CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—
Ruth 2:8. Then said Boaz [and Boaz said], Hearest thou not? Dost thou hear (i.e., thou hearest, dost thou not? interrogatio, blande affirmat) (Keil). Lit. Hast thou not heard? (in the perfect,) the effect of the use of this tense being to mark the permission to glean as irrevocably fixed, not subject to uncertainty or change (Speakers’ Commentary). My daughter. A kind phrase, indicating at the same time Boaz’s mature age (ibid.). He recognizes the existence of a certain relationship, the benefit of which is due to Ruth (Lange). The good report of the overseer (Ruth 2:7) would strengthen any claim he felt Ruth had upon him through Naomi. Spoke with fatherly kindness therefore (Keil). Neither go from hence, and go not away from here (Keil). He has called her to him where he stands by the reapers (Lange). Abide here. Lit. cleave (Wordsworth). κολληθητι (LXX.). Fast by my maidens. And keep so to my maidens (Keil). The gleaner who was allowed to approach nearest the reapers had the best opportunity (Lange). Boaz seems to have had women-servants employed. Also perhaps other gleaners in the field, whom he would include among his maidens (Steele and Terry). Robinson saw nearly two hundred reapers and gleaners at work in one field (ii. 394). Gleaning was often almost as important as reaping, since the latter was done in a very slovenly manner.
Ruth 2:9. Let thine eyes. Thine eyes (directed) upon the field which they reap, go behind them (i.e., behind the maidens, who probably tied up the sheaves whilst the men-servants cut the corn (Keil). The maidens were probably only gleaners, for the verb they do reap is in the masculine, while after them is in the feminine (Speakers’ Commentary). In the absence of fences, Ruth might go unlicensed on another’s possessions; hence the charge to keep near his maidens (Steele and Terry). Have I not charged the young men? Such precautions are not out of place at this day. The reapers are gathered from all parts of the country, and largely from the ruder class, and being far from home, throw off all restraint, and give licence to their tongues, if nothing more (Dr. Thomson). That they should not touch [molest] thee. That is, either to hinder, or to injure. Go unto the vessels. Doubtless a special indulgence to a gleaner. The harvest-field was often at a distance from springs or wells (Steele and Terry).
Ruth 2:10. She fell on her face. With Oriental reverence (Speakers’ Commentary). [Cf. Genesis 33:3; 1 Samuel 25:23, and 2 Samuel 1:2] Bowed herself to the ground. Towards the earth (Wright). Why have I found grace? [Cf. 2 Samuel 7:18-19, and Luke 1:43.] A stranger. She is so unassuming as to deem this very fact an enhancement of his kindness (Lange). Keil trans. “Why have I found favour in thine eyes, that thou regardest me, who am only a stranger?”
Ruth 2:11. It hath been fully shown me. Everything has been told me (Keil). Boaz could have derived his knowledge only from narrations proceeding from Naomi (Lange). All that thou hast done. So Christ knows all concerning those who would be recipients of His favour (ver. 30–36; John 1:48). And how thou hast left. Hast therefore done what God commanded Abraham to do (Genesis 12:1) (Keil). Thy father and thy mother. [Cf. Matthew 10:37; Matthew 19:29.] One of the plain signs of discipleship. Unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. Lit. Which thou knewest not the day before yesterday (Wright). Here also is a figure of the Gentile Church coming to Christ; see Psalms 45:11-17 (Wordsworth).
Ruth 2:12. The Lord [Jehovah]. And a full reward. A complete reward (Lange). And let thy reward be perfect (Keil). Recalling Genesis 15:1 (Keil). Under whose wings. A figure of speech derived from Deuteronomy 32:11 (Wordsworth). Jehovah represented as an eagle there, spreading abroad her wings over her young. Others think the allusion is to the mercy seat overshadowed by the outstretched wings of the cherubim. Cf. also Psalms 91:4; Psalms 36:8; Psalms 57:2; and our Saviour’s words, Matthew 23:27. In these words we see the genuine piety of a true Israelite (Keil, Groser). The Syriac renders this verse quod sensum, thus, “May the Lord, the God of Israel, reward thee, and give thee thy reward, to whom thou hast come, that He may protect thee under His wings.” Very similarly the Arabic (Wright).
Theme.—CARE FOR THE STRANGER AT THE GATE
“With countless sheaves of golden grain
The joyful reapers strew the plain.”—Anon.
“She was a phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely apparition, sent
To be a moment’s ornament.
I saw her upon nearer view,
A spirit, yet a woman too;
Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin liberty;
A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet;
A creature not too bright or good
For human nature’s daily food.”—Wordsworth.
Then said Boaz … Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not, etc. Have I not charged the young men? etc. And when thou art athirst, etc.
Grace humbles oven mighty men of wealth to utter the law of kindness to the poor and needy (Macgowan). With Boaz, Naomi’s nearness of kin, and Ruth’s worth, were both at work to produce this favourable treatment. He recognises the latter (Ruth 2:11-12) even more plainly than he does the former; for to good men virtue is even more precious than kinship, and goodness will make itself friends always, as here. His good-will shown at once.
(1) He has a care to be understood. Hearing is often without taking heed (Macgowan). Age and experience may fittingly claim a special attention from the young. Note. This was a favourite method of appeal on the part of the Great Teacher.
(1) Commands attention.
(2) Claims a special and thoughtful consideration for what follows. [Cf. Numbers 12:6; Isaiah 1:2; Jeremiah 5:21; Matthew 27:13; Matthew 7:26; Luke 8:8, etc.]
(2) He has a care to put her in her right position as toward himself. Calls her daughter; a respectful, even affectionate, yet delicate form of salutation, most appropriate under the circumstances. Rich men who have poor relations are not always found saluting them in this way. The same noble yet thoughtful spirit is to be seen in every word he utters.
I. See the delicacy of his help.
(1) Does not despise her labour, respects it, forwards it, helps it,—the sign of a truly noble spirit. He calls her near, and makes her gleaning more productive. So the Saviour, signalized His approach to His disciples, on a memorable occasion, by a miraculous draught of fishes. He entered into their toils, and increased its returns so much, that the net brake, etc. (Luke 5:6; cf. also John 21:6).
(2) He managed to supply her wants without taking away her sense of independence. A hint to the benevolent, too often forgotten. Note. Charity itself may be and is an evil, if it pauperize the poor. Depend upon it, the best way is to help them to help themselves. The benevolence of Boaz a model in this: (a) practical; (b) unostentatious. Made the obligation as light as possible, and apparently scarce of a pecuniary nature (Macartney).
