for the coming week are God willing as follows. Pastor will preach here next Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at seven o'clock. And there will be a prayer meeting here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock.

Let us commence our services today by singing together hymn 515, The tune is Pentonville, 488. May the Lord hear our prayer in this hymn.

Holy Ghost, we look to thee.
Raise the dead, the captive free.
From the mighty take the prey.
Teach the weak to watch and pray.

Hymn 515, tune Pentonville, 488. We do sing of to thee Praise of the anthem half-dead brave From the night he came and prayed Day to day to night and day ? With open heavens bending ? ? Hymns of morty, praises bending ? ? Life and life and truth in power ? Who took heaven's sinners home. He did thy holy will, Now thy gracious work fulfill'd, With th'insulting ecstasy, Jesus save thee, O my God. O my God in saints forget, Thine stay thou shalt still in me, Eternally in us unto Christ. and a prophet make amends. I need it and have to bear, And to comfort me this rest, And in heav'n this soul to find, Self-induced truth inside. Out of self-induced sleep, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, that can support the mind.

May we meet you at this time, and we'll have you also.

let us read together from the holy word of god in the book of ruth and chapters one and two the first and second chapters of the Book of Ruth.

Now it came to pass in 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 Naomi and the name of his two sons, Marlon and Chilion, Aphrothites of Bethlehem Judah. And they came into the country of Moab and continued there. And Elimelech, Naomi'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 Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth. and they dwelled there about ten years. And Marlon and Trilion died also both of them. And the woman 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 Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house, and the Lord deal kindly with you, as he hath dealt with the dead, and with me. And the Lord grant 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. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

Naomi 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 an husband. And if I should say, I have hope if I should have an 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 grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.

And they lifted up their voice and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth claven to her.

And 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, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest I will go. And where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also for but death part thee and me.

And 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.

And it came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them.

And they said, is this Naomi? And she said unto them, call me not Naomi, call me Mara. For the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Why then call you me Naomi, seeing that Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

' So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, 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.

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Marbitess said unto Naomi, let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, go, my daughter.

And she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers.

And her hat was the light upon a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, which was of the kindred of Elimelech.

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you.

And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.

Then said Boaz unto his servant that was over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitess damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

And she said, I pray you let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and hath continued even from the morning until now that she tarried a little in the house.

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, here is thou not my daughter, go not to glean in another field, Neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have thou not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? And when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

' Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband, and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knowest not heretofore, 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.' Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my Lord, for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine maidens. And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy 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.

And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not, and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them and rebuke her not. So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an ephor of barley.

And she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw that what she had gleaned, and she brought forth and gave to her what she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today? And where wrought is thou? Blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz.

And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nearer of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth the Moabitess said, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest and dwelt with her mother-in-law.

May the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty which is an art, an art to come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we bow before thy glorious majesty. We come, Lord, as poor sinners. We're unholy and unclean and unrighteous altogether, but thou hast made a way whereby poor sinners can approach thy heavenly majesty.

Thou hast provided an advocate, a great high priest, and we desire to come to thee in his name, that wonderful name of Jesus Christ. Oh, we do pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us. We pray to be led of the Spirit of God. We pray that thou wouldst hear the prayer of our opening hymn and that the Holy Ghost may descend upon us, that the Spirit of Power, Lord, we read in thy word, and thou hast promised, I will work, and who shall let it?

So we pray that thou wouldst work among us. We come, Lord, to confess our sins, our wanderings, our backslidings, our uncleanness, our unrighteousness. We leave undone things that we ought to do. and we do things that we ought not to do, and we find a law within our members that when we would do good, an evil is present with us. And we find, O Lord, the truth of thy holy word, the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, for the one is the contrary to the other.

Oh, do visit us with thy great salvation, do take most blessed Spirit of the things of Jesus, and reveal them unto us. Do truly convince us of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. We pray that thou would grant that this day we may feel those divine drawings of our heavenly Father, that we may be drawn unto Jesus Christ.

We pray that the Lord Jesus may come and stand in our midst and we may behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

O most gracious God, we do pray that thou wouldst remember us then, remember our deacons, bless them, undertake for them in all their concerns. Remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship, and remember the whole of our congregation. Lord, graciously work among us to the great glory of thy name. Grant that there may be those that should come and testify of the wonderful grace of God in Jesus Christ. We do humbly beseech thee.

Then shall I tell to sinners round what a dear saviour I have found, and point to thy redeeming blood and say, behold the way to God.

Lord, may that wonderful work then, that strange work, that peculiar work that we read of in thy word, may that work be manifested among us here as a church and as a congregation. Lord, and may the glory, light, and power of gospel truth shine into this village and in the surrounding villages and hamlets, and bring our sons from far, our daughters from the ends of the earth, pull down the strongholds of Satan, set up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake.

