*#^ 
 
 LIBRARY OF PRlflCETON 
 
 MAY 2 4 mi i 
 
 J 
 
 ICAL SEMINARY 
 
 BS580.R8 T9 1855 
 
 Tyng, Stephen H. (Stephen 
 
 Higginson), 1800-1885. 
 
 Rich kinsman. The history of 
 
 Ruth 
 
 the Moabitess. 
 
7/ 
 
 
 &£- 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 ^utl] \\i HUaHtm. 
 
 BY 
 
 STEPHEN H. TYNG, D.D., 
 
 acotoB or st. geobge'b ohttboh, new yokb. 
 
 pcblishkd by the 
 
 Protestant Ei-iscopal Society for the Promotion of 
 Evangelical Knowledge, 
 
 No. 2 Bible House, Fourth Ave., New- York. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, 
 
 BY STEPHEN H. TYNG, 
 
 In the Clerk 1 i Office for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 LIBRARY OF PRINCETON 1 
 
 MAY 2 4 2002 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
C w 1 1 n 1 5 • 
 
 Introduction .5 
 
 I. — Book of Ruth 9 
 
 II.— The Wanderers 29 
 
 III. — The Awakening 54 
 
 IV. — The Promising Commencement . . . .80 
 
 V. — The Painful Separation 102 
 
 VI.— True Decision 125 
 
 VII.— The Faithful Choice 151 
 
 VIII.— The Backslider's Return 182 
 
 IX.— The Young Convert 205 
 
 X.— The Rich Kinsman . ... . . .225 
 
 XI.— The Gleaner 244 
 
 XII.— The Welcome Reception . . . . . 2G9 
 XIII.— The Gracious Approbation . . . .292 
 
 XIV.— The Happy Discovery 316 
 
 XV.— The Place of Rest 336 
 
 XVI.— The Ftest-Fruits of Grace 356 
 
 XVTL— Redemption Proposed .... 378 
 
 XVIII. — Redemption Accomplished . • . . . 396 
 
 XIX.— Redemption Applied . • . . . . 41 1 
 
$ittrolurtt0ii. 
 
 The author presents this work in the hope 
 that it wall be found adapted to enlighten the 
 minds of the young in some of the great sub- 
 jects of Scriptural Instruction. It comprises a 
 course of lectures delivered to the youth of his 
 congregation on the afternoons of the Lord's day. 
 Several such courses, upon various biographies of 
 the Scripture, and upon other portions of Scripture, 
 applicable as useful illustrations of Christian truth 
 and Christian duty, he has also given to his youth- 
 ful hearers. It has been the great object of all these 
 to engage and interest the minds of the young 
 in the study of the Holy Scriptures. "Whether 
 the publication of this one course will be consid- 
 ered as so likely to be useful as to warrant the 
 preparation for similar publication of either of the 
 other courses referred to, will be decided by the 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 present experiment. The author has been kng 
 impressed with the feeling that neither commen- 
 taries nor sermons have yet made that simple 
 and practical use of the fullness of Scripture truth 
 for which it is adapted — perhaps he might say for 
 which it is designed. The young mind certainly 
 can be interested in the Word of God as a book 
 full of attraction as well as full of truth. Who- 
 ever can be made in any degree the instrument 
 of leading to this result by bringing out to view 
 the real attractions of the Scripture, confers so 
 far an invaluable benefit upon others. Nothing 
 is more desirable at the present time than a 
 complete commentary upon the Bible, adapted to 
 such an end — a commentary that should avoid 
 the deep ruts of mere traditional exposition, and 
 be designed to exhibit the fullness of truth and 
 beauty which in a new path remain yet to be 
 explored and displayed. Such a commentary for 
 our Sunday-schools would be a priceless gift. To 
 prepare it, however, will require equal acquaintance 
 with the minds and wants of the young, and with 
 the deep and exhaustless treasures of the Word of 
 God The author does not pretend to the full 
 
INTRODUCTION. \U 
 
 possession of either of such attainments, however 
 truly he appreciates their importance and worth. 
 But may not others be induced to enter upon 
 this field of untried usefulness? May not the 
 ministry be generally led to direct their minds 
 and study more to the great purpose of preparing 
 Scriptural attractions as well as Scriptural instruc- 
 tion for the young? If the present work should 
 be of no more general advantage, the author, is 
 perfectly sure that to his own beloved flock of 
 youthful hearers it will be acceptable, and will 
 by them be prized. To them, therefore, at least, 
 he commits it without fear, and with the affec- 
 tionate prayer for a Divine blessing upon its pre- 
 cious truths among them all. 
 
 s. n. t. 
 
 St. George's Rectory, 
 
 New York, March 1, 1856. 
 
I. 
 
 Site §««& at °g\\tb. 
 
 I B.\u always considered this one of the 
 most interesting and instructive books of the 
 Old Testament. It is full of precious spirit- 
 ual instruction. It preaches a glorious 
 Saviour for the lost sinner. It describes the 
 sorrows of the wanderer from God. It shows 
 the blessedness of the sinner's return to 
 Christ ; the riches and bounty of the Great 
 Kedeemer ; and the fullness of love and mercy 
 which the pardoned rebel finds in him. All 
 these blessed truths are exhibited in the his- 
 tory of a family of Israelites, who strayed to 
 the land of Moab, and of a lovely youthful 
 convert from idolatry, who becomes united to 
 them, and is thus led to . a rich kinsman, 
 
10 THE RICH KINSMAN. • 
 
 before unknown to her, and in whom she 
 finds a bountiful and faithful Eedeemer. 
 
 "We have the story of her return from idol- 
 atry to the living God, of her first acquaint- 
 ance with this rich kinsman, of her union 
 with him in marriage, of her peaceful and 
 happy dwelling with him, of the excellence 
 of her own character, and of his generous 
 liberality towards her. In all this, we have a 
 simple and faithful preaching of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ to us, under the most interest- 
 ing and attractive shape. He is our ap- 
 pointed Kinsman and Eedeemer, who has 
 bought and ransomed us with the rich price 
 of his own blood. And, when we are brought 
 back to him, from our wandering in sin, by 
 the converting power of his own Spirit, we 
 enjoy the fullness of his pardoning love, and 
 he becomes united to us in an everlasting 
 covenant never to be forgotten. This is the 
 view which I would give you of The Book 
 of Kuth. 
 
 Ruth was in herself a beautiful example 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 11 
 
 of virtue and personal excellence, in every 
 different station in which she was placed. 
 We see her a homeless wanderer, and we see 
 her sheltered in a happy home ; we see her 
 in poverty, and we see her in wealth ; we see 
 her neglected, and we see her caressed. But 
 we see her at all times, and in all stations, 
 the same faithful and beautiful illustration 
 of female loveliness, purity, and benevolence. 
 She shines before us, a remarkable instance 
 of the power of Divine grace. It was this 
 alone which renewed her heart, and made 
 her really a daughter of the Lord Almighty. 
 She became a temple of the Holy Ghost, 
 and was thus made able to glorify God in 
 her body, and her spirit, which were his. 
 
 She was an interesting example of the 
 happiness which flows from a true and faith- 
 ful obedience of God. True religion was to 
 her the source of every earthly as well as of 
 every heavenly joy. Karely is a character so 
 attractive and lovely in itself, seen in the 
 sinful family of man. And under this aspect, 
 
12 THE RICH KINSMAN 
 
 her history is well worthy of the study of the 
 young. You see here the beauty of true 
 piety in the youthful female character. Of 
 one instance of such piety the eminent 
 Bishop Griswold says, in a record of his 
 journal, " She is a sensible young woman, 
 possessed of beauty, and of all that is ami- 
 able in nature and by education ; truly 
 pious ; her whole soul devoted to her Saviour. 
 She reminds me of the celestial inhabitants ; 
 she seems but c a little lower than the an- 
 gels/ What mortal state can imagination 
 portray so nearly resembling that of those 
 pure intelligences, as the character and life 
 of a pious young female ?" 
 
 But let us not forget she was made thus 
 attractive by the Holy Spirit, that Blessed 
 Sanctifier whom the Saviour gives to all 
 the people of God. He is the guide and 
 teacher of all who love God. He taught 
 the prophets and inspired holy men to write 
 the Scriptures. And he renewed and sanc- 
 tified the hearts of all who iru'v believed 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 13 
 
 God's word, in ancient times as* well as in 
 our day. It was lie who taught Kuth to 
 believe in a promised Saviour, and enabled 
 her to choose and to obey his commands , 
 and who tLus gave her the beautiful orna- 
 ment of a meek and heavenly temper. This 
 makes her character an example to the young 
 members of the Saviour's flock in every age, 
 because the same Spirit offers to bless and 
 sanctify all who will receive him. How 
 happy would it be, for every daughter of the 
 church, to follow the same Lord, under the 
 teaching of the same Divine Spirit ! 
 
 The history of Kuth is also a very instruct- 
 ive instance of the gracious Providence of 
 God over all who truly seek him. We see 
 her giving up all her own relations, her native 
 land, and the idolatry of her fathers, to seek 
 the worship, and the service of the God of 
 Israel. But she loses nothing. She finds 
 her happy recompense, under the shadow of 
 his wings in whom she had come to put her 
 trust. She not only ieceives the rich spirit- 
 
14 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ual blessings which are the gift of God to 
 those who seek him, but she has also all 
 other things added to her under his gracious 
 care. " Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having the promise of the life that 
 now is, and of that which is to come." This 
 is a very valuable example to us, whether we 
 think of her own conduct in obedience to 
 God, or of the goodness and love of God 
 towards her. The Holy Spirit gave us this 
 book to be a witness to us, that God will 
 never fail, nor forsake, those who put their 
 trust in him. Every child of God may here 
 learn, never to doubt, or to distrust, that 
 gracious Saviour who has promised to be the 
 everlasting friend of all who seek and love 
 him. Great will be the blessing to you, if 
 you shall thus be taught more truly to seek 
 and to trust in Jesus, and to seek your shel- 
 ter under the shadow of his wing. 
 
 The history of Ruth's personal connection 
 with our blessed Lord, in his human nature, 
 is also quite worthy of your notice. She and 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 1^ 
 
 Rahab were the only two Gentiles in the 
 earthly genealogy of our Lord. He was 
 pleased to take the nature of man in the 
 family which descended from them. He was 
 thus " not the God of the Jews only, but also 
 of the Gentiles." Ruth, though a native of 
 Moab, was one of the chosen ancestors of the 
 honored line of David. And thus Gentile 
 blood was mingled in that exalted family, 
 with the blood of Israel. Thus she became 
 personally connected with the Redeemer of 
 men. From her, " as concerning the flesh, 
 Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for 
 ever." What a special interest does this give 
 to her character and history for us ! All our 
 hopes and joys are resting upon the real 
 incarnation and manhood of this glorious and 
 Divine Saviour ; and it is most interesting to 
 us, to trace back the connection of his lowly 
 humanity, to this faithful child of God, who 
 came from the wilds of Moab, to seek tho 
 truth and the goodness of the Lord God of 
 Israel. 
 
16 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 But there is much more than all this in 
 the history of Euth. It was given to us by 
 the Holy Spirit to preach a Saviour's love. 
 The Holy Spirit glorifies our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by taking of the things which are his, 
 and showing them unto men. He does this 
 very plainly and beautifully in the history of 
 TCuth. He tells us here very much of Christ ; 
 much of the kingdom of his grace, as well as 
 of the government of his Providence. He 
 displays the riches of his redeeming love, in a 
 very attractive manner ; and in some very 
 important and instructive illustrations. He 
 preaches to us the fullness of that pardoning 
 mercy, which is exercised by the Son of God, 
 who was manifest in the flesh, that he might 
 be the kinsman and husband of perishing 
 sinners ; and who, when he had redeemed 
 them by his death, betrothed them unto him- 
 self, and made them to become the Bride, 
 the Lamb's wife. He shows us here the way 
 in which the Saviour brings wandering sin- 
 ners back to himself, receives them into his 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 17 
 
 family, feeds them with the fullness of hia 
 bounty, exalts them into an everlasting union 
 with himself, gives them a name and a record 
 among the generations of his children, and 
 teaches them to praise and glorify him for 
 ever. 
 
 All these precious lessons of Gospel truth 
 the Holy Spirit teaches us, in the history 
 of this youthful Moabitess. And he thus 
 preaches the Gospel here in a very clear and 
 beautiful way. And if the same Spirit shall 
 graciously teach you also, you may be led to 
 learn here the love of Christ' for yourselves, 
 your own need of such a Saviour, and the 
 riches of his wisdom and grace in your salva- 
 tion. This is the blessed and all-important 
 purpose for which I wish you to study the 
 history of Euth. 
 
 But this blessed instruction is not peculiar 
 to the Book of Kuth. It is to be found 
 every where in the Scriptures of the Old Tes- 
 tament. They are full of histories which are 
 intended to lead your minds and hearts to the 
 
18 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 same gracious and holy Saviour. They all 
 testify of Christ, and of that eternal life 
 which is to be found in him alone. It must 
 ever be your aim and effort to gain a knowl- 
 edge of the Saviour from them all. To 
 obtain this knowledge of Jesus, under the 
 teaching of the Holy Spirit is worth all the 
 study it may cost you, and all the time it 
 may require. Seek for this as an invaluable 
 blessing. Throughout your whole Bible try 
 to find the Saviour speaking to you. He is 
 every where in it. The same Spirit has writ- 
 ten it all. And in every part of it he waits 
 to teach you the same Gospel, and to explain 
 to you the same salvation. The more ear- 
 nestly you study the sacred Word, praying to 
 him to enlighten and teach you, the more 
 clearly will you see this one subject constant- 
 ly before you. 
 
 It is this " teaching and preaching Jesus 
 Christ," which makes the Bible so precious to 
 the people of God, in every generation, and 
 in every land. They read of their Beloved 
 
THE BOOK OF KUTH. 19 
 
 Lord in every part of it, and " to them that 
 believe, he is precious." If you shall really 
 find a Saviour there, it will he equally at- 
 tractive and precious to you. Then seek him 
 there. Seek the guidance of his Spirit, that 
 you may find him. Pray for Divine teaching, 
 " the unction of the Holy One." When you 
 find him, embrace him with delight, as your 
 portion for ever. Thus the patriarchs and 
 prophets believed in him. Thus Kuth be- 
 lieved in him. Thus all the ancient saints 
 believed in him. They rejoiced in looking 
 forward to his day of grace and glory. Be 
 ye followers of them, who, through faith and 
 patience, obtained the promises. Kejoice to 
 be united with them in the same precious 
 promises, the same steadfast faith, the same 
 blessed hope. 
 
 The Scriptures of the Old Testament are 
 a rich mine. The blessed Saviour is the 
 precious gold which is hidden within it. 
 How earnestly ought we to search for this 
 pure gold, more precious than the gold of 
 
20 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Oi)hir. Sometimes it lies very Dear the sur- 
 face. As they speak of earthly mines, it 
 "crops out" in beautiful exhibitions of its 
 worth, which every traveler may see. Some- 
 times it lies far deeper, and requires much 
 skill in discovering it, and much persevering 
 meditation and study to obtain and separate 
 it. But the gold is always really in the 
 mine. And it will always prove really worth 
 every effort which you may make to get it. 
 If you gain a real living interest in the glori- 
 ous Saviour, and enjoy the peace and hope 
 which he imparts, you will feel rewarded a 
 thousand-fold, for all the toil his service costs. 
 But never be satisfied with your study of the 
 Bible, until you really understand and enjoy 
 this word of life. 
 
 Many years ago I visited a friend living in 
 the valley of Wyoming, on the Susquehanna 
 river. His beautiful farm extended back 
 from the river into the hills which bound the 
 valley. In examining his ground among the 
 hills, far back from the river, he discovered 
 
TEE BOOK OF KUTH. 21 
 
 the cropping out of coal upon the hill-side 
 He knew immediately that there was a mine 
 beneath. But instead of digging just where 
 he saw the coal, his scientific skill led him to 
 calculate " the dip" of the mine ; that is, its 
 inclination or slope. Then he went down to 
 the edge of the river, and began to dig a 
 canal for boats, from the river back to the 
 hills. Ignorant men wondered at such 
 strange labor. They almost thought him in- 
 sane. Why should a man dig a canal from 
 the river to stop at the foot of an impassable 
 mountain ? But he persevered in his work 
 without explaining his design. And, when he 
 had finished his plan, and they saw his work 
 completed, the worth of his science and skill 
 appeared, and they were glad to acknowledge 
 it. His canal stopped at the face of a beau- 
 tiful vein of coal which dipped toward the 
 river. He could thus take out his coal with 
 boats in the very bosom of his mine, while all 
 the water from the mine drained into the 
 canal, and left his coal dry. The same skill- 
 
22 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ful plan found the coal, drained the mine, 
 and opened his coal to an easy transportation 
 for sale. 
 
 The Old Testament is a rich mine of Gos- 
 pel truth. The Gospel lies hidden there in 
 all its fullness and worth. The Saviour is to 
 be found under all the types and histories 
 which are there contained. It is your privi- 
 lege to search these Scriptures for that 
 knowledge of your Saviour which is eternal 
 life. These types and histories are like pic- 
 tures of our blessed Lord, in the different 
 parts of the work of his redemption for man, 
 drawn by the Holy Spirit for man's instruc- 
 tion. The Old Testament is full of them, 
 and thus full of the knowledge of Christ. 
 that I could persuade my young friends to 
 search for this knowledge ; to feel and to say, 
 "Howl love Thy word! it is dearer to me 
 than thousands of gold and silver." Never be 
 contented with your study of any part of 
 the Holy Scriptures, until you find yourself 
 growing under its instruction, in the knowl- 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 23 
 
 edge and love of your Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Holy Scriptures are a deep, pure sea. 
 The Saviour is the pearl of great price which 
 lies at the bottom of the deep. Perhaps 
 many may search there and not find it. In 
 some particular effort you may for a time 
 search in vain. But if you persevere in your 
 search, you will surely find at last the pearl 
 you seek. And then it will repay you for all 
 your toil. You will cheerfully sell all that 
 you have to buy it. All that you can desire 
 is not to be compared to it. 
 
 " The world its fancied pearl may crave, 
 'Tis not the pearl for me, 
 'Twill dim its lustre in the grave, 
 
 'Twill perish in the sea. 
 But there 's a pearl of price untold, 
 That never can be bought with gold, 
 The sinking soul 'twill save : 
 0, that's the pearl for me." 
 
 This is the pearl I would have you find in 
 the history of Kuth. "What can it teach me 
 of Christ? What will it show me of tho 
 
24 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 way of his salvation, or of the blessings and 
 privileges which he bestows upon his people ? 
 This is the great object of our study here. I 
 might justly say, this is the only really great 
 and important object of life itself. We never 
 really know how to live until we can say, 
 " for me to live is Christ." "Wise and happy 
 will you be to part with every thing beside, if 
 you may win him as your portion, your ever- 
 lasting inheritance. 
 
 This pearl here lies before you in the 
 clearest sea. This pure gold is here scattered 
 before you in every part of the field. You may 
 gather durable riches here with great delight, 
 with little labor, and without weariness in 
 the effort. If the Holy Spirit be pleased to 
 teach you, you will see the marks of the Lord 
 Jesus often before you, as you think on that 
 which he has been pleased to write for you 
 here. that he may write it all on the liv- 
 ing tables of your hearts, and give you of the 
 hidden treasures of his grace, which are here 
 laid up ! Then will your study of this inter- 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 25 
 
 esting book be happy and useful. The Sa- 
 viour will come to dwell with you. You will 
 find your refuge and shelter with him. It 
 will help to prepare you to dwell with him in 
 the kingdom of his glory. It will teach you 
 to join in that heavenly song which all the 
 justified children of his grace sing for ever 
 unto him. Happy, happy will you be, to 
 make your choice like Kuth's, and like her to 
 find an everlasting home in your Great Kins- 
 man's heavenly habitation. 
 
 ' Let Pleasure chant her syren song ! 
 
 'Tis not the song for me ; 
 To weeping it will turn ere long, 
 
 For this is Heaven's decree. 
 But there's a song the ransom'd sing, 
 To Jesus, their exalted King, 
 
 With joyful heart and tongue : 
 that 's the sons: for me." 
 
 Ah, my dear young friends, try to learn 
 that heavenly song with all the redeemed of 
 God. Choose your part and portion in Christ, 
 that his Spirit may teach you his truth, to 
 love his service, to follow his commands, and 
 2 
 
26 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 to walk in his steps. This will be a constar t 
 education for that glorified state, and an in- 
 creasing acquaintance with its everlasting 
 joys, where, with Kuth the Moabitess, and 
 all the chosen family of God, you shall have 
 your inheritance for ever. . 
 
 There is no more important instrument for 
 the attainment of this end, than your habit- 
 ual and earnest study of the Word of God. 
 Try to write its truths upon your memory, 
 and imprint its principles upon your hearts. 
 Let no day of life pass without the sincere 
 study of some portion of this Divine revela- 
 tion from God to man. Neglect no part of 
 it. Every word of God is good. The word 
 of the Lord is perfect. Let it convert your 
 souls. If any portion seems difficult or bar- 
 ren, it will only require the more earnest and 
 careful thought. As your years go by, its 
 habitual study will open new pleasures, and 
 give new delights. Still brighter light will 
 shine upon its pages. Still clearer and deep- 
 er truth will be laid open before your view. 
 
THE BOOK OF RUTH. 27 
 
 learn to love your Bible more. It will be 
 your inseparable treasure. You may carry it 
 wherever you go. You may enjoy it wher- 
 ever you are. You may feed upon it in 
 health, and it will be your consolation in 
 sickness. Its blessed instructions will en- 
 lighten your minds, and strengthen your 
 hearts for every study and duty in life. Its 
 precious words of life will still dwell in your 
 memory, and cheer your hopes, in the last 
 hours of your earthly day. "When every 
 thing outward has faded away, these blessed 
 promises and truths will shine around you, 
 like stars in midnight darkness, and make 
 you feel never less alone than when you seem 
 to have been cut off from all whom you have 
 known and loved on earth. 
 
 Come, then, my dear young friends, let us 
 search this heavenly mine, in the beautiful 
 vein which the story of Kuth opens to our 
 view, and there try to find and love the gra- 
 cious Saviour whom Kuth so really found and 
 so truly loved. Let us go into the clear 
 
28 THE BICH KINSMAN. 
 
 depths of this heavenly sea, and try to obtain 
 the blessed pearl of price for which Kuth 
 counted every thing else but loss. Then will 
 you say, from the abiding enjoyment of your 
 own hearts, "all the things that may be 
 desired are not to be compared to this. 
 Dearer to us than thousands of gold and 
 silver, yea, than life itself, is that Divine 
 Eedeemer whom we have chosen for ourselves, 
 as all our righteousness and our heritage for 
 
II. 
 
 flu Miutiijms. 
 
 Kow it came to pass in the days when the Judges ruled, that there 
 was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Judab 
 went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two 
 sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his 
 wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, r phi a- 
 thites of Bethlehem J udah. And they came into the country of Moab, 
 and continued there. And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died ; and 
 she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the 
 women of Moab ; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of 
 the other was Euth ; and they dwelled there about ten years. And 
 Mahlon and Chilion died, also, both of them ; and the woman was 
 left of her husband and her two sons." — Eutii, i. 1-5. 
 
 Thus the history of Ruth begins with a 
 story of wanderers from God. It is a sad, 
 but not a strange commencement. A family 
 of Israelites are dwelling together in their 
 native land ; and the first knowledge we have 
 of their particular history, is the knowledge 
 of their folly. They went from the land 
 
30 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of Israel, to sojourn in the country of 
 Moab. 
 
 Why did they wander, and thus leave the 
 home of their fathers ? The answer given is, 
 " there was a famine in the land." God had 
 sent upon them a temporary trouble, and 
 they fled from it. But when God chastens 
 us in his wisdom, our duty is to yield with 
 contentment and submission. "We should 
 hear the rod, and Him who hath appointed it. 
 When we patiently yield to his merciful 
 chastisements, they become our most precious 
 blessings. For the present they are not joy- 
 ous, but grievous. But they produce for us 
 the peaceable fruits of righteousness in the 
 end, if we are properly exercised thereby. 
 But trouble produced no peaceable fruits to 
 the family with whose story this book begins. 
 Instead of contentment, submission, and 
 more affectionate obedience, we see a spirit 
 of discontent and repining, which is allowed 
 to drive them from their home into a strange 
 land. 
 
THE WANDEKEBS. 31 
 
 " There was a famine in the land/' and 
 they fled from it. Temporary suffering made 
 their home for a little while uncomfortable, 
 and they could not patiently endure the will 
 of God. It was their own land. It was their 
 father's land. It was the Lord's land. Their 
 family and friends were there. But there 
 was a season of famine there, and therefore 
 they would fly to some other land. But why 
 should they fly ? The next season might be 
 better, and more than repay them for the 
 losses of the present. The famine might fol- 
 low them to the land whither they went, and 
 make their sufferings greater there than at 
 home. When Socrates was urged by his 
 friends to escape from the prison where he 
 was condemned to die, he answered them, 
 " Tell me of a land where men do not die, 
 and I will escape to that/' How much better 
 might this family have found a quiet submis- 
 sion to the will of God ! But no — a dead fly 
 spoils the ointment of the apothecary. A 
 single trouble makes men forget a thousand 
 
82 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 blessings. A solitary want will blot out the 
 grateful memory of innumerable comforts. 
 " There is a famine in the land/' and ihey 
 have determined to remove. 
 
 What an illustration this is, of sinful, fool* 
 ish man ! Adam had all the garden of Eden. 
 He might freely eat of every tree of the gar- 
 den. There was enough, and more than 
 enough to make him entirely satisfied and 
 happy. But there was one prohibition, a 
 single restraint, one tree of which he must 
 not eat. And for this how easily he was 
 tempted to feel that there was a famine in 
 the land ! An injustice was done to him, he 
 thought, and he must not yield to such an 
 arbitrary restraint. Discontented, rebellious, 
 repining thoughts were stirred up in his mind 
 toward God. And he was persuaded to eat, 
 though God had said " thou shalt not eat." 
 One single restraint made him a voluntary 
 wanderer from God. 
 
 How easily have all who have descended 
 from him rebelled an.l wandered since ! In- 
 
THE WANDERERS. 33 
 
 stead of submitting, enduring, loving, hoping 
 still, when God is pleased to restrain and cor- 
 rect us, we constantly try to run from his con- 
 trol ; we refuse to have him to reign over us. 
 Like wandering birds driven from their nest. 
 Like wandering stars rushing into darkness. 
 Like waves of the sea, driven of the wind, 
 and tossed. Thus we wander in sin, we know 
 not where, we know not to what. Forsaking 
 the fountain of living waters, we hew out to 
 ourselves broken cisterns, that can hold no 
 water. But can we ever find happiness in 
 running away from God ? Is there any hap- 
 piness but in a cheerful, filial submission to 
 God? 
 
 See where this wandering from God begins 
 — in a spirit of rebellion and discontent. 
 be ye watchful, there. Be ready, my dear 
 young friends, to hear and to do the will of 
 God. In the midst of your trials remember 
 his mercies. When there seems to be a fam- 
 ine in your land call to mind the loving-kind- 
 ness of the Loid. The more he chastens you, 
 
34 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 cling to nini the more closely. Try to live 
 still more completely at his gracious feet, and 
 in an affectionate dependence on his promised 
 presence and aid. Let him be your hiding 
 place and shield ; and be still, and know that 
 he is God. • 
 
 But who were these wanderers whose story 
 we have before us ? They were a family of 
 Israelites, of professed believers in the Word 
 of God. There is no aspect of sin more pain- 
 ful than that in which it appears connected 
 with the privileges of men. Never does sin 
 seem to be more dreadful than when man's 
 ingratitude is contrasted with God's mercies. 
 How often the gracious Lord appeals to men 
 on this ground ! " What could have been 
 done more to my vineyard, that I have not 
 done in it ? Wherefore when I looked that 
 it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth 
 wild grapes ?" " 0, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 
 which killest the prophets, and stonest them 
 that are sent unto thee, how often would I 
 have gathered thy children together, as a hen 
 
THE WANDERERS. 35 
 
 doth gather her brood under her wings, and 
 ye would not \" It is sad enough to see any 
 of the children of men buried in sin. But to 
 see children who have been brought up in the 
 sanctuary, children of pious parentage, chil- 
 dren for whom faith, and piety, and prayer 
 have watched, children whose early youth has 
 been dedicated to God, and nurtured in his 
 church ; to see these go astray, and throw off 
 all the restraints which have been so merci- 
 fully spread around them ; to see them rush 
 into sin, away from God, away from hope, 
 away from eternal life — this is the saddest 
 sight which earth presents to a Christian's 
 mind. "Well may a pious father cry out with 
 David, " Absalom, my son, my son !" 
 Well may a godly mother weep like Kachel 
 over children who are dead in sin ; or ex- 
 claim, like the mother of Lemuel, "What, 
 my son ! and what, the son of my vows \" 
 over beloved children like these, wandering 
 off from God, and holiness, to sin, and ruin, 
 and despair ! 
 
36 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 How exalted in blessings was the man who 
 first wandered from God ! Every comfort for 
 his body and his soul was his. God walked 
 with him in the garden, and delighted in the 
 work of his hands. And yet man rebelled 
 and became an outcast. And is not every 
 wanderer from God richly endowed with di- 
 vine mercies ? You are never straitened in 
 God. You have all things and abound in 
 him. He is rich in his mercy to you all. 
 Why should you wander ? How mournful is 
 that divine exclamation, "I have nourished 
 and brought up children, and they have re- 
 belled against me !" " A son honoreth his 
 father, and a servant his master. If then I 
 be a father, where is mine honor ? And if I 
 be a master, where is my fear ?" 
 
 This wandering in our story was wholly 
 unnecessary. These Israelites were not poor 
 and perishing. They " went out full." Their 
 wandering was therefore wilful, and this made 
 it the more rebellious and guilty. But is not 
 all wandering from God unnecessary ? Why 
 
THE WANDERERS. 37 
 
 need we ever go astray from him ? It will 
 be always a solemn charge against us, " they 
 went out full/' It is the wandering which 
 makes us empty. The poor prodigal went 
 out full. "Father," said he, "give me the 
 portion of goods that falleth to me." "And 
 the father divided unto them his living." Is 
 it not so with us all ? Are we not dwelliDg 
 in the midst of Divine mercies from the day 
 we are born ? If we go away from God, our 
 own heedlessness or choice is the fountain 
 of our guilt and sorrow. Why need wc 
 wander ? 
 
 Some years since, a young man entered 
 alone into the catacombs of Home. He tied 
 a thread at the entrance, and kept the ball in 
 Ms hand ; and though he had no guide in 
 the dark and intricate passages, he took with 
 him a torch, and wandered on, feeling no 
 fear. Far under ground, he wandered about 
 these dark ways, and examined with delight 
 the monuments and inscriptions which abound- 
 ed on every side. He stopped to copy many 
 
38 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of these inscriptions in his Look. But in 
 copying one he accidentally put out his torch, 
 and lost his thread. Ah, there he was, in 
 midnight darkness, and entirely alone. He 
 shouted aloud, hut there was none to hear. 
 He groped about on the ground to find his 
 thread, hut in vain. He wandered around 
 the mazes of these winding passages, to find 
 his way hack to the entrance, hut it was im- 
 possible. In fear, distress, and weariness, at 
 last he fell down and fainted away. In his 
 unconscious agony he clenched the earth with 
 his hand, and, when he came to himself, he 
 found his thread within it. He sprang up 
 with delight. He followed back his guiding 
 thread. He stopped to look at nothing by 
 the way. Soon he saw the dim light, and 
 came to the entrance of the catacomb, and to 
 the outward air again. Wearied, and grate- 
 ful for his life restored, he knelt upon the 
 ground, and gave thanks to his merciful, pre- 
 serving God. 
 
 He lost his thread — he lost his light — and 
 
THE WANDERERS. 39 
 
 the journey, which was safe and happy "before, 
 is wretched and despairing now. 
 
 " Brave and alone lie cherishes his light, 
 And trust3 his clew will guide him hack aright. 
 Onward he goes, nor takes a note of time, 
 Impelled, enchanted in this dismal clime. 
 Thrilling with awe, hut yet untouched by fear, 
 He passes on, from dreary unto drear ; 
 The crypts diverge, the labyrinths are crossed, 
 He will return, — alas ! his clew is lost. 
 
 He gropes, hut gropes in vain, 
 Recedes, advances, and turns hack again. 
 A shivering fear, a downright terror next, 
 Seizes his soul, and he is sore perplexed ! 
 He halts, he nerves, he thinks he rushes on, 
 But only finds that issue there is none. 
 But hark I a step ! alas, no step is there ! 
 But see ! a glimmering light ! foul despair I 
 No ray pervades this darkness grim and rare. 
 He staggers, reels, and falls, and falling prone, 
 Grapples the ground where he must die alone. 
 But in that fall touches his outstretched hand 
 That precious clew the labyrinth can command. 
 Long lost, hut now regained ! 
 And up he rises, quick, hut cautious grown, 
 He threads the mazes by that string alono : 
 Comes into light, and feels the fanning breeze, 
 Sees the bright stars, and drops upon his knees. 
 His first free breath is uttered in a prayer, 
 Such as none say who have not known despair ; 
 And never had the earth such rich perfume, 
 As when from him it chased the odor of the tomb." 
 
 Your guiding thread and light are the 
 
40 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Word and Spirit of God. The one is put 
 into your hands to teach you the love of 
 Christ, and the w.<«y to life eternal. By it, 
 the Blessed Spirit would keep you from wan- 
 dering, and lead you to serve and honor your 
 glorious Lord. If you lose it amidst the dark 
 passages of a sinful world, it is possible that- 
 you may recover it again. If you wander 
 from its directions it is possible you may be 
 brought back again. But why will you try 
 the hazardous experiment ? "Why need you 
 lose your thread at all ? Why should you 
 not bind it to the cradle of your childhood, 
 and then hold it and keep it all the way 
 through life ? Why may you not hide this 
 blessed Word in your hearts, from your ear- 
 liest youth, and never allow it to be plucked 
 from you ? Why need you stray in sinful 
 rebellion when God has so richly furnished 
 you with the blessings of his grace, and per- 
 mitted you to come behind in no gift ? You 
 can never excuse your sinful wanderings, as 
 if they were not to be avoided. no ! You 
 
THE WANDERERS. 41 
 
 grieve the Holy Spirit ; you do always resist 
 the Holy Ghost. You despise his love. You 
 quench his blessed influences upon youi 
 hearts, in every wandering from God. He 
 cries after you in his Holy Word, " Why will 
 ye die ?" He warns you against all your 
 sinful carelessness and disobedience. " What 
 will ye do in the end thereof, for the end of 
 these things is death ?" 
 
 From whence did these Israelites wander ? 
 It was from the Lord's own land, Immanuel's 
 land. It was from the whole company of his 
 people. It was from the midst of the privi- 
 leges of Divine revelation. It was from 
 Bethlehem, "the house of bread." Beth- 
 lehem was a fertile and productive spot. In 
 its fields Boaz gathered his abundant har- 
 vests. In its valleys David tended his father's 
 flock. Within its gates a valued spring sent 
 forth its refreshing stream. But Bethlehem 
 had a higher glory. It was the appointed 
 birthplace of the Saviour of Israel. Out of 
 Bethlehem He was to come who was to be the 
 
42 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Ruler of the people of God for ever, whose 
 goings forth were from everlasting. In Beth- 
 lehem He was born, who is the real " bread 
 of God" which giveth life to the world. How 
 many blessed thoughts and privileges center 
 around our remembrance of Bethlehem ! 
 And it was from Bethlehem that this discon- 
 tented family wandered, not knowing whither 
 they went. It was a hasty, foolish wandering 
 from a happy home. 
 
 We will not call every journey a wander- 
 ing. It depends upon whence we came, and 
 whither we go, and under whose direction we 
 move. Abraham journeyed from Chaldea to 
 Canaan. But he was no wanderer. God 
 guided and preserved him, and every step 
 was taken in obedience to Divine command. 
 Jacob went down from Canaan to Egypt. 
 But this was no wandering. God directed 
 him, and sent his beloved Joseph before him, 
 to make provision for him. Israel came 
 through the wilderness to Canaan again. 
 But even here they were no wanderers. The 
 
THE WANDERERS. 43 
 
 Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud 
 and fire, to guide and protect them. These 
 were not wanderings. But Jonah wandered. 
 When God sent him to Nineveh, he fled to 
 Tarshish. And God arrested him in the 
 deep, and brought him back Manasseh 
 wandered. And he was taken in the thorns, 
 and bound with fetters, till, in the day of his 
 affliction, he sought the Lord, and was for- 
 given. Demas wandered. From a love of 
 this present world, he forsook his master, and 
 returned no more. Judas wandered. And 
 how fearful was his end, when he went to his 
 own place ! 
 
 This is the wandering of which we have to 
 speak. It is a wandering from God, from his 
 Spirit, from hio Word, from his Church. It 
 is a wandering from that blessed Gospel 
 which preaches a Saviour for sinners, which 
 opens and provides a house of bread, and a 
 perfect shelter in him for the needy and the 
 perishing. Thus do multitudes wander, liv- 
 ing' in sin, without Grod, and without hope. 
 
44 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 But why need they wander ? Are they not 
 all bought with a price ? Are they not all 
 redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus ; the 
 Lamb without spot ? Can any of them say, 
 " The door of mercy was not opened to me ?" 
 Dare they say, there is no propitiation for 
 their sins ? no way for them to love or serve 
 God ? None can say so with truth. Beth- 
 lehem is still open for you all. The Saviour 
 still entreats you. His salvation is still freely 
 offered to you. This is true of you all. 
 Whosoever goes astray from God, voluntarily 
 leaves the salvation which has been pro- 
 vided for him, and makes it his condemnation 
 that he has loved darkness rather than light, 
 because his ways are evil. Of every uncon- 
 verted sinner it must be said, that he is a 
 voluntary wanderer from God. 
 
 But there are many wanderers from God in 
 a very peculiar sense. They go from the very 
 midst of his family, from Bethlehem itself, 
 where Jesus is. They were born in his 
 church. They were early dedicated to him in 
 
THE WANDERERS. 45 
 
 his holy sacrament. They were taught His 
 Word, and named and registered among the 
 number of his covenant people. They might 
 have lived always at his feet, and in his 
 favor. But they left Bethlehem in rebellious 
 discontent. They wandered away from the 
 voice of prayer, and of Divine instruction, to 
 the haunts of vice, and the abodes of shame. 
 The prodigal " gathered all together, and 
 took his journey into a far country, and there 
 wasted his substance in riotous living." It is 
 a fearful thing to see Satan thus spoiling and 
 plundering the nursery of the Lord. If we 
 should say to many a wanderer in the basest 
 sin, " From whence comest thou ?" how often 
 would he have to reply, " I came from the 
 house of God ; I came from the bosom of lov- 
 ing, praying parents ; I came from a family 
 of faithful prayer ; I had the mark of the 
 Lord on my infant forehead ; I was early 
 taught his blessed word. But sinners enticed 
 me, and I consented. My soul has trodden 
 down the Lord's strength. I have despised 
 
46 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 and grieved his holy Spirit. I have plunged 
 from the very rock of grace into the deep 
 abyss of all iniquity." Ah, what a retrospect 
 is this ! What bitter memories do all out 
 wanderings from the house of God, and from 
 the living bread of the Gospel, bring at last ! 
 Whither did these Israelites wander ? To 
 " the country of Moab ;" to a land of idol- 
 atry ; a land of open licentiousness and crime. 
 It was here that Balak tried to destroy IsraeL 
 It was here that Balaam taught him to cor- 
 rupt them with sensuality and open pollution. 
 And yet hither, to this wretched, denied land, 
 so hostile to God and to his people, this wan- 
 dering family from Bethlehem came. What 
 a contrast of places was this ! What a 
 change of condition to them ! What though 
 bread were abundant there ! " Fullness of 
 bread like that in Sodom \" Man does not 
 live by bread alone. And who that truly 
 loved God, would not rather live with a fam- 
 ine in Bethlehem, than with sinful abundance 
 in Moab ? 
 
THE WANDERERS. 47 
 
 Mere territorial Moab still lies'on the east- 
 ern side of Jordan and- the Dead Sea. But 
 there is an equivalent spiritual Moab every 
 where. The guilty world in which we dwell 
 furnishes a Moab, in all its provisions of 
 gratifications for the flesh, and all its tempta- 
 tions to vicious indulgence, in every land. 
 We need never go far to sojourn in Moab. 
 Its crimes and its enjoyments, its hostility to 
 the Saviour and to his people, are always in 
 our view. Its false prophets, who cannot pre- 
 vail against the children of grace with curses, 
 are always on the alert, to entice them to eat 
 of their sacrifices, and to bow down to their 
 gods. Multitudes are caught in the fatal 
 snares which are thus spread for the feet of 
 the unwary. And, when the judgments of 
 God come upon this guilty world, these poor 
 victims of its delusions will perish with the 
 Moab to which they have joined themselves. 
 
 But how minutely true is the illustration 
 which these wanderers from Bethlehem fur- 
 nish ! They went to Moab, but only " to 
 
48 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 sojourn there." Just as Lot went to sojourn 
 in Sodom. Just as every wanderer from God 
 goes into the world. It is but for recreation. 
 It is only a harmless indulgence. It is but 
 for a season of enjoyment. They mean some 
 time to return, and never to go back to Moab 
 again. To die in Moab, without God, and 
 without hope ! Nothing is further from their 
 thoughts than this. They will only dip in 
 the lake, like the swallow, and they shall feel 
 refreshed for a longer flight. Ah, how little 
 they know of the dangers they encounter ! 
 They go like an ox to the slaughter, or like 
 a bird to the snare of the fowler, and know 
 not that it is for their life. They know not— 
 they will not know — that the dead are there, 
 and their guests are in the depths of hell. 
 How many such have we known, whose in- 
 fancy was openly offered to God ; over whose 
 youth hope bent down to gaze with intense 
 delights, and with the brightest anticipa- 
 tions ; while decency has blushed and wept 
 over the degradation of their maturity ; and 
 
THE WANDERERS. 49 
 
 dark despair lias built her tabernacle over 
 their sepulchre. It is a fearful path. Whoso 
 goeth therein shall not know life. 
 
 0, ye children of Bethlehem, I entreat you, 
 wander not to Moab. Seek no bread which 
 is offered to you there. The sons and daugh- 
 ters of Moab, the kings and prophets of 
 Moab, avoid them all. Balak's house, full 
 of silver and gold, will not alleviate the an- 
 guish of Balaam's cry, " I shall see him, but 
 not nigh ; let me die the death of the 
 righteous, and let my last end be like his." 
 There is no death of the righteous in Moab. 
 But there is death, a sad, hopeless death — in 
 the wretchedness of which, thou wilt mourn 
 at the last, and say, " How have I hated in- 
 struction, and my heart despised reproof ; I 
 was almost in all evil, in the midst of the 
 congregation and assembly." 
 
 " O pleasures past, what are ye now, 
 But thorns ahout my bleeding brow? 
 Spectres that hover round my brain 
 And mock and aggravate my pain. 
 
50 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 " For Pleasure I have given my soul ! 
 Now Justice bids her thunders roll; 
 And Vengeance smiles, while, deep in woe, 
 She lays the rebellious ingrate low.'? 
 
 And what were the results of their wander- 
 ing ? What could they he, hut wasting 
 sorrow and death ? How significant of their 
 history do the names of these people seem ! 
 The man's name was Elimelech, God my 
 King. The name of his wife, Naomi, Pleas- 
 ant. Their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, 
 Wasting and Consumption. The history of 
 their lives seems to he written in their very 
 names. Their wandering from the kingdom 
 of God, and from the land where His Word 
 and worship made even trials to he pleasant, 
 Drought nothing to them hut sorrow, wast- 
 ing, and death. Their temporary sojourn in 
 Moah proved, for three of them, their last 
 journey. "They came into the country of 
 Moah, and they continued there." This was 
 their last earthly home. They died in 
 "banishment from the land of their fathers 
 and their God. Soon the father finished his 
 
THE WANDERERS. 51 
 
 course, and died in Moab. But the father's 
 death did not arouse them from their wander- 
 ing, or send them back to seek the Lord. 
 No. They were now sunk in the stupidity 
 of their sin. The infatuation of the world 
 had seized the widowed mother. The sons 
 wed themselves to idolaters, and determine 
 to make their abode in Moab. Ten years of 
 guilty forgetfulness of God go by, and his 
 awakening judgments interpose again. The 
 two young men die also in the midst of their 
 schemes of indulgence and sin. And three 
 widows are there remaining, the solemn and 
 affecting monuments that God will not be 
 forgotten. Poverty comes in upon them like 
 an armed man. Solitude, wretchedness, sep- 
 aration from God, miserable reflections on 
 the past, equally wretched prospects of the 
 future, darken the windows of their widowed 
 habitation. Ah, how sad are the results of 
 a life of guilt ! How mournful are the con- 
 sequences of a wandering from God ! 
 
 Thus wretched and hopeless is always the 
 
52 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 sinner's degraded condition, when sin is about 
 completing its perfect work ! The prodigal 
 begins to be in want. He hires himself to 
 feed swine in the field. He covets even the 
 foul garbage which the swine do eat. He 
 could be happy if he might bring his tastes 
 perfectly to his condition. But this can 
 never be, and he is more wretched and needy 
 than they. Now, every thing has gone. 
 Enjoyment has tied. Hope has expired. 
 Society has departed. Companions stand 
 aloof. "Wealth has vanished. Nothing re- 
 mains but degradation and despair. Wast- 
 ing and consumption are in all his borders. 
 The sinner is left alone. The world, which 
 has betrayed him, forsakes him. The enemy 
 who has destroyed him, mocks at him. The 
 only Comforter who can relieve his soul stands 
 far from him. His judgment lingereth not. 
 His damnation slumbereth not. No longer 
 is he deceived. The misery of his condition 
 is now before his view. His ruin is undeni- 
 able. The wages of his sin is death. Eternal 
 
THE WANDERERS. 53 
 
 death, the worm that dieth not, and the fire 
 that is not quenched, is spread out before him. 
 To call this a result of wretchedness, of 
 sorrow, is feeble and trifling. It is the dam- 
 nation of the soul. It is a loss, for which 
 earth has no measure ; for which the human 
 mind has no conception ; which nothing can 
 illustrate or explain, but the hopeless ex- 
 perience of eternity itself. And this is the 
 result of wandering from God ! 0, let sinful 
 youth stop, and contemplate the end to 
 which they press. Look whither you are 
 going. See the sorrow you are laying up for 
 yourselves, in a wasting of life without 
 recovery ; in a departure without hope ; in 
 an eternity which is darkness and the shadow 
 of death. And while there is time and 
 opportunity to return ; and hope of pardon, 
 if you will return ; listen to the Lord Jesus, 
 as he cries unto you from Bethlehem, from 
 Calvary, from Zion : " Look unto me and be 
 ye saved ; for I am God, and there is none 
 else." 
 
ni 
 
 ®|t jaualuning. 
 
 Teen she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from 
 the country of Moab ; for she had heard in the country of Moab, how 
 that the Lord had visited his people, in giving them bread. Where- 
 fore she went forth out of the place where 6he was, and her two 
 daughters-in-law with her; and they went on their way to return 
 unto the land of Judah."— Euro, i. 6, 7. 
 
 To trace the course of the wanderer away 
 from God is sad and painful. The result 
 of misery and regret is always the same ; 
 whether he ever return to God or not, his 
 sorrow over the remembrance of his wander- 
 ing will he equally sure. He may never 
 come back. He may never receive the gift 
 of true repentance. He may never find the 
 forgiveness of his sins. He may persevere 
 in his rebellious folly to the end of life. 
 But he can not avoid the long day of grief 
 
THE AWAKENING 55 
 
 which is sure to come. An awakening will 
 at last arrive, when he will lift up his eyes 
 in distress, and mourn over the madness 
 which has suffered him to be so deceived and 
 ruined by the enemies of his soul. 
 
 We must never hesitate, therefore, in pro- 
 claiming to all the wanderers from God, 
 " You will find no rest in Moab." 
 
 ' The world can never give 
 
 The bliss for which you sigh; 
 It is not all of life to live, 
 Nor all of death to die." 
 
 You will mourn at the last, though it may 
 be with a sorrow of the world which worketh 
 death. You will find no profit to yourself, 
 though you may have gained the whole 
 world, when God taketh away your soul. 
 
 But I am not now to trace this course of 
 sin to its dreadful result. There is for some 
 a day of awakening in the present life. And, 
 painful as this day may be, it is still a happy 
 day. It is the beginning of a new life, a 
 happy life, a life of glory. It is the dawning 
 
56 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of a light which is prepared as the morning, 
 It is the blessed visitation of the grace and 
 goodness of God to the lost and guilty. 
 However faint and dim it may be in its 
 beginning, it shineth more and more unto the 
 perfect day. This is the awakening which 
 we are now to trace. It is the commence- 
 ment of the wanderer's return, over which 
 there is joy in heaven, in the presence of the 
 angels of God. Blessed is the soul to whom 
 this heavenly mercy comes. Blessed will you 
 be, if it shall come to you. . 
 