II. See its genuineness. Is not anxious to get rid of the burden, or to share it with another; rather would take it all upon himself, be it much or little. “Go not to glean in another field … abide here fast by my maidens.” As if he had said, “Depend upon me and mine.” A right royal, large-hearted spirit; he has at least enough and to spare for her. Note. (a) It is so he begins to show himself already, her Goel, her kinsman. Mercy is never miserly. Boaz in all this, his giving and his doing, an illlustration of the way Christ receives (a) strangers, (b) gleaners in the gospel fields, (c) young converts. His provisions are ample—there is enough and to spare; His fields are wide—there is no need to wander from them. Nay, He is even jealous at the thought of our looking elsewhere. Note. (b) In wandering, a snare is more likely to be met with than a blessing (Macgowan).
III. See its thoroughness. He offers not only help, but protection, and provision for all her wants.
(1) He provides for her society. “Abide fast by my maidens.” Hence we gather it is most decent for women to associate with those of their own sex (Fuller). The disciples wondered that Christ talked with a woman (John 4:27), showing hereby that it was not His ordinary course to converse alone with one of another sex (ibid).
(2) He provides for her safety. “Have I not charged the young men?” etc. Boaz evidently felt that his servants had need of the caution, and that they would stand in awe of his word. Note. (a) Servile natures are most prone to wrong strangers, (b) It is the part of a good master, not only to do no harm himself, but also to take care that his servants do none (Fuller). This instinct to protect the young and the defenceless from wrong and harm, belongs to every truly noble nature, and the want of it, is a certain sign of baseness and churlishness of spirit. See how it finds its noblest expression in the pathetic words of Christ, “How often would I have gathered,” etc. He would that all men should come unto Him and find safety, salvation, life eternal.
(3) He provides for her refreshment. “When thou art athirst,” etc. Matthew Henry thinks the water was drawn from the famous well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate, the water of which David longed for (2 Samuel 23:16). Wherever it came from, there it was (a) already provided; (b) freely offered; [cf. Revelation 22:17]; (c) to be partaken of whenever thirsty [cf. Isaiah 51:1]. Note. (a) Thus generosity a faint type of the liberality of Christ (John 4:10). (b) A work of mercy and love may be shown in a small matter (Bernard).
“Mothers and nurses are very careful, tenderly to handle infants when they are but newly born. So Ruth: Christ was newly formed in her, a young convert, a fresh proselyte; and therefore Boaz useth her with all kindness, both in words and works: ‘Hearest thou, my daughter?’ ”—Fuller.
“Christ knows the heart of a ‘stranger’—a stranger to the work of grace, yet a seeker after it—and He bids such stay by Him, among His people, and in His pastures: ‘Go not to glean,’ etc. He shows not the fulness of His love all at once, lest the trembling soul should be overpowered; but by His gentleness He attracts her love, showing more of the kindness of His heart in acts for her than by any personal expressions of tenderness: ‘Have I not charged?’ etc. Christ forgets not the sensitiveness of the newborn spirit; vigorous faith shall not boast itself against budding hope, neither shall the strength of manhood urge beyond its power the feebleness of childhood; rather growing experience shall lend a helping hand to new-born desires; and freely as we have received, we must freely give.”—The Believer Filled with Christ’s Strength.
“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 encourages and animates you. Keep fast by them. You have a faithful and simple ministry of the gospel. You have a pure and blessed form of public worship. Every benefit 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.”—Tyng.
“According to a proverb of the fathers, benevolence is one of the pillars upon which the world rests. ‘The world,’ said they, ‘is sustained by virtue of three things—the law, Divine worship, and active benevolence.’ … To do a person a favour is to act beneficently towards him, without any hope or desire of return, and may be practised in two cases—to oblige a person to whom we are not under obligation, and to accommodate or oblige a person, with more trouble to ourselves and more gain to him than he deserves. The mercy which is mentioned in the Bible is that which is given freely and without desert upon the part of one to whom it is granted; for instance, the benevolence of God is called mercy, because we are in debt to God, and He owes us nothing.”—Talmud.
“Rabbi Jochanan has said that it is as pleasing in God’s sight if we are kind and hospitable to strangers, as if we rise up early to study His law; because the former is in fact putting His law into practice.”—Ibid.
“The pilgrim and the stranger, who through the day
Holds over the desert his trackless way,
Where the terrible sands no shade have known,
No sound of life save the camel’s moan,
Hears at last, through the mercy of Allah to all,
From his tent-door, at evening, the Bedouin’s call:
‘Whoever thou art, whose need is great,
In the name of God, the Compassionate
And Merciful One, for thee I wait!’
For gifts in His name, of food and rest,
The tents of Islam of God are blest,
Thou who hast faith in the Christ above,
Shall the Koran teach thee the Law of Love?
O Christian! open thy heart and door—
Cry, east and west, to the wandering poor,
‘Whoever thou art, whose need is great,
In the name of Christ, the Compassionate
And Merciful One, for thee I wait!’ ”
Whittier.
“In this wonderful universe around us, when the full play of life is seen, it is all a giving, the ocean to the clouds, and the clouds to the earth, and the earth to the rivers, and the rivers to the ocean back again; the sun sends its radiant beams and benign influences among the stars, and the planets reflect them around, each in his lesser sphere; the ground yields its sustenance to the trees, and the trees their fruit and foliage to man; the flowers send their perfumes abroad to the winds of heaven, nor is there a cessation of these sweet interchanges until that moment when activity ceases, and the stagnation of decay begins. The penurious spirit, the spirit which has but to withhold, is an anomaly, a blot in the whole realm of nature. Nothing is made for itself, and it is a sign of death rather than life when the creature begins to circumscribe its influences, and ceases or refuses to give.”—B.
“Nature says it is ‘good,’ but grace says it is ‘better to give.’ Nature knows something of that lavishness which bestows, because it must bestow, which feels and knows that withholding is to poverty; but grace teaches a higher thing, that ‘giving to the poor is lending to the Lord.’ ”—B.
“One day a philosopher inquired of Rabbi Akiba, ‘If your God loves the poor, why does He not support them?’ ‘God allows the poor to be with us ever,’ responded Akiba, ‘that the opportunities for doing good may never fail.’ ”—Talmud.
“I have noticed in travelling, that when one with a face wrinkied and worn walks into the car, there is not a seat to spare for her; and I have noticed that if one comes in who is young and blooming, of radiant eye and most comely face, there is not one in the car who has not a seat for her. Beauty wins its way. And if it be so in the outward life, which is but a mere shadow of the inward, how much more is it so, in the inward! And nothing is more beautiful, than duty performed under adverse circumstances.”—Beecher.
