Ruth's Reward–or, Cheer for Converts
(No. 1851)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JUNE 29, 1885,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"The Lord recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of the
Lord God of Israel under whose wings you are come to trust." Ruth 2:12.
THIS was the language of Boaz, a man of substance and of note in
Bethlehem, to a poor stranger of whom he had heard that she had left
her kindred and the idols of her nation, that she might become a
worshipper of the living and true God. He acted a noble part when he
cheered her and bade her be of good courage, now that she was casting
in her lot with Naomi and the chosen nation. Observe that he saluted
her with words of tender encouragement, for this is precisely what I
want all the elder Christians among you to do to those who are the
counterparts of Ruth. You who have long been Believers in the Lord
Jesus, who have grown rich in experience, who know the love and
faithfulness of our Covenant God and who are strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might, I want you to make a point of looking out for
the young converts and speaking goodly and comfortable words to them,
whereby they may be cheered and strengthened. There is a text, a very
short one, which I would like to often preach from in reference to
those who are newly saved, and I would invite you to be continually
practicing it. That text is, "Encourage him." So many throw cold water
upon the aspirants after holiness that I would urge others of you to
heartily cheer them. Where spiritual life is weak, it should be
nurtured with affectionate care. We desire to cherish, not to censure.
That the lambs may grow, they must be shepherded. That the tender babes
in the household may become strong members of the Divine family, they
must be nursed and fed. If Ruth is to be happy in the land of Israel, a
Boaz must look after her and be her true friend. Let her nearest
kinsmen be speedy in fulfilling this duty.
I have no doubt that much sorrow might be prevented if words of
encouragement were more frequently spoken fitly and in season and,
therefore, to withhold them is sin. I am afraid that many poor souls
have remained in darkness, shut in within themselves, when two or three
minutes' brotherly cheer might have taken down the shutters and let in
the light of day. Many matters are real difficulties to young
Believers, which are not difficulties to us who have been longer in the
Way. You and I could clear up, in ten minutes' conversation, questions
and doubts which cause our uninstructed friends months of misery. Why
are we so reticent when a word would send our weaker Brothers and
Sisters on their way rejoicing? Therefore I entreat all of you, whom
God has greatly blessed, to look after those that are of low estate in
spiritual things–try to cheer and encourage them. As you do this, God
will bless you in return, but, if you neglect this tender duty, it may
be that you, yourselves, will grow despondent and be in need of
friendly succor. Encouragement is due to young converts–every Ruth
ought to be comforted when she casts in her lot with the people of God.
I think I can say for every Christian here that the young converts
among us have our very best wishes. We desire for them every good and
spiritual gift. It will be our wisdom to turn our kindly wishes into
prayers. Wishes are lame, but prayer has legs, yes, wings, with which
it runs and even flies, towards God! Wishes are baskets, but prayer
fills them with bread! Wishes are clouds, but prayer is the rain! Look
how Boaz, wishing well, as he did to the humble maiden from Moab, spoke
with her and then spoke with God in prayer for her. I take it that my
text is a prayer as well as a benediction–"Jehovah recompense your
work, and a full reward be given you of Jehovah, God of Israel, under
whose wings you are come to trust." Let us pray more than ever for the
feeble-minded and the young! Think of them whenever the King grants you
an audience. Search them out with kindly care, as a shepherd looks for
his young lambs–and then lay them in the bosom of your love and carry
them over rough places.
We would, in all probability, see a much more rapid growth in Grace
among our young converts if they were better nursed and watched over.
Some of us owed much to old, experienced Christians in our younger
days. I know I did. I shall forever respect the memory of a humble
servant in the school where I was usher, at New Market–an old woman
who talked with me concerning the things of the Kingdom and taught me
the way of the Lord more perfectly. She knew the Doctrines of Grace
better than many a doctor of divinity and she held them with the
tenacious grasp of one who found her life in them. It was my great
privilege to help her in her old age and but a little while ago she
passed away to Heaven. Many things did I learn of her which, today, I
delight to preach! Let it be said of us, when we, too, grow old, that
those who were children when we were young were helped by us to become
useful in their riper years. They will not forget us if we have been to
them what Aquila and Priscilla were to Apollos, or Ananias to Paul, or
Paul to Timothy. They will pray for us and God will bless us in answer
to their prayers when the grasshopper becomes a burden to us and our
infirmities are multiplied.
