Three widows on the Bethlehem Road. I don't know whether we'll be able to take up all this chapter. I'm sure we will not tonight. We'll continue it next Sunday night, Lord willing. Because the chapter is too full. But it's very touching to listen to the conversation of three widows. Now, it's a sad story, yet it has a wonderful climax. So let's read chapter one. The Book of Ruth. Now it came to pass from the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land and a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Neomai, and the name of his two sons, Melon and Cheon, Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they came into the country of Moab and continued there. The Limelech and the Omai's husband died. And she was left and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpha. The name of the other Ruth. And they dwelled there about ten years. Amelon and Chilion died also both of them. And the women was left of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. And the Omai said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voice and wept. They said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. Nehemiah said, Turn again, my daughters. Why will ye go with me? Are there yet any more sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters. Go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hoped, if I should have a husband also tonight, and should also bear sons, would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having husbands? Nay, my daughters, for it grieves me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. They lifted up their voice and wept again. Anorpha kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her. She said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest I will go. Where thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also with ought but death part thee and me. When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. So they too went until they came to Bethlehem. They came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them. And they said, Is this Neomai? She said unto them, Call me not Neomai. Call me Mara. For the Almighty has felt very bitterly with me, bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me Neomai, seeing the Lord have testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? So Neomai returned en route the Moabites, her daughter-in-law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of Barley Harvest, just the first verse of the next chapter. And Neomai had a kinsman of her husband, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Eliminate, and his name was Boaz. I want to speak tonight for a little while on this Amazing story. We may take three or four nights on it. I'm not sure just that if the Lord opens up, we will proceed. I want to look at it under five headings. First of all, the scriptural setting of the story. Then the sinful surroundings of the story. Then the sad and sorrowful start of the story. Then the stirring characters in the story. And finally, the sublime sequel to this story. Going back to the first one, the scriptural setting of this wonderful story. The motive of the book, you might say, is the motive of the book is the romance of David's ancestry. That's an amazing thing. How these two being brought together were the lake in God's wonderful chain that led on to David and to Christ. And so you have the romance of David's ancestry. You know there are two books in your Bible named after women, Esther and Ruth. The first one, Ruth, the one we're in tonight, she was a Gentile and she married a Jew, Boeth. When you come to Esther, it's the other way around. Esther was a Jewess and she married a Gentile, the king he has for yours. So it's very unusual to see the difference. Now as for the setting of the book of Ruth, you know God's word is wonderful. The order that we have the books of the Bible to me is a story in itself. When men try to criticize the Bible, they just seem to forget the marvelous structure of the scriptures. Now the books of the Bible were not just thrown together haphazardly. There's a beautiful order to all the books of the Bible. Everyone falls into its proper place, right from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis you have the first stone, and in Revelation you have the headstone. And so it is with this book of root. Its setting is beautiful. In other words, it's the eighth book in your Bible. Eight is the number of beginning, a new beginning. Was there a need for a new beginning? There was. Let us notice the books preceding this. The book of Genesis. Now the book of Genesis is the book of beginnings. The beginning of creation. The beginning of the fall. Genesis is the seed plot of your Bible. And every other doctrine you find developed in your Bible, you'll find the germ of it in the book of Genesis. So Genesis is the book of beginnings. In other words, you have four words summing up Genesis, your opening book. You have creation, generation, degeneration, and regeneration. First of all, creation. When God called the stars into existence and flung them from its