“He [Boaz] begged she would keep to his grounds during the harvest, and not, in the hope of bettering herself on the one hand, or in the fear of presuming on the other, remove to the lands of any other person. And it will be observed how, in the absence of enclosures, he gives her the means of knowing his grounds, by telling her to adhere to the company in which she already finds herself, that of his own labourers, among whom she might rely upon being perfectly safe. We gather that the persons employed in the field were men-servants, women-servants, and day-labourers, the women seemingly being chiefly employed, in ministering to the wants of the men engaged in active toil, and in performing some of the lighter labours. One of the most important provisions of the harvest field was water, often necessarily brought from some distance, and placed so as to be kept cool.”—Kitto.
“Had he been actuated by the spirit of modern sentimentality, he would probably have been ashamed of her. He would have offered her a piece of money, and sent her away, that it might not become known that this Moabitish beggar is his relative. He would at all events, not have allowed her to go on gleaning. But according to the ancient delicate and religious view, he cannot act thus. Nothing has been asked of him; consequently he has no right to wound the self-respect of others. The privilege of gleaning belongs of right to the widow and the stranger. It is not well that she needs it; but needing it, he cannot hinder her from using it. Even while he admits her relationship, he can only support her in the right, and enlarge its advantages. And this is what he does. Ruth had modestly, gleaned at a distance from the reapers and binders. He calls her nearer, and says, ‘Go not to glean in another field.’ In these words he acknowledges the first degree of the interest to which his relationship binds him.”—Lange.
“Young men, in any station of life, are often, by their rudeness or licentiousness, the terror of modest young women; but Boaz would allow of no indecency in words or conversation amongst his servants. A good man will not only refrain from doing or speaking evil, but will restrain all that depend on him from licentious or rude behaviour. Paul will have none to be admitted to the office of elders in the church, who do not rule well their own houses. Not that it is a duty incumbent on elders only, to keep their families in due subjection, but because elders must be exemplary in everything worthy of praise. We are all accountable for those evils which it was in our power to have prevented.—Lawson.
“’Tis a little thing
To give a cup of water; yet its draught
Of cool refreshment, drained by fevered lips,
May give a shock of pleasure to the frame
More exquisite than when nectarian juices
Renew the life of joy in happiest hours.”
Talfourd.
“The Rabbis particularly insist that we are not to confine the exercise of charity to our own people, for the law of Moses inculcates kindness and hospitality towards the stranger within our gates.”—Talmud.
Theme.—THE LOWLY ATTITUDE OF A GRATEFUL HEART
“When gratitude o’erflows the swelling heart,
And breathes in free and uncorrupted praise
For benefits received, propitious Heaven
Takes such acknowledgment as fragrant incense,
And doubles all its blessings.”—Lillo.
Then she fell on her face.… Why have I found grace in thine eyes … seeing I am a stranger?
Outward courtesies should be done in humility of heart, not out of mere compliment or affectation, or an apish imitation of others. Our finest feelings, like the flowers, open and display themselves almost insensibly and unconsciously. If Boaz proves himself the ideal of a true gentleman, Ruth displays no less delicacy and refinement of feeling throughout the whole interview.
Observe,
I. What deep and touching humility is expressed here. Modesty, unostentatious unassuming worth and humility, are always becoming in the young—more especially so when they are recipients of favours, as here. She cast down her eyes, not looking impudently upon him; she bowed to the ground (Bernard), wondering at his great kindness, though it was but permission to glean and to drink water out of the vessels (Ruth 2:9). Neither regarded this as her right, nor an insult to her independence.
Again,
II. What affectionate gratitude is here. How thankfully doth Ruth take these small favours from Boaz! Perhaps some rich jewel in Moab would not have been so welcome (Bishop Hall). Her words were few and to the point, a rare grace in man or woman. Note. (a) Gratitude in the recipient is as beautiful as generosity in the benefactor. It requires as much grace to receive a favour becomingly, as to bestow one. (b) The humble are always disposed to be thankful. They think everything better than they deserve.
We have a rebuke here.
(1) To such as receive favours, and will not acknowledge them, like the nine lepers (Luke 17:18).
(2) To such as scornfully refuse favours, and will not be beholden to others. Note. (c) Ingratitude is a soul-sin, a stoppage to all favours (Bernard).
Again,
III. What confessions of unworthiness are here. Humble souls wonder at kindnesses, however small, rather than make light of them and disparage the givers; look into themselves and their own unworthiness, rather than remember anything that is of worth in them, or might win them attention. So with Ruth. Her mind is fixed upon that which might have hindered, viz., the fact that she is a stranger, rather than upon anything else. So with the pardoned sinner. He feels himself the object of such grace and boundless mercy, that his own unworthiness and guilt are more apparent to him than ever (Tyng).
Lastly,
IV. What consciousness of need is here. She knows what she is, a “stranger,” but does not attempt to disguise the fact, and all that it means, either from herself or Boaz. A perilous test this, for nothing but goodness in a man will make him kind to strangers (cf. Matthew 5:43-46). Note. Her very frankness is an appeal to his better nature for a continuance of his succour and protection. So humble souls cast themselves always at the feet of Christ. They disguise nothing, they feel that they deserve nothing.
Notice that two things were in her favour, and would naturally tend to lead Boaz to listen to her appeal.
(1) His own mother, Rahab, was once a stranger to Israel’s hope.
(2) The children of Israel had themselves been strangers, and were required to remember this (Deuteronomy 10:19). Ruth, however, very properly looks upon her position as enhancing this kindness. So with man’s low estate and the lovingkindness of God as displayed in the gift of Christ (Luke 1:48). Man’s salvation must ever be a wonder to man, a source of never-ending gratitude and adoration. “Why have I found grace in Thine eyes, that Thou shouldest take knowledge of me?” the language of every regenerate heart (cf. Ezekiel 16; John 15:16).
LESSONS.
(1) “He that exalteth himself shall be abased, but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Notice. That this was a presage of her better estate. Those which shall receive great blessings are ever thankful for little (Bishop Hall).
(2) If poor souls be so thankful to us for a handful, or a sheaf, how should we be affected to our God, for whole fields-full, for full barns, full garners!
“He that has nature in him must be grateful;
’Tis the Creator’s primary great law,
That links the chain of beings to each other,
Joining the greater to the lesser nature,
Tying the weak and strong, the poor and powerful.”
Madan.
