Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-04-29
UNFAILING FRIENDS.
4 SERMON FULL OF THE BREATH OF
The FIELDS.

moving How the Attachment of Boaz
For Ruth Was Full of Undying Inter-
est to the Church of God In All Ages.
Darkness and Daylight.
WASHINGTON, April 25.-The sermon Of
Dr.. Talmage which We sent out today
,ould not have been prepared by any one
not born in the country. It Is full of the
breath of the fields. The text Is Ruth II,
}, "Aud she went and came and CLEANED
N the field after the renpers, and her hap
was to light on part Of the field belong
ing unto Boaz, who was Of the kindred OF
Elimelech.
The time that Ruth and Naomi arrive
1t Bethlehem Is harvest time. 1t was the
custom when a sheaf fell from a load in
the harvest field for the reapers to refuse
to gather it up. That was to be left for
the poor who might happen to come along
that way. If there were handfuls OF grain
scattered across the field after the main
harvest had been reaped, instead of raking
it, as farmers do now, 1t was by the Gus
tom of the land left in its place, so that
the POOR coming along that way might
CLEAN it and get their bread. But you say ::
"What is the use of all these harvest fields
to Ruth and Naomi? Naomi is too old
and feeble to go out and toll in the sun,
and can you expect that Ruth, the young
and the beautiful, should tan her checks
and blister her hands in the harvest fleld"'
Boaz owns large farm, and he goes
out to see the reapers gather in the grain.
Coming there right behind the swarthy,
sun Drowned reapers, he beholds beauti-
full woman gleaning-a woman more fit
to bend to harp or sit upon throne than
to stoop among the sheaves. All, that was
an eyentful day
1t was love at first sight Boaz forms
an attachment for the womanly CLEANER
an attachment full of undying interest to
the church of God in all ages, while Ruth,
with an ephah, or nearly bushel of bar
ley, yoes home to Naomi to tell her the
successes and adventures of the day. That
Ruth who left her native land of Moab In
darkness and travelled, through an undyine
affection for her mother-in-law, is in thu
harvest field of Boaz, is affianced to one Of
tie best families in Judah and becomes II
aftertime the ancestress of Jesus Christ
the Lord of glory. Out Of so dark nigh
did there ever dawn so bright morning
The Use of Trouble.
learn, in the first place, from this sub
iect how trouble develops character. 1
was bereavement, poverty and exile thn
developed, illustrated and announced Il
all ages the sublimity of Ruth's character
That is very unfortunate man who ha
no trouble. 1t was sorrow that made Johl
Bunyan the better dreamer, and DR.
Young the better poet, and O'Connell tn
better orator, and Bishop Hall the bette
preacher, and Havelock the better soldier
and Kitto the better encyclopaedia, an
Ruth the better daughter
once asked an aged man in regard t
his pastor, who was very brilliant man
"Why is it that your pastor, SO very bril-
liant, seems to have SO little heart an
tenderness in his sermons?" "Well, h
replied, "the reason is our pastor has neye
had any trouble. When misfortune come
upon him, his style will be different.
After awhile the Lord took child out
that pastor house, and, though the preach
er was lust as brilliant as he was before
oh, the warmth, the tenderness of his di:
course! Tho fact is that trouble is grea
educator. You see sometimes musicia
sit down at an instrument, and his execr
ton is cold and formal and unfeeling. Th
reason is that all his life he has been pro-
pered. But let misfortune or bereavemeI
come to that man, and he sits down at tt
instrument and you discover the paSlt
in the first sweep of the keys.
Misfortune and trials are great educator
A young doctor comes into sickrool
where there is dying child. Perhaps
is very rough in his prescription, and vel
rough in his manner, and rough in I'll
feeling of the pulse, and rough in his al
swer to the mothers anxious question
But years roll on, and there has been OF
dead in his own house, and now he conn
into the sickroom, and with fearful eye
looks at the dying child, and he says, "Ol
how this reminds me of my Charlie
Trouble, the great educator. Sorrow
see its touch in the grandest painting;
hear its tremor in the sweetest song; fe
its rower in the mightiest argument.
Grecian mythology said that the fou
tain of Hippocrene was struck out by Il
foot of the winged horse Pegasus. ha
often noticed in life that the brightest al
most beautiful fountains of Christif
comfort and spiritual life have been strut
out by the iron shod hoof of disaster al
calamity. I see Daniels courage best
the flash of Northumberland furnace.
see Paul's prowess best when find hi
on the laundering ship under the glare
the lightning in the breakers of Melit
God crowns his children amid the how'll
of wild beasts and the chopping OF bio
splashed guillotine and the cracking I'll
of martyrdom. 1t took the persecutio
of Marcus Aurelius to develop Polyca
, and Justin Martyr. 1t took all the host
tiles against the Scotch Coyenanters al
J the fury of Lord Claverhouse to devel
4 James Renwick and Andrew Melville a
Hugh McKail, the glorious martyrs
! Scotch history. 1t took the stormy 81
and the December blast, and the desoli
New England coast, and the warwhoop
! savages, to show forth the prowess Of
pilgrim fathers
When amid the storms they sang,
And the stars heard, and the sea,
And the sounding aisles of the dim WOO
y Rang to the anthems of the free.
1t took all our past national distress
A and it takes all our present national s.
= rows to lift up our nation on that high
reer where it will march long after the f
eign aristocracies that have Knocked
tyrannies that have jeered shall be sw'
down under the omnipotent wrath OF IL
who hates despotism, and who, by
n - &c oxu,, rod riuht; arm. VI