We pray, most gracious God, that thou, in thy great mercy, wouldst remember the little ones and the children and richly bless them. Put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts. Remember the young friends and graciously bring them to living, vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ, that they may become true followers of thee, and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Remember, Lord, we pray thee all in the midst of the journey of life. Especially, Lord, we will pray for parents that they may be given wisdom and grace and help to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. O Lord, do hear us, we pray for thy great namesake. that graciously fulfil that wonderful word, instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

Lord, we pray that thou wouldst arise. Arise, arise, O God of grace, into thy rest descent, thou and the ark of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation. And thy saints shall shout aloud for joy, O abundantly bless the provision of thy house, and satisfy her poor with bread. Thou hast said in thy holy word, for this will I yet be inquired of the house of Israel. To do this thing for them, I will increase them with men like a flock.

O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel, O thou that dwellest between the cherubim's shineful, we do humbly beseech thee. and let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of Man, who in thy might is strong for thyself.

Remember all in affliction and trouble and trial and perplexity. Undertake for each one. Remember the prodigals, and O cause them to return. Let us see that wonderful power of thy grace. We do humbly beseech thee.

There is a period known to God when all his sheep redeemed by blood shall leave the hateful ways of sin, turn to the fold and enter in. Oh, that we may see that wonderful act of divine grace. What rejoicing there would be over repenting sinners. Oh, that we may see such a thing.

Among us here, O Lord, we pray them. Remember all in the evening time of life's journey, We pray that thou wouldst graciously guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom. May we be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

And O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously remember all thy servants that labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Remember them in their journeys today and graciously Watch over them and keep them and grant that they may dip their foot in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren that thou wouldst return unto Jerusalem with mercies. That we may see mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the word. And that thy people may be built up in their most holy faith and the gospel table may be spread and the Lord Jesus exalted. Oh, do hear us, O Lord. humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake.

We do pray most gracious Lord for the little causes of truth up and down the land. Some only gathering in the twos and the threes, but we with them, bless them. Oh Lord, we humbly pray thee. Graciously raise up thy servants Thrust out, preachers more, with voice to raise the dead. O Lord, we beseech thee, remember thy Zion, remember her lowest ape, and blow with the sovereign wind of the Spirit, and gather precious souls unto Christ, and build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Remember those that labour in word and doctrine, that go forth among us as a group of churches, in the nations of the earth and grant good success to the Mombasa mission and thy servants there. And also the Free Grace Evangelistic Association and thy servant, may he be girded with grace and wisdom and help in the distribution of thy word, that it may be to the glory of thy name. Remember the Savannah Education Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana. Lord, do graciously bless them and supply all their many returning needs.

We pray for our nation that they will remember our nation. Remember our leaders that seem to be bereft of wisdom. We live in solemn and dark days. when iniquity abounds on every hand. Arise, O Lord, we pray Thee in our land, and send out Thy light and Thy truth, and raise up, O Lord, in Parliament and in our civil service, in our judiciary, those that are men and women of integrity and uprightness. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we pray Thee. We pray for our King, We solemnly mourn over his visit to the Pope of Rome, and we pray that thou wouldst graciously put the fear of the Lord in his heart, and bless him and the royal household with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. Hear us, O Lord, we beseech thee.

We do thank thee for the throne of grace. We do thank thee for our great high priest, We thank Thee that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We thank Thee for the open Bible and the gospel that is revealed in that Bible. We thank Thee that Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was made flesh and dwelt among us. All that wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son of God. We thank Thee for the holy law he fulfilled and honoured and magnified on behalf of his people and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for that sacred holy sacrifice of Calvary where the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where God and sinners are reconciled. We thank thee for that precious sin atoning blood that he shed We thank that he died for our sins and rose again for our justification, and has bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand. O thou great God, we do thank thee for the glory of the person and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee that in him we know the love of our heavenly Father, and through him we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

So Lord we would enter thy gates with praise and with the voice of thanksgiving and pray that as we turn to thy holy word that thou would come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar that it may be a living word that should be applied into our hearts. Make up in giving O Lord where we do so fail in asking as we ask all for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Let us now sing together hymn number 519. The tune is Lemminster, 79.

When Ruth a-gleaning went,
Jehovah was her guide.
To Boaz's field he led her straight,
and she became his bride.
Jesus, my Boaz is, my strength and portion too,
His word of grace, the precious field,
where I, a-gleaning, go.

Hymn 519, Tune Lemenster, 79.

? To her we give praise ?
? Here on our altar high ?
? To her we're spending every day sweet ?
? When she is with us ?
you. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ?

It is your strength that pushes me and gives me strength Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, I would direct your attention to the book of Ruth and chapter 3 and we'll read the first part of verse 11.

The Book of Ruth, Chapter 3, reading the first part of verse 11.

And now, my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest. And now, my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest.

Ruth was a stranger in a foreign land and we see the wonderful grace of God that brought her from that foreign land. There is no doubt from all that Naomi says that, and we know from the Levitical law, it would have been a strange thing for them to go out of Bethlehem and down into Moab, away from the house of God, away from the people of God, away from the ways of God.