“In her humility, Ruth, who had done so much for Naomi, and made so many sacrifices, expects no grace or help from others. Even the slight kindness of Boaz overwhelms her with gratitude. She flings herself at his feet, and pours out her thanks for the kindly notice he has taken of an alien and a stranger.”—Cox.
“The Scripture often noteth this civil gesture and comely behaviour as worthy imitation.… What difference [is there] between this which is done to men and that which is done to God Almighty? Surely, in respect of the outward act, no difference is there at all, but of the mind, which doth conceive of God herein as God, and so this outward humiliation becometh divine adoration; and of man, but as man, worthy of reverence and honour for his place, his age, and gifts; and so the reverence and worship done him is only civil.”—Bernard.
“Civil honour may and must be given to all in authority, according to the usual gestures of the country. Now such bowing was the custom of the Eastern people (Genesis 33:3). As for Mordecai’s instance, it makes not against this, he being either immediately warranted by God, or else he refused to bow to Haman as being an Amalekite, betwixt which cursed brood and the Israelites the Lord commanded an eternal enmity.”—Fuller.
“It is a beautiful thing to see persons in reduced circumstances really humbling themselves to their situation, and receiving kindness as it is intended. It is sad to witness the sullen contempt, the haughty dissatisfaction with which every benefit is received by such persons, when their hearts are not softened by grace. It is more blessed to give than to receive, and far, far easier to give in a right spirit than to receive aright. It is most difficult to find the correct medium between a proud rejection of needful relief and an indolent, self-indulgent dependence; between a haughty ingratitude of manner, if not of mind, and degrading sycophancy; but all things are possible to him that believeth; and he who has treasure and a name in heaven will know how to give to the things of earth their due value; and, governed by the will of God rather than by the ebullitions of pride and selfishness, will tread the narrow way.”—Macartney.
“It may be clearly seen here, that only such as can exercise love understand how to receive it. No one is humbler than he who truly gives from love; of that Ruth is a proof; and for that reason humility never shows itself more beautiful than when love receives. Ruth had made the greatest sacrifices, although no one had a right to expect them from her, and is withal so unassuming as not to look for anything from others. Most people in her place would have made the first favour shown them the occasion for saying, that in truth they were not at all used to such work. Their thanks would have been combined with complaints and accusing insinuations about the distress in which they found themselves, although they had exchanged the people and god of Moab for those of Israel. Ruth’s love did not spring from selfishness, and hence did not give birth to any proud self-consciousness.”—Lange.
“Oh, then, if Ruth interpreted it such a kindness that Boaz took notice of her, being a stranger, how great is the love of God to us, who loved us in Christ when we were ‘strangers and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.’ As the never-failing foundation of the earth is firmly fastened, for ever fleeting, yet settled on no other substance than its own ballasted weight; so God’s love was founded on neither cause nor condition in the creature, but issued only out of His own free favour. So that in this respect we may all say unto God what Ruth doth unto Boaz in the text, ‘Why have we found favour in Thine eyes, that Thou shouldest take knowledge of us, seeing we are but strangers?’ ”—Fuller.
“Here shines forth her humility, modesty, and many other graces: she was, as Gualther saith of the Lady Jane Grey, ‘Pietatis, prudentiæ, et modestiæ delicium.’ Hence she found so much favour, for true goodness is very lovely, οττι χαλον φιλον εστι.… ‘Non sum dignus. Domine, quem diligas,’ saith Augustine. Every saint may say with admiration, as he did in John 14:22, ‘Lord, how is it that Thou hast manifested Thyself to us, and not to the world?’ ”—Trapp.
“Receiving, unless we keep a watch upon our hearts, tends to nurture the meaner and the baser self, the churl spirit within us, which is ever stretching out its greedy hand for gain; but giving belongs to that larger life, which was ours when man was made in the image of his God, ‘for it is God that giveth liberally, and upbraideth not.’ ”—B.
Theme.—THE SECOND GRACIOUS APPROVAL
“Kindness in woman, not her beauteous looks,
Shall win my love.”—Shakespeare.
“Think not the good,
The gentle deeds of mercy thou hast done,
Shall die forgotten all: the poor, the pris’ner,
The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow,
Who daily own the bounty of thine hand,
Shall cry to Heaven, and pull a blessing on thee.”—Rowe.
And Boaz answered, It hath been fully showed me all that thou hast done.… and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother.… and art come, etc.
Never was there given to man such a manual for elegance and delicacy in his social relations as the Bible gives (Tyng). Many of the Old Testament saints models in this respect.
“He is gentle that doth gentle deeds.”—Chaucer.
Boaz an instance of politeness growing out of real sympathy and benevolence. We have in his words condescension without haughtiness, commendation without assumption, familiarity without coarseness, delicacy without pretence. Note. (a) Defect in manners is usually the defect of fine perception (Emerson). (b) Refinement of heart springs only from faith (Lange). It is the natural outgrowth of a disposition permeated with the humility of the gospel of truth (ibid.).
Observe,
I. We can never live a truly noble life without its being known sooner or later. Fame follows virtue as the shadow does the body (Trapp). Well-doing not only deserves praise, but brings favour. Beauty may be defaced, strength may decay, but virtue must always be lovely to those who themselves are virtuous. They seek it, appreciate it, love it wherever it is to be found. So Ruth, and even Orpah, with that which they saw in Naomi (Ruth 1:10), and now Boaz with that which he sees in Ruth.
“He whose mind
Is virtuous, is alone of noble kind;
Though poor in fortune, of celestial race.”—Dryden.
Ruth’s virtues shine conspicuous (a) in her good deeds to Naomi and the dead (see on i Rth. 2:8-9, p. 39); (b) in that which she denied herself; (c) in her choice of Israel and Israel’s God [Ruth 1:14-17, pp. 60–70].
Notice.
(1) She did no more than she apprehended to be her duty—no more than satisfied her own conscience. Hence her surprise. “Why have I found grace?” (Ruth 2:10.) So the Psalmist. “What is man, that Thou art mindful, etc.?” A common attribute of noble spirits displayed here. They do not see the dignity of the life they lead. It seems insignificant, even commonplace. What could be more insignificant than a gleaner’s history? Still conscience reigns; there is loyalty to duty, to convictions, to God; and it is this that will elevate and ennoble the meanest life.
(2) She thought herself unknown and perhaps neglected. This gracious stranger appears to be perfectly familiar with her whole history. So our fidelity may be secret: He with whom we have to do brings our secret things to light. “There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known”—a promise often and partially fulfilled in this world, certainly and completely in the next. It hath been fully showed me. Note. God’s revealing a full one, when His purposes are ripe.