Having thus introduced the text, let us notice in this model word of
encouragement, what the convert has done that we should encourage him.
Secondly, what that full reward is which he will receive. And, thirdly,
following out the historical connection of the text, I should like to
conclude by noticing what figure sets forth this full reward–a reward
which we desire for every Ruth who has left those who were outside of
the Covenant in Moab to come and join herself with the Israel of
God–and the God of Israel.
I. First, then, WHAT HAS THE YOUNG CONVERT DONE? We illustrate the
subject by the instance of Ruth. Many young converts deserve
encouragement because they have left all their old associates. Ruth, no
doubt, had many friends in her native country, but she tore herself
away to cling to Naomi and Naomi's God. Perhaps she parted from a
mother and a father–if they were alive, she certainly left them to go
to the Israelites' country. Possibly she bade adieu to brothers and
sisters, certainly she left old friends and neighbors, for she resolved
to go with Naomi and share her lot. She said, "Entreat me not to leave
you, or to return from following after you: for where you go, I will
go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people,
and your God my God. Where you die, will I die and there will I be
buried. The Lord do so to me and more, also, if anything but death
parts you and me."
The young convert is an emigrant from the world and has become, for
Christ's sake, an alien. Possibly he had many companions–friends who
made him merry, after their fashion–men of fascinating manners who
could easily provoke his laughter and make the hours dance by. But,
because he found in them no savor of Christ, he has forsaken them and
for Christ's sake, they have forsaken him. Among his old associates he
has become as a speckled bird and they are all against him. You may,
perhaps, have seen a canary which has flown from its home, where it
enjoyed the fondness of its mis-tress–you may have seen it out among
the sparrows. They pursue it as though they would tear it to pieces and
they give it no rest anywhere. Just so the young convert–being no
longer of the same feather as his comrades–is the subject of their
persecution. He endures trials of cruel mockings and these are as hot
irons to the soul. He is now, to them, a hypocrite and a fanatic–they
honor him with ridiculous names by which they express their scorn. In
their hearts they crown him with a fool's cap and write him down as
both idiot and stupid. He will need to exhibit years of holy living
before they will be forced into respect for him–and all this because
he is quitting their Moab to join with Israel!
Why should he leave them? Has he grown better than they? Does he
pretend to be a saint? Can he not drink with them as he once did? He is
a protest against their excesses and men don't care for such protests.
Can he not sing a jolly song as they do? Indeed, he has turned saint,
and what is a saint but a hypocrite? He is a bit too precise and
Puritanical and is not to be endured in their free society! According
to the grade in life, this opposition takes one form or another, but in
no case does Moab admire the Ruth who deserts her idols to worship the
God of Israel.
It is not natural that the Prince of Darkness should care to lose his
subjects, or that the men of the world should love those who shame
them. Is it not most meet that you older Christian people, who have
long been separated from the world and are hardened against its jeers,
should step in and defend the newcomers? Should you not say, "Come with
us and we will do you good–we will be better friends to you than those
you have left. We will accompany you on a better road than that from
which you have turned and we will find you better joys than worldlings
can ever know"? When our great King is represented as saying to His
spouse, "Forget, also, your own people and your father's house," He
adds, "so shall the King greatly desire your beauty, for He is your
Lord." Thus He gives her new company to supply the place of that which
she gives up.
Let us gather a hint from this and make a society for those whom the
world casts out. Perhaps there has come into this house, at this time,
a man or woman who has just rushed out of the City of Destruction, only
too glad to be outside its walls. The poor soul does not know which way
to run, only he knows that he must run away from his former evil place,
for he finds that the city is to be destroyed. O Brothers and Sisters,
while such fugitives are wondering which way to go and their evil
companions are inviting them to return, step in and show them the true
place of shelter! Run with them to the clefts of the Rock. Lift them up
if they stumble! Guide them if they miss their way. Fend off their
former tempters–form a bodyguard around them–escort them till they
are out of immediate danger! Charm them with your loving conversation
till they forget their false friends. When Ruth had left her former
connections, it was wise and kind for Boaz to address her in the words
of comfort which I will again quote to you–"The Lord recompense your
work, and a full reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel, under
whose wings you are come to trust."
Next, Ruth, having left her old companions, had come among strangers.
