Mealtime In The Corn Fields

Mealtime In The Corn Fields
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 2, 1863, BY THE REV. C. H.
SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come you here and eat of the bread
and dip your 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."
Ruth 2:14.
IF we lived in the country it would not be necessary for me to remind
you that the time of harvest has again happily come upon us. I saw, one
day last week, a fine sample of the new wheat, part of a considerable
quantity which had just been sold. And in many places I have observed
the fields yielding their sheaves to the reapers' sickle. Let us loudly
lift our praises to God for the abundance which loads the land. An
unusually heavy crop has been given in many quarters and scarcely
anywhere is there any deficiency.
While there is so much of distress abroad–while the great factories of
our country are standing still–we should be grateful that God is
pleased to alleviate the sufferings of the poor by an unusually
bountiful harvest. And we must not forget to pray that during the next
few weeks the Lord would be pleased to give suitable weather so that
the corn may be safely gathered into the garner. That there may be
abundance of bread and no complaining in our streets. I always feel it
necessary, just at this season, to give these hints, because God's
natural remembrances cannot reach us–we hear not the lark teaching us
how to praise, nor do the green fields of grass, and the yellow ears of
corn preach to us of the Lord's bounty.
Little is there to be learned from these long corridors of dreary cells
which we call streets and houses. I see dull brown or dirty-white
bricks everywhere–enough to make one earthly–however much we may pant
for heavenly things. We see neither the green blade nor the full corn
in the ear, and we are so apt to forget that we all depend upon the
labor of the field. Let us unite with the peasant and his master in
blessing and praising the God of Providence, who first covered the
fields with grass for the cattle and now with herbs for the food of
man.
This morning we are going to the corn fields, as we did last year, not
however, so much to glean, as to rest with the reapers and the
gleaners, when under some wide-spreading oak they sit down to take
refreshment. We hope there will be found some timid gleaner here who
will accept our invitation to come and eat with us, and who will find
confidence enough to dip their morsel in the vinegar. May they have
courage to feast to the full on their own account, and then to carry
home a portion to their needy friends at home.
I. Our first point this morning is this–THAT GOD'S REAPERS HAVE THEIR
MEALTIMES. Those who work for God will find Him a good Master. He cares
for oxen, and has commanded His Israel, "You shall not muzzle the ox
when he treads out the corn." Much more does He care for His servants
who serve Him. "He has given meat unto them that fear Him: He will ever
be mindful of His Covenant." The reapers in Jesus' fields shall not
only receive a blessed reward at the last, but they shall have
plenteous comforts by the way.
He is pleased to pay His servants twice–first in the labor itself–and
a second time in the labor's sweet results. He gives them such joy and
consolation in the service of their Master that it is a sweet employ,
and they cry, "We delight to do Your will, O Lord." As Heaven is made
up of serving God day and night, so to true workers, their constantly
serving God on earth brings with it a rich foretaste of Heaven.
God has ordained certain mealtimes for His reapers. And He has
appointed that one of these shall be when they come together to listen
to the Word preached. If God is with our ministers, they act as the
disciples did of old. They received the barley loaves and fishes from
Christ, and handed them to the people as He multiplied them. We, of
ourselves, cannot feed one soul, much less thousands. But when the Lord
is with us, we can keep as good a table as Solomon himself, with all
his fine flour, fat, roebucks, and small deer.
When the Lord blesses the provisions of His House, no matter how many
thousands there may be, all His poor shall be filled with bread. I
hope, Beloved, you know what it is to sit under the shadow of the Word
with great delight and find the fruit sweet unto your taste. Where the
Doctrines of Grace are boldly and plainly delivered to you in
connection with the other Truths of Revelation. Where Jesus Christ upon
His Cross is always lifted up. Where the work of the Spirit is not
forgotten. Where the glorious purpose of the Father is never
despised–there is sure to be food for the children of
God.