 "We must never forget that this awakening 
 of the soul is the work of God. The whole 
 world lieth in the wicked one. Idolatry and 
 enmity to God reign throughout the land of 
 Moab. There Naomi dwells. There the sin- 
 ner is found. There, if God permitted, Na- 
 omi would die. There, if God did not arrest 
 and arouse him, the sinner would perish. He 
 sees the wanderer dead in his sins ; without 
 God, and without hope ; nay, worse than this, 
 satisfied, contented, often rejoicing m his state 
 
THE AWAKENING. 57 
 
 of ruin. To leave him in prosperity in this 
 condition, is to leave hirn to hopeless destruc- 
 tion. God speaks unto him in his prosperity, 
 and he says, I will not hear. This is his 
 manner from his youth. Then comes the 
 question, " What shall I do to my vineyard ? 
 I will take away the hedge thereof, and it 
 shall be eaten up ; and break down the wall 
 thereof, and it shall be trodden down. I will 
 lay it waste, and it shall not be pruned nor 
 digged ; but there shall come up briars and 
 thorns." Then God sends awakening provi- 
 dences. Afflictions and losses are multiplied. 
 The nest is broken up. The soul is made 
 sorrowful. Thus it was with Naomi. Her 
 husband died. Her two sons are taken away. 
 " And the woman is left of her two sons, and 
 her husband." Now Moab begins to show its 
 real character, its perfect worthlessness to 
 comfort the suffering soul. The folly of their 
 wandering begins to appear. This is God's 
 method of commencement. Thus he giveth 
 his beloved rest. 
 
 3* 
 
58 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 How many of his children have been saved 
 by the bitter remedy of affliction, and have 
 thus been taught to bless the chastenings of 
 the Lord ! Adversity saves multitudes whom 
 prosperity would have destroyed. But pros- 
 perity will rarely bless those who have passed 
 through sorrow unawakened. Naomi, solitary 
 and bereaved, feels her soul far off from 
 peace. She forgets prosperity. Kemember- 
 ing her affliction and her misery, the worm- 
 wood and the gall, her soul is humbled within 
 her. This she recalls to mind, and now she 
 has hope. It is of the Lord's mercies she is 
 not consumed, because his compassions fail 
 not. 
 
 But why should you ever provoke the 
 Lord to visit you with sorrow ? Why should 
 you make affliction necessary to your soul's 
 salvation ? Let the goodness of the Lord 
 lead you to repentance. Let his love awaken 
 your gratitude. Let his long-suffering recall 
 your affections to his service. Listen to the 
 voice of his gracious invitations, and seek him 
 
THE AWAKENING. 59 
 
 while he may be found ; with filial, grateful 
 love. Choose hirn freely as your Father, and 
 your eternal portion ; not because he drives 
 you to himself, but because you desire and 
 lcve him. How much happier, and how 
 much more likely to be permanent, is that 
 piety which comes in youth, and health, and 
 prosperity, and which lays an affectionate 
 filial spirit at the Saviour's feet, serving him 
 because he is altogether lovely, the chief 
 among ten thousand ! 
 
 "As by the light of opening day 
 The stars are all concealed ; 
 So earthly glories fade away 
 When Jesus is revealed." 
 
 But whether affliction or joy be made the 
 instrument to awaken the soul, it is equally a 
 Divine instrument. The work is altogether 
 the Lord's work. The Holy Spirit alone can 
 give you a knowledge of your sin, and create 
 a godly sorrow in your hearts. There is 
 nothing in the instrument, whatever it may 
 be, which can change the heart of man. 
 
60 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 When the world becomes distasteful, and the 
 soul is wearied with sin ; when you feel the 
 guilt of your wandering, and desire to return 
 to God ; when you are conscious of the first 
 emotion of sorrow for your transgression, and 
 begin to look back upon your life with shame 
 and regret — this is the work of the Holy 
 Spirit. Welcome it, encourage it, do not 
 resist it, but cultivate it as a priceless gift. 
 Now God means to bless you indeed. Listen 
 to his voice with gladness. 
 
 Sad were Naomi's condition and feelings. 
 Her heart was solitary and broken. And yet 
 this was the most promising hour of her life. 
 Far, far better was this beginning of a return 
 with conscious emptiness to God, than her 
 former going out full. Now she may hope. 
 It is the beginning of a blessed day. When 
 the prodigal comes to himself, the Saviour 
 rejoices, and angels triumph. Blessed, glori- 
 ous evidence, that God has not finally for- 
 saken him like reprobate silver, and thrown 
 him aside, cast out of the sight of his eyes. 
 
THE AWAKENING 61 
 
 Happy will be the day when we shall see you 
 all thus aroused from your slumbers, and 
 made to inquire for that blessed Lord, whom 
 you have so long neglected, and bo much 
 offended. Awake, awake, my young, friends, 
 from this dreaming life in Moab, and return 
 unto the Lord, and he will receive you. He 
 will abundantly pardon you, and give you the 
 sure mercies of his Son, your all-sufficient, 
 only Saviour. 
 
 In this day of awakening, Naomi found 
 that she had gained nothing by her wander- 
 ing from God. There had been a famine in 
 Judah. But ah, she had found a far worse 
 famine in Moab. There, every comfort had 
 failed, and every hope had departed. In no 
 single point was her condition improved by 
 her night from Israel. But was this peculiar 
 to her ? Can you ever gain in such a course ? 
 We often hear of the toils and trials of relig- 
 ion ; and of the joys and pleasures of the 
 world. But is not all this a delusion ? Has 
 the worldly mind a single real pleasure which 
 
62 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 is denied to the Christian ? Are the enjoy- 
 ments of the present life ever enhanced by 
 rebellion against God ? Are you ever the 
 happier for transgression, or made the more 
 contented by forgetting your Creator ? 
 
 Far enough from all this is your actual 
 experience. Your awakened mind looks back 
 upon life, to say, with distress, I have sinned, 
 and what hath it profited me ? There is not 
 a single real pleasure, or joy, or gain in life, 
 of which any man can truly say, " This, at 
 least, is the reward of my sin." "What had 
 the prodigal gained when he came to him- 
 self? His property wasted, his life miser- 
 able, his condition degraded ! Alas, sin had 
 cost him much, but it had brought him no- 
 thing. You will all see the same unprofitable 
 character in life past. You will look back 
 upon the whole of life, and feel that you have 
 6pent your strength in vain. You have no- 
 thing to show as the recompense of all your 
 toil and labor. 
 
 Even if you never truly repent, your ret- 
 
THE AWAKENING. 63 
 
 rospect of life will be just as unsatisfying; 
 and destitute of comfort to your soul. You 
 may dance and frolic. You may indulge your 
 sinful appetites. You may pass your days 
 and nights in frivolity and mirth. You may 
 acquire wealth, and withhold yourself from 
 no joy within the reach of a sinful man. 
 You may take God's Sabbath to yourself, 
 and find your pleasure on his holy day. But 
 when you come to look back upon all this 
 from the hour of death, or from the day of 
 judgment, the memory of your folly will eat 
 into your soul, as if it were fire. You will 
 despise all that you have gained. You will 
 despise yourself, for pursuing vanities so mad- 
 ly. And nothing will remain to you as the 
 result, but the most overwhelming despair. 
 
 I knew a young lady in the very morning 
 of her life, whose earthly condition gave her 
 every means of indulgence, and who spent 
 her days in the society of the gay and 
 worldly. She rejected the Gospel from her 
 heart, though she heard it weekly. The 
 
64 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 bread of Bethlehem she ga\e up for the vines 
 of Moab. The voice of a Saviour she ex- 
 changed for the flattery of the world. There 
 was, to her, a famine in the Church of the 
 joys which she desired, and she tried to find 
 them in the gay and glittering throng of the 
 guilty. Thus she passed her life in the giddy 
 whirl of pleasure, and tried to think that she 
 was happy. But God suddenly blasted all 
 her hopes, and blighted all her joys. She 
 was laid upon a bed of sickness for immediate 
 and unexpected death. A few hours only 
 passed before she died. But they were sad 
 and awful hours. She was awakened to see 
 her guilt, and to mourn over her worldly, 
 sinful life. Her cry was, " I am black with 
 sin." This she repeated without comfort. 
 Yain were the provisions of wealth. Vain 
 were the consolations of worldly friends. 
 Yain was the memory of joys that were 
 passed. The Spirit had aroused her con- 
 science and she abhorred them all. And 
 though she died with no happy avowal of 
 
THE AWAKENING. 65 
 
 hope, her agonizing soul cried out, over and 
 over again, " I am black with sin — I arn all 
 black with sin." Ah, how vain and empty 
 Moab looks, when this day of awakening 
 comes ! It has nothing which can offer one 
 hour's peace to an anxious, serious mind. 
 And all the days and years which you may 
 have spent there, are, at the very best view 
 of them, but so much time completely wasted 
 and thrown away. 
 
 But Naomi found more than this. Her 
 wandering from G-od had brought great loss 
 and sorrow with it. She was left a widow 
 and childless. Her husband and her sons 
 were taken from her ; and, like Kachel, she 
 Was weeping, with no comforter. All the 
 evils which she might have suffered in Israel 
 seemed of little account, in comparison with 
 her present griefs. We can bear any out- 
 ward trial with patience, and even with 
 pleasure, if we have affectionate sympathy 
 under it, from our family and friends, and can 
 see the good hand of the Lord in laying it 
 
66 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 upon us. Naomi was ready to say, " 1 would 
 rather have been a beggar in Canaan, with 
 my husband and my sons about me, than be 
 the possessor of every thing in Moab without 
 them. But they were gone, and every thing 
 she valued seemed to have gone with them. 
 Well did she say, " Call me not Naomi, 
 pleasant ; call me Mara, bitter, for the Al- 
 mighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." 
 Yes, the wages of all our wanderings from 
 God are bitter enough. Earthly pleasure may 
 2jive its color in the cup, and appear to the 
 deluded eye to move itself aright. But at 
 the last, it will bite like a serpent, and sting 
 like an adder. The wages of sin is death. 
 
 These present actual losses are in them- 
 selves quite sufficient to arrest your con- 
 science, and make you stop and think of your 
 folly in a course of wandering from God. In 
 the day of your real awakening from your sin, 
 you will find it so. How much you have lost ! 
 You have thrown away the favor of God. 
 You have sacrificed your peace of conscience.. 
 
THE AWAKENING. 67 
 
 You have lost your early readiness to receive 
 religious impressions. You have driven away 
 the Saviour who would have loved and 
 blessed you. You have grieved and wearied 
 the Holy Spirit, who admonished and taught 
 you. You have thrown from you the pre- 
 cious hope and comfort which the Gospel 
 offered you. And what have you left ? 
 Nothing. Nothing but degradation and 
 guilt. Not a day of life passed can satisfy 
 you. It all seems guilty and wretched in 
 an extreme degree. You look back upon it 
 with shame and sorrow. It is a vain attempt 
 to console you with the idea that your views 
 of sin are excessive ; that your estimate of 
 /our guilt is overwrought. No. You see 
 the hidden evils of your heart, evils which 
 others can not see. The outward restraints 
 which they have seen, and which they ap- 
 prove, do not make these evils less. Youi 
 heart within is deceitful above all things, 
 and desperately wicked. And it is this 
 
68 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 which filk you with grief, and humbles you 
 with conscious unworthiness. 
 
 No one can estimate these losses in Moab, 
 until he sets out to come back to God. 
 Then the world assumes its real aspect. 
 Unpardoned sin reveals its grievous load. 
 All your gains are nothing. Your stricken 
 soul mourns in bitterness. Your broken 
 heart cries out with anguish. Your con- 
 science tells you of a thousand forgotten 
 crimes. You despise the follies which have 
 deluded you. You abhor the guilt which 
 has marked you before God. There is no 
 peace for your soul. Wretched, helpless, 
 almost in despair, you cry out, " Who shall 
 deliver me from the body of this death ?" 
 Every thing seems lost. And unless you 
 can be brought back to God in peace, and 
 find forgiveness of sin in the exalted Saviour, 
 every thing is lost indeed. 
 
 But good news from the Lord's land comes 
 to this awakened wanderer. " Naomi heard 
 in the country of Moab how that the Lord 
 
THE AWAKENING. 69 
 
 had visited his people, in giving them "bread." 
 This was good news from her forsaken home, 
 Here was the first ray of light which dawned 
 on her darkened spirit. Here was the first 
 spring of hope in her desolate and barren 
 heart. All then was not lost. If she could 
 only get back to Bethlehem again, all might 
 be well once more. Thus the prodigal 
 remembered, in the day of his misery, how 
 many hired servants of his father had bread 
 enough and to spare, while he was perishing 
 with hunger. How true and beautiful is the 
 application of this to every wanderer from God ! 
 What precious intelligence does the Gospel 
 bring to the guilty ! It declares the pardon- 
 ing love of God. It proclaims complete 
 atonement in the blood of Jesus. It an- 
 nounces full salvation in his merits and 
 death. It exhibits God reconciled to those 
 who have rebelled against him. It offers 
 this reconciliation in a Divine Saviour. It 
 teaches them that he is able to save unto 
 the uttermost, all who come unto God 
 
70 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 through hirn. It calls upon lost sinners to 
 fly to Jesus. It assures trie weary and the 
 wretched that in Him there is help. It is 
 good news to the perishing. There is bread 
 enough and to spare. God hath visited his 
 people in giving them bread. Why then 
 should any die, when there is an all-sufficient 
 Saviour for all ? This is the message from 
 Immanuers land. 
 
 It comes to you as lost in guilt. It comes 
 to you when you are in Moab, in the very 
 midst of your transgressions. The Son of 
 Man is come to seek and to save that which 
 was lost. This is the only qualification in 
 you to which the Saviour looks. He desires 
 you to feel that you are lost ; to acknowl- 
 edge that you are lost ; and then to be will- 
 ing and contented to be saved. Thus we are 
 to deliver God's message of love to you. 
 Thus we are to preach the Gospel to a world 
 of sinners. It is of no consequence how 
 guilty, how lost, how debased, how far astray 
 from God you may be. no. The blood 
 
THE AWAKENING. 71 
 
 of Jesus Christ can cleanse you from all sin. 
 In the fountain which he has opened, you 
 may be washed as white as snow. The mes- 
 sage comes to you. Hear it. Eeceive it. 
 Rejoice in it. It is a message from God to 
 each of you. Whosoever will may come, and 
 eat and drink and live for ever. This is the 
 intelligence which comes in the Gospel to 
 guilty man. This is the message which 
 seems so precious and encouraging to the 
 mind of the awakened sinner. It is the 
 Word of Life. It says to him, Live ; yea, it 
 says to him, Live. And now there seems a 
 hope, a bright and encouraging hope before 
 him. Like the wounded Israelite, he can 
 raise his languid eye to the brazen serpent. 
 He can look upon the divine provision. He 
 can behold Jesus with new feelings of con- 
 solation. His mourning heart is ready to 
 say, with the most affectionate gratitude, 
 
 " Poor though I am, despised, forgot, 
 Yet God, my God, forsakes me not ; 
 And he is safe, and must succeed, 
 For whom the Lord vouchsafes to plead." 
 
72 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Then the awakened wanderer sets out at 
 once on a return. Naomi "arose, that she 
 might return from the country of Moab ; 
 wherefore she went forth out of the place 
 where she was, on the way to return into the 
 land of Judah." Yes — the very first thing, 
 when your mind is awakened, and you see 
 and feel your guilt, is to go back. Not to 
 consider ; not to deliberate ; not to sit down 
 and mourn over your losses and wretchedness. 
 But to arise at once, and return to G-od, who 
 will abundantly pardon. The prodigal said, 
 " I will arise and go to my father." " And he 
 arose and came to his father." This settled 
 the whole matter. So Naomi " set out from 
 the place where she was." This was her first 
 immediate act. This must be yours. You 
 want no preparation for your return to God 
 but a sense of your need. Do you feel youi 
 guilt ? Do you see the folly of your sinful 
 life ? Do you hear the news of divine for- 
 giveness ? Then there is nothing more to be 
 
THE AWAKENING. 73 
 
 done, but to accept the message from. God, 
 and to set out upon your return at once. 
 
 Many think they must first feel much, and 
 mourn much, and suffer much, before they 
 can hope to go back in peace to God. But 
 why ? Will your suffering save you ? Will 
 your multiplied tears add any thing to a Sa- 
 viour's worth ? Is Christ to be more suffi- 
 cient because you have mourned so much ? 
 Can you make yourself in any way better 
 before you come ? Ah, how vain are all such 
 thoughts ! The first thing for you to do, is 
 to go directly to the Saviour, with perfert 
 confidence and hope, and with no fear. Is 
 your dwelling on fire ? And must you wait 
 until you are scorched with the flames before 
 you can escape in safety ? Have you mistaken 
 your road in journeying ? And can you recover 
 your lost steps the better by delay or hesita- 
 tion, or fruitless grief ? Nay. You want all 
 the time for actual pursuit. You have none 
 to waste. Turn! Turn! Fly! Fly! 'Tib 
 madness to defer. When your conscience is 
 4 
 
74 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 aroused, this is the next step — the first step. 
 You can do nothing for your safety until you 
 do this. Jesus is your refuge. You can have 
 no safety until you flee to him. You need not 
 wait an hour, or a moment. " Seek ye my 
 face/' he says. Let your heart reply at once ; 
 " Thy face will I seek/' David says, " When 
 thou shalt enlarge my heart, I will run the 
 way of thy commandments." " I made haste, 
 I delayed not, to keep thy commandments." 
 Nay, further than this, he says he would not 
 stop to breathe before he set out : "I opened 
 my mouth, and drew in my breath, for I 
 longed for thy commandments." Set out 
 from the very place where you are ; with all 
 your guilt, and all your degradation. Go just 
 as you are, and ask and expect forgiveness. 
 
 " Just as I am, O waiting not 
 To rid my soul from one dark blot, 
 To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, 
 To thee, Lamb of God, I come." 
 
 Naomi goes- to no other part of Moab ; to 
 no other land of idolatry. She goes directly 
 
THE AWAKENING. 75 
 
 back to the land of Judah. This is a blessed 
 example. How many go from one broken 
 cistern to another, instead of going at once to 
 the fountain of living waters. When the 
 burden of sin and sorrow presses, some fly to 
 worldly pleasure, and try to drown their sense 
 of guilt in deeper sin. Some rush into un- 
 belief, and strive, by voluntary infidelity, to 
 drive off the jprecious Comforter who would 
 lead them back to God. Some burden them- 
 selves with self-righteous superstitions ; with 
 ceremonies, penances, and popery ; and try to 
 find some way of safety among the blind pass- 
 ages, and dark dungeons which are opened 
 before them there. But all these efforts are 
 vain. Edom or Babylon are no better than 
 Moab. No. You must «fly to Bethlehem at 
 once. Go directly to an offered Saviour. Go 
 as a beggar. Go as a rebel. Go, feeling that 
 you deserve to be condemned. But go. Go 
 with hope. Go with trust. Go with assur- 
 ance. Go without fear. He will not refuse 
 you, nor reject you. He will in no wise cast 
 
7G THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 you out. Your safety and your hope depend 
 upon an instant, decided, and undoubted re- 
 turn to God. Often this safety hangs upon 
 a momentary decision. Your awakened mind 
 is brought where you must decide positively 
 on the one side or on the other. You must 
 either absolutely accept or reject the Gospel. 
 You must either affectionately submit to 
 God, or peremptorily refuse the offer of his 
 grace. Now is your accepted time. This is 
 the day of your salvation. 
 
 I remember a young man whom I once met 
 in my study for religious conversation. I 
 found him one who had been gay, trifling, 
 and carelessly living without God. But he 
 was now awakened, serious, yet hesitating 
 and proud. His wife, he said, was a religious 
 woman. But he had been a neglecter of the 
 whole subject of his own salvation. I con- 
 versed long with him. At last I said, " Now 
 go home, and take your stand for Christ to- 
 night ; and tell your wife that the time past 
 of your life has been enough for sin, and now 
 
THE AWAKENING. 77 
 
 you mean to live for Christ, and the kingdom 
 of God. Kneel down with her, and begin 
 your united prayer to-night. "Will you do 
 this ?" " No," he answered, " I can not." I 
 vainly remonstrated with him. He was im- 
 movable. I then said, " I have nothing 
 more to say." For some minutes we sat in 
 silence. I asked him again, and again he 
 refused. Silence again intervened, until, in a 
 few minutes more he rose from his seat, and 
 sighed deeply. The tears started from his eyes, 
 and, as I asked him again, he answered me, " I 
 will," and immediately left my house. The 
 next evening I saw him entering our evening 
 worship at the church, with a young woman 
 leaning on his arm, whom I had often marked 
 there as a stranger, and a woman of a sor- 
 rowful spirit. They came to the front seat 
 immediately before me, and knelt down to- 
 gether in private prayer. Ah, how my 
 heart rejoiced in the sight before me ! It 
 was the manifest sign to me that the Spirit 
 of the Lord had gained the victory in his 
 
78 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 heart. When the public service was con- 
 cluded, I approached thern, and asked him if 
 this was his wife. He answered, yes. I told 
 her what this young man had promised me to 
 do the night before. "Did he do it?" "Yes/' 
 said she, " he did." " And how do you feel 
 to-night," I said to him. " Sir," he exclaimed, 
 " I am the happiest man in the City of Phil- 
 adelphia." This young man walked faith- 
 fully in our midst for some years, as a servant 
 of the Lord, and then, under a rapid con- 
 sumption, he sunk in death. "When near his 
 hour of departure, I said to him, " Do you 
 remember the evening when you first came to 
 my study ?" " Eemember it ?" said he, " I 
 shall never forget it through all eternity. It 
 was the birthday of my soul." And he raised 
 his feeble hands, clasped them together, and, 
 covering his face, burst into a flood of tears. 
 
 Ah, ho"*v much depended, in his case, upon 
 that instant return to God ! Like Naomi, 
 " he rose up from the place where he was," 
 and went directly to the Lord, who called 
 
THE AWAKENING. 79 
 
 him to be his servant. There he found peace 
 for ever. He will praise God through eter- 
 nity for the blessing of that night. This is the 
 way of peace — the only way of peace. Tims 
 the prodigal " arose and came to his father. 
 But when he was yet a great way off, his 
 rather saw hiin, and had compassion, and 
 ran,, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." 
 Thus the Saviour is ready to meet you, and 
 to bless you all. Who is ready to rise up at 
 once and go ? He promises to receive you. 
 He will in no wise cast you out. come, 
 hasten to him, and settle the great question 
 for your soul, by a happy and faithful sur- 
 render of yourselves to him. 
 
IV. 
 
 %\t Iramisittg Cmunmumuttt. 
 
 And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her 
 mother's house : the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt witb 
 the dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, 
 each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them.' 
 and they lifted up their voice and wept. And they said unto her, 
 Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, 
 Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me ? Are there yet 
 any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands ? Turn 
 again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an hus- 
 band. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also 
 to-night, and should also bear sons; would ye tarry for them till they 
 were grown ? Would ye stay for them from having husbands ? Nay, 
 my daughters ; for it grieveth me much for your sakes, that the hand 
 of the Lord is gone out against me." — Ruth, i. S-13. 
 
 Here we have the most happy and prom- 
 ising commencement of a new work. The 
 awakened wanderer sets out on an immediate 
 return. The Holy Spirit has showed him the 
 guilt and loss of his past course, and has 
 excited in him the earnest desire for pardon 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 81 
 
 and deliverance. He has taught him that 
 with the Lord there is mercy, and with him 
 is plenteous redemption. He has stirred him 
 up to seek the Lord while he may be found ; 
 and the sinner says, " I will go and return 
 unto the Lord, for with him the fatherless 
 findeth mercy/' 
 
 But never does the really penitent sinner 
 desire to return to God alone. An im- 
 mediate sympathy makes him anxious for the 
 salvation of those whom he loves. " Andrew 
 findeth his own brother Simon, and saith 
 unto him, We have found the Christ, and he 
 brought him to Jesus." Moses said unto 
 Hobab, his brother-in-law, " We are journey- 
 ing unto the place of which the Lord hath 
 said, I will give it to you ; come thou with 
 us, and we will do thee good, for the Lord 
 hath spoken good concerning Israel." Naomi 
 would not willingly leave her widowed 
 daughters-in-law in Moab. • Though she 
 apparently discourages them, it is with the 
 manifest design that they should go with her, 
 4* 
 
82 THE RICH KINSMAN*. 
 
 upon motives that should be permanent, and 
 not disappointing. And this is the point of 
 their history we have now to consider. 
 
 We see them all set out together, upon tho 
 same road, and apparently for the same 
 result. " She went forth out of the place 
 where she was, and her two daughters-in-law 
 with her ; and they went on their way to 
 return unto the land of Judah." No one 
 who saw them set out upon their journey 
 could anticipate that they would voluntarily 
 separate, or imagine that one was more likely 
 than the other to reach the end proposed. 
 They all set out together. Orpah seemed as 
 promising as Kuth. We are obliged to wait 
 until succeeding trials shall bring their real 
 characters individually to light, before we 
 can discriminate between them. Thus the 
 Lord teaches us in the parable of the sower. 
 The same hand sowed the same seed on all 
 the varieties of the ground. But the results 
 which are produced differ most widely. Many 
 listen together to the preaching of the Word 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 83 
 
 of God. Many feel together the burden of 
 personal affliction and distress. Many are 
 made to see their danger, and to remember 
 their responsibility to God. Many appear to 
 feel the guilt of their past sinful life, and to 
 be really aroused in their mind and con- 
 science to the necessity of obtaining salvation 
 for their souls. By a great variety of means, 
 God stirs up sinful men to seek after himself. 
 Anxious, excited, apparently earnest and 
 sincere, they set out upon their journey back 
 to the gracious Being whom they have so 
 long neglected. Yes ; they really set out, 
 and appear to set out sincerely. 
 
 I do not mean that such persons feel their 
 need and danger ; that they meditate seri- 
 ously upon their return to God ; that they 
 resolve they will go back. No. I mean that 
 they actually begin their journey. The prod- 
 igal not only says, "I will arise and go to 
 my father ;" he does arise and go. Even so 
 far, it is an encouraging and happy com- 
 mencement. But, omy dear young friends, 
 
84 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 there is more to be considered than this 
 promising commencement. Thus far the 
 Orpahs and the Ruths set out together. 
 Moved by fear, or love, or desire, or sense of 
 duty, they join Naomi in her journey back to 
 Judah. They leave the place in which they 
 have dwelt in Moab. They travel together 
 in the same path, toward the final boundary 
 between Moab and Judah. They seem en- 
 gaged for the same object, and in the same 
 enterprise. The sins and follies of this out- 
 ward world, they all, for a season, relinquish. 
 The assemblies of Christians for worship, 
 they unite to attend. The habit of private 
 prayer and reading of the Scriptures, they all, 
 for a season, adopt. Perhaps in the most 
 public way and form, they may together 
 avow themselves the servants of the Lord. 
 Whatever can be done in religious appear- 
 ance, in the world, and without an absolute 
 separation of heart from the world, they may 
 have in common. The wise and foolish 
 virgins both take their lamps and go forth 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 85 
 
 to meet the bridegroom, Thus all go to- 
 gether l: on the way to return into the land 
 of Judah." As far as this journey lies still 
 within the limits of Moab, so far they may 
 unite to go. Up to a certain point, they 
 must take the same path ; and travel in the 
 same direction. 
 
 Ah, how many of these young travelers 
 have I seen ! The Church delighted over 
 them. The pastor rejoiced in them. Chris- 
 tian friends were encouraged by them. The 
 brightest and most blessed hopes clustered 
 around them. The Lord only, who knoweth 
 the hearts of the children of men, could have 
 told us which were the Orpahs, and which 
 were the Euths of this hopeful company. He 
 knoweth them that are his, and can not be 
 deceived. His judgment at the last separates 
 the precious and the vile, divides the gold 
 from the dross, and assigns to each his own 
 place. But that judgment he does not an- 
 nounce to us in advance. He makes experi- 
 ence prove them ; and bids us mark the trial. 
 
86 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 As he said of Gideon's soldiers, " Bring them 
 down to the water ; and I will try them for 
 thee there," so he proves our young travelers 
 for us, and we are soon made to see who they 
 are " that draw back into perdition/' and 
 who they are " that believe to the saving of 
 the soul." For a season they must be al- 
 lowed to go on together. Awakened, con- 
 vinced, interested in religion, apparently 
 equally determined, they set out well. We 
 welcome their commencement. We encour- 
 age them to perseverance. We bid them 
 hope on to the end, for the grace that shall 
 be given them. We urge them to lay hold 
 on eternal life, and see that no man take 
 their crown. Happy should we be did they 
 all receive our exhortation. 
 
 But we must follow our travelers in their 
 journey, and see why and where they sepa- 
 rate. As we thus follow them, we see them 
 meet with many trials of faith and patience 
 on the road. Little is said of the events of 
 Naomi's journey. But it is an easy imagina* 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 87 
 
 tion to describe the trials in their path. 
 Three lonely, beggared women, undertaking, 
 without protection, a journey like that from 
 Moah to Bethlehem, must expect many trials 
 in the way. They go back empty. And all 
 the sorrows of their poverty, their solitude, 
 their weakness, their want of defense, and their 
 fears even of the final result of their under- 
 taking, are easily seen and imagined by us. 
 Much was to be given up. Much was to be 
 encountered. Much was to be feared. And 
 it required the strongest and purest motives 
 of conduct, to endure the trial. Ah, how 
 accurately the illustration applies to our 'pur- 
 pose of instruction ! What difficulties the 
 awakened mind finds in its attempt to return 
 to Grod I And if we leave out of our view 
 the renewing and triumphant power of the 
 Holy Spirit which leads the sincere heart on 
 from grace to glory, how many trials of faith 
 and patience do these difficulties present ! 
 
 Your former habits of sin are to be re- 
 nounced. Your secret faults, your lines of 
 
88 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 conscious transgression, known only to your- 
 selves, are to be cast away. Many indul- 
 gences and gratifications that you have loved 
 are to be thrown aside for ever. Many cor- 
 rupting and ensnaring ways of the present 
 evil world, to which you have been accus- 
 tomed, are to be avoided. The habits of 
 Moab, habits which, until now, you never 
 knew or thought to be wrong or ruinous, are 
 to be opposed. With them you are to main- 
 tain no concord or agreement. This is the 
 putting off the old man, corrupted with de- 
 ceitful lusts, and strengthened by long indul- 
 gence. It must be faithfully accomplished. 
 The deeds and customs of Moab can not follow 
 you to Judah. You can not live in sin, and 
 be conformed to the world, and yet live and 
 walk in Christ. No. You must break off 
 your sins by righteousness. The old things 
 must pass away. And this is a great trial of 
 faith and patience. If it could be done by a 
 single struggle, if one fight could end the 
 contest, the work would be comparatively 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 89 
 
 easy. But you* can not leap thus with a single 
 bound from Moab to Judah. And this long- 
 continued journey, these repeated struggles 
 with sin, these frequent defeats by the power 
 of remaining evil, these distressing fears lest 
 you shall never get through in safety, lest 
 you shall at last make shipwreck by the way 
 — ah, my young friends, well do I know what 
 trials of faith and patience they inevitably 
 bring. If you were left alone, unprotected 
 and unguidecl, you would surely perish by the 
 way. 
 
 But, in addition to these, new habits of 
 conduct and feeling are to be acquired. The 
 habit of secret prayer in your closet and your 
 chamber — the habit of constant, earnest study 
 of the Word of God — the habit of watchful- 
 ness over your easily-besetting sins — the habit 
 of caution in your allowed indulgences — the 
 habit of consideration and discernment in 
 your relations and company — the habit of 
 resistance to your inward propensities to evil 
 — the habit of silence from sinful and foolish 
 
90 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 talking — the habit of kindness, in expressions, 
 manners, and actions toward others — the 
 habit of disinterestedness and activity in yom 
 efforts to do good to all — and, above all, the 
 habit of constant remembrance of God your 
 Saviour, and of simple, earnest faith in his 
 presence, protection, and help ; all these, if 
 I should mention no more, are to be acquired, 
 cultivated, and maintained. If all this could 
 be done by a single effort, it would be easy 
 work. But that ;s impossible. It is a jour- 
 ney of successive steps, of continued progress ; 
 and you have to press forward in it with the 
 utmost determination, and the most sincere 
 desire. You may pass through many discour- 
 agements and defeats in this constant effort 
 to put on the new man, renewed and holy 
 after the Saviour's image. Faith and patience 
 will have many trials before it can be com- 
 pletely done. And if the blessed Spirit of 
 God did not constantly uphold and aid you, 
 all your own efforts would be in vain. But I 
 now speak of these things only as the subjects 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT*. 91 
 
 of your own effort. And well I know the dif- 
 ficulties of the work. 
 
 But above all these habits of outward life, 
 you have to come with the deep sense of sin, 
 with a consciousness that you are condemned 
 and destitute, with an entire refusal to trust 
 in any virtue or excellence of your own, and 
 to cast yourself in an affectionate and simple 
 trust at your Saviour's feet. 
 
 " Foul, I to the fountain fly ; 
 Wash me, Jesus, or I die." 
 
 Yes. You are there to believe that you 
 are forgiven, accepted, blessed in him, though 
 you are perfectly guilty and helpless in your- 
 self. Against this humbled, self-renouncing 
 temper, every thing in your own self-right- 
 eous heart struggles and contends unceasing- 
 ly. The very hardest thing in this journey 
 from Moab to Judah is to maintain a feeling 
 of your own helplessness, and an affectionate 
 confidence in the Saviour who has redeemed 
 you, aDd is guiding you to glory. And yet 
 this is indispensable. All who set out on 
 
92 * THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 this return to God must meet with these 
 various trials of faith and patience on the 
 road. Whether they are real penitents or 
 not, whether they are truly led by the Holy 
 Spirit or not, whether they prove to be 
 Orpahs or Kuths in the result of the trial, 
 there is no other way in which they can go. 
 And though it seems to be hard, and Orpah 
 finds it so, and gives up, wearied, disgusted, 
 and a cast-away, yet it is not really hard to a 
 heart that'loves the Saviour. Kuth finds no- 
 thing in it which can separate her from the 
 Lord whom she loves, and whom she has really 
 chosen as her portion for ever. 
 
 We see these young travelers meet with 
 many discouragements to their return. How 
 earnestly Naomi argues with them to search 
 what manner of spirits they were of ! How 
 kindly she presses them to go back, and find 
 their shelter and their rest among the friends 
 whom they were leaving ! How she presses 
 upon their remembrance that she has nothing 
 to offer them, no hopes, no promises to hold 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 93 
 
 out, of present or prospective worldly gain ! 
 How she mingles the expressions of her grati- 
 tude and her grief, in order the more effect- 
 ually to impress them with a conviction of the 
 earthly poverty of the journey ! Again and 
 again she kissed them in token of farewell. 
 Again and again they wept in protestations 
 of their fidelity and determination. How af- 
 fecting, and how promising seems such an 
 interview ! Kead again these pathetic verses. 
 Did Naomi really wish to discourage them ? 
 Did she really desire them to go back ? Was 
 she willing to leave them in Moab ? Did 
 Orpah gratify her more than Kuth ? Far 
 from this. She would try their faith and 
 their affection. She would know what was 
 in their heart. She would see how long and 
 how truly she might trust them hereafter. 
 And therefore she lays before them the sor- 
 rows of the journey, and the barrenness of the 
 earthly prospect. 
 
 Thus the gracious Saviour proves the dis- 
 ciples who gather around him. How faith* 
 
94 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 fully he warned those who followed him when 
 he was on the earth ! He told them the trials 
 they must meet. The disciple could not be 
 above his master. The world reproached, 
 persecuted, killed him. Those who followed 
 must drink of the same cup, and be baptized 
 with the same baptism. He had not where 
 to lay his head. In the service of such a 
 master they could expect no earthly wealth 
 or power. They would find his service brought 
 not worldly peace, but a sword. Unless, 
 therefore, they loved him enough to be happy 
 in parting with with every thing else for him, 
 and suffering every thing for his sake, they 
 could not be his disciples. Did he mean to 
 discourage them, or to drive them away ? 
 Did he wish them to leave him, and walk 
 with him no more ? Far, far from that. He 
 desired to prove them, to bring out to their 
 own view the secret motives of their hearts, 
 and to let them see and determine whether 
 they could still follow him, when they had no 
 earthly benefit to expect in his service. When 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 95 
 
 they had thus been tried, and could feel 
 able to say from their hearts, " Lord, thou 
 knowest all things, thou knowest that we love 
 thee," then their way was safe, happy, and 
 sure, whatever trials of faith and patience it 
 might bring them, on the road. 
 
 Thus the Saviour still tries the youthful 
 disciples who come to him. He bids you re- 
 member that you have nothing to expect in 
 this world, of mere worldly advantages, in his 
 service. He will make you happy in serving 
 him. «But it is not with worldly happiness. 
 He will give you peace in him. But that 
 will be in your losses for his sake, and in your 
 willingness to part with all for him. When 
 you come to serve the -Lord, you must prepare 
 your soul for temptation. From the day you 
 set out on your he-avenly journey, discourage- 
 ments and difficulties will seem to multiply 
 around you. 
 
 The world will be arrayed against you. 
 The habits, opinions, and plans of worldly 
 people are constant obstacles in your way. 
 
96 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 They will ridicule you. They will frown 
 upon you. They will scoff at you. They 
 will entice you. They will attempt to be- 
 wilder you with arguments and objections. 
 They will often compel you either to yield to 
 them, or to live and walk alone. They will 
 be often in your families and households ; it 
 may be, your nearest earthly relations, whom 
 it is impossible to avoid, and wicked to 
 despise. Ah, this discouragement is very 
 great. And whether I hear the enemy blow- 
 ing the trumpet of threatening hostility, or 
 breathing the soft notes of attraction and 
 enticement around you, I look upon your 
 young religion with the deepest anxiety and 
 concern. How will you stand it ? What is 
 to be the result of it ? God only can make 
 you stand. 
 
 The professed Christians around you are 
 often fearful obstacles in your way. You 
 see and hear of old communicants to whom 
 the theater, the opera, the ball-room, appear 
 just as easily habitual as the church. You 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 97 
 
 hv,*r of professed ministers of the Gospel 
 apologizing for habits of the most complete 
 devotion to the world. You see those who 
 profess to follow Christ, in many instances 
 living just as gayly, as extravagantly, as in- 
 dulgently, often as sinfully, as if they had 
 made no such profession. Few of them love 
 to talk with you of Christ. Fewer still to 
 pray with you for his blessing. They appear 
 to be in the world, of the world, with the 
 world, part of the world, and you can see no 
 difference between the two, except in some 
 occasional public religious observance. Ah, 
 how sad is the influence which such professors 
 exercise ! How painful to the young Chris- 
 tian traveler, the trial of faith and patience 
 which such disappointments in character pre- 
 sent ! You may often sigh for a religious 
 encouragement from them which you do not 
 find ; and for a sympathy for your tempted 
 and struggling soul which they seem wholly 
 unable to feel. This discouragement is great. 
 Your own inward heart and feelings will 
 5 
 
98 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 often be very discouraging to you. There is 
 such backwardness in prayer — such want of 
 deep interest in the Word and service of 
 God ; — there are such multiplied risings of the 
 sinful nature that seems to be dwelling with- 
 in you ; — there is so little of the excitement 
 which you hoped to find — so little sensible 
 enjoyment often in your new path — such a 
 necessity for constant warfare, and constant 
 watchfulness within yourself. If you relax a 
 moment, you fall. If you stop to rest, you 
 sink in hazardous, ruinous lethargy and 
 slumber. Your conscience often seems little 
 at peace ; such a sense of sin prevails, and 
 pervades through your secret thoughts. The 
 toiling up and down these hills of Moab — the 
 hours of weariness which must be passed 
 before you see the promised land before you — 
 the many dangers to be met before you can 
 say or feel that you are safe ; — Ah, these are 
 great discouragements, great trials to your 
 faith and patience. Nothing can stand them 
 or endure through them but a heart thai 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 99 
 
 really loves Jesus more than all the world, 
 and a spirit that willingly sacrifices itself for 
 his service and glory. If this is your heart 
 and spirit, then all these discouragements are 
 instruments of new strength. Orpah may 
 feel dispirited and weary. Kuth only loves 
 the more, the more she is tried. To Orpah 
 the way grows more unattractive and tedious 
 as she goes on. To Ruth, every step brings 
 new determination, and new desire to press 
 on even to the end. 
 
 Thus we see these young travelers set out. 
 They go on together. Again they said to 
 Naomi, " Surely we will return with thee unto 
 thy people." She was happy in not knowing 
 yet the difference between them. She could 
 therefore encourage both with the assurance, 
 that what she had they should have, and 
 where she should find a home, they also 
 should participate with her. It is our place 
 to encourage all who appear to set out sin- 
 cerely in the Lord's service. It is not for us 
 to turn any back. We stand at the Saviour's 
 
100 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 door, glad to receive all who are willing to 
 come. He only can search the heart. We 
 are not to break the bruised reed, or to 
 quench the smoking flax. We cast the 
 Saviour's net, and strive to bring it to the 
 shore. He only can separate the evil from 
 the good, and say who are his, and who is 
 holy. We give the Saviour's gracious invi- 
 tations to all who hear. We beg them to 
 come to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 
 We say to all our youth, " Ye are bought 
 with a price. Come to the Saviour's feet. 
 Come to the Shepherd's tent. Come one. 
 Come all. Why should any of you remain 
 to perish in Moab. Come, find your home in 
 the house of the Lord for ever." It is for the 
 Lord alone to say, " How earnest thou in 
 hither, not having on a vedding garment ?" 
 We urge you, then, my dear young friends, 
 now to begin your journey to life eternal, to 
 become at once the friends and followers of 
 our glorious Lord, to give your names and 
 your heari s to Christ, and to join us in our 
 
THE PROMISING COMMENCEMENT. 101 
 
 happy pilgrimage to the land of everlasting 
 rest, to receive the wedding-garment of his 
 perfect righteousness and glorious salvation, 
 and become the sons and daughters of the 
 Lord Almighty. It will be a blessed day for 
 you on which you thus set out. It will be a 
 perfectly sure and prosperous journey for you, 
 if you sincerely enter upon it, with your heart 
 determined to serve and follow the Great 
 Captain of our Salvation who goes before us. 
 You need never turn back to the vanities 
 and sins of Moab which you thus renounce. 
 Your path may be "like the shining light 
 which shineth more and more unto the per- 
 fect day." " The Spirit and the Bride say, 
 Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; 
 and let him that is athirst come ; and who- 
 soever will, let him take of the water of life 
 freely." 
 
V. 
 
 %\t f sinful Stprstiirn. 
 
 And they lifted up their voices, and wept again. And Orpah kissed hei 
 mother-in-law; hut Euth clave unto her. And she said, Behold, 
 thy sister-in-law is gone hack unto her people, and unto her gods; 
 return thou after thy sister-in-law." — Er/xn, i. 14, 15. 
 
 Nothing can be more encouraging to the 
 Christian heart than to see the young setting 
 out to seek the Lord. It is a beautiful 
 exercise and exhibition of youth. Never do 
 the morning hours appear so bright or so 
 promising. God hath said, " They that seek 
 me early shall find me." We well know that 
 some will go back who appear to set out well. 
 Our past experience leads us not to hope too 
 confidently in individual cases, or to expect 
 too much of particular persons. But we 
 know that none can gain the blessings unless 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 103 
 
 they do set out. There is a necessary begin- 
 ning to a religions life, as well as to human 
 life itself. There is a commencement to our 
 heavenly journey as well as to our earthly 
 journey. And as we can never know in the 
 beginning who will persevere, or who will 
 draw back, we rejoice to see them all set out. 
 We can not suspect the sincerity of any, and 
 therefore we encourage them and urge them 
 all to press forward, and be faithful unto 
 death, and not to lose the crown and prize 
 for which they start. 
 
 We have seen these youthful travelers go- 
 ing with Naomi out of the place where they 
 dwelt, on the way to return unto the land of 
 Judah. For a time they travel together hap- 
 pily and affectionately. There seems no pros- 
 pect of their separation. We have no reason 
 yet to suspect the integrity or the love of 
 either of the two. But they come at last to 
 a point, where, if they are to separate, the 
 hour of separation has arrived. There is a 
 line which divides Moab from Judah. Naomi 
 
104 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 has no question in her plans. She is certainly 
 going on, whatever trials the journey may 
 cost. All her hopes and interests are in Ju- 
 dah. If her daughters-in-law mean to go 
 with her, or if either of them has wavered in 
 the determination, here is the point at which 
 they must finally decide. Perhaps it is not 
 easy to decide. There are many reasons and 
 motives to he weighed and considered, before 
 they finally deckle. There are many interests 
 involved in the decision. Difficulties and 
 objections arise on both sides. But the de- 
 cision must be made. It may be they will 
 delay the decision as long as they can. If 
 either of them shall hesitate to go further, 
 the kindness and love of the other will laboi 
 to postpone the final determination. But 
 this final determination can not be avoided. 
 It must be met at last. And this is the sub- 
 ject of our present thought, the painful sepa- 
 ration. Orpah at last avows the real purpose 
 of her heart. She kisses her mother-in-law 
 in a final farewell, and goes back to her 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 105 
 
 people and her gods. Kuth cleaves to her, 
 and goes forward with her to the land of Ju- 
 dah, and to the people and the God of Israel. 
 Nothing can separate her love from Naomi. 
 Nothing shall he allowed to turn her hack 
 from seeking and serving Naomi's God. 
 
 This is a painful, hut an inevitahle crisis. 
 The two sisters must separate. They actually 
 do separate. They have loved each other. 
 They have dwelt together, rejoiced together, 
 mourned together, suffered together, journeyed 
 together. But they have come to a point at 
 which they find they have no longer a real 
 sympathy, or a common ohject in life, or the 
 same state of mind and feeling. And these 
 affectionate friends must separate. Two can 
 not walk together, except they he agreed. In 
 the main end and purpose of their journey — 
 in the direction in which they shall journey — 
 . they do not agree. They must separate. 
 
 There is just such a line in our soul's his- 
 tory, my dear young friends, where a similar 
 
 entire separation must take place. The dear- 
 5* 
 
106 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 est friends, the nearest relations, parents and 
 children, sisters and brothers, are compelled 
 to divide, and choose entirely different and 
 contrary paths. The awakened mind sees its 
 own sinfulness and need, acknowledges the 
 darkness and emptiness of the Moab in whieh. 
 it has dwelt, and to which it has belonged ; 
 and truly feels the importance and the value 
 of those blessed offers and promises, which 
 the Gospel proclaims. The Holy Spirit has 
 taught the sinner the guiltiness and wretch- 
 edness of his past life ; and has made him 
 feel how much better it would be for him to 
 be really a Christian, and a child of God. He 
 knows, he sees, he feels the truth. But he 
 does not love the truth. He does not embrace 
 and choose it for his own, his portion for ever. 
 He acknowledges his sinfulness. He mourns 
 over his wasted life. He confesses the bless- 
 edness and peace which they have who love 
 and serve the Lord. He hears the invitation 
 addressed to him, to come and partake of the 
 same blessedness in the Redeemer of the lost. 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 107 
 
 He comes to a line where he must eithei 
 choose the Saviour, and go with him, or re- 
 fuse him, and go back again to his rebellion 
 and sin. He must choose whom he will 
 serve ; for to serve one master or the other — 
 either the Saviour or the destroyer — is his 
 unavoidable portion. He needs no more light 
 or knowledge. He fully sees the misery and 
 danger of his state. He knows that he is not 
 a Christian, and can not be safe in this con- 
 dition of his soul. He wants now only the 
 actual forgiveness and renewing of his heart 
 which the Gospel offers him. His mind is 
 enlightened. His conscience is awakened. 
 His judgment is convinced. And nothing 
 remains but to give his heart to Jesus, and to 
 say, in humble dependence on his grace, 
 " Lord, I will go wkh thee ; thou hast the 
 words of eternal life. I am thy servant ; thou 
 hast loosed my bonds." 
 
 If he would really do this, all would be 
 well. But this he refuses. His heart he can 
 not, will not give to Christ. Any thing else 
 
108 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 he will do. But nothing else will avail him 
 any thing. He will he "baptized. But bap- 
 tism can not save him. He will he confirmed. 
 But this is not salvation. He will come to 
 the tahle of the Lord. But there is no salva- 
 tion for him there. He will fast and pray. 
 He will toil and lahor in his own self-right- 
 eous plans. He will try to cleanse the out- 
 side of the cup and the platter, and resolve to 
 walk religiously in outward works. But all 
 this is not salvation. He will not "believe 
 with his heart in the Lord Jesus. He will 
 not yield his willing soul a dwelling-place for 
 Christ. He will not give himself freely up, 
 as a living sacrifice to the divine Saviour. He 
 will not believe the precious assurances of his 
 Word. He will not, can not choose to be the 
 Lord's alone. This is a line he can not cross. 
 And here he must separate from the people 
 of God, though they have traveled long to- 
 gether. They must go on, and he will not. 
 They can not tarry for him, and he still hesi- 
 tates to arise and go. 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 109 
 
 Poor Orpah ! How often have I seen 
 young travelers to eternity stopping just 
 where you stop ; hesitating just where you hes- 
 itate ; and then going back just where you go 
 back. Nothing more can be done for you 
 where you are. There is Moab. You have 
 tried that, and found it empty and unhappy. 
 There is Judah. All its provisions and offers 
 are before you, and brought for your accept- 
 ance. Never will you be sorry if you take 
 your portion there. Here are Naomi and 
 Kuth. They are journeying to the land 
 which the Lord hath promised them. Soon 
 they will be far from you, out of your sight. 
 Then you will mourn over the separation 
 which you foolishly made. 
 
