r desire to see Canaan and unite in the worship of her husband's
God. "The Lord recompense thy work," said Boaz to her, "and a full
reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou
art come to trust." He is not unfaithful, and that reward was made
sure. "Of the life that now is," the promise speaks, and it was
fulfilled to her. Of an undying honorable name it says nothing, but that
is also awarded her. "Upon a monument which has already outlasted
thrones and empires, and which shall endure until there be a new heaven
and a new earth--upon the front page of the New Testament is inscribed
the name of RUTH. Of her came David--of her came a long line of
illustrious and good men--of her came Christ."

Why will we not learn--why will we not daily and constantly act upon the
truth that implicit faith is pleasing to God? "None of them that trust
in Him shall be desolate."

There is a fund of instruction also in the few glimpses which we gain of
the intercourse of Naomi and Ruth as they journey on and after their
arrival in Canaan. How does the law of love dictate and pervade every
word and action! Naomi had once been an honored wife and mother in
Judah, and far above the reach of want. But in "the days when the judges
ruled," those days during which "every man did what was right in his own
eyes," her husband had deserted his people; and now on her return she
was probably penniless, her inheritance sold until the year of jubilee,
and she in her old age, unable by her own efforts to gain a subsistence.
The poor in Israel were not forlorn, but it required genuine humility on
Ruth's part, and a sincere love for her mother-in-law, to induce her to
avail herself of the means provided. She hesitated not. It was "in the
beginning of the barley harvest" that they came to Bethlehem, and as
soon as they were settled, apparently in a small and humble tenement,
she went forth to glean in some field after the reapers, not knowing how
it would fare with her, but evidently feeling that all depended on her
labors. The meeting of the mother and daughter at the close of that
important day is touching indeed. The joy with which the aged Naomi
greets her only solace, and the kind and motherly care with which she
brings the remains of her own scanty meal, which she had laid aside, her
eager questions, and Ruth's cheerful replies as she lays down her burden
and relates the pleasant events of the day--what gratitude to God--what