We have learned not to feed upon oratorical flourishes or philosophical
fineries. We leave these fine things, these twelfth-cake ornaments, to
be eaten by those little children who can find delight in such
unhealthy dainties–we prefer to hear the Truth of God, even when
roughly spoken–to the fine garnishing of eloquence without the Truth.
We care little about how the table is served, or of what ware the
dishes are made–so long as the Covenant bread and water, and the
promised oil and wine are given to us. Certain grumblers among the
Lord's reapers do not feed under the preached Word because they do not
intend to feed. They come to the House of Bread on purpose to find
fault, and therefore they go away empty.
My verdict is, "It serves them right." Little care I to please such
hearers. I would as soon feed bears and jackals, as attempt to supply
the wants of grumbling professors. How much mischief is done by
observations made upon the preacher! How often do we censure where our
God approves. We have heard of a high doctrinal deacon who said to a
young minister who was supplying the pulpit on probation, "I should
have enjoyed your sermon very much, Sir, if it had not been for that
last appeal to the sinner. I do not think that dead sinners should be
exhorted to believe in Jesus."
When that deacon reached home he found his own daughter in tears. She
became converted to God and united with the Church of which that young
man ultimately became the minister. How was she converted, do you
think? By that address at the close of the sermon, which her father did
not like. Take heed of railing at that by which the Holy Spirit saves
souls! There may be much in the sermon which may not suit you, or me,
but then we are not the only persons to be considered. There is a wide
variety of characters and all our hearers must have "their portion of
meat in due season."
Is it not a selfishness very unlike the spirit of a Christian which
would make me find fault with the provisions, because I cannot eat them
all? There should be the unadulterated milk for the babe in Grace, as
well as the strong substantial meat for the full grown Believer.
Beloved, I know that murmurers may call our manna, "light bread," yet
our gracious God does, "in this mountain make unto all people a feast
of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of
marrow, of wines on the lees well refined."
Often, too, our gracious Lord appoints us mealtimes in our private
readings and meditations. Here it is that His "paths drop fatness."
Nothing can be more fattening to the soul of the Believer than feeding
upon the Word and digesting it by frequent meditations. No wonder that
some grow so little, when they meditate so little. Cattle must chew the
cud. It is not what they crop with their teeth, but that which is
masticated and afterwards digested by rumination that nourishes them.
We must take the Truth of God and roll it over and over again in the
inward parts of our spirit, and so we shall extract Divine nourishment
from it.
Have you not, my Brothers and Sisters, frequently found a Benjamin's
mess prepared for you in a choice promise of your God? Is not
meditation the land of Goshen to you? If men once said, "There is corn
in Egypt," may they not always say that the finest of the wheat is to
be found in secret prayer? Private devotion is a land which flows with
milk and honey–a Paradise yielding all manner of fruits–a banqueting
house of choice wines. Ahasuerus might make a great feast, but all his
hundred and twenty provinces could not furnish such dainties as the
closet offers to the spiritual mind! Where can we feed and lie down in
green pastures in so sweet a sense as we do in our musings on the Word?
Meditation distils the quintessence from the Scriptures and gladdens
our mouth with a sweetness which exceeds the virgin honey dropping from
the honeycomb. Your retired seasons and occasions of prayer should be
to you regal entertainments, or at least refreshing seasons, in which,
like the reapers at noonday, you sit with Boaz and eat of your Master's
generous provisions. "The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain"–you who have
read that excellent book will remember– was custom to say, "that when
he was lonely and when his wallet was empty, his Bible was to him meat
and drink and company, too." He is not the only man who has found a
fullness in the Word when there is want without.
During the battle of Waterloo a godly soldier, mortally wounded, was
carried by his comrade into the rear, and being placed with his back
propped up against a tree, he besought his friend to open his knapsack
and take out the Bible which he had carried in it. "Read to me," he
said, "one verse, before I close my eyes in death." His comrade read
him that verse–"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not
as the world gives, give I unto you." And there, fresh from the
whistling of the bullets, the roll of the drum, and the tempest of
human conflict, that believing spirit enjoyed such holy calm that
before he fell asleep in the arms of Jesus, he said, "Yes, I have a
peace with God which passes all understanding, which keeps my heart and
mind through Jesus Christ." Saints most surely have their mealtimes
when they are alone in meditation.