 " While you gaze, with speed surprising 
 Down the vale they sink from sight; 
 Gazing still, you see them rising, 
 Like an angel, clothed in light." 
 
 Why will you not go with them, and with 
 them become an heir together of the grace of 
 life ? But Orpah goes back — to her people 
 and to her gods. 
 
110 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 " It is a painful separation. " They lifted 
 up their voices and wept." Naomi and Ruth 
 mourn with the sincerest pity. Many a time 
 will they look back and exclaim in sorrow, 
 " Oh, Orpah, Orpah ! that thou hadst been 
 wise, at least in this thy day, to think of the 
 tilings which belong unto thy peace ! But 
 now they are hidden from thine eyes." The 
 true children of God can not help sorrowing 
 over those whom they are compelled to leave 
 behind to perish in the world. Far enough 
 are they from triumphing over them in their 
 lost estate. Ah, my brother ! Ah, sister ! 
 Ah, my child ! will often burst from many a 
 happy heart that really has no other earthly 
 sorrow than this. In all their journey to the 
 kingdom which they are to receive, they will 
 call these children of vanity to their mind. 
 In secret places they will weep over them, 
 and pray for them. Often from some hill- 
 top on their road, will they turn back to 
 look, and strain their sight to discover if they 
 may not even yet be following them far be- 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARAIION. Ill 
 
 hind. It seems inscrutable, inexplicable to 
 them. Why will they perish ? So simple, 
 so easy, so happy, appears the salvation of 
 the Gospel, that they Avoncler Avhy any should 
 reject its offers, or refuse their part in the 
 blessings which it brings. Every step in the 
 journey is pleasanter and happier than the 
 last. The ways of religion seem to be the 
 ways of pleasantness and peace. The path 
 to Immanuers land becomes all the time less 
 burdensome and more attractive. And often 
 the thought comes over the mind, as some 
 poor worldly friend and companion is remem- 
 bered, "0 that they knew how great peace 
 we have, who love his law." The most tender 
 sympathy and desire for those who are still 
 in the world, unpardoned and unsaved, is a 
 constantly increasing influence in their hearts, 
 to the end of their course. And to them it is 
 a painful, heart-rending separation, which di- 
 vides the children of God from the children 
 of the world. 
 
 But Naomi and Ruth do not weep alone, 
 
112 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Orpah finds the separation as painful as they. 
 Sad to her was the moment when they turned 
 their backs upon each other, and she began 
 alone the way of her return. Sad was every 
 succeeding moment, as she journeyed back 
 alone to her people and her gods. Naomi 
 and Euth she really loved. It was no desire 
 to leave them which made her separate from 
 them. And could we know her history, we 
 should doubtless find in it many a sorrowful 
 and weeping hour, as she thought of these 
 friends of her youth, whom she was to see no 
 more. 
 
 It is the history which we have seen in the 
 child of the world, over and over again. You 
 may renounce the Saviour, and walk with 
 him no more. You may go back to Moab, 
 and bury yourself in its sins and follies. But 
 you will find no peace or happiness there. 
 Your conscience will never again allow you to 
 rest. You may plunge into gratifications and 
 indulgences. You may pretend to be pleased. 
 But it is all pretense. Your heart is hollow, 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 113 
 
 self-condemning, and sad. You may try to 
 hate and oppose the truth. You may avoid 
 the Gospel, and the church of God. You 
 may resolve you will not feel, and will not 
 think. But ah, it is all in vain. Many an 
 hour of reflection and sorrow will come, when 
 your own hypocrisy will accuse and condemn 
 you. Then you. will bitterly feel how mad 
 and foolish has been the course you have pur- 
 sued. Whether you choose a Saviour or 
 oppose him, the world can never meet your 
 wants, or minister peace to your soul. You 
 will come to sorrow, and weep alone. You 
 will come to poverty, and find no support. 
 You will come to sickness, and have no com- 
 forter. You will come to death, and possess 
 no hope. You will look forward to eternity 
 in dark despair. There will be many a time 
 in your life when you will recall the hour in 
 which you were almost a Christian with un- 
 utterable anguish. From some distant hill 
 of Moab your eye will catch a view of Naomi 
 and Kuth, calmly and steadfastly accomplish- 
 
114 THE EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ing their journey, and your soul will sink 
 under the sad recollection that you also 
 might have been with them, and have rejoiced 
 in the blessed hopes and prospects which they 
 possess. Ah, never think of finding peace in 
 Moab. Your own heart will condemn you. 
 The world itself will despise you. God will 
 seem to frown upon you every day. All 
 things will appear to be against you there. 
 There is no peace there. You will feel and 
 acknowledge to yourself the happiest day of 
 your life was that on which you set out to 
 seek the Lord ; the saddest, that on which 
 you turned back to find your portion in the 
 world. " They lifted up their voices and 
 wept" again. And thus will Orpah often do 
 in the remembrance of the folly of this day. 
 
 Painful, however, as the separation may 
 be, Orpah will go no further. " Orpah kissed 
 her mother-in-law." It was the respectful 
 but sad token of the inward state of her own 
 mind. This was now her choice, her own 
 voluntary determination. It was vain to say 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 115 
 
 she could not go. There was no other real 
 difficulty than that which was within herself. 
 There was a price put into her hands to get 
 wisdom, but she had no heart to it. The 
 inducements were not powerful enough to 
 overcome her aversion to the journey. The 
 object did not seem a sufficient compensation 
 for the difficulties to be met. The separation 
 from her friends in Moab required a sacrifice 
 which she had not the heart to make. And, 
 worst of all, the foul and filthy gods of Moab 
 she still really preferred to the worship and 
 service of the God of Israel. Orpah acts out 
 her own choice and her own determination in 
 a perfectly voluntary return. She certainly 
 might have gone on with her companions had 
 she desired it. But her heart is still in Moab, 
 and to Moab she chooses to go back. 
 
 Can you ever give any other account of a 
 sinful refusal of the Saviour's love, and apos- 
 tasy from his service ? "Ye will not come to 
 me that ye might have life." " that there 
 were such an heart in them that they would 
 
116 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 fear me and keep my commandments !" The 
 offers and invitations of the Gospel are given 
 to you with perfect freedom. The divine 
 Spirit works within you to teach you the 
 truth, and to guide you in the heavenly way. 
 God gives you power and strength to do his 
 will, according to your day. But he requires 
 you always to choose for yourself whom you 
 will serve. Your service must be perfect 
 freedom. When his children accept his 
 offered mercy, and give themselves up to his 
 service, it is a perfectly cheerful and volun- 
 tary act. And when you refuse his grace, 
 and draw back from his commandments, you 
 feel that you act with perfect freedom, and 
 do simply that which you desire to do. How- 
 ever long you may halt between two opinions, 
 you do finally choose for yourself whether you 
 shall serve God or Baal. If you go back to 
 the world, you choose death rather than life — 
 you love darkness rather than light. You 
 are therefore without excuse, and can blame 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION*. 117 
 
 none but yourselves when you reap the bitter 
 fruits of your own sowing. 
 
 Thus, like Orpah, you stand. The Sa- 
 viour invites you. You will not come. He 
 assures you of his forgiveness. You will not 
 believe him. He offers you his free salvation. 
 You refuse to receive it. He holds out to 
 you his boundless gifts of love. You will 
 not stretch forth your hands to receive 
 them. He says to you, Open thy mouth and 
 I will fill it. You clinch your teeth, and 
 refuse to comply. He begs you. He intreats 
 you. Why will you die ? You turn from 
 him with your own free determination, and 
 choose the death against which he so solemnly 
 warns you. It may be you do all this re- 
 spectfully, quietly, and with an expression 
 of regret. But you do it freely, and of your 
 own full accord. " Orpah kissed her mother- 
 in-law." But she deserted her, and went 
 " back to her people and her gods." Ah, 
 this is a fearful lesponsibility. You pluck 
 down ruin on your own head. You plunge 
 
118 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 your precious soul into a voluntary destruc- 
 tion. And when we fondly hoped you would 
 travel with us to our Father's house, we see 
 you turn your back upon us, and join your- 
 self to strangers, and go with the destroyer. 
 Yet you take the whole responsibility upon 
 yourself. Your final destruction is your own 
 act, and the result of your own choice. " 
 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, when in 
 me was thy help." Painful was the separa- 
 tion. But it was still the more so on this 
 account. It was Orpah's own unfaithful 
 choice. 
 
 Orpah goes "back to her people and her 
 gods." This is a most important fact in her 
 history. She does not, can not remain where 
 they part. That is a place most unnatural 
 and unattractive. No ; she goes back, while 
 Kuth and Naomi go forward. The sepa- 
 ration grows wider every hour. They are 
 more and more apart, as each day traces 
 their different courses. She may often think 
 of them when she is among her people and 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 119 
 
 ner gods. She may often regret that she left 
 them. She may wish over and over again 
 that she were with them once more. But the 
 separation is final. She joins them no more. 
 This is a most affecting illustration. The 
 awakened and convinced mind can never 
 abide at the line where a Saviour is refused. 
 There is no permanency in such a state of 
 mind. There is no home for the soul there. 
 When once you have thus grieved the Holy 
 Ghost, and driven the Lord Jesus from the 
 door of your heart, and answered to his invi- 
 tation, "I will not come ;" then the guiding 
 Spirit leaves you, the restraining grace is 
 withdrawn from you, the dews and the rain of 
 the Lord's Word fall upon you in vain. 
 
 Yes — you go back. It may be to self-indul- 
 gence, dissipation, and sensual delights. It 
 may be to giddiness, frivolity, and empty, 
 cheerless mirth. It may be to business, covet- 
 ousness, and unceasing occupation. It may be 
 to infidelity, and assumed unbelief and argu- 
 ment. It may be to open hostility and per- 
 
120 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 secution of the Gospel ; and those who love it. 
 It may be to absolute and dreadful hardness 
 of heart. But to whatever it shall be, you 
 still go back. The more conscience disturbs 
 you within, still with the more determination 
 you go back. You resolve that Moab shall 
 be your home ; its people, your people ; its 
 gods, your gods. The worst opposers of the 
 Gospel we ever meet are those who once were 
 almost Christians. The bitterest persecutors 
 of Christ are those who once set out well 
 to be his servants and friends. It was a 
 fallen disciple who sold Him to his enemies, 
 and went and hanged himself. Sad is the 
 history of this return to Moab. What you shall 
 be, it does not now appear. Could Ave trace 
 the history of many a backslider, as events 
 will bring it out, he would start back with 
 the exclamation, "Is thy servant a dog, that 
 he should do this thing ?" 
 
 You fall, and ah, how deeply ! And when 
 you attempt to follow out this worldly course, 
 what have you gained ? What can you gain ? 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 121 
 
 "There is no peace to the wicked." Had 
 you' the whole world as your price, it would 
 leave your heart just as wretched and empty 
 still. It will have been better for you never 
 to have known the way of truth. The ver? 
 heathen will rise up in the judgment with 
 you and condemn you. 
 
 But you say you will hereafter return to 
 Christ. You can not do this, but by his own 
 Spirit. And that Spirit you have driven far 
 from you. There is a morning which cometh 
 on the earth when the night has passed. 
 But you have chosen darkness which has no 
 succeeding light. There is a spring that 
 returneth in creation, when the winter has 
 gone. But you have buried the sacred seed 
 of your soul's welfare beneath a winter which 
 knows no coming spring. You will mourn 
 at the last, when your flesh and your body 
 are consumed. But it will be with a worldly 
 sorrow which worketh death, and not with a 
 godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto 
 salvation. No, never, so far as man can say, 
 
122 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 will you return again. You have resisted all 
 the influence you can ever receive. You have 
 rejected all the light and arguments which 
 will ever be bestowed. Your necessary course, 
 your inevitable course, is to sink still further 
 down in the path of your chosen sin, until 
 God has sworn in his wrath you shall not 
 enter into his rest. You go " back to your 
 people and your gods." But you find no rest 
 there. You doom yourself to a life of sorrow 
 and a death of despair. And when the earth 
 and the sea shall give up their dead, " repro- 
 bate silver shall men call you, for the Lord 
 hath rejected you." 
 
 Many years since I was called, late at night, 
 to visit a young man, dying, at a boarding- 
 house in my neighborhood. He was an officer 
 in the army, returning from the Florida war. 
 He was a model of youthful beauty. His 
 black hair curled over a forehead like ala- 
 baster, and his long eyelashes shaded eyes of 
 the most brilliant hue. His countenance was 
 deeply interesting. I sat beside him, and 
 
THE PAINFUL SEPARATION. 123 
 
 began to tell him of the Saviour's dying love ; 
 of the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb for sin- 
 ners. "Don't talk to me of that/' he ex- 
 claimed ; " I will not hear you. I know it all 
 as well as you. I know it is all true. I was 
 taught it in my youth. I loved it then. But 
 I gave it up. I threw my Bible away. I 
 tried to disbelieve it. I scoffed at it. And 
 now it is impossible. I know it is all true. 
 But it is not for me." I entreated him to 
 hear me, but he would not. Vainly did I 
 pour out the riches of the Kedeemer's grace 
 before him. " It is not for me. I knew it 
 once. But it is too late now." He became 
 intensely excited. I said at last, let me pray 
 for you. " No, you shall not. No man shall 
 pray for me. I will not hear you." I per- 
 sisted. But he covered himself over with the 
 bed-clothes, and turned his back to me, and 
 tried to keep out the very sound of the words. 
 My effort was vain. I returned to my house 
 at midnight. Early in the morning I went 
 round again. But the crape suspended to the 
 
124 THE RICH KINSMAK, 
 
 bcll-hanclle told me he was gone. It was a 
 sorrowful departure. The departure of a 
 young apostate. 
 
 This is the fearful prospect in your return 
 with Orpah. 0, my young friends, drive the 
 tempter from you. Listen to the voice of the 
 Spirit. Hear the Saviour's call. See the at- 
 tractive glories of ImmanueFs land. Oast in 
 your lot with the people of God. Come, go 
 thou with us to Bethlehem, and feed upon 
 that bread of God which giveth life for ever. 
 
VI. 
 
 And Euth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from follow 
 ing after thee; for whither thou goest I will go; and where thou 
 lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my 
 God ; where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried ; the 
 Lord do so to me,.and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. 
 When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then 
 she left speaking unto her. — Ruth, i. 16-18. 
 
 We have just stood at the line which sepa- 
 rates Moab from Judah. We have parted 
 with Orpah, and have seen her go back to her 
 people and her gods. Ah, who could look 
 upon her but with distress ? How much she 
 has lost ! What a sacrifice she has made ! 
 How vain and foolish has been her choice ! 
 How certain is it that she will find it so in 
 the end ! How sad will be her future sorrow, 
 coming too late ! Like poor Esau, who sold 
 
126 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 his birthright and lost his blessing. Though 
 he cried with an exceeding bitter cry, " My 
 father, hast thou but one blessing ? Bless 
 me also, my father," — he found no place for 
 rej>entance, though he sought it carefully 
 with tears. 
 
 This dividing line we find running between 
 the kingdom of God and the guilty world of 
 men. There is this actual, entire division 
 between the children of God, and the children 
 of the wicked one. They are conrpletely sep- 
 arated. You can not mingle them perma- 
 nently together. You may try, like some 
 little child, to make the oil and water mix, 
 by unceasing shaking, but they separate again, 
 and go each to their own place. The awak- 
 ened mind, led by the convincing Spirit of 
 God, comes up to this line of separation, and 
 there must choose, and there does choose, 
 whom it shall serve, and with whom it shall 
 go. 
 
 Many there, convinced, but not converted — 
 feeling and knowing that they ought to fol- 
 
TRUE DECISION. 127 
 
 low Jesus, but not willing to give up all 
 things for his sake — almost, but not alto- 
 gether Christians — turn back with Orpah, 
 and we see them no more. The church of 
 God travels onward to its glorious home. 
 They who are saved are added to it, and 
 travel onward with it. They who have re- 
 fused the offers of redeeming love, are left, 
 and must be left, to reap the harvest they 
 have chosen for themselves to sow. 
 
 And her£ we stand to-day. Orpah has 
 gone. We shall trace her course no longer. 
 We would gladly never see her example fol- 
 lowed by others. We must now confine our- 
 selves to the beautiful decision and faithful 
 choice of Kuth. She stands before us, a sin- 
 cere youthful convert to the Lord's service. 
 She has decided the question for her soul, by 
 gratefully accepting the offers of a Saviour's 
 love. This question will never come up for 
 her consideration again. Henceforth she is 
 not her own. She belongs to Christ her Sa- 
 viour. And she will glorify him in her body 
 
128 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 and her spirit, which are his. Surely never 
 was there a more beautiful exhibition of char- 
 acter. Never was there a more dignified and 
 graceful display of female loveliness and fidel- 
 ity. Painting, sculpture, and poetry, have 
 each in their turn selected it for their theme. 
 Each may have caught some of its glow of 
 attractive excellence. But, after all, the 
 beauty of the original transcends their power 
 of imitation. Never can we exhaust its at- 
 tractions, or meditate too frequently on the 
 perfection of the example which it presents. 
 I beg you, my dear young friends, to think 
 well of the example of this youthful convert, 
 in the decision which she displays, and the 
 choice which she makes. The circumstances 
 in the midst of which her decision is displayed 
 are peculiarly instructive to you all. 
 
 She sets out upon an untried journey alone. 
 Naomi, indeed, is with her. And her heart 
 is affectionately bound to her mother-in-law. 
 But Kuth has many cares, trials, and remem- 
 brances of which Naomi is not conscious. To 
 
TRUE DECISION. 129 
 
 Naomi, the journey is A well-known return. 
 To Ruth, every step is untried and new. 
 She was born in Moab. She knows nothing 
 of Judah. All her associations and earthly 
 connections are in Moab. And from them she 
 goes out alone. Thus is it with every youth- 
 ful convert. The experienced and aged Chris- 
 tian has much acquaintance with the way in 
 which you go. The new-born child of grace 
 takes every step on ground unknown and 
 untried. Whatever sympathy or kindness 
 you may receive in the Lord's service from 
 his faithful people, with whom you have 
 united your lot, much of your experience is, 
 after all, peculiar to yourself. Your chief 
 trials are within yourself, and wholly your 
 own. Often will you question on the road, 
 whether your case is not completely singular, 
 whether any one was ever tried as you are 
 tried, or suffered as you suffer. The secret 
 sins which come to light in your own heart — 
 the contests and difficulties which arise in 
 your own tempers and mind, the temptations 
 6* 
 
130 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of your own evil appetites and thoughts, will 
 often make you think yourself isolated and 
 solitary in the trials which you bear. Does 
 any other one so suffer in prayer ; and so often 
 contend without success, and so often try in 
 vain to do the will of God, and feel so much 
 discouraged, and so often downcast under 
 manifest and unexpected failures in duty ? 
 How often does this whole history come be- 
 fore a pastor's mind, from the statement of 
 some suffering, struggling child of God — when 
 it is but a perfect counterpart of the sorrows 
 and discouragements which he is bearing 
 within himself! As face answereth to face 
 in the water, so does the heart of man to 
 heart. This is the way in which all must go 
 who would walk with God. " This people 
 shall dwell alone." Each one, be the multi- 
 tude ever so great, is a hidden one with God. 
 Multitudes may be traveling in the same 
 direction, but the feelings and experience of 
 each are solitary. "If thou art wise, thou 
 art wise for thyself." Euth must make her 
 
TEUE DECISION. 131 
 
 decision in her own secret heart, and make it 
 for herself alone. 
 
 Her earthly friends must all be left. They 
 are in Moab, from whence she takes now 
 her final departure. This separation is not 
 to be made without a trial of her faith. The 
 more affectionate she is in her real choice, 
 the more she will feel the separation from 
 those whom she leaves behind. Keligion can 
 not destroy our earthly affections, our interest 
 in those who are dear to us in natural ties. 
 Nay, it much increases the warmth and power 
 of our love. The world hardens the heart. 
 The Gospel- makes it tender, gentle, and 
 affectionate. Sin makes us selfish. True 
 piety makes us disinterested, generous, and 
 kind. They are the fashionable, the pros- 
 perous, the gay, whose time and thoughts 
 are occupied with their own indulgences, 
 gains, and gratifications, whose hearts become 
 hardened against the needs and sorrows of 
 their fellow-men. They who love God will 
 love their earthly friends also. And in tho 
 
132 TETE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 very degree in which they love God, will they 
 love those whom God hath connected with 
 them. Ruth can not look back upon the 
 many whom she has left in Moab without 
 sincere and deep regret. that all hei 
 friends might be partakers of the same glo- 
 rious hope, and would pursue with her the 
 same blessed journey to seek the living and 
 true God. 
 
 This is a separation which must be made. 
 You can not serve God and Mammon. You 
 can not be partakers of the cup of the Lord 
 and the cup of devils. We do not ask you to 
 leave your earthly friends in outward relations. 
 "We do not ask you to fly to the desert, or to 
 imprison yourselves in convents. This is the 
 perversion of Satan in the scheme of Popery. 
 You are required to serve the Lord in the 
 condition in which he has placed you ; to 
 abide in the calling wherein you are called. 
 He fixes the bounds of your habitations, and 
 appoints you the trials you are to bear. 
 From these it is vain to fly to sisterhoods and 
 
TRUE DECISION. 133 
 
 cells, as if you could better do the will of God 
 in outward seclusion. The world and Satan 
 will follow you there. The prince of evil, 
 whose power is like the air, is not to be shut- 
 out by bolts and bars. You are to follow the 
 gracious Saviour in the world by a life sepa- 
 rate from the world ; with a spirit and heart 
 not of the world, though in its midst. Thus 
 only is your light to shine where others may 
 see ; and your example to be made a blessing 
 that others may follow it. 
 
 This decision may often meet with much 
 opposition from those with whom you dwell. 
 Your dearest earthly connections may oppose. 
 They love you. But they do not love .your 
 religion. Would you mix the. two together ; 
 would you only accompany them to the same 
 excess of riot ; and, while the Sabbath led to 
 the house and table of the Lord, allow the 
 week to lead you to the palaces of Satan and 
 the assemblies of those who have not God in 
 all their thoughts, they could bear with you. 
 Would you make your religion merely an out - 
 
134 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ward and separable form, they would be will- 
 ing to yield to you. But if you take a 
 decided and faithful stand on the side of 
 Christ, they feel that your whole course is a 
 reproof to them. To true religion, living, 
 active, decided piety, the spirit and habits 
 of the world are irreconcilably opposed. 
 What are you to do ? What can you do, 
 but faithfully and simply follow Him who 
 has said, "Whosoever loveth father or 
 mother more than me is not worthy of me" ? 
 You must go forth with Euth, and leave 
 those who, rejecting Jesus, will not go with 
 you. You must follow the Lord fully, 
 though you follow him alone among your 
 earthly connections ; and he will make those 
 who oppose at peace with you. Be faithful 
 to him, and your fidelity shall be the source 
 of increased confidence and respect, even 
 from the worldly who appear to reject and 
 despise you. You may suffer a little at the 
 outset. It is a temporary suffering. Your 
 usefulness to others will be vastly increased 
 
TRUE DECISION. 135 
 
 God will give you many seals of liis blessing 
 on your efforts to honor him in the world in 
 which he has placed you. And you will find 
 a happy and blessed result in the end. 
 
 As we trace the history of Ruth, we find 
 her meeting with new trials of her faith and 
 decision after she sets, out alone. Orpah has 
 gone. But still Naomi proves the spirit of 
 Ruth. Your sister has gone back to her 
 people and her gods. If you mean ever to go 
 back, now is your best time to go. Think 
 well of what you give up, and of what you. 
 may encounter in accompanying me. Much 
 as I would love to have you go with me, I do 
 not wish you hereafter to feel disappointed 
 or grieved on my account. Eemember I have 
 nothing to offer you. If you go with me, it 
 must be to be a partner of my griefs and 
 wants. 
 
 Thus God often proves the young disciple 
 with new trials. He sends his east wind 
 upon the young trees of his planting ; not to 
 weaken or destroy, but to give greater 
 
136 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 strength and endurance for the time to come. 
 Our real conversion to Him is an hour of 
 peace and blessedness ; but it is not an end 
 of trial. Nay, it is the very beginning of new 
 contests ; and our fidelity in the decision we 
 have made is to be proved at once, and to be 
 proved constantly, by new dispensations of 
 the will of God. Within and without, dif- 
 ficulties which we never found before arise 
 upon us now. "We had hoped that the day 
 of temptation and trial had passed. And the 
 day of fruitless sorrow and trial has passed. 
 The trials we now meet are the divine system 
 of blessing to us. They are the treasuring 
 up of abiding benefits for our possession. 
 Thus our Divine Captain strengthens and 
 prepares his soldiers for their warfare and 
 their victory. This is the work which he has 
 for them to do. When we hear Naomi using 
 the language of distrust to Euth, we are 
 ready to feel that she makes the burden 
 unnecessarily heavy. Has she not already 
 separated from her sister, and seen her go 
 
TRUE DECISION. 131 
 
 back alone ? Why should not her mother- 
 in-law now encourage her, and help her on- 
 ward in the journey which she has chosen 
 and commenced ? Why should she compel 
 her to plead, as in our text, for permission to 
 go with her ? " Intreat me not to leave 
 thee, nor to return from following after thee." 
 How affecting is such an appeal from the 
 youthful traveler ! And Naomi surely felt it, 
 and was now satisfied that she had brought 
 out the real choice of her heart. She found 
 that she was steadfastly minded to go with 
 her, and she ceased to try her more. 
 
 I would have you always remember thai 
 the most permanently comforting ministry ia 
 not that which deals the most superficially, 
 but that which the most thoroughly searches 
 and instructs the heart. " Examine your- 
 selves whether you be in the faith." " Prove 
 your own selves." " Let every man prove his 
 own work, and then shall he have rejoicing 
 in himself alone, and not in another." H« 
 will always carry his own evidences within 
 
138 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 himself, in his own experience. He will have 
 the witness in himself. You need not desire 
 or seek for trials. Still less need you invent 
 them and prepare them for yourself as pen- 
 ances and punishments. This is the darkness 
 and wilfulness of superstition. The trial of 
 your faith will come when God sees best, 
 and in the way that he sees best. But you 
 need never fear the hour of trial of divine 
 appointment when it comes. Be really faith- 
 ful and sincere, and God will prove your 
 faith, to strengthen, settle, and stablish you 
 for ever. Be truly gold, and then the refiner's 
 fire will only purify and make you bright. It 
 can not destroy. Be sure that the blood of 
 the Lamb is really sprinkled upon the door 
 of your conscience and heart ; that you have 
 with a sincere choice put yourself by faith 
 in the Saviour's word and power, under the 
 protection of his grace and promise, and the 
 destroyer will pass over you. The night of 
 Egypt's darkness shall be light to you. 
 
 This faithful decision Kuth was obliged to 
 
TRUE DECISION. 139 
 
 make in the face of backsliding in others. 
 She sees Orpah go "back, yet she perseveres. 
 The same arguments which were sufficient tc 
 persuade Orpah to remain in Moab might he 
 supposed adequate to move her also. But 
 she goes with Naomi, notwithstanding this 
 example. The observation of this unfaith- 
 fulness in others is a great trial of faith. 
 There will always be backsliders among those 
 who profess to seek the Lord. The Apostles 
 found it so. " Ye did run well," says Paul 
 to the Galatians ; " what did hinder you that 
 ye should not obey the truth ?" " Demas 
 hath forsaken me, having loved this present 
 world." The inconsistencies of false pro- 
 fessors, with their Christian avowal, is a 
 great burden to the young disciple. If we 
 are faithful amidst their unfaithfulness, our 
 course becomes still the more difficult, and 
 the more beset with obstacles. The course 
 which they adopt seems to mark us as un- 
 necessarily peculiar. It tends to unsettle our 
 own confidence in the principles which we 
 
140 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 have been taught. It provokes still more 
 hostility against us. It compels us to bear 
 unnecessaiy distress in our pity for them. It 
 loads us with sorrows which the direct service 
 of our Master does not impose. It obliges 
 us to appear still more separate from others, 
 and cuts off much of the apparent influence 
 which might be exercised by our religion. 
 It has the tendency to make us selfish and 
 exclusive ; to drive us away from social inter- 
 course ; and to make us solitary in our spirit 
 and in our habits. 
 
 But such defections will always occur. 
 They serve to manifest the fidelity of the real 
 children of God. They increase the courage 
 and the watchfulness of the people of Christ. 
 They drive the true disciple to more earnest 
 prayer, and more unshrinking determination 
 in all things to be found faithful. How open 
 and manifest these surrounding failures make 
 the difference to appear between the true 
 and the false professor ! When a child of 
 the world comes out on the side of Christ, 
 
TRUE DECISION. 141 
 
 and pursues, in the midst of the evil exam- 
 ples of many, a course of simple, faithful de- 
 votion to the Saviour, how it honors his truth ! 
 How it strengthens his cause ! How it im- 
 presses even those who oppose ! How such 
 faithfulness is owned and prospered by the 
 Lord, to whom it is offered, in the usefulness 
 to others of the life which is adorned by it. 
 
 Well do I remember a dear child like this, 
 whose history comes to my mind as a striking 
 illustration. She came under my ministry in 
 the early morning of her youth, one of a fam- 
 ily in which there were yet none who received 
 or obeyed the Saviour's word. Beautiful in 
 her person — lovely in her character — animated 
 and commanding in her intellect, she was a 
 child of peculiar attractions. But yet she was 
 without Christ. The Holy Spirit awakened 
 and taught her, and led her to an open and 
 faithful stand for the Saviour in the family to 
 which she belonged. She made her religious 
 profession at the table of the Lord. At once 
 the divine influence attended upon hei 
 
142 THL EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 youthful ministrations. She became a Sun- 
 clay-school teacher. The Lord honored and 
 blessed her with remarkable usefulness there. 
 She entered a family of wealth and fashion as 
 a private teacher. Though scarce a woman, 
 but seventeen years of age, her holiness of 
 character, and faithful Christian course won 
 upon them all, and she became the spiritual 
 teacher and religious guide of the house, 
 loved, venerated by old and young. She 
 united herself to the choir of the church. Her 
 religion was made there a blessing, and more 
 than one who knew her nowhere else, was 
 given to her as a seal of her ministry there. 
 When her own religious stand was taken, her 
 family scoffed at her course. She was com- 
 pelled to bear very peculiar persecutions and 
 hostility. Yet three sisters she brought suc- 
 cessively to me, who traced their religious 
 character to her example and exhortations. 
 Attractive to our young men, they contended 
 for the pleasure of attending her. Yet to all, 
 on every possible occasion, she brought in 
 
TRUE DECISION. 143 
 
 their walks or visits the important claims of 
 personal religion. And more than one of 
 these acknowledged, in his subsequent con- 
 version, his first religious impressions to have 
 been the result of her conversations. I have 
 no doubt I might have traced twenty-five 
 conversions directly to her influence. She 
 died at the age of twenty-two. Lovely in her 
 religion. Never to be forgotten by those who 
 knew her. I stood at the head of her coffin, 
 and addressed the assembly upon " the be- 
 loved Persis who labored much in the Lord." 
 Dear, dear child of GJ-od, — how precious is her 
 memory to me still ! How beautiful, how 
 effective was the religious course which she 
 pursued ! What a privilege to a pastor are 
 such seals to his ministry in the Lord ! This 
 is the influence and the worth of that true 
 decision which, in the very midst of the incon- 
 sistencies, and backslidings, and hostility of 
 others, stands firmly on the Saviour's side, 
 and chooses always the path which his life- 
 giving truth points out. 
 
144 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 But Eu tli's choice must be made in the 
 midst of many temptations. All the circum- 
 stances which we have considered make an 
 array of temptations for her of great strength. 
 Solitary, away from her former friends, with 
 new and increasing trials of her faith) in the 
 face of the backsliding example of her sister, 
 her temptations to yield were many. It is 
 hard, at the best, to maintain the power and 
 spirit of true religion in the heart. When 
 every thing is in our favor aroun4 us, our own 
 hearts will still give us contest and trouble 
 enough. Many young Christians hardly know 
 these outward difficulties. Parental piety 
 and guardianship are on their side. Every 
 thing around them in their family relations 
 favors their religious course. Their home 
 encourages it. Domestic prayer and example 
 sustain it. They are shielded from much 
 that is powerfully evil in the world around. 
 Their difficulties are all within themselves. 
 These, indeed, they find numerous and pain- 
 ful enough. 
 
TRUE DECISION - . 145 
 
 But when to these are added the trials of 
 outward hostility — the temptations of a world- 
 ly family — the direct and constant efforts of 
 others , who ought to guard and guide them, 
 to undermine their principles, to bewilder 
 their judgments, and to lead their appetites 
 and affections to sin — a scornful hostility in 
 their nearest friends — ah, is it wonderful that 
 they should groan in anguish under the bur- 
 den which is thus thrown upon them ? Yet 
 in the midst of all these, the Holy Spirit can 
 enable you to be steadfast and useful. If 
 you really love the Saviour, he will seem to 
 you worth the endurance of all hostility for 
 his sake. The more you bear for him the 
 happier will you be in him. Be not afraid of 
 their terror, neither be troubled. Sanctify the 
 Lord God in your hearts, and he will shield 
 you in the hour of temptation, and defend 
 you in the day of trial. 
 
 Your temptations will arise from your own 
 tastes and habits, and from the provisions 
 which there are in the world around to fur- 
 7 
 
146 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 nish the gratification for them. In a city 
 like that in which our lot is cast, there is 
 every provision for " the lust of the flesh, the 
 lust of the eye, and the pride of life." No- 
 thing but the most faithful decision will 
 enable our young Christians to maintain a 
 consistent course, and to adorn the Gospel 
 with a becoming conversation. Here is one 
 who has a delicate ear for music, and a great 
 love for its more intricate and scientific har- 
 mony. It is a great gift. But it is also a 
 great snare. It was bestowed to honor God 
 and to enjoy his praise. But the enemy 
 easily prepares a temptation suited to insnare 
 and pervert it. And the argument for the 
 importance of its perfect cultivation is always 
 at hand to cover the gratification. Here is 
 the theatrical opera. All its agencies, atten- 
 dants and influence are the agencies, atten- 
 dants and influence of the theatrical drama. 
 The single point of distinction is the vehicle 
 of expression. But if love for music may be 
 gratified at the opera, why may not love for 
 
TRUE DECISION. 147 
 
 eloquence be indulged at the theater ? Yet 
 I have known young Christians who can be 
 tempted to taste the gratification, even at 
 this cost, and sanction by their presence a 
 system of worldly pleasure which excludes 
 God, opposes God, blasphemes God, because 
 its music is fine, and they think that they at 
 least can enjoy it with impunity. But if the 
 glorious Lord whom they profess , to serve 
 should stand in the midst of that pleasure- 
 seeking throng, would they spring forth to 
 meet him, crying, like Mary at the sepulcher, 
 " Kabboni, my master ?" Nay, would they 
 not shrink back from his gaze, and wish he 
 had called them from some scene at least 
 where they could behold him without shame ? 
 Ah, rather would I my child had been deaf 
 to every sound, than be thus insnared in sin- 
 ful indulgence by the songs of syrens, in the 
 palace of Satan ! 
 
 Here is another of peculiar personal grace. 
 She dances beautifully. Her foolish parents 
 and friends are proud of a physical elasticity 
 
148 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 in which every monkey and mountebank 
 transcends her. She becomes herself vain of 
 that which is deemed a graceful accomplish- 
 ment. The daughter of the Lord Almighty, 
 whose body and spirit have been bought with 
 the price of a Saviour's blood, for his glory, 
 stoops to a competition with the heathen 
 dancing-girls of Hindostan or China. Beau- 
 tiful and attractive indeed is graceful carriage 
 and form in the young. What can be more 
 outwardly lovely to the eye of man ? But 
 ah, when it becomes thus a snare to destroy 
 the soul, and God the Saviour is sacrificed 
 and banished for the wildness of a polluting, 
 degrading whirl in giddy frivolity — I would 
 rather my child had been given to me a 
 cripple from her birth than see her entangled 
 in such a snare ! 
 
 Here is one whose social powers are com- 
 manding. Her conversation is brilliant and 
 attractive. Her education has been polished, 
 fertile, and most availing. This is a high 
 and valued bestowment. Her tongue may 
 
TRUE DECISION. 149 
 
 be her glory. Thus David says, " Awake up 
 my glory." Her conversation, sanctified with 
 the salt of grace, may lead many to Christ, 
 and bring abounding happiness to herself. 
 But ah ! when I see her ensnared by love for 
 company, and the power to adorn society, 
 into an unceasing round of daily and nightly 
 engagements abroad ; and all serious thought 
 and feeling, and habit, sacrificed to this 
 passion for social life ; home forsaken, and 
 family affection and happiness sold for the 
 love of the foreign glitter and excitement of 
 the " lovers of pleasure more than lovers of 
 God ;" I can not be deluded by the animating 
 show. No kaleidoscope like this can com- 
 pensate lor glory lost, for heaven cast away. 
 
 I might enumerate still more temptations 
 which press around our Kuths in the circum- 
 stances in which their decision for the Lord is 
 to be made. You will never find the adapted 
 trial far from you. The prince with the power 
 of the air will be found to follow you every 
 where with suitable enticements. But there 
 
150 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 is no temptation from which there is not an 
 appointed and adequate way for escape. Be 
 faithful and you will be protected and safe. 
 Be faithful and you will be useful and happy. 
 Be faithful and you will be accepted and 
 crowned with glory. Whatever may be your 
 temptations, let me entreat you to stand 
 with Kuth, in a simple, unshrinking deter- 
 mination to follow 'the Lord fully wherever 
 he shall lead you, and to cast in your lot 
 with cheerfulness and gratitude among his 
 people, as consistent and permanent members 
 of the family and household of God. Thus 
 will your path be as a shining light, which 
 shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
 
VII. 
 
 %\t |nitlrf«l Clruia. 
 
 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from follow- 
 ing after thee; for whither thou goest I will go; and where thou 
 lodgest I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my 
 God; where thou diest will I die, and there will I he buried; the 
 Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. 
 When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then 
 she left speaking unto her. — Ettth, i. 16-18. 
 
 What important results habitually flow 
 from the most unimportant and unnoticed 
 springs in the character and condition of the 
 young ! You may stand at the water-shed 
 of some mountain-ridge, perhaps, and bathe 
 your hands in two contiguous streams that 
 steal along in their unmarked course to op- 
 posite sides of an immense continent. You 
 may there, perhaps, see two kindred drops 
 fall from the same tree, severally upon the 
 
152 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 waters of each. They will pursue their sepa- 
 rate widening course, until one % has reached 
 the tropical ocean through the Mississippi, 
 and the other the Polar Sea, by the St. Law- 
 rence. Their separation has been final. Never 
 will they meet again. 
 
 So contiguous and so connected are often 
 the young, in the time of their choice for life, 
 their choice for eternity. Like kindred drops 
 of equal purity and lustre, clinging to the 
 same branch, two sisters may be side by side, 
 agitated and trembling under the same in- 
 fluence. The moment presses on when they 
 must separate and fall. To remain sus- 
 pended, unexhaled there, is impossible. They 
 must fall. But where ? Will they gently 
 drop together into the stream of holiness and 
 love which flows from the throne of God and 
 the Lamb, sparkling and animated, onward 
 to the blissfulness, blessedness, and purity of 
 life eternal ? Or shall they be parted by 
 some rough outward wind which shall hurl 
 one of them into the rapid, heavy stream 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 15$ 
 
 of disobedience, darkness, and e\erlasting 
 death? How much depends upon that ques- 
 tion ! How much depends upon the single 
 moment that will decide it ! What influence 
 of untold importance is lodged in the last, 
 final agency of determination ? None hut 
 God can discern and disclose the future. 
 Angels and saints may stand, just as we 
 stand, and watch the tears, the excitement, 
 the deep concern of these awakened children 
 of earth, and ask, with still deeper solemnity, 
 as the hour of inevitable decision draws near, 
 Will they go with Christ ? Will they choose 
 the heavenly part? Will they grasp a 
 Saviour's mercy ? Will they embrace a 
 Saviour's love ? Will they journey with the 
 people of God through grace to glory ? Or 
 will they grieve the Holy Spirit ? Will they 
 reject the Comforter ? Will they cling to the 
 world ? Will they yield to the tempter's 
 power ? Will they join the scoffing, shout- 
 ing troop of those who know not, and wh<> 
 
154 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 love not God ? It is an issue and a nzonient 
 of fearful consequence. 
 
 You may now go forward, and start from 
 the eternity which the children of God and 
 the children of the evil one have severally 
 attained, and trace back these two drops of 
 morning dew through all the intermediate 
 circumstances and history of their journey on 
 the bosom of the current with which they have 
 been mingled, till you find them again glitter- 
 ing side by side, on the same branch, in all 
 the beauty of their youthful day. At no 
 point on their diverging journey were they 
 likely to mingle into one again. Each day 
 made their separation more hopeless and more 
 entire. With what feeling of the importance 
 of their early morning choice do you con- 
 template them now ! How immense appears 
 the responsibility and the result of their de- 
 cision ! How just and valued seems the 
 earnestness which would persuade them both 
 freely to give themselves to the Saviour's 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 155 
 
 call, and to unite with him in an everlasting 
 covenant never to be forgotten ! 
 
 Thus Kuth and Orpah hung trembling and 
 glistening together by Naomi's side. The 
 hour of their decision came. It was the hour 
 of their separation for ever. This decision, 
 important as it was, was at last a moment — a 
 thought — a single word — " I will, I will not" 
 — a conversion — a refusal of conversion — a 
 choice — a separation though they were yet 
 together — a single step apart — and then a 
 progressive journey, which carried each of 
 them forward, with no return. It is habit- 
 ually so. And the history of the young 
 around the Christian Church is but a multi- 
 plying lens which gives us Kuths and Orpahs 
 in every generation and in every land. But 
 we come now to consider simply Hutu's faith- 
 ful choice. " Entreat me not to leave thee, 
 or to return from following after thee ; for 
 whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou 
 lodgest I will lodge ; thy people shall be my 
 people, and thy God my God ; where thou 
 
156 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 diest will I die, and there will I be buried ; 
 the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught 
 but death part thee and me." How many 
 hearts have been moved, and how many eyes 
 have dropped the involuntary tear over , this 
 beautiful illustration of youthful fidelity and 
 loveliness ! The dear child of grace seems to 
 be living here before us. We hear her gentle 
 filial voice, as she pleads her permission to go 
 with Naomi among the people of the living 
 God. Her faithful choice remains a per- 
 manent, an everlasting pattern to all who 
 hear the Gospel in their youth, in every age 
 of the Church of God. Let us consider it. 
 
 It was an humble choice. She has nothing 
 to offer but herself. She affects not to bring 
 any thing which can make her of any worth. 
 A poor, wandering daughter of Moab, she asks 
 to be allowed to go, if it be only as a beggar, 
 and share with Naomi the lot which might be 
 prepared for her. She has no claim to pre- 
 sent. She fears she may be a burden and 
 unwelcome. She pleads only for permission 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 157 
 
 to be to Naomi in her future life all that affec- 
 tion and fidelity can make her. She has no- 
 thing else to offer. 
 
 How beautiful is this illustration ! It mat- 
 ters not in what condition of life the child o( 
 earth was born, when the Holy Spirit brings 
 her heart to Jesus, she comes as a beggar. 
 Her own sinfulness has been made to appear. 
 The secret follies and willfulness of her life 
 and temper arise to her view. The very life of 
 ingratitude and carelessness which appeared 
 to have no guilt in her eyes ; or in the eyes of 
 others, now seems marked with wicked neg- 
 lect of God in every step. It is not what she 
 has done that grieves her, as what she has 
 been. Not a stain of outward wrong may 
 have marked her course in the view of those 
 who knew her best. Parents and sisters may 
 say she has been always the light and comfort 
 of the household. They are ready to think 
 she has never sinned. And yet she feels the 
 burden of guilt, and weeps, and prays over 
 the remembrance of her foolish, wasted life. 
 
158 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 The preciousness of the faithful saying, that 
 Jesus came into the world to save sinners, is 
 her only comfort. The assurance that the 
 Son of Man has come to seek and to save that 
 which was lost, is her single encouragement 
 and support. Did he ask one deed of excel- 
 lence, she could not produce it. Should he 
 demand a single hour without sin, she feels 
 that she would search for it in vain. She has 
 not a single provision for the journey which 
 she desires to undertake. " No/' she says ; " I 
 stand here a beggar, on the boundary of Im- 
 manuel's land. As a beggar, will he receive 
 me ? Will he suffer me to come to him with 
 nothing ? In all the rags of my own corrupt 
 and wasted nature ? Lord, I perish. Do not 
 cast me off. Kefuse not my humble entreaty 
 and plea." But in all this conscious un wor- 
 thiness, she chooses Christ as her portion and 
 Lord. Yes, with her whole heart. If he will 
 accept her, receive her, own her, permit her 
 to go with him just as she is, then most gladly 
 will she cast her lot with his, and from this 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 159 
 
 day be for him all that she can be made 
 through the riches of his grace. Like Ruth, 
 she humbly pleads, " Entreat me not to leave 
 thee." Suffer me to go with thee, and par- 
 take with thy people the inheritance which 
 thou hast provided for them. 
 
 It was an affectionate choice. When did 
 real love ever speak from the heart more 
 truly and manifestly than in her ? It was 
 personal, tender affection for Naomi. For 
 her and with her Ruth was willing to do, or 
 to be, any thing that God should appoint. 
 What tender individuality is there in her 
 appeal ! " Entreat me not to leave thee" 
 She can leave Moab without regret. She can 
 part with her earthly friends without sorrow, 
 gladly as she would have them go with her. 
 But she can not leave Naomi. She will not 
 be enticed away, or driven back from Judah. 
 Her heart is with Naomi. Her desires all 
 reach forward to the land to which Naomi 
 journeys, and thither, on whatever terms, she 
 must and she will go. 
 
160 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 It is just such a choice to which the Saviour 
 would lead you all. " My daughter, give me 
 thy heart," is his tender appeal to you. And 
 our youthful, spiritual traveler freely and 
 affectionately responds, "I give my heart tc 
 thee ; thy face will I seek ; hide not thy face 
 from me." This is her own affectionate 
 choice. It is not the stand of duty merely, 
 of obligation, of fear, of necessity. It is not 
 the mere remedy and recourse of disappoint- 
 ment and weariness. It is not the constrained 
 denial of self, of appetite, and loved indul- 
 gence. It is not an involuntary, sorrowful 
 rehnquishment of a world that was loved as 
 long as it bloomed, and has been forsaken 
 only because it has faded. No. The world 
 was never brighter, happier, or more promis- 
 ing to her than it now is. It is not the loss 
 of the past which she would supply. It is 
 the perception of something infinitely more 
 precious, which she would attain. Her choice 
 is of the Saviour, because she really loves him. 
 Infinite attractions are gathered around him. 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 161 
 
 His service seems to her all that she can desire. 
 Fellowship with Christ, union with him, ap- 
 pears before her as the supreme blessedness 
 of her possible condition. Could she be only 
 always with him, and for ever like him, she 
 would desire nothing beside. 
 
 She has no excellence in herself ; nothing 
 but sin. She feels that she has no sacrifice 
 to make in yielding to his will. Yet she 
 comes to him with entire and affectionate 
 freedom of choice. She selects him as her 
 everlasting friend, whatever may be the lot 
 which he shall appoint for her. Her grateful 
 heart declares, as she sits down at his feet, 
 " Here will' I dwell, and this shall be my her- 
 itage for ever, for it is the very joy of my 
 heart." The blessedness of complete forgive- 
 ness which he bestows — the privilege of per- 
 fect peace with him — of joyful hope in him, 
 of living, and even suffering for him, seems to 
 her to be clothed with unspeakable attrac- 
 tions. And as freely as the falling drop min- 
 gles with the current in which it floats, does 
 
162 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 her affectionate heart embrace the Saviour, 
 and resolve to go with him. This is no fancy 
 or enthusiasm. It is the conscious, undeni- 
 able state of the young Christian's heart. 
 She could not say with truth that she has 
 any other choice, or any hesitation in making 
 this. The attractions of Moab are nothing. 
 The fears of the journey she undertakes are 
 nothing. Her heart is fixed, and she will 
 never reconsider or reverse the decision it has 
 made. 
 