She was not yet at home in the land of Israel, but confessed herself,
"a stranger." She knew Naomi, but in the whole town of Bethlehem she
knew no one else. When she came into the harvest field, the neighbors
were gleaning, but they were no neighbors of hers–no glance of
sympathy fell upon her from them–perhaps they looked at her with cold
curiosity. They may have thought, "What business has this Moabitess to
come here to take away a part of the gleaning which belongs to the poor
of Israel?" I know that such feelings do arise among country people
when a stranger from another parish comes gleaning in the field. Ruth
was a foreigner and, of course, in their eyes, an intruder. She felt
herself to be alone, though under the wings of Israel's God.
Boaz very properly felt that she should not think that courtesy and
kindness had died out in Israel and he made a point, though he was by
far her superior in station, to go to her and speak a word of
encouragement to her. Should not certain of you follow the same
practice? May I not call you to do so at once? There will come into our
assemblies those that have been lately impressed with a sense of their
guilt, or have newly sought and found the Savior–should they be
suffered to remain strangers among us? Should not recognition,
companionship and hospitality be extended to them to make them feel at
home with us? I would sincerely assure any that have come to this
Tabernacle for a time and are still unnoticed, that they are singularly
unfortunate, for, as a rule, a stranger is looked after and, in every
case, he will be welcomed.
If you have been overlooked, you must have been sitting in rather an
odd part of the building, for certain of our friends give themselves to
the work of hunting up newcomers and conversing with them–so much so
that now and then I get complaints of their supposed intrusion! Those
complaints much delight me, for they show that earnestness still
survives among us! Be prudent, gentle and courteous, of course, but do
be on the watch for any who are seeking the Lord and are desirous to
unite with His people! I have occasionally to hear a friend say, "Sir,
I attended your ministry for months, but those who sat with me in the
pew never took the slightest notice of me. I often wished they would,
for I was really desirous to be led by the hand to the Savior."
I do not like to hear that accusation! I would infinitely rather that
people should complain that you spoke too much of religion to them than
that you never said a word! Your supposed intrusion might be greatly to
your credit, but your silent indifference must be to your dishonor. Let
us try, with all our hearts, to look upon every man that no single
seeking soul shall feel itself deserted. Seekers should be spared the
agony of crying, "No man cares for my soul!" Are you a Believer? Then
you are my Brother. We are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and of the household of God! We would lay
ourselves out to bring our fellow men to Jesus and to aid new converts
in finding perfect peace at His feet. Let us learn the art of personal
address. Do not let us be so bashful and retiring that we leave others
in sorrow because we cannot raise up our courage to say a kind and
tender word in the name of the Lord Jesus. Come, let us pluck up
courage and encourage every Ruth when she is timid among strangers. Let
us help her to feel at home in Immanuel's land!
The new convert is like Ruth in another respect–he is very low in his
own eyes. Ruth said to Boaz, "Why have I found grace in your eyes, that
you should take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?" She said
again, "Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have
comforted me and because you have spoken friendly unto your handmaid,
though I am not like one of your handmaidens." She had little
self-esteem and, therefore, she won the esteem of others. She felt
herself to be a very insignificant person, to whom any kindness was a
great favor–and so do young converts, if they are real and true. We
meet with a certain class of them who are rather pert and forward, as
the fashion of the day is
in certain quarters, and then we do not think so much of them as they
do of themselves! But the genuine ones, who are truly renewed, who
really hold out and continue to the end, are always humble.
And frequently they are very trembling, timid and diffident. They feel
that they are not worthy to be put among the children and they come to
the Lord's Table with holy wonder. I remember when I first went to the
house of God as a Christian youth who had lately come to know the Lord.
I looked with veneration on every officer and member of the Church! I
thought them all, if not quite angels, yet very nearly as good! At any
rate, I had no disposition to criticize them, for I felt myself to be
so undeserving. I do not think that I have quite so high an idea of all
professed Christians as I had, then, for I am afraid that I could not
truthfully entertain it. But, for all that, I think far better of them
than many are apt to do. I believe that young people, when first
brought to Christ, have so deep a sense of their own imperfection and
know so little of the infirmities of others, that they look up to the
members of the Church with a very high esteem– and this fixes upon
such members, officers and pastors a great responsibility. Since these
converts are lowly in their own eyes, it is proper and safe to
encourage them.