Let us not forget that there is one specially ordained mealtime which
ought to occur oftener, but which, even monthly, is very refreshing to
us. I mean the Supper of the Lord. There you have literally, as well as
spiritually, a meal. The table is richly spread. It has upon it both
meat and drink. There is the bread and the wine, and looking at what
these symbolize, we have before us a table richer than that which kings
could furnish. There we have the flesh and the blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of which if a man eats, he shall never hunger and never thirst,
for that bread shall be unto him everlasting life.
Oh, the sweet seasons we have known at the Lord's Supper! If some of
you really did understand the enjoyment of feeding upon Christ in that
ordinance, you would chide yourselves for not having united with the
Church in fellowship! In keeping the Master's commandments there is a
"great reward," and consequently, in neglecting them there is a great
loss of reward. Christ is not so tied to the Sacramental table as to be
always found of those who partake there, but still it is in the way
that we may expect the Lord to meet with us. "If you love Me, keep My
commandments"–it is a sentence of touching power. "And His
commandments are not grievous," is the confession of all obedient sons.
Sitting at this table, our soul has mounted up from the emblem to the
reality. We have eaten bread in the kingdom of God and have leaned our
head upon Jesus' bosom. "He brought me to the banqueting house and His
banner over me was love." On these occasions we may compare ourselves
to poor Mephibosheth, who though lame and despicable in his own esteem,
yet was made to sit at King David's table. Or we may liken ourselves to
the little ewe lamb in the parable which did eat of its Master's bread
and drink from his cup and slept in his bosom. The prodigal, who once
fed upon husks, sits down to eat the bread of children. We, who were
worthy to be esteemed as dogs, are here permitted to take the place of
adopted sons and daughters.
Besides these regular mealtimes, there are others which God gives us,
at seasons when perhaps we little expect them. You have been walking
the street and suddenly you have felt a holy flowing out of your soul
toward God. Or, in the middle of business your heart has been melted
with love and made to leap for joy even as the brooks which have been
bound with winter's ice leap to feel the touch of spring. You have been
groaning, dull and earth-bound. But the sweet love of Jesus has
embraced you when you scarcely thought of it, and your spirit, all free
and all on fire, has rejoiced to dance before the Lord with tambourines
and high-sounding cymbals, like Miriam of old.
I have had times occasionally in preaching when I would gladly have
kept on far beyond the appointed hour, for my happy soul was like a
vessel wanting vent. Seasons, too, you have had on your sick-beds when
you would have been content to be sick always, if you could have your
bed so well made and your head so softly pillowed–
"These are the joys He lets us know
In fields and viilages below–
Gives us a relish of His love,
But keeps His noble feast above."
Our blessed Redeemer sometimes comes to us in the morning and wakes us
up with such sweet thoughts upon our soul, we know not how they came.
And when the dew is visiting the flowers in the cool eventide,
sometimes a few drops of Heaven's dew falls upon us, too. And as we
have gone to our beds, our meditation of Him has been sweet. And in the
night watches, when we tossed to and fro and could not sleep, He has
been pleased to become our song in the night–
"He is the spring of all my joys,
The life of my delights;
The glory of my brightest days,
And comfort of my nights."
God's reapers find it hard work to reap. But they find a blessed solace
when they sit down and eat of their Master's rich provisions. Then,
with renewed strength they go with sharpened sickles to reap again in
the noontide heat.
Let me observe that while these mealtimes come, even though we know not
exactly when, there are certain seasons when we may expect them. The
Eastern reapers generally sit down under the shelter of a tree, or a
booth, to take refreshment during the heat of the day. And I am certain
that when trouble, affliction, persecution and bereavement become the
most painful to us, it is then that the Lord hands out to us the
sweetest comforts. As we said last Thursday night, some promises are
written in sympathetic ink and can only have their meaning brought out
by holding them before the fire of affliction.
