ZION’S LANDMARKS.
173
comforts, they would not comfort
you. How could the mother rest
upon a bed of ivory, knowing that
her boy was plaintively calling to
her out of a dvmgeon; would she
take time to clothe herself in gor
geous array and descend slowly to
him in a gilded chariot, but would
she not rather rush to him in her
night drapery, aye, even in naked
ness to her boy, despising the shame
and hiding his in her great love.—
And though he were a criminal, re
jected by men, yet would not the mo
ther fail to recognize in tlie beloved
countenance of the outcast, the fea
tures of the innocent babe that once
nestled in her bosom; and, her love
would yearn towards him, and the
deep fountain of her love would be
broken up. I can’t conceive how it
would be possible for one of Christ’s
loved ones to be lost; for his work to
stop short of their complete salva
tion. “For he shall see of the tra
vail of his soul and be satisfied;”
and could He be satisfied with the
loss of the least member of his bodv.^
And if such a one was lost, it could
■not be because He was not able to
prevent it, for ail power is given
him over all flesh, to give eternal
life to all that were given him.—
Your boy is lying in some far off
grave to-day, but it is because you
lacked power to prevent it—you had
the will and love, but your arm was
short; but it is not so with Christ,
lie has both, power and disj)Osition.
According to the laws of Israel,
if a brother died'without issue, his
widow might go unto his next of
kin, and call upon him to raise up
a seed to inherit the name and es
tate of the dead brother, that his
name be not cut off from amongst
his brethren. If the living brother
liad the spirit of the dead brother
and loved him, it wa^> a labor of
love, if not, it was a sacrifice too
great to be made, in fact, it could
not be righteously done without it
was prompted by love, thought it
might bo done in the letter, which
was a deceitful work, as was Onan’s,
who said the seed should not be his,
and the Lord slew him for it. It
would be to the praise of the dead,
and he wanted the praise himself.
It is hard to the flesh* to render all the
praise to another, to expend our
own money to build up another’s
name and house. W e are all will-
iup- to make the sacrifice that honors
O
us, even if we get it by preaching
fifty times from the same text, or
preaching the same sermon from
fifty texts. Tlie old man is quite
a rascal. But to build up the iiouse
of another at our own expense, the
expense of our own honor and es
tate, to our own humiliation, is not
fleshly enough to please the flesh, in
fact it is piritual and it is building
up a spiritual house. That is why
there is so much false doctrine, de-
cetiful work and practice in the
world. '“The seed shall not be
mine.” But if the living brother
possessed, as before said, the spirit
of the dead brother, the w'ork would
not be a deceitful work, but a work
of faith and prayer—a labor of love;
nor would he want the seed to be his
to build up his flesh, but to be for
the humbling of the flesh. There
fore the Christian is solicitous in the
discharge of bis duty, that his works
go to the honor of Christ, to the
building up of the spiritual man
and to the humbling of the fleshly
man. The trouble is, whether we
are prompted by the right spirit,
especially when we are fresh from
the threshingfloor, and have seen the
riches of grace separated from the
husks and heaped up. When we can
see a little of the riches of grace af
ter having lived upon “doves’ dung,”
to realize that the oil in the cruse
is unwasteing and the meal unfail
ing, what care we if our own barrel
is empty, there is plenty in the great
store house of Jesus, ahoays a plen
ty; why need we fear then, when
our own resources are exhausted.—
But the prophet only came to the
widow when she got the last meal
out of her barrel and was picking
up sticks to cook it, that her and
her son might eat it and die—then
the prophet came. “When the bot
tle was empty, the well was nigh.”
Then why don’t we use all our own
meal up at once and be done with
it, and live thenceforth upon Christ?
And what is it that makes us dread
so much to get to the bottom of the
barrel; and who else ever gets to the
bottom of the barrel but the Chris
tian; the barrels of the others get
fuller and fuller—they get better
and better. The true doctrine and
order goes to the honor of Christ.—
And this is the sign : Y on shall find
him in a manger. Do you wmnt a
sign that you are a Christian? Do
you want a sign to find the church ?
It is in lowliness. Have you got the
sign? Can you give the password?
and does it build your flesh up?
