The Penn's Grove record., 1897-04-30
REV. DIR. TAI1MAGE
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
sublect. "noaz ana Ruth.o

TRYT: And she went ana camo uhu
CLEANED in the field after the reapers, and
her hap was to light on a part Of tne nesa
belonging unto Boaz, who was OF the KIN
dred OF Eiimelech. Ruth H., 3.
The time that Ruth and Naomi arrive at
Bethlehem Is harvest time. II was the Gus
tom when a sheaf fell from a load in tne
harvest field for the reapers to refuse TO
gather 1t up. That was to be left Tor the
poor who might happen to come along that
way. II there were handfuls OF grain scat
tered across the field after the main harvest
had beer reaped. instead Of raking 1t, as
farmers do now. 1t was, by the custom oil
the lind, left in its place so That the poor,
coming that way, might glenn 1t and get
their bread. But you say, What Is the
use OF all these harvest fields to Ruth ana
Naomi? Naomi Is too old and feeble TO go
ont and toll in the sun, and can You expect
that Ruth, The young and the behutitui,
should tan her cheeks and blister her hands
In the harvest feldp"
Boaz owns q large farm. and he goes out
TO seeths reapers gather IN the grain. Com
ing there, right behind tbs swarthy, sum
Drowned reapers, he beholds Il beautiful
woman gleaning-a woman mora Mt to bend
to n harp or sit upon a throne than to stoop
among the sheav E. All, that was an event.
full day!
1t was love at first sight. Boaz forms an
attachment for the womanly gieaner-an
attachment full Of undying interest to tue
church of God In all ages, while Ruth, With
an ephah, or nearly a bushel Of barley, goes
home to Naomi to tell her the successes and
adventures OF the day. That Ruth, who lett
her native land OF Moab In darkness, and
travelled through an undying affection Tor
her m~other-in-iax, Is In the harvest field OF
Boaz, is afianced 10 ono OF the best families
in Judah, and becomes In alter time the an-
cestress OF Jesus Christ, the Lord OF glory.
Out Of so dark n night did there ever dawn
so bright a morning?
IIearn in the first place from this subject
how trouble develops character. 1t was be-
reavement, poverty and exile that developed,
illustrated and announced to all ages the
sublimity OF Ruth's character. That is a very
unfortunate man who has no trouble. 1t was
sorrow that made John Bunyan the better
dreamer. and DR.. Young the better poet. and
0'Connell the better orator. and Bishop Hall
the better preacher, and Havelock the better
soldier, and Kitto the better encyclopedias,
and Ruth the better daughter-in-law.
Ionee asked an aged man in regard to his
pastor, who was a very brilliant man, "Why
Is 1t that your pastor, so very brilliant, seems
TO nave so little heart and tenderness In his
sermons2" swell" he replied, "lhe reason
Is our pastor has never had any trouble.
When misfortune comes upoE him, his style
will be different" After awhile the Lord
took a child out Of that pastors house. aud
though the preacher was just as brilliant as
he was before, oh, the warmth, tho tender
ness of his ~discourses! The fact Is that
trouble Is a great educator. You see some
times a musician sit down at an instrument
md his execution is sold and formal ana I'M
feeling. The reason Is that all his life he
has been prospered. But let misfortune or
bereavement come to that man, and he sits
down at the instrument, and you discover
the pathos in the FIRST sweep of the keys.
Misfortune and trials arc great educators.
A young doctor comes into a sickroom where
there is a dying child. Perhaps he is very
rough in his prescription and very rough In
his manner and rough In the feeling OF the
pulse and rough in his answer to themother's
anxious question. But years roll on, and
there has been one dead in his vi house,
and now he comes into the sickroom, and
with fearful eyes he looks at the dying child.
and he says, 'Oh, how this reminds me of
my Charliei" Trouble, the great educator.
Sorrow-I see its touch In the grandest
painting, / hear its tremor in the sweetest
song, l feel its power in the mightiest argu-
ment.
