Times-promoter., 1903-01-16

tration this is of our text. How per-
fectly precept and example in Gods
Word fit together. The hungering for
God of simple-hearted woman of
Moab started stream of blessing
(which did not end until upon the
food-tide of its fullness the Son Of
God was swept from Heaven to
earth and spoke the words: BLESSED
are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness, for they ehall be
filed" Our text is perfect epit-
ONE of the life of Ruth.
Notice this in regard to Naomi,
God had to take away that in which her
heart was centered cher husband and
two sons) before she knew what it
was to hunger after God. Naomi is a
type of the self-satisfied Christian,
the worldly Christian. There is such
a low order of spiritual life there
that there is no sense of real hunger
Like the pampered appetite, it has no
relish for wholesome food, but de-
lights to feed on the sweets of it's
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leave the presence of the Lord and
dwell in the midst of the world
Like Lot in Sodom it becomes i'm
mersed in the affairs of great city
and forgets all about God until af-
! Fiction comes and it is stripped Of
it's every possession. Then comes
the healthy hunger after God, and
the longing to get back to Him. How
merciful God is, and how patiently
He deals with the worldly, hunger
less Christian.
Ruth is type of the hungry and
thirsty Christian. With soul awak-
ened by the Divine touch and yielded
to Him, there comes an intense long
ing after God and His Righteousness.
She is not content to remain in the
old land, with it's goddess conditions
and surroundings, but eagerly presses
towards Gods land and Gods people.
Yes, there is much to give up, but they
are as nothing to her hungry soul in
comparison to the blessing and filling
to be obtained from God Think of
what Ruth had to give up! Her land
and her people, her friends and loved
ones, all the dear associations of her
childhood! In the land of Moab there
were home and comfort and ease for
her; in the new land there were poy-
erty, and privation, and hardship, but
God was there and His blessing was
better to her soul than all that the
land of Moab could offer her. Orpha,
like multitudes of people in the world
to-day, was not willing when the test
ing time came, to give up ALL that she
might dwell in Gods land and with
Gods people. She went back. What
sad thing to write of any soul! That
it should choose the riches of the
world rather than the blessing of God.
Orpha went back and oblivion swal-
lows up the Moabitish woman. Moth
ing more is. beard of her. But Ruth,
the hungry-Christian, turns her back
upon everything that is separating
her from God and His blessing and
presses forward, and through every
century which has rolled around since
she made her wise choice, the beauti-
inspired and strengthened other hun
CRY souls.
Hunger is one of the strongest inn
pulses of the human body and it must
be satisfied. What can keep hungry
man from the smoking dinner before
him? There is nothing that can lure
him away; there is nothing else that
can satisfy. He is hungry. He must
be fed. Hunger makes the dinner the
supreme object of the moment. 1t is
so with the hungry soul. To feed on
the righteousness of God is the SUI
preme delight. 1t must be satisfied.
1t cannot be drawn away by the riches,
or attractions, or friends of Moab. 1t
must be fed. There is vast difference
between the idle longing of the soul
after the righteousness of God and
the real hunger of soul which makes
it willing to give up anything and en-
dure any hardship and face any dan
ger in order that it may feed on God
and be satisfied. The soul that hun
gers shall be filled, because it will not
rest until it is fed. God loves to see
hungry souls. He can detect the sham
longing that the soul thinks is real
hunger. He never feeds such soul.
1t is too full of self and it's own de-
sires to let God in to fill it. But the
hungry soul! God gives it a taste of
His Righteousness, and waits until it
cries for more. He never overfeeds,
so as to spoil the healthy appetite. He
waits until the hunger is keen, and
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