Then say shibboleth and enter in.
you’ll not enter into your own honor
and praise ; you enter this lodge
without money and without price;
you learn the secret before you en
ter, for those within cannot teach it
to you. But my experience, says
one, is not big enough. No, and it
never will be big enough to honor
you, if it is a Christian experience;
you’ve got the sign and the word,
go along, therefore bring forth to
the honor of Christ and" the build
ing up of the church. If it was a
big one, as you want it, it would be
too congenial to your flesh, it would
bring forth no humility, there would
be no travail of soul. And, wm
might get a hundred in the church
and be very proud of it and them;
there might not be a negro amongst
them, and yet the church might not
be built up by it at all. But per
haps I have said enough on this
part of the subject, unless it w^ere
better said.
And Boaz went about his w'ork.
“Then went Boaz up to the gate
and sat him down there; and behold
the kinsman of whom he spake came
by; unto wliom he said, ho, such a
one ! turn aside sit down here. And
he took ten men of the elders of the
city and said, sit ye down here; and
they sat down. And he said unto
the kinsman, Naomi that is come
again out of the country of Moab,
selleth a parcel of land which was
our brother Elimelech’s, and I
thought to advertise thee saying ;
Buy it before the inhabitants and
before the elders of my people. If
thou wilt redeem it, redeem it ; but
if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell
me that I may know; for there is
none to redeem it besides thee, and
I am after thee. And he said I
will redeem it. Then said Boaz,
■what day thou buyest the field o
the hand of Naomi, thou must buy
it also of Birth the Moabitess, the
wife of the dead, to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheri
tance. And the kinsman said, I
cannot redeem it for myself lest I
mar mine own inheritance; I'edeem
thou my right to thyself, for I can
not redeem it. Now this was the
manner in former time in Israel,
concerning redeeming and concern
ing clianging, for to confirm all
things, a man plucked otf his shoe
and gave it to his neighbor, and
this was testimony in Israel. Tliere-
fore the kinsman said unto Boaz,
buy it for thee. So he drew off his
shoe. And Boaz said unto the el-
j ders and to the people, ye are wit-
i nesses this day that I have bought
I all that was Elimelech’s and all that
was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s of the
hand of Naomi; and moreover, Buth
the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon,
have I purchased to be my wife, to
raise up the name of the dead upon
his inheritance, that the name of
the dead be not cut off from among
his brethren and from the gate of
his place: ye are witnesses this day.”
They all witnessed his righteous re
demption of Buth from the curse of
her Moabitish origin. He now
therefore had a legal right to Buth
—he represented her in the gate of
the city before the elders of his peo
ple. He possessed her now in word
and in spirit. The espousals ivere
public and sanctioned by heaven.
“And all the people that were in the
gate and the eldei’s said, Ave areAvit-
nesses. The Lord make the Avomau
that is come into thine house like
Bachel and like Leah, Avhich tAvo
did build the house of Israel; and
do thou Avorthily in Ephratah and
be famous in Bethlehem; and let
thine house be like the house of
Pharez Avhom Tamar bare unto Ju
dah of the seed Avhich the land
shall give thee of this young Avoman.''
And so Boaz and Buth Avere mar
ried, and ho A\^ent in unto her, and
she bare a son—the Lord gaAm her
conception. And the Avomen said
unto Naomi, blessed be the Lord
which hath not left thee this day
without; a kinsman, that his name
maybe famous in Israel; and lie
shall be unto thee a restorer of tliy
life and a nourisher of thine old age;
for thy daughter-in-law Avhich lov-
eth thee, which is better to tin c
than seven sons, hath borne him.—
And Naomi took the child and laid
'■* in hr . bosom and became mu.sc
unto it. And the Avomen gave it a
name, saying this is a son boi'ii un
to Naomi.
I am noAV going to quit tor tlie
present, feeling the need* of more
light before advancing further; not
as some, after preaching tAvo or thriM/.
hours, conclude by saying, that they
could “go on until night, but Avili
forbear”—having told all they kne.Av
may-be more than once. I ask tiai
prayers of tiie Christians, that tlio
Lord Avould open the scriptures to
my understanding; and, may non‘:
of us ever undertake to unfold tlu in
Avhen the cloud is upon us.
I think it unnecessary to sign }iiy
name, as’ I have no reason to he
proud of Avhat I have written, i t
is my purpose to finish it some day,
should the Lord afford me the lib-
ertv. 0.