4
i
Chapter VIII—Continued.
Tb«>n 8»i(3»he, «'t still my dnttgliter until
lliou knowhow the matter will fail; for the
man will >ot he in rest until he have finished
the thingihis day.
Eutti had just returned to her
mother-in-law from the threshing-
door of Boaz. The threshingfloor
was the place where the husk or
chaff was beat off of the grain, and
wliere it was also winnowed. The
iVuit of the held was gathered to
gether there, threshed, winnowed
and heaped together. And Ruth
returned to her mother-in-law with
lier desires inflamed with six meas
ures of barley. Hitherto she had
only entered into the field of Boaz,
but now she had even gone to his
threshingfloor ; but she did no t
venture there presumptuously ; the
fact that she might have been taken
for a harlot forbade that, which to
a woman of her chaste spirit whould
have been worse than lieing stoned
to death, especially to have been
spurned as a harlot by Boaz, whom
she loved. It would have been eas
ier to Ruth to have borne reproach
from all the world than from Boaz,
and having his good opinion and
love, the reproach of the world could
1)0 easily borne. It was her love and
great respect for him, coupled with
the knowledge of her own unworthi-
ness and her origin, that made the
ci'oss so heavy in getting down to
his feet and asking so great a favor
of him. She did not ask that favor
of him as though he would be glad
and feel himself honored in granting
her request; she did not feel that
she was confering the favor on him,
in giving him an opportunity to
make a sacrifice for her, but she was
prompted by her necessity to make
this appeal to him, in the spirit of the
Syrophenician, ready to confess that
she being a Moabite?, was therefore
unworthy of it, but still was not the
less in need of it—therefore she could
have borne denial without murmur
ing and charging Boaz with injus
tice ; and could have received his
favors as a grace by which she would
be humbled, which would manifest
that unity of spirit to be found only
in the regenerated people of God.
Ruth learned something that night
too, and the more she knew of him
the better she loved him, the worse
she dreaded failing to get him. She
learned that night, his high respect
for the laws of Israel as well as his
respect for his own character and hers.
Her love was subdued, not lessened,
by her high regard for his character
and exalted state, so that she was
held in check, that she might not
approach him presumptuously, but
as an inferior approaches his superior?
ready to take a low seat, and there
fore prepared to accept a higher one
with fear and trembling, lest he
in the threshingfloor, that she had
not thought of before, at least she
had not felt it, if she knew it; and
that was, that there was a neurer
kinsman. She learned more of Boaz;
should be lifted up in his own spirit
and not in the spirit of his benefac
tor—a harlot would not have these
feelings—-she would be ready for a
reward upon every corn floor. The
closer one is allied to Christ in spirit
the greater is his reverence for His
word; the more he loves Christ’s
doctrine, the stronger is his desire
to adore and bring forth the fruits
of it. It is these who walk in the
pure word or doctrine—clear of
chaff, whose works build up the
house of the dead. The pure doc
trine yields good fruits, it sends forth
the reapers to the field, it drops
handfuls for the poor stranger, it
gathers the wheat into the garner,
it gathers the poor to the threshing-
floor, it brings Ruth to Boaz and
joins them together—and whom God
hath joined together let man j)ut
asunder, How dare any of \is di
vorce works from faith ! Can the
church be built up by faith alone?
Is it enough to believe in election?
Does it answer for baptism to be
lieve in baptism? Is it enough to
believe it to be our duty to support
the ministry—will that support
them? Is it enough to believe that
we ought to preach—is bbb preach
ing? Is it enough to lieiicve that
we ought to be just—that tlie debt
or ought to be subject to the lender?
This is divorcing works and faith;
there will be no fruits in the field, no
wheat upon the threshingfloor, no
child born to Naomi. The liouse
will not be built up, Israel will be
in league with the flesh, there'll be
no armory in Israel, not even a
blacksmith shop; they'll have to go
to the Philistines’ shops to sharpen
their coulters, and beat out Ihelr
wheat by stealth, for, fear of the
Midianites.