 A faithful child of God, like Euth, thus 
 spoke to me, in a note written at this crisis 
 of her life : "I now write to tell you that I 
 do not hesitate, do not doubt, do not despond, 
 do not fear. I have made a decided, deliber- 
 ate choice of the Saviour for my portion, and 
 am determined to serve him faithfully and 
 affectionately, and to be guided by him alone. 
 And I would express my deep gratitude for 
 the encouragement you gave me, and for the 
 peace of mind your words have imparted — a 
 peace which I had almost feared would ncvei 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 163 
 
 more be mine." Such was Buth's affectionate 
 choice. Such an affectionate choice of the Lord 
 for your God would I urge you all to make. 
 
 Hutu's choice was an entire one. There 
 was no hesitation in her mind about the de- 
 cision she should make. She manifested no 
 remaining love for Moab, and no lingering 
 desire to carry something of Moab with her. 
 There seemed but one side of the question as 
 it was presented to her mind. The contrasted 
 claim was nothing. Without the least reserva- 
 tion, with no conditions or terms upon which 
 she should consent to yield — she freely gave 
 herself up to Naomi's direction and plans. 
 " Whither thou goest I will go : where thou 
 lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my 
 people, and thy God, my God." 
 
 " Tell me not of gain or loss, 
 
 Ease, enjoyment, pomp, or power, 
 "Welcome, poverty and cross, 
 Shame, reproach, affliction's hour." 
 
 This was her simple, single stand. And it 
 was this entire choice which made the happi- 
 
164 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ness of her future course. She made the ex- 
 change, the transfer of herself, freely, com- 
 pletely, and without reserve. And there was 
 nothing left to turn her back to Moab in hex 
 possible experience hereafter. 
 
 When the choice of a Saviour is thus entire, 
 how completely it opens the way for future 
 duty ! How it settles all future discussions 
 and difficulties with a single decision ! " Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do ?" said the 
 awakened Saul, as he lay prostrate at the Sa- 
 viour's feet. And what a question it was ! 
 I am ready to do any thing, to be any thing, 
 to bear any thing for thee, which thou shalt 
 appoint, or to which thou shalt please to lead 
 me. Show me what I have to do. The Sa- 
 viour's answer, through Ananias, was, " I 
 will show him how great things he must suffer 
 for my sake." The secret of happiness in re- 
 ligion is just here. Making it the entire, sin- 
 gle choice of the heart. Paul afterward 
 could say, " This one thing I do." My mind, 
 mv thoughts, my desires, my efforts, are al] 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 165 
 
 devoted to this single object. I " forget the 
 things which are behind. I reach forward to 
 the things which are before. I press toward 
 the mark, for the prize of my high calling in 
 Christ Jesus." The troubles and difficulties in 
 the Saviour's service habitually arise from the 
 vain attempt to serve two masters. Never 
 will you be able to make your following of 
 Christ consistent with following the world. 
 " The friendship of the world is enmity with 
 God. Whosoever will be the friend of the 
 world, is the enemy of God." This testimony 
 is just as true in our day as when it was first 
 written. 
 
 The true convert makes a complete surren- 
 der of herself to the Lord. " None but 
 Christ," is the language of her youthful 
 heart. The service of Christ only, the favor 
 of Christ only, the honor of Christ only, the 
 merit and righteousness of Christ only, the 
 presence of Christ only, is the simple, entire 
 choice of her soul. This furnishes an answer 
 to every temptation, a reply to every entice- 
 
166 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ment, a solution of every difficulty. I have 
 given myself to the Lord in an everlasting 
 covenant that shall never be forgotten. To 
 whom else shall I go ? He has the words of 
 eternal life. 
 
 "This, the God whom I adore, 
 This Eedeemer shall he mine; 
 Earth can fill my soul no more, 
 Every idol I resign." 
 
 How simple and easy, then, becomes the 
 path of life. There is but one will to con- 
 sult, but one Lord to follow, but one master 
 to serve, but one object to pursue. The 
 question is never, Where will he lead me ? or 
 What will he require of me ? He can not 
 lead me wrong. He can make no demand 
 which is not right, and none to which I am 
 not already resolved simply to yield. Wher- 
 ever he shall lead me, by his grace I am 
 xesolved to follow : 
 
 " ' Follow me !' I know thy voice, 
 Jesus, Lord, thy steps I see ; 
 Now I take thy yoke hy choice, 
 Light's thy hurden, Lord, to mo." 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 167 
 
 All things must work together for good to 
 me if I love him. I desire that his glory may 
 he dearer to me than my life. I would count 
 all things hut loss, of no worth ; for his sake. 
 
 Ah, my dear young friends, this sim- 
 plicity of choice is most important for your 
 happiness. Every thing in your prospect 
 of comfort and success in the service of your 
 gracious Saviour depends upon it. Let there 
 he no reserves in your covenant with him. 
 Make a complete gift of yourself to Jesus 
 your Lord. Determine henceforth to have 
 no other master hut him, and to consult no 
 other will than his. He has much for you to 
 do that you know not yet ; and much, per- 
 haps, for you to hear, that you would shrink 
 from now. But his grace is sufficient for 
 you. You can do all things if Christ shall 
 strengthen you. And whatever you may he 
 required to do or suffer for him, he can make 
 to work for your salvation and your increased 
 happiness in his service. Let it he your 
 single, entire choice to glorify and honor him 
 
168 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 according to his own direction and wisdom. 
 This will be peace and blessedness for you 
 here and for ever. 
 
 Euth's choice was a determined choice, 
 Lovely and gentle as she appears, and hum- 
 bly and affectionately as she pleads, there 
 was amazing dignity and firmness in her 
 stand. "While you listen to her protestation 
 and appeal, you can not but feel that the 
 power of Moab is finally broken. Useless will 
 be all attempts to lead her back to its idol- 
 atry or its crimes. There is wondeiful 
 strength in this simplicity of determination. 
 Her position, as she stands before us, amounts 
 almost to the sublime. Her very youth and 
 feebleness enhance the grandeur of the scene. 
 The Christian Church has delighted to num- 
 ber the examples of such feeble, faithful 
 daughters of the Lord Almighty, who out of 
 weakness have been made strong, and have 
 overcome by their fidelity the armies of the 
 aliens. God the Saviour has rejoiced to per- 
 fect his praise out of the mouths of the babes 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 169 
 
 and sucklings of his heavenly family. Some 
 of the most triumphant and remarkable 
 deaths in the history of early martyrdom for 
 Christ are of young and tender virgins who 
 calmly and boldly endured every conceivable 
 torture without a moment's faltering. " I 
 am a Christian," was their gentle but firm 
 reply to every solicitation to recant, until, 
 worn out with suffering, they departed to be 
 with Christ. You may never be called to 
 the same sorrows. But you will be always 
 summoned to the same decision. Jesus will 
 always require from you the same unshrink- 
 ing, determined choice. 
 
 How effective, how useful is the young 
 Christian who carries out this determined 
 spirit ! She shines like a light in a dark 
 place. The Church delights in her example. 
 The worldly may deride. The carnal and 
 giddy may scoff, and affect to ridicule and 
 despise her. They may call her enthusiastic, 
 fanatical, ascetic, priest-ridden. But she has 
 only to hold on her way to wax stronger and 
 8 
 
170 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 stronger. She stops not to listen, or to argue, 
 or to reply. She presses on in her chosen 
 path, without casting one longing glance 
 behind. It is not far that this swarm of 
 buzzing, biting insects follow her on her road. 
 They live in that low marsh which lukewarm 
 profession cultivates on the borders of true 
 religion ; where the dividing line is run, 
 where Euth and Orpah part. They fly but a 
 little distance from their native swamp. Be 
 faithful and press on quickly, boldly, and you 
 will soon leave them far behind. 
 
 "While your mind is unsettled, hesitating, 
 considering, doubting, the enemy may be- 
 wilder you much. He knows not the Lord's 
 purposes concerning you. He hopes yet to 
 cast down one whom the Lord has loved. 
 His agents and agencies are crowding around 
 you, innumerable and annoying. Your own 
 mind is like a vessel yet upon the ocean, 
 which may be captured, perhaps, by his 
 power, and carried to some other port as a 
 prize for his possession. But when you havo 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 171 
 
 made an open, sincere, and determined choice 
 of Jesus as your master — when you have 
 freely yielded your heart to him as your 
 Saviour — you have entered a harbor of rest. 
 You are held by an anchor sure and steadfast. 
 And the enemy molests you in these attacks 
 no more. Soon worldly inducements will 
 cease. Worldly invitations will be withheld. 
 Worldly acquaintance will forget. And 
 whether the sea has closed over you in death, 
 or the harbor has received you in security, 
 becomes to them a matter of indifference. 
 They cease to tempt in their mere neglect of 
 you, and unless their bitterness arises to pe- 
 culiar hostility to your religion, they will not 
 take the trouble of persecution. You are 
 thus soon forgotten by the world, and left in 
 comparative peace. Paul says, " I am cruci- 
 fied unto the world, and the world is crucified 
 unto me." That is, we have finally parted. 
 Our reciprocal opinions of each other are of 
 no mutual consequence. What they think 
 of me I care not. "None of these things 
 
172 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 move me ; neither count I my life dear unto 
 myself, so that I may finish my course with 
 joy, and testify the Gospel of the grace of 
 God." 
 
 This walk in the path of abiding peace 
 depends on the fidelity and determination of 
 your early stand. Great peace have they 
 who really love the law and will of God, and 
 nothing shall offend them. The most un- 
 happy persons, perhaps, on earth, as well the 
 least influential, and the most despised, are 
 they who thus try to please men ; either to 
 propitiate the world from fear, or to hold on 
 upon it from appetite. They build their 
 cabins on the border. They determine there 
 to live, really committed to neither party, 
 and sacrificing none of the advantages which 
 they imagine they may derive from both. 
 Let me entreat you to renounce this whole 
 lukewarm set, and move far off from the 
 worldly territory which they inhabit. Like 
 Ruth, make your choice of Jesus as your 
 Lord, single, determined, final. Depend 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 178 
 
 upon his grace. Pray for his help. Lean 
 upon his arm. And let the language of your 
 heart ever be ? " Where thou lodgest I will 
 lodge ; whither thou goest, I will go ; where 
 thou diest, I will die ; and there will I be 
 buried." Let nothing separate me from thy 
 love, and leave me not, neither forsake me, 
 God of my salvation. 
 
 Hutu's choice was an instant choice. She 
 asked no time for consideration. Her mind 
 was made up. Her decision was settled. 
 She staggered not in unbelief, nor wavered 
 amidst conflicting motives. How earnestly 
 she expressed this settled purpose ! " Entreat 
 me not to leave thee." I am thoroughly 
 resolved to go with thee, whatever the jour- 
 ney may cost me, or require of me. I have 
 already determined every question connected 
 with the solemn purpose and plan which I 
 have formed. I do not, and will not again 
 regard it as a question with whom I shall 
 go. I am finally determined to go with 
 thee. 
 
174 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 There is much that is animating in the 
 frankness and squareness of this instant decis- 
 ion. Why should we ever hesitate a moment 
 in our acceptance of the Saviour's offers ? 
 Surely when the Lord sets before us life and 
 death, a blessing and a curse, and bids us 
 choose for ourselves which we will have, we 
 require no time for consideration. When our 
 minds are taught, our conscience is awakened, 
 and our judgment convinced, then every mo- 
 ment's delay in accepting the pardoning mer- 
 cy of the Lord, and in following the renewing 
 guidance of his Holy Spirit, is but increased 
 rebellion. We can not require of him further 
 light, or information, or conviction. It has 
 become a mere question of personal, voluntary 
 choice. This can never be settled, but by our 
 own personal decision and act. If it is to be 
 settled, it must be finally, in a single moment 
 of time. Why should that moment be de- 
 layed ? Why should that frank and affec- 
 tionate choice be postponed ? Yet I have 
 known young persons as well as old ones 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 175 
 
 remain for months and sometimes for years 
 in this convinced and halting state. They 
 would weep in bitterness over the remem- 
 brance of their sin. But they could not be 
 persuaded to believe the divine assurance of 
 the complete fullness of pardoning love. The 
 simple testimonies, " I have blotted out thy 
 transgressions ; I will no more remember thy 
 sins ; the Lord hath put away thy sin ; the 
 blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth as from all 
 sin ;" they could not, would not receive. And 
 in the pride and hardness of their own hearts, 
 they continued to refuse the gracious offers 
 and commands of the Gospel, waiting for 
 something more to be done for them. This 
 is all but continued rebellion and increasing 
 guilt. I pray you, my dear young friends, 
 avoid it. Keject the enemy's temptation 
 which would lead you to it. Make an instant 
 choice. Say " When thou sayest, Seek ye my 
 face, my heart replies, Thy face, Lord, will I 
 seek." 
 I knew a gay and worldly youth, engaged 
 
176 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 in the business and frivolities of an earthly, 
 pleasure-seeking life ; careless of his soul, and 
 thoughtless of God. By a Divine call he was 
 awakened on one morning before he rose, to .re- 
 flect upon his wasted, sinful life. He saw at 
 once his guilt, his folly, his danger. Deeply 
 impressed with the view, he did not hesitate 
 a moment. He sprang from his bed, kneeled 
 down upon the floor, and made an instant, 
 solemn dedication of himself to God. He 
 went down to his business another man. Old 
 things had passed away. All things had be- 
 come new. His heart, his tastes, his habits, 
 his purposes were all changed. Never did he 
 turn back from that hour. He lived to be 
 made extensively useful in the ministry of 
 the Gospel, by the Lord who had called him 
 in that morning hour, and to whose voice he 
 obediently listened as soon as it was heard. 
 Doubts, fears, anxieties never followed him. 
 Karely have I known a happier course than 
 he pursued, resulting from that instant choice 
 of the Saviour as his Euler and his Portion. 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 177 
 
 Why should any of you hesitate ? All the 
 arguments of truth, of interest, of duty, of 
 happiness, are on one side. The privileges of 
 the Gospel will not tarry your vain delay. 
 The Holy Spirit will not wait to strive with 
 your rebellious hesitation. Arise at once, 
 and cast in your lot with Christ, and with hi? 
 people, and enter to-day upon your final, glo- 
 rious journey to a heavenly land. Never, 
 never will you look back again with regret 
 upon the Moab you leave. Never, never will 
 you mourn over the choice your heart has 
 made. 
 
 When Birth's faithful choice was thus made, 
 she was allowed to go on her way in peace. 
 " When Naomi saw that she was steadfastly 
 minded to go with her, then she left speaking 
 unto her." The young convert's sincerity of 
 heart was now proved. The firmness and 
 reality of her purpose could not be doubted. 
 There was no necessity or reason for further 
 examination of her motives, or further trial 
 of her steadfastness of spirit. There sh6 
 8* 
 
178 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 stood, acknowledged, honored, and accepted 
 as a chosen traveler for [Emmanuel's land. No 
 further obstacle was interposed. 
 
 My young friends, you little know how 
 much of the character and success of your 
 whole religious life depend upon the charac- 
 ter of your first choice. If this is simple and 
 distinct, that will be clear, uniform, and hap- 
 py. As you have received Christ Jesus the 
 Lord, so will you walk in him. You need 
 have no doubts to harass, and no fears to dis- 
 turb you. Your path may be a path of pleas- 
 antness and peace. Your light may shine 
 yet more and more unto the perfect day. 
 But if your choice be hesitating and half- 
 hearted, so will be your whole course. Your 
 mind will be clouded with difficulties, and 
 your way harassed with temptations and foes. 
 A skeptical, questioning spirit is a great in- 
 firmity, and a great affliction. Take the 
 Word of God as infallible truth, and believe 
 it, and live upon it. Make it your daily ob- 
 ject to understand it more clearly, and to 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 179 
 
 gain more real enjoyment of its promises and 
 hopes. Take the gracious Saviour as your 
 chosen friend, your conscious and beloved 
 friend. Let no doubt of his love be cherished 
 — no question of his tender kindness to you 
 ever be allowed. Go on your heavenward 
 journey, with the constant assurance that he 
 who hath loved you will love you to the end, 
 and with an everlasting love. But this whole 
 character of your Christian life will depend 
 upon the nature of its beginning. Be sure, 
 therefore, to start right. Make Hutu's hum- 
 ble, affectionate, entire, determined, instant 
 choice of a Saviour's love, and a Saviour's 
 service. At once embrace his promises, and 
 rejoice to be permitted to belong to him. 
 Thus your whole journey shall be accom- 
 plished, under the guidance of his Holy Spi- 
 rit, with the same steadfast mind, and the 
 same single, happy purpose with which he has 
 enabled you to undertake it. 
 
 Such young Christians as these require from 
 us but little watching. They are useful, in- 
 
180 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 fluent ial, and happy — the crown and joy of 
 the pastors to whom they have "been given. 
 We never find them among the backsliders or 
 wanderers into the world of surrounding wick- 
 edness. We have no fears or anxieties lest 
 they will rush into the mad idolatries and 
 unsatisfying self-righteousness of encroaching 
 Popery. By them the open Gospel is pro- 
 claimed. By them the Gospel is made attract- 
 ive. By them the Saviour is honored. By 
 them the souls of men are saved. They are 
 the ones whom the Lord follows with his 
 constant blessing. Their trumpet, neither in 
 their voice or their example, ever gives an 
 uncertain sound. 
 
 They are a happy, cheerful flock. The 
 happiness of the family flows from them. 
 They are the consolers of the mourning, the 
 comforters of the afflicted. They are the 
 friends and guides of the penitent, and the 
 teachers of the ignorant. The awakened seek 
 to them to be led to Christ. The Church 
 rejoices in them. The world itself respects 
 
THE FAITHFUL CHOICE. 181 
 
 and reveres thcrn. Jesus loves them, and is 
 satisfied in them. Heaven "watches them 
 with delight, and receives them with joy. 
 And before a Father's throne they stand 
 accepted, tiiumphant in Jesus their Lord, 
 with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 
VIII. 
 
 flu 'gulnslxlitx's gUtum. 
 
 Bo they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pas« 
 •when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about 
 them, and they said, Is this Naomi ? And she said unto them, Call 
 me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bit- 
 terly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home 
 again empty ; why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath tcs* 
 tified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me ?— Kuth, i. 19-22. 
 
 We have now to trace the journey of Nao- 
 mi and Kuth. They go to Judah and Beth- 
 lehem with very different feelings, though 
 they travel together. To Naomi the journey 
 is full of remembrances of the past. To Kuth 
 it presents nothing but hopes of the future. 
 Naomi returns with the deepest humiliation, 
 feeling her own unworthiness, and doubting 
 as to what may be her lot when she shall 
 reach her old forsaken home. Kuth feels her 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN". 188 
 
 un worthiness, but to her there is no special 
 reason for depression or doubt. She looks 
 forward without fear — with that confidence in 
 perfect love which casts out all fear. Her 
 joy in anticipation of her new and chosen 
 home allows no torment to interpose. Naomi 
 is a backslider returning to a neglected and 
 forsaken Saviour. Kuth is a young convert, 
 rejoicing in being first brought to know and 
 experience his truth and love. Though these 
 two classes travel the same road, their indi- 
 vidual emotions are very separate. We will 
 consider them separately. And for our pres- 
 ent subject we have before us the Backslider's 
 Return. 
 
 But we may well ask in the beginning, 
 What is backsliding ? We use the word so 
 frequently that it is quite important to have 
 a distinct idea connected with it. I answer 
 you, Backsliding is not apostasy. Apostasy 
 is a deliberate and voluntary turning away 
 from Christ— renouncing his service and his 
 authority. The condition of the apostate is 
 
184 THE KXCH KINSMAN. 
 
 the worst of all conditions. " The last state 
 of that man is worse than the first." "It 
 had been better for them not to have known 
 the way of righteousness, than after they have 
 known it, to turn from the holy Gommand- 
 ment delivered unto them." " There remain- 
 eth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain 
 fearful looking for of judgment and fiery in- 
 dignation which shall devour the adversaries." 
 We can have no hope of the apostate's return. 
 But we can not say of any living individual 
 that he is such an apostate — God only know- 
 ing his heart — and it is by God's own judg- 
 ment that he must stand. We are to invite 
 all, and to encourage all to turn from their 
 sin and receive the Saviour's invitation and 
 promises of forgiveness. But backsliding and 
 apostasy are very different. Judas was an 
 apostate, and he found no place for real re- 
 pentance, though he mourned bitterly over 
 his sin. Peter was a backslider, and obtained 
 forgiveness and divine restoration, though with 
 bitterness and grief. The Lord looked upoD 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 185 
 
 Judas ; and said, " Good were it for that man 
 if he had not been born." The Lord also 
 looked upon Peter and said, " Simon, Simon, 
 Satan hath desired to have you, that he may- 
 sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for 
 thee, that thy faith fail not : when thou art 
 converted strengthen thy brethren/' How 
 different were these two addresses ! Thus 
 different are apostasy and backsliding. 
 
 Against backsliding the Apostle warns you 
 when he says, " Therefore we ought to give 
 the more earnest heed to the things which we 
 have heard, lest at any time we should let 
 them slip." Your Christian course is like 
 the climbing a slippery steep. If you are 
 careless, trifling, looking around, losing your 
 hold of the ground which you have already 
 attained, you will surely slip. You will slide 
 back. You will fall. You would fall finally, 
 and to the very bottom, if the gracious Lord 
 did not hold you, that you perish not. You 
 slide back from your own early profession. 
 When you came out and separated your- 
 
186 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 self from the world, it was to be the Lord's 
 alone, and to walk in the world worthy 
 of his high calling. This you promised, 
 and from this you have fallen and slidden 
 back. You slide back from your own early 
 experience. How earnest and single was 
 your heart in the Lord's service when you 
 first entered upon it ! It was drawing water 
 with joy out of the wells of salvation. But you 
 let this slip. And now your heart and affec- 
 tions are cold and dull, and hard to be 
 awakened and aroused. You have slidden 
 back from your first love. You slide back 
 from the just expectations of the Church. 
 You took the Lord's covenant upon you in 
 their midst. They had the right to expect 
 that your influence, and example, and efforts, 
 would always be a light to others, a reproof 
 to the world, an honor to Christ. But your 
 careless walk has let this high standard slip. 
 You have slidden back from these fair expec- 
 tations. And the Church can not look upon 
 you now without sorrow, and mortification, 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 187 
 
 and despondency. You slide back from the 
 Saviour's just demand upon you. He had a 
 right to look to you as wholly his. It was 
 your own offer. Your own act of choice. 
 You promised to serve and follow him alone. 
 But you have slidden back from this. Jesus 
 says, " What shall I do unto thee ? Your 
 goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the 
 early dew it goeth away/' 
 
 This is backsliding. It is the result of 
 carelessness and unwatchfulness in your 
 Christian course. It may be more or less. 
 The soul may be still alive to God. Still 
 looking to God, however feebly. You have 
 slidden back, but not turned back. Perhaps 
 you are still sliding back, losing ground con- 
 stantly, gaining nothing. Ah, if you are not 
 arrested and stopped, the loss will be dread- 
 ful, final. Even as it is, the loss to you is 
 great. The Saviour's light is clouded from 
 you. Prayer has become cold, formal, and 
 much neglected. The Bible is not the lamp 
 to your feet, and sweeter to your taste than 
 
188 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 honey or the honey-comb. Grace within you 
 is dull and smoldering, with hardly £ spark 
 of light. Your outward life is earthly, not 
 spiritual — unsteady, unedifying. Your own 
 heart is unhappy and without peace. Much 
 have you already lost. Consider what you 
 might have been if you had been faithful. 
 See what you are because you have been 
 unfaithful. Strengthen the things which 
 remain, that are ready to die. You are not 
 an apostate. You are not a castaway. But 
 continued backsliding will be just as ruinous. 
 Though you do not turn back deliberately, 
 you may fall back never to arise. " See 
 whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do 
 thy first works." 
 
 The backslider may return. Blessed, in- 
 deed, is this privilege to him. " The just 
 falleth seven times and riseth up again." God 
 will not protect you from all the sorrows which 
 your own follies and carelessness have pro- 
 duced. He will make your wickedness to cor- 
 rect you, and your backsliding to reprove you, 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 189 
 
 so that you may know and see that it is an evil 
 and a bitter thing to have forsaken the Lord 
 your God. The present fruits of suffering 
 which your sins must bear, you will be obliged 
 to gather, even though God shall graciously 
 restore you at the last. We are not surprised 
 when we see you fall, however we mourn over 
 it. We well know the sadness of this sliding 
 back from God. " There is not a just man 
 on earth that doeth good and sinneth not." 
 That you shall never slip, we can not expect. 
 The Scriptures are full of the histories of 
 those who, though they were really the 
 servants of God, fell into sin. These his- 
 tories are written for our admonition, that 
 while we think we stand we may take heed 
 lest we fall. No man can say, I have cleansed 
 myself from mine iniquity. Noah was a just 
 man, and perfect in his generation, and 
 walked with God. Yet Noah fell. Abraham 
 was the father of the faithful. Yet Abra- 
 ham fell. Lot was a righteous man, and his 
 righteous soul was vexed from day to day 
 
190 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 with the unlawful deeds of men. Yet Lot 
 fell. David was beloved of God, ihe man 
 after God's own heart. Yet David fell. And 
 who that has ever professed to love the Lord, 
 has not in many things slidden back, and 
 come short of the mark of his high calling ? 
 We are not to be surprised or discouraged 
 at this. You may find yourself to have 
 wandered far. Cast not away your con- 
 fidence, which hath great recompense of re- 
 ward ; but return to the Lord from whom 
 you have wandered. 
 
 Naomi had wandered. But Naomi might 
 return. God had not cast her away. He 
 will never cast away those who truly love 
 him. He calls them back again to true 
 repentance. He heals their backslidings and 
 loves them freely. Then, like Peter, they 
 may strengthen their brethren. They have 
 an experience of human infirmity which they 
 had not before. They know the dangers and 
 temptations which surround the Christian's 
 path. They can comfort others with the 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 19l 
 
 consolations wherewith they are comforted of 
 God. What an encouraging thought is this 
 to the backslider ! You need not perish. 
 You may come back. You may recover the 
 ground you have lost. Arise at once, the 
 Master calls you. Return,, and he will heal 
 you. He will refresh you with new manifest- 
 ations of his love, his restoring mercy. If 
 you feel a desire to come back, the desire is 
 his gift. He thus invites and encourages 
 you. Let nothing separate you from his 
 offered mercy, or prevent your acceptance of 
 his gracious invitations. 
 
 "Return, wanderer, return, 
 
 And seek thy injured Father's face; 
 
 These new desires which in thee burn 
 
 Were kindled by redeeming grace. 
 
 "Return, wanderer, return, 
 
 The Saviour bids thy spirit live; 
 Go to his feet, and grateful learn 
 How freely Jesus can forgive. 
 
 ' Return, O wanderer, return, 
 
 And wipe away the frequent tear; 
 'Tis Jesus says, 'no longer mourn,' 
 'Tis God who bids thee cease to fear." 
 
192 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 But the backslider must return with total 
 self-renunciation. Thus Naomi even re- 
 nounces her right to her former name. 
 " Call me not Naomi. Call me Mara ; for 
 the Almighty hath dealt very "bitterly with 
 me." They said, "Is this Naomi?" Yes, 
 I was Naomi when I was contented and 
 happy in the house, and among the people 
 of God. I was Naomi when we took sweet 
 counsel together, and walked to the house 
 of God in company. 
 
 "What peaceful hours I once enjoyed, 
 How sweet their memory still ! 
 But they have left an aching void 
 The world can never fill." 
 
 How foolish was I, and like a Least before 
 him, thus to wander from his holy ways ! 
 Call me not Naomi now. I have no right to 
 that name. All was pleasant then. But the 
 remembrance is bitterness now. Call me 
 Mara. Let me come back as the poorest of 
 the poor, sorrowful, and self-condemned. 
 
 The backslider feels no claim to a former 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 193 
 
 Christian character. He has no right to re- 
 turn to God. God might justly have cut him 
 off and cast him away. He could have had 
 no ground for complaint if he had been 
 finally rejected when he thus voluntarily 
 disobeyed. The very permission to return is 
 a great mercy. 
 
 "Yet, sovereign mercy calls, 'Return,' 
 Dear Lord, and may I come? 
 My vile ingratitude I mourn. 
 take the wanderer home." 
 
 He is compelled to say, call me not a Chris- 
 tian. I have forfeited that blessed name. 
 Call me a sinner, the chief of sinners. But 
 as such, suffer me to return again to God. 
 " I am no more worthy to be called a son ; 
 make me as one of thy hired servants. 5 ' This 
 the Holy Spirit makes him feel. All that he 
 had gained he has foolishly thrown away. 
 He must now come back with even deeper 
 humiliation than if he had never come before. 
 Deeper sense of his own need will press him 
 down. Deeper feeling of his own degradation 
 9 
 
194 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 will humble him. Happy would it have been 
 had he never wandered. But that happiness 
 he can not now feel. True, God will still 
 love him. His Father will meet him and 
 pardon him. He will still call him his child. 
 " Is Ephraim my dear son ? Is he a pleasant 
 child ? For since I spake against him, I do 
 earnestly remember him still. I will surely 
 have mercy on him, saith the Lord." But, 
 amidst all this overflowing kindness from a 
 pardoning God, by which God is pacified 
 toward him for all that he hath done, he can 
 not but remember his sin, and dare not open 
 his mouth in self-vindication, for shame. He 
 loathes himself in his own sight for all his 
 iniquities. With the feeling of entire self- 
 renunciation he would love to begin again his 
 Christian course, and have all that has passed 
 forgotten for ever. 
 
 The backslider must come back with con- 
 scious emptiness. He has nothing to bring ; 
 nothing to offer. Naomi says, " I went out 
 full, and the Lord hath brought me home 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 195 
 
 again empty." How true is this ! What 
 can yon bring hack from your wanderings in 
 Moah hut the hitter rememhrance of your 
 folly ? Vain is the attempt to recall the joys 
 of those hours of pleasure for which you have 
 given your soul. Your former peace — your 
 happiness in a Saviour consciously beloved — 
 your joy in the Holy Ghost, who graciously 
 taught and led you in the heavenly way, are 
 gone. In vain do you try to restore or renew 
 them in your state of folly. 
 
 "Where is the blessedness you knew 
 When first you saw the Lord? 
 Where is the soul-refreshing view 
 Of Jesus, and his word V 
 
 And what can the world give to compen- 
 sate you for this loss ? Your Christian char- 
 acter, your religious influence over others, 
 and their confidence in the firm fidelity of 
 your religious purposes, are all gone. Tain 
 will he your effort to renew them, but in the 
 sure and manifest renewal of your own Chris- 
 tian life. Who will willingly anchor upon 
 
196 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 a floating island ? The fickle backslider can 
 do no good, except as a warning monument 
 to others. Your own free confidence in God 
 as your heavenly Father, your filial, frank, 
 and affectionate spirit in your relations to 
 him, are gone. How painfully you feel this 
 in your private attempts to pray ! How often 
 God seems to he far from you ! How often 
 will your burdened spirit cry out like Job, 
 " Oh that I knew where I might find him ! 
 That I might come even to his seat ! Behold 
 I go forward, but he is not there ; and back- 
 ward, but I can not perceive him ; on the 
 left hand where he doth work, but I can not 
 behold him ; he hideth himself on the right 
 hand, that I can not see him." Nothing but 
 sadness can come from a careless backsliding 
 from God. And so far as your own acts and 
 conduct are concerned, you must return to him 
 with perfect emptiness. If divine grace and 
 long-suffering shall receive you — if the Holy 
 Spirit shall consent to restore you, and lead you 
 back to the mercy-seat, once more accepted — 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 197 
 
 it will be all as a free gift to the cliief of sin- 
 ners. If any improvements are asked from 
 you, what can you say ? Where is your first 
 love, your youthful devotion, your early obe- 
 dience, your prayer, your penitence, your faith, 
 your joy in God, your delight in doing his 
 will ? Ah, how sadly have you to reply, " I 
 have lost them all ! I went out full, but the 
 Lord hath brought me home again empty." 
 
 'In my hand no price I bring, 
 Simply to his cross I cling." 
 
 Yet how precious is the expression, " The 
 Lord hath brought me back I" Yes, though 
 I am empty, and have nothing ; though I am 
 vile in his sight, and " mine own clothes abhor 
 me ;" though I was worthy of his rejection and 
 his wrath ; yet he did not leave me in my sin, 
 nor suffer me, unpardoned, to perish. He 
 has brought me back to his feet, and where 
 my sin hath abounded, his grace hath so 
 much the more abounded. But I come back 
 empty. Every thing has failed me exccpl 
 
198 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 the loving-kindness and mercy of my God. 
 No condition can be more humbling than 
 this. And the backslider feels this low and 
 destitute state in which the Lord finds him 
 as throwing him more completely upon sov- 
 ereign, pardoning mercy, than he ever realized 
 before. 
 
 ""lis mercy, mercy I implore: 
 O let thy mercies move ! 
 Thy grace is an exhaustless store, 
 And thou thyself art love." 
 
 The backslider must return with a deep 
 sense of guilt. Naomi thus interprets all her 
 sorrows. " Why call ye me Naomi, seeing 
 the Lord hath testified against me, and the 
 Almighty hath afflicted me ?" She has not 
 a word of excuse, or self-justification. Thus 
 the widow of Sarepta said to Elijah, " Why 
 hast thou come to call my sin to my remem- 
 brance by slaying my son ?" Her sorrow 
 brought her own guilt to mind. And she 
 was made to mourn with a twofold grief. 
 Thus the returning backslider will always 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 199 
 
 feel. The consciousness of his guilt oppresses 
 his heart. Like a heavy load, the remem- 
 brance of his unnecessary transgressions lies 
 upon him. How he has crucified the Lord 
 afresh, and put him to an open shame ! How 
 he has wounded him in the house of his 
 friends ! What obstacles he has placed in 
 the way of others who may be desiring to find 
 a Saviour ! What ingratitude he has shown 
 to Christ for all his kindness to himself ! 
 What occasion he has given to the enemies to 
 blaspheme ! It is vain to attempt to lessen 
 this sense of guilt. The remembrance of it, 
 under the heart-breaking work of the Holy 
 Spirit, oppresses, and must oppress. Secret 
 hours of bitterness and mourning are appoint- 
 ed him. Closet humiliation and weeping are 
 in store for him. He comes back through a 
 mournful path. 
 
 Let this work of the Holy Spirit have free 
 course in you. Do not attempt the least jus- 
 tification of yourselves. Speak not, think 
 not of any temptation that led you astray, 
 
200 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 or of the influence of any companions, or of 
 the want of watchfulness of any friends, o* 
 of the unfaithfulness of others in instructing 
 and warning you, or of the example and 
 habits of others in the social circle in which 
 you live, as the least extenuation of your own 
 guilt. 0, no. You have no one to blame but 
 yourself. You have been tempted, only be- 
 cause you were drawn away by your own lust. 
 You have been enticed by the lusting, sinful 
 spirit which dwells within your own heart. 
 No circumstances can be allowed to reduce 
 your sense of your own guilt. However your 
 blessed Lord may have mercy upon your igno- 
 rance of unbelief, and plead for you that 
 your spirit was often willing when your flesh 
 was weak, you can make no such plea for 
 yourself. Do not attempt either to cover 
 yourself by reducing your standard of duty, or 
 by denying that the wanderings of which you 
 are conscious, were guilty. Ah, you may 
 unite with those who put darkness for light, 
 and call evil good, but you will gain nothing 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 201 
 
 by such attempts at deception. God can not 
 "be mocked. Your earthly, careless backslid- 
 ings from the high calling by which you were 
 called — whatever the giddy world may think 
 of them, or whatever mere formal religionists 
 around you may call them — are guilty ; 
 amidst your light and opportunities, deeply, 
 dreadfully guilty. Nothing can blind our 
 eyes to this. Music may be entrancing — 
 beauty attractive — dress adorning — society 
 mirthful and bewildering — refinement may 
 gild it — admiration may crown you in it — 
 your silly mind, like some charmed bird, may 
 float around in this unreal atmosphere in 
 circles of delusive joy — but it is all guilt. It 
 is all ruin. The price you have paid for it 
 all is the love, authority, and presence of 
 your Saviour. Jesus is the sacrifice, and the 
 world has been the god. shun every 
 thought of self-justification. Adopt, acquire, 
 insist upon, a real consciousness of guilt as 
 the only characteristic of your course. The 
 Lord testifies against you. Be willing and 
 9* 
 
202 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 determined to testify against yourself. Come, 
 with an humbled, broken, contrite heart, from 
 all your wanderings in folly, and cast yourself, 
 in deep humiliation, at a Saviour's feet — im- 
 ploring pardon, but acknowledging and feeling 
 that you deserve rejection and condemnation. 
 
 " Foul, I to the Saviour fly, 
 Wash me, Saviour, or I die." 
 
 Yet, while the backslider himself mourns, 
 others rejoice over him. "It came to pass, 
 when they were come to Bethlehem, that all 
 the city was moved about them ; and they 
 said, Is this Naomi ?" Her friends had 
 not forgotten her. They gather around her 
 again with delight. All Bethlehem rejoices. 
 Naomi's poverty and wanderings are for- 
 gotten. She has herself returned, and this is 
 enough. The poor prodigal had hardly time 
 to say, "Father, I have sinned," before his 
 jfather buries his voice in his own bosom, and 
 lifts up a sound of joy which completely 
 drowns the accents of the wanderer's grief. 
 "Bring forth the best robe, and put it on 
 
THE BACKSLIDER'S RETURN. 203 
 
 him ; and put a ring on his hand ; and shoes 
 on his feet ; and bring hither the fatted calf 
 and kill it ; and let us eat and be merry ; 
 for this my son was dead, and is alive again ; 
 he was lost, and is found/' how blessed 
 is this instruction ! The penitent backslider 
 may come to Bethlehem without fear. He 
 may go to the fountain of the Saviour's blood, 
 in the full assurance that it can wash him as 
 white as snow. " All his transgressions that 
 he hath committed, they shall not be men- 
 tioned unto him/' The Lord will multiply his 
 pardons. If he truly believe, and trust him- 
 self simply and penitently to the Saviour's 
 merit, and the Saviour's love, his scarlet and 
 crimson are like snow and wool. He has no 
 penances to enact — no loads to bear — no 
 periods of doubt and painful uncertainty to 
 go through. Let him come to Christ, and it 
 is enough. The righteousness of " God mani- 
 fest in the flesh" is still his. Free salvation is 
 still for him. Complete deliverance is still 
 his own, As he first received Christ Jesus 
 
204 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 the Lord, so let him now walk in him ; and 
 he will love him freely ; he will heal all his 
 backslidings, and will save him for his own 
 name's sake, though his backslidings testify 
 against him. There will be great joy at his 
 return. The Lord rejoices — angels rejoice — 
 saints rejoice — the Church rejoices. Oh, what 
 a song of praise does his restoration awaken ! 
 Heaven and earth unite to say, over the 
 returning wanderer, " Is this Naomi ?" Is 
 this the wanderer ? This the captive that 
 we thought was lost ? This the giddy child 
 that was bent to backsliding, and fled from 
 all restraint ? This the poor sinner who has 
 been plucked as the prey from the jaws of the 
 lion ? Who hath begotten us these ? Sing, 
 heavens, for the Lord hath done it. Shout, 
 ye lower parts of the earth, for the Lord hath 
 blotted out as a thick cloud their transgress- 
 ions, and as a cloud, their sins. return. 
 Keturn then. Fly instantly, affectionately, 
 to the pardoning blood of Jesus, and all is 
 well for you for ever ! 
 
IX. 
 
 ©|t g flung Cfluuuf. 
 
 her, which returned out of the country of Moab. And they came tc 
 Eethlehem in the beginning of barley-harvest. — Ruth, i. 22. 
 
 The return of the backslider was our last 
 theme. " So Naomi returned." We have 
 seen the path of humiliation and the result 
 of blessedness and peace, as exemplified in 
 her case. But it was happy for Naomi that 
 she did not return alone. " Ruth, the Moab- 
 itess, her daughter-in-law, returned with 
 her." " They two went until they came to 
 Bethlehem." They were companions through 
 all the journey. They participated in the 
 happiness in which the journey resulted. 
 They possessed together the prosperity which 
 
206 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 was bestowed upon tliem in consequence of 
 their return. - Little was Naomi aware of the 
 treasure she was bringing to Israel, or of the 
 honor which was in store for Kuth. She says, 
 " The Lord hath brought me back empty." 
 And it was so, so far as she was herself con- 
 cerned. But the Lord had brought back 
 with her one whom all generations should call 
 blessed ; one who was to be a mother of the 
 promised Messiah, the anointed Saviour of 
 Israel — an honor which every daughter of 
 Israel, considered the very highest in their 
 nation. We are now to contemplate her 
 admission to Israel. The young convert's 
 entrance among the people of God. 
 
 We can not enter upon such a view without 
 stopping for a moment to think of the happi- 
 ness of Naomi in such a companion. How 
 great was the privilege to her, to bring back 
 with her own return so precious a soul to the 
 Lord of Hosts ! One main feature of our 
 mature Christian life is its constant success- 
 ion of returns from backsliding. God is daily 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 207 
 
 graciously renewing our decays. The longer 
 we live and walk in the path of grace the 
 more clearly does our own sinfulness appear 
 to us. and the deeper does it seem to be. I 
 might say, our daily life is but a daily back- 
 sliding, and a daily effort to return. Our 
 weekly and yearly life is but a repetition of 
 the same experience on a larger scale. In 
 every thing we come short of manifest and 
 conscious duty. We should despair and 
 perish were it not for the Lord's gracious 
 promise, " I will heal .their backslidings ; I 
 will love them freely ; for mine anger is 
 turned away from them." But the gracious 
 power of the Holy Spirit excites and enables 
 us to return. The Saviour still pities us and 
 receives us. The Father still bears with us 
 and accepts us. Happily, the most of our 
 falls and sins are secret. Our gracious God 
 mercifully hides our folly, protects our charac- 
 ter, and suffers us not to be dishonored in the 
 view of others when we have very much dis- 
 honored him. Our errors and wanderings are 
 
208 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 often unknown to others. And we may at 
 the same time be growing in holiness in their 
 estimation, when we are the most deeply 
 humbled under the consciousness of sin in 
 ourselves. 
 
 How great is our privilege if, in our age, 
 we find our children and our youthful friends 
 ready to come back with us to the service of 
 G-od ! What an unspeakable joy it is to a 
 Christian parent to be attended by his chil- 
 dren in the heavenly path ! "What an en- 
 couragement and consolation it is to see them 
 led by our example, ignorant of our secret 
 humiliations ; to have them come to us with 
 confidence and affection, and freely ask the 
 way to Zion, and faithfully avow their pur- 
 pose to travel with us to the heavenly 
 country ! "So they two went together until 
 they came to Bethlehem." I can not con- 
 ceive a greater blessing in social life than 
 when we can say this of father and son, of 
 mother and daughter. This is a bond which 
 must long outlast every other one ; and a 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 209 
 
 treasure of enjoyment which must remain 
 when every other one has failed. How such 
 companionship in religion relieves the sorrows 
 of the road ! How it multiplies the joys of 
 the way ! Let us never forget that sympathy 
 divides our griefs and doubles our enjoyments. 
 It is never good for one to be alone in the 
 path which leads to God. No blessing can 
 be greater than such family religion. The 
 benefit is mutual. The parent's faith is 
 strengthened and animated by an observation 
 of filial devotion. The child's heart is en- 
 couraged and upheld by an experience of 
 parental fidelity. Instead of the parents are 
 the children. They will take our place in 
 the sanctuary. They will fill up our useful- 
 ness in the Church. They will maintain our 
 warfare in the world. They will perpetuate 
 our influence among men, They will honor 
 our memory after we are gone. They will 
 meet us crowned in glory. We shall not be 
 ashamed when we speak with them in the 
 heavenly gate. 
 
210 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 The mother and the daughter take sweet 
 counsel together on their journey. Naomi 
 has much to tell, Kuth has much to ask, in 
 reference to the new home to which they are 
 returning together. The child's readiness to 
 hear is a swift witness of the transparent sin- 
 cerity and excellence of parental example. 
 We have no witnesses of our religious conduct 
 more scrutinizing, or generally more accurate, 
 than the consciences of our* children. How- 
 ever often filial love may lead to the covering 
 or excusing our domestic faults, they form a 
 real, and generally accurate opinion of the 
 reality of our Christian profession. And it is 
 a most grateful tribute from the Lord's hand, 
 when they can freely come, and confer with 
 us of the great interests of our common sal- 
 vation. Let parents encourage this spirit of 
 confidence. By openness, and tenderness, 
 and reasonableness of conduct and expecta- 
 tion, let them strive to win the minds of 
 youth to confiding and affectionate communi- 
 cation. 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 211 
 
 Their mutual prayers and encouragements 
 are full of advantage. The blending of the 
 varied experience of the two becomes helpful 
 to both. The despondency of age is animated 
 by the joyful anticipations of youth. The 
 effervescence of youth is moderated by the 
 experience and soberness of age. The hours 
 of affliction are made lighter. The burden 
 of care and trial loses half its power to op- 
 press. Many a*sorrow which would completely 
 press down the mother alone, becomes an ab- 
 solute comfort and blessing by the religious 
 spirit and affectionate ministrations which it 
 calls forth in the child. And Naomi finds a 
 happiness in the society of Kuth which she 
 hardly hoped to find again upon the earth. 
 " So they went together." Unity of feeling, 
 unity of interests, unity of hope bind them to- 
 gether. They have fellowship one with an- 
 other. They separate not in the whole course 
 of the journey. They came together to Beth- 
 lehem. They enter the land, the people, the 
 house of the Lord together. What greater 
 
212 THE EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 comfort can there be to declining age than 
 the presence and ministrations of religious 
 youth ? What a solace is it to a dying pa- 
 rent's heart to breathe his last in the midst 
 of filial gratitude and piety ! To close his 
 eyes upon earth with their last vision upon a 
 family whom he hath trained for Christ — 
 whom the Lord has really called to his ser- 
 vice — and who survive him on the earth to 
 perpetuate the memory of his love, and the 
 influence of his character, to the glory of their 
 common Father and Lord ! Well does the 
 Apostle say, "Honor thy father and thy 
 mother, which is the first commandment with 
 promise," full of blessings in its religious ob- 
 servance, both to the parents and to the 
 children. 
 
 But while Kuth took sweet counsel with 
 Naomi, her thoughts and feelings were still 
 in a great degree peculiar to herself, and 
 completely her own. To her every prospect 
 is hopeful, and her imagination loves to stray 
 through all the anticipations which are pre- 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 213 
 
 sented to her youthful mind. Nothing ap- 
 pears discouraging to her, in the views which 
 she indulges. This is a blessed privilege of 
 youthful piety. It gives ample, delightful 
 employment to the divinely-bestowed powers 
 of imagination. What we call castle building, 
 in connection with our possible earthly affairs, 
 that is, anticipations and schemes which are 
 wholly fanciful, and never likely to be real- 
 ized, is no longer building castles in the air 
 when we are guided by the hopes and prom- 
 ises which the Gospel brings. Here we may 
 anticipate with assurance, and roam with un- 
 checked delight. Heaven is eternal youth ; 
 an eternal succession of anticipations and 
 hopes. The young Christian truly living and 
 walking in Christ, rejoices in the hopes which 
 a Saviour gives ; is encouraged, ardent, and 
 delighted in looking forward over the way in 
 which the great Captain of salvation is lead- 
 ing the sons of God. The happiness of true 
 piety is habitually the commanding feeling 
 of such a heart. Often has such a one said 
 
214 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 to me, " I can not sympathize with some of 
 your statements of the trials of religion. The 
 path seems to me to be filled with joys. I 
 see no trials or sorrows in it." Thus would 
 Kuth have said. She could have no feeling 
 but unmingled pleasure in the prospect of the 
 journey she had undertaken. 
 
 Every step of this journey is new. And her 
 hourly experience is as encouraging as her 
 anticipations. Prospects and scenes are con- 
 stantly opening upon our heavenly road which 
 were before unknown. There is nothing 
 stale or unexciting in a youthful religious life. 
 Every day brings new experience of a Sa- 
 viour's love — new enjoyment of the teaching 
 of the Spirit — new opportunities to do some- 
 thing for Christ — new intelligence of the tes- 
 timonies of his word — new pleasure in the 
 offerings of worship to him — and new readi- 
 ness to endure and suffer for his sake. When 
 the mind has been enlightened with clear 
 views of the Saviour's truth, and his pardon- 
 ing love and justifying righteousness are seen 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 215 
 
 and embraced with a ready and thankful faith, 
 then the path of obedience seems ever open, 
 and ever plain. The obstacles are few, and 
 are disregarded. The trials are small, and 
 furnish no subject for complaint. The privi- 
 lege of the Lord's service seems great and 
 precious. And each day prepares some pleas- 
 ure for the soul that has thus been taught to 
 love him, which was not seen or felt before. 
 