Some verses of Scripture must be held to the fire till they are
scorched before the glorious meaning will stand forth, in clear
letters, before our eyes. We must work till the hot sun forces the
sweat from our face. We must bear the burden and heat of the day before
we can expect to be invited to those choice meals which the Lord
prepares for those who are diligent in His work. When your day of
trouble is the hottest, then the love of Jesus shall be sweetest. When
your night of trial is the darkest, then will His candle shine most
brightly about you. When your head aches most severely. When your heart
palpitates most terribly. When heart and flesh fail you–then He will
be the strength of your life and your portion forever.
Again, these mealtimes frequently occur before a trial. Elijah must be
entertained beneath a juniper tree, for he is to go a forty days'
journey in the strength of that meat. You may suspect some danger near
when your delights are overflowing. If you see a ship taking in great
quantities of provision, it is bound for a distant port. And when God
gives you extraordinary seasons of communion with Jesus, you may look
for long leagues of tempestuous sea. Sweet cordials prepare us for
stern conflicts. Times of refreshing also occur after trouble or
arduous service. Christ was tempted by the devil, and afterwards angels
came and ministered unto Him.
Jacob wrestled with God and then afterwards, at Mahanaim, hosts of
angels met him. Abraham wars with the kings and returns from their
slaughter. Then is it that Melchisedek refreshes him with bread and
wine. After conflict, content. After battle, banquet. When you have
waited on your Lord, then you shall sit down and your Master will gird
Himself and wait upon you. Yes, let the worldling say what he will
about the hardness of religion, we do not find it so. We do confess
that reaping is no child's play–that toiling for Christ has its
difficulties and its troubles. But still the bread which we eat is very
sweet and the wine which we drink is crushed from celestial clusters–
"I would not change my blessed estate For all the world calls good or
great And while my faith can keep her hold, I envy not the sinner's
gold."
II. Follow me while we turn to a second point. TO THESE MEALS THE
GLEANER IS AFFECTIONATELY INVITED. That is to say, the poor trembling
stranger who has not strength enough to reap–who has no right to be in
the field, except the right of charity. The poor trembling sinner,
conscious of his own demerit and feeling but little hope and little
joy. To the meals of the strong-handed, fully-assured reaper, the
gleaner is invited. The gleaner is invited, in the text, to come. "At
mealtime, come you here." We have known some who felt ashamed to come
to the House of God. But we trust you will, none of you, be kept away
from the place of feasting by any shame on account of your dress, or
your personal character, or your poverty–no, nor even on account of
your physical infirmities. "At mealtime come you here."
I have heard of a deaf woman who could never hear a sound, and yet she
was always in the House of God. And when asked why, her reply was,
"Because a friend found her the text and then God was pleased to give
her many a sweet thought upon the text while she sat in his House.
Besides," she said, "she felt that as a Believer, she ought to honor
God by her presence in His courts, and recognize her union with His
people. And, better still, she always liked to be in the best of
company. And as the Presence of God was there, and the holy angels and
the saints of the Most High–whether she could hear or not–she would
go."
There is a Brother whose face I seldom miss from this House. He, I
believe, has never in his life heard a sound, and cannot make an
articulate utterance Yet he is a joyful Believer and loves the place
where God's honor dwells. Well, now, I think if such persons find
pleasure in coming, we who can hear, though we feel our
unworthiness–though we are conscious that we are not fit to
come–should be desirous to be laid in the House of God, as the sick
were at the pool of Be-thesda, hoping that the waters may be stirred,
and that we may step in and be healed. Trembling Soul, never let the
temptations of the devil keep you from God's House. "At mealtime come
you here."