Moreover, it is kind and necessary to do. Never be critical and severe
with them, but deal tenderly with their budding gifts–a frosty
sentence may nip them–a genial word will develop them. Our Lord bids
you feed the lambs. Act the shepherd towards them and never overdrive
them, lest they faint by the way. It is a lovely sight to see a
matronly Christian cheering on her class of girls, bearing with their
waywardness and folly, and fostering everything that is hopeful in
them. These are the mothers in Israel to whom shall be honor! I love to
see the advanced man of God giving a hearty grip to a youth, loving
him, advising him–yes, and adding a word of praise when it can be
judiciously applied. With unequal footsteps the raw recruits are trying
to keep step with the better-trained soldiers. Let their comrades smile
upon them and see in them the warriors of the future who shall rally to
the standard when our warfare is ended.
Once more, the young convert is like Ruth because he has come to trust
under the wings of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Here is a beautiful
metaphor. You know that the wings of a strong bird, especially, and of
any bird relatively, is strong. It makes a kind of arch and from the
outer side you have the architectural idea of strength. Under the
wings, even of so feeble a creature as a hen, there is a complete and
perfect refuge for her little chicks, judging from without. And then
the inside of the wing is lined with soft feathers for the comfort of
the young. The interior of the wing is arranged as though it would
prevent any friction from the strength of the wing to the weakness of
the little bird. I do not know of a more snug place than under the wing
feathers of the hen. Have you ever thought of this?
Would not the Lord have us, in time of trouble, come and cower down
under the great wing of His Omnipotent Love, just as the chicks do
under the mother? Here is the Scripture–"He shall cover you with His
feathers, and under His wings shall you trust: His truth shall be your
shield and buckler." What a warm defense! When I have seen the little
birds stick their heads out from under the feathers of their mother's
breast, it has looked like the perfection of happiness! And when they
have chirped their little notes, they have seemed to tell hr how warm
and safe they were, though there may have been a rough wind blowing
around the hen. They could not be happier than they are! If they run a
little way, they are soon back, again, to the wing, for it is house and
home to them–it is their shield and succor, defense and delight !
This is what our young converts have done. They have come, not to trust
themselves, but to trust in Jesus. They have come to find a
righteousness in Christ–yes, to find everything in Him–and so they
are trusting, trusting under the wings of God! Is not this what you are
doing? You full-grown saints–is not this your condition? I know it is!
Very well, then, encourage the younger sort to do what you delight to
do! Say to them, "There is no place like this. Let us joyously abide
together under the wings of God." There is no rest, no peace, no calm,
no perfect quiet like that of giving up all care because you cast your
care on God, renouncing all fear because your only fear is a fear of
offending God! Oh the bliss of knowing that sooner may the universe be
dissolved than the great heart that beats above you cease to be full of
tenderness and love to all those that shelter beneath it! Faith,
however little, is a precious garden of the Lord's right hand
planting–do not trample on it, but tend it with care and water it with
love.
II. But now I must come closer to the text. Having shown you what these
converts have done to need encouragement,
I need, in the second place, to answer the question, WHAT IS THE FULL
REWARD OF THOSE WHO COME TO
TRUST UNDER THE WINGS OF GOD?
I would answer that a full reward will come to us in that day when we
lay down these bodies of flesh and blood, that they may sleep in Jesus,
while our unclothed spirits are absent from the body but present with
the Lord. In the disembodied state, we shall enjoy perfect happiness of
spirit. But a fuller reward will be ours when the Lord shall come a
second time and our bodies shall rise from the grave to share in the
glorious reign of the descended King! Then, in our perfect manhood, we
shall behold the face of Him we love and shall be like He! Then shall
come the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body and we, as body,
soul and spirit–a trinity in unity–shall be forever with Father, Son
and Holy Spirit–our triune God! This unspeakable bliss is the full
reward of trusting beneath the wings of Jehovah!
But there is a present reward and to that Boaz referred. There is, in
this world, a present recompense for the godly, notwithstanding the
fact that many are true afflictions of the righteous. Years ago a
brother minister printed a book, "How to Make the Best of Both Worlds,"
which contained much wisdom. But, at the same time, many of us objected
to the title as dividing the pursuit of the Believer and putting the
two worlds too much on a level. Assuredly, it would be wrong for any
godly man to make it his objective in life to make the best of both
worlds in the way which the title is likely to suggest. This present
world must be subordinate to the world to come and is to be cheerfully
sacrificed to it if necessary. Yet, be it never forgotten, if any man
will live unto God, he will make the best of both worlds, for godliness
has the promise of the life that now is as well as of that which is to
come. Even in losing the present life for Christ's sake, we are saving
it–and self-denial and taking up the Cross are but forms of
blessedness. If we seek, first, the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness, all other things shall be added to us!
