Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-07-05
sxxxss sssssssS s33ss3s S3Ss
: SUNDAY SERMON :
A Scholarly Discourse BY
Rev. Robert H. Carson.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

the manner III which we are accus'
toned to read It, There are very rev
who take time to read Il whole book
through ut a single sitting. We dip
into Scripture us il it were a book or
fate. reading Il verse here and another
there. so it is not surprising that we
rise from the exercise having received
but little help and spiritua! refresh
ment. There is no royal ROAD 10
knowledge. There is no way to gar
ncr the lessons which Holy Scripture
teaches save through that steady and
persistent searching of which our Saw
ious spoke when He said. search the
Scriptures. for they are they Which
testify of Me-
1t is our hope this evening to point
out some Of the beautiful lessons con-
tanned in one little book of the Bible.
in one of the most delightful stories
ever presented for contemplation by
the mind of man. ] refer to the book
of Ruth. Its very place in the sacred
canon makes it Il memorable piece OF
literature. 1t is. as You know. pre-
coded by the book Of Judges. nnd roll
lowed by the book Of Samuel. These
books are concerned almost exclusively
with the national history Of Israel
with the wars. defeats. humiliatiOns
murmlrings. comp,ainings. repiningS
and repcntances of the people. They
are not. in the main. pleasant reading.
Their pages are red with blood. and
violence, and rapine. and lawlcss deeds.
the interchangeable consequences of Il
nation forgetting God and negltcting to
do His will!
1t is Il great pleasure. therefore. TO
turn from these hooks that tell of the
ups aud downs of naiiona! life, and
fix the attention upon the charming
story of Ruth. That little hook pic.
lures domestic life: 1t gives MS Il
glimpse into the quiet, everyday habits
and customs of the men ard women
of that time. and we see them in their
homes, in the harvest feds ut the
| festivals. and at religious services.
Biography is. think, the favorite
reading matter. We are deluged with
a flood of fictitious biography in the
shape of novels which come by thou
sands from the printing press every
wear. 1t is an easy. but not very
! profitable kind of reading. for in the
majority of eases there is Il great deal
of unreality, too great an absence or
| the lifelike. and too little or what we
know TO be 4 common experience.
1t is not so, however. in the book or
Ruth. There we have life truly de-
picted; there we meet with men and
women rs we find them to-day-not an
| gels and not demons. but errins. en1ur.
| ing. faithful and not unblrst.
1t is not my intention to enter upon
| the story trust that you all know
| it. or that if you do not. that you will
take Il quiet half hour this very eveIl-
ing. and peruse that little book. which,
in its superiority. is rs far removed
| from our modern stories as the east
is from the west.
in coming into touch. then. with this
| piece of sacred literature, and consid-
pring 70: our edicatOn some Of the
| lessons which it teaches. we see first or
all the superiority Of character The
two chief figures in the story are Boaz
and Ruth. and it is their characters
that make them such. There is not
in the whole range of literature bet
ter type of manly healthy religion
than is exomplitipd in the case Of Boaz.
| You remember that scene in the har-
vest field. He went down to his reap
rrs. and his saMtation without any
can't or insncerity. WAS. "The Lord be
with YOU" My friends. when such n
greeting as that can take place be.
| tween master and men. it teStities to
| the presence of n religion that leaves its
mark upon very act, and upon all the
conduct of life. 1t is the men like
Boaz who are the ornament and glory
Of religion; the men whose beliefs i'll
| fuence them all in the manifold con-
Germs of life. in the forum, in the mar
ket place. abroad as we'll rs ut home.
| Our Lord tells us who are to be ac-
counted blessed 1t is not the mere
bearers of His word nor they who can
cry. Lord. Lord" and affirm that they
J have prayed in public places. 1t is
blessed are the doors of the Word"
and blessed they alone. Such in his
| day WAS BOaz--a man of kindly feel
ngs. pure heart. strong conviction, true
| purpose. and the benediction of the
Most High was upon him.
Such. too. was Ruth. with her loving,
tender. ronsiderate henrt-one of the
faireSt characters in the whole range
| Of Hebrew Scripture.
| -tItt tlit llOSt lolf" ths raw III tlllS
connection is that these characters
were produced amid surroundings and
an environment that would have dis
| couragcd the average person. 1t was
a lawlesS time; restraints were weak
cncd or entirely removed. and men be-
came IL law unto themselves. such a
! condition of society Is not favorable to
the cultivation and development Of the
nobcr virtues. and yet. amid such a
state of things, we have the stirring
| example Of these two who bravely
maintained the testimony and did the
right. 1t is not ut all unusual to hear
men blame their surroundings for their
errors and mistakes: it is. indeed. the
common way by which we seek to con-
| done our failngs but the excuse is not
valid. Some men. it is true. are more
strongly tempted than others; some are
in places that require strong heart, Il
firm faith. an mistaken confidence In
God and in the power of Christ in
order that they may be kept from the
evil that prevails around them; but no
man, il his purpose be true. can ever
be wholly overcome. There Is no
| temptation that hath befalen any man
but what Is common, and always with
| the temptation there is way Of cs-
ape if, trusting in the grace divine and
in the strength omnipotent. our heart
and wills be set on delivery.
| Amid surroundings most unfavorable
| these two saints went Oh from strength
TO strength, growing in grace and in
favor. both with God ,nd men. be-
cause their hearts were right and their
| cniItS Nv thpir Dynn,,Nln W
| ~ blame our place or condition for
our failures but looking Up to God, we
should ask Him to search and try US,
70 see i! there is any wicked way in us,
and lead Us N the way everlasting
But We learn again, from The story.