Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-08-07
TOLD m THE WESTERN HAIR
VEST FIELDS.
Or. Talmage breaches I'm Gienwood,
Col, 60 u Large Congregation
Orstorical Thunder Kesounds
Through tho valley.

ings, suggestions of Gospel lessons
His text is taken from Ruth 2:3: "And
she went and came and CLEANED In the
field after the reapers: and her hap was
to light on part of the field belonging
unto Boaz who was of the kindred OF
Elimelch."
Within few weeks have been In
North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsyl-
vania, New York, Ohio, Michigan,
Canada, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky,
Missouri, and they are one great har-
vest-feld, and no season can be more
enchanting in any country than the
season of harvest.
The time that Ruth and Naomi ar
rive at Bethlehem is harvest time.
Boar owns large farm, aud he goes
out to see the reapers gather in the
grain. Coming there, right behind tho
swarthy, sun-browned reapers. he be-
holds beautiful woman gleaning-a
woman more fit TO bend to a harp or
sit upon a throne than TO stoop among
the sheaves. All, that was an eventful
day!
1t was love at first sight Boaz forms
an attachment for the womanly cleaner
an attachment full of undying inter
est to the Church of God in all ages;
while Ruth, with an ephah, or nearly
bushel of barley, goes home to
Naomi to tell her the successes and ad-
ventures of the day That Ruth, who
left her native land of Moab in dark
ness, and journeyed through an indy
ing affection for her mother-in-law, is
in the harvest-field of Boaz, is affianced
to ono of the best families in Judah,
and becomes In after-time the ancest-
ress of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory!
Out of so dark night did there even
dawn SO bright a morning?
learn in the first place, from this
subject how trouble develops charac-
ter. II was bereavement, poverty and
exile that developed, illustrated and
announced to all ages the sublimity Of
Ruth's character. That is a very un-
fortunate man who has no trouble. 1t
was sorrow that made John Bunyan
the better dreamer, and DR.. Young the
better poet, and O'Connell the better
orator, and Bishop Hall the better
preacher, and Havelock the better sol
der, and Kite the better encyclope-
dist, and Ruth the better daughter-in-
law.
Grecian mythology said that the
fountain of Hippocrene was struck out
by the foot of the winged horse,
Pegasus. | have often noticed in life
that the brightest and most beautiful
fountains of Christian comfort and
spiritual life have been struck out by
the iron-shod hoof Of disaster and
calamity.
Again, see in my text the beauty of
unfalterng friendship. l suppose there
were plenty of friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity; but of all her
acquaintance how many were willing
TO trudge off with her toward Judea,
when she had to make that lonely
journey? One-the heroine of my text
one absolutely one. l suppose when
Naomi's husband was living, and they
had plenty of money, and all things
went well, they had n 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 bowe- while
the sun shone have gone to their nests,
now the night has fallen.
Life often seems to be mere game,
where the successful player pulls down
all the other men into his own lap.
Let suspicious arise about q man $
character, and he becomes like a bank
IN panic, and all the imputatlons
rush on him and break down In q day
that character which in due time
would have had strength TO defend it
sef There are regulations that have
been half a century in building, which
go down under some moral exposure,
as n vast temple is consumed by the
touch of a sulphurous match. A hog
can uproot century plant.
Again, learn from this subject that
paths which open in hardship and dark
ness often come out in places of JOY.
When Ruth started from Moab toward
Jerusalem, to go along with her
mother-in-law, l suppose the people
said: "Oh, what a foolish creature, TO
go away from her fathers house, TO
go off with poor old woman toward
the land of Judea! They won't live
TO get across the desert. They
will be drowned in the sea, or the
jackals of the wilderness will destroy
them" 1t was very dark morning
when Ruth started off with Naomi;
but behold her in my text in the
harvest-held of Boaz, to be- affianced to
one of the lords of the land, and be-
come one of the grandmothers of Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory. And SO IL
often is 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 Numbered, and devils tor
mented, and the darkness thickened!
All the sins of your life bounced upon
you, and IL was the darkest
hour you ever saw when you
first found out your sins. After
awhile you went into the harvest q ED
of Gods mercy; you began to CLEAN in
the fields of divine promise, and you
had more sheaves than you could carry,
as the voice of God addressed you, say
ing: blessed Is the man whose trans
gressions are forgiven and whose sins
are covered. very dark starting In
conviction, very bright ending in the
pardon and the hope and the triumph
of the Gospel
1t was very hard for Noah 10 endure
the soothing of the people in his day,
while he was trying to build the ark,
and was every morning quizzed about
his old boat that would never be Of
any practical use; but when the deluge