fingertips and placed them in their sockets of blue, there you find them revolving in their respective courses. Everything is harmonious in God's wonderful creation. All that is given to us in Genesis. Then you have generations, not only creation but the various generations and the breakup of the human race and the various tribes and nations. All that is in Genesis. Then you have degeneration. The book doesn't proceed very far before you see man degenerated. Shen comes in and marries the picture and there you have degeneration. But then the fourth precious truth is regeneration. God always makes a provision for degenerate man. Wherever man falls, God is always ready to lift him up. And you have regeneration taught in this wonderful book of Genesis. You know, in Genesis you have God creating matter. God did create matter. And then he created the soul too. Well, the soul can be associated with animals. For where you read, he created creeping things, fishes of the sea, birds of the air. There you have God creating soul. Now animals are composed of matter and they're composed of soul. But they do not have spirit. God is the creator of the spirit. And there you see the creation of man. Now it's nice to see this because you'll likely get it in your college education. where they play with these things and try and destroy them. Animals and birds and fishes have body and they have soul. Prince, a dog can whine. A dog can give evidence that it's happy. When the boy comes home from school, he wags its tail, jumps around, it's happy. There's the expression of the soul. And the dog can be afraid. It can run with a fur up on its neck or it can be ready to fight. There you have the expression of the soul. but the dog doesn't have spirit. A fish or bird doesn't have spirit because the spirit is the part of man that apprehends God. And the animals do not have any knowledge of God whatsoever. So here you have God creating matter. You have God creating the soul. But when it comes to man, God creates man a tripartite being composed of spirit, soul, and body. Man has that part, that capacity, enabling him to enjoy the presence of God. So there you have Genesis, the book of beginnings. But then the book of Exodus is the book of redemption. Redemption out of slavery. Here are the children of Israel. They're down in the land of Egypt. In slavery and bondage to Pharaoh. And God redeems them up out of the Egyptian land from the taskmaster's whip. In chapters one to twelve, you have redemption by blood. From chapter thirteen to eighteen, you have redemption by power. God redeemed them by blood and then by power. He brought them through the Red Sea into the wilderness and destroyed the Egyptian army. There's God's redeeming power. By blood and by power, he redeems a soul today through the blood of Christ, but then God will redeem that soul from day to day by his power if that soul wants deliverance. from the pursuing Egyptian or temptations and trials as we look upon. And again you may look upon the book of Exodus under four words, all beginning with R. You have ruin, chapters one to eleven, you have redemption, chapters twelve to nineteen, you have responsibility, chapters twenty to twenty-four, you have relationship, chapters twenty-five to forty. And so you have The first one, Genesis, the book of creation, and then, or the book of beginnings, and then Exodus, the book of redemption. But Leviticus is another book. This book is the book of worship, communion, fellowship with God. Now, I want you to notice the order. It's a beautiful order. Genesis concludes with a coffin in Egypt. That's man's end. without God. A coffin in Egypt. That's the last words of the book of Genesis. After fifty chapters, it ends with a coffin in Egypt. But what does Exodus present? God's redeeming power, giving man life, spiritual life. But now that you've been redeemed, what can you do? You can worship God. You can have fellowship with God. You can hold communion with God. You can't do that until you've gone to Exodus. You've got to know redemption by blood. You've got to be saved by grace. You've got to know the new birth, as we were saying this morning, before you can worship God, have fellowship with God, and communion with God. And I would say this, in following that point up, you've not only got to know redemption by blood, but you've got to know redemption by power, because if you, as a Christian, are enslaved to any sin, you don't know what worship and communion and fellowship with God is. It's only the Christian who knows what it is to be delivered from these besetting sins who can enter into real fellowship and communion with God and worship Him. So here is the book of worship, Leviticus, communion and fellowship. And do you know it being the book of the sanctuary, which it is, where you have access to God and God saying, I want you to draw an eye to me, draw an eye to me, come into my sanctuary, have fellowship and communion with me. You know the blood is mentioned seventy times. Seventy times in the book of Leviticus alone. It's found more in that book than any other book in your