Moreover, she was bid not only to come, but to eat. Now, whatever there
is sweet and comfortable in the Word of God, you that are of a broken
and contrite spirit, are invited to partake of it. "Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners"–sinners such as you are. "In due time
Christ died for the ungodly"–for such ungodly ones as you feel
yourselves to be. You are desiring, this morning, to be Christ's. Well,
you may be Christ's. You are saying in your heart, "O that I could eat
the children's bread!" You may eat it. You say, "I have no right." But
He gives you the invitation! Come without any other right than the
right of His invitation. I know you will say how unworthy you are–
"Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream."
But since Christ bids you, "come," take Him at His word. And if there
is a promise, believe it. If there is rich consolation, drink it. If
there is an encouraging word, accept it and let the sweetness of it be
yours. Note further, that she was not only invited to eat the bread,
but to dip her morsel in the vinegar. We must not look upon this as
being some sour stuff. No doubt there are crabbed souls in the Church
who always dip their morsel in the sourest imaginable vinegar, and with
a grim liberality invite others to share a little comfortable misery
with them. But the vinegar in my text is altogether another thing.
This was either a compound of various sweets extracted from fruits, or
else it was that weak kind of wine mingled with water which is still
commonly used in the harvest fields of Italy and the warmer parts of
the world–a drink not exceedingly strong, but excellently cooling and
good enough to impart a relish to the reapers' food. It was, to use the
only word which will give the meaning, a sauce which the Orientals used
with their bread. As we use butter, or as they on other occasions used
oil, so in the harvest field, believing it to have cooling properties,
they used what is here called vinegar.
Beloved, the Lord's reapers have sauce with their bread. They have
sweet consolations. They have not merely doctrines, but the holy
unction which is the essence of doctrines. They have not merely the
Truths of God, but a hallowed and ravishing delight accompanies the
Truths. Take, for instance, the doctrine of election, which is like the
bread. There is a sauce to dip that in. When I can say, "He loved me
before the foundations of the world," the personal application, the
personal enjoyment of my interest in the Truth of God becomes a sauce
into which I dip my morsel.
And you, poor Gleaner, are invited to dip your morsel in it, too. I
used to hear people sing that hymn of Toplady's, which begins–
"A debtor to mercy alone, Of Covenant mercy I sing; Nor fear with Your
righteousness on, My person and offerings to bring."
And rises to its climax–
"Yes, I to the end shall endure, As sure as the earnest is given; More
happy, but not more secure, The glorified spirits in Heaven." And I
used to think I could never sing that hymn. It was the sauce, you know.
I might manage to eat some of the plain bread, but I could not dip it
in that sauce. It was too high doctrine, too sweet, too consoling. But
I thank God I have since ventured to dip my morsel in it and now I
hardly like my bread without it.
I would have every trembling sinner be prepared to take the comfortable
parts of God's Word, even those called "HIGH." I hope, Brothers and
Sisters, you will never grow as some Christians do–who like all sauce
and no bread. There are some high-flying Brothers and Sisters who must
have nothing but the vinegar. And very sour it turns upon their
stomachs, too. I hope you will love the bread. A little of the vinegar,
a little of the spice, and much savor. But let us keep to the bread as
well. Let us love all revealed Truth of God. And if there is a
trembling gleaner here, let me invite and persuade her to come here, to
eat the bread and to dip her morsel in the sauce.
Now I think I see her and she is half prepared to come. She is very
hungry, and she has brought nothing with her this morning. But she
begins to say, "I have no right to come, for I am not a reaper. I do
nothing for Christ. I did not even come here this morning to honor Him.
I came here, as gleaners go into a corn field, from a selfish motive,
to pick up what
I could for myself. And all the religion that I have lies in this–the
hope that I may be saved. I do not glorify God. I do no good to other
people. I am only a selfish gleaner. I am not a reaper."