Do you ask me, "How shall we be rewarded for trusting in the Lord?" I
answer, first, by the deep peace of conscience which He will grant you.
Can any reward be better than this? When a man can say, "I have sinned,
but I am forgiven," is not that forgiveness an unspeakable reward? My
sins were laid on Jesus and He took them away as my Scapegoat, so that
they are gone forever and I am consciously absolved. Is not this a
glorious assurance? Is it not worth worlds? A calm settles down upon
the heart which is under the power of the blood of sprinkling! A voice
within proclaims the peace of God and the Holy Spirit seals that peace
by His own witness–and thus all is rest. If you were to offer all that
you have, to buy this peace, you could not purchase it! And were it
purchasable, it were worthwhile to forego the dowry of a myriad worlds
to have it! If you had all riches and power and honor you could not
reach the price of the Pearl of Peace!
The revenues of kingdoms could not purchase so much as a glance at this
jewel. A guilty conscience is the undying worm of Hell. The torture of
remorse is the fire that never can be quenched. He that has that worm
gnawing at his heart and that fire burning in his bosom is already
lost. On the other hand, he that trusts in God through Christ Jesus is
delivered from inward Hell-pangs and the burning fever of unrest is
cured. He may well sing for joy of soul, for Heaven is born within him
and lies in his heart like the Christ in the manger. O harps of Glory,
you ring out no sweeter note than that of transgression put away by the
atoning Sacrifice!
That, however, is only the beginning of the Believer's reward. He that
has come to trust in God shall be "quiet from fear of evil." What a
blessing that must be! "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his
heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." When a man is at his very
highest as to this world's joy, he hears the whisper of a dark spirit
saying, "Will it last?" He peers into the morning with apprehension,
for he knows not what may be lurking in his path. But when a man is no
longer afraid, but is prepared to welcome whatever comes because he
sees in it the appointment of a loving Father, why, then he is in a
happy state! Suppose one went home tonight and found, as Job did, that
all his estate had been burned or stolen and that his family had all
died? What a splendid condition must he be in if he could say amid his
natural agony, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord"! Such possession of the soul in patience is one
of the full rewards of faith. He that has it wears a nobler decoration
within his breast than all the stars that royalty could bestow!
Deliverance from the pangs of conscience and freedom from the griefs of
fear make up a choice favor such as only God can give!
More than this–the man who trusts in God rests in Him with respect to
all the supplies he now needs, or shall ever need. What happy music
gladdens the green pastures of that 23rd Psalm! I am half inclined to
ask you to rise and sing it, for my heart is leaping for joy while I
rehearse the first stanza of it–
"The Lord my Shepherd is:
I shall be well supplied.
Since He is mine and I am His,
What can I need beside?"
Usually man is made up of needs–and he must have reached the land of
abounding wealth who boldly asks, "What can I need beside?" We are
never quite content. It always needs a little more to fill the cup to
the brim, but only think of singing, "What can I need beside?" Is not
this sweet content a full reward from the Lord in whom we trust? Human
nature has swallowed a horseleech and, therefore, it cries night and
day, "Give, give, give!" Who but the Lord can satisfy this craving? The
vortex of dissatisfaction threatens to suck in the main ocean and still
to remain unfilled, but the Lord rewards faith by satisfying its mouth
with good things and making it sing–
"What need shall not our God supply
From His redundant stores?
What streams of mercy from on high
An arm almighty pours!"
I cannot imagine a fuller present reward than complete rest from all
anxiety and calm confidence in a Providence which ran never fail!
Another part of the Believer's great gain lies in the consciousness
that all things are working together for His good. Nothing is, after
all, able to injure us. Neither pains of body, nor sufferings of mind,
nor losses in business, nor cruel blows of death can work us real ill.
The thefts of robbers, the mutterings of slanderers, the changes of
trade, the rage of the elements shall all be overruled for good! These
many drugs and poisons, compounded in the mortar of the unerring
Chemist, shall produce a healthy potion for our souls! "We know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to His purpose." It is a great joy to know
this to be an unquestionable fact and to watch, with expectation, to
see it repeated in our own case. It takes the sting out, at once, of
all these wasps that otherwise would have worried us. And it transforms
them into bees, each one gathering honey for us! Is not this a reward
for which a man may well forego the flatteries of sin? O Faith, you
enrich and ennoble all who entertain you!