 Delightful encouragements arise in her 
 mind which overwhelm all possible regrets or 
 fears. How many hopes and plans cluster 
 around Bethlehem and Judah ! She knows 
 not what the Lord has prepared for her. It 
 has not entered into her youthful heart to 
 conceive the actual blessings which are laid 
 up in store for her there. But she knows that 
 all must be well and happy for her under the 
 shadow of his wings in whom she has come to 
 put her trust. Well may you appropriate all 
 this, my young Christian friends. " Who is he 
 that will harm you if ye be followers of that 
 which is good ?." What encouraging hopes 
 
216 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 crowd to animate your youth in the service of 
 your Lord ! How useful to others you may be- 
 come ! Many may he waiting to hear the word 
 of God from your mouth. Many souls may 
 be prepared to be given as seals to your min- 
 istry, and your example. Little can you im- 
 agine to what an extent this may be ! God 
 has laid open to you a path of unlimited use- 
 fulness on earth. I mean unlimited by any 
 bounds which we have a right to fix. He 
 only could describe it to you. Arise, and 
 take advantage of it. Make full proof of the 
 privileges he bestows, and be eager and deter- 
 mined to fill up the measure of your dispen- 
 sation from him. Come, give your life and 
 strength freely and simply to the glory of 
 your crucified Lord. " Thine are we, David. 
 And on thy side, thou son of Jesse. Peace be 
 unto thee. And peace be to thine helpers'. 
 For thy God helpeth thee." Nothing is in 
 your way. You may do all things through 
 Christ that strengtheneth you, and be made 
 more than conquerors in him. 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 217 
 
 She comes with a deep sense of her own 
 unworthiness. But this is silenced by her 
 conscious desire and choice. The young con- 
 vert knows and feels his guilt. But he need 
 not, and does not stop to sit down under the 
 mere dominion of grief for the past. He has 
 his new work to do. He must press forward in 
 it. And the cloud will pass away, and leave 
 him in the sunshine of his Saviour's love, to 
 finish and perfect it. He sees complete for- 
 giveness in the blood of his gracious Lord. 
 He hears of perfect acceptance in the merit 
 of the Master whom he now serves. With 
 nothing of his own but guilt, he yet can come 
 freely and with confidence to the fountain 
 which Christ has opened, and be at peace. 
 And at the same time he can feel and say, 
 " I am nothing, less than nothing ; yet I 
 have all, and abound in Christ. All things 
 are mine, because I am his." Thus, my dear 
 youth, look to Jesus. Cast your burdens and 
 cares at his feet. Leave them there, and set 
 out upon the path of new obedience and new 
 10 
 
218 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 duty under the shelter and guidance of youi 
 new Master, who will be more than all to 
 you. 
 
 But the perseverance of Kuth furnishes 
 us with another most important example. 
 " They went together until they came to 
 Bethlehem." There is no fact which gives 
 the Church more peculiar joy in the coming 
 of young converts to Christ than their 
 habitual perseverance. They are the ones 
 who " hold fast the beginning of their con- 
 fidence steadfast unto the end." Those 
 " who are planted in the house of the Lord 
 shall flourish in the courts of our God. They 
 shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They 
 shall be fat and flourishing ; to show that 
 the Lord is upright, and there is no unright- 
 eousness in him." What is thus the Lord's 
 promise is also the constant experience of his 
 Church. Who are they that go forth to 
 preach the Gospel ? To plant the truth of 
 Jesus in heathen lands ? Who are they that 
 labor to teach, and guide, and bless the 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 219 
 
 young ? Who are they that honor the Lord 
 ■with their substance, and the first fruits of 
 their increase ? Who are they that are 
 valiant for his Word, and maintain the honor 
 of his law ? These are all the young converts 
 to the Saviour. They can be useful, fruitful, 
 honorable for him. They can be increasingly 
 happy in themselves. He loves those who 
 early love and seek him. And our habitual 
 experience is, that the multitude of back- 
 sliders and false professors are not generally 
 found among them. We see them holding 
 on their way, and waxing stronger and 
 stronger even to the end. They have the 
 blessed privilege of saying, "0 Grod, thou 
 hast taught me from my youth. And hitherto 
 I have declared thy wondrous works. Now 
 also, when I am old and gray-headed, God, 
 forsake me not. Thou shalt increase my 
 greatness, and comfort me on every side." 
 The most fruitful, faithful Christians are 
 habitually those who begin the earliest. I 
 would earnestly press upon you a remem- 
 
220 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 brance of this truth ; and entreat you to set 
 out now — to-day — in the morning hour — in 
 simple dedication of yourselves to the Lord, 
 and with a fixed determination never to 
 withhold your hand from his work till the 
 evening come ; 
 
 " Till in life's latest hour you bow, 
 And bless in death a bond so dear." 
 
 The time of Kuth's arrival at Bethlehem 
 was most significant. " They came to Beth- 
 lehem in the "beginning of barley-harvest." 
 The barley-harvest of Palestine was in the 
 early spring. The barley was sown after the 
 autumnal rains, in the month of October, and 
 the harvest was in the month of April. It 
 was a time of special joy, the first spring- 
 gathering of their annual fruits. The harvest 
 is always employed as an illustration of satis- 
 faction and joy. "They joy before thee, 
 according to the joy of harvest." And is it 
 not always a scene of rejoicing when the 
 sinner relurns ? When backsliders come 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 221 
 
 again to their first love ; and new trophies of 
 the Saviour's power are brought to his sanc- 
 tuary — there is abounding joy. The master 
 and the reapers rejoice together over the prod- 
 ucts of the field which the Lord hath 
 blessed. The husbandman casts his seed in 
 the ground. Thus do we scatter the seed of 
 the Saviour's word upon the minds and hearts 
 of men. And when the Holy Spirit gives life 
 and growth to the heavenly seed, and it 
 springs and grows up, and bears its fruit unto 
 life eternal, in a harvest of converted souls, 
 happy is the pastor who has toiled and 
 waited. Happy is the church which is thus 
 refreshed. Happy they who are returning 
 with their streams of joyful hope. He that 
 soweth and he that reapeth rejoice to- 
 gether. 
 
 The harvest was a time of opening abun- 
 dance. No wants or poverty were pressing 
 now. There is thus bread enough and to 
 spare in the Saviour's house. And when the 
 sinner finds a shelter there, he finds all his 
 
222 THE EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 needs supplied. His soul has abundance of 
 all tilings which it desireth. 
 
 "Every longing satisfied 
 "With full salvation blessed." 
 
 No more encouraging time could there 
 have been for Kuth's first acquaintance with 
 Israel. Every aspect of the land was promis- 
 ing and prosperous. The fields glowed 
 around in their beauty. The sounds of joy 
 arose on every side. The sight of plenty 
 crowned every prospect. And she sees her 
 new home clothed with every attraction. 
 Like the Queen of Sheba, she is ready to say, 
 " The half was not told me." Is it not al- 
 ways so when we first come to the feet of 
 Jesus, and find our peace and acceptance 
 there ? Now we seem to live for the first 
 time. There is reality, happiness, satisfac- 
 tion here. We are no longer ashamed of our , 
 pursuit. We no longer desire to roam in the 
 wilderness of earthly folly. We have found 
 him whom our soul loveth, and we have 
 found every thing we want in him. 
 
THE YOUNG CONVERT. 223 
 
 The barley-harvest was the time of the 
 passover. The weeks between the passover 
 and the pentecost they " began to number 
 from the time they put the sickle in the 
 corn/' The beginning of the barley-harvest 
 was the bringing the first-fruits, a sheaf of 
 their barley, to present it before the Lord. 
 Arid when the seven weeks which were to be 
 numbered were completed, two loaves of their 
 new bread must be brought as another first- 
 fruits to present in his sanctuary — the token 
 of their harvest now complete. Thus this 
 young convert from the Gentiles comes as 
 the first-fruits of a Gentile harvest to be 
 gathered, and is welcomed with Israel as a 
 partaker of the paschal feast. Happy are we 
 in welcoming our youthful friends giving 
 evidence of their new-birth for God, and their 
 living faith in Jesus, to the table of the Lord. 
 Happy is the house, the first-fruits of which 
 are thus consecrated and sanctified by the 
 Spirit to be the Lord's for ever. Happy is 
 the church where youthful members flock 
 
224 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 around the Saviour's board, delighting to say 
 to hhn, " My Father, thou art the guide of 
 my youth." 
 
 The Saviour was the first-fruits of the 
 resurrection. He ascended to present himself 
 before the Father's throne — entering as our 
 forerunner within the vail. The loaves of 
 the completed harvest will be presented when 
 "he has accomplished the number of his 
 elect," and brought out his everlasting glori- 
 ous kingdom. Then shall ail his grain be 
 gathered to his garner, and the chaff de- 
 stroyed in unquenchable fire. Ah, when that 
 great day shall come, then will Euth appear 
 with him in glory. The great harvest 
 finished, and all his saints with him for ever. 
 My dear young friends, shall you be there ? 
 Has the Saviour had the first sheaf of your 
 youth ? May he hope to have the loaves of 
 your maturity ? seek now the harvest of his 
 Spirit's work within you. Thus in that great 
 day may you partake the joy of the Saviour's 
 harvest in the multitude of his redeemed. 
 
X. 
 
 %\t gidr kinsman 
 
 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth 
 of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.— Euth, ii. 1. 
 
 There have already passed before our view 
 the wanderers in the folly and suffering of 
 their flight from God ; the backslider in her 
 awakening from sin, and her penitent return 
 to find again the mercy she had cast away ; 
 and the youthful convert in her first rescue 
 from guilt, her faithful choice of the service 
 of God, and her happy entrance among his 
 people. A new scene opens to us now. The 
 lovely character of Kuth is connected with 
 the majestic revelation of Hutu's Kedeemer. 
 This presents to ub the main object of tho 
 10* 
 
226 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 whole history, which is not merely an exhi- 
 bition of Buth's character, but also an illus- 
 tration of her complete redemption. 
 
 The law of God provided for every wasted 
 and impoverished Israelite a particular kins- 
 man, whose duty it was to bear the responsi- 
 bilities of his redemption. This was to be 
 the nearest kinsman who had the ability to 
 accomplish the redemption which was re- 
 quired. And though Boaz was not the 
 nearest kinsman to Naomi, yet the one who 
 was nearer in his relation had not the ability 
 to redeem her, and Boaz became their ap- 
 pointed and sufficient redeemer. 
 
 The title which the law gave to this desig- 
 nated kinsman was Goel, meaning one who 
 redeems, the kinsman-redeemer. There could 
 be but one such. The legal appointment 
 gave him very peculiar rights, and laid upon 
 him very particular obligations. We may 
 with profit first cite the language of the legal 
 institution. " The land shall not be sold 
 for ever ; for the land is mine ; for ye are 
 
THE KICH KINSMAN. 227 
 
 strangers and sojourners with me. And in 
 all the land of your possession ye shall grant 
 a redemption for the land. If thy brother 
 be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of 
 his possession, and if any of his kin come to 
 redeem it, then shall he redeem that which 
 his brother sold. And if the man have none 
 to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem 
 it, then let him count the years of the sale 
 thereof, and restore the overplus unto the 
 man to whom he sold it that he may return 
 unto his possession. But if he be not able to 
 restore it to him, then that which is sold shall 
 remain in the hand of him that hath bought 
 it, until the year of jubilee ; and in the jubilee 
 it shall go out, and he shall return unto his 
 possession. And if a sojourner or stranger 
 wax rich by thee, and thy brother that 
 dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself 
 unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to 
 the stock of the stranger's family ; after that 
 he is sold he may be redeemed again ; one 
 of his brethren may redeem him ; either his 
 
228 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him ; or 
 any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family 
 may redeem him ; or if he be able, he may 
 redeem himself. And he shall reckon with 
 him that bought him ; from the year that he 
 was sold to him unto the year of jubilee ; and 
 the price of his sale shall be according unto 
 the number of years, according to the time 
 of an hired servant shall it be with him. 
 And if he be not redeemed in these years, 
 then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, 
 both he and his children with him." — Leviti- 
 cus, xxv. 
 
 " Speak unto the children of Israel, when 
 a man or woman shall commit any sin that 
 men commit, to do a trespass against the 
 Lord, and that person be guilty, then they 
 shall confess their sin which they have done ; 
 and he shall recompense his trespass with the 
 principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth 
 part thereof, and give it unto him against 
 whom he hath trespassed. But if the man 
 have no kinsman to recompense the trespass 
 
THE KICH KINSMAN. 229 
 
 nnto, let the trespass be recompensed unto 
 the Lord." — Numbers, v. 6. 
 
 Here the various duties and rights of the 
 goel, the kinsman-redeemer, are described. 
 Four different things he was to do. He was to 
 redeem the property which the impoverished 
 family had sold. He was to redeem the per- 
 sons of his poor relations from bondage. He 
 was to make satisfaction for the loss which 
 others had endured by the poverty of his rela- 
 tive. He was to receive satisfaction for injuries 
 which had been done to his kinsman. These 
 were his responsibilities and his rights. In 
 all these things the goel was in the actual 
 place of his impoverished relative. He was 
 his appointed representative. What was 
 done by him or to him, in this legal relation, 
 was as if it were done by or to the person 
 himself for whom he appeared. Just such 
 a goel Naomi and Kuth found in Boaz. 
 God had provided a rich kinsman for them, 
 who was perfectly able, and entirely willing 
 to redeem their property, and to restore 
 
230 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 to them their condition in Israel. And 
 the residue of the story is occupied in a 
 description of the way in which he actually 
 accomplished this redemption. 
 
 But this whole appointment of the goel 
 was intended to be a very clear and beautiful 
 type of our gracious Saviour, who has become 
 our kinsman, that he might be our Eedeemer. 
 And the history of the actual instance of re- 
 demption which the story of Kuth gives, is as 
 clear an illustration of that wonderful work 
 of redemption which Jesus has accomplished, 
 and which the goel typified. He assumed 
 our nature, and took a body of the same 
 earthly origin as our own, with all its powers 
 and properties — with all the compassions, sor- 
 rows, and feelings of man, that he might 
 redeem us from our poverty and condemna- 
 tion, and restore to us the inheritance and the 
 station in the family of God which we had 
 lost. By this .very name Goel, is he habitu- 
 ally called in those places of the Old Testa- 
 ment which speak of him as our Kedeemer. 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 231 
 
 I may select a few instances of this for 
 you. 
 
 Job says. ch. xix. 25, 26, "I know that my 
 Bedeemer (my goel) liveth, and that he shall 
 stand at the latter day upon the earth ; and 
 though, after my skin worms destroy this 
 body, yet in my flesh shall I see God," (or I 
 shall see God in my flesh, as incarnate for 
 me) " whom I shall see for myself, and mine 
 eyes shall behold, and not another." This 
 was his glorious testimony of a belief in the 
 future manifestation of the Saviour in human 
 flesh — and the certainty of his hope that he 
 should see him in a glorified body, a man like 
 himself. Well does he long that such precious 
 words were graven with an iron pen and lead 
 in the rock for ever ! God has thus become 
 our kinsman, our goel in our own flesh. " The 
 union in ImmanueFs person of God's nature 
 with man's, is like a ladder which reacheth 
 from the earth to heaven. At one end it de- 
 scends into the lowest depths of the horrible 
 pit, and at the other it rises into the heights 
 
232 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of uncreated blessedness and glory." " Con- 
 template with the telescopic eye of faith, your 
 fellow man, your nearest of kin, your brother 
 according to the flesh, the native of Bethle- 
 hem, a town which your tourists visit, the 
 Son of a woman whose grave is among us to 
 this day. Behold him clothed with the robes 
 of divine majesty, and, as the peer and col- 
 league of God the Father, swaying on the 
 throne of eternal monarchy, his scepter over 
 all that is created in heaven, earth, and hell ; 
 Immanuel, God our kinsman." (Heivitson.) 
 This is our goel, our rightful, appointed Ke- 
 deemer. 
 
 Psalm xix. 14. David says, " Let the words 
 of my mouth and the meditation of my heart 
 be acceptable in thy sight, Lord, my 
 strength and my Kedeemer/' (My goel.) 
 
 Proverbs, xxiii. 11. " Enter not into the 
 fields of the fatherless ; for their Kedeemer 
 (their goel) is mighty ; he shall plead their 
 cause with thee." 
 
 Isaiah, xlvii. 4. " A s for our Kedeemer (our 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 233 
 
 goel,) the Lord of Hosts is his name, the 
 Holy One of Israel." 
 
 Jeremiah, 1. 34. " Their Kedeemer (their 
 goel) is strong, the Lord of Hosts is his name. 
 He shall thoroughly plead their cause." 
 
 These are only a few of the many passages 
 in which the Saviour is called our goel, in the 
 language of the Old Testament. All that 
 the appointed kinsman could do for the estate 
 and "body of his impoverished relative, the 
 Lord Jesus as our goel does for our souls, and 
 our everlasting state. In his humanity he is 
 our nearest kinsman. In his Deity, he is 
 perfectly able to supply all our wants, and to 
 defend us from every danger and oppression. 
 As the promised goel, the Lord Jesus has a 
 special relation to Israel as a nation, and a 
 particular personal relation to every believing 
 soul. We may in a few words speak of both 
 of these points. 
 
 He is the goel, the kinsman-Kedeemer of 
 the nation of Israel. He is the seed of Abra- 
 ham, in whom all the nations are to be blessed. 
 
234 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 God gave the land of Canaan unto Abrahanij 
 and unto his seed for ever. It was to be theii 
 permanent possession. But the children of 
 Abraham have been long since cast out of 
 their inheritance. Their land has been taken 
 from them, and they have been wanderers 
 and exiles on the earth. They are not reck- 
 oned among the nations. Yet Grod ordained 
 that this land should not be sold for ever, be- 
 cause it was his land. It was Immanuers 
 land. And Immanuel is their kinsman ac- 
 cording to the flesh, who is to restore again 
 that land to the seed of Abraham, and to put 
 Israel again in possession of the inheritance 
 which is theirs by an everlasting covenant, 
 but from which they have been so long driven. 
 His feet are in that day to stand upon the 
 Mount of Olives. He is to be the king over 
 all the earth. The land shall be inhabited in 
 her place. Men shall dwell in it, and there 
 shall be no more utter destruction. These 
 are some of the divine promises concerning 
 this land. Then the children of Israel shall 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 235 
 
 return and seek the Lord their God, and Da- 
 vid their king. And they shall fear the Lord 
 and his goodness in the latter days. At that 
 time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of 
 the Lord ; and all nations shall be gathered 
 unto it. The house of Judah shall walk with 
 the house of Israel, and they shall come to- 
 gether to the land that God hath given for 
 an inheritance unto their fathers. They shall 
 dwell in the land wherein their fathers have 
 dwelt, and the Son of David is to be their 
 prince for ever. These are divine promises. 
 (Genesis, xiii. 14. Zechariah, xiv. Hosea, iii. 
 Jeremiah, iii. 17. Ezekiel, xxxvii. 25.) There 
 are many promises like them. But I have 
 not room to consider them here. The Lord 
 Jesus is to be their kinsman-Eedeemer, and 
 to restore to Israel the land, and the liberty, 
 and the exaltation which they have lost. 
 
 But the Lord Jesus Christ is also our goel, 
 our kinsman-Kedeemer — to fulfill the great 
 duties of a Kestorer to us. He restores that 
 which he took not away. All that our impov- 
 
236 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 erished, sinful nature has lost, this glorious 
 Saviour gives us back again, to be ours for 
 ever. He has redeemed our lost estate. He 
 has brought life and immortality to light, and 
 given us a kingdom which can not be moved. 
 He sets before us an unfading and incorrupt- 
 ible inheritance, as a kingdom which was pre- 
 pared for us before the world began, but 
 which we have lost by sin, and sold for our 
 own transgressions. He has redeemed our 
 persons from bondage and condemnation. 
 He has been made sin for us when he knew 
 no sin. He has been made a curse in our 
 stead, and given himself a ransom for us. 
 Thus he has set us at liberty from the con- 
 demnation of our guilt— has freely pardoned 
 our iniquities — and, by the shedding of his 
 own blood, he has delivered us from the law 
 ander which we were held, and has placed us 
 under the dominion of his grace. By becom- 
 ing himself a bond-servant in our place, he 
 has made us free, with the liberty of the chil- 
 dren of God. He has prepared our inherit- 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 237 
 
 ance for us, and he prepares us for our inher- 
 itance, and puts us in possession of it for ever. 
 He makes full satisfaction for all our sins. 
 His precious blood cleanses from all sin. By 
 one sacrifice he has perfected for ever them 
 that are sanctified. So that God can be just, 
 and yet the justifier of all who believe in him. 
 He has thus magnified the divine law, and 
 made it honorable, by dying under its sen- 
 tence in our place, and perfectly obeying its 
 precepts for our salvation. He demands sat- 
 isfaction in our name. The enemy and op- 
 pressor who held us in bondage he has bruised 
 under his feet, has triumphed openly over 
 him, and spoiled him of his prey, by plucking 
 our souls out of his grasp, and breaking his 
 dominion over us. Satan has no longer power 
 to oppress those who receive Jesus as their 
 kinsman, and have been redeemed and restored 
 by his power. Thus Jesus is our goel. He 
 fulfills for us every obligation which was laid 
 upon the kinsman-redeemer of the Israelites. 
 We may have entire confidence in his willing- 
 
238 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ness and his ability to restore and save us. 
 We may go to him just as freely and hope- 
 fully as the impoverished Jew went to his 
 kinsman, perfectly sure that he is faithful and 
 just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from 
 all unrighteousness. 
 
 This gracious character of our blessed Sa- 
 viour is brought out in many points of view 
 in the history of Boaz. When Naomi re- 
 turned to Judah with Kuth, she found a goel 
 already prepared for her. He was " a mighty 
 man of wealth/' perfectly able to meet all 
 their wants, and to restore them to their hap- 
 py condition again. A kinsman already pro- 
 vided. And such a kinsman has been provided 
 for us. We need not say, " Who shall ascend 
 up to heaven to bring Christ down from 
 above" ? He is already prepared to be a Sa- 
 viour for us, before we are born. His incar- 
 nation, sufferings, and death have been com- 
 pleted. He has made the way perfectly open 
 for our complete salvation. We have nothing 
 to do but to receive him, trust in him, and 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 239 
 
 obey him, as our gracious Lord. Ho has him- 
 self finished our salvation, and if we accej)t 
 him and believe in him, we at once possess 
 the glorious salvation which he has perfected 
 for us. Like Boaz, he is "a mighty man of 
 wealth." All things in heaven and earth are 
 his. And if we are his, all things are ours. 
 He can enrich his people with every conceiv- 
 able blessing. No good thing can they want 
 while they have him for their friend and por- 
 tion. How blessed is the recollection of this 
 fullness which dwells in our Lord ! Perfect 
 atonement for our sins. Glorious righteous- 
 ness for our acceptance. Tender sympathy 
 for our needs and fears. The Holy Spirit 
 without measure to be bestowed by him. Un-. 
 limited glory as the just recompense of his 
 obedience. Everlasting security in his merit. 
 What more can we ask ? We are full — we 
 are rich. We reign as kings in life eternal, if 
 we lay ourselves in simple faith at the feet of 
 Jesus, and receive him as our kinsman and 
 gur friend. We shall find no end to his riches. 
 
240 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 We can not trust him too entirely, or believe 
 in him, or hope in him with too much confi- 
 dence. We shall never be straitened in him. 
 0, that I could lead you to see how clear, 
 and open, and perfect, and sufficient is the 
 way of salvation which he has opened for you. 
 " Come unto me and I will give you rest." 
 " Whosoever cometh to me I will in no wise 
 cast out." 
 
 The name of this rich kinsman of Naomi's 
 was Boaz, which means strength. In this 
 name we may find a memorial of our divine 
 Redeemer. Jesus is our strength and our 
 Balvation. He is the power of God unto 
 salvation for us. What mighty works he 
 has done for us ! What works of mercy is 
 he still willing to accomplish ! What loads 
 and burdens does he bear in our behalf! 
 He has borne our load of guilt in triumph, 
 and endured the condemnation which it 
 deserved. He has met the enemy of our 
 souls in conflict, and trodden down his power 
 to oppress. He has burst the bars of death, 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 241 
 
 and taken possession of a throne of glory 
 for us, as one mighty to save. He overcomes 
 the dominion of sin in our hearts, and leads 
 us captive by the power of his grace. He 
 rules over all things in heaven and earth, 
 as our Prince and Saviour, the Lord of lords, 
 and King of kings, and makes all things 
 work together for good to those who love 
 him. He has promised to bring with him 
 in his glory all whom the Father hath given 
 to him, losing not one. He will thus triumph 
 in us, in everlasting glory, and show himself 
 able to save unto the uttermost all who 
 come unto him. Thus he is our. Boaz, the 
 Lord, our strength and our Kedeemer. And 
 whether we read the law which appointed 
 the goel, or this history, which so clearly 
 illustrates the law, in each case we see our 
 Lord Jesus Christ presented to us as all 
 our salvation and all that we can desire. 
 
 He is our kinsman-redeemer. We see him 
 in his lowly human, suffering form, wearing 
 our nature, and bearing the burden of our 
 11 
 
242 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 sin. We see him in the unsearchable richer 
 of his grace as God over all, and in the 
 triumphs of his obedience as the Lord om 
 Righteousness, possessing unlimited wealth 
 to be applied to our needs. We see him 
 of infinite might, exalted above the heavens, 
 angels, authorities, and powers being made 
 subject unto him. We see him fully pro- 
 vided for us, waiting to be gracious to us, 
 and ready to receive the poorest and the most 
 wretched of his kinsmen who come to him. 
 How his character and his work are adapted 
 to attract us to himself, and to encourage 
 us in his „ service ! My dear young friends, 
 flock to his feet — accept his offers — embrace 
 his promises — consent to take him as your 
 kinsman, and love him with grateful love 
 in return for all his goodness and love to you. 
 Such a rich kinsman the aged backslider 
 found on her return to Judah. Such a 
 kinsman the young convert became ac- 
 quainted with, and united to, when brought 
 from Moab to the land of Israel. The history 
 
THE RICH KINSMAN. 243 
 
 proceeds to tell us, in various particulars, 
 the works of kindness and love which this 
 kinsman did for them. And as these facts 
 come successively before us we shall see in 
 them beautiful illustrations of the works of 
 mercy which our blessed kinsman and brother 
 accomplishes for us. If the Lord shall be 
 pleased to bless us with the teaching of his 
 Spirit, we shall see more, and learn more 
 of a Saviour's love in every step which we 
 take in our study of this beautiful history. 
 
 M O loved, but not enough, though dearer far 
 Than earth, and its mo3t loved enjoyments are, 
 None duly love thee, hut who, nohly free 
 
 ■ From sense and self, lay up their all in thee ! 
 
 "My soul, rest happy in this high estate, 
 Nor wish in earthly wealth to he esteemed groat 
 Receive the impression of his will divine, 
 Be that thy glory, and those riches thine." 
 
XI. 
 
 %\t 6lmur. 
 
 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, 
 and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. 
 And she said nnto her, Go, my daughter. And she went, and came 
 and gleaned in the field after the reapers : and her hap was to light 
 on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred 
 of Elimelech. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said 
 unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, 
 The Lord bless thee.— Ruth, ii. 2-4. 
 
 It is not in man who walketh to direct 
 his steps. God brings his children by ways 
 that they know not. He makes darkness 
 to be light before them, and crooked things 
 straight. He does this by opening to them 
 a gradual and successive exhibition of the 
 plans which he has formed concerning them. 
 These plans are all laid out and complete 
 in his own mind. He is of one mind alwavs. 
 
THE GLEANER. 245 
 
 He knows the thoughts which he thinks 
 concerning them. But the manifestation 
 of his plans to his people is very gradual, 
 and as they are able to hear it. This is 
 to us a blessed thought. There is no acci- 
 dent in our lives. Our ways are ordered 
 by the Lord, and we may ever trust entirely 
 to him that he will lead us in perfect safety. 
 He knows the way that we take, and if we 
 love him, when he hath tried us we shall 
 come forth like gold. 
 
 We have seen how ample were the relief 
 and the portion he had provided for Euth. 
 There was a kinsman prepared to protect, 
 to sustain, and to exalt her, who was a 
 mighty man of wealth. But as yet, she 
 had no personal knowledge of him. She had 
 no means of knowing what the gracious 
 purposes of God regarding her might be. 
 Just so we have seen God has prepared 
 an all-sufficient and waiting Saviour for the 
 sinner who is now poor and perishing ; a 
 Saviour able to meet all his wants, his 
 
246 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 dangers, and his future needs. But the 
 perishing sinner knows nothing of him ; or 
 of his own interest in him. Yet God leaves 
 him not in his ignorance. He sends his Holy 
 Spirit to show him the grace and glory which 
 are laid up for him in Christ ; and to lead 
 him to this gracious Lord, that believing 
 in him he may find eternal life in him. 
 The way in which God is pleased to lead 
 us to Jesus we shall have opportunity to 
 see, while we trace the method of Ruth's 
 introduction to her rich kinsman, in whom 
 she was to find such wealth and happiness 
 for herself. 
 
 The first step is to reduce her to the 
 deepest necessity. She has arrived with 
 Naomi in Bethlehem. But they are there 
 in great poverty, and with no apparent 
 means of relief. "Want, like an armed man, 
 invades their lonely habitation. Her prop- 
 osition to Naomi displays the pressing char- 
 acter of their need. It speaks the extent 
 of their previous suffering. "Let me go 
 
THE GLEANER. 247 
 
 into the fields and glean ears of corn." This 
 abrupt introduction of the request shows 
 what had gone before. They might have 
 meditated in silence over their extreme ne- 
 cessity, or they might have been conversing 
 together on their apparently hopeless state, 
 when the thought suddenly strikes the mind 
 of Kuth — it is the time of harvest, and the 
 poor and stranger go out to glean : I will 
 go also. " Mother, let me go and glean/' 
 
 The divine provision for the gleaner was 
 most gracious. " When you reap the harvest 
 of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the 
 corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather 
 the gleanings of thy harvest. Thou shalt 
 leave them for the poor and stranger." — 
 Leviticus, xix. 9. It was the provision for 
 the destitute and the beggar. And such 
 is their extreme want that they have no 
 recourse but to beg. "Mother, let me go 
 to the fields and glean." 
 
 How this very necessity brought out a 
 proof of the excellence of Kuth ! We might 
 
248 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 have reasonably looked for the language of 
 weariness and disappointment. "We should 
 not have been justly surprised to see her 
 give way under a trial so heavy, or to hear 
 her say, " Let us go back to Moab. It was 
 better for me with my first husband than 
 now." This would have been the feeling and 
 the language of Orpah, if she had come 
 so far. This is the feeling and language 
 of many like her. The weariness of earthly 
 disajvpointment makes them faint in the day 
 of adversity. But this was not Kuth's mind. 
 Love for her mother constrained her to seek 
 a supply for their need. But she could not 
 sin even to provide for her mother. The 
 supply must be in Bethlehem, and according 
 to the will of God. And as she looked out 
 upon the harvest-field, and saw the poor 
 and the stranger following the reapers, she 
 says, "Mother, let me go to the fields and 
 glean." And she came to the field, as a 
 poor stranger, to gather up the scattered 
 heads of barley which the reapers had loft 
 
THE GLEANER. 249 
 
 in their path, and in the comers of the field. 
 It could have been the result only of extreme 
 necessity. 
 
 Thus God brings the soul that he has 
 loved and saved to an experience of utter 
 want. He makes every hope to fail, every 
 means of spiritual safety to depart. Com- 
 forts and joys, and personal strength, and 
 remembrance of his own virtues or goodness, 
 all fade entirely away. The poor sinner 
 seems left to perish. He looks round in vain 
 for any relief. The Holy Spirit convinces 
 him of sin, makes him to feel himself lonely 
 and lost. He has no hope. He is in utter 
 despair. But his conscious necessity urges 
 him to come as a beggar, and seek the pro- 
 visions of mercy in the Saviour's field. The 
 poor woman said, " The dogs under the table 
 eat of the crumbs which fall/' Let me come 
 under this deep humiliation and gather the 
 crumbs. The pressure of conscious want 
 upon the soul is great, often intolerable. 
 The sinner cries out, " wretched man that 
 11* 
 
250 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 I am, who shall deliver me ?" But Jesus 
 is not far off. This very pressure is his work. 
 The sinner must be thus brought down to 
 feel himself lost and perishing. And when 
 the Spirit has accomplished this, it is an 
 important and blessed step toward a full 
 revelation of the riches of grace already 
 prepared for him. When he. can say, Let 
 me come as a beggar, let me go to the fields 
 and glean — I am willing to be the lowest 
 of the low if the Saviour will receive me ; 
 ah, then, the Lord is ready to rise upon 
 him with healing in his wings. The day 
 of his salvation draws nigh. 
 
 The next step is to take away all feeling 
 of rebellious pride in their state of want. 
 This sinful pride is a most common attendant 
 upon our earthly distress. It is the maintain- 
 ing and magnifying our own claims and rights 
 to the reverence and regard of others. It is 
 offended with outward dishonor and want as 
 if it were an injury inflicted upon us. Its 
 opposite is meekness of spirit which feels our 
 
THE GLEANER. 251 
 
 own unworthirjess, and patiently endures the 
 reproach, or the need, and commits itself to 
 God. This pride is very different from digni- 
 fied self-respect. That is a guarding of our 
 character and soul from the real degradation 
 of sin. Pride will submit to any secret mean- 
 ness to avoid outward exposure to the con- 
 tempt of others. Self-respect vail do no 
 wrong, however secret, because God whom we 
 love and fear, always sees. Joseph had great 
 self-respect. He was a poor bondslave, yet 
 he says, " How shall I do this great wicked- 
 ness, and sin against God ?" Nehemiah had 
 great self-respect when he said, " Should such 
 a man as I flee ? I am doing a great work ; 
 I will not come down/' Euth had great self- 
 respect, a dignity of character that would 
 have honored any condition in life. But she 
 had no pride that rebelled against her condi- 
 tion. She was not ashamed to be poor. " Let 
 me glean after him in whose sight I shall find 
 grace." This is a most happy and a most ex- 
 emplary state of mind. She bowed down to 
 
252 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 the gracious will of God, and was ready to 
 receive all his mercies to her as a gift of grace. 
 She demanded and expected nothing as a 
 claim of merit or right. How important to 
 you is such an example. You may all become 
 poor, very poor. Your gracious Master had 
 not where to lay his head. There is no dis- 
 honor in honest, patient poverty. Lazarus 
 was fed with crumbs from the floor, on earth. 
 But angels delighted to minister to him, and 
 to carry him at his departure to a home of 
 peace. Sin only is a dishonor to us. Every 
 outward sorrow may be made an increase of 
 our personal respectability, and really enhance 
 the reverence which others are made to feel 
 for us. "Whatever be the trial, while we bear 
 it with submission, and receive it from the 
 Lord with patience, and strive to fulfill the 
 special duties which it brings, it will be made 
 the occasion of giving us still greater honor. 
 Never, then, suffer the spirit of rebellious, 
 worldly pride to arise within you, because you 
 are poor, or suffering, or neglected. Probahlj 
 
THE GLEANER. 25b 
 
 Kuth was all these. Beyond doubt she felt 
 the keenness of the trial. Yet she lays aside 
 all pride in her condition, and instead of say- 
 ing, " Mother, will you go and glean in the 
 fields, you can do it better than I. They will 
 reverence you, and not treat you unkindly or 
 with contempt ;" she says, " Mother, let me 
 go and glean. I am sure some one will pity 
 and protect me. I shall find grace in the eyes 
 of some one. God will take care of me. Let 
 me go." Ah, how beautiful such a character 
 is ! No wealth can exalt it. No station can 
 adorn it. It is itself the ornament in the sight 
 of God of great price. 
 
 But it is thus God leads the sinful soul to 
 its great Kinsman. His gracious plan is to 
 give every thing freely, and to make man re- 
 ceive his free gifts with grateful acknowledg- 
 ment that he has deserved nothing. He 
 thus hides pride from man, and takes all the 
 glory to himself. The sinner is made to feel 
 his deep unworthiness — to see that he is not 
 only destitute, but guilty. He has no right 
 
254 THE RICH KINSMAN". 
 
 to the least consideration or notice. If God 
 should pass him over, and he should be per- 
 mitted to glean no pardoning mercy, he could 
 have no ground of complaint. He has not 
 the remotest claim to any blessing. He feels 
 that where grace abounds sin has also abound- 
 ed. And though he will not sin that grace 
 may abound, for he abhors his transgression, 
 yet he rejoices to receive salvation as a gift, a 
 free gift to his lost and guilty soul, a gift for 
 which he has done nothing, and can never do 
 any thing in the least degree to make it less 
 free, or to make himself in any possible sense 
 deserving of its bestowal. 
 
 Thus the sinner who would rejoice in a Sa- 
 viour's love must feel. But how long do we 
 struggle against this spirit ! How hard it 
 seems contentedly to depend on mere grace 
 to the ungodly ! This is one main obstacle 
 in the way of our salvation. It is the last one 
 that is ever removed. "We wish either to be- 
 come worthy of God's mercy, or to do some- 
 thing to repay it, or to have some character 
 
THE GLEANER. 255 
 
 or feeling in ourselves that shall seem to be 
 a reason for it. We desire to say, " God par- 
 dons me because I have tried to obey him, or 
 because I am sorry for my sins, or because I 
 now love his commands — but not because I 
 am so guilty and completely lost." Yet all 
 this mixing up of any thing of our own as a 
 reason for his forgiving love, is sinful pride. 
 It may sometimes be in the assertion that we 
 do possess it, and sometimes in the distress 
 that we can not get it. But it is all sinful 
 pride which can not submit simply to believe 
 God's word, and to be saved freely by his 
 grace, and then to rejoice in him alone. And 
 the Holy Spirit will make us feel our own un- 
 worthiness, until we are perfectly willing to 
 glean where we may find grace, and to receive 
 mercy to the guilty, treading our pride for 
 ever beneath our feet. 
 
 The next step is one of gracious providence 
 to bring her 5 as it were by accident, to an un- 
 expected introduction to her rich kinsman, 
 Ruth is wholly ignorant of him or of the loca- 
 
256 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 tion of his fields. She is equally ignorant of 
 the exalted connection she is to have with 
 hiin. In her deep necessity, her sincere sub- 
 mission, her pure and unfearing modesty, she 
 goes out to seek a provision for her mother's 
 wants, not knowing whither she went. To 
 her the future of life is darkness. But God, 
 her gracious God, in whom she trusts, is 
 light in whom is no darkness at all. What 
 an encouragement to us does this ignorance 
 of hers afford ! How abounding may be 
 God's provided mercies for us ! We may be 
 in the very depths of necessity, in want even 
 of our necessary food, and yet God may be 
 working out the most extensive plans of ben- 
 efit for us. Kemember that his gracious plans 
 are all completely formed before any part of 
 them are made known to us. And we are to 
 go forward in the plain path of duty in our 
 present condition, and leave all the future to 
 be arranged and revealed to us according to 
 his will. 
 
 Kuth goes out into the harvest-field of 
 
THE GLEANER. 257 
 
 Judea, separated among its various owners only 
 by the landmarks, which could not be dis- 
 tinguished at a distance, not knowing to whose 
 field she might be led. But God had dis- 
 posed and prepared her way before her. And 
 he could have told her the whole of her future 
 history and course. His gracious providence 
 leads her to the very place where he designs 
 to bless her. " Her hap was to light on a 
 part of the field belonging unto Boaz." The 
 story is related in its appearance, as its events 
 occurred. Her coming to this particular por- 
 tion of the field seemed to be wholly acci- 
 dental. But it was far enough from an acci- 
 dent in reality. It was God's own plan for 
 her, another part of which was now coming out 
 to her view. And when at last she finds the 
 gracious end to which the whole is brought, 
 she could look back upon this, and say, " Now 
 I know why I was made so poor, and led to 
 Boaz's field to glean." 
 
 How often is the gracious providence of 
 God thus manifested in bringing the poor and 
 
258 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 perishing soul under the ministry of the Word. 
 The sinner may wander into the field of 
 grace, he knows not why, with no idea of the 
 Lord's provision of peace and security which 
 are prepared for him. The great end to 
 which all the arrangements of this gracious 
 providence are directed is the saving of the 
 soul. And when we really find this salvation, 
 and are made parcakers of a Saviour's love, 
 we may look back upon every event of the 
 whole course through which we have been led 
 as expressly arranged for the accomplishment 
 of this end. This was the point to which every 
 thing else was tending, and to which every 
 other fact was subordinate. To trace this 
 merciful process in our past lives is one of our 
 highest privileges. It shows us God's whole 
 design concerning us. We rejoice to know 
 that he leaves no unfinished work, and that 
 the good work he has begun for us, he will 
 carry on unto the "day of the Lord Jesus. It 
 encourages our hope. It quickens our energy. 
 It excites our determination. It comforts our 
 
THE GLEANER. 259 
 
 depressions. It makes us happy even in our 
 sorrows. How often have I traced this gra- 
 cious providence of God in my own case ! 
 How often in the case of others ! 
 
 A young Englishman came as an agent 
 of a Sheffield manufacturer to this country, 
 He was engaged in his business in Philadel- 
 phia for a few months. His "hap was to 
 light" on a boarding-house opposite my 
 church. Convenience brought him there to 
 our worship. But there the gracious Lord 
 showed him his need, revealed to him his 
 pardoning mercy, and made him know that 
 he was a child of God. And because he was 
 a son, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son 
 into his heart. I never knew him. In a 
 few months he returned to England. Two 
 years after I received, through the custom- 
 house, a package containing a little legacy 
 from him, with a letter from his sister. He 
 had died of a consumption at home, and 
 sent his dying message of love and gratitude 
 to me, with this memento of his affection, 
 
260 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 and an account of his happy conversion under 
 the Gospel in that church. 
 
 Two young men who had wasted their lives 
 in profligacy and sin, and in their despairing 
 madness had resolved to go out in a last 
 debauch, and then become suicides together, 
 passed our church on Wednesday evening, 
 as our congregation were gathering there. 
 They, unaccountably to themselves, were led 
 to go in and seat themselves by the door. 
 God sent an arrow of his truth to each of 
 their hearts. They came out together when 
 the service closed, each ignorant of the feel- 
 ings of the other, and walked away for a 
 time in silence. They soon announced to 
 each other, in astonishment, their mutual 
 feelings and new purpose of life. They 
 walked the streets in conversation until 
 morning. God had called them both to a 
 knowledge of his love to them. " Their hap 
 was to light" in the Saviour's field. They 
 lived to witness a good profession. One was 
 called to glory in his early manhood. The 
 
THE GLEANER, 
 
 261 
 
 other still lives to preach the Gospel which 
 he once destroyed. In all this you will see 
 any thing but accident. 
 
 Many such illustrations have I seen. How 
 many daughters have I known, brought for 
 education, where they attended our ministry, 
 with no thought of the Lord's purpose con- 
 cerning them, whose "hap" it was to glean 
 salvation in the field of a gracious Kinsman 
 of whom they had no knowledge. Singular 
 are some such illustrations. A gay and 
 fashionable young woman was under my 
 ministry for a long time, with no apparent 
 concern. One Thursday evening I was un- 
 expectedly called upon to supply the pulpit 
 of a clergyman who was ill, in another part 
 of the city. The "hap" of this young lady 
 was to pass that church just as the bell 
 was ringing for worship. She did not know 
 even what house of worship it was. But 
 seeing the people going in, though she had 
 never been to an evening service in the 
 week before she joined them. To her 
 
262 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 astonishment, her own minister arose to 
 officiate. God sent the word to her heart, 
 and she went home conscious of her guilt 
 and danger in her unpardoned sin. On the 
 next morning, before her own family had 
 risen, she sought me for counsel and in- 
 struction, and gave me the history of the 
 evening's work, and of her sleepless, sorrow- 
 ing night. God now sent his own Spirit 
 to teach her the things which were freely 
 given to her of God. She embraced the 
 Gospel. She walked in a new life. She 
 honored the Saviour in her family. She 
 triumphed in the hopes of the Gospel, in 
 a peaceful departure, after several years of 
 fidelity to Christ, the memory of which was 
 a precious legacy to those from whom she 
 was taken. How wonderful appear such 
 facts ! But every Christian may find in 
 his own life a providence just as distinct, 
 if not so striking. Why these things are 
 so arranged we can give no account, but 
 that which the Saviour gives: — "Even so, 
 
THE GLEANER. 263 
 
 Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight/' 
 The appearance is, that our lighting on the 
 field of Boaz is a "hap." But the result 
 shows that this was God's own way to save 
 and feed a child whom he had chosen for 
 himself before the world began. And the 
 issue is, that we give him all the glory who 
 hath loved us, and called us with an holy 
 calling, and made us everlasting partakers 
 of a Saviour's triumph through the riches 
 of his own grace. 
 
 The next step in Kuth's history is the 
 peculiar crisis at which she came into the 
 field. It was at the time of a gracious visit 
 from the master of the reapers, and the owner 
 of the land. " Behold, Boaz came from 
 Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The 
 Lord be with you. And they answered him, 
 The Lord bless thee." I need not stop to re- 
 mark upon the value of this illustration of 
 domestic and social relations. But how much 
 better sounds the encouraging voice of re- 
 sponsive religion, the mutual recognition of 
 
264 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 the presence of God by master and servants, 
 than the language of censure and recrimina- 
 tion ! How happily might we transfer th« 
 example of Boaz to the workshop of our 
 artisans, the counting-house of our merchants, 
 and the families of our housekeepers — and 
 compel men who see them, to say, " Surely 
 the fear of God is in this place !" Happy is 
 the house or scene of business and occupa- 
 tion where both the master and the servants 
 are exercising themselves to maintain a con- 
 science void of offence toward God and 
 toward men ; with good will .doing service 
 as unto the Lord, and not unto men. Kuth 
 could not have had a more encouraging exhi- 
 bition of her kinsman than this. She sees 
 him first in the expression of his kindness to 
 others. His manner and feeling are express- 
 ive of the highest dignity and love. She can 
 confide in him from the very start. She has 
 no fears now that she may not " find grace 
 in his sight." And as the sound of his cheer- 
 ful salutation catches her ear, and she looks 
 
THE GLEANEK. 265 
 
 up to see the dignified form of the stranger 
 who approaches with so much benevolence, 
 and such consideration for the laborers who 
 are gathering his harvest, she takes the ut- 
 most encouragement for herself, and can 
 glean with a freedom of spirit and thankful- 
 ness of confidence, that she had not before 
 Ah, who can tell how much may be the in- 
 fluence of words and acts of kindness and 
 love ! They are not only " twice blessed." 
 They may give life and hope to many who 
 have had no connection with them but that 
 of an accidental witness. They are an ex- 
 penditure which can never be lost ; a cheap 
 outlay for an investment of incomparable 
 value. Hutu's whole life would probably 
 carry the influence of this first opening ad- 
 dress of Boaz to his servants. And in all her 
 subsequent veneration for him, and delight in 
 him, she could never forget the impression 
 which his first appearance made upon her 
 mind. 
 
 How applicable to our purpose is this il]us- 
 12 
 
266 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 tration ! The first sight of a Saviour is at- 
 tractive and lovely to the seeking, sinful soul. 
 The sinner comes into the midst of his flock, 
 and is struck with the precious blessings 
 which they enjoy. The shepherd stands in 
 their midst. Jesus is there, to awaken, in- 
 struct, sanctify, and feed his people. The 
 hearts of all are evidently refreshed by him. 
 He blesses them, in the ministry of his word, 
 by the teaching of his Spirit. They praise 
 him with grateful homage in return. The 
 whole scene is awakening and attractive. 
 The sinner's heart is moved and drawn. 
 
 " 'Tis like a little heaven below ; 
 
 I have been there, and still would go." 
 
 The Apostle says, " Falling down on his face, 
 he will worship God, and report that God is 
 in you, of a truth." The Prophet says, they 
 shall say, " We will go with you, for we have 
 heard that God is with you." Thus often the 
 most abiding impressions of the value of re- 
 ligion, of the excellence of a Saviour's worth, 
 
TU2 dLEANER. 261 
 
 and the "happiness of those who faithfully 
 wait upon him, arc received. Men are drawn 
 to Christ, and made happy m. trusting him, 
 by the enjoyment which his people evidently 
 derive from his service. And nothing is more 
 important than that Christians should ever 
 wear an aspect and maintain an influence 
 which will adorn the doctrine they profess. 
 "I see," said Kichard Cecil, contemplating 
 his own sinful, wasted life, in his youth, 
 "I see two unquestionable facts. First, 
 my mother is greatly afflicted in circum- 
 stances, body, and mind ; and yet I see that 
 she cheerfully bears up under it, by the sup- 
 port which she derives from constantly re- 
 tiring to her closet and reading her Bible. 
 Second, that she has a secret spring of com- 
 fort of which I know nothing ; while I, who 
 seek pleasure by every means, seldom or never 
 find it. If, however, there is any such secret 
 in religion why may I not attain it as well as 
 my mother ? I will immediately seek it from 
 God. He rose from his bed instantly, and 
 
268 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 began to pray." His experience and reason- 
 ing have been that of thousands. And when 
 the Saviour comes in thus to bless his people, 
 " sweetly the sacred odors spread." Sinners 
 are drawn and encouraged to come to one so 
 gracious and so compassionate. The reapers 
 of his harvest are animated and strengthened 
 by his presence, and the word of his grace 
 goes out with special power to the souls of 
 those who hear. 
 