Boaz in tellijig Ruth of the near
er kinsman, did not do it to c\'ade
‘h-aising up the name of the dead
upon his inheritance." hiinsoir, but
that it must be done according to
the laws of Israel, and not in viola
tion of these laws. As the church
does not object to preaching the
gospel everywhere and to everybody,
to evade the sacrifice incident to it,
or because she has less love for the
human family, or less pity for those
in darkness, but she objects to the
unlawful systems devised for that
purpose, as she does to fornication and
adultery, knowing that they gender
to bondage and the flesh, rather than
to building up the church to the glory
of Christ. And hence however
.ardent her desires for the growth of
the church—she dare not transgress
the laws of Israel to attain it, either
in making preachers or members.
A man said, from a pulpit recently,
that Jesus Christ was a Missionary,
but if he was, it was not according
to the modern meaning of the word.
I should rather say, according to
my understanding of the word in
these days, that Judas would come
nigher being a Missionary—with all
due respect and with no ill feelings
to that large and respectable body
of my fellow creatures. The church
“hath done what she could”-—she
has at least honored Christ in her
doctrine. It was not therefore to
evade the sacrifice that Boaz refer
red to the nearer kinsman, but that
the law should be sustained intact ;
not a lack of love to Ruth, but be
cause he lovedhertoo well to violate
her chastitv. As brethren now are
charged with a lack of love to their
brethren and to the wellfare of the
church, who maintain that Baptists
should be subject to their plighted
\vord and their contracts to men of
the world, becau.se they are unwill
ing (hat the church.should be pros
tituted to the world, her chastity
i would lie violated and become but
as a harlot by the wayside.
Ruth did not love the nearer kins
man, and could not therefore have
been in rest in his house, but
she did not know' that it was be
cause slio was a sinner (a Moabite)
that slie rvas safe from him. It is
from the fact that we are sinners,
that none will take pity on us but
Clirist; Imt we are uneasy, lest there
should be a hindrance in our lack
of flesidy righteousness, when that
very lack itself is the reason why
w'e do not stop short of Christ, why
woe are united to him, and why we
rest ^vhen avo come to him either in
We fear lest our
the church we fear that Christ will
not accept us—we desire to be right
not only in word but in spirit; not
only desire to go to the church, but
to be a true comer; not only to be
baptized in word, but in spirit; not
only to be a member outwardly but
inwardly; not only to gloryfy him
in our bodies but in our spirits. Be
cause we know that if we fail of the
spiritual joys, our outwuird inheri
tance is nothing; and we know also
that the outward works alone will
not bring us to Christ; that that
inheritance is not ot the lawy but of
grace; and whilst the outward works
are a cross, they are in a measure
made so from fearing lest we are
not prepared by the Spirit to do
them, and if not, we can have no
rest in them, for our rest in them
would be the rest we Avould receive
by knowing that Christ aecepted
them. We fear lest He would not,
and yet w'e have been emboldened
from his kindness to us before, and
from a sense of our needs to venture
upon him ; and, we want no one
else to help us but him.
But Naomi told her to “sit still,
for the man will not be in rest until
he have finished the thing this day.”
It all depends upon him, you can
do nothing; he can do all. If he
loves you—and he dops love you, he
wdll finish the thing this day. “Love
is as strong as death, many waters
cannot quench love, though a man
would give all the goods of his house
liaitb or Avorks.
AYorks lie not right; wdien we go to
it Avould be utterly contemned in
comparison Avith his love.” Who
shall say then, that the work shall
not be finished? That Ruth shall
not come to rest in the bed of Boaz,
and bring forth seed to build up,
npt the fleshly house, Avhich was cur
off, but the spiritual house; and not
l)y the nearer kinsman and by the
old covenant, based u})on works, but
but by Boaz, by the nerv covenant
or marriage, based upon love. The
man mil not he in rest until he, have
flnished the thing this day. Becansi'
he loved her. Though his thresh
ingfloor Avas burdened Avith grain,
and be could eat and drink, and lie
doAvn and rest, yet his couch Avoukl
be uneasy Avith penitent and seeking
Ruth at his feet; hoAv much less
could he rest, IniOAving that she,
whom he loved and who had sought
his feet, wms suffering hunger and
nakedness ! Ah ! how could he rest!
Hoav could you rest, knoA\dng that
your loved one Avas an outcast,
though you were surrounded by all