Then, let me tell you, they that trust in God and follow Him have
another full reward and that is, the bliss of doing good. Can any
happiness excel this? This joy is a diamond of the first water! Match
me, if you can, the joy of helping the widow and the fatherless! Find
me the equal of the delight of saving a soul from death and covering a
multitude of sins! It were worth worlds to have faith in God, even if
we lived here forever, if our sojourn could be filled up with doing
good to the poor and needy and rescuing the erring and fallen. If you
desire to taste the purest joy that ever flowed from the fountains of
Paradise, drink of the unselfish bliss of saving a lost soul! When
faith in God teaches you to forego self and live wholly to glorify God
and benefit your fellow men, it puts you on the track of the Lord of
angels and, by following it, you will come to reign with Him.
There has lately passed away from our midst on this side of the river
one who, in his earlier days, knew the curse of drunkenness, but was
led, by hearing the Gospel in the street, to seek and find a Savior and
so to escape from the bondage of an evil habit. He became a Christian
temperance man, devoting himself–I was about to say every day in the
week, to the cause–for I think he did so! All his spare time was spent
for that sacred purpose. He has lately passed away, but not without
having enjoyed a reward from his God. When I used to look into the face
of our friend, Mr. Thorniloe, I felt that he had received a full return
for casting himself upon the Lord, for the joy of his heart shone in
his countenance and delight in his work caused it to be his recreation!
O drunk, if you could become such as he was, total abstinence would be
no trial, but a pleasure! O idle professor, if you would be as diligent
in serving your Lord as he was, life would be music to you! He who has,
himself, fallen into a sin, should find his chief joy in seeking to
reclaim others from the same condemnation. And in doing so, he will
light upon clouds of happiness and flocks of joys! As a shepherd
rejoices most when he has found his straying sheep, so will you who
trust in the Lord, if you will, in the future, lay yourselves out to
pluck men from eternal ruin.
Brothers and Sisters, there remains the singular and refined joy which
comes of a humble perception of personal growth. Children rejoice when
they find that they are growing more like their parents and may soon
hope to be strong and full-grown. Most of us remember our childish
mirth when we began to wear garments which we thought would make us
look like men! When I first wore boots and walked through the stubble
with my big uncle, I felt that I was somebody! That, of course, was
childish pride–but it has its commendable analogy in the pleasure of
gathering spiritual strength and becoming equal to higher labors and
deeper experiences! When you find that you do not lose your temper
under provocation, as you did a year ago, you are humbly thankful. When
an evil lust is driven away and no longer haunts you, you are quietly
joyful, rejoicing with trembling. When you have sustained a trial which
once would have crushed you, the
victory is exceedingly sweet. Every advance in holiness is an advance
in secret happiness! To be a little more meet for Heaven is to have a
little more of Heaven in the heart! As we mellow for the celestial
garner, we are conscious of a more pervading sweetness which, in
itself, is no mean reward of virtue.
Let me tell you another splendid part of this full reward, and that is
to have prevalence with God in prayer. Somebody called me, in print, a
hypocrite, because I said that God had heard my prayers. This was
evidently malicious–a man might be called fanatical for such a
statement, but I cannot see the justice of imputing hypocrisy on that
account! If by hypocrisy he meant a sincere conviction that the great
God answers prayer, I will be more and more hypocritical as long as I
live! I will glory in the name of God–the God That Hears My Prayer! If
that writer had claimed that he prayed and had been heard, it is
possible that he would have been guilty of hypocrisy–of that matter,
he is personally the best informed, and I leave the question with him.
But he has no right to measure my corn with his bushel. Certainly, I
shall not use his bushel to measure my corn, but I shall speak what I
know and am persuaded of! In deep sincerity I can bear testimony that
the Lord hears prayer and that it is His desire to do so!
Many a saint of God has but to ask and have. When such men wrestle with
God in prayer, they always prevail like Israel of old at Jabbok, when
he grasped the Angel and would not let Him go without a blessing. If
you have got this power to the fullest, you will often say to yourself,
"If I have nothing else but power at the Throne of Grace, I have more
than enough to recompense me for every self-denial." What are the jests
and jeers of an ungodly and ignorant world in comparison with the honor
of being favored of the Lord to ask what we will and receive the utmost
of our desires?
