Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-04-30
Faithful Friends.

Faithful Friends.
Again, l see in my text the beauty Of
unfaltering friendship. 1 suppose there
were plenty Of friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity, but Of all her ac-
quaintances how many were willing to
trudge off with her toward Judah, when
she had TO make that lonely journey?
One-the heroine Of my text. One-ab-
solutely one. l suppose when Naomi's
husband was living. and they had plen-
Is Of money, and all things went well,
they had a great many callers, but L
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
sung in the bower while the sun shone
have gone to their nests now the night
has fallen.
Oh. these beautiful sun1owers that
spread out their color in the morning
hourl But they are always asleep when
the sun is going down. Job had plenty
of friends when he was the richest man
in ", but when his property went and
the trials came then there were none so
much that pestered as Eliphaz the Te-
mantle, and Bildad the Shuhite, and
Zophar the Naamathite.
Life often seems to be a mere game,
where the successful player pulls down
all the other men into his own lap. Let
suspicious arise about a mans charac-
ter, and he becomes like bank in
panic, and all the imputations rush on
him and break down in a day that
character which in due time would
have had strength to defend itself. There
are regulations that have been half
century in building which 90 down
under one push. as vast temple is con-
sumed by the touch Of a sulphurous
match. A hog can uproot a century
plant
In this world, so full Of heartlessness
and hypocrisy, how thrilling it Is TO
end some friend as faithful in days OF
adversely as in days Of prosperity! Da-
vid had such friend in Hushai; the
Jews had such a friend in Mordecai,
who never forgot their cause; Paul had
such a friend in Onesiphorus, who Wis
tied him il Jail; Christ had such in the
Marys. who adhered to him on the
cross: Noami had such a one in Ruth,
who cried ont: "Entreat me not to leave
thee. or to return from following after
thee. for whittier thou goest | will go,
and whittier thou lodgest | will lodge.
Thy people shall be my people, and thy
God ms God. Where thou diest will |
die. and there will ! be buried. The
Lord do so TO me, and more also, II
aught but death part thee and me- "
After storm. Sunshine.
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 90 along with her mother
in.law. l suppose the people said: "Oh,
what a foolish creature to go away from
her fathers house; to 90 off with poor
old woman toward the land Of Judah!
They won't live TO get across the desert
They will be drowned in the sea, or the
iackals of the wilderness will destroy
them" Il was a very dark morning
when Ruth started off with Naomi.
But behold her in my text in the harvest
field of Boaz. to be affianced to one OF
the lords Of the land and become one OF
the grandmothers Of Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory. And so it often Is that a
natb which often starts very darkly ends
very brightly.
When you started out for heaven, oh,
how dark was the hour Of conviction;
how Sinai thundered and devils tor
mented and the darkness thickenedl All
the sins OF your life pounced upon you
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
clean in the fields Of divine promise and
vou had more sheaves than you could
carry as the voice Of God addressed you
saving. Blessed is the man whose trans
cression are forgiven and whose sins are
covered" 4 very dark starting in con-
yiction, a very bright ending in the par,
don and the hope and the triumph OF
the gospel!
So. very often in our worldly business
or in our spiritu.! career we start OF Oh
a very dark patti We must 90. The
Gcsh may shrink back, but there IS
voice within, or voice from above
saving. "You must 20. And we have
70 drink the gall, and We have TO carry
the cross. aud We have 10 traverse th'
desert. and we are pounded and haile'
of misrepresentation and abuse, and We
have to urge our way through lO,OO'
obstacles that have been slam by on
own right arm. We have to ford th'
river. we have TO climb the mountain
we have to storm the castle, but, blessed
ne God. the day Of rest and reward VII
come On the tip top Of the captured
hattlements we will shout the victory
fif not in this world, then in that worl'
where there is 10 gall to drink, no bur
dens 10 carry. no battles to fight HoV
do know it: Know it'll | know 1t be
rause God says so: They shall hunge
mo more. neither thirst any more
ueither-hall the sun light on them, nc
anv he..t. for the Lamb which Is in tn
midst of the throne shall lead them {
living fountains Of water, and God shai
wine all tears from their eyes.
1t was very hard for Noah to endur
the scofing Of the people in his day
while he was trying to build the ark am
was every morning quizzed about HI
old boat that would never be OF an
practical use: but when the delug
came and the tops Of the mountains dis
anpeared like the backs Of sea monsters
and the elements, lasbed up III tury
claimed their hands over drowne'
world, then Noah in the ark reJoiced J.
, his own safety and in the safety OF hi
r family and looked out on the wreck
l a ruined earth. !.
, Christ, bounded Of prosecutors, d'
nied a pillow, worse maltreated tha
the thieves on either side Of the eros
human hate smacking its lips in satiI