 1 Adoring saints around him stand, 
 
 And thrones and powers before hirn fall; 
 
 The God shines gracious through the man, 
 And sheds sweet glories on theru all." 
 
XII. 
 
 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, "Whose 
 damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers 
 answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with 
 Naomi out of the country of Moab : and she said, I pray you let me 
 glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves : So she came, 
 and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she 
 tarried a little in the house. Then said Boaz unto Euth, Hearest 
 thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither 
 go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: let thine eyes 
 be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them : have I 
 not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? And 
 when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which 
 the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face and bowed 
 herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace 
 in thine eyes, that thou shouldst take knowledge of me, seeing that 
 I am a stranger ?— Eimr, ii. 5-10. 
 
 " God moves in a mysterious way his 
 wonders to perform." He has wise and 
 sufficient reasons for. every step. He makes 
 us at last to see the wisdom which has 
 
270 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 governed his whole course. But while his 
 plans are coming out to our view, it is only 
 a little part that is to be seen at a time. 
 We must wait to the end to know his whole 
 design. We can imagine many ways in 
 which Boaz and Kuth might have been made 
 acquainted with each other. But surely 
 none which would have been better adapted 
 to awaken the deepest and tenderest mutual 
 interest in the mind of each. She appears 
 in all the loveliness of virtuous modesty, 
 humbly toiling for a mother's support and 
 comfort, though unused to labor. How 
 could he avoid the most affectionate con- 
 sideration and respect for her ? The best 
 daughter will habitually make the best wife. 
 He appears before her clothed with dignity 
 and benevolence. The law of kindness is on 
 his tongue. His dependents delight to wel- 
 come his approach. The whole appearance 
 of this dignified and tender-hearted stranger 
 would command her reverence and confidence. 
 His aspect and voice took from her all fear in 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 271 
 
 the prosecution of her work, and his words 
 of kindness made her at once happy and 
 at home, though poor and a stranger in his 
 field. We are now to witness their first 
 mutual introduction, and the Welcome Re- 
 ception which he gives to her. 
 
 First we have the rich kinsman's notice 
 of her, addressed to his head servant. 
 "Whose damsel is this?" The field of 
 Boaz is a well-ordered field, in which is 
 due subordination and respect, and no vio- 
 lence or confusion. There was one set over 
 the reapers who was held responsible for their 
 conduct, and for the whole care of the field 
 committed to him. And when the master 
 comes to visit his land he calls this one 
 to a special account. But extensive as are 
 the concerns of Boaz, the poor stranger whom 
 the Lord hath led there is not forgotten. 
 Happy indeed is such prosperity as this ! 
 The heart is not lifted up, the spirit is not 
 made selfish and arrogant. There is a tender 
 care for the poor maintained amidst the 
 
272 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 enjoyments and luxuries of wealth. It would 
 be difficult to tell which is the more beautiful 
 aspect of human character, the open and 
 generous liberality of the rich, or the patient 
 and uncomplaining submission of the poor ; 
 the "largeness of heart, like the sea-shore/' 
 of Solomon, or the quiet and contended en- 
 durance of the widow of Sarepta. Both are 
 here before us. One rich in acts of love, and 
 the other in the patience of hope and trial. 
 And when Boaz came to visit his plenteous 
 fields, he saw nothing there so truly beautiful 
 as the character and conduct of Kuth. His 
 servant, had he known the whole will of God, 
 might have given a far higher description of 
 her than the mere account of her earthly or- 
 igin, her poverty, and her toil. 
 
 Thus the Saviour comes to visit his earthly 
 field, and calls the servants whom he has 
 set over it to account for their charge. He 
 walks amidst the candlesticks, and holds the 
 stars in his right hand. His ministers watch 
 for souls as they who must give an account. 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 273 
 
 Not the poorest stranger is unnoticed or for- 
 gotten by him. It is a blessed thought. 
 The Saviour sees. The poor, the lonely, the 
 neglected, in all their needs and sorrows, are 
 marked by his eye. The poor widow's two 
 mites were not forgotten. The Syro-Phceni- 
 cian was not sent away. Bartimeus was not 
 despised. Lazarus was not rejected. Jesus 
 may be considered as asking his ministers 
 continually, of one and another in their flock, 
 Who is that ? And they should be able 
 to reply. He will call them at last to* an 
 account for all, and for every soul intrusted 
 to them they must answer. Happy, could 
 they all say, 
 
 " Hast thou a lamb in all thy flock 
 My soul disdains to feed? 
 Hast thou a foe before whose face 
 I fear thy cause to plead?" 
 
 Sad is the neglected church, where the pastor 
 is not prepared for a question like this, in re- 
 gard to all the members of his flock. He 
 should be able to adopt the very words of the 
 12* 
 
274. THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Great Shepherd, " I know my sheep, and am 
 known of mine. They know my voice ; and 
 they follow me." He should be able to take 
 up to all, the exhortation of the Apostle, 
 "Be ye followers of me, even as I am of 
 Christ." "What can compensate him for the 
 shame of his ignorance and neglect, if the 
 Saviour shall ask in vain, " With whom hast 
 thou left those few sheep in the wilderness ?" 
 Indulgences, enjoyments, honors, all will fade 
 in that great day. What a dying reflection 
 was that of the eminent Archbishop Williams 
 in the reign of Charles I. : "I have passed 
 through many places of honor and trust, both 
 in Church and State, more than any of my 
 order in England, this seventy years before. 
 But were I assured that by my preaching I 
 had converted but one soul unto God, I 
 should take therein more spiritual joy and 
 comfort, than in all the honors and offices 
 which have been bestowed upon me." 
 
 This question of Boaz brings us to the re- 
 ply which the servant makes. He is not in- 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 275 
 
 quired of in vain. He lias made himself ac- 
 quainted with the whole history of Kuth. And 
 in giving his account, he uses great skill and 
 kindness, in setting forth the advantageous 
 circumstances of her case. He tells of her 
 origin : She was a daughter of Moab, a 
 stranger, " the Moabitish damsel." He tells 
 of her return, her emigration from Moab to 
 Israel : " She came back with Naomi, out of 
 the country of Moab." He tells of her need : 
 her poverty compelled her to beg permission 
 to glean ; of her gentle humility : " She said, 
 I pray you, let me glean and gather after 
 the reapers among the sheaves ;" of her per- 
 severance : •" She hath continued from the 
 morning even until now." His account is 
 marked by the evidence of the utmost kind- 
 ness and compassion. He does not feel the 
 poor and dependent to be in his way. Nor 
 does her lonely poverty tempt him to treat 
 her with negligence or disrespect. 
 
 When we think of this, as an illustration 
 of the account we may give of some daugli- 
 
276 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ters of the Lord Almighty who are committed 
 to our charge, how appropriate seems the 
 whole story. To create and maintain a fa- 
 miliar and intimate acquaintance with the 
 members of the flock committed to him, is a 
 most important instrument of usefulness to a 
 faithful pastor. They should be made will- 
 ing to seek his counsel. Their experience 
 should prove him to be to them a confiden- 
 tial, faithful friend. He should be acquaint- 
 ed with their spiritual state, their minds, 
 their peculiar feelings and circumstances. 
 He should know their religious experience ; 
 and encourage, at whatever cost of labor and 
 occupation of his time, their free communica- 
 tion of their doubts, and trials, and cares. 
 The whole influence and value of his ministry 
 will be greatly dependent on this knowledge 
 of his people. The preacher's work can only 
 be really effective, and an instrument of bless- 
 ing, as it rightly divides the word of truth, giv- 
 ing to each their portion of meat in due season. 
 The work of public preaching is far the least 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 277 
 
 laborious and trying part of the ministration 
 of the Gospel. And it is by no means the 
 most important or the most useful part, when 
 separated from the faithful watchfulness and 
 oversight of the sound and sympathiz4ng 
 pastor. 
 
 But how happy is such an account of the 
 Saviour's field as the head reaper here gives ! 
 Suppose I could say of all the youthful females 
 in the field around me, as each one severally 
 appeared for my account, " This also teas a 
 daughter of Moab, but she has come back." 
 How applicable to them would become Paul's 
 account of the Corinthian Christians, " Such 
 were you, but ye have been washed, ye have 
 been justified, ye have been sanctified, in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of 
 our God." She has come back. Under a 
 deep sense of her sinfulness, and conscious of 
 her empty, wasted life, she has come with 
 self-renouncing humility, to glean in the Sa- 
 viour's field. With persevering devotion she 
 has continued fronr the morning even until 
 
278 THE EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 now. She was a vain, worldly, thoughtless 
 child of earth. But she has been converted — 
 made a new creature — old things have passed 
 away — all things have become new. Now 
 she is in the world, but she is not of the 
 world ; and the residue of her life she means 
 to spend, though in the flesh, yet according 
 to the will of God. Ah, what a happy ac- 
 count would this be ! I would that I could 
 imagine it a true account. But alas ! our 
 daughters are not all Euths. Frivolity and 
 sin, the mirth and the sensual giddiness of 
 Moab, hold too many of them in bondage 
 still. When will they awake to see the folly 
 of their earthly mind, to realize the wretched 
 emptiness of a life of pleasure, dead while 
 they live, and to rejoice in the permission to 
 glean in the fields of grace and salvation, 
 which their gracious but unknown Kinsman 
 has spread before them ? Yet let me rejoice 
 over many, very many, whom the Lord has 
 given me, of whom this history of Kuth would 
 be a perfectly true account. God has permit- 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 279 
 
 ted me to be the instrument of leading many 
 such from Moab to Bethlehem. They delight 
 to gather now in fields of which they had be- 
 fore no knowledge. They love the assemblies 
 for the Saviour's worship. They value every 
 opportunity of instruction in the Saviour's 
 truth. They love to join the music of his 
 praise. They rejoice in offering him the con- 
 stant incense of their secret prayer. They 
 gather happiness from the teaching of his 
 word. They would rather be door-keepers in 
 his house, than abide in the tents of ungodli- 
 ness. They bear his cross with pleasure, 
 They endure for him the voice of reproach, 
 and the strife of tongues, with unshrinking 
 fidelity. They teach the ignorant. They 
 minister to the poor. They console the sor- 
 rowing. They are the joy and strength of 
 loving parents. They bless their households. 
 They adorn the doctrine they profess. Their 
 example honors the Saviour, encourages the 
 church, and wins even the admiration of the 
 worldly. Is there any thing on earth so beau- 
 
280 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 tiful as this consistent, living course of youth- 
 ful piety ? Is there an earthly treasure to a 
 father's heart to be compared to a faithful, 
 guileless, Christian daughter ? 
 
 "And if there be a human tear, 
 From passion's dross refined and clear, 
 A tear so limpid and so meek, 
 It would not stain an angel's cheek, 
 'Tis that which pious fathers shed 
 Upon a duteous daughter's head." 
 
 Let me encourage such to press onward 
 to the end. The fools of the world may 
 scoff. But Jesus approves. The Spirit 
 guides. Angels protect and guard. "Who 
 is he that will harm you, if ye be followers 
 of that which is good ?" Glean on from 
 morning until evening in the Saviour's 
 harvest. When you are wearied, repose, 
 like Kuth, a little in the field. But leave it 
 not. The Lord whom your souls love will 
 be your comforter and friend — the strength 
 of your heart, and your eternal portion. 
 Every day will add to your happiness in his 
 service. And as his smiles attend you, and 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 281 
 
 his approving blessing follows you, and his 
 gracious care prospers you, and leads you on 
 through grace to glory, your path will be 
 one of increasing happiness to the end. 
 
 " High heaven, that heard your solemn vow, 
 That vow renewed, shall daily hear, 
 Till in life's latest hour you how, 
 And "bless in death a bond so dear." 
 
 The answer of the servant of Boaz leads 
 us to Boaz's own address to the lonely 
 stranger. " Hearest thou not, my daughter ? 
 Go not to glean in another field ; neither 
 go from hence, but abide here fast by my 
 maidens : let thine eyes be on the field that 
 they do reap, and go thou after them : have 
 I not charged the young men that they shall 
 not touch thee ? And when thou art athirst, 
 go unto the vessels, and drink of that which 
 the young men have drawn." How kindly 
 and freely he welcomes her to his ample 
 provisions ! And lest she should not under- 
 stand the openness of his invitation, he calls 
 her attention particularly to this fact of 
 
282 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 her entire welcome to every provision there. 
 How lie catechizes her in his offers of grace ! 
 "Hearest thou not, my daughter?" Her 
 modesty had retired from the praises of the 
 servant, and her gentle, humbled spirit had 
 hidden itself from such an applauding in- 
 troduction. And her rich kinsman kindly 
 arrests her attention to the fact which he 
 intended to impress, that she was to enjoy 
 the provision for her wants with perfect 
 freedom. The Saviour's grace is thus open 
 and free. Whosoever will, may take of the 
 water of life freely. Complete forgiveness, 
 everlasting redemption, are offered without 
 money and without price, to the acceptance 
 of the sinner who will receive them. But 
 man must be constantly assured of the free- 
 ness of the Saviour's love, and urged to 
 accept and embrace it. The Lord calls your 
 attention especially to this. " Hearest thou 
 not ?" " If any man thirst, let him come 
 unto me and drink." " Whosoever cometh, 
 shall in no wise be cast out." " Believe, and 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION". 283 
 
 thou shalt be saved." Here are abundant 
 supplies of all that you can desire or ask ; 
 and all given without recompense, or hope 
 of return from you. 
 
 He urges her to remain in the field to 
 which the gracious providence of God had 
 sent her. "Go not to glean in another 
 field/' He would have the whole privilege 
 and comfort of supplying all her wants. He 
 has enough and to spare, and she need fear 
 no lack of provision while she remains with 
 him. He wishes not to divide with any the 
 blessing of sustaining one so worthy of his 
 care. Our gracious Kinsman feels equally 
 jealous of any partnership or competition 
 in his work of grace for you. He lets you 
 know that if you attempt to be saved in any 
 other way, Christ shall profit you nothing. 
 There is salvation in none other. It is all 
 of grace, and the works of righteousness 
 which you can clo effect nothing toward your 
 justification in him. Go not then to glean 
 in another field. Your salvation is all by 
 
284 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 faith in the perfect obedience and all-suf- 
 ficient death of the Lord Jesus Christ for 
 you. Be satisfied with that. Live upon 
 that. To whom else can you go ? He only 
 has the words of eternal life. The field 
 of human works and merit is there before 
 you. But what can you get from that but 
 condemnation and the wages of sin ? The 
 field of mere formalism and superstition is 
 there. But it can yield nothing for you 
 save despair and death. The field of earthly 
 giddiness and indulgence is there. But this 
 is polluted Moab again ; why will you run 
 back to that ? The field of indifference and 
 mere unbelief is there. But its fruits will 
 be gall and wormwood at the last, when 
 eternity overwhelms you, and you have no 
 hope. There is no field in which you can 
 gather happiness, and rest, and abiding peace, 
 but the field of Christ. In that every pro- 
 vision is made for your enjoyment for time and 
 for eternity. And you will glean nothing there 
 which will not promote your welfare for both, 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 285 
 
 Well may we apply to you Boaz's address, 
 " Go not from hence. Abide here fast by my 
 maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field that 
 they do reap, and go thou after them." In 
 similar words, the gracious bridegroom of the 
 Church says, " Go thy way forth by the foot- 
 steps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the 
 shepherd's tents." Nothing is more import- 
 ant for your religious character, than appro- 
 priate religious society. The examples and 
 influence of faithful people of God are a 
 precious help to you in your Christian course. 
 You read the biographies of those who have 
 finished their course, and kept the faith 
 and have entered into their rest. You have 
 with you, and around you, many who are 
 striving to walk in the strait and narrow 
 way which leadeth unto life. Their light 
 shines before you. Their daily walk en- 
 courages and animates you. Keep fast by 
 them. You have a faithful and simple min- 
 istry of the Gospel. You have a pure and 
 blessed form of public worship. Every benefit 
 
286 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 and advantage for you is there. You have 
 the simple and appropriate ordinances of the 
 Lord's house. Jesus has promised, to meet 
 you there. It will be good for you to be 
 found in no other field. Be not tempted to 
 the fields of error, or of mirth, or of worldly 
 forgetfulness of God. Be the companion al- 
 ways of those who fear God, and turn away 
 your feet from the paths of evil men. The 
 landmarks among these various fields, which 
 separate them from the field which the Lord 
 hath blessed, may not be always perfectly dis- 
 tinct and apparent to you. Try no experi- 
 ment how far you may go toward these 
 strange fields and return in safety. Dwell in 
 the heart of the land, and make the fact al- 
 ways sure, that you are with the Lord and 
 his chosen flock. 
 
 Here you have every promise of protection 
 and supply. Your gracious Kinsman has 
 charged his ministers to help and guide you, 
 not to hurt or hinder you. He has bid them 
 draw for you water from the wells of salva 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 287 
 
 tion. And yours is the privilege of their at- 
 tainments and their labors. Vain, indeed, 
 are all these without a Saviour's blessing. 
 But Jesus will not leave you comfortless. He 
 will come to you. His angels are guardian 
 keepers, and ministering spirits for you. By 
 them he defends you night and day. They 
 take charge of the feeble and desolate of the 
 flock. They bear you in their hands, lest you 
 hurt your foot against a stone. Surely no 
 offer can be made to you, like the privilege of 
 gleaning in Jesus' fields of truth and grace. 
 And when he stands before you like Boaz, 
 with the words of such gracious welcome, 
 your privilege is great indeed. 0, listen to 
 his earnest exhortation and appeal, and let 
 your glad heart respond to him. Yes, Lord. 
 Here will I dwell, and this shall be my rest 
 for ever, for it is the very joy of my heart. 
 
 " Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight ; 
 On whom in affliction I call; 
 My comfort by day, and my song in the night, 
 My hope, my salvation, my all. 
 
288 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 "0 why should I wander an alien from thee? 
 Or cry in the desert for bread? 
 Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see, 
 And smile at the tears I have shed." 
 
 Kuth's humble and grateful answer to her 
 unknown Kinsman may conclude our present 
 thoughts. " She fell on her face, and bowed 
 herself to the ground, and said unto him ; 
 Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that 
 thou shouldst take knowledge of me, seeing I 
 am a stranger ?" 
 
 "What deep humility ! What conciousness 
 of need ! What confession of her own unwor- 
 thiness ! What affectionate gratitude for the 
 kindness he has disjDlayed ! It is just so that 
 the loving-kindness of the Lord humbles the 
 pardoned sinner to the dust. He feels him- 
 self the object of such grace and boundless 
 mercy that his own unworthiness and guilt 
 are more apparent to him than ever before. 
 Thus the Lord himself describes his mind, 
 " That thou mayest be confounded, and never 
 open thy mouth any more, because of thy 
 shame, when I am pacified toward thee for 
 
THE WELCOME EECEPTION. 289 
 
 all that thou hast done." The freeness of the 
 divine love to our guilty souls, washing away 
 all our sins in his own blood, covering us with 
 his own perfect righteousness, and adopting 
 and owning us as his children, when we were 
 before so disobedient and rebellious, will al- 
 ways thus humble us before God. It will 
 make us more afraid to sin — more watchful 
 against temptation — more anxious in every 
 thing to do the will of God in time to come. 
 We become earnest and watchful not to lose 
 a privilege so great, or in any thing to offend 
 or wound our loving Master and Lord. Our 
 experience of his pardoning love carries us 
 back to remember all our rebellions and sins 
 against him. We see that it is he who has 
 sought us, in his own electing, distinguishing 
 love, and not we who first sought him. Ho 
 says, " Ye have not chosen me, but I have 
 chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should 
 go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit 
 should remain." All our boasting, therefore, 
 is excluded by the freeness of his pardoning 
 13 
 
290 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 grace, and the new creating power of his di- 
 vine Spirit, who said to us " Live," when we 
 were dead in our sins. Thus every real Chris- 
 tian feels deeply humbled and abased in the 
 presence of that holy Lord who became our 
 kinsman that he might be our Eedeemer and 
 our Saviour. Thus the saints in glory feel. 
 They cast their crowns before his throne. 
 They proclaim Him alone worthy to receive 
 the glory, who was slain, and has redeemed 
 them to God by his blood, out of every kin- 
 dred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and 
 made them unto God kings and priests. 
 
 My dear young friends, is this your mind ? 
 Do you thus cast yourselves in the dust, with 
 a deep sense of your sinfulness, before the feet 
 of your gracious Saviour ? Have you ever 
 come truly to his feet in the real renewing of 
 your heart by the power of his Holy Spirit ? 
 Does he see you casting out all proud thoughts 
 of your own greatness, and desires for your 
 own glory, and wishing to count every thing 
 but loss for his sake ? Can he testify to your 
 
THE WELCOME RECEPTION. 291 
 
 inmost purpose and effort, in every thing to 
 honor him, and carry out his will ? Ah, this 
 is religion. This is the work of his own hand. 
 This is the blessedness of his people. This is 
 the happiness of those who wait upon him. 
 Seek it with all your heart — earnest, deter- 
 mined to obtain a blessing of such inestimable 
 worth, and to live alone and for ever, for that 
 gracious Master who feeds you with the bread 
 of his truth, comforts you with the refresh- 
 ment of his promises, supports you by the 
 power of his grace, and will receive you to tho 
 kingdom of his glory. 
 
XIII. 
 
 %\t $ una as J^pffbatifiR. 
 
 * 
 
 •* Aad Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed mo, 
 all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of 
 thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, 
 and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou 
 knewest not heretofore. The Loed recompense thy work, and a full 
 reward be given thee of the Loed God of Israel, under whose wings 
 thou art come to trust. Then she 6aid, Let me find favor in thy 
 6ight, my lord ; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou 
 hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto 
 one of thine handmaidens. And Boaz said unto her, At meal-time 
 come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel In the 
 vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers : and he reached her parched 
 corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. And when she was 
 risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her 
 glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not. And let fall 
 also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that 
 she may glean them, and rebuke her not— Kuth, ii. 11-16. 
 
 What mercies God is pleased to lay up for 
 those who love him ! They cover all our 
 wants in the present life, and all our possible 
 desires for the future. Earthly friends may 
 fail, and earthly sources may disappoint us. 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 293 
 
 But we can never really pat the trust of our 
 heart in God, and be disappointed in the end. 
 Our fidelity to him may be secret — confined, 
 as we suppose often, to the consciousness of 
 our own hearts. But he brings our secret 
 things to light, and openly rewards us for all 
 that we have done and suffered for him, how- 
 ever privately. 
 
 Ruth begins now to reap the abundant 
 harvest which is growing for her in the divine 
 purposes of mercy — a harvest of which Boaz's 
 fields are only a part, and of which indeed 
 all that Boaz possessed was but a feeble il- 
 lustration. She had been faithful in that 
 which appeared to be the least, and now she 
 was to be rewarded with that which seemed to 
 be much. We proceed in her story with de- 
 light, hardly knowing whether to admire it 
 more as the history of her kinsman and her- 
 self, or as an exhibition of the grace and 
 goodness of our Lord and Saviour to whom it 
 so clearly points. 
 
 We have first to remark upon the gracious 
 
294 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 approbation which Boaz. bestows upon her. 
 She thought herself unknown, and perhaps 
 neglected. But this gracious stranger ap- 
 pears to be perfectly familiar with her whole 
 history, and though he knew not her person- 
 ally, her faithfulness to her mother had been 
 fully related to him. It is thus you may 
 often think yourself unknown, and unob- 
 served in your efforts to do right in your dif- 
 ferent relations of life, when there are many 
 eyes upon you, watching your character^ and 
 many ears may be listening to what the Lord 
 has enabled you thus to do for him. Give 
 yourself no concern about this. Seek always 
 the grace to think and to do such things as 
 are right. God your Guardian and Protector 
 will see that you have all the reputation and 
 recompense which is good for you. What- 
 soever things are pure, lovely, and of good re- 
 port, follow after them, without reference to 
 the knowledge or approbation of others 
 around you. Buth supposed herself concealed 
 in the field of Boaz. But he declares to her 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 295 
 
 that her faithfulness to Naomi had been fully 
 related to him, and he knew her well. In the 
 most kind and delicate manner, he recounts 
 the facts of her past history ; animating and 
 encouraging her with just approbation, and 
 not mortifying or abashing her with unreason- 
 able flattery. He recites her love to her 
 mother, her faith in God, her affectionate 
 trust in him, leaving all that she loved for his 
 sake, and coming to join herself to his people 
 whom she had not known before. It would 
 not be an inferior use of this passage, to 
 commend to your notice its refinement and 
 dignity. What an illustration it is of that 
 condescension without haughtiness, of that 
 commendation without assumption, of that 
 familiarity without coarseness, which are so 
 peculiarly the attributes of a noble mind, and 
 the results of what we call good breeding in 
 social life. We may often have occasion to 
 remark, that never was there given to man 
 such a manual for elegance and delicacy with- 
 out pretense, in his social relations, as the 
 
296 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Bible gives. It is politeness proceeding from 
 benevolence and growing out of real sympa- 
 thy, and, like the Greek word which means 
 both, it is beautiful and good — and beautiful 
 because it is good. 
 
 But there is a far higher illustration here 
 than this. Thus the Saviour recounts to 
 his people, and for them, the acts of their 
 life which have manifested their love to him. 
 He pardons freely all their sins. He justifies 
 them freely in his own obedience and merit. 
 But then he tells us he is not unrighteous 
 to forget their labors of love ; and that not 
 even a cup of cold water given by them to a 
 suffering brother, in his name, shall be for- 
 gotten. He gives us an illustration, in the 
 twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew, of the 
 manner in which he will recite in their 
 hearing the acts of their obedience, and thus 
 shows them the way in which they shall have 
 their due praise of God. Can you not under- 
 stand well the distinction between being 
 justified by the merits of your own works, 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 297 
 
 and your works being accepted as the evi- 
 dence of the reality of your faith and the 
 sincerity of your love for Christ ? Nothing 
 that you do is worthy the Saviour's notice. 
 But nothing that you really do for him will 
 be unnoticed by him. You will never be 
 rewarded for your works. But you will be 
 judged by your works. They are the proofs 
 of your faith, as the fruits on the tree are 
 the evidences of its character and its worth. 
 Jesus may say of many a poor, lonely gleaner 
 in his field, who hardly supposes himself 
 noticed by any one, who toils in the sincerity 
 of his spirit, to do and to bear his Master's 
 will, and feels himself to be less than the 
 least of all the Lord's mercies to him : " Yes, 
 I know thee well. I have seen all thy labors, 
 all thine attainments, and all thy failures. 
 I have seen thine endeavors to do right, 
 when thine efforts never came to any fruit. 
 I have seen all thy sorrows over thine in- 
 ability to accomplish more. I know thy 
 temptations and thy difficulties well. I have 
 13* 
 
298 THE RICH KIKSMAN. 
 
 seen tliee leave the land of thy nativity, thy 
 careless, sinful state — the companions and the 
 pleasures of thy sin — and, forsaking father 
 and mother, come to seek a shelter and a 
 home with me. I have seen thee in every 
 step of thy progress, as my own Spirit led 
 thee on from strength to strength, in thy 
 desire to do my will. And nothing that 
 thou hast done for me shall be left without 
 its reward." Ah, thus does our great Kins- 
 man notice us in all our conflicts and cares. 
 He speaks his gracious approbation to our 
 own hearts. He makes us feel a happiness 
 and peace within, under his tender smile of 
 approval, though the world may reject us 
 and men may cast us out. His Spirit bears 
 witness with our spirits, and brings the 
 promises and presence of Jesus to our hearts ; 
 and then we rejoice in tribulations, and 
 prefer the reproach of Christ to the treasures 
 of the world ; and choose rather to suffer 
 affliction with the people of God than to 
 enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 299 
 
 Certainly there is nothing on earth so blessed 
 and so precious as the approbation of our 
 divine Master, speaking in our own hearts, 
 of the service we have feebly but sincerely 
 tried to render to him. 
 
 But Boaz not only expresses approbation, 
 he also speaks of recompense to Ruth. " The 
 Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward 
 be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, 
 under whose wings thou art come to rest." 
 She shall not be unrewarded. Naomi may 
 not be able to do any thing for her. But 
 Naomi has other paymasters in the Lord's 
 employ beside herself. Our acts of Lenevo- 
 lence and love for Christ's sake C3,n never 
 go without their result of blessiog even in 
 this life. The merciful man doeth good to 
 his own soul. We comfort tba needy and 
 the sorrowing, and we are thua preparing 
 comforters for ourselves in the persons of 
 others whom the Lord \fJl raise up to 
 minister to our wants. "Wo ?id the children 
 of the poor, and we ar, Uying up a heritage 
 
300 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 for our children in "the kindness of others 
 whom we know not. " Blessed is he that 
 considereth the poor ; the Lord will deliver 
 him in time of trouhle. The Lord will pre- 
 serve him and keep him alive, and he shall 
 be blessed on the earth." It would be an 
 interesting subject for our observation and 
 study, how constantly and regularly God 
 repays our acts of love by others in their 
 own kind. So that in mere material results 
 we lose nothing. " There is that scattereth 
 and yet increaseth." " The liberal soul shall 
 be made fat. And he that watereth others 
 shall be watered also himself." I knew a 
 faithful woman who had been the succorer 
 of many. But her husband died, and left 
 her impoverished, in the settlement of what 
 was considered a good estate. She had a 
 son whom she tenderly loved, and whom she 
 struggled to educate, and elevate from the 
 depressing influence of unexpected poverty. 
 A man of wealth became acquainted with 
 her condition, and, through the agency of 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 301 
 
 another, provided for the thorough education 
 of the boy. The son became eminent and 
 wealthy. The last years of his venerated 
 mother were made rich and happy by his 
 provision. She lived till he was fifty years 
 of age. And prosperity and honor crowned 
 them both. And better than all this, true 
 religion adorned their characters, and made 
 their habitation blessed. But the rich man 
 who had educated him died insolvent, and 
 left his own children without provision. And 
 this boy, who was now a man of property 
 and influence, took charge of them, and 
 educated and established them in respectable 
 life. And they still live to witness that the 
 Lord is gracious, and that blessed is the 
 man who trusteth in him. Here is recom- 
 pense. And it would be recompense enough 
 for all that man can do for his fellow man. 
 " He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth 
 unto the Lord ; and that which he hath 
 given will he pay him again." I have no 
 doubt that when God reads to us his book 
 
302 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of providence we shall see that this promise 
 never failed in a single instance. 
 
 But apart from this result of recompense, 
 there is also our own happiness in the work 
 itself. "It is more blessed," that is, it is 
 happier, a happier state and habit of mind, 
 a happier condition of feeling and thought, 
 "to give than to receive." Whatever we 
 do in kindness to others for Christ's sake, 
 he returns to us in our own secret personal 
 enjoyments. He ministers to us a peace and 
 blessedness in the work which is our inward 
 possession, and which comes to us without 
 any reference to outward results. When 
 Boaz said to Kuth, " The Lord recompense 
 thy work," she might have replied to him 
 that she was recompensed already. It was 
 happiness enough in itself to labor for a 
 mother that she loved. She was gathering 
 far richer fruits than the scattered ears 
 of her kinsman's corn. Her peaceful, hope- 
 ful, grateful mind which God had given 
 to her, under the truth that Naomi had 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 303 
 
 taught her, made the. day of her lahor for 
 Naomi a day of thankfulness. This is a 
 recompense you will never lose in your efforts 
 to honor the Lord in acts of benevolence 
 and love, at home or abroad. Be kind, be 
 generous, be forbearing, be tender, be affec- 
 tionate in your relations to all. Do it for 
 Jesus' sake, because he has been so to you. 
 And though you may be disappointed in some 
 of the outward results of your efforts, you 
 shall never fail in reaping this blessed harvest 
 of joy within. How beautifully is this thought 
 displayed in those anonymous lines ! 
 
 "A poor, -wayfaring man of grief 
 
 Hath often crossed me on my way, 
 Who sued so humbly for relief, 
 
 That I could never answer Nay. 
 I had not power to ask his name, 
 Whither he went, or whence he came ; 
 Yet there was something in his eye 
 That won my love, I knew not why. 
 
 " Once, when my scanty meal was spread, 
 . He entered ; not a word he spake ; 
 Just perishing for want of bread, 
 
 I gave him all ; he blessed it, brake, 
 And ate, but gave me part again. 
 Mine was an angel's portion then ; 
 And while I fed with eager haste, 
 The crust waa manna to my taste. 
 
304 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 " I spied him where a fountain burst, 
 
 Clear from the rock ; his strength was gone 
 
 The heedless water mocked his thirst ; 
 He heard it, saw it hurrying on. 
 
 I ran and raised the sufferer up ; 
 
 Thrice from the stream he drained my cap ; 
 
 Dipped, and returned it running o'er ; 
 
 I drank, and never thirsted more. 
 
 " 'Twas night : the floods were out ; it blew 
 
 A wintry hurricane aloof; 
 I heard his voice abroad, and flew 
 
 To bid him welcome to my roof. 
 I warmed, I clothed, I cheered my guest ; 
 Laid him on mine own couch to rest ; 
 Then made the earth my bed, and seemed 
 In Eden's garden while I dreamed. 
 
 " Stripped, wounded, beaten nigh to death, 
 I found him by the highway side ; 
 
 I roused his pulse, brought back his breath, 
 Kevived his spirit, and supplied 
 
 Wine, oil, refreshment ; he was healed. 
 
 I had, myself, a wound concealed ; 
 
 But, from that hour, forgot the smart, 
 
 And peace bound up my broken heart. 
 
 " In prison I saw him next, condemned 
 To meet a traitor's doom at morn ; 
 The tide of lying tongues I stemmed, 
 
 And honored him 'mid shame and scorn 
 My friendship's utmost zeal to try, 
 He asked if I for him would die ; 
 The flesh was weak, my blood ran chill, 
 But the free spirit cried, ' I will !' 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 305 
 
 " Then, in a moment, to my view 
 
 The stranger started from disguise ; 
 The tokens in his hands I knew ; 
 
 My Saviour stood before my eyes ! 
 He spake, and my poor name he named ; 
 * Of me thou hast not been ashamed ; 
 These deeds shall thy memorial be ; 
 Fear not ; thou didst it unto me.' " 
 
 But Boaz prays for more than recompense. 
 " A full reward be- given thee, of the Lord 
 God of Israel, under whose wings thou art 
 come to trust." For full rewards in any 
 course of human life, we must look beyond 
 the present state of being. The Saviour says 
 of tbe objects of beneficent action, " They can 
 not recompense thee, but thou shalt be recom- 
 pensed in the resurrection of the just." What- 
 ever results come now from any of tbe acts of 
 life, they are extremely partial. The final 
 results are yet to be revealed. The death 
 which is the wages of sin, is a death beyond 
 the mere departure of a sinful spirit from the 
 earth. And the glory which God has laid up 
 for those who love him, it has not entered 
 into the heart of man here to conceive. AH 
 
306 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 the present life is the mere seed time. The 
 abundant harvest is to be gathered hereafter. 
 But it will be surely gathered. The Saviour 
 shall himself minister to those who have been 
 faithful to him here, an abundant recompense, 
 a full reward. If he shall smile upon you in 
 approbation when you meet him face to face 
 — if he shall welcome you with approval when 
 you stand before him in judgment — if he 
 shall bid you enter into his joy when eternity 
 opens its doors in your view — if he shall wit- 
 ness to your fidelity in the presence of his 
 angels — will not that one commencement of a 
 happy eternity be in itself a full reward, an 
 abundant recompense, for all that you can 
 have done, or suffered, or lost for him, in the 
 longest life of labor on the earth ? And yet 
 all that is but a commencement. The day 
 has come when you shall be in 1he presence 
 of the Lord for ever — when the Lamb in the 
 midst of the throne shall dwell with you, and 
 feed you, and lead you to living fountains of 
 water, and you shall go no more out. I am 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPEOBA1 ION. 307 
 
 not hesitating or scanty in speaking of this 
 state of reward. No. Though you are justi- 
 fied freely by the grace of God, and saved 
 only by the death and resurrection of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ for you, and nothing that 
 you can do can have the least worth in the 
 sight of an holy God, to challenge his favor or 
 demand his acknowledgment, yet, nothing 
 that you really do for Christ shall go without 
 its reward. The hope of reward is not your 
 motive, but the grateful love for Jesus who 
 hath already saved you. But the love of 
 Jesus for you has laid up for you the crown 
 of his own righteousness, to be given to you 
 in the last day. And he has himself assured 
 you that what you sincerely do for his sake 
 to the very least of his servants, the poorest 
 of all whom his grace has saved, you do for 
 him, and shall in no wise lose your reward. 
 
 But while the Saviour thus animates and 
 encourages his disciples with the blessed hope 
 before them, see how the answer of Euth to 
 Boaz illustrates their self-renouncing mind 
 
308 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 "Then she said, Let me find favor in thy 
 sight, my lord, for that thou hast comforted 
 me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly 
 unto thine handmaid, though I be not like 
 unto one of thine handmaidens." The more 
 generously a noble mind is dealt with, the 
 more humble and unassuming does it become. 
 This is eminently the case with the children 
 of God when their divine Eedeemer comforts 
 and blesses them. Never do they feel so 
 perfectly unworthy as when he pours the 
 special ministration of the oil of gladness into 
 their souls. He shows them his mercy and 
 his faithfulness, and they are overwhelmed 
 with a sense of their own utter guiltiness in 
 his sight. This is their present mind : " Before 
 honor goeth humility." It is the herald of 
 exaltation, the attending minister of real ex- 
 cellence. They are never separated. And 
 the more glorious the exaltation of the honor 
 becomes, the more multiplied will be the train 
 and circle of the humility that waits around. 
 How the Saviour illustrates this in the twen- 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 309 
 
 ty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew ! He recites 
 the excellence of his people — he recounts the 
 evidences which they have given of their 
 fidelity to him — he proclaims the rewards 
 which he bestows, accumulated as their faith- 
 fulness has been made manifest. But he 
 represents them as perfectly self-renouncing. 
 " Lord, when did we do all this ?" So com- 
 pletely is their mind and memory filled with 
 his goodness that there is no standing-place 
 there for any recollection of their own acts of 
 love to him. So abounding and immeasur- 
 able appears his love to them, that less than 
 nothing in the comparison, seems every act of 
 theirs for him in return. Like Kuth, they 
 can praise him for the comfort he has be- 
 stowed upon them, for the gracious and 
 friendly way in which he has spoken to them. 
 But all this only increases their sense of their 
 own unworthiness of such mercy. And their 
 cry and prayer is, that they may still find 
 favor in his sight — that he would look upon 
 them with eyes of mercy, and think of them 
 
310 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 according to his own grace, and not according 
 to thsir merits. This is the true and constant 
 operation of the free grace of the Gospel upon 
 the believing heart. " Faith worketh by 
 love." First, by the love of Christ, which it 
 receives, to subdue and sanctify the soul ; and 
 then by the love for Christ which it produces, 
 to glorify and honor the Saviour, on whom 
 alone it rests. And throughout eternity it 
 will say, " Not unto us, but unto thy name 
 be all the glory, for thy loving-kindness and 
 thy truth's sake." 
 
 Boaz gracious provisions for the lonely 
 stranger, crown and close this instructive 
 interview. He invites her to come and par- 
 take with him of the meal he had prepared 
 for his servants. He seats her in honor 
 among the reapers of his harvest. He reaches 
 forth his own hand to feed her at his table. 
 He satisfies her need completely, and she de- 
 parts in peace. He gives command to his 
 servants to allow her the utmost liberty in 
 gleaning, without reproach. He bids them in 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 311 
 
 the most delicate way to drop, as if by acci- 
 dent, still more abounding supplies in her 
 way, that she may have more than a common 
 gleaner's portion. Was any conduct of man 
 ever more delicate, dignified, or beautiful ? 
 What a pattern it is of benevolence and re- 
 finement ! But it is only a feeble illustration 
 of the riches #f a Saviour's grace. Is this not 
 the very way in which our great Kinsman 
 deals with those whom he loves and saves ? 
 He comes to the earthly assemblies of his 
 people, and sits at the table he has spread for 
 them, and bids them all to eat of the bread 
 which he has provided, and to drink of the 
 cup which he has mingled. It is the bread 
 of life. It is the cup of salvation. He calls 
 the poor fainting sinner to come without 
 doubt or fear and take his place among the 
 company of the redeemed — for every thing is 
 there provided which he can need — abounding 
 grace for abounding sin. He bids them 
 always freely come, without hesitation, nor to 
 imagine that they can bring any thing to the 
 
312 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 feast which he has so bountifully prepared 
 for the outcast and the poor. He ministers 
 himself to their secret wants. He reaches 
 forth with his own hand the parched corn of 
 his sacrifice for them. He makes them, by 
 his own Spirit, to feed upon that one offering 
 made for them in his own burnt sacrifice in 
 their behalf. And in this secret, personal, 
 divine ministration of his Spirit to their souls, 
 they eat, and are sufficed. It is hidden man- 
 na. It is enduring meat. It is life-giving 
 bread. And they go on their way rejoicing 
 with exceeding joy at the unexpected gifts 
 and mercies which their great Kinsman has 
 bestowed. 
 
 The Lord not only thus ministers to them 
 personally. He also gives command concern- 
 ing them. His ministers are sent forth to 
 feed his people. In the fulfillment of their 
 duty, they may honestly strive to finish the 
 work committed to them. But they are com- 
 pletely ignorant of the Lord's gracious pur- 
 poses to individuals in their ministry. They 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 813 
 
 try to break the bread of life, with wisdom 
 and justice of application. But whom the 
 Lord intends himself personally to feed, they 
 can never know. They let fall the handfuls 
 of his truth, his gracious promises, his solemn 
 warnings, his earnest appeals, in the pathway 
 of the field as they go on their work. But 
 who shall really gather them, Jesus the 
 Master of the field alone can order. How 
 often some perfect stranger comes into the 
 Church of God, and finds there the very mes- 
 sage which his soul required ! He sees a man 
 who seems to tell him all that he ever did. 
 The very secrets of his heart appear to be dis- 
 closed. He wonders with amazement who can 
 have proclaimed him there. He falls in secret 
 on his face, and gives the glory to God. A 
 handful has been dropped on purpose for him 
 The very thing he wanted, he has found. 
 The very message he had longed for, he has 
 heard. The Lord speaks to him face to face. 
 " Surely," he says, " the Lord is in this place, 
 and I knew it not." Ah ! this is wonderful 
 14 
 
314 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ministration. But this is the Saviour's con- 
 stant ministration. Thus he presents himself 
 as the Master of our assemblies. Thus he 
 comes as the great Prophet and Teacher of 
 his people. Thus by his own Spirit he speaks 
 in secret to their souls, and gives knowledge 
 of salvation to those who are in darkness and 
 the shadow of death. 
 
 my young friends, may he speak so to 
 you ! Open your hearts to receive his truth. 
 Be grateful for his merciful visitations to you. 
 Put nothing in his way, no obstinacy of your 
 wills, no carelessness of your miuds, no fret- 
 falness of your rebellion, no pride of your 
 unbelief, no hesitation to listen to, and obey 
 his word. Is there a message from God for 
 thee to-day ? Then gather it, and treasure 
 it up, as dearer to you than thousands of gold 
 and silver. All the things that can be de- 
 sired are not to be compared with it. A mes- 
 sage of salvation ! A call from Christ to his 
 service and his kingdom ! An invitation to 
 the marriage-supper of the Lamb ! An offer 
 
THE GRACIOUS APPROBATION. 315 
 
 from the Son of God, to feed and bless you 
 with his own hands ! ! it is incomparable 
 blessedness ! It is inconceivable glory ! And 
 vet here it is, given to you ; pressed upon your 
 acceptance, thrust into your bosoms, asking 
 only to be received. Do not reject it. Eter- 
 nity can never remedy the loss which, in a 
 moment of time, you may thus experience. 
 The whole world can never repay for the fail- 
 ure of the blessings which, in a handful of 
 the Saviour's corn, in his own field, may be 
 cast before you in vain. 
 
XIV. 
 
 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out tV,i she had gleaned ; 
 and it was about an ephah of barley. And she *)ok it up, and went 
 into the city : and her mother-in-law saw whr.„ she had gleaned : and 
 she brought forth, and gave to her that sla had reserved after she 
 was sufficed. And her mother-in-law sai.1 unto her, Where hast thou 
 gleaned to-day ? and where wroughtest thou ? blessed be he that did 
 take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with 
 whom she had wrought, and 6aid, The man's name with whom I 
 wrought to-day is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, 
 Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the 
 living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of 
 kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Euth the Moabitess said, 
 lie said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until 
 they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her 
 daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his 
 maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. So she kept fast 
 by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley-harvest and 
 of wheat- harvest; and <3w<^ with her mother-in-law.— Euxn, ii. 
 17-23. 
 
 How imponaxic an office in the provision 
 for human happiness does memory sustain ! 
 We are constantly ascending hights in our 
 journey through life, from which we look 
 back upon the ground over which we have 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVERY. 317 
 
 passed. As we go on, the elevation of these 
 hights increases to the end, and we take still 
 wider and further views of our own conduct 
 and character as they pass before our mind. 
 When the end of the present life shall come, 
 and from eternity we look back upon the 
 whole, how much of our happiness must de- 
 pend upon the memory of the past ! God has 
 graciously designed our memoiy to be the re- 
 pository of joys for us. Every passing day 
 should awaken new songs of gratitude for his 
 goodness. And the close of life ought to be 
 filled with expressions of our thankfulness for 
 the mercies which have crowned the whole. 
 But if we are compelled to look back upon 
 privileges despised, upon mercies wasted, 
 upon precious offers of salvation cast away, 
 upon life all consumed in laboriously doing 
 nothing, how can memory fail to be a store- 
 house of sorrow ? We are compelled to re- 
 member, and we have nothing to remember 
 but that which gives us pain. 0, that I 
 could impress upon all my young friends the 
 
318 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 importance of filling up their life, from the 
 beginning, with happy provisions for the em- 
 ployment of memory in the end ! 
 
 This is the point beautifully illustrated for 
 us in the present portion of the history of 
 Euth. What successful gleanings in a right 
 field ! She perseveres with patience to the 
 end of her day. No gracious kindness of 
 Boaz diminishes her industry. She does not 
 sin because grace abounds. She is not tempt- 
 ed to idleness and self-indulgence because 
 her wants have been so abundantly cared for 
 by him. His tenderness to her becomes, on 
 the contrary, a motive for increased energy 
 and faithfulness. The Christian says, Now 
 let me run, because I shall obtain. Let me 
 work with earnestness and fidelity, because 
 God worketh with me, according to his good 
 pleasure. The more the Saviour blesses us, 
 the more should we feel encouraged to do his 
 will. The very kindness of his invitations 
 and his promises sustains our faith and pa- 
 tience to the end. Thus glean on until the 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVERY. 31^ 
 
 evening. Lay up for yourselves a good found- 
 ation, and build upon it to the end. Let 
 your evidences and fruits be abundant and 
 clear, that an abundant entrance may be 
 ministered to you in the end, into the ever- 
 lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. Euth beats out the barley she 
 had gathered, about an ephah, nearly a 
 bushel. It was a most successful result of 
 her labor for the day. Surely as she looked 
 upon it, her heart swelled with gratitude to 
 God who had led her there, and to Boaz who 
 had welcomed her with such compassion. 
 Her spirit rejoiced in the anticipation of her 
 mother's delight, when she should see the 
 successful result of her work. Now she might 
 reverse Naomi's account of herself, for she 
 went out in the morning empty, and came 
 back in the evening full. She took up her 
 load with joy, heavy as the burden of it really 
 was, and probably no evening of her life had 
 ever been so happy as this, on which she re- 
 turned laden with the fruits of her own in- 
 
320 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 dustry, and of Boaz' munificence to her. 
 She forgot that she was a beggar, in the 
 joyful result of the Lord's goodness to her. 
 