II. We can never do good to others without its bringing a due and appropriate reward. Naomi must have spoken and told all. How, indeed, could she keep silent? Note. Virtue shall not want trumpeters (Bernard). Even the very stones would have cried out, when Goodness incarnate stood among men, and the hour of His triumph had come (Luke 19:40), rather than that He had been without the praise which was His due. A story like Ruth’s sure to touch a cord of sympathy somewhere or other. Who can tell where or how? Note. The ways in which reward is to come, mysterious, but certain—unexpected, but how often nearer than we could have imagined! Ruth begins to reap now for all her past fidelity. Faithful in that which is least, she is to be rewarded with that which seemed to be much.
III. We can never really come to trust in God, and be disappointed either of recognition or recompence. This at the root of all else, the moral of the whole history. Ruth had honoured God, now she finds God begin to honour her. Little did she expect it! Had not, could not have had, the remotest idea of temporal reward. Naomi’s words were too plain. [See on Ruth 1:11-13, pp. 46–48.]
So with all those in the position pathetically described by Mynster, the Danish bishop: “I know that I am among the called, and I muse night and day, in watching and praying, that I may be also among the chosen.” So with Abraham leaving his fatherland, like Ruth, for God. So with Moses leaving the court of Pharaoh to be with God’s people in affliction. So with the apostles, who became aliens for Christ’s sake. So with true converts and proselytes in all ages; they come out, leaving all, not knowing whither they go.
Notice, then, as encouraging and always true of such. God gives to them
(1) reception;
(2) recognition;
(3) recompence.
(1) He receives such; not a single instance of one ever having been rejected. “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” Even sin cannot hinder, if we are persuaded; for it is said of Him to whom we come, “This man receiveth sinners.”
(2) He recognizes such; knows them as His own (John 10:3; John 10:14), and causes them to be known as His. “His Church is to be as a city set upon a hill” (Matthew 5:14), and His people are to be “as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign” (Zechariah 9:16). Said that “by faith the elders obtained a good report;” and Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, says, “In every place your faith Godward is spread abroad” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
(3) He recompenses such. (See next outline.)
LESSONS.—
(1) Well-doing provides favour to the poor, though strangers, at the hands of the virtuous (Bernard).
(2) Let the rich in Christ learn where the first claim upon their charity must always lie, viz., to the poor who are of the “household of faith.”
(3) Let the poor labour for grace and godliness (Bernard); they may deserve help when they need it.
“Always say a kind word if you can, if only that it may come in, perhaps, with singular opportuneness, entering some mournful man’s darkened room like a beautiful firefly, whose happy circumvolutions he cannot but watch, forgetting his many troubles.”—Helps.
“Did it ever strike you that goodness is not merely a beautiful thing, but the beautiful thing,—by far the most beautiful thing in the whole world? So that nothing is to be compared for value with goodness; that riches, honour, power, pleasure, learning, the whole world and all in it, are not worth having in comparison with being good; and the utterly best thing for a man is to be good, even though he were never to be rewarded for it.”—Kingsley.
“A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face; a beautiful behaviour is better than a beautiful form: it gives a higher pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts.”—Emerson.
“As might have been expected, the generous heart of Boaz opens all the wider as he listens to her thanks, and learns how unassuming she is, how grateful even for the easy kindness he has shown her. He knows who she is and what she has done. And the piety as well as the generosity of the man comes out in his reply: ‘You have left all,’ he says, ‘in your love for Naomi,—father, mother, and the land of your nativity. The Lord recompense you for this good deed,’ etc., etc. Obviously, Boaz had the history of his great ancestor in his mind. Like Ruth, Abraham had left all, and gone out into a strange country. And to him God had said, ‘I am thy great reward.’ May the blessing of faithful Abraham come on faithful Ruth; this is the wish and prayer of Boaz. He speaks not as a Hebrew landowner to a Moabitish vagabond and beggar, but rather as a Hebrew judge and prophet,—as a prophet who knew that even the stranger who works righteousness and shows kindness is acceptable to God.”—Cox.
“Nothing can be meaner than flattery addressed either to the rich or poor, but it may frequently be proper to praise those who deserve to be praised. Our Lord praises His disciples when He tells them that they were the men who had continued with Him in His temptations. Paul often commends the Christians to whom he wrote his epistles, although he never failed to remind them that they were indebted to the grace of God for all that was worthy of praise in their conduct or temper. Boaz commended Ruth, not to inspire her with vanity, but to animate her resolution, to comfort her dejected spirit, and to encourage her to use those freedoms which he wished her to use with himself and with other Israelites.”—Lawson.
“Let this encourage men in their virtuous proceedings, knowing that their worthy deeds shall not be buried in obscurity, but shall find tongues in their lively colours to express them. Absalom, having no children, and desirous to perpetuate his name, erected ‘a pillar in the king’s dale,’ and the same ‘is called Absalom’s pillar unto this day.’ But the most compendious way for men to consecrate their memories to eternity is to erect a pillar of virtuous deeds, which shall ever remain, even when the most lasting monument in the world shall be consumed, as not able to satisfy the ravenous appetite of all-consuming time. And to put the worst, grant the envious men with a cloud of calumnies should eclipse the beams of virtuous memories from shining in the world, yet this may be their comfort, that God that ‘sees in secret’ will ‘reward them openly.’ ”—Fuller.
“The merit which Boaz imputes to Ruth is of a twofold nature. Induced by affection. she has left the highest possessions of life. She was no orphan; she was not homeless: she had what she needed; but left all, and that for something unknown, the value of which she was not able to estimate. ‘Thou camest,’ he says, ‘to a people which yesterday, and the day before yesterday (formerly), thou didst not know.’ How? had she not known her family, Naomi, and her own husband who were of Israel? But this family lived in Moab, where Israel’s law was not in force. The national usages and institutions which had been impressed upon Israel by Israel’s God she did not know; and notwithstanding this she had said, ‘Thy people is my people, and thy God my God.’ ”—Lange.
“Many who are connected by affinity think that no more duties remain to be performed when the bond of connection is broken by the death of that husband or wife on whom the relation depended. Naomi and Ruth were of a different spirit. Naomi never could forget Ruth’s kindness to her son. Ruth testified her regard to the memory of her deceased husband by her attentions to his mother. She not only did ‘good and not evil’ to her husband ‘all the days of her life,’ but she did all the good she could to him when he was dead, by performing those services to his mother which he would gladly have performed if he had been still alive. The apostle John testified his affection to his departed Lord by taking His mother to his own house and treating her as a mother There are kindnesses due to the dead as well as to the living, and in these a generous spirit will be careful not to fail.”—Lawson.