Many other items make up the full of the reward, but perhaps the chief
of all is communion with God–to be permitted to speak with Him as a
man speaks with his friend–to be led by the Divine Bridegroom to sit
down in the banqueting house while His banner over us is Love. Those
who dwell outside the palace of Love know nothing about our secret
ecstasies and raptures. We cannot tell them much about our spiritual
delights, for they would only turn, again, and tear us. The delights of
heavenly fellowship are too sacred to be commonly displayed. There is a
joy, the clearest example of Heaven below, when the soul becomes as the
chariot of Amminadib by the energy of the Holy Spirit! I believe,
Brothers and Sisters, that our lot, even when we are poor and sorrowful
and cast down, is infinitely to be preferred to that of the loftiest
emperor who does not know the Savior!
Oh, poor kings, poor princes, poor peers, poor gentry that do not know
Christ! But happy paupers that know Him! Happy slaves that love Him!
Happy dying men and women that rejoice in Him! Those have solid joy and
lasting pleasure who have God to be their All in All. Come, then, and
put your trust under the wings of God and you shall be blessed in your
body and in your soul! You shall be blessed in your house and in your
family! You shall be blessed in your basket and in your store–blessed
in your sickness and in your health, blessed in time and in
eternity–for the righteous are blessed of the Lord and their offspring
with them!
My prayer for every young convert is the benediction of Boaz, "The Lord
recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of the Lord God of
Israel, under whose wings you are come to trust." May this benediction
rest on each one of you forever.
III. Finally, WHAT FIGURE SETS FORTH THIS FULL REWARD? What was the
full reward that Ruth obtained? I do not think that Boaz knew the full
meaning of what he said. He could not foresee all that was appointed of
the Lord. In the light of Ruth's history, we will read the good man's
blessing. This poor stranger, Ruth, in coming to put her trust in the
God of Israel, was giving up everything. Yes, but she was also gaining
everything. If she could have looked behind the veil which hides the
future, she could not have conducted herself more to her own advantage
than she did! She had no prospect of gain. She followed Naomi expecting
poverty and obscurity, but, in doing that which was right, she found
the blessing which makes rich! She lost her Moabite kindred, but she
found a noble kinsman in Israel. She left the home of her fathers in
the other land to find a heritage among the chosen tribes, a heritage
redeemed by one who loved her! Ah, when you come to trust in Christ,
you find, in the Lord Jesus Christ, One who is next of kin to you, who
redeems your heritage and unites you to Himself! You thought that He
was a stranger. You were afraid to approach Him, but He comes near to
you and you find yourself near to His heart and one with Him forever.
Yes, this is a fair picture of each convert's reward. Ruth found what
she did not look for. She found a husband. It was exactly what was for
her comfort and her joy, for she found rest in the house of her husband
and she became possessed of his large estate by virtue of her marriage
union with him. When a poor sinner trusts in God, he does not expect so
great a reward, but, to his surprise, his heart finds a husband, a home
and an inheritance priceless beyond all concep-tion–and all this is
found in Christ Jesus our Lord! Then is the soul brought into loving,
living, lasting, indissoluble union with the Well-Beloved, the
unrivalled Lord of Love! We are one with Jesus! What a glorious mystery
is this!
Ruth obtained an inheritance among the chosen people of Jehovah. She
could not have obtained it except through Boaz, who redeemed it for
her, but thus she came into indisputable possession of it. When a poor
soul comes to God, he thinks that he is flying to Him only for a
refuge, but, indeed, he is coming for much more. He is coming for an
undefiled heritage that fades not. He becomes an heir of God, a
joint-heir with Jesus Christ!
As I conclude, I bear this, my personal testimony, to the benefit of
godliness for this life. Apart from the glories of Heaven, I would wish
to live trusting in my God and resting in Him for this present life
since I need His present aid for every day as truly as I shall need it
at the last day. Men speak of secularism as attending to the things
which concern our present life and I am bold to assert that the purest
and best secularism is that which trusts itself with God for things
immediately around us! We shall be wise to make secular things sacred
by trusting them with God. Faith is not for eternity, alone, but for
this fleeting hour, also–it is good for the shop and for the
marketplace–for the field and for the domestic hearth. For the cares
of the moment, as well as for everything else, we take refuge under the
wings of God! There shall we be blessed, for Christ's sake. Amen.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Ruth 2:1-14; Proverbs 3
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