 This I call successful gleaning in a right 
 field. Will a life's gleaning in any other 
 field but that of your rich Kinsman give you 
 the same result ? Will the gleanings of sen- 
 sual pleasure, or of giddy frivolity, or of accu- 
 mulating gain, or of earthly ambition, or of 
 mere indulgence and gratification in any 
 shape, lay up for you this evening fullness on 
 which your memory may delight to dwell ? 
 Will you look back upon a merely worldly, 
 selfish day, when the shadows of the evening 
 are stretched out, and feel that it has been a 
 happy one ? Will you love then, in the pros- 
 pect of eternity, to count your gleanings there, 
 and contemplate the pleasures which they 
 have successively afforded you ? Ah, why do 
 I ask you ? I know it all before your evening 
 comes. " Miserable comforters are ye all," 
 will be the bitter expression of your anguished 
 hearts. The hour has then arrived when 
 
THE HAITI DISCOVERY. 321 
 
 these painted vails are all decayed, and the 
 wretchedness of a life of sin will be seen and 
 felt, without a comforter. There is no suc- 
 cessful gleaning but in the field of Jesus. 
 There are blessings unmingled, pleasures with- 
 out alloy, riches that wax not old. However 
 unworthy may appear your very best attain- 
 ments, however idle and empty may seem 
 your most devoted hours, when compared 
 with the worth of the object you have pur- 
 sued, there will be no disappointment in the 
 object itself. Memory will delight to dwell 
 on the love you have received, on the Saviour's 
 kindness in leading you to his field, on the 
 gracious welcome which made you there at 
 home, on the many tokens of his favor to you, 
 on the gifts of grace which have made your 
 day often unspeakably happy, on the divine 
 strength which encouraged and enabled you 
 to persevere in the path in which he led you. 
 And then, when you reflect upon all that he 
 has done for you and with you, what antici- 
 14* 
 
322 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 pations of delight will arise in the contempla« 
 tion of the future ! 
 
 " His voice, as the sound of the dulcimer sweet ; 
 Is heard through the shadow of death ; 
 The cedars of Lebanon bow at his feet, 
 The air is perfumed with his breath. 
 
 " He looks, and ten thousands of angels rejoice, 
 And myriads wait for his word; 
 He speaks, and eternity, filled with his voice, 
 Reechoes the praise of the Lord." 
 
 But we may follow Kuth with the result of 
 her successful gleanings to her mother's home, 
 and there we find them in mutual congratu- 
 lations over the goodness of the Lord to them 
 both. She carried home her treasure, both 
 the gleanings of the field, and the portion of 
 the provision which Boaz gave her. Naomi 
 looked with astonishment upon her success. 
 Where could she have gleaned to bring back 
 such a result as this ? Who was it that had 
 so favored her gentle, lonely daughter ? Be- 
 fore she has time to learn, she pours out her 
 prayer for the gracious blessings of God to 
 rest upon him. " Blessed be he that did tako 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVEKY, 323 
 
 knowledge of thee/' It was an evening of 
 peace without anxiety, of pleasure without 
 remorse. Which of them derived the most- 
 pleasure from the goodness of God, that had 
 so favored and blessed them on that day, it 
 would be difficult to say. Such mutual con- 
 gratulation and delight can come only in the 
 train of true piety and of faithful devotion to 
 a Saviour's cause. Whether you examine the 
 successive results of life as they are passing, 
 or consider the full issue of it when the whole 
 has gone, the privilege of true Christians is 
 sincere and constant congratulation. The re- 
 sult of all earthly schemes and pursuits is 
 disappointment and recrimination. You may 
 follow the children of pleasure and folly to 
 any point of their history, and whenever 
 they stop to consider, you find them looking 
 back with regret and anguish, and looking 
 upon each other with hostility and bitterness. 
 How often must they exclaim that others 
 have beguiled them into sin ; others tempted 
 them to transgression. They suffer painful, 
 
324 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 dreadful loss, but they charge their guilt, in 
 part at least, upon the companions of their 
 sin. This mutual recrimination among un- 
 pardoned sinners can not but be a permanent 
 result of their transgressions. Whatever they 
 have gained when God taketh away their 
 souls, their only portion is the bitterness of 
 remorse, hateful and hating one another. 
 But the gatherers in the field of Jesus find 
 unmingled joy. He that soweth, and he that 
 reapeth, rejoice together. Converted parents 
 and children delight in each other. Pastors 
 find the ransomed souls which have been 
 given to them, their joy and crown of rejoicing 
 in the presence of the Lord at his coming. 
 As the children of God press onward together, 
 "Oft in danger, oft in woe," they. sing to- 
 gether of the loving-kindness of the Lord. 
 Ketrospection and hope, anticipation and 
 memory combine together, to cause them to 
 triumph in every place. The Kuths come 
 home to pour out the treasures of grace which 
 they have received, and the Naomis give 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVERY. 325 
 
 thanks over thein for the goodness which has 
 taken such knowledge of them. Upon every 
 such habitation the glory of God rests as a 
 crown and a defense. Increasing happiness 
 marks the character and experience of every 
 leligious family, and the ways through which 
 God leads them are ways of pleasantness and 
 peace. These mutual congratulations consti- 
 tute one of the greatest comforts of their jour- 
 ney in life. And the glorious revelations of 
 eternity, when the saints of God have all ar- 
 rived at their home in safety, will show them 
 rejoicing over each other with joy and sing- 
 ing, and uniting in a new and everlasting 
 song of praise for all the triumphs of divine 
 grace, and the treasures of divine love which 
 they have received. How attractive, my dear 
 young friends, is this view of the Christian's 
 condition ! He may be poor, and yet he is 
 happy. He may be lonely, and yet thousands 
 rejoice over him. He may think himself un- 
 known, and yet there are thousands in whom, 
 if he should pair out his heart to them, he 
 
326 THE RICH KINSMAN 
 
 wsuld find the truest and deepest sympathy. 
 let us cast our lot with them ! 
 
 Euth ; made happier by her mother's grat- 
 itude and joy, tells her in whose fields she 
 had been so successfully employed. "The 
 man's name with whom I wrought is Boaz." 
 He was a stranger to her, but not to Naomi. 
 And Naomi instantly discerns the peculiar 
 providence which had thus led her daughter 
 to her kinsman's field. She sees the good- 
 ness of the Lord in this unexpected arrange- 
 ment. This was the kindness of the Lord 
 continued to the living and to the dead. 
 And she gratefully prays that the blessing 
 of this faithful God may rest upon Boaz, 
 who had been employed as the instrument 
 of his mercy this day. She revealed at once 
 to Euth his peculiar relation to them. He 
 was their near kin ; one of their next kins- 
 men — the goel to whom they had a right 
 by God's own law to look for protection and 
 support. I have explained to you before 
 the rights and obligations of this appointed 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVERT. 327 
 
 kinsman. These divine appointments Naomi 
 now explained to Kuth. How happy was 
 the discovery that was thus made ! Kuth 
 found not only that she was not deserted, 
 as she supposed, but that the very man 
 whose relationship she might claim, was the 
 one who had extended such kindness to her 
 when he was unknown and a stranger. Their 
 evening's conversation had now a new sub- 
 ject. And the hours would appear short 
 while they dwelt together upon their kins- 
 man's tenderness, fidelity, and love. 
 
 Thus, as the two disciples went upon their 
 road to Emmaus, a stranger joined their 
 company. He asked the cause of their sad- 
 ness. He remonstrated with their unbelief. 
 He opened the sacred Scriptures, and showed 
 them the divine provisions of a suffering and 
 triumphant Saviour. He joined them at 
 their table, and brake their loaf and gave 
 it to them with his own hands. Their eyes 
 were opened. It was their Lord. They 
 remembered how their hearts had burned 
 
328 THE fllCH KINSMAN. 
 
 within theni while he opened the "bread of 
 life to their souls. How happy was the dis- 
 covery ! They could not contain it in them- 
 selves. Though it was night, and they were 
 sheltered, as they had thought, for the night, 
 they instantly arose and walked back their 
 sixty furlongs' journey to Jerusalem, to teli 
 of all they had seen and heard. Ah, how 
 often is this happy discovery made ! We 
 find the gracious Lord who has fed, pre- 
 served, and blessed us, is our own glorious 
 Eedeemer. Our hearts are converted to him. 
 Our eyes are opened to see him. His perfect 
 Deity becomes manifest in his word. His 
 obedience and death for us are clear and 
 distinct before our view. His precious blood 
 cleanses us. His gracious providence rules 
 us. His Holy Spirit guides us. His ever- 
 lasting arms are under us. We are no longer 
 strangers to his love. We now know who 
 he is, and what he is. And we look back 
 and love to recount the many blessings which 
 we have received from his hands. This is 
 
THE HAPTY DISCOVERY. 329 
 
 the result of simple Gospel teaching under 
 the blessing of the Holy Spirit. We have 
 learned something of the goodness and wis- 
 dom of God before, as our divine Creator — 
 something of what is called natural theology. 
 But when the Holy Spirit teaches our hearts 
 of the fullness of Christ, then we find that 
 our divine Creator is also our dying and 
 exalted Kedeemer, our Kinsman and our 
 friend. This is most precious, happy infor- 
 mation. With what simple faith we can 
 now come to him ! With what affectionate 
 love we can now embrace him ! All that 
 we can desire or want seems now to be laid 
 up in him. We love to think of him — 
 to speak of him — to hear of him. All 
 that we know of him only makes us the 
 more anxious to know him more per- 
 fectly. We welcome the ministry that 
 preaches of him. We love the Bible that 
 proclaims him. He has unsearchable riches 
 of grace, and is all our salvation and all 
 our desire. 
 
330 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 11 Forgotten is each worldly theme 
 
 When Christians meet together thus ; 
 We only wish to speak of him 
 Who lived, and died, and reigns for us. 
 
 " We talk of all he did and said, 
 And suffered for us here below ; 
 The path he marked for us to tread, 
 The love he liveth still to show. 
 
 u Thus, as the moments pass away, 
 We love, and wonder, and adore ; 
 And hasten on the glorious day, 
 
 When we shall meet to part no mere." 
 
 This happy discovery begins at once to 
 open its blessed results to Euth and Naomi. 
 How changed becomes the scene of their life ! 
 How the memory of the past now mingles 
 its light with the joyful anticipations of the 
 future. The first result is their mutual 
 agreement to abide, as their choice, by the 
 hopes which now seemed opening before 
 them. Kuth recounts the gracious en- 
 couragement of Boaz to remain in the field 
 to which the Lord had directed her steps, 
 until the whole harvest had been completed. 
 " He said unto me, thou shalt keep fast by 
 my young men until they have ended all 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVERY. 331 
 
 my harvest." And Naomi responds with 
 
 her cordial approbation. " It is good, my 
 
 daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, 
 
 that they meet thee not in any other field/' 
 
 This is their united choice and determination. 
 
 And this determination Kuth carries out in 
 
 ner persevering conduct. " She kept fast 
 
 by the maidens of Boaz." She persevered 
 
 in her gleanings in his field till both the 
 
 barley and the wheat harvests, which were 
 
 nearly two months apart, were completed. 
 
 It is an interesting illustration of youthful 
 
 fidelity in the Saviour's work. Faithful 
 
 perseverance in the right path even to the 
 
 end. Such fidelity makes its distinct and 
 
 decided choice. The heart can not serve God 
 
 and mammon. The treasure of the soul 
 
 must be single, and its pursuit entire. The 
 
 Saviour's field is perfectly distinct. To be 
 
 in the world as he was in the world, can 
 
 never be unintelligible. To walk in his 
 
 steps, in active duty, and submissive and 
 
 patient endurance, can never involve mys- 
 
332 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 teries of conduct for our interpretation, 
 though, to our evil and corrupt hearts, it 
 may be extremely difficult of attainment. 
 We can never doubt what positive and true 
 religion is in the human character, or what 
 it requires of us ; our questions are never 
 on the side of things which are certainly 
 right ; but on the side of those which are 
 possibly wrong. In such cases, there can 
 be no question that it is right to abstain 
 from that which is not perfectly free from 
 doubt in its indulgence. Happy is it for 
 the young Christian to take a decided, posi- 
 tive standard of conduct ; and in all things 
 to seek and to pursue that which is mani- 
 festly good to the use of edifying, and 
 adapted to minister to a growth in grace, 
 and a real likeness to a holy Master. Such 
 will avoid the scenes and instruments of 
 temptation. " It is good that they meet thee 
 not in any other field/' Let the Gospel 
 itself minister to your pleasures, and be the 
 source of your happiness. Ask for nothing 
 
THE HAPPY EISCOVERY. 333 
 
 winch, you can not find there. Be contented 
 with the blessings which are there provided, 
 and find in the peaceful and self-approving 
 service of your gracious Saviour a joy which 
 all the stormy raptures of the earth can 
 never give. 
 
 In this simple spirit of fidelity persevere to 
 the end of his whole harvest. Boaz began 
 his barley-harvest with presenting to the 
 Lord his first gathered sheaf, as the first 
 fruits of a harvest to come. He ended his 
 wheat harvest, with an offering of two loaves 
 made of fine flour, as an acknowledgment of 
 his work completed, and his toil repaid. 
 Thus in the day of your conversion, render 
 yourself a youthful servant — your best affec- 
 tions, and your most sincere and earnest de- 
 terminations, as a sheaf of your first-fruits for 
 Christ. Through the whole of a Christian 
 life, however long, persevere still in your 
 simple, single walk with God, and devotion to 
 your chosen Master. And be ready, when 
 your work is all complete, to present your 
 
334 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 loaves of fine flour at the close, the record, 
 the fruit, and the evidence, of a whole life 
 devoted with conscious sincerity to the cause 
 of the one Great Master whom you have 
 chosen as your own, and whom you have de- 
 sired faithfully to follow. Set out with the 
 determination, they shall find me in no other 
 field. As long as I live, will I be given to 
 the Lord. Him only will I serve. Maintain 
 your choice and your stand to the end. And 
 have the blessed privilege of looking back to 
 feel that your whole life has been really given 
 a living sacrifice to him. Jesus will present 
 you in your new birth for him a sheaf before 
 the Father's throne, acceptable and well- 
 pleasing in his sight. He will also present 
 you as his well-sifted and baken loaves, 
 proved and tried, when your earthly work is 
 finished, and your heavenly life begins. Let 
 all these illustrations meet in you. Happy 
 will be the life which they describe, and 
 happy the death to which it leads ; and hap- 
 pier far, the eternity, in the glories of which 
 
THE HAPPY DISCOVERY. 335 
 
 it results at last. Never, as the fruit of such 
 a life, will you look hack upon the past with 
 regret ; or round upon your companions with 
 hitter criminations ; cr forward^ to the results 
 of life with fear. Memory and hope will 
 unite to fill your cup with joy, and to minis- 
 ter to all your hours of pleasure their com- 
 bined increase. Every source of reflection 
 becomes a source of happiness. Every object 
 of contemplation an agent or minister of good 
 to you. You may in all things rejoice — in 
 every thing give thanks. You may adopt 
 those affecting lines of Toplady — 
 
 "Sweet to look upward to the place 
 Where Jesus pleads above ; 
 Sweet to look inward, and attend 
 The whispers of his love. 
 
 ,l Sweet to look back and see my name 
 In life's fair book set down ; 
 Sweet to look forward, and behold 
 Eternal joys my own. 
 
 'Sweet to reflect how grace divine 
 
 My sins on Jesu3 laid ; 
 Sweet to remember that his death 
 My debt of suffering paid." 
 
XV. 
 
 ®Ivt flan if !Ust. 
 
 ♦Then Kaomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her, My daughter, shall I 
 not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee ? And now ia 
 not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he 
 winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor. ■ Wash thyself, 
 therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and got 
 thee down to the floor; but make not thyself known unto the man 
 until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be when 
 he lieth down that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and 
 thou shalt go in and uncover his feet, and lay thee down ; and he will 
 tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou 
 sayest unto me I will do. And she went down unto the floor, and did 
 according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. And when Boaz 
 had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down 
 at the end of the heap of corn. And she came softly and uncovered 
 his feet, and laid her down. And it came to pass at midnight, that 
 the man was afraid, and turned himself; and behold a woman lay at 
 his feet. And he said, Who art thou ? And she answered, I am Euth, 
 thine handmaid ; spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid ; for 
 thou art a near kinsman. — Roth, iii. 1-9. 
 
 How many are ready to exclaim, " Kest 
 for my soul I long to find \" When we have 
 been harassed and driven by the pressure of 
 outward cares, or burdened and made sad by 
 disappointment and afflictions, or made to see 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 83T 
 
 and feel the heavier burden of inward sin, the 
 thing for which we ask is rest. The youthful 
 and animated eagerly seek for pleasure and 
 excitement. The aged and the weary desire 
 only rest. To be freed from burdens and 
 toils and human sorrows is in itself, in their 
 view, to be happy. And the subject which 
 we have now before us illustrates and answers 
 the inquiry for rest. It shows us the place of 
 rest. It describes the way to rest. It exhib- 
 its the rest we need and get. The only place 
 of rest for the sinful soul is at the feet of a 
 resting Saviour. Jesus says with the utmost 
 freedom and assurance, " Come unto me, all 
 ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will 
 give you rest." 
 
 Naomi says to Kuth, " shall I not seek rest 
 for thee, that it may be well with thee ?" She 
 desired rest from her wanderings in a home 
 of peace ; rest from her poverty in a sheltered 
 provision for her wants ; rest from her loneli- 
 ness in the sympathy and tenderness of others, 
 who could encourage and protect her; rest 
 15 
 
338 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 from her aoxious cares in some merciful >.nd 
 sufficient arrangement for her future welfare. 
 The need of all this in Kuth's solitary and 
 exposed condition, Naomi well understood, 
 and therefore wisely and kindly planned for 
 its attainment. 
 
 But we may well immediately carry her 
 question forward to another and higher appli- 
 cation. There is a rest which we all should 
 seek, both for ourselves and for each other. 
 It is rest from the condemnation of our guilt, 
 and the just fear of its punishment ; rest 
 from the bitter accusations of our own con- 
 science, and pardon and peace to be minis- 
 tered there ; rest from our agitating passions 
 and corrupt desires, in the renewing of our 
 mind and heart for the service and love of 
 God ; rest from the rebellion of our perverse 
 wills, in quiet submission to the divine will 
 and commands ; rest from all anxieties for 
 our future life, in an assured trust in the mer- 
 oiful and gracious providence of a faithful 
 Creator ; rest from all terrors and doubts in 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 839 
 
 connection with another life to come, in that 
 perfect love of Christ which casteth out fear. 
 We need that peace which God alone can 
 give us, and which his Spirit only can minister 
 to our hearts. While we are unpardoned in 
 our guilt, and unconverted in our hearts, we 
 can have no rest. Not all the provisions of 
 the world could give us the rest we need. 
 You wander in sin and folly, and your souls 
 remain unsatisfied and unhlest, having no 
 hope, and without God in the world. How 
 sad and wretched is such a state of mind ! In 
 the midst of outward blessings which you can 
 not enjoy, because your hearts within have no 
 peace with God ; in the possession of advan- 
 tages and gifts which seem to he vain, from the 
 sadness and loneliness of spirit which still reigns 
 within. This is the state of worldly minds 
 around us. " Who will show us any good ?" 
 they cry on every side, because their real, great 
 wants are perfectly unsatisfied. " There is 
 no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 
 When we see and think of such unhappy 
 
340 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 persons, shall we not seek rest for them, and 
 shall, we not urge them to seek for rest, that 
 it may be well with them ? This is the ob- 
 ject for which the Gospel is preached among 
 them, to awaken their minds to seek and ob- 
 tain the rest in God which it offers. We 
 know that the soul which has no rest in 
 Christ, can have no rest in any other possess- 
 ion. You may for a season blind your eyes 
 to your need, and harden your hearts against 
 the sorrows which the consciousness of that 
 need will bring upon you. But this is a tem- 
 porary delusion. Its power to deceive will 
 soon pass by. Your days of indulgence and 
 folly will come to their inevitable conclusion. 
 You can then be imposed upon no longer. 
 God will send his convincing Spirit to your 
 conscience, and sin in its condemning power 
 will revive, and all your joys will die. Then you 
 will seek for rest. Your heart will cry out, — 
 
 *' O, where shall rest be found! 
 Best for the weary soul ; 
 'Twere vain the ocean's depths to sound, 
 Or pierce to either pole. 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 341 
 
 " The world can never give 
 
 The peace for which we sigh. 
 It is not all of life to live, 
 Nor all of death to die." 
 
 Now, we knew all this before, and with the 
 earnest anxiety of real affection for you ; and 
 interest in you, we say, " Shall we not seek 
 rest for you, that it may be well with you ?" 
 Never can it be well with you until you find 
 that rest which the present world can never 
 give you. 
 
 This rest of which we speak is only to be 
 found at the feet of a resting Saviour. I 
 should esteem it very wrong and unnecessary 
 to enter into any attempted apology for 
 Naomi's direction to Kuth. I should be sorry 
 to think any such attempt were necessary. 
 The divine law gave to Kuth the right to her 
 kinsman's protection and guardian care. And 
 Naomi, in perfect confidence in the religious 
 integrity of Boaz, and the virtuous purity of 
 Kuth, laid out the plan by which, in what 
 she esteemed the best and most proper way, 
 she should present her claim to her kinsman's 
 
342 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 protection and notice. The primitive and pas- 
 toral life to which they were habituated, made 
 that conduct consistent with the propriety of 
 their several characters, which other circum- 
 stances of life would not allow. And it would 
 be equally dishonorable to ourselves, and in- 
 jurious to the history, to take any other than a 
 religious view of the scene which it describes. 
 Boaz has finished the labor of gathering 
 his harvest. He has winnowed his grain from 
 the chaff. He has celebrated with grateful 
 joy his harvest festival. And, in the sim- 
 plicity of his rural habits, he reposes himself 
 after the weariness of days of labor, at the 
 end of the heap of corn which he had 
 gathered. He has completed his work, and 
 entered into his rest. How beautifully the 
 story illustrates the triumphant rest of our 
 glorious Kinsman and Kedeemer ! He came 
 to earth for his day of toil and travail. On 
 these very fields of Bethlehem he began the 
 work of that acceptable day of the Loid. 
 He journeyed patiently through all its hours 
 
THE PLACE OF BEST. 343 
 
 of labor. He endured the reproach and the 
 suffering of his great undertaking. He per- 
 severed through all the obligations which it 
 laid upon him. The fields were white for the 
 harvest which he came to gather. The souls 
 of his people were waiting for the completion 
 of their redemption by his death. The evening 
 of his day drew nigh, and he felt straitened 
 to accomplish the work which had been given 
 him to do. He gave himself up in death, a 
 voluntary sacrifice for the sins of our lost 
 race. He died upon the cross as the ransom 
 for his chosen flock. His work was finished, 
 and his Church was redeemed. For the joy 
 that was set before him, he endured the cross 
 and despised the shame. He arose in tri- 
 umph. He ascended to his glory. He sat 
 down on his throne, henceforth expecting, till 
 his enemies be made his footstool. He has 
 entered into his rest. He is receiving his 
 reward. He is seeing of the travail of 
 his soul, and is satisfied. As he gathers 
 his people to himself, he winnows his wheat 
 
344 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 from the chaff, and fills up his heavenly 
 garner. Jesus is now a resting Saviour. He 
 reigns in the midst of his heavenly glory, and 
 celebrates his harvest-feast in the constant 
 gathering of his redeemed. All his days of 
 sorrow and weariness are over. He surveys 
 with delight the increasing triumphs of his 
 grace. Precious in his sight is the death of 
 his saints. Angelic messengers bring home 
 his sheaves, conduct his ransomed, sanctified 
 people to their eternal glory ; and constantly 
 increase the joy of his heavenly habitation. 
 And in our hopeful, happy faith, we look up- 
 ward to see our glorious Lord, no longer a 
 man of sorrows, but the King of Saints. He 
 is clothed with our form. He is in our na- 
 ture, our great Kinsman and Brother. But 
 he has completely purchased for himself a, 
 holy Church, which is to be for ever with him, 
 without spot, or blemish, or wrinkle, shining 
 in his own righteousness, and in his everlast- 
 ing glory. And there, at the feet of a tri- 
 umphant, resting Saviour, is our place of rest. 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 345 
 
 Never, never shall we find rest until we find 
 it there. To have our part in glory is to 
 have our part with Christ. 
 
 And how clearly the way to find this rest 
 is here displayed ! With perfect confidence 
 in the goodness, wisdom, and fidelity of Boaz, 
 Kuth carries out her mother's direction. She 
 marks the place where he is reposing amidst 
 the gains of his harvest. She places herself 
 in simple, affectionate trust at his feet. She 
 waits to hear the instructions which he will 
 give her. She goes to him freely, and with- 
 out fear. She hesitates not, doubts not, in 
 obeying the guidance which she has received. 
 And she finds, as the result, the rest she asks. 
 I know not how I could give to a youthful 
 inquirer a better direction than this. Mark 
 where Jesus, your great Kinsman, is to be 
 found. You hear of him in his Word. You 
 listen there to the story of his triumphs and 
 his mercies. You hear of his death for you, 
 and his acceptance in your behalf before the 
 Father's throne. It is with the ear of faith 
 15* 
 
346 THE EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 you listen, and with the eye of faith you sea 
 him ; with the heart of faith you are to go 
 to him. It is with you no outward bodily 
 journey, but the inward action of the heart 
 and mind. Behold him thus a triumphant 
 Saviour for you ; clothed with a vesture 
 dipped in blood, as the accepted sacrifice 
 for your transgressions. Go, uncover his feet, 
 and lay thee down there with perfect free- 
 dom. Believe and feel that he has finished 
 your work, and that his rest is your rest. 
 Do not fear that he will reject you. Think 
 not that he will be displeased at the con- 
 fidence with which you come, as if it were 
 presumption. There is no presumption in 
 reposing your sinful soul at the feet of one 
 who has lived and died wholly for you. Go 
 with unshrinking confidence and trust, and 
 let nothing separate you from his love. Go 
 to him in conscious unworthiness of his 
 mercy ; with a deep sense of your own guilti- 
 ness in his sight ; but with an affectionate 
 dependence on his mind toward you. Doubt 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 347 
 
 not, but earnestly believe that he really loves 
 yon ; that he has truly atoned for you ; that 
 he has completely redeemed you ; that he 
 has freely forgiven you, and blotted out your 
 transgressions, and will no more remember 
 your sins. Believe all this, because he tells 
 you it all, over and over again — in every 
 variety of testimony — in his Word. Go, 
 give yourself up in an affectionate dedication 
 to him ; and ask his gracious and unfailing 
 protection and defense as your Kinsman and 
 Kedeemer ; and allow no single doubt to 
 rise that he will receive you. This is the 
 work of his Spirit in your own secret heart. 
 It is all within you. It is a transaction 
 between yourself and Jesus. It is for you 
 to do it. Others can only aid by counsel 
 and guidance. The Holy Spirit must lead 
 you alone, in the silent, secret action of your 
 own heart, when the world may be all asleep 
 around you, and no earthly companion may 
 know the experience or purpose of your mind 
 within. Thus go to the feet of Jesus and 
 
348 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 lay you down with perfect confidence, and 
 with a fixed determination there to abide 
 for ever. And there is the place of rest. 
 And thus, in the simple trusting of a 
 believing heart, the sinner finds the rest ho 
 seeks. 
 
 " I '11 go to Jesus, though my sin 
 Hath like a mountain rose ; 
 I know his courts, I '11 enter in, 
 Whatever may oppose. 
 
 " Prostrate I '11 lie before his throne, 
 And there my guilt confess ; 
 I '11 tell him I 'm a wretch undone, 
 Without his sovereign grace." 
 
 The plea of Kuth to Boaz is a perfect 
 illustration of the plea with which you must 
 come to the great Saviour of your soul. She 
 tells him her ' name. "I am Kuth." She 
 acknowledges her lowliness and poverty. She 
 reminds him of his peculiar relation to her. 
 " Thou art a near kinsman." She pleads with 
 him humbly, but affectionately, for his pro- 
 tection and defence. " Spread therefore thy 
 skirt over thine handmaid." It is the lan- 
 guage of deep humility, but of entire con- 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 349 
 
 fidence. " I know in whom I have believed, 
 and I am persuaded that he will keep that 
 which I have committed unto him." With 
 just such a plea may you go to the feet 
 of your great Kedeemer, and with the same 
 success. Does he ask you, " Who art thou ?" 
 Tell him your sinful state and character. 
 Acknowledge before him your poverty and 
 your rebellion ; your corrupt and fallen 
 nature, and your thoughtless, wasteful, and 
 disobedient life. Be not afraid to confess 
 your sins before him freely and without 
 reserve. He came to seek and to save that 
 which is lost. He knows how completely 
 lost you are, and he would have you feel 
 it and know it too. Your plea is not your 
 penitence, but your guilt ; not your return, 
 but your ruin. "I am Ruth, ' not an 
 Israelite, but a child of Moab. I have no- 
 thing. I have done nothing that is good. 
 I can do nothing. I am utterly oppressed, 
 Lord undertake for me. Thou seest that I 
 put not my trust in any thing that I do, 
 
350 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 This is the lowly, self-renouncing plea of con- 
 scious poverty. Say not more than you feel. 
 But strive to feel all that you ought to say. 
 
 Plead with Jesus his own relation to you. 
 He is a near kinsman, the qualified and 
 appointed goel for your sinful soul. He has 
 the right and the power to redeem you. 
 And he has given you the right to plead 
 with him for the exercise of this power. You 
 may go and claim from him the offered mani- 
 festation of his own grace, and the fulfillment 
 of his own promises. You may remind him 
 of his own assumption of your nature, and 
 his dying in the very likeness, and under 
 the sorrows, of your sinful flesh, that he 
 might redeem and purchase you as a living 
 sacrifice for himself. "What a beautiful illus- 
 tration of such a plea our Litany gives us ! 
 We plead with him there to deliver us by 
 the power and worth of his own incarnation, 
 his agony and bloody sweat, his precious 
 death, his glorious resurrection. We remind 
 him of these as the evidences of his kinsman- 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 351 
 
 relation to us, of his experience of our need ; 
 and we beg him to apply their worth and 
 influence for our deliverance. You may 
 plead with him his mighty power. He is 
 God over all, able to save unto the uttermost 
 all who come unto him. His perfect right- 
 eousness has been accepted for you. His 
 triumphant power is held for you. He is 
 mighty to save. None who come unto him 
 can be cast out. He has given you this right 
 to come, and no one will be permitted to 
 take it from you. You may plead with him 
 his true and unchangeable Word, his precious 
 promises, upon the certainty of which he has 
 caused you to hope, and in the security of 
 which you place your trust. Can he refuse to 
 hear, or to fulfill the word that he has spoken ? 
 
 " Lord, if ray soul was then beloved, 
 love me always to the end ; 
 Let not thy favor be removed, 
 Eemain my everlasting friend. 
 
 " I know the Saviour died for me, 
 For me, that Holy Lamb was slain , 
 In him I claim my part with thee, 
 His precious death can not be vain." 
 
352 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Thus, with complete self-renunciation, but 
 with entire faith in your Kinsman's sympathy 
 and power, and with a sure confidence in the 
 success of your plea, and the accomplishment 
 of his Word, you may come to Jesus, and 
 build your lowly tabernacle at his feet, re- 
 solved to live and to die with him. Like 
 Kuth, your petition is, "Spread thy skirt 
 over thy handmaid, for thou art a near kins- 
 man." Cover me with thy perfect right- 
 eousness, that I may be justified in thee. 
 Overshadow me with thy divine protection, 
 that I may be guarded by thee. Acknowl- 
 edge me as thine, that I may rejoice in my 
 everlasting union with thee. Be thou for 
 me in judgment, to plead my cause, and 
 answer the accusations against me ; in advo- 
 cacy, to intercede in my behalf; in recom- 
 pense, to be my everlasting portion and my 
 soul's salvation. My dear young friends, make 
 this your only, constant plea, as you come to 
 a Saviour's feet. Think with grateful love 
 of the value of his work for you, and the 
 
THE PLACE CF REST. 353 
 
 peifect sufficiency of his grace in your behalf. 
 Let nothing interpose to keep you separate 
 from him, or to awaken an unbelieving dis- 
 trust of his mind toward you. Never stop to 
 ask whether you have a right to go to him. 
 But go in the right which he has himself 
 bestowed upon your sinful race. He calls the 
 lost, and you are lost. He saves the guilty, 
 and you are guilty. He heals the sick, and 
 you are sick. He consoles the wretched, and 
 you are wretched. He receiveth sinners, and 
 you are sinners. Go to him, then, as if 
 he called you by your own names, and say, 
 " Here am I, for thou callest me \" " I am 
 Ruth." I am lost, poor, wretched, sinful. 
 But thou art my near kinsman. Thou hast 
 been made sin for me, that I might be made 
 the righteousness of God in thee. Spread 
 thy skirt over me ; and hide me, my 
 Saviour hide, till the storm of life be past. 
 
 This is your place of Eest. And it is rest 
 for ever. How many myriads of the lost have 
 proved it so ! What multitudes in glory live 
 
354 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 to witness that the Lord Jesus freely receives, 
 fully forgives, and everlastingly saves, all who 
 come to him. None who trust in him can be 
 forsaken. A youthful Christian, in the last 
 hours of her pilgrimage, thus expressed, in 
 lines of singular beauty, the triumphant con- 
 fidence of her ransomed soul : 
 
 "Shed not a tear for me, 
 0, weep not that I die ; 
 I am where I would be, 
 In perfect peace I lie. 
 A Eefuge I have found through grace, 
 And Jesus is my Kesting-place. 
 
 " The storms of life are o'er, 
 The conflict soon shall cease, 
 Doubts interpose no more, 
 Now I have perfect peace. 
 This Eefuge I have found through grace, 
 And Jesus is my Eesting-place. 
 
 "His precious blood was shed 
 Sin's deadly wound to heal; 
 To that full fountain led, 
 This perfect peace I feel. 
 Its Eefuge I have found through grace, 
 And Jesus is my Eesting-p ace. 
 
 " Naught else have I to plead, 
 No other claim to show; 
 
THE PLACE OF REST. 355 
 
 In Christ is all I need, 
 His perfect peace I know. 
 That Eefuge I have found through grace, 
 And Jesus is my Resting-place. 
 
 "No painful doubta annoy ; 
 Jesus is ever nigh; 
 No fears disturb my joy, 
 In perfect peace I die. 
 This Refuge I have found through grace, 
 And Jesus is my Resting-place, 
 
 " Shed not a tear for me, 
 Weep not that I am gone, 
 I am where I would be, 
 Before my Father's throne. 
 That Eefuge I have found through grace, 
 Jesus is still my Kesting-place. 
 
 This was the spirit and the choice of Kuth. 
 This may be, ought to be yours. She found 
 her place of rest at her kinsman's feet. Yours 
 is also there. In simple, happy faith she 
 trusted in her Saviour's power. " Trust ye in 
 the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is 
 everlasting strength." 
 
XVI. 
 
 ®Irt |irst-|ruits af <§rm. 
 
 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter ; for thou hast 
 showed more kindness at the latter end than in the beginning; 
 inasmuch as thou followedst not young men whether poor or rich. 
 And now my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou re- 
 quirest; for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a vir- 
 tuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman ; how- 
 beit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall 
 be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a 
 kinsman, well ; let him do the kinsman's part; but if he will not do 
 the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to 
 thee, as the Lord liveth : lie down until the morning. And she lay 
 at his feet until the morning; and she rose up before one could know 
 another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into 
 the floor. Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and 
 hold it. And when she held it he measured six measures of barley, 
 and laid it on her, and she went into the city. And when she came 
 to her mother-in-law she said, "Who art thou, my daughter? And she 
 told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, these six 
 measures of barley gave he me ; for he said to me, Go not empty 
 unto thy mother-in-law. Then said she, Sit still my daughter, until 
 thou know how the matter will fall ; for the man will not be in rest 
 until he have finished the thing this day.— Euth iii. 10-18. 
 
 All the circumstances of this history are so 
 illustrative of the mutual relations between 
 the Christian and his Saviour, that I hardly 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 357 
 
 know how to pass so lightly over them. Yet 
 our reasonable space does not permit me to 
 be more minute. When we think of the Sa- 
 viour's feet as our place of rest, the view will 
 not be confined to the first coming of the 
 awakened sinner thither. The Christian 
 loves to go there, and to be there to the end. 
 He would every day follow the example of 
 Kuth, and seek for the divine anointing and 
 washing of the Holy Spirit, that he may go 
 and prove the condescending kindness of his 
 Lord. He would constantly beg of him to 
 spread over him the skirt of his righteousness, 
 and the garment of his salvation ; and be- 
 troth him unto himself for ever, in faithful- 
 ness and loving-kindness, that he may know 
 him to be his Lord. But the particular view 
 which I have taken of this history here has 
 led me to confine my illustrations to the first 
 coming of a new-born soul to the Saviour's 
 feet, and the first gracious acceptance of such 
 a soul in the freeness and fullness of his love. 
 And with this selected and limited view I 
 
358 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 must of necessity proceed. The passage be- 
 fore us gives a copious illustration of the first- 
 fruits of grace to the accepted soul. Jesus 
 welcomes, blesses, and abundantly rewards all 
 who thus come unto him. 
 
 First we have divine approval. Boaz does 
 not reject or repel the lowly suitor at his feet. 
 The difference in their outward conditions 
 was great. He was the rich master of the 
 field, and she the poor, beggared wanderer, 
 who had been gleaning from his bounty. Yet 
 he neither chides her boldness, nor reproaches 
 her with her sorrow, nor refuses her plea. He 
 listens to her prayer in kindness. He invokes 
 the divine blessing upon her in her need. He 
 is grateful for the confidence in him which 
 she has displayed. He acknowledges the un- 
 spotted excellence of her character, and the 
 purity of her reputation and motives. His 
 whole reception of her is encouraging and 
 affectionate, and another illustration of that 
 pure and elevated dignity which can conde- 
 scend without meanness, and can maintain 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. &d 
 
 its own stand of exalted delicacy without an 
 effort, and while it seems to have forgotten 
 and disregarded it. And how his whole ad- 
 dress to her illustrates the Saviour's gracious 
 approval of those who seek him ! When the 
 wearied soul comes to the feet of Jesus, this 
 is ever the welcome of approbation which it 
 receives. The Saviour takes immediate notice 
 of the prayer which rises up before him, and 
 answers it with the kindest encouragement. 
 Mothers pressed their babes upon him for a 
 blessing, and his disciples forbade their ap- 
 parent presumption. But Jesus said, " Suf- 
 fer them to come unto me, and forbid them 
 not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
 Poor sufferers followed him in the crowd, and 
 cried after him for mercy. Disciples were 
 annoyed at the interruption, and said, " Send 
 them away." But Jesus turned to them with 
 kindness, and heard their prayers, and dis- 
 tributed the blessings which they severally 
 needed. This is his course with all who really 
 seek him. No application is wearisome to 
 
360 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 him. And no sincere and humble application 
 can be offensive. He meets you with divine 
 approval. You may bring your burden to his 
 feet, and with entire confidence cast yourself 
 upon his bounty and love. And he will wel- 
 come you with a gracious smile. His own 
 Spirit will minister this approval to your 
 heart. You will find him giving a secret 
 peace. Your soul will have comfort and rest. 
 The choice you have made will seem to you a 
 happy choice. The position you have as- 
 sumed will be found a place of defence and 
 tranquillity. How different become your feel- 
 ings toward a Saviour, and your views of his 
 character ! How confidently you can now trust 
 in him, and feel sure that he loves you and 
 blesses you ! You feared to come in your 
 poverty, and with the vileness of your sin. 
 You doubted his readiness to receive you, 
 and whether he would not repel you, and 
 drive you back. You feared he would ask 
 something which you could not give ; and 
 would disregard your plea of absolute need 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 361 
 
 and deep distress. But how your fears mis- 
 represented his gracious mind ! You can now 
 look up to him, and say, " Thou knowest that 
 I love thee ;" and with equal assurance, " I 
 know the love thou hast toward me." This 
 divine approval, ministered to you by the 
 Holy Spirit, renews your strength, fills you 
 with joy, prepares you for duty, enables you 
 to delight in his commands, and sends you 
 forth with a cheerful spirit to do his will. 
 You are freely pardoned ; you are graciously 
 accepted ; your cares and fears have been re- 
 moved ; the Saviour loves you and has heard 
 your prayer ; and now, you have nothing to 
 do but to go out and obey him, and serve 
 him with a cheerful heart, and with newness 
 and freeness of spirit, all your days. What 
 an entire change of mind does this divine ap- 
 proval work ! It makes our whole course 
 happy and free. The service of our master 
 becomes our delight. " All the work we do 
 below is light for such a Lord." Martha's 
 mind, cumbered with much serving, and caTe- 
 16 
 
362 THE RICH KINSMAN". 
 
 ful and troubled about many things, gives 
 place to Mary's free and tranquil mind which 
 delights to sit at a Saviour's feet, and hear 
 his words, and do his will, and look forward, 
 rejoicing, to his glory. 
 
 Boaz next illustrates for us the Divine 
 Promises. He meets the full requisition of 
 his suppliant. He assures her that all her 
 rights shall be acknowledged, her claims shall 
 be respected, and the full duties of her goel, 
 her appointed kinsman, shall be performed. 
 He bids her to exercise perfect faith in his 
 word. " As the Lord liveth," he says, " I will 
 do it ; lie down until the morning." What 
 full assurance does he encourage her to have 
 in his promise ! And with what satisfied 
 reliance does she receive his promise, and re- 
 pose upon it ! Here is another of the first- 
 fruits of grace, and one of inestimable worth. 
 We have the exceeding great and precious 
 promises which the Saviour gives to his chosen 
 people, and the faith with which he enables 
 them, to rest upon them. St. Peter says, 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 363 
 
 " His divine power hath given unto us al] 
 things that pertain to life and godliness, 
 through the knowledge of him ; whereby are 
 given unto us exceeding great and precious 
 promises, that by these ye might be partakers 
 of the divine nature/' These precious promises 
 which the divine power of our great Kinsman 
 so freely gives us, cover all the necessities of 
 our being and all our possible happiness, for 
 time and for eternity. There is not a want 
 which the Christian feels, for which there is 
 not a provision promised in the word of God. 
 And when we come to ask his mercy, and 
 lay ourselves at his feet in humble dedication 
 to him, the Saviour takes all our concerns 
 into his own hands, and himself promises to 
 provide for every need. To strengthen our 
 faith in his word, he confirms it with an 
 oath, that we might have a strong consola- 
 tion, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold of 
 the hope which he has set before us. Like 
 Boaz, he says, " I will surely do the part of a 
 kinsman for you/' I will ransom you com- 
 
364 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 pletely. I will restore all that you have 
 lost. I will make full satisfaction for your 
 faults. I will adopt you for my own. I 
 will unite you unto myself. I will justify 
 and enrich you with my own righteousness 
 and power. I will renew your nature, and 
 prepare you for an inheritance of glory. I 
 will restore that inheritance to you, and you 
 shall he mine for ever. These are precious 
 promises indeed. You may make a catalogue 
 of human wants, and then you may go 
 through the Scripture and place opposite to 
 each some special promise particularly de- 
 signed for its relief. And all these are now 
 given to every child of God. They are the 
 present property of the pardoned sinner. He 
 goes on his way, not uncertainly, or in fear, 
 but under the bountiful and supreme guid- 
 ance and protection, of one who has assumed 
 the whole care of him, and is able to enrich 
 him with everlasting wealth. My dear young 
 friends, you may always consider these prom- 
 ises as your own. They are meant for you. 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 365 
 
 Whenever you come to any particular trial or 
 crisis of your life, see what is the promise which 
 is laid up for you. Believe it. Expect its 
 fulfillment. Do not doubt that your Blessed 
 Lord will certainly fulfill it to you. "He 
 that belie veth, shall not make haste ;" " shall 
 not be confounded ;" " shall not be ashamed.'** 
 Lie at the feet of your gracious Kinsman 
 until the morning. Through the whole night 
 of this dark and sinful world, repose upon his 
 word with a perfect trust. Be sure that the 
 heavens and the earth must pass away sooner 
 than his gracious word can fail. This living, 
 peaceful faith, he will certainly bestow. He 
 will enable you to be the praise of his glory, 
 by making you to trust in him. This makes 
 a life of rest, and peace, and joyful hope. 
 And as we think of his promises, and medi- 
 tate upon his word in our night-watches, we 
 feel that these precious promises are indeed 
 an inestimable gift of grace. But they are a 
 free gift, a gift of grace. They do not de- 
 pend upon our character, but upon the truth 
 
366 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 of his word. Our reason for trusting them, 
 and expecting their fulfillment, is not our 
 own excellence or improvement, but the cer- 
 tainty and faithfulness of the Saviour's word. 
 Do not fall into the snare of thinking the 
 promises are not for you. Take them as 
 blanks which the Lord hath given you. 
 "Write your own name in them. Fill them 
 up with the supply you need. And then 
 carry them to his own feet, and say, " Lord, 
 this is the word in which thou hast caused 
 me to trust. Let thy word be fulfilled to thy 
 servant. Be it unto me according to thy 
 word." And never shall you find the promise 
 fail, or your faith in the promise to be in 
 vain. With these inestimable treasures of 
 divine approval, and divine promises, you 
 shall go on your way, enriched and full, 
 and rejoicing in the lo\ing-kindness of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Another of the first-fruits of grace which 
 we find in this illustration is the bounty of 
 divine gifts. Boaz not only promises for the 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 367 
 
 future, but he bestows in the present. He 
 will not send Euth away empty. He fills her 
 vail with as much barley as she could carry 
 to her mother. An abundant supply for 
 the wants of both. * He is as generous in the 
 amount of his liberality as he is delicate and 
 free in the manner of its bestowal. Every 
 new exhibition of his mind and feeling in- 
 creases the admiration which his whole char- 
 acter has produced. Thus the Saviour richly 
 and freely bestows his gifts of grace upon 
 those who love him. What sweet peace he 
 pours into the conscience in the assurance 
 of our forgiveness ! What clear light he 
 gives to the understanding of his whole 
 method of salvation and scheme of truth ! 
 What solidity he bestows upon the judgment, 
 in its satisfaction with his plans revealed ! 
 What joy he awakens in the heart, in the 
 hope and anticipation of his final glory ! 
 What firm trust he imparts in the certainty 
 of his Word of promise ! What strength 
 he furnishes for actual contest, and boldness 
 
368 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 in the day of battle ! What contentment 
 and quietness he gives under the visitations 
 of distress ! How he makes our whole path 
 a path of increasing light and abounding 
 peace ! These are his constant ministrations, 
 his daily gifts to those who truly believe in 
 him. He saves us now. The salvation which 
 he bestows is not a mere future possible 
 blessing. It is an actual present possession 
 and gift. In the enjoyment of it we rejoice, 
 as partakers of a heavenly calling and a 
 heavenly treasure. This makes our religious 
 life a happy life. We find the service of God 
 to be perfect freedom. It becomes our de- 
 light to do his will, and his law is written 
 in our hearts. 
 
 These divine gifts are by no means equally 
 enjoyed by all who truly believe. I will not 
 say even that they can be. We must remem- 
 ber and acknowledge the absolute sovereigu 
 right of God to bestow the gifts of his grace 
 according to his own good pleasure. We 
 have no rights in the case. What he gives 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 369 
 
 he givres freely. And no one may say to him, 
 " What doest thou ?" But this we may say, 
 and must say, that all our religious enjoyments 
 will be in proportion to the reality and sim- 
 plicity of our faith. The Saviour still habit- 
 ually says, "According to your faith be it 
 unto you/' If we wait upon him we renew 
 our strength. In him we are never strait- 
 ened. The more diligently and truly we 
 wait upon him, the more abundantly will 
 our strength be renewed. He will freely say 
 to us, like Boaz to Kuth, "Bring the vail 
 that thou hast upon thee, and hold it." 
 Whatever we are ready to receive he is wait- 
 ing to bestow. The vail of Kuth is our own 
 simple filial faith in the promises and power of 
 God. With such a faith, we go from our com- 
 munion with him, laden with his bounties, 
 
 But the illustration from the vail of Kuth 
 fails, in the important fact, that its meas- 
 ure was fixed, but our capacity to hold 
 increases with our receipts of the divine 
 bounty. And who shall tell where God'e 
 16* 
 
370 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 gracious tvillingness to bestow shall find 
 its limit. As faith enlarges, and we learn 
 to expect large things, and to attempt 
 large things, so also becomes enlarged the 
 measure of grace which faith receives. 
 Every divine gift is thus increasing in our 
 possession as we are faithful in their use. 
 The Saviour gives remarkable promises to 
 our faith. It can remove mountains of dif- 
 ficulty. All things are possible to him that 
 believeth. And, however we may limit such 
 expressions in our interpretation, we can not 
 refuse to recognize the great principle of the 
 divine promise, that a rich abundance of 
 grace is always ready to be bestowed upon 
 the exercise of our simple faith in God our 
 Saviour. We may grow in grace even to 
 the end. We may enter into the city of our 
 final glory at last with triumph, "having 
 all things ours," because we are Christ's. 
 We may go home to Zion with songs and 
 everlasting joy upon our heads ; and be 
 gathered in our full age, whether we bo 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 371 
 
 }oung or old, "like 'as a shock of corn cometh 
 in in his season." 
 
 try to have it so. Be covetous of divine 
 gifts in this more excellent way. Stretch out 
 the' vail of your faith and your desires yet 
 more and more, that you may receive from 
 the Saviour's fullness grace upon grace, and 
 come behind in no gift. Happy will be your 
 offerings of praise at last for all these boun- 
 ties. With what delight Kuth recounted to 
 her mother the rich bounty of Boaz ! And 
 with what mutual pleasure they dwelt to- 
 gether upon his increasing kindness to them ! 
 Thus will your happy soul be employed. 
 " Eternity too short to utter all his praise." 
 And in the ages to come, with the multitude 
 of his redeemed, will you adore his goodness, 
 which had compassion on you when you were 
 dead in your sins, which enriched you with 
 every blessing of his kingdom, and has 
 crowned you at the last in everlasting glory. 
 
