Governor of all Egypt gave way at last to a storm of sorrow. Yes, there was little joy with it; for the time, 'what might have been,' ruled it over what was; and the sorest burden of the exile's heart for twenty years broke forth in his first words.

I am Joseph,-he said,-doth my father yet live?-GEN. xlv. 3.

-They had told him so a few minutes before, but sometimes the ear cannot be satisfied with hearing.' Had his brothers told the truth?

'And are ye sure the news is true?
And are ye sure he's weel?'

-Doth he yet live?'-for Jacob was an old man even as Joseph remembered him. But the ten stood speechless. Then presently, grandly, the great ruler gets back his selfcontrol. And his next words are a study for any one who suffers or has suffered-at the hands of other men.

I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither.— GEN. xlv. 4, 5.

-A brother now, though you would not have me then. Be not grieved,-we will forget all that. Let us look only at the Lord's overruling hand.

God did send me before you to preserve life.-GEN. xlv. 5.

So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God.-GEN. xlv. 8.

-It was a picture. The group of wayfaring men, more or less travel-stained, with their long beards and their Hebrew dress, and faces murky with surprise and fear.

For they were troubled at his presence.-GEN. xlv. 3.

-Silent, spell-bound. And on the other hand the Governor, in white linen and gold chain and glittering ring; his smooth-shaven face yet wet with the tears that had come pouring forth, his eyes aglow through those rain-drops,— eagerly speaking forgiveness, comforting the distracted men with the comfort wherewith he himself had been comforted of God. For Joseph never pretended that he had had any other. It was not the fulfilment of his dreams, but of God's purposes, that had kept his heart alive. And directly now the heart takes up its old cry.

Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not.-GEN, xlv. 9.

-As he went on, there came a dawning belief into the ten incredulous faces; while in Benjamin's there was joy and love, and maybe also tears. For as Joseph ended, with one more assurance:

Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.-GEN. xlv. 12.

-And with one more hastening message of love to his father,

He fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.-GEN. xlv. 14.

-For joy? No, but for the grief that had been. Those inexpressible bitter-sweet tears, over pain that is past but can never be made up for, and which renders the present joy a sort of heart-wringing thing. For the ten, also, Joseph had kisses and tears, -the overflow of Benjamin's portion;

And after that his brethren talked with him.-GEN. xlv. 15.

Thus in Joseph's life you see all lower lights and shadows merged and glorified with the shining from above. His father loved him, his brethren hated him, but God was with him. And walking in that presence, Joseph could not abide in darkness, even in Egypt. With the parting tears scarce dried, he began his duties; with anguish of soul only grown sharper, he went steadily on; pushing aside the sorrow, bidding it keep its place. Himself a prisoner, helping the prisoners; loading with good things the hands that were stretched out to take his life; helping all, forgiving all.

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. -ROM. xii. 11, 12.

For he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.—HEB. xi. 27.

-That was the secret of Joseph's strength. His tears were as hot as other people's, but they never hid his eyes

from God. God was in all his thoughts. The Lord was with him-and he knew it.

God sent me before you.

God meant it for good-God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

-Until even heathen Pharaoh said:

Can we find such a one as this is? A man in whom the Spirit of God is?-GEN. xli. 38.

XI.

Goshen.

And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.-GEN. xlvi. 29.

IT is Egypt still; with its river of verdure, its dry sand beyond, its blazing sun. The great shadows of the pyramids swing slowly round, and the huge figures of Osiris gaze with unblinking eyes into the glare. And the ruler of all Egypt is waiting for his chariot. For Judah had come with the message, and Israel is close at hand.

We know Joseph's self-control; we have seen how he 'restrained himself' before his brethren; but we know him too on another point, and feel as if we were told— the eager yearning of his heart, when at last the chariot is ready, and he whirls along. It is the second chariot'second only to Pharaoh's own; and Joseph is in all the full splendour of his official dress. The phrase, 'presented himself,' used elsewhere when God showed himself,' is chosen here, says Keil, to denote the glory in which Joseph appeared to his father.

Israel on his part had at first doubted the good news ;then gathered up his courage and set forth. Not to begin