“Rouse to some work of high and holy love,
And thou an angel’s happiness shalt know,—
Shalt bless the earth while in the world above;
The good begun by thee shall onward flow
In many a branching stream, and wider grow;
The seed that in these few and fleeting hours
Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sowed,
Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers,
And yield thee fruits divine in heaven’s immortal bowers,”
Wilcox.
Theme.—THE RECOMPENCE OF REWARD
“The soul that works and lives throughout all time
Embrace you in the happy bonds of love.”—Goethe.
“ ’Tis Thine alone to calm the pious breast
With silent confidence and holy rest;
From Thee, great God! we spring—to Thee we tend,
Path, Motive, Guide, Original, and End.”—Johnson.
The Lord [Jehovah] recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee.
Naomi in her poverty had blessed Ruth (Ruth 1:8-9), now Boaz takes up the same strain. Must be something good in those whom poor and rich alike join to praise. Note. (a) The craving of the human heart for the approval of others not necessarily wrong in itself. It is the undue craving, etc. Unexpected, unsought in the present instance, and therefore all the sweeter. When we have the prayers and good wishes of the righteous, heaven itself is touched; and when we win their approval and blessing, it is as though the benediction of God rested upon us (Psalms 37:22). Note. There is a sense in which every believer may be a priest and prophet to those around him [cf. on i:8, 9, p. 39].
Remark,
I. On the Divine recompence as expected and looked for by the righteous. “I know it shall be well with them that fear God;” the language of every truly believing heart. Much that seems against this; but faith looks through the darkness, and beyond the shadows; knows that there is a power that works for righteousness at the centre of all things, and that every deed of love is sure to meet with its due acknowledgment, and cannot pass unregarded of God (Matthew 10:41-42). Note. It is only our little side of the world which is in the shadow at night time, the whole universe else is filled with light.
Mark,
(1) then, That there is a recompence of reward [Genesis 15:1; Psalms 19:11]. God is no respecter of persons. In every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is accepted (Acts 10:34-35). Such have the promise of this life and of that which is to come. But note, Our doings stand linked in Scripture with our reward. Not that they earn the recompence, but that they regulate, they measure, they foreshadow that which is to be given as only God can give [Matthew 7:2; Matthew 25:21; Matthew 25:23].
Mark,
(2) That the godly earnestly desire this recompence of reward. (a) For themselves. They look forward, as the hireling, to the end of the day, when rest begins, and every man shall receive, etc. (Matthew 20:1-16). Not that they look forward merely with the hireling’s spirit. No! but reward means with them, life completed, holiness manifested, nearness to Christ. Therefore they have a desire, like Paul (Philippians 1:23; 2 Timothy 2:8). (b) For others, as here. They see the righteous in times of trial and poverty, as Boaz saw Ruth. They feel how inadequate is any reward they themselves may bestow. And where they fall short, they turn to God: “The Lord recompense,” etc. Note. Boaz did something to bring about this recompence himself—a hint to such as are lavish in good wishes, lax in corresponding deeds.
Remark, II. then, On the Divine recompence as prayed for by the righteous.
(1) These prayers for the recompence of reward may have a personal aspect, as here. There are some deeds that men can repay; others God Himself only can recompense. Ruth’s heroism and self-denial, a type of that which is sustained “as seeing things that are invisible;” which looks for a reward not manifested as yet. Note. (a) Boaz prays for God’s recompence, not man’s; a full reward, abundant as His love; so that she shall miss nothing, but recover all (Lange). But mark, he prays for this only in the measure of her worth and her work. His prayer has respect to what he has seen and heard, even while he is calling upon the Unseen for a blessing beyond the power of man to bestow—a characteristic of all true prayer. There is nothing wild, nothing random, nothing extravagant, in the good wishes and supplications of the righteous. But again note, (b) that God’s reward is always a full reward. Oh! the sure and bountiful payments of the Almighty! Whoever came under His wing in vain? Whoever lost by trusting Him? Whoever forsook the Moab of this world for the true Israel, and did not at last rejoice in the change? (Bishop Hall)
(2) These prayers for the recompence of reward may have a wider aspect. There is a mysterious connection between prayer and Christ’s own recompence upon earth. He is to see of the travail of His soul, but this only as the Church waits upon God in prayer. For this He will be inquired of by the house of Israel (Ezekiel 36:37). The righteous prosper as prayer prevails, the kingdom of heaven spreads as men have power with God. Hence the Church is always to be a praying Church; and when her arms are weary, as with Moses (Exodus 17:11-12), the enemy prevails, and the Divine recompence lingers. Wrong, confusion, evil, seem to have the best of it. It is an age in which the spirits of the martyred ones are represented as crying out, “How long, O Lord?” (Revelation 6:16.)
Remark,
III. On the Divine recompence as certain to the righteous. Dionysius is said to have promised a great reward to some musicians who played before him. When they came for it, he told them it was theirs already. They possessed it, in their very hope and expectations of it. A truth taught in this, but not the whole truth. Righteousness is good in and for itself, and brings its present reward in the glorious hope it inspires. But this is not all. God does not disappoint His children. There is something more awaiting us, something hereafter.
Notice then that God’s reward comes
(1) Sometimes in temporal gifts and blessings, as here; always in the approval of conscience. The Mosaic economy recognized both these, but laid a stress upon the former; while the Christian dispensation makes the spiritual, the inner reward, the great thing.
(2) Sometimes in the recognition and approval of good men, as here; always in the recognition and approval of God. A craving for the former becomes Pharisaism; and therefore the latter is rather to be the distinguishing sign of Christian discipleship [cf. Matthew 6:1-6; Matthew 6:16-18].
(3) Sometimes in the spiritual growth and changes which accompany right doing, as here; always in the after reward of eternity. No doubt that right actions draw us nearer to God, bring peace and quietness of heart now, incline us to become recipients of His mercy, who alone can save. Every deed of righteousness is an acknowledgment of the law which He would bind upon men, and so is a turning to Him and His; not unreward here, not unreward in itself, but to be more fully recompensed hereafter. Note. (a) The workman is not fully paid until his work is done (Matthew 20:8); and (b) That all earthly rewards are partial and unsatisfactory (Luke 14:14). It is heaven that is to compensate for the inequalities in the Divine recompence here. As the end approaches, the reward will become more and more apparent (Psalms 37:4-6; Psalms 37:22-37).