Bible. Blood, blood, blood. Why so many times? Because there can be no worship, there can be no communion, there can be no fellowship with God without the precious blood of Christ. On the basis of that sacrifice we draw an eye to God, then you cannot be accepted any other way. Therefore you have the book of worship. But then numbers, you have the book of service, the book of walk, the book of warfare. Now to get the order, how beautiful your Bible links on, book after book. Genesis, degeneration. And here in Exodus, redemption, man redeemed by blood. And now that he's redeemed, you step into the book of worship and fellowship and communion with God that Leviticus. But after you know something of worship, and I want you to get the order, after you know something of worship in Leviticus, then you walk into service. And I want to say this, God always puts worship above service. That's why we seek to remember the Lord the first day of every week. That's the worship meeting, and that comes before any other meeting. And you'll never be profitable or fruitful in your service unless you know something of true worship. Worship always precedes service. And so Numbers is the book of service, walk, and warfare. There you see in Israel being attacked by our enemies and preparing to attack their enemies. You know nothing of real service and walk and warfare unless you know something of Leviticus. worship and fellowship and communion with God. And so this book is the book of the wilderness or the book of experience, the book of testing. That's the book of numbers. Giving us the story of Israel's march through that awful wilderness for forty years. You come to Deuteronomy, it's the book of government and testimony. Here's a book of review. God is going back over the ground, pointing out certain certain things, mentioning things that are omitted in numbers. And so it's the book of review. then you come to Joshua and it's the book of conquest how Joshua took the children of Israel across the Jordan into the land they're dispossessing seven nations in the land and if Israel established in the land Joshua led them in it's the book of conquest and you won't do much of conquest or capturing your possessions your inheritance in Christ Jesus unless you've taken these previous steps. It's in the measure that I as a Christian have been redeemed, that's Exodus, have fellowship and communion with my God, that's Leviticus, on the basis of the blood of Christ and numbers. I know what is to walk with him and to fight the good fight of faith and that my life is under his governmental control. Then I'll know something of conquest. Possessing my possessions, going in and enjoying all that I have in Christ Jesus, That's Joshua. But then the second heading, I've given you the setting of this wonderful story, but now the simple surroundings of this story. Did you notice how the little story began? It was in the day that the judges ruled, meaning that this story and what we read about those three widows on the Bethlehem Road took place in circumstances given us in the Book of Judges. What about the Book of Judges? The book of Judges is the book of failure, the deterioration of a nation. How did they start to deteriorate? The cause of their deterioration was religious blindness and apostasy. The nation began getting further and further away from God. They became blinded to reality, and they apostatized. That was the cause. Then the course, when they got off the track religiously, they got off the track politically. And in that book you'll find political disintegration and folly. The whole nation is falling apart. Whenever you see a nation, even America, she gets off the track spiritually. She's getting away from God. She's drifting from the truth of God. The old-fashioned gospel is seldom being preached today the way it used to be. What follows that? Always you'll find in every nation there will be political disintegration. things that begin to fall apart politically, and corruption comes in and folly. Then the curse. What was the curse that fell upon Israel? First, you find, as I've already mentioned, religious blindness and apostasy. Then political disintegration and folly. Then immorality and social chaos. Here's a man, and because he was ill-treated, he took his wife, and he cut her up into twelve pieces, and he sent a piece to each track. Portable things like that are found in the book of Judges. And that book ends with these words. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. That's how Judges end. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. I don't care what God says. I don't care what the other man says. I don't care what the law is. What the law tries to enforce. I have nothing to do with it on my own boss. Every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. What a pathetic and pitiful situation you have in the book of Judges. You know there are a series of seven cycles in Judges, right from Joshua on to Samson, seven Judges. And the same thing is true of each one. There is sin. Then there's punishment. Then there's forgiveness. And then another judge is raised up. Again this little sin. then God punishes them then they're forgiven and seven times over you see the same thing with those seven judges their sin brings up a new judge and God punishes their sin and then in his grace he forgives them their sin when they repent and it was in this setting of this sinful state of affairs in the nation of Israel that we have the wonderful story of Ruth. Now, if you skip over the book of Ruth to First Samuel, you have something else. Here's the kingdom book. Here's the first time you find the children of Israel with a king, and who was their first king? Saul. He was the people's choice, but God put him away. God destroyed him because he was the people's choice, Saul. But David was the second king, and David was God's choice. Now why do I mention that? In between judges, the ruin and the wreck and the chaos and confusion and corruption of judges and the setting up of the kingdom. You have the book of Ruth sitting right in there. Israel today, that nation, is without a king. The new Israelite nation is not a kingdom because she doesn't have a king. England is a kingdom. This is a republic. We don't have a king in America. Israel is not a kingdom because it doesn't have her king. But she's going to have her king. That's why the Jewish nation has gone back to the land. She's waiting for her king. Her king is Christ. Christ is coming. But who's coming before him? A Saul, the people's choice, the Antichrist. The Bible says he shall come in his own name. They'll receive it. and the Jewish nation is going to receive a man of their choice that will be the Antichrist, but God will be with him. And God says, now, I want you to not have the man of my choice, that your true Messiah, Jesus Christ, and Israel will accept that king in a day to come. So you see, you have a little valley right between judges, and that's how the Old Testament ends, because the last word of the Old Testament is a curse. fitting in with the last verse of Judges, every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. Then in first time you'll have the coming kingdom, speaking of Christ reigning over Israel, but right in between is the book of Ruth. And here you have a man marrying a fine young woman, the romance, the love story of these two. Isn't that what Christ and the church is? Christ the bridegroom, the church the bride. And when Israel rejected her king nineteen hundred years ago, God now visits all the Gentile nations to call out of them a people, a bride for his name. And here is Ruth being won by Boaz in this book. Christ for nineteen hundred years has been winning his bride. All who will accept him, compose his bride, who will be his companion and his associate forever and forever. Here's the beautiful study of the book of Ruth. Then they tell us this book is not in spite. What man could have thought up such an order, such an arrangement, such a beautiful setting? And so we forget Israel for the time being. She's had her day and she'll have another day. We're interested in now the winning of her bride for Jesus Christ. Now in connection with this story of Ruth, Ruth is the story of a young woman in all the grace and beauty of womanhood meeting bold a man in all the strength and glory of his manhood I'm glad that a lot of young people here tonight because I want to speak to you for the next few minutes I mentioned in our opening remarks one of the sections we've noticed first of all the setting of this wonderful story then the sinful surroundings of this wonderful story and then the sterling characters A little more to say about these next Sunday night, Lord willing. But here are two of the sterling characters, Ruth and Boetz. You know, Ruth was a woman of an open mind, willing to receive the teaching of her mother-in-law, Neoma. Now, any girl that's willing to accept the teachings and instructions of her mother-in-law has got an open mind. Well, that was Ruth. Why did she do it? She had plenty to criticize her mother-in-law for. You left your God. You came away from Judah. You came down here. And look what happened. Your husband died. And we married two of your sons. And they're dead. Where's your God? A famine in your land, nothing but barrenness up there. And here you're a widow. You've lost your husband. you've lost your two sons and here we're widows and you give me advice you talk to me about your God she could have said that but Ruth didn't Ruth realized there's something real about my mother-in-law there's something about her and about what she says about her Jehovah God that I'm impressed with she had an open mind willing to receive the teachings of her mother-in-law. Second, she made a choice in a crisis against all the prejudices of her nationality. She could have said, I'm a Moabite. All I know is life here in Moab. I'm prejudiced against Israel. That nation's got a bad history. She could have been thus prejudiced. But against all that, she made a choice. It was in a crisis. And against not only the prejudices of her nationality, but against the persuasion of Nehemiah. Now just think of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, you