Ah, but you are invited to come. Make no questions about it. Boaz bids
you. Take his invitation and enter at once. But, you say, "I am such a
poor gleaner. Though it is all for myself, yet it is little I get at
it. I get a few thoughts while the sermon is being preached, but I lose
them before I reach home." I know you do, poor weak-handed Woman. But
still, Jesus invites you. Come! Take the sweet promise as He presents
it to you, and let no bashfulness of yours send you home hungry. "But,"
you say, "I am a stranger. You do not know my sins, my sinfulness, and
the waywardness of my heart."
But Jesus does. And Jesus still invites you! He knows you are but a
Moabitess, a stranger from the commonwealth of Israel. But He bids you!
Is not that enough? "Eat the bread and dip your morsel in the vinegar."
"But," you say, "I owe so much to Him already. It is so good of Him to
spare my forfeited life and so tender of Him to let me hear the Gospel
preached at all. I cannot have the presumption to be an intruder and
sit with the reapers." Oh, but He bids you. There is more presumption
in your doubting than there could be in your believing. HE bids you!
Will you refuse Boaz? Shall Jesus' lips give the invitation, and will
you say no?
Come, now, come. Remember that the little which Ruth could eat did not
make Boaz any the poorer. And all that you want will make Christ none
the less glorious, or full of Grace. What? Are your necessities large?
Yes? But His supplies are larger! Do you require great mercy? He is a
great Savior. I tell you that His mercy is no more to be exhausted than
the sea is to be drained. Or than the sun is to be rendered dim by the
excess of the light which he pours forth today. Come! There is enough
for you, and Boaz will not be hurt by what you get.
Moreover, let me tell you a secret–Jesus loves you. Therefore it is
that He would have you feed at His table. If you are now a longing,
trembling sinner, willing to be saved, but conscious that you deserve
it not, Jesus loves you, Sinner, and He will take more delight in
seeing you eat than you will take in the eating! Let the sweet love He
feels in His soul toward you draw you to Him. And what is more–but
this is a great secret and must only be whispered in your ear–He
intends to be married to you. And when you are married to Him, why, the
fields will be yours! For, of course, if you are the spouse, you are
joint-proprietor with Him.
Is it not so? Does not the wife share with the husband? All those
promises which are, "yes, and Amen in Christ" shall be yours–no, they
all are yours NOW, for, "the man is next of kin unto you," and before
long He will spread His skirt over you and take you unto Himself
forever, espousing you in faithfulness and truth and righteousness.
Will you not eat of your own? "Oh, but," says one, "how can it be? I am
a stranger." Yes, a stranger–but Jesus Christ loves the stranger. "A
publican, a sinner." But He is "the Friend of publicans and sinners."
"An outcast." But He "gathers together the outcasts of Israel." "A
stray sheep." But the Shepherd "leaves the ninety and nine" to seek it.
"A lost piece of money." But He "sweeps the house" to find you. "A
prodigal son." But He sets the bells a ringing when He knows that you
will return. Come, Ruth! Come, trembling Gleaner! Jesus invites
you–accept the invitation. "At mealtime come you here and eat of the
bread and dip your morsel in the vinegar."
III. Now, thirdly–and here is a very sweet point in the narrative.
BOAZ REACHED HER THE PARCHED CORN. "She did come and eat." Where did
she sit? You notice she "sat beside the reapers." She did not feel that
she was one of them–she "sat beside" them. Just as some of you do, who
do not come down in the evening to the Lord's Supper, but sit in the
gallery. You are sitting "beside the reapers." You are sitting this
morning as if you were not one of us– had no right to be among the
people of God–still you will sit beside us.
If there is a good thing to be had and you cannot get it, you will get
as near as you can to those who do. You think there is some comfort
even in looking on at the gracious feast. "She sat beside the reapers."
And while she was sitting there, what happened? Did she stretch forth
her hand and get the food herself? No, it is written, "HE reached her
the parched corn." Ah, that is it. I give the invitation, Brothers and
Sisters, today–give it earnestly, affectionately, sincerely. But I
know very well that while I give it, no trembling heart will accept it
unless the King Himself comes near and feasts His saints today.