“We find in the Scriptures three sorts of blessings among men. The first is the blessing of a simple wish, which is the most common. Men, naturally limited and feeble, have scarcely anything to bestow but good wishes; they can hardly give anything but their promises, of which, for the most part, they are not very sparing. Their blessings in this particular consist of prayers, which they mutually offer, that the Almighty will deign to preserve—to fill with grace, with joy, and happiness—the persons whom they bless.… The second kind are paternal blessings, which include, besides the wish, an act of approbation and authority. Fathers, then, represent in some sense the Deity. Thus almost all the blessings of the patriarchs were prophetical, because in effect the Spirit of God inspired them.… The third kind are blessings of command, which are given with authority, by a power received from God to bless in His name and in His stead. Thus Moses blessed the people in the character of their leader and mediator. Melchizedec, both a king and a priest, blessed Abraham, and in his person all the patriarchs. Jesus Christ, the King of peace and righteousness, blessed His apostles, and in their persons the whole Church.”—Superville.
“The kindness I show thee is little in comparison of thy desert; God alone can give thee a full reward for thy kindness to thy husband and mother-in-law, and He will do it because thou art come to trust under His wing.”—A. Clarke.
“Boaz does not discourse as one would speak to a Moabitish beggar. Having heard who she is, he looks upon her with eyes full of joy over her pious actions. He speaks to her as a priest and prophet. And since he spake from the enthusiasm of piety, and she was deserving, his words found fulfilment. She received a reward that was not only full, but which completed and wholly filled her; all of which is implied in the [Heb.] words.”—Lange.
“When we begin to feel ourselves lag in Christianity, let us spur on our affections with the meditation of that ‘full reward’ which we shall in due time receive; with our Saviour, let us ‘look to the joys which are set before us;’ and with Moses, let us have ‘an eye to the recompence of reward;’ yet so that, though we look at this reward, yet also we must look through it and beyond it. This meditation of the reward is a good place for our souls to bait at, but a bad place for our souls to lodge in. We must mount our minds higher—namely, to aim at the glory of God, at which all our actions must be directed, though there were no reward propounded unto them.”—Fuller.
“Plutarch tells of a complaint which came from the Islands of the Blessed because improper persons were sent there by the judges in the earthly courts. It was found that titled and noble persons went before the judges with their friends, who solemnly swore that they deserved to be sent to the Islands of the Blessed when they deserved the contrary. It was then decreed by eternal doom that no judgment should be passed till after death, and then only by spirits who could discern the qualities of those whom they judged.”—Dictionary of Illustrations.
“There are great rewards like jewelled crowns; there are little rewards like diamond dust; the great deed of love shall receive its great reward, and the little deed shall receive its measure too; and so it shall be found hereafter that nothing was forgotten.”—Power.
“Reward and recompence unto our good works are not due unto us for any worth of our own, but merely from God’s free favour and gracious promise. For to make a thing truly meritorious of a reward, it is required, first, that the thing meriting be our own, and not another’s. Now our best works are none of ours, but God’s Spirit in us. Secondly, it is requisite that we be not bound of duty to do it. Now we are bound to do all the good deeds which we do, and still remain but ‘unprofitable servants.’ Thirdly, there must be a proportion between the thing meriting and the reward merited. Now there is no proportion between our stained and imperfect works (for such are our best), and that infinite weight of glory wherewith God will reward us. It remains, therefore, that no reward is given us for own inherent worth, but merely for God’s free favour, who crowns His own works in us.”—Fuller.
“Longing for heaven, if there be no yearning and endeavour for present pureness of life and inward peace, … can be but an eager, sanguine lust—never a solemn, inspiring hope.”—Lynch.
“He who sacrifices a whole offering shall be rewarded for a whole offering; he who offers a burnt-offering shall have the reward of a burnt-offering: but he who offers humility to God and man shall receive as great a reward as though he had offered all the sacrifices in the world.”—Talmud.
“There is an invariable connection between the outpouring of spiritual influence and the ascent of prayer, and the latter is the antecedent of the former; and we believe, verily, that there never was an instance yet, in the history of the Christian Church, signalized by the revival and extension of true religion, which was not preceded by another period of humiliation and anxious and agonizing prayer.… At the sixty-second chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah, you read. ‘For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace’—that is, in prayer—‘until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth; and the Gentiles shall see Thy righteousness, and all kings Thy glory.’ Then God speaks in the sixth verse: I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night’—that is in prayer. ‘Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence’—that is in prayer; ‘and give Him no rest till He establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.’ ‘Give Him no rest’—that is, in prayer. Shake off the lethargy which has oppressed you. enter into the holiest of all, bring before it the blood of propitiation, and stand before the Shekinah with unwearied and importunate prayer.”—Parsons.
Theme.—THE WINGS OF THE ALMIGHTY
“The while He sits whose name is Love,
And waits, as Noah did the dove,
To see if she would fly to him.
“He waits for us, while, houseless things,
We beat about with bruised wings
On the dark floods and water-springs,
The ruin’d world, the desolated sea;
With open windows from the prime,
All night, all day, He waits sublime,
Until the fulness of the time
Decreed from His eternity.”—Jean Ingelow.
Under whose wings thou art come to trust.
In all ages and nations conversion is essentially the same; irreligion or false religion is exchanged for the spiritual worship of the true God (Scott). The alien in birth, or in heart and life, comes to take shelter under the wings of the Almighty. The hour of repentance and conversion is the hour of this turning and taking shelter, whenever and wherever it may be. Note. We are all aliens by birth. Humanity left the Ark of shelter ages ago, and has been wandering about like the poor fluttering dove (Genesis 8:9) ever since.
You will notice—
I. That the Divine willingness to receive men is assumed here. And this, although they are aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and children of the sinful race of Moab. So with ourselves. There are times when we must have help or perish; there are dangers from which none but God can save us. Note. We seek wisely only when we seek Godward, as here. The wings under which Ruth had come to trust,
(1) swift,
(2) broad,
(3) strong,
(4) gentle (Talmage). She had come to that One who had revealed Himself to Israel, as a personal God, tender, sympathetic, mighty to save. It is so with all true proselytes. They come not merely to Israel, but to Israel’s God; not merely to the Church, but to Him who is Head of the Church. Note. The two aspects of the Divine character brought together here. God the Refuge is also God the Rewarder. So Christ (Hebrews 12:2) is the author and finisher of faith, One strengthening and supporting, and yet “holding forth the crown of life.”
Observe, then, that when the sinner seeks pardon, or the soul seeks help,
(1) It is here, in God. He has undertaken to protect, to save such [cf. Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 55:6-7; John 3:16-17].
