National Republican., 1886-08-23

WIN lhlnhbes " Osi 10 hbhShuihb '"'S NiN
historical camp meeting for the third time.
People from all parts OF Canada attended
the service to-day, at which he was the
preacher. His text was Ruth J, 10, II:
"Entreat me not to leave thee or to return
from following after thee; for whittier thou
goest will go, and where thou lodgest
will lodge thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God; where thou diest will =.
/ die, and there will be buried the Lord
do so to me, and more also, II aught but
death part thee aud me-" Following Is DIR.
Talmage's sermons
Famine in Judah. Upon fields distln-
Ruished for fertility the blight came, and at
the door Of princely abodes. Want knocked
Turning his back upon his house and bis
lands, Elimelech took his wife Naomi aud
his two sons, and started for the land Of
Moab In search OF bread. Getting into Moab
his two sons married idolaters-Ruth the
name Of one, Orpah the name OF the other.
Great calamities came upon that household.
Elimelech died and his two sons, leaving
Naomi, the wife, and the two daughterstn-
law. Poor Naomi in q strange land and her
husband and two sons dead. She must go
back TO Judah. She cannot stand 1t in a
place where everything reminded her OF her
sorrow. just as now, sometimes you see
persons moving from one house to another,
or from one city to another, and you can
not understand II until you ind out that II
is because there were associations with
certain place that they could no
longer bear. Naomi must start for
the land OF Judah; but how shall she get
therep Between Moab and the place where
she would like TO 90 there arc deserts;
there are wild beasts ranging the wilder
ness; there are savages going up and
down, and there is the awful Dead sea.
Well, you say she came over the road once;
"a can do so again. All, when she came
~ the road before she had the strong
,'Sl-,s Of her husband aud her two sons to
y defend her; now they are all gone. The
hour Of parting has come and Naomi must
be separated from her two daughters-in-
law, Ruth and 0rpah. They were tenderly
attached--these three mourners. They had
bent over the same sick bed; they had
moved 10 the same funeral procession; they
had wept over the same grave. There the
three mourners stand talking. Naomi
with prince for her companion. Then
they all think OF the marriage
festivals, when Naomi's two sons were
united to these women who have now ex-
changed the wreath Of the bride for the veil
of the mourner. Naomi starts for the land
go little way along with her. They have
gone but q short distance when Naomi
turns around and says TO her daughters.in
law: ''Go back. There may be days OF
brightness yet for you in your native land.
i can't bear TO take you away from your
home and the homes Of your kindred.
am old and troubled. Go not along with
me. The Lord deal gently with you as ye
have dealt with the dead and with me.n
But they persisted In going, and so the
three travelled on until after awhile Naomi
turns around again and begs them to go
back. Orpah takes the suggestion, aud
after O sad parting goes away; but Ruth,
grand and glorious Ruth, turns her back
upon her home. She says: ~ can't bear to
let that old mother go alone. II
is my duty to go with herr
And =. throwing her arms around
weeping Naomi she pours out her soul In
the tenderness, and pathos, and Christian
eloquence OF my text: ''Entreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following
after thee; for whittier thou goest will go,
and whittier thou lodgest l will lodge; thy
people shall be my people, and thy God my
God; where thou diest Will die, and there
will be buried; the Lord do so to me, aud
more also, II aught but death part thee and
me.n
Five choices Ruth made in that text, and
FIVE choices must we all make IL VII ever
want to get to heaven.
i. In the first place, II we want to be-
come Christians we must, like Ruth In the
text, choose the Christians God. Beauti
full Ruth looked up into the wrinkled face
of Naomi and said: "Thy God shall be my
God" You see 1t was change Of gods
Naomi's God was jehovah; Ruth's god
WIS Chemosh, the divinity Of the Moabites,
whom she had worshiped under the sym
bol OF black star. Now she comes out
from under that black starred divinity, and
takes the Lord, In whom there is no dark
nees at all; the silver-starred divinity to
whom the meteor pointed down In Bethle
psalmist wrote: "The Lord God 10 a SUM-
And 80, my friends, II we want to become
Christians we must change gods. This
world Is the Chemosh to most people. II
is black-starred god. 1t can heal ne
wounds. 1t can wipe away. nj
sorrows 1t save can pay yunaTIng Mo dsoas soaI
1t is great cheat, so many thousand mile
in diameter and so many Thousand miles II
circumference. IL | should put this au
dience under oath, one-half Of them woult
swear that this world is a liar 1t is baul
which makes large advertisements OF whs
II has In the vaults, and Of the dividends
that IL declares, and tells us that II We wan
happiness, all we have got to do Is TO com
To that bank and apply for II. In the hou
81 need we go tot that bank TO get happiness
and we ma Tint the vaults are empty, an
swindled out Of everything. o thou black
starred Chemosh, how many are burning in
cense at thy shrine
Now, Ruth turned away from this goo
Chemosh and she took NaomPs God. VIII
was that9 The God that made the worl
and put you in Il. The God that fashione
the heaven and filled II with blissful inhat
itants. The God whose lifetime study
has been to make you and all his creature
happy. The God who watched us In child
hood, and led us through the gauntlet O
infantile distresses, feeding us when W
were hungry, pillowing us when were SON
nolent, and sending His only son to was
awav otir nnllution with the tearR n nd bloo
Of His own eye and heart, and Offering to /
our everlasting rest, comfort, aud ecstacy
A loving God. A sympathetic God.
great-hearted God An all lleucompassln
God. A God who filings himself on tn
world In very abandonment OF eyerlastin
affection. The clouds, the veil of His fac
The sea, the aquarium of His palace. II
stars the dewdrops on His lawn. The Go
OF Hannahs prayer, and Esther's consecr
ton. and Mary's broken heart, and Ruth
loving and bereft spirit. oh, choose ye bt
Tween Chemosh and Jehovah The one Sc
Il Ice is pain and disappointment; the oth'
3. " servicei is brightness and life. have trie
= both chose the service Of God because
was ashamed TO do otherwise. felt
would be imbeclle for me TO choose Chemot
above Jehoysh,
oh happy day that hxed my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my Cod
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell it's raptures all abroad
Oh happy bond that seals my VOWS
To Him who merits all my lore
Let cheerful anthems iih his house,
While to his sacred throne move.
Hiah heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shah daily hear
Till in LIES latest hour bow,
Aud bless in death bond SO dear.
II. Again, II we-w want to be Christians, III
Ruth IN the text, we must take the Chrl