3. Then another host of archers assailed him; these were the archers of
MALICIOUS CALUMNY. Seeing that he would not yield to temptation, his mistress
falsely accused him to her husband, and his lord, believing the voice of his
wife, cast him into prison. It was a marvelous providence that he did not put
him to death; for Potiphar, his master, was the chief of the slaughtermen; he
had only to call in a soldier, who would have cut him in pieces on the spot.
But he cast him into prison. There was poor Joseph. His character ruined in
the eyes of man, and very likely looked upon with scorn even in the prison-
house; base criminals went away from him as if they thought him viler than
themselves, as if they were angels in comparison with him. Oh! it is no easy
thing to feel your character gone, to think that you are slandered, that
things are said of you that are untrue. Many a man’s heart has been broken by
this, when nothing else could make him yield. The archers sorely grieved him
when he was so maligned-so slandered. O child of God, dost thou expect to
escape these archers? Wilt thou never be slandered? Shalt thou never be
calumniated? It is the lot of God’s servants, in proportion to their zeal, to
be evil spoken of. Remember the noble Whitefield, how he stood and was the
butt of all the jeers and scoffs of half an age; while his only answer was a
blameless life.
“And he who forged, and he who threw the dart,
Had each a brother’s interest in his heart.”
They reviled him and imputed to him crimes that Sodom never knew. So shall it
be always with those who preach God’s truth, and all the followers of Christ-
they must all expect it; but, blessed be God, they have not said worse things
of us than they said of our Master. What have they laid to our charge? They
may have said, “he is drunken and a wine-bibber;” but they have not said, “he
hath a devil.” They have accused us of being mad, so was it said of Paul. Oh,
holy infatuation, heavenly furor, would that we could bite others until they
had the same madness. We think, if to go to heaven be mad, we will not choose
to be wise; we see no wisdom in preferring hell; we can see no great prudence
in despising and hating God’s truth. If to serve God be vile, we purpose to
be viler still. Ah! friends, some now present know this verse by heart, “The
archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him.” Expect it;
do not think it a strange thing; all God’s people must have it. There are no
royal roads to heaven-they are paths of trial and trouble; the archers will
shoot at you as long as you are on this side the flood.
II. We have seen these archers shoot their flights of arrows; we will now go
up the hill a little, behind a rock, to look at the SHIELDED WARRIOR and see
how his courage is while the archers have sorely grieved him. What is he
doing? “His bow abideth in strength.” Let us picture God’s favorite. The
archers are down below. There is a parapet of rock before him; now and then
he looks over it to see what the archers are about, but generally he keeps
behind. In heavenly security he is set upon a rock, careless of all below.
Let us follow the track of the wild goat and behold the warrior in his
fastness.
First, we notice that he has a bow himself, for we read that “his bow abode
in strength.” He could have retaliated if he pleased, but he was very quiet
and would not combat with them. Had he pleased, he might have drawn his bow
with all his strength, and sent his weapon to their hearts with far greater
precision that they had ever done to him. But mark the warrior’s quietness.
There he rests, stretching his mighty limbs; his bow abode in strength; he
seemed to say, “Rage on, aye, let you arrows spend themselves, empty your
quivers on me, let your bow-strings be worn out, and let the wood be broken
with its constant bending; here am I, stretching myself in safe repose; my
bow abides in strength; I have other work to do besides shooting at you; my
arrows are against yon foes of God, the enemies of the Most High; I cannot
waste an arrow on such pitiful sparrows as you are; ye are birds beneath my
noble shot; I would not waste an arrow on you.” Thus he remains behind the
rock and despises them all. “His bow abideth in strength.”
Mark well his quietness. His bow “abideth.” It is not rattling, it is not
always moving, but it abides, it is quite still; he takes no notice of the
attack. The archers sorely grieved Joseph, but his bow was not turned against
them, it abode in strength. He turned not his bow on them. He rested while
they raged. Doth the moon stay herself to lecture every dog that bayeth at
her? Doth the lion turn aside to rend each cur that barketh at him? Do the
stars cease to shine because the nightingales reprove them for their dimness?
Doth the sun stop in its course because of the officious cloud which veils
it: Or doth the river stay because the willow dippeth its leaves into its
waters? Ah! no; God’s universe moves on, and if men will oppose it, it heeds
them not. It is as God hath made it; it is working together for good, and it
shall not be stayed by the censure nor moved on by the praise of man. Let
your bows, my brethren, abide. Do not be in a hurry to set yourselves right.
God will take care of you. Leave yourselves alone; only be very valiant for
the Lord God of Israel; be steadfast in the truth of Jesus and your bow shall
abide.
But we must not forget the next word. “His bow abode IN STRENGTH.” Though his
bow was quiet it was not because it was broken. Joseph’s bow was like that of
William the Conqueror; no man could bend it but Joseph himself; it abode in
“strength.” I see the warrior bending his bow-how with his mighty arms he
pulls it down and draws the string to make it ready. His bow abode in
strength; it did not snap, it did not start aside. His chastity was his bow,
and he did not lose that; his faith was his bow, and that did not yield, it
did not break; his courage was his bow, and that did not fail him; his
character, his honesty was his bow, nor did he cast it away. Some men are so
very particular about reputation. They think, “surely, surely, surely they
shall lose their character.” Well, well, if we do not lose them through our
own fault, we never need care about anybody else. You know there is not a man
that stands at all prominent, but what any fool in the world can set afloat
some bad tale against him. It is a great deal easier to set a story afloat
than to stop it. If you want truth to go round the world you must hire an
express train to pull it; but if you want a lie to go round the world, it
will fly: it is as light as a feather, and a breath will carry it. It is well
said in the old proverb, “A lie will go round the world while truth is
pulling its boots on.” Nevertheless, it does not injure us; for if light as
feather it travels as fast, its effect is just about as tremendous as the
effect of down, when it is blown against the walls of a castle; it produces
no damage whatever, on account of its lightness and littleness. Fear not,
Christian. Let slander fly, let envy send forth its forked tongue, let it
hiss at you, your bow shall abide in strength. Oh! shielded warrior, remain
quiet, fear no ill; but, like the eagle in its lofty eyrie, look thou down
upon the fowlers in the plain, turn thy bold eye upon them and say, “Shoot ye
may, but your shots will not reach half-way to the pinnacle where I stand.
Waste your powder upon me if ye will; I am beyond your reach.” Then clap your
wings, mount to heaven, and there laugh them to scorn, for ye have made your
refuge God, and shall find a most secure abode.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