(2) It is ready and waiting. The wings outspread from the foundations of the earth. Outside is danger, inside is protection; outside is wandering, inside is rest; outside is destruction, inside is salvation. Note. The grace that comes too late is no grace at all. What you and I want is a God now (Talmage).
II. That the human readiness to seek God is looked upon as necessary. Ruth had come, etc. Blessed truth! for that opened the way to all the rest of her history. Man’s great sin always is that he will not come. More, Boaz takes it for granted that she had faith; for he that cometh to God must believe, etc. (Bernard).
Men come to God
(1) To trust. Where else can man find a fitting sphere for faith but Godward?
(2) To find shelter (Psalms 91).
(3) To find deliverance.
(4) To find rest and reward.
R. Macbeth on this:—
Theme.—THE SHELTERING WING
We have here one of those grand and suggestive figures of speech with which the Old Testament Scriptures abound, and by which those Scriptures become, to the “scribe well instructed,” an inexhaustible mine of “things new and old,” “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.”
The figure—suggested perhaps in the first instance by the divinely prescribed symbolism of the cherubim overshadowing with their wings the mercy-seat—is of frequent occurrence, with richly beautiful variations of aspect, especially in the earlier books of Scripture and in the Psalms [cf. Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11-12; Psalms 17:8; Psalms 36:7; Psalms 57:1; Psalms 61:4; Psalms 63:7; Psalms 91:4]. By this image we are taught to think of God—
I. As a beneficent sheltering power, to whom the spirit of man, wounded, wearied, baffled by the ills of life, turns and flees for refuge and rest (Psalms 46:1). But this primary conception by no means exhausts the significance of the figure.
It suggests—
II. The paternal relationship of God to His people, and the benign constancy and carefulness with which He fulfils the obligations of that relationship. “As an eagle stirreth up her nest,” etc. (Deuteronomy 32:11-12). This implies
(1) Nurture,
(2) culture,
(3) development,
(4) guidance.
It suggests further—
III. The beauty, grace, and tenderness of the Divine action towards man. We naturally ascribe these qualities in a special degree to the feathered tribes. And the inspired writer takes this natural conception of ours, and fills it with an inspired thought of God. Just as elsewhere it is said, “He that formed the eye, He not see?” etc.; so here we would say, He that taught the dove to soften the nest for her young with the feathers from her own breast, shall He not deal tenderly, graciously, even to self-sacrificing acts of love, with those whom He regards as His own offspring?
(1) He covers them with His feathers (Psalms 91:4);
(2) He keeps them as the apple of His eye (Psalms 17:8), etc. We have here, not the mere negations of the agnostic, but the God of Israel revealing Himself to the hearts of men; not the vague sentiment of the Pantheist, but the living, personal God, entering into human relationships with human spirits. “Immanuel, God with us.” Not the mere “fate,” or “law” of either ancient or modern paganism, but the loving Friend who knows His friends, and is known of them (Proverbs 18:24). In short, we have here a foreshadowing, “as men were able to bear it,” of the final manifestation of the fulness of the Godhead in Him who said, “How often would I have gathered you,” etc.
E. Price on this:—
Theme.—THE HABIT OF HOLY COMMUNION
In this benediction we see—
I.
A clear definition of the happiness the soul desires.
It would feel it is under Jehovah’s protection, like a bird under the wing of its mother.
It would find repose in communion with Him, confiding unsuspectingly in His favour.
II.
The act of the soul itself that would enjoy the blessing.
It must put itself under the Divine protection.
God always works through our willinghood.
III.
The law illustrated by the facts under consideration.
The holier the life, the deeper is to be the enjoyments of the soul.
In this sense, the fellowship a Ruth has with her God is the reward of grace.
“The living God was exhibited to the faith of His ancient people, as the God who dwelt between the cherubims that spread their wings over the mercy-seat, the throne of His grace. It was perhaps in allusion to this symbol of God’s residence amongst His people, that those who sought protection from Him were said to trust under the shadow of His wings. ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. His feathers shall cover thee; under His wings shalt thou trust; His faithfulness shall be thy shield and buckler.’ ”—Lawson.
“This life is but a sort of outward stage, on which we act for a time, and which is only sufficient and only intended to answer the purpose of trying whether we will serve God or no.”—Dr. Newman.
“How inexcusable are we, if we do not make the Lord our refuge, when we were born in a land blessed with the knowledge of Him, baptized in His name, and trained up to know and serve Him! If a Moabitess came to trust under the wings of the Lord God of Israel, how shameful was it in Israelites not to know and trust the God by whose name they were called!”—Lawson.
“Truly this poor stranger is like some poor, helpless, fluttering bird exposed to wild storms and unfriendly influences; she needs shelter and fostering, and God will cover and nurture her beneath His protecting wing—wing that ensures perfect safety, but brings no darkness. Ah! it is a grand belief this man has in the ‘God of Israel.’ It is no cold speculation about a distant incomprehensible Deity, a Being of icy mountainous magnificence, a Being who is but a combination of mysterious forces and laws; but a firm faith in One who is a very Father, tenderly cherishing the weak, caring for every child’s life, comforting in sorrow, sheltering in danger, abundantly rewarding every good word and work. Would that the strong confidence of this man were ours!”—Braden.
“There is nothing softer than a feather. You have noticed, when a bird returns from flight, how gently it stoops over the nest. The young birds are not afraid of having their lives trampled out by the mother-bird. The old whip-poor-will drops into its nest of leaves, the oriole into its casket of bark, the humming-bird into its hammock of moss, gentle as the light. And so, says the Psalmist, He shall cover thee with His wing. Oh, the gentleness of God!”—Talmage.
“In summer the hen’s wings are a canopy to keep her chickens from the heat of the scorching sun; and in winter they are a mantle to defend them from the injury of the piercing cold. So God’s providence and protection makes His children to sprout, thrive, and prosper under it. In prosperity, God’s providence keepeth them from the heat of pride; in adversity, it preserveth them from being benumbed with frozen despair.”
“Let not us trust to the broken wall of our own strength, or think to lurk under the tottering hedge of our own wealth, or wind—shaken reeds of our unconstant friends; but fly to God, that He may stretch His wings over us, as the cherubim did over the mercy-seat.”—Fuller.
“Thou, O God, hast created us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.… I have heard all that philosophers can say, but none of them ever said what Jesus of Nazareth has said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ ”—Augustine.
“What cares the child when the mother rocks it, though all storms beat without? So we, if God doth shield and tend us, shall be heedless of the tempests and blasts of life, blow they never so rudely.”—Beecher.