The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-08-11
and The tyrannies that have ieered. shall

duu WHO, ny the StfenStn OF MS own REQ
right arm. will make all men free. Aud
80 rs 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 de.
veloped.
Again, learn from my subject that
events which seem to be most insignif-
cant may be momentous. Can you i'm.
agine anything more unimportapt than
the coming of poor woman from Moab
10 Jud,ea? Can you imagine anything
more trivial than the TACT that this Ruth
just happened to alight--as they say
just happened TO alight on that field OF
Boaz? Yet all ages. all generations,
have an interest in the fact that she wa /.
to become an ancestress of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and all nations and king.
doms must look at that one little Incl.
dent with a thrill OF uumistakable and
eternal satisfa ction. So tits In your his
tory and in mine; events that you
thought OF no importance at all have
been OF very great moment. The cas-.
ual conversation, that accidental meet
ing-you did not think of it again for a
long while; but how it changed all the
current of your life!
Again, see in my text the beauty OF
unfaltering friendship. suppose there
were plenty OF friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity: but of all her u =
qusintances, how many were willing to
trudge Off with her toward Judea, when
she had TO make that lonely Journeys
One-the heroine of my text. One
absolutely one. suppose when Mao.
mi's husband was living, nnd they had
plenty OF money, and all things went
well, they had great many callers; but
| suppose that after her husband died
and her property went, and she got old
and poor, she was not troubled very
much with callers. All the birds that
sang In the bower while the sun shone
have some to their nests, now the night
has fallen.
Oh, these beautiful sun flowers that
spread out their color in the morning
hour! but they are always asleep when
the sun is going down. Job had plenty
of friends when he was the richest mal
in Uz; but when his property went and
the trials came, then there were none 80
much that pestered as Eliphaz the TIE.
mantle, and Bildad the Shuhite, and To-
phar the Naamathite.
where the successful player pulls down
all the other men into his own lap. Lei
suspicious arise about mans charrac>
ter and he becomes like bank in a
,,anic and all the lmputations rush or
him and break down in a day thai
character which IN due time would have
had strength to defend itself. There are
regulations that have been half cen.
L t,,r>, -, h,,StlSrrv ,uhinh
moral exposure, as vast temple is con.
sumed by the touch of sulphurous
match. A hog can uproot a century
plant. In this world, so full of heart.
lessness and hypocrisy, how thrilling IL
is to find some friend US faithful in days
of adversely as in days Of prosperity
David had such friend in Hushat; the
Jews had such a friend in Mordecai
who never forgot tlleir cause; Paul had
such friend in Onesiphorus. who vistet
him IN Jail; Christ had such in the Marys
who adhered to hum or the cross; Naom
Ihad sIcts a Gna-iu Ruth, who cried out
"Entreat me not to leave thee, or to re.
turn from following after thee; fol
whittier thou goest l will go, and where
thou lodgest will lodge; thy people
shall benny people and thy God my God
where thou dlest will die, and there
will be buried the Lord do so to me,
and more also, if aught but death par
thee and me-"
Again, learn from this subject that
paths which open in hardship and dark.
ness often come out In places of 10y
When Ruth started from Moab toward
Jerusalem, to go along with her mother.
in-law, suppose the people said: Oh
what foolish creature to go away from
her tathere house, to go of with poor
old womon toward the land of Jud@a
They won't live to get across the desert
They will be drowned in the sea. or the
jackals of the wlldernesa will destroy
them." 1t was very dark morning
when Ruth started off with Naomi; buj
behold her i'll my text in the harvest-fielG
OF Boaz, to be atlianced to one OF the lords
of the land, and become one of the
grandmothers of Jesus Christ. the Lore
OF glory. And so 1t often ls that path
which starts very darkly ends very
brightly.
When you started out for heaven, oh
how dark was the hour Of conviction
how Sinai thundered, and dc vil8 tor.
mented. and the, darkness thickened! AL
the sins of your life pounced upon yor
and it was the darkest hour you ever
saw when you first found out your SINS
After awhile you went into the harvest
field of Gods mercy: you began to CLEAR
in the field of divine promise, and yol
had more sheaves than you could carr,
as the voice Of God addressed you, say.
ng: "Blessed is the man whose trans
gressions are forgiven and whoae sins
are covered" A very dark starting ir
conviction, a very bright ending in the
pardon and the hope aud the trium .,h O
the Gospel!
So, very often in our worldly busnes,
or in our spiritual career, we start off or
a very dark path. Wemust 60. The fesl
may shrink back, but there Is voice
within, or voice from above. saying
You must co." and we have to drinl
the gall, and we have to carry the cross
and we have to traverse the desert ant
we are pounded and failed of misrepres
entation and abuse, and we have Il
urge our way through ten thousand OBJ
stacles that have to be slain by our ow
right nrm.. We have to ford the riyel
we have to climb the mountain, we have
10 storm the castle; but blessed be Goo
the day OF rest and reward will come
On the Up top of the captured battle
ments W will shout the victory; If not il
this world, then In that world where
there 10 no gall to drink, no burden u
carry, TO battles to fight. How do
know itp Know IL! 1 know 1t because