West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-05-31
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.
SERMON BY REV. DIR. rALMAGE
Arrival OF Ruth and Naomi at Eeth.
lchcm, in Harvest Time.

ptcdncd IN the feld after the reaDers. and
Der hap tcos 10 light on a part Of the field
oet9ng'ng unto Botz, tcho ,cdS Of the kindred
OF Etimelech. Ruth, IT,, s.
The time that Ruth and Noami arrive at
Bethlehem IS harvest time IL was the Gus
tom when sheaf fell from load i'm the har-
FeSt-1eld for the reapers TO refuse 20 gather it
up; that was TO be left for the poor who might
happento come along that way. III there were
handouts Of grain scattered across the field
after the main harvest had been reaped,
instead of raking &c. as farmers do
now, 10 was, by tho custom of the land,
left IN its place, 50 that the poor, coming
along that way, might CLEAN il and get their
bread. But, you say: ''What is the use OF
all these harvest fields TO Ruth and Naomii
Naomi is too old and feeble TO go out aud toll
IN the sun; and can you expect that Ruth,
the young and the beautiful, should tan her.
cheeks and blister her hands in the harvest
fieldi'
Boaz owns large farm, and he goes out TO
see the reapcrs gather i'm the grain. Coming
there, right behind the swnrthy SIM
woman gleaning-a woman more flt 70 bend
harp or sat upon a throne than to stoop
among the sheaves. All that was an event
It was love at first sight. Boaz forms nm
attachment for the womanly gleaner-an
attachment full OF undying interest TO the
Church of God in all ages: while Ruth. with
an ephah, or nearly a bushel of barley, goes
adventures of the day. That Ruth, who
left her native and of Moab i'm darkness,
and Travelled, through an undying affection
for Der motherin-law, in the harvest field of
boaz, Is aifanced to one of the best families
In Judah, and becomes in after-time the an
cestress of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
Out OF so dark night did there ever dawn
so bright morningl
learn in the first place from this subject
how trouble develops character. 1t was be-
GC1NAmgnf a,rf1
veloped, illustrated and announced to all ages
the sublimity of Ruth's character That
rs very unfortunate man who has no trou.
bic. IL was sorrow that made John Bunyan
the better dreamer, and Doctor Young the
better poet, and O'Connell the better orator
and Bishop Hall tho better preacher. and
Havelock the better soldier and Kitto the
better encyclopaedia, and Ruth the better
daughter-in-law.
l once asked an aged man in regard 10 his
pastor, who was very brilliant man: "Why
is IT tnat your pastor, so very brilliant
seems TO have so little heart and tender
ness IN his sermcnp "Well,n he replied
"the reason is our pastor has never Ind
any trouble When misfortune comes unon
him, his style will be different After awhile
the Lord took child out of that pastors
house; and though the preacher was Just as
brilliant as he was before, oh, the warmth, the
tenderness of his discourses. The fact is that
troub is great educator. You see
sometimes musician sit down at an instru-
ment and his execution is cold and formal
and unfeeling. The reason is that all his life
he has been prospered. But let misfortune
or bereavement come to that man. and he
sits down TO an instrument, and you dis
cover the pathos in the first sweep of the
keys.
Misfortune and trials are great educators.
n young doctor cones into a sick room
where there is dying child. Perhaps ne is
very rough in his prescription, and very
rough in his manner, and rough i'm the feel
ing OF the pulse, and rough i'm his answer TO
the mothers anxious question; but years roll
ON, and there has been one dead in his
own house; and now he comes into the sick
room, and with fearful eye he looks at the
dying child, and hgsays: "Oh, how this re
minds me of my Charlieln Trouble, the
great educator. Sorrow / see its touch in
the grandest painting; 1 hear its tremor i'm
the sweetest song; | feel its power in the
mightiest argument
Grecian mythology said that the fountain
oil hippocrene was struck out by the foot of
the winged horse Pegasus. / have often
noticed in life that the brightest and most
beautiful fountain of Christian comfort and
spiritual life have been struck out by
the iron-shod hoof of disaster and
calamity j see Daniels courage best nv the
flash Of Nebuchadnezralas furnace. see
gauls proves best when | find him on the
foundering snip under the glare OF the light
nlng IN the breakers of Melita- God crowns
his children amid the bowling Of wild
1000 tiiAA btlt Cropping OF DkQO1-SplaSned
guillotine and the cracking fires OF MARTYR
dom. IL took the prosecutions of Marcus
Aurelius 10 develope Polycarp and Justin
Martyr IL took the worlds anathema to
develop Martin Luther. 1t took all the hos
Utilities against the Scotch Coyenanters and
the fury of Lord Claverhouse to de
velop James Renwick, and Andrew Mel
vile, and Hugh McKail the glorious martyrs
or Scotch history 1t took the stormy sea,
and the December blast, and the desolate
New England coast, and the war-whoop of
sayages to show forth the proves OF the
Pilgrim Fathers
"When amid the storms they SANG.
And the stars heard, and the sen;
Ana me sounding alsles OF the dim wood rang
10 the anthems OF the free"
1t took all our past national distresses 10
lift up cur nation on that high career where
~ VIII march along after the foreign RristOc
racies that have Knocked and the tyrannief
that have ieered. shall be sweut down
under the omnipotent wrath Of God, who
hates despOtisn, and who by the strength
of His own red right arm, will make ali men
free. And so 10 Is Individually, and in the
family, and in the Church and in the world
that through darkness and storm and trouble
men women, churches, nations, are devel
oped.
IT, Again. see in my text the beauty Of
untoltering friendship. J suppose there were
plenty Of friends for Naomi while she was ip
prosperity; but Of all her acquaintance. how
-Ain-tig VIZ WILING 10 lTuQgO OF with her
toward Judah, when she had to make that
lonely journey One-the heroine OF my
text One-absolutely one ] suppose when
Naomis husband was living and they had
plenty OF money, and all things went we'll
they had a great many callers; but / suppose
that after her hus and died, and her prOu srtv
went, and she got old and poor, she was not
trOuoied very much with callers All the
Dlrds mat sung in the bower while the sun
has fallen
Oh, these beautiful sunfiowers that spread
out their color in the morning hourl but are
always asleep when the sun is going down
JOB mad plenty Of friends when he was the
richest man in "; but when his property
went and the trials came then there were
none 50 much that pestered as Eliphaz the
lemanite. and Bildld tho Shuhite. and
Iopnar the Naamatnite
Life often seems 90 b. a mere game. where
tne successful player pulls down all the other
men into his own lap Let suspicious arise
ABOUT q mans character, and he becomes
IKE BANK IN panic, and all the
impuiailous rush on him and break
GoWn u day That character which in dine
Ime would have had strength TO defend
ttselt There are repuratI0ns that have been
naii century in building which go down
unifr some moral exposure. as vnf tempIa
81 consumed by the touch Of n suIpburdts
mgNn. a hog can uDr00t "a century pant
ln this world. 40 fuil of helrtleesncte ami
hypocr.sy, how thrilling 10 81 30 find como
iflen1 as inthfu' iu days Of adver.ffy as fn
gays OF prospeiIiy David had such q friend
NJ Hu-lai' tne Jews had such "a friend in
.1pi aif Wuouever forgot their cause. Paul
h1o fucn friend Iu DuesIUhDrus vino yieff.I