would have thought, would have been happy to have had her daughter-in-laws come back with her to Judah and to Jehovah, the true God and the promised land. But no Nehemiah is away from the Lord. And we're going to point that out next Sunday night, because she's a backslider. And yet God and His sovereign grace is pleased to use her. Four times over, Nehemiah says to these daughters of law, hers, go on back, return, go back to your land, go back to your God. Imagine that, Judah thought she would have been encouraging to go with her. But she's bitter. She's lost her husband and two sons, and Nehemiah is still bitter. She doesn't want them to go back to Judah. Now that makes it all the more significant that Ruth not only knowing as she did all about the land of being prejudiced toward her own land and people but the persuasion of her mother-in-law to go back yet Ruth had an open mind and she was willing to make her decision in spite of all these things and against the example of Orpha for Orpha her sister-in-law she kissed and the Oh my Her mother-in-law, she went back to her idols, back to her people again, back to all the sin associated with the land of Moab. Ruth saw her go away, back to Moab. She could have gone too. Ruth says, no, I'm not going back. I think it's marvelous as you read this story. Against all the passions of Moab and all the people of Moab, Mode speaks of the world. It speaks of all that the world has to offer, the passions, the pleasures of the world, the people of the world. And Ruth, she weighs it all up. I'm going back with my mother-in-law. I'm going back to her land. I want to know something of her God. She turned her back upon everything she knew, the people she knew, the people she lived with, the customs of more, her land, her relatives and everything. And she faced an unknown future. Ruth would not turn back. Here you see the stirring quality of this young woman. God is watching over. Is it any wonder she finds herself in the royal line that leads to Jesus Christ? For she was the grandmother of David. And David was in the line to Christ. In other words, I'm saying to you young people, it means something today for you to be a Ruth. You know, if I had been a married man, had a family, and I had a daughter, I'd have called her Ruth. I think it's a wonderful name. Ruth. See this young lady. How pure she was. how open-minded, how determined she was to follow up her convictions, especially when she knew those convictions were in the right direction. I trust you young people will do the same. Then think of Boaz. Boaz was loyal to his God in a wicked day. He was a true man in the midst of untruth. You know he was a man who was on good relations with his employees. It's remarkable to read this. We'll read it in the next chapter. Here's Boaz and he comes into his field. And he says, the Lord be with you. Nice way for a boss to talk about his men, isn't it? The Lord be with you. What do his employees turn around and say? The Lord bless you. It's not a nice relationship between master and servant. Between the boss and the worker. It goes to show that he allowed his knowledge of God to permeate his behavior with even his employees. And the first thing he says when he walks in, the Lord be with you. What would you folks here tonight who are Christians think you went into your office or into the place where you worked? And the boss came in and he said, well, men, the Lord be with you all today. Who would you think? Could you turn around and say, Well, the Lord bless you. Wouldn't that be a nice way to start off every day? I'm afraid oftentimes the boss comes in and cusses the men out, and although they don't do it audibly, they cuss him under their breath. But here you see a man of quality, a man of character, a man of principle. He's a wonderful man, this man boars, because he's a type of Jesus Christ. A man of very strong character, and I want you to get this. A man of strong character. He did not use his position to take advantage of Ruth. Here's a young widow. She comes back from Moab. He's heard about her. She's a wonderful young woman. She's been faithful to her mother-in-law. And she's clean. He's heard about her. Well, now she's my slave. She's working for me. I can take advantage of her. No. Not boy. Bo is a man of strong character. He respected the honor of that young woman who eventually became his wife. He didn't know at that time she was going to be his wife. He respected her honor. I want to say something to you young men. You respect the honor of those young women that you're with. And if any young men never come out to the Albany Gospel Chapel to the young people's meeting, just to flirt sensuously with the young women, it'd be better for them not to come. We want your activities to be on a higher level than that. If you have any lower ideas of the young women at the Albany Gospel Chapel, divest of you not to come. We want the emphasis upon that which is spiritual. We want you young men to honor and respect the honor of these young women, especially if they belong to Jesus Christ. If they don't, respect