Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-05-05
REV, DR.. TALMAGE.
%e Eminent Divine's SUNDAY
Discourse.


The tim, that Ruth and Naomi arrive a
Bethlehem is harvest time. II was the Gus
tom when a sheaf fell from load In tn,
harvest field for the reaDers to refuse I,
gath it up. That was to be left for tn,
poor who might happen to come along tha
way. II there were hRndfuls OF grain scat
ierld across the field after the main harves
hal been reaped. instead of raking 1t. a
farmers do now. 1t was. by the custom o
the land. left in its place so that the poor
coming that wav, might GLEN II and 9e
their bread. But you say, 'What Is tn
uss OF ali these harvest fields to Ruth ar,
Naomi? Naomi is too old and feeble to q
that Ruth. the young and the beautiful
should tan her checks and blister her hand
in the harvest tieldr"
BoaH owns a large farm. and he goes ou
to see the reapers gather in the grain. Com
ing there. right behind tn, swarthy, sun
Drowned re ,p-rs. he bell bids beautiful
woman gleaning-a woman more At to bend
to harp or sit npon throne than to stooI
among the sheavss. All, that was an event.
full day!
1t was love at first sight. Boaz forms au
attachment for the womaniy gleaner-ar
attachment full of undyins interest to The
church Of Col in all ages, while Ruth with
an ephah. or nearly bushal of barley, goes
home to Naomi to tell her the Successes and
adventures of ths day. That Ruth. who left
her nat,v,, land of Moab in darkness, and
travelled through an undyin9 affection fol
her mother-in-iav. Is in the harvest field o.
Boaz. ia affiancad to one of the best familie:
In Ju iah, and becomes in after time the an.
css,re5s of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory
Out of so dark night did there ever da WI
so bright morning?
l learn in the first place from this subject
how trouble develops character. 1t was b.
reavement. poverty and exile that developed
illustrated ami announced to all age the
subiimity OF Rulh's character. That is YER,
unfortunate man who has no trouble. 1t wa:
sorrow that mad, John Bunyan the better
dreamer. and Dr. Young the better poet and
O'Connell the better orator. and Bishop Hal
the better preacher and Havelock the bette,
soldier, and kitto the better encyclopedias
and Ruth the better daughter-in-law.
once asked AN aged man in regard to his
pastor. who was a very brilliant man, "Why
Is II that your pastor, SO very brilliant seem.
to hava so little heart and tenderness in his
sermons ''Well." he replied, '.ihe reason
Ia our pastor has never had any trouble
When misfortune comes upon him. his siyl,
will be different" After awhile the Lore
took child out of that pastors house. and
though the preacher was just as brilliant a.
he was before. oh, the warmth, the tender
ness of his discourses! The feet is thai
trouble is great educator. You see some
times a musician sit down mt au instrumen
and his execution is cold aud formal ana un
feeling. The reason is that all his life h.
has been prospered. But let misfortune o.
bereavement come to that man. and he sit.
down at the instrument. and you discover
the pathoS in the first sweep of the KEYS.
Misfortune and trials are great educat ors
A young doctor comes into a sickroom where
there is dying child Perhaps he is very
rough In his prescription and very rough il
his manner and rough In the feeling OF tbs
pulss snd re ueh In his answer to thamothsx's
anxious Question. But years roll on ant
there has been one dead in his own 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 Chariier Trouble, the great educai or
Sorrow its touch in the grandes,
painting, l h.ar its iremor in the sweetest
song. feet its power in the miGhtiest argu-
'nent
Grecian mythology said that the fountain
OF Hippocrene was struck our by the foot o
the winged horse Pegasus. 1 have often
uOticei in life that the brightest and mos;
beautiful fountains Of Christian comfort and
spiritual life have been struck out by tie iron
shod hoof of di~aster and calamity. see
Daniels courage best by the flash of Nebu-
chadnezzar : furnace. l see Pauls proves
best when 4 fin'i him on the foundering snip
under the glare of the lightning in the
breakers of Mellta. Col crowns his chill
dren amid the bowling OF wild beasts and
the chopping of blood splashed guilotine
and the cracking fires OF maryrdom. Ii
took the prrs 'culious of Marcus Aurelius to
develop Polycsrp and Justin Martyr. II
took all the hosilties against the Scotch
Covenanters ami the fury of Lord Claver
house to develop james Renwick aud An
drew Melville and Hugh McKaii, the glori
Gus martyrs OF Scotch history. 1t took tht
stormy sea AM the December blast and thu
NaN
wnoop of sayages to show forth the proves.
Of the pilgrim fathers.
When amid the storms they sang.
AMI the stars heard, and the sea,
Aud the sounding aisies OF the dim wood
Rang to the anthems Of the free.
1t took all our past national distresses anC
1t takes ali our present national sorrows Il
lift up our nation on that high career wher.
It will march long after the foreign artist oc
racies have Knocked and tyrannies that have
jeered, shall be swept down under the ON
nipotent wrath of God, who hates despotisu
and who, by the strength OF his own rec
right arm, will make all men free. And sc
II Is individually. and in the family, and il
the church and in the world, that through
darkness and storm and trouble men
women. churches, nations, are developmi.
Again, see in my text The beauty of un
faiierinS friendship. 1 suppose there wer,
prosperity, but of all her acquaini ances how
many were willing to trudge off with her to
ward judah. when she had to make tha
lone journey? One-the heroine of IN
text. One-absoluiely one. l suppose whei
Naomi's husband was living, and they has
plenty of money and all things went Well
they had n great many callers, but suppos
that after her husband died. and her prop
erty went. aud she got old and poor, sh. wa
not troubled very much with callers. All tn
birds that sung in the bower while the SUI
shone have gone to their nests now the nigh
has fallen.
Oh, these beautiful sunhowers that sprea,
out their color N the morning hour, Blu
they are always asleep wh"n tho sun |.
going down. Job had plenty of friend
when he was the richest man in Uz, bu
when his property went and tn. trials cam
then iherr were none so much that p.stere
as Eliphaz the Temanit-. and Bildad tn
Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.
Life often seems to be II mere game
where the successful player pulls down a
the other men into his own Jap. Let sus
| picions arise about IN ms character. an
he becomes like bank in II panic, and a
the imputatIoDs rush on him and break dow
| in a day that character which in due tim
| would have had strength 10 defend itsei
There are regulations that have ben half
| century in building which go down unde
one push. as a vast temple is consumed h
| the touch of suphurous match. A no
can uproot a century plant.
J In this world, so fun of hpartleSsness an
hypocrisy, how Il riliing II is to find som
| friend n. faitafui i'll days of adversity as i
| days Of prosperity? David had such frien
in HushHi; the Jews had such a friend |
Mordecai. who never forgot their caUs
Paul had such a friend in OnesiphoruS, wn
visited him in jail; Christ had such in tf
Al rt-l.. a
Naomi had such a one in Ruth, who crie
| out: ''Enlreat me not to leave thee, or to r
turn from following after thee. for whith,
thou goest l will go, and whittier tho
lodge>t 1 viii lodge. Thy people shall
my people. AMI thy Col my Goi. Whe
| thou d,e-t wi'i | die. an I there will
| hurie'. The Lori do So to me, md mo
also. II anght bur death rart YOU Gnd me. "
Again. learn from this subject that pat
which open in hardship and darkness oft
come out IN placrs ot Joy. When Ruth start
from Moab toward Jerusalem to go aio
with her moiher-in-law, l suppose the PC
| pie said "Oh. what a foolish creature
u 90 aWay from her fathers house: to 90