He must reach the parched corn. He must give you to drink of "the juice
of the spiced wine of His pomegranate." How does He do this? By His
gracious Spirit. He first of all inspires your faith. You are afraid to
think it can be true, that such a sinner as you is accepted in the
Beloved. He breathes upon you, and your faint hope becomes an
expectancy–and that expectation buds and blossoms into an
appropriating faith, which says, "Yes, my Beloved is mine, and His
desire is toward me." Having done this, the Savior does more. He sheds
abroad the love of God in your heart. The love of Christ is like sweet
perfume in a box.
Now, He who put the perfume in the box is the only Person that knows
how to take the lid off. He, with His own skillful hands, takes the lid
from the box. Then it is, "shed abroad," like "ointment poured forth."
You know it may be there, and yet not be shed abroad. As you walk in
the woods there may be a hare or a partridge there, and yet you may
never see them. But when you startle them, and they fly or run before
you, then you perceive them. And there may be the love of God in your
heart, not in exercise, but still there. And at last you may have the
privilege of seeing it–seeing your love mount with wings to Heaven,
and your faith running without weariness. Christ must shed abroad that
love–His Spirit must put your Graces into exercise.
But Jesus does more than this. He reaches the parched corn with His own
hands when He gives us close communion with Him. Do not think that this
is a dream! I tell you there is such a thing as talking with Christ
today. As certainly as I can talk with my dearest friend, or find
solace in the company of my beloved wife, so surely may I speak with
Jesus, and find intense delight in the company of Immanuel. It is not a
fiction! We do not worship a far-off Savior. He is a God near at hand.
We do not adore Him as One who is gone away to Heaven, and who never
can be approached. But He is near us, in our mouth, and in our heart.
And we do, today, walk with Him as the elect did of old–and commune
with Him as His Apostles did on earth–not after the flesh, it is true,
but spiritual men value spiritual communion–better than any carnal
fellowship.
Yet once more let me add the Lord Jesus is pleased to reach the parched
corn, in the best sense, when the Spirit gives us the infallible
witness within, that we are "born of God." A man may know that he is a
Christian infallibly. Philip de Morny, who lived in the time of Prince
Henry of Navarre, was accustomed to say that the Holy Spirit had made
his own salvation to him as clear a point as ever a problem proved to a
demonstration in Euclid could be. You know with what mathematical
precision the scholar of Euclid solves a problem or proves a
proposition! And just the same, with as absolute a precision, as
certainly as twice two are four, we may, "know that we have passed from
death unto life." The sun in the heavens is not more clear to the eye
than his own salvation to an assured Believer–such a man would as soon
doubt his own existence, as suspect his interest in eternal life!
Now let the prayer be breathed by poor Ruth, who is trembling yonder.
Lord, reach me the parched corn! "Draw me, we will run after You."
Lord, send Your love into my heart–
"Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, With all Your quickening powers,
Come, shed abroad a Savior's love, And that shall kindle ours." There
is no getting at Christ, except by Christ revealing Himself to us.
IV. And now the last point. After Boaz had reached the parched corn, we
are told that, "SHE DID EAT, AND WAS SUFFICED, AND LEFT." So shall it
be with every Ruth. Sooner or later every penitent shall become a
Believer. There may be a space of deep conviction and a period of much
hesitation. But, by God's Grace, there shall come a season when the
soul decides for the Lord. If I perish, I perish. I will go as I am to
Jesus. I will not play the fool any longer with my buts and ifs. Since
He bids me believe that He died for me, I will believe it, and will
trust His Cross for my salvation. And oh, whenever you shall be
privileged to do this, you shall be "satisfied." "She did eat and was
satisfied."