their honor. That's what happened to Boaz. Keep your thoughts on a high flame and put the spiritual first. And I think the young ladies will appreciate that. God took these two young, these two people under his wing. miles wonderful. What's the result? Here's a fine young woman. And here's a wonderful man, Boaz. And God brings them together. God did it. They didn't take advantage of each other. You don't find Ruth trying to flirt the attentions of Boaz. You don't find Boaz trying to force his attentions upon Ruth or taking advantage of her because she's his slave. and he's in a place of position of authority. No. They know how far they can go, and they respect their God, and they respect one another. What's the outcome? Boaz, notice what you have at the end of this little book of Ruth. Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David, and eventually Christ. Isn't that lovely? Boaz, Then you have Ruth. Then you have their son, Obed. Obed begat Jesse. Jesse begat David. And Christ was the son of David. Here is God selecting these two. How he exalted them. My what an honor. Here's a little more by this girl. Grews up, becomes a widow in early life. And yet here she becomes. in the royal chain that leads to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What must her thoughts be today in heaven? Showing how God will honor those who honor him and honor one another. You know, you have a case of how great things can come out of little things in connection with the Apostle Paul. Here's Paul in prison. Paul, how do you like being in prison? Oh, I don't like it. I don't think Paul took being in prison very easily. I think he was restless because he said in writing to one of the churches, remember my bonds, remember my bonds. I'd like to get out of here. Why did he say that? Because Paul's motto in life was this, the regions beyond, the regions beyond. And he says, I'm a debtor to these people. I want to give them the gospel. Not only am I a debtor, but he says, I'm ready to preach the gospel. But Paul, you're in prison. I know a little how Paul must have felt only a very small way. When I had my illness twelve or thirteen years ago and I was unable to preach for eight years, for eight months, oh, how I'd shake. How restless I was, I said, Lord, you saved me. And when you saved me, you put the burden of souls upon my heart. And you made it plain, I had to go out and preach the gospel. You knocked down all barriers. and you pushed me out, for I was hesitant to go, you pushed me out, and you enabled me to preach the gospel and see a lot of people say, Lord, why have I got to be like I am? Why am I on the sick list? For eight months, people are going to hell, and I can't preach to them. Yes, I changed. I was wrestling, but the Lord knew best. Here's the Apostle Paul. He's in prison and he likely had those thoughts too. Lord, why am I in prison? You're all powerful. You can do all things. Why have you permitted this? Look at the people all around here. And you call me as a chosen vessel because he was a chosen vessel. Here I am in prison. What can I do here? How can I fulfill my mission? You've laid the regions beyond them, my heart Why can't I reach them with the gospel? Well, you know what Paul did? He busied himself writing letters in prison. You have them in your Bible. The prison epistles. Little did he know that they would be gathered together and constitute the grand exposition and the great exposition of evangelical faith to all centuries. You and I today are reaping the benefit of Paul being in jail. we wouldn't have those beautiful epistles. God the Holy Spirit was leading Paul to write those epistles. Little did he realize it. But after Paul had been taken to heaven, the Spirit of God saw that those epistles were gathered together and here we have them in our body. Paul, during those three years in prison, you did more than all the other years of your life, for you've been preaching for nineteen hundred years for God's people through the letters you wrote. You see how God can take something that seemingly is against nature and make great things out of it. He did that with Ruth. He did that with Boas. Little did they realize that the overruling hand of God brought them together that they might be in the royal line that led to Jesus Christ. You know, when you start to think of this, six times in the book of the Psalms you had under his wings mentioned. If you look at verse twelve of this little book, Ruth, Ruth two and twelve, what do you read? The Lord recompense thy work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust. Isn't that a lovely expression? Under whose wings thou art come to trust. Ruth came under those shattering wings. And six times in the Psalms, David uses those same wings under his wings. Those same words, that's why I asked Mac to sing that song tonight under his wings. And I'm going to give you those same texts before I close. In Psalm seventeen and eight, he says, Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Here is hidden under those wings. In Psalm thirty-six and seven, he speaks of the loving kindness