 The history before us illustrates the divine 
 iidelity. With what confidence Naomi trustf 
 
372 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 in the truth and faithfulness of Boaz ! 
 " Sit still, my daughter, until thou know 
 how the matter will fall ; for the man will 
 not be in rest until he have finished the 
 thing this day/' The result proved that hei 
 confidence was not misplaced. He did com- 
 plete with entire success the work of protec- 
 tion and mercy which he had undertaken. 
 It is upon such entire fidelity in our gracious 
 Kinsman that we are required to place oui 
 trust. " Great is his faithfulness." " His 
 name is called Faithful and True." St. 
 Paul tells the Philippians that this was the 
 very thing in which he had perfect confidence 
 — that he which had begun a good work in 
 them would perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ. He tells us even further, that it is 
 meet, or just and right to think so. We 
 ought to have this confidence in the faith- 
 fulness of a divine Saviour. He is eminently 
 worthy of it. It is upon this that he com- 
 mands and causes us to trust. He has 
 undertaken to bring his people to e tern a J 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 373 
 
 glory ; to lead the sons of God to their 
 everlasting home in the presence of their 
 Father. Whom he calls, he justifies ; and 
 whom he justifies, he glorifies. " He will not 
 be in rest until he have finished this thing." 
 Jesus is as desirous of our salvation as we 
 can ever be. Do I say as desirous ? He is 
 far more anxious for it than we can conceive. 
 How he bears with us, and contends with us, 
 and pities us in our individual character, 
 after all that he has done and suffered for us 
 in his own flesh on the earth ! Through 
 what trials and sorrows he goes, enduring the 
 contradiction of sinners against himself, in 
 bringing home his children unto eternal life ! 
 When you read the seventeenth chapter of 
 St. John, you see the deep concern of his own 
 spirit for the salvation of his flock. He 
 prays that they may be kept ; that none of 
 them may be lost ; that they may all be 
 permitted to see his glory. Thus he ever 
 liveth to make intercession for them. He 
 promises them that they shall never perish. 
 
374 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 ind no one shall pluck them out of his hand. 
 This faithfulness of Jesus refers to his whole 
 ransomed family, and personally to every 
 individual in it. It is the great source of our 
 comfort and of our hope. He who has laid 
 the foundation will also bring forth the top- 
 stone, with shoutings of Grace, Grace unto it. 
 In this fidelity of Christ we are ever to con- 
 fide. Our simple faith is to be still, and 
 know that he is God. Like the Israelites at 
 the Ked Sea, we have the two commands 
 given to us, " Stand still, and see the salva- 
 tion of God," and " Speak unto the children 
 of Israel, that they go forward." It is a faith 
 which supports us in duty, but does not min- 
 ister to our indolence. It keeps us still from 
 complainings and fears. But it does not keep 
 us still from effort and obedience. It leads 
 us to look forward with hope, and, however 
 weak or opposed we may be, to have no doubt 
 that he who has undertaken our salvation 
 will assuredly complete it. He will keep us 
 unto life eternaL While we thus confide in 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 5 b S. 
 
 his faithfulness, we are able to serve him with- 
 out fear, in holiness and righteousness beforo 
 him, all the days of our life. It is this faith 
 which gives us strength in the day of battle, 
 and makes us more than conquerors ovei 
 every enemy. With this faith was Daniel 
 cast into the den of Jons, " and no manner 
 of hurt was found upon him, because he be- 
 lieved in his God." With this faith Daniel's 
 companions said to the king of Babylon, 
 "We are not carpful to answer thee in this 
 matter ; our God, whom we serve, is able to 
 deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, 
 and he will deliver us out of thine hand." 
 And over their bodies the fire had no power, 
 nor was an hair of their heads singed. This 
 is the divine fidelity. We go forward in every 
 appointed path of duty relying upon it. No 
 opposition deters us. No difficulties discour- 
 age us. No darkness alarms us. No disap- 
 pointments depress us. No delay wearies us. 
 We believe in the faithful Word of our gra- 
 cious Saviour, and are at rest. We do not 
 
376 THE KICH KINSMAN. 
 
 know how he will do this thing. He may 
 have many plans which are concealed from 
 us. He may have many ohstacles that we 
 know not. It may require a much longer 
 time, and a much more circuitous way than 
 we at first suppose. But all this we leave 
 entirely to him. Our simple determination is 
 to abide by him, to cling to his promise, to 
 do his will, to hope unto the end, not to be 
 weary in well-doing, and to leave the whole 
 planning and direction of the work which he 
 has undertaken, entirely to himself. We will 
 sit still in our appointed sphere of duty, until 
 we know how the matter will fall. We have 
 no cares or wishes about that. To do is ours, 
 to direct is his. " The work to be performed 
 is ours, the strength is all his own." Such a 
 mind as this is perfect peace. It is all joy 
 and peace in believing. It is without careful- 
 ness. It is careful for nothing. It is kept in 
 the peace of God, which passeth understand- 
 ing. Try to gain and exercise this constant 
 faith in your great Redeemer. Look up with 
 
THE FIRST-FRUITS OF GRACE. 377 
 
 confidence in his divine fidelity. Banish your 
 doubts of his kindness and love toward you. 
 And while you are diligent and fervent in 
 spirit in his service, learn to leave all your 
 cares and all your wants in his gracious 
 hands, sure that he will never rest until he 
 has finished the great and glorious work he 
 has begun for you. 
 
XVII. 
 
 rhen 'went Boaz np to the gate, and sat him down there : and behold 
 the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by ; unto whom he said, IIo, 
 such-a-one ! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat 
 down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit 
 «-e down here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman, 
 Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, sclleth a parcel 
 of land, which was our brother Elimclech's : and I thought to ad- 
 vertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the 
 elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it : but if 
 thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know : for there is 
 none to redeem it besides thee ; and I am after thee. And he said, I 
 will redeem it Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of 
 the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Kuth the Moabitess, tho 
 wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inherit- 
 ance. And the kinsman said, I can not redeem it for myself, lest I 
 mar mine own inheritance : redeem thou my right to thyself; for I 
 can not redeem it Now this was the manner in former time in 
 Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm 
 all things ; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor : 
 and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said unto 
 Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. — Burn, iv. 1-8. 
 
 This is an episode in the history. The 
 personal account of Kuth is left for a mo- 
 ment, to bring up the history of this great 
 affair of her life, to the point where she was 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. • 379 
 
 to appear in it again. Our improvement of it 
 will take us away, for a little while, from the 
 immediate track which we have thus far fol- 
 lowed, to consider in itself that redemption, 
 the fruits of which we ourselves enjoy. I 
 may call the present subject Redemption Pro- 
 posed. It is a simple history of such a propo- 
 sition, whether made by Boaz, as goel for 
 Ruth, or made by the Lord Jesus Christ, as 
 goel for us. The Law appointed the type of 
 the goel. The history of Ruth gives an in- 
 stance of a single observance of this appoint- 
 ment in Israel. Both united lead us to that 
 which both were intended to illustrate and 
 teach, the actual, eternal redemption of a pe- 
 culiar people from among the lost race of 
 Adam, by the incarnation, and death, and 
 subsequent triumphs, of the only begotten Son 
 of God, in their own nature and for them. 
 
 I may describe Redemption to you, under 
 the terms which teachers in Theology use, as 
 Proper or Improper. Proper Redemption 
 is the legal purchase of the captive to be re- 
 
380* THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 deemed, by the payment of the stipulated 
 price. It gives the redeemer the full right to 
 the captive whom he has thus purchased. 
 But the captive, though thus redeemed, may 
 be unlawfully held in bondage still. Im- 
 proper redemption, or a redemption which 
 ought not to have been required, is the rescue 
 of the captive by force from unlawful bond- 
 age by the redeemer who has already pur- 
 chased him. In both of these views does the 
 Son of God become our Kedeemer. He 
 ransomed us not with corruptible things, as 
 silver and gold, but with his own precious 
 blood, as a Lamb without blemish and with- 
 out spot. We are bought with a price. But 
 because we are still held in captivity by the 
 enemy, he comes with the mighty power of 
 his Spirit and plucks the prey out of the jaws 
 of the oppressor. He is thus, in both senses, 
 mighty to save — able to save unto the utter- 
 most. He spoils principalities and powers, 
 and lets the oppressed go free. 
 
 If we carry our minds back to the time 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. 381 
 
 when our redemption was future, and there 
 see what our Kedeemer must be and do, in 
 order to save and rescue us, the history before 
 us will become a beautiful illustration. The 
 Redeemer must be our kinsman. He must 
 partake of our nature. Because the children 
 whom he was to save were partakers of flesh 
 and blood, he must also himself likewise 
 take part of the same, that he might have 
 the right to redeem. The nature that sinned 
 must be the nature to suffer and to triumph. 
 And, therefore, the Eedeemer must be made 
 flesh like us. He must be a mighty kins- 
 man — able to bear the load of our guilt, to 
 atone for our transgressions, to complete a 
 perfect and spotless obedience ibr us ; and 
 to rescue us from the bondage in which we 
 were held, sold under sin, and condemned to 
 death. No other than an Almighty Saviour 
 could meet the wants of our lost race. He 
 must be a rich and perfectly competent kins- 
 man. He must first triumph himself in the 
 contest which he should undertake. And 
 
382 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 then, being justified, and crowned, and ex- 
 alted as a Prince and a Saviour, he could be 
 able to bestow his gifts upon the captive 
 rebels for whom he came. He could give 
 them repentance and forgiveness of sins. He 
 must be a tender and loving kinsman ; one 
 who could be touched with the feeling of the 
 infirmities of his people ; and be afflicted in 
 their afflictions ; and sympathize in all their 
 temptations and dangers. He must be in all 
 things made like unto his brethren, that he 
 might be a merciful and faithful kinsman for 
 them, in things pertaining to God, and make 
 reconciliation for the sins of his people. This 
 was what the Redeemer must be, to become 
 a goel for us. Such a goel became us — holy, 
 harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, 
 higher than the heavens — able to raise up for 
 us an everlasting salvation. 
 
 When he should appear as our Redeemer, 
 and the first-begotten should be brought into 
 the world to save us, he must ransom our per- 
 sons from condemnation, and from our bondage 
 
KEDEMPTION PEOPOSED. 383 
 
 in death, under the curse of the holy law of 
 God. He must make a full atonement, and 
 offer a perfect and sufficient sacrifice for our 
 sins, that he might magnify this holy law, 
 and make it honorable. He must be made 
 under its authority and fulfill its perfect 
 righteousness, that he might redeem us 
 from its sentence and give us a title to its 
 reward. By his righteousness thus offered, 
 he must enable God to be just and yet the 
 justifier of all who believe in him. He must 
 thus buy back our inheritance which had 
 been lost by our sin, through the worth 
 of his own obedience. He must become 
 possessed of that eternal life, which we had 
 lost, and be able to bestow it again upon his 
 impoverished kin, as the free gift of his own 
 grace. He must actually give it back to them, 
 as his own free gift, and reinstate them in an 
 inheritance which should never more be lost. 
 He must apply to each of them, by his own 
 power, for their individual enjoyment and 
 possession, this great and wonderful redemp- 
 
584 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 tion which he had accomplished in their na- 
 ture ; and thus not only give them a title to 
 eternal life in his own obedience, but make 
 them actually, in their obedience to him, par- 
 takers of this life, and meet to be partakers 
 of the inheritance of saints, of holy ones, in 
 light ; partakers of a divine nature, and heirs 
 of divine glory. 
 
 This is what our goel must be and do. 
 And this is what the Son of God proposed to 
 be and do for us. When sacrifice and burnt- 
 offerings could be of no value, this great Sa- 
 viour said, "Lo, I come to do thy will, 
 God. A body hast thou prepared me." And 
 this proposal of our Kinsman, Boaz illus- 
 trated in the portion of the history before us. 
 Boaz went up publicly to the gate, the chief 
 place of concourse, the appointed place for 
 conference, where men spake with each other 
 in the settlement of their controversies and 
 questions of business. And there, in the 
 presence of the elders of the city, he made his 
 proposition to redeem the family of Elime- 
 
REDEMPTION PEOPOSED. 385 
 
 lech. His offer of redemption was perfectly 
 legal in all its points, according to the com- 
 mand and will of God. It was a most com- 
 prehensive offer. It embraced the whole con- 
 dition of Kuth and Naomi. He proposed to 
 "buy back all that was Elmielech's, and all 
 that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, and Kuth 
 the Moabitess to be his wife, to raise up the 
 name of the dead upon his inheritance." But 
 there was another kinsman, in nearer relation 
 to this family than himself, who had the first 
 right to accomplish this redemption, if he 
 were willing and able. And Boaz makes the 
 proposal first to him to whom of right it first 
 belonged. " And he said unto the kinsman, 
 Naomi, that is come again out of the country 
 of Moab, selleth a parcel of land which was 
 our brother ElinielechV And I thought to 
 advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the in- 
 habitants, and before the elders of my people. 
 If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it : but if thou 
 wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may 
 know : for there is none to redeem it besidea 
 17 
 
386 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 thee ; and I am after thee. And he said, I 
 will redeem it. Then said Boaz, What day 
 thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, 
 thou must buy it also of Kuth the Moabitess, 
 the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of 
 the dead upon his inheritance. And the 
 kinsman said, I can not redeem it for myself, 
 lest I mar mine own inheritance : redeem thou 
 my right to thyself ; for I can not redeem it. 
 Now this was the manner in former time in 
 Israel concerning redeeming and concern- 
 ing changing, for to confirm all things ; a 
 man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his 
 neighbor : and this was a testimony in Is- 
 rael." The proposal was made to him in 
 vain. He could not assume the obligation. 
 It would " mar his own inherit ance," and he 
 openly refused the offer. And, according to 
 the custom of Israel, he drew off his shoe, and 
 handed it to Boaz, as a token that he wished 
 him to stand in his place, and take upon him- 
 self the obligations which he could not 
 fulfill. 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. 387 
 
 How completely this proposal illustrates 
 the proposition of our great Eedeemer in our 
 "behalf. Thus publicly he agreed ; in the 
 presence of the angels of God, to make him- 
 self an offering for sin. Thus legally would 
 he fulfill all righteousness for man, and he 
 made under the law, that he might redeem 
 those who were under the law from the bond- 
 age of its condemnation. Thus perfectly and 
 completely would he buy back all that man 
 had lost, and unite unto himself the nature 
 which had sinned and fallen ; and betroth his 
 redeemed to himself in an everlasting cov- 
 enant, to raise up the name of the race which 
 was lost and dead in sin, once more upon their 
 inheritance. All this was to be done. And 
 all this the Son of God would do. 
 
 But angels were a created nature, far 
 nearer in relation to man. Might not the 
 proposition be made to them ? Would they 
 not redeem the lost ? Ah, willing they might 
 be — we doubt not they were. But able they 
 could never be. The redemption of a soul 
 
388 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 they must let alone for ever. Could they 
 stand in the sinner's place ? Could they 
 boldly take his shoe, and meet all his respons- 
 ibilities ? Could they ever offer a free and 
 meritorious obedience for others ? Was not 
 all that they could do an actual obligation 
 upon them now ? Could they suffer and die 
 as an infinitely valuable sacrifice for sin ? 
 Could a creature bear an infinite load, or ac- 
 complish a work which required almighty 
 power ? Could they come forth, and by their 
 own might die, and rise, and reign in man's 
 stead, and for man's salvation ? No ! Le- 
 gions of angels were incompetent for a work 
 like this. They must shrink from undertak- 
 ing it. They would "mar their own inher- 
 itance." They would destroy themselves in 
 accomplishing no benefit for others. The 
 being who was to be brought into this world 
 of sin as man's redeemer, was one whom all 
 the angels of God worshipped, and to whom 
 angels, authorities, and powers were made 
 subject. They were ministering spirits, sent 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. 389 
 
 forth to minister to the heirs of salvation, 
 But to none of them had God said at any 
 time, " Thou art my Son, this day have I be- 
 gotten thee ;" or " Thy throne, God, is for 
 ever and ever ; the scepter of thy kingdom is 
 a right scepter." They must all refuse a work 
 so unexperienced, so incomprehensible to 
 them as the redemption of lost and guilty 
 man. They may desire to look into it, and 
 to understand it. But they could never un- 
 dertake or accomplish it. 
 
 The Son of God remained alone. His own 
 arm must bring salvation. His righteousness 
 must sustain him. He must tread the winer 
 press alone, and travel in the greatness of his 
 own strength to bring forth the people whom 
 he would redeem. Of all created beings there 
 could be none with him to help him in this 
 work, this strange work. Then, when there 
 was no intercessor, and no arm to bring sal- 
 vation, he said, "Lo, I come." He was con- 
 tent to do the will of God, and his law was in 
 his heart. Here was to be complete redemp- 
 
390 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 tion. He would take the shoe, like Boaz, and 
 acknowledge the obligation, and perform the 
 duties of which it was the token. He would 
 stand in the sinner's place. He would make 
 himself an offering in his stead. He would 
 come down to earth, and receive a body which 
 was prepared for him. He would become a 
 man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. 
 He would be betrayed into the hands of sin- 
 ners, and endure their reproach. He would 
 make his soul an offering for their sin, in ex- 
 ceeding sorrow even unto death. He would 
 endure the cross and despise the shame, for 
 the joy that was set before him of redeeming 
 to himself a peculiar people, who should be 
 holy, and arise in his image, and be to his 
 glory. He would go through this mighty un- 
 dertaking, and come forth conquering and to 
 conquer, having spoiled principalities and 
 powers, and triumphed openly over them on 
 the cross. He would see a seed, the travail 
 of his soul, in whom he should be satisfied. 
 He would have a redeemed family in heaven 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. 891 
 
 named by his name, clothed with the gar- 
 ments of his salvation, covered with the robe 
 of his righteousness, praising the loving-kind- 
 ness of the Lord for ever, and dwelling in the 
 courts of his glory, in the midst of whom he 
 would set up his throne, and over whom he 
 would reign in an everlasting kingdom. This 
 was the proposal of the Son of God. This 
 was the great covenant of redemption which 
 he made with the Father and the Holy 
 Ghost. It was an everlasting covenant, in all 
 things well ordered and sure, and was con- 
 firmed and established in the counsels of God 
 never to be broken. 
 
 My dear young friends, this was our Ke- 
 demption Proposed. I think you may easily 
 understand the subject as I have presented it 
 to you, though it is the greatest and the 
 deepest of all subjects. God the Father loved 
 you, and gave his only-begotten Son to die 
 for you, that you should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. God the Son loved you, and 
 came to take your nature and your burden 
 
392 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 upon him, that lie might ransom you with his 
 own precious blood, and redeem you for him- 
 self for ever. God the Holy Ghost loved you, 
 and became the willing Comforter for you, to 
 lead you to a Saviour, to give you a knowl- 
 edge of his salvation, and to create your souls 
 anew for his eternal glory. Herein is love. 
 It is all love, the unsearchable riches of the 
 love of God. He is rich in mercy, for this 
 great love wherewith he loved us when we 
 were dead in sins. 
 
 All this exercise and work of redeeming 
 love was in the fullness of his own grace, 
 without any connection of yours with it. 
 Yes ; just as the proposal of Boaz was with- 
 out Kuth's presence or knowledge — made in 
 her absence, while she was with her mother 
 at home, and not to be made known to her 
 until it was completed — so was this great 
 proposal of the Son of God to be your Kins- 
 man, and to fulfill for you all the Kinsman's 
 obligations, made without your counsel and 
 accomplished without your help. 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. 393 
 
 This is the unsearchable riches' of grace. 
 We call it sovereign grace. It ruled over 
 every obstacle. It met every difficulty. It 
 submitted to no restraint. We call it free 
 grace. It is extended to sinful man with 
 no conditions. It invites him, and offers its 
 bounties to him without any qualifications 
 whatever. It announces a Kedemption all 
 complete, and begs him to receive and to 
 enjoy it. It is the wonderful manifestation 
 of the love of God, who thus proposed and 
 finished every thing in man's redemption 
 by himself. We may think of it, and wonder 
 at it, and try to understand its extent and 
 its full value, its motives and its reasons 
 of choice of man, and of us. But we find 
 at last we have always to say with our blessed 
 Lord himself, "Even so, Father, for so it 
 seemed good in thy sight." Thus God has 
 ( chosen to redeem. And thus he has chosen 
 us to be tlie subjects of his redemption. 
 
 And now Jesus comes to your lowly habit- 
 ation to tell you what he has undertaken 
 17* 
 
394 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 and done for you. He says, "Behold 1 
 stand at the door and knock ; if any man 
 will open the door, I will come into him, 
 and will sup with him, and he with me." 
 "Open to me, my sister, my love, for my 
 head is filled with dew, and my locks with 
 the drops of the night/' Here is the great 
 proposal to you. Will you now have this 
 Redeemer to be your Redeemer ; this Christ 
 to be your Christ ; this Saviour and King to 
 be your Saviour and King ? He is come 
 to make you his own for ever. Will you 
 accept his offer — agree to be his bride — and 
 go in with him to the marriage-supper of the 
 Lamb ? He asks no dowry with you. He 
 takes you as you are, with all your sin, and 
 all your ignorance, and all your poverty, and 
 himself enriches you with his own fine gold, 
 and covers you with his white raiment. The 
 thing which he asks of you is your cheerful, 
 grateful acceptance of his rich and free offers ; 
 your delighted and cordial entrance into a 
 union with him to be his own for ever. If 
 
REDEMPTION PROPOSED. 395 
 
 you will hear his voice and come to him, 
 he has life and all things, to be bestowed 
 upon you richly and freely of his own grace. 
 You shall come behind in no gift. You 
 shall be straitened in no supply. He will 
 give grace and glory, and no good thing 
 will he withhold from you if you are willing 
 to lead a godly life. This is the fullness 
 of his grace ; his proposal for you ; his pro- 
 posal to you. Hesitate not a moment ; and 
 do not allow him to plead with you a single 
 time in vain 
 
XVIII. 
 
 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all tbc people, Ye are wife 
 nesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all 
 that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover 
 Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my 
 wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the 
 name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from 
 the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. And all the people 
 that were in the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The 
 Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Eachcl and 
 like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou 
 worthily in Ephratah and be famous in Beth-lehem: and let thy 
 house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, 
 of the seed which the Lord shall give theo of this young woman.— 
 EiriH, iv. 9-12. 
 
 This passage "brings to our view the great 
 subject of the Gospel revelation, — Kedemp- 
 tion accomplished in the death and resurrec- 
 tion of our Lord Jesus Christ in human flesh, 
 for guilty man. We have considered, in our 
 last chapter, what the Son of God proposed 
 to be and to do for us. This was the divina 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 397 
 
 plan. The only possible plan ; for such a 
 plan, involving so much humiliation and 
 sorrow to the pure and holy Son of God, 
 surely would not have been adopted could 
 any other scheme have availed for man's 
 salvation. But when no other offering could 
 be sufficient, when there could be salvation 
 in no other, and no other name could be 
 given among men whereby they might be 
 saved, God so loved the world that he gave 
 his only-begotten Son, that whosoever be» 
 lieved in him might not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. God spared not his own Son, 
 but delivered him up for us all, that with 
 him also he might freely give us all things. 
 
 Boaz took his kinsman's shoe as a simple 
 but solemn token of the agreement which he 
 had now assumed. He called all the inhabit- 
 ants and elders of his city to witness that he 
 acknowledged all this responsibility, and was 
 pledged to accomplish the redemption which 
 was thus described and undertaken. The 
 actual accomplishment of the work now de- 
 
398 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 pended upon the ability and the faithfulness 
 of Boaz. Could he, and would he do, that 
 which he had thus publicly undertaken ? 
 Every hope involved in the promised trans-' 
 action depended on this. He had pledged 
 himself to meet all the responsibilities and 
 obligations of the case. Every thing now 
 rested upon his power and his truth. 
 
 "Was it not just so, with the hope of man, 
 from the day of his fall, to the day of the 
 Saviour's manifestation and victory ? He 
 had undertaken to be man's Kedeemer. 
 "The seed of the woman shall bruise the 
 serpent's head/' was the first revelation to 
 man of this fixed and acknowledged purpose. 
 This was the first pledge of human hope — 
 the first annunciation that the Son of God 
 had taken the shoe of man, and would stand 
 in his place and meet the dangers and the 
 wants of his lost condition. It was a trans- 
 action already completed in heaven. The 
 covenant had already been entered into, and 
 established there. Angels who could not re- 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 399 
 
 deem, had been the witnesses that the only- 
 begotten Son had undertaken to do it. The 
 eternal purpose of God, which he pifrposed in 
 Christ Jesus our Lord, was made known unto 
 the principalities and powers in heavenly 
 places. And he created all things by Jesus 
 Christ, that he might make known in the 
 Church which he should gather among men, 
 the manifold wisdom of God. Eedemption 
 was now not only proposed — it was pledged 
 and promised. And the pledge and promise 
 were revealed to man for whom it was to be 
 accomplished. 
 
 But four thousand years rolled by before this 
 pledge and promise were fulfilled. The whole 
 of the inspired Scriptures of the Old Testament 
 are occupied with the description of this prom- 
 ised redemption. It makes the subject of 
 prophecies, and types, and histories, through 
 all these intervening ages. From the first prom- 
 ise to Adam and Eve, which told the whole 
 fact, in a few comprehensive words, every 
 generation of believers rested upon the cer- 
 
400 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 tainty of this hope, and were encouraged with 
 new and additional descriptions of the par- 
 ticular facts, which were to make up the parts 
 and circumstances of this great redemption. 
 You may read through these sacred Scrip- 
 tures, and trace the increasing minuteness of 
 their predictions of the Saviour's work. He 
 was to be the Son of Adam, of Abraham, of 
 Jacob, of Judah, of David. He was to appear 
 on the earth, to be born in Bethlehem, to be 
 a resident of Nazareth, to be homeless and a 
 wanderer, to be crucified on Mount Moriah. 
 He was to be a man, the Son of a virgin, with- 
 out an earthly father — a sufferer and poor, per- 
 secuted and rejected, despised by the race and 
 nation whose name and nature he assumed, 
 and cast out with condemned transgressors to 
 die as a degraded and accursed man. He was 
 to be unnoticed, without commanding appear- 
 ance — meek, gentle, and lowly in his spirit, 
 unresisting to evil, and unavenging of crimes 
 committed against himself. He was to ap- 
 pear when Palestine should be a province of 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 401 
 
 the heathen, and Judah should be serving 
 under foreign bondage ; to be accused and 
 delivered to death by Jews, and yet to suffer 
 a death which none but Gentiles inflicted. 
 He was to be betrayed by the very persons 
 who professed to follow him, and sold for the 
 price of a slave, by a man who should break 
 bread with him at his table, on the very night 
 of his betrayal. He was to come with no mani- 
 festation of outward glory, riding once upon 
 an ass's colt, his highest human triumph, 
 and yet performing the most wonderful mira- 
 cles ; speaking in resistless words of authority 
 to men and devils and the dumb works of crea- 
 tion, rising from the dead in a new life, rais- 
 ing others also from the grave, and gathering 
 a people in the midst of the utmost contempt 
 and persecution, who should appear like the 
 waving glory of Lebanon in contrast with a 
 handful of barley growing upon the mount- 
 ains, Though he should be cast out in death 
 with the wicked, the rich would furnish him a 
 sepulcher, angels would adorn and honor his 
 
102 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 resurrection, the whole world should be blessed 
 in him, and all the nations of the earth should 
 call him blessed. He should be a despised 
 aud undesired man, and yet he was God over 
 all, whose throne is for ever and ever. Men 
 should themselves put him to death, and yet 
 his death should open a fountain of mercy 
 and salvation, in which the very men who 
 killed him might themselves find pardon and 
 life eternal. 
 
 These are a few gathered circumstances 
 of this promised redemption which the un- 
 rolling language of divine prophecy made 
 known to the sons of men during this inter- 
 vening period between the Saviour's assump- 
 tion of the covenant to redeem, and his 
 fulfillment of the pledge which he had thus 
 given. But during all this time, upon 
 what did the hope of man rest, save upon 
 the power and truth of the Son of God ? 
 Could he, and would he fulfill the wonderful 
 promises which he had given, and upon 
 which he had caused his people to place 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 403 
 
 their trust ? The history of the New Testa- 
 ment answers this all-important question, 
 These sacred Scriptures reveal the facts of 
 redemption accomplished ; the work under- 
 taken completely finished ; the fidelity of 
 the Kinsman-redeemer gloriously established ; 
 and his Almighty power triumphantly made 
 known. This is now the great message of 
 the Gospel to guilty man. It proclaims 
 this accomplished work, and it begs man to 
 accept and enjoy the blessings which are 
 offered in it freely and without price. Its 
 great doctrine is the one great fact of com- 
 plete redemption in the death and resurrec- 
 tion of the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath thus 
 raised up a mighty salvation according to his 
 word. " I have blotted out as a thick cloud 
 thy transgressions ; return unto me, for I 
 have redeemed thee. Sing ye heavens, for 
 the Lord hath done it ; shout ye lower parts 
 of the earth ; break forth into singing, ye 
 mountains, forest, and every tree therein ; 
 for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and 
 
404 . THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 glorified himself in Israel." This is our great 
 doctrine, our glorious message, — complete 
 salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, the great 
 Goel for man, the Kinsman-redeemer of the 
 guilty — perfected by his own merit — and 
 offered freely through his own grace ; in 
 which, sins like scarlet and like crimson may 
 be made white like snow and wool — the 
 nakedness of man may be eternally covered — 
 the poverty of man everlastingly enriched — 
 and the ruin and weakness of man gloriously 
 restored. When the Lord Jesus arose from 
 the dead, the redemption of his people was 
 finished. He was declared to be the Son of 
 God with power. A door was opened in 
 heaven for lost and guilty man. God could 
 justify those who were in themselves ungodly, 
 and save those who, in their own condition, 
 were wholly condemned. And then, in his 
 glorious ascension, the Saviour who had thus 
 overcome according to his promise, fulfilled 
 the pledge which he had given, and finished 
 the work which he had undertaken, sat down 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 405 
 
 on his throne, henceforth expecting till his 
 enemies be made his footstool. 
 
 Like Boaz, Jesus had bought back the 
 whole inheritance for man. All that was lost 
 in the first Adam is restored by the second. 
 The Kedeemer himself now owns the inherit- 
 ance which he has purchased. That which 
 was Elimelech's is now the property of Boaz. 
 That which was man's, and to be in the 
 reward of man's obedience, is now Christ's, 
 and only to be had in the freeness and full- 
 ness of his gift. It is his own inheritance, 
 and he bestows it upon his people according 
 to his will ; according to the measure of the 
 gift of Christ. We have every thing in him. 
 Without him we have nothing. He has 
 bought back man also for himself. His 
 chosen flock are his purchased possession, and 
 are to be to the praise of his glory for ever. 
 They are completely redeemed, and shall 
 never perish. There is no more condemna- 
 tion to those who are in Christ Jesus. All 
 things are theirs. They walk not according 
 
406 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 to the flesh, "but according to the Spirit. Le.i 
 by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of 
 God. They are the heirs of God, and joint- 
 heirs with Christ. They have passed from 
 death unto life. And no one can pluck them 
 out of their Father's hand. His gracious 
 message to them all is, "Fear not, little 
 flock ; it is your Father's good pleasure to 
 give you the kingdom." 
 
 But the people of Bethlehem were not 
 merely the witnesses of this covenant of Boaz. 
 They were partakers of his joy. They united 
 in their supplications for abundant blessings 
 upon the noble and exalted plan which 
 Boaz had proclaimed. " The Lord make the 
 woman that is come into thine house like 
 Rachel and like Leah, which two did build 
 the house of Israel ; and do thou worthily 
 in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem." 
 Well was their grateful prayer fulfilled ; a 
 ihousand-fold beyond what they could have 
 imagined. Had they known the divine pur- 
 poses, might they not have exclaimed with 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 401 
 
 Elizabeth, " Whence is this, that the mother 
 of our Lord hath come unto us ?"■ Kutt was 
 to be in the appointed line of the mothers of 
 the Lord's Christ. Bethlehem would have 
 rung with triumphs of joy around her redemp- 
 tion and marriage by her exalted goel, if this 
 great fact could have been made known to 
 them. 
 
 But angels, the witnesses of the covenant 
 of our Kedeemer, were more than silent wit- 
 nesses also. "When the foundation of this 
 wonderful work was laid in the divine cov- 
 enant, these morning stars sang together, and 
 all the sons of God shouted for joy. When 
 the Saviour appeared as a babe in Bethlehem, 
 they filled the heavens with their songs of 
 praise and prayer. "Glory to God in the 
 highest, peace on earth, good will to men/' 
 When he was traveling in the greatness of 
 his strength, beneath his load of sorrow 
 Dn the earth, they ministered to him, and 
 strengthened him for his work. When he 
 had finished his conflict in victory, and was 
 
408 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 declared a conqueror over all his foes, they 
 rolled the stone from his sepulcher, and at- 
 tended him in his glorious ascension, shouting 
 in the prophetic language of triumph, " Lift, 
 up your heads, ye gates ; and be ye lifted 
 up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of 
 glory shall come in ; the Lord of Hosts, even 
 the Lord mighty in battle." When sinners 
 hear his message, and return repenting, to 
 seek their life in him, these heavenly wit- 
 nesses rejoice again before the Father's throne. 
 The Saviour's little ones they love to pro- 
 tect, and are glad to minister to the heirs 
 of his salvation. When redeemed saints are 
 safely brought to see his glory, they carry 
 them home in their arms, surround them in 
 an innumerable company, and delight to join 
 in and to second their songs of praise. When 
 he shall gather in his whole elect they will be 
 the Saviour's glorified ministers in that day 
 of his power. And when the multitude of his 
 redeemed are collected in triumph, and his 
 kingdom is brought out in its glory, these 
 
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED. 409 
 
 heavenlv messengers will unite in everlasting 
 praise over the con^lete aehievement of his 
 promised work. Then will there be a mean- 
 ing indeed to " doing worthily in Ephratah, 
 and being famous in Bethlehem." Then will 
 the joy of angels be full — the hope of saints 
 complete — the ruin of man restored — the cov- 
 enant of the Son of God perfected — and God 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost for 
 ever glorified in a proposed Kedemption com- 
 pletely accomplished, for sinners who were im- 
 poverished and lost under the burden of inex- 
 tricable guilt. 
 
 My young friends, what a view is this of 
 the interest which is felt for you by beings 
 whom you do not and can not see ! How it 
 displays the vast importance and worth of 
 this great salvation which is so freely brought 
 to you ! How it manifests the strong and 
 clear foundation which has been laid for your 
 hope, in the power and work of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ ! Why should you not always 
 rejoice in the happiness of this blessed hope ? 
 18 
 
410 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 Why should you ever hesitate for a moment 
 in accepting the full salvation which it pre- 
 sents to you? Your redemption is accom- 
 plished, perfectly accomplished. The prison 
 doors are open. The captive may go free. 
 Arise quickly, the Master calleth thee. You 
 have nothing else to do but in simple, affec- 
 tionate faith, in the love, and power, and fin- 
 ished work of your gracious Kinsman, to em- 
 brace his promises, rejoice in the consolation 
 which they bring you, and be happy for ever- 
 more in his service, and in fellowship with 
 him. do it now ! Delay no longer your 
 complete agreement to bo Christ's for ever. 
 
 u Hasten, sinner, to be wise, 
 
 Stay not for the morrow's sun ; 
 Wisdom, if you still despise, 
 Harder is it to bo won. 
 
 11 Hasten, sinner, to be blest, 
 
 Stay not for the morrow's sun; 
 Lest perdition thee arrest, 
 Ere the morrow is begun. " 
 
XIX. 
 
 go Boaz took Ruth, aud she wa9 his wife: and when he went in tint* 
 her the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the 
 women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left theo 
 this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 
 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of 
 thine old age : for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is 
 better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him. And Naomi took 
 the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And 
 the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born 
 to Naomi, and they called his name Obed : he is the father of Jesse, 
 the father of David.— Ruth, iv. 13-17. 
 
 This passage brings out the conclusion of 
 the beautiful history we have been contem- 
 plating. From Eedemption Proposed, Prom- 
 ised, and Accomplished, we have now the 
 completion of the story in Eedemption actu- 
 ally applied. From his interview with the 
 other kinsman, and his assumption of the 
 pledge to perform the part of goel for Kuth, 
 Boaz goes to make her acquainted with the 
 
412 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 accomplishment of his promise, and to put 
 her in possession of the estate and relations 
 which he had thus obtained for her. His 
 gracious proposal to her results in the eleva- 
 tion of the poor gleaner in his fields, to he the 
 bride of the lord of the harvest, the glean- 
 ings of which had before been such a treasure 
 to her. Kuth becomes the wife of Boaz, and 
 the mother of a line of princes distinguished 
 in the exaltation of their day. But what was 
 a far greater honor, she is thus, as the ances- 
 tor of David, made also the ancestor of that * 
 great Son of David, to whom it is to be given 
 to sit on the throne of his father David, and 
 to reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and 
 of whose kingdom there shall be no end. 
 Ruth is herself thus personally exalted and 
 enriched. She has received the blessing from 
 the Lord under whose wings she had come to 
 trust. Her sorrows and her poverty have 
 passed away. The gracious providence of 
 God has been vindicated in his dealings with 
 her. Her personal virtue and obedience are 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 413 
 
 more than recompensed in the advantages of 
 her new condition. Her affectionate heart is 
 gratified in her ability to protect and comfort 
 her beloved mother in her age. Her generous 
 and grateful spirit is refreshed with abundant 
 means of benevolence to others who may be 
 poor and dependent as she was before. She 
 looks back upon the way through which God 
 has led her with unfeigned praise. Every 
 view of the distant mountains of Moab will 
 awaken new thankfulness for the mercy which 
 brought her from the darkness and misery of 
 that land of idols. Every gleaner in the har- 
 vest-fields of Judah will call her soul to new 
 and more humble acknowledgments of thanks- 
 giving to him who was so gracious to her 
 lonely poverty as a widowed Moabitess. Her 
 whole condition shows how truly "light is 
 sown for the righteous, and joyful gladness for 
 the upright in heart." How "blessed are 
 they who have the Lord for their God !" 
 
 God graciously gives her a son, over whose 
 birth her friends rejoice with a prophetic 
 
414 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 congratulation. He should not only be per- 
 sonally a restorer of the prospects of life to a 
 family that was considered dead, and was 
 forgotten, and the nourisher of the old age of 
 a faithful widow, who supposed her pleasant 
 days had all passed, merged in a cloud of bit- 
 terness for her latter end. But his name 
 should also be famous in Israel. And famous 
 it did become. For but a single generation 
 passed beyond him, before his shepherd 
 grandson, the man beloved after God's own 
 heart, ascended the throne of Israel, and es- 
 tablished a kingdom not only great in itself, 
 but giving a name and a type for another 
 kingdom to be ruled by the great offspring of 
 David, that shall be of incomparable majesty, 
 and shall never pass away. 
 
 Thus the divine ordinance of the Kinsman- 
 Kedeemer was completely illustrated in the 
 history of Boaz the rich kinsman of Ruth. 
 And thus the history unites with the legal 
 type, to proclaim to us the fullness, the love, 
 the fidelity, and the triumphant work of the 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 415 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, our divine Goel, our great 
 Kinsman-Bedeemer, who is, in one person, 
 Perfect God and Perfect man — ransoming us 
 by his death in the flesh, and reigning ovei 
 us in his everlasting life in glory. 
 
 The whole object of the sacred Scripture is 
 the spiritual instruction of the children of 
 God through all ages The ordinances and 
 histories of the earlier dispensations were 
 types and figures of great truths which are 
 openly and freely declared to us in the later 
 one. " These things happened unto them for 
 ensamples or figures, and they are written 
 for our admonition, upon whom the ends of 
 the world are come." Each history, and every 
 ordinance of the Old Testament has its pe- 
 culiar purpose of illustration of permanent 
 Gospel truth. It is our privilege to study 
 them with this reflected Gospel light. The 
 New Testament gives us principles of study 
 in many selected illustrations which are there 
 brought forth. And we are encouraged to 
 pursue a similar study of all the things which 
 
416 THE EICH KINSMAN. 
 
 were spoken in former ages in parables ; but 
 which are now thus clearly made known to 
 us, to whom it has been given to know, in 
 the clear intelligence of the Gospel, the mys- 
 teries of the Kingdom of God. The word of 
 the Lord abide th for ever. 
 
 Thus have I endeavored to carry you 
 through the study of Kuth — following that 
 which seems to me the plainest line of direc- 
 tion in reference to the instruction it is in- 
 tended to convey ; and making use of no ex- 
 travagance of imagination for the purpose of 
 bringing out more secret truths. It is a clear 
 and interesting illustration of cur great spirit- 
 ual Kedemption ; redemption from sinful 
 wandering, loss, and captive poverty ; re- 
 demption which brings us back in a return .to 
 God in conscious need, and with cincere ac- 
 knowledgment of our guilt ; redemption which 
 implies, in our appointed Goel, nearness of re- 
 lation, tenderness of sympathy, generous will- 
 ingness in its exercise, and abundant wealth 
 and power to meet the demands which it will 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 417 
 
 necessarily make ; redemption which will be 
 manifested to its objects in a kind acknowl- 
 edgment of them, a complete restoration, an 
 affectionate adoption, a faithful union of their 
 interests and hopes with their divine Ke- 
 deemer, in an established and abiding ex- 
 altation ; redemption which will leave nc 
 want unsupplied, no danger unguarded, and 
 no enemy finally unsubdued. 
 
 This is our Eedemption in the glorious Son 
 of God. It comes to us as the unspeakable 
 gift of God, the superabounding riches of his 
 grace. "Blessed be the Lord which hath 
 not left us without a kinsman !" He might 
 have done so, and made us to reap the ways 
 of sin in the harvest of eternal death. He 
 has not done so, but has sent his own Son in 
 the likeness of sinful flesh, to do for us that 
 which in the weakness of our flesh, and 
 in the helpless poverty of our ruin, we could 
 never have done for ourselves. Herein is love, 
 the love of God for us. And now he sends us 
 the message of his love, the intelligence of al] 
 18* 
 
418 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 that he has done for us, and asks us to receive 
 the gifts, and to "become partakers with him 
 of life and everlasting glory. 
 
 The Gospel preaches this Eedemption. to us 
 as complete and finished. It proclaims before 
 us its gracious invitation, " Come, for all things 
 are now ready/' The Holy Spirit comes to us, 
 to apply to us, as our own personal possession, 
 the glories which this great Eedemption 
 brings, and which this Gospel proclaims. He 
 fulfills his gracious part of this great covenant, 
 in opening our blind eyes, that we may see 
 our own need, and the riches of the Saviour's 
 glory ; in awakening our dull conscience, that 
 we may feel our burden, and acknowledge the 
 just condemnation of our guilt ; in subduing 
 our proud will, that we may consent to re- 
 ceive as a gift of grace that which we can 
 never get as a reward of works ; in recalling 
 our affections in grateful and delighted choice 
 of him for our Friend and Saviour, who has 
 proved himself so worthy of our love ; in es- 
 tablishing our judgment and determination in 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 410 
 
 perfect satisfaction with him, with our union 
 with hiin, and with his service for our obedi- 
 ence, whatever it may require ; in strength- 
 ening and guiding us, that we may continue 
 faithful to him. that we may persevere in fol- 
 lowing him, that we may bring forth fruits 
 for his glory ; in purifying and preparing us 
 in an increasing devotion to our gracious 
 Kinsman, for his own presence and everlast- 
 ing glory. This is Eedemption applied. 
 This is an interesting of us personally in that 
 great work of love which the Son of God has 
 finished for all who believe in him. And thus 
 are we made partakers of everlasting bless- 
 ings infinitely better than all that earth can 
 give, or the human mind has power to con- 
 ceive. 
 
 And now the whole subject comes before 
 you, my dear young friends, in the distinct 
 offer and invitation of this redeeming mercy 
 addressed to yourselves. The Lord Jesus 
 Christ, having finished your redemption by 
 his death, offers to you the full glories which 
 
420 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 he has purchased. Just as Boaz came to the 
 lowly habitation of Kuth, to lead her to his 
 own home, as his chosen and willing bride, 
 and to put all that was his in her possession, 
 so does the gracious Saviour come tc you 
 What is your answer to the Saviour's appeal ? 
 How are you ready to receive the offer which 
 he makes ? How have you already received 
 it ? This sets before you the only relation in 
 which you can stand to his redeeming love. 
 You must either accept or refuse the offer 
 which he makes. You must either comply 
 with or reject the invitation which he pre- 
 sents. Your acceptance of him in the fullness 
 of his love is your own free choice — the 
 simple action of your own heart and will. 
 Surely the Holy Spirit leads you and enables 
 you for this choice. But the choice is your 
 own. Just as free in your experience, and 
 just as really under your control, while you 
 make it, as any other choice which you make 
 in life. Will you then choose your por- 
 tion with the Saviour ? Will you cheerfully 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 421 
 
 and affectionately accept his offered redemp- 
 tion, and go from your abode of lonely pov- 
 erty, to be with him a partaker of his grace 
 and glory ? 
 
 Blessed and happy is such a choice. I 
 may truly say in the language of our history, 
 it will be a restoration of life, and a nourish- 
 ment of your old age. It will furnish the 
 happiest enjoyments of earth. It will fill 
 your mind with rest, and your soul with 
 peace. It will be a spring to you of constant 
 joy and blessed hope in your present life. It 
 will be the source to you of durable riches and 
 righteousness for a life to come. Let me en- 
 treat you not to- withhold the heart which the 
 Saviour seeks. Go with him cheerfully, 
 thankfully, at once, to be his for ever, and to 
 serve him alone, with all the powers of your 
 being, and in all the opportunities of duty 
 which he sets before you. Let nothing sepa- 
 rate you from his love, or withdraw your con- 
 fidence in his protection. He will be a friend 
 that sticketh closer than a brother. He wil] 
 
422 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 never leave you, nor forsake you. He will 
 cheer your hours of trial, console your day? 
 of darkness, encourage you in your con- 
 flicts with sin, refresh you in your weari- 
 ness under your burdens, and make you 
 more than conquerors in his love. 
 
 You will look back over the way in which he 
 has led you with increasing gratitude. And 
 as you call to mind the darkness of your 
 native Moab — the poverty of your soul's con- 
 dition in unpardoned sin — the gracious way 
 in which Jesus welcomed your first approach 
 to him — the rich rewards which he has given 
 to your faith — the comforts and hopes which 
 he has made to abound toward you — the 
 blessed anticipations and promises which he 
 has spread before you, your soul will every day 
 rejoice the more in your portion, and joy in 
 the Rock of your Salvation. Like Ruth's 
 royal descendant, you will many a 'time go 
 to bow down before the Lord, and say, " Who 
 am I, Lord God ? And what is my house 
 that thou hast brought me hitherto ? And 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 423 
 
 this was yet a small thing in thy sight, 
 Lord God ; but thou hast spoken of thy 
 servant's house for a great while to come. 
 And is this the manner of man, Lord God ? 
 And what can David say more unto thee ? 
 For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant." 
 Happy is every retrospect, and happier every 
 anticipation, in a life sincerely devoted to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Happier daily as it draws 
 to the close of its probation. Happiest of 
 all, when in its closing hour you can con- 
 fidently say, " He . hath made with me an 
 everlasting covenant, ordered in all things 
 and sure ; for this is all my salvation and all 
 my desire." 
 
 And may I not now say with truth, happy 
 shall we both be, if by this contemplation of 
 Kuth and her Kich Kinsman, any of my 
 youthful readers shall be truly led by the 
 Holy Spirit to say, "Lord, with thee only 
 will we go, for thou hast the words of 
 Eternal Life ?" " Let us be glad and re- 
 joice, and give honor to him ; for the mar- 
 
424 THE RICH KINSMAN. 
 
 riage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath 
 made herself ready. And to her it was 
 granted that she should he arrayed in fine 
 linen, clean and white ; for the fine linen 
 is the righteousness of the saints. Blessed 
 are they which are called unto the marriage- 
 supper of the Lamb." Thus will he that 
 soweth and they who reap rejoice together. 
 In our Father's kingdom we shall see the full 
 glories of our glorious Kinsman, and the 
 unspeakable riches of his inheritance in his 
 saints. We shall be taught the new song 
 of his redeemed. We shall rejoice in the 
 everlasting possession of durable riches and 
 righteousness. We shall look back from 
 eternity with constant thanksgiving over the 
 way in which he led us to find our shelter 
 and our portion in his presence. And our 
 eternal song will be, " Worthy is the Lamb 
 that was slain, to receive power and riches, 
 and wisdom and strength, and honor and 
 glory, and blessing ; for he was slain, and has 
 redeemed us to God by his blood out of every 
 
REDEMPTION APPLIED. 425 
 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. 
 Blessing and honor and glory and power be 
 unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb for ever and ever." 
 
 THE ENB