laboured night and day, and therefore he prospered, even under Laban,
unjust and exacting though Laban was. Joseph won his way to the front,
though an exile and a slave, for he made himself indispensable in prison,
and in the kingdom. "_Seest thou a man diligent in business? he shall
stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men_." And because
this is a Divine law, it prevails in higher spheres also. If a Christian
uses, in the service of his heavenly Master, the gifts he possesses,
faith in God, knowledge of truth, power in prayer, persuasive speech--his
five talents will become ten, or his two will gain other two. "_To him
that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance_."

3. It may be said that talent and diligence combined do not always win
success, and so far as this world is concerned, it is true. Possibly
Jeroboam would never have come to the front if Solomon had not happened
to notice him. But if we read the interviews which Ahijah the prophet
had with Jeroboam, and with his mother, we shall learn to recognise the
control of God in this also.

If God over-rules anything he must over-rule everything, because what
appears to be the most trivial incident, often has the most far-reaching
results on human character and destiny. Trifles are often turning-points
in one's history. A casual word spoken in our favour may bring about the
introduction which leads to a happy marriage, or to a prosperous business
career. It may not have been known to us at the time, nor thought of
again by the friend who spoke about us, but back of his friendly
utterance God was. In life we are not infrequently like a passenger on
board ship, who chats to those about him, but pays no regard to the
wheel, or to the seaman who controls it, still less to the officer who
gives the man his instructions; and yet the turning of that wheel, in
this direction or in that, involves safety, or wreck. God keeps