Your head shall be satisfied with the precious Truth which Christ
reveals. Your heart shall be content with Jesus, as the altogether
lovely Object of affection. Your hope shall be satisfied, for whom have
you in Heaven but Christ? Your desires shall be satiated, for what can
even the hunger of your desire wish for more than "to know Christ and
to be found in Him"? You shall find Jesus fills your conscience till it
is at perfect peace. He shall fill your judgment till you know the
certainty of His teachings. He shall fill your memory with
recollections of what He did, and fill your imagination with the
prospects of what He is yet to do. You shall be "satisfied." Still,
still it shall be true, that you shall leave something. "She was
satisfied and she left."
Some of us have had deep draughts. We have thought that we could take
in all of Christ. But when we have done our best, we have had to leave
a vast remainder. We have sat down with a ravenous appetite at the
table of the Lord's love and said, "Now, nothing but the infinite can
ever satisfy me. I am such a great sinner that I must have infinite
merit to wash my sin away." But we have had our sin removed and found
that there was merit to spare. We have had our hunger relieved and
found that there was a redundancy for others who were in a similar
case.
There are certain sweet things in the Word of God which you and I have
not enjoyed yet, and which we cannot enjoy yet. We are obliged to leave
them for a while. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but you
cannot hear them now." There is a knowledge to which we have not
attained–a place of fellowship nearer yet to Christ. There are heights
of communion which as yet our feet have not climbed–virgin snows upon
the mountain untrod by the foot of man. There is yet a beyond, and
there will be a forever.
But please notice–it is not in the text, but it is recorded a verse or
two further on, what she did with her leavings. It is a very bad habit,
I believe, at feasts, to carry anything home with you. But she did, for
that which was left she took home. And when she reached Naomi and
showed her the quantity of wheat in her apron, after she had asked,
"Where have you gleaned today?" and had received the answer, she gave
to Naomi a portion of that which she had reserved after she was
sufficed. So it shall be even with you, poor Tremblers, who think you
have no right to any for yourselves. You shall be able to eat and be
quite satisfied–and what is more–you shall have a morsel to carry to
others in a like condition.
I am always pleased to find the young Believer beginning to pocket
something for other people. When you hear a sermon, you think, "Well,
poor mother cannot get out today, I will tell her something about it.
There now, that point will just suit her. I will take that, even if I
forget everything else. I will tell her that by the bedside. There is
my brother William, who will not come with me to Chapel. I wish he
would. But now, there was something which struck me in the sermon and
when I get close to him, I will tell him that. Then I will ask, 'Will
you not come this evening?' I will tell him those portions which
interested me. Perhaps they will interest him."
There are your children in the Sunday school class. You say, "That
illustration will do for them." I think sometimes, when I see you
putting down my metaphors on little scraps of paper, that you may
remember to tell somebody else. I would gladly give more where they are
so well used. I would let fall an extra handful on purpose, that there
may be enough for you and for your friends. There is an abominable
spirit of self among some professors, prompting them to eat their
morsels alone. They get the honey. It is a forest full of honey, like
Jonathan's woods. And yet they are afraid– afraid lest they should eat
it all up–so they try to maintain a monopoly.
I know some congregations which seem, to me, to be sort of spiritual
protectionists. They are afraid Heaven will be too full, that there
will not be room enough for them. When an invitation is given to a
sinner, they do not like it–it is too open, too general. And when
there is a melting heart and a tearful eye for the conversion of other
people, they feel quite out of their element. They never know what it
is to take home that which is left and give to others. Cultivate an
unselfish spirit. Seek to love as you have been loved. Remember that
"the Law and the Prophets" lie in this–to "love the Lord your God with
all your heart and your neighbor as yourself."
How can you love your neighbor as yourself if you do not love his soul?
You have loved your own soul–through Divine Grace you have been led to
lay hold on Jesus. Love your neighbor's soul, and never be satisfied
till you see him in the enjoyment of those things which are the charm
of your life and the joy of your spirit. I do not know how to give my
invitation in a more comfortable way. But as we are sitting down to
feed at His Table in the evening of this day, I pray the Master to
reach a large handful of parched corn to some trembling sinner, and
enable him to eat and be satisfied.