Greclan mythology said that the fountain
OF Hippocrene was struck out by the fool OF
the winged horse Pegasus. have often
noticed In life that the brightest aud most
beautiful fountains OF Christian comfort and
spiritual life have been struck out by tie iron
shod hoof OF disaster n calamity. / see
Daniels courage best by the flash OF Nebu-
chadnezzar's furnace. see Paufs prowess
best when | find him on the laundering ship
under the glaro OF the lightning in the
breakers Of Melita. God crowns his chill
dren amid the bowling OF wild beasts and
fha ahnnpfnp NJ htood op1aahod nuil1ntino
and the cracking fires OF martyrdom. 1t
too the prosecutions Of Marcus Aurelius 10
develop Polycarp and Justin Martyr. Il
took al the hosiilities against the Scotch
Covenanters and the fury OF Lord Clayer-
house to develop James Renwick and An
drew Melville and Hugh McKail, the glori-
Gus martyrs of Scotch history. 1t took the
stormy sea md the December blast and the
desolate New England coast and the war
whoop OF savages to show forth the proves
Of the pilgrim fathers.
When amid the storms they sang.
And tho Stars heard, and the sea,
And the sounding aisles Of the dim wood =
Rang to the anthems Of the free.
1t took all our past national distrssses, and
1t takes all our present. NATIONAL sorrows 10
hit up our nation % that high career where
1t will ~marehTfong after the foreign ~arlstoc-
racks have Knocked and ~tyrannies that have
leered, shall be swept down under the om-
nipotent wrath Of God, who hates despotism
and who, by the strength Of his own rcd
right arm, will make all men free. And so
It 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 developed.
Again, l see In my text the beauty of I'M
faitering friendship. l suppose there were
plenty of friends for Naomi while she was In
prosperity, but OF all her acquainiances how
many We're willing to trudge off with her to-
ward Judah, when she had 10 make that
lonely journey? one-the heroine of my
text. One-absolutely one. Isupposo when
Naomi's husband was living, and they had
plenty OF money, and all things went well,
they had a great many callers, but l suppose
that after her husband died, and her prop.
erty went. and she got old and poor. she was
not troubled very much with callers. Ali the
birds that sung In the bower while the sun
shone have gone to their nests now the night
has fallen,
oh, these beautiful sunflowers that spread
out their color In the morning houri But
they are always asleep when the sun Is
going down. Job had plenty of friends
when he was the richest man in Uz, but
when his property went and the trials came
then there were none so much that pestered
as Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the
Shuttle, and Zophar the Naamathite.
Lille often seems to be q mere game,
where the successful player pulls down ali
the other men into his own lap. Let sus-
picions arise about a mans character, and
he becomes like a bank in a panic, and all
the imputations rush on him and break down
in a day that character which in due time
would nave had strength 10 defend itself.
There are regulations that have been half a
century in building which go down under
n push, as a vast temple is consumed by
the touch Of Il sulphurous match. A hog
can uproot a century plant.
In this world, so fun Of heartiessness and
hypocrisy, how thrilling it is to find some
friend as faithful in days OF adversely as in
days OF prosperity David had such a friend
In Hushai; the Jews had such n friend In
Mordecai, who never forgot their cause
Paul had such a friend in O~nesiphorus, who
visited him in Jail; Christ had such In the
Marys, who adhered to Him on the cross;
Naomi had such a one in Ruth. who cried
out; .Entreat me not to leave thee, or to re-
turn from following after thee, for WHITTIER
thou goest l will go, and whittier thou
lodgest / will lodge. Thy people shall be
my people, and thy Col my God. Where
thou diest will / die, and there will l be
buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also, II aught but death part you and me-"
Again. l learn from this subject that paths
which open in hardship and darkness often
come out in places OF joy. When Ruth started
from Noah fownrd Taxnsala-u