Yet how few are they who plainly and from the heart act in the spirit of this text: “if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit then here, in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool, are ye not partial in yourselves, and become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren! Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor.” Jas_2:2-5. Never was anything more plainly expressed than this; and it forms part of that high law which God, in the fulness of his mercy, has given for a lamp unto our feet. Yet never was there anything uttered or written more habitually neglected—and not only neglected, but contravened—than this; and that by us—by those who, by their covenant with God, undertake to make it the rule of their conduct. And let us be plain. We have among us the ark of God, and do enjoy most peculiar and valuable spiritual privileges among the nations of the earth. Yet, speaking as having ourselves seen no small part of the wide world, we solemnly declare our conviction, that there is not upon earth any Christian people—and certainly not any heathen or Moslem people—who are so pitiably as ourselves absorbed in the worship of the world—its greatness, its wealth, its splendor—who so flagrantly “despise the poor,” and so little cherish their attachment, or value their blessing—a blessing which brings down not only more of spiritual refreshment, but more of temporal advantage, than all that the interest or power of the great can give. Nor is this all. We learn, that in the sequel, the butler, “did not,” in his prosperity, “remember Joseph, but forgat him.” No doubt he had promised all that Joseph asked; but he forgat it all. He did not simply neglect, he forgat; the matter did not seem worthy of a place in his remembrance. All this while sat poor Joseph in his prison, expecting, from day to day, to receive some token of his illustrious friend’s remembrance and intercession. Hour after hour did he watch for the messenger of deliverance—but no deliverance came. He invented excuses for him—a thousand things, he would think, might have prevented the butler from at first acting in his case. He was doubtless absorbed in the congratulations of his friends, on his coming out of prison. Arrears of business had accumulated in his department, which required all his attention. Many things had gone wrong in his absence, which his time was occupied in adjusting. No doubt he was watching for a favorable opportunity of mentioning his prison friend to the king. How many hours of anxious thought were spent in speculating upon the possible movements in his behalf of the man who, all the time, did not move at all—who, all the time, did not remember—not even remember—Joseph, but forgot him. Long was it before the poor prisoner could allow a doubt to cross his mind respecting the great man’s solicitude in his behalf. Bitter was the first doubt that rose—bitterer the fears that followed—bitterest the conviction, which came slowly and last of all, that he was altogether neglected and forgotten.

Does our wrath rise against this butler? Let us refrain. This is not an Egyptian custom. It is not an ancient usage of four thousand years ago. It is the way of the world in all times and ages. It belongs to ourselves and to our fathers. It is a thing of yesterday and today. It is part of the great and cruel system of man’s hardness against man; which serves, as much as anything else—and perhaps more than anything else that is not of a spiritual nature—to demonstrate the great and terrible Scripture doctrine of man’s fall from his first estate, and the corruption of his heart. As sure as the low, the afflicted, and the poor, are anxious for a place in the remembrance of the high, the prosperous, and the rich—so sure are the latter to neglect and to forget them. The wrong is mutual; too much is expected on one side—too anxiously expected; and too little is done on the other. These two things fret the great sore of life, and leave the heart of man without rest, but in God. And this is well. Here is the good out of all this evil.