in whom the spirit of God is"--that was Pharaoh's verdict when
Joseph had skillfully interpreted his dream, indicating that the seven
fat cows coming up out of the Nile meant seven years of plenty in the
land of Egypt, and that the seven lean cows following them and
devouring them meant seven years of famine, which would tax the
resources of Pharaoh's empire in feeding the hungry people. And when
the monarch had listened to the wise words, had sensed the humane
spirit of this young Hebrew, and had seen the look of faith upon his
face, he felt that no other man would be so competent to become High
Commissioner of the Food Supply there in the land of Egypt. Thus
Joseph was set in a place of authority at Pharaoh's right hand.

His dreams are coming true! He had framed his first anticipations out
of sheaves. Then his mind began to be busy with the stars. He was
destined to have a part in preserving the life of his own Hebrew race
and a part in that moral movement which would outlast the stars
themselves. Through all those long hard years which lay between the
pit of Dothan and the palace of Pharaoh, he was sustained by that
vision of things divine which shone perpetually in his sky.

"A man in whom the spirit of God is"--here is the ultimate reason for
every splendid advance! Here is the ultimate reason why any man is
able to rise from those lower levels where wool and mutton are the main
considerations to those higher levels where he becomes a trusted
implement in the hand of God for a service that will endure.

The young man was a man of faith. He had faith in God. He had faith
in his fellows, as he showed when he generously forgave the brothers
who had wronged him, having them as ruler of Egypt utterly in his
power. He had faith in himself because the spirit of God dwelt in his
heart. And it matters not whether it is Egypt or Connecticut, the
eighteenth century before Christ or the twentieth century after Christ,
it is "by faith" that men work righteousness and obtain promises, wax
valiant in fight and beat back the armies of aliens.

In the long run the world belongs to the idealist. The ultimate
shaping of its life is in the hands of the men who walk the busy
streets and dusty lanes with their feet on the ground but with their
heads and their hearts among the stars. The men of vision and faith
sometimes lose a skirmish; now and then they are defeated in a battle;
but when the war is fought through to a