under those wings. There's love under those wings. And in Psalm fifty-seven one, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpassed. There you have security under his wings. In Psalm sixty-one four, I will trust in the covet of thy wings. There he sheltered under the wings. Psalm sixty-three seven, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. Here is joy under his wings. Psalm ninety-one four, he shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. Just like a mother hen, she puts her feathers on her wings around the little bitties and they're nice and warm. Here you have warmth under his wings. Then this one in the little book of Ruth, Ruth two and twelve, under whose wings thou art come to trust. And what did he say? The Lord recompense thy reward and a full recompense thy work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust. Reward under his wings. Last week we were speaking upon the hand of the Lord. You remember we pointed out there were hands under those wings in Ezekiel chapter one. The hand speaks of that human touch. The wings speak of the heavenly divine touch. And under Jehovah's wings there are hands, hands of guidance. And it was those wings, hands under those wings that brought Ruth and Boaz together. He put one hand on Ruth's head, the other hand on Boaz's head, and he brought those two together. Hands under wings. It's wonderful to be under those wings. You have all these things, you're hidden, you're loved, you're secure, you're sheltered, you're rejoiced, you're warm, and you'll be rewarded if you're under those wings. I know something of being guided by those hands that are under those wings. And I couldn't commend a text, a better text to you young people than that one, Ruth II and II. under his wings. Will you come under the shelter of these wings tonight? As David says, until these calamities be overpassed, calamities are coming. They're coming. When they come, are you going to be under his wings? We think of that catastrophe that happened in Indianapolis the other night. Do you know that's an awful thing? But do you know that will become practically all over the world in a far-intensified manner in the coming days of judgment, when there likely be more people injured and killed, and there will be those left to help them. That is enough to turn you sick. And the newsman said last night, there was one of those actors, I don't know whether you heard it or not. And she said, I said the Lord's prayer, I prayed the Lord's prayer more in those two hours than I had all my life before. A calamity had struck. All she did was repeat the Lord's prayer. Whether she's a Christian or not, no one knows that calamities are coming. When they do come, will you be under those wings? You know, people generally call upon God when a calamity strikes, instead of being saved and prepared for those calamities and being under his wings. David says, that's what I'm going to be until these calamities be overpassed. So we're all gone. Are you under those wings tonight or are you going to be like Jerusalem? What about Jerusalem? The Lord Jesus said, as he looked upon Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often will I have gathered? He gathers a hen that gather her brood under her wings. But he would not. He would not. Are you under his wings tonight? Are you born again Christian? Are you washed in His blood? Are you saved by His grace? Are you under His wings? Or are you not under the wings? And you're outside in your rebellious, and you will not. You know what happened to Jerusalem because they wouldn't come under His wings? They wouldn't receive? That city was destroyed by Titus, and that people has been scattered and peeled ever since. The best, the warmest, the safest place is under His wings. I take to be out from under them. Where are you tonight? Under his wings, safe and secure. Or are you away with a determination not to get under them yet? You will not. Someday you may want to. The wings won't be available. The Lord will have come. Your day of grace is over. May you come tonight. Hasten under him. his wings. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we commit to thy presence. We ask thy blessing upon thy word. We thank you for it. Thrills our souls to see these things, to read these things. Thy dealings in the past. Bless what we have said. grandfather help me have been received by all from young to the old especially those who are unsaved we ask thee that thou would speak to them those who are not yet under those sheltering winds may they come tonight and trust our Lord Jesus we ask it in his name and for his sake amen let us sing in closing two hundred and seventy under whose wings are come to trust come every soul by sin oppressed there's mercy with the Lord and he will surely give you rest by trusting in his word that just means getting under his wings trusting in his word two seventeen if you are not a Christian you'd like to be glad to help you but you've got to let us know maybe you've trusted Christ tonight If you'd like to tell us, we give you that opportunity. As we stand and sing,