And as Naomi says I went out full she says in verse 21 we read it together chapter one I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty why then called ye me Naomi that means pleasantness seeing the Almighty hath testified against me and she said to them call me not Naomi call me Mara pleasantness is Naomi. Mara means bitterness. She realized that they had done wrong in going away from the house of God and the people of God and the ways of God.

But the Lord had mercy upon them. Our husband died, Elimelech. Marlon and Chilion, their two sons, died. And she was left of her two sons and her husband. See, my beloved friends, our actions have consequences. And if the Lord loves us, we read in Hebrews, it's actually a quotation from the third chapter of the book of roberts whom the lord loved he chased and scourged every son whom he receiveth and naomi no doubt a godly woman was suffering and she went to send her daughters-in-law back to moab and she was going to return to bethlehem the place of her nativity.

But we find that when she put her daughters-in-law to the test, they both would have followed her. They lifted up their voice and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law. She went home. But Ruth claimed unto her the Moabitess damsel, a Gentile. the children of Moab are the children of Lot, Abraham's nephew. And they were left to much idolatry. But we have this wonderful word here from Ruth, verse 16 of chapter 1.

Ruth said, entreat me not to leave thee. or to return from following after them. For where thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people. You know, Ruth felt a spiritual union with her mother-in-law Naomi. She didn't want to leave her. She says, Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. And where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.

What a wonderful thing, my beloved friends, to have that union that she felt unto Naomi. And we read that when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. She followed her. She was in union with her. And they came at the beginning of barley harvest when they came to Bethlehem.

And you see the reason that Naomi felt that she should return It says in verse 6 of chapter 1 that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. She heard there was no longer a famine in the land. So she returned.

Now, Naomi had a kinsman, it says in the beginning of chapter 2, of her husband, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech and his name was Bavas. Now the law, the Levitical law said that they should raise up a child to the dead. But if there was a kinsman that he was in a position where he could repurchase all the land of Naomi, he could do that. That was in the Levitical law. And it says later on in the last chapter how that Boaz did that part of a kinsman. There was one kinsman closer than he. But he said, I shall mar my inheritance when he said he must marry Ruth the Moabitess. He said, I cannot do that. So thou do the part of a kinsman.

Now Boaz is a beautiful type of our Lord Jesus Christ. says here a mighty man of wealth of the family of Illuminati and his name was Boaz. We've just sung together in our hymn, that beautiful little hymn by William Gadsby. Jesus my Boaz is. Jesus my Boaz is. So he dealt very kindly with that. From everything that we read of Boaz, he was a gracious man. You can tell it by the way that he dealt with those of his employees and the way that he spoke to them.

Behold, and behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, the Lord be with you. And they answered, the Lord bless thee. See there was a very nice relationship between Boaz and those that were his employees. And then he inquired after Ruth the Moabitess, who is this Damsel? And he said, it's the Moabitess Damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab. And she asked to glean in the field.

You know, Gadsby brings it out so beautifully in that hymn about gleaning in the gospel field. So there's a wonderful spiritual dimension to this book. It's a beautiful book, a very interesting book in the story that is recorded and the customs that prevailed. But there's a far deeper meaning here. a spiritual meaning.

The book of Ruth has been made very special by the Holy Ghost and many of the Lord's living family. It's been blessed to their soul. Just as we see the Lord guided and directed his people. And so even in the day in which we live we need guidance and direction from the Lord in the way that we should go. See when Boaz speaks to Ruth, and we look at now Boaz as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, then says Boaz unto Ruth, hearest thou not my daughter, this is in chapter 2 verse 8, Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap.

How many, how many gleaners do we have here? Among us as a church and congregation, you might say, what do you mean? How many of you come up to the house of God and sit under the preaching of the word and you desire something for your own souls. You come to glean in the gospel field. You come that the Lord may breathe his word into your heart.

And we see the kindness of Boaz, how that he commanded his young men to even leave some handfuls of purpose. He said in verse 15 of chapter 2, let her glean even among the sheaves and reproach her not and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her and leave them that she may glean them and rebuke her not.

Are there those times when you glean in the gospel field? Are there those times when the word of the Lord is made precious. Either when it's read or when it's preached. And Christ is made precious. So that you feel drawn into spiritual things. So that there's food for your souls. That's what the gleaning was for. It was to provide food for the poor.

Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall be filled. You know, friends, we have to be made poor. We have to be brought to realise that we're poor sinners. We have to be brought to realise that we don't deserve anything. We've sinned against God. And we have to be brought to feel that.

The hymn, Roger says, doesn't it? It's a well-known verse. Convince us of our sin and lead to Jesus' blood. To our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. How we need the Holy Ghost to convince us of our sin. And how we need the Holy Ghost to take of the things of Jesus, the heavenly balance.

The mighty man of wealth. The Lord Jesus, we read here of Boaz being a mighty man of wealth, but the Lord Jesus is the King of Kings. He's the Lord of Lords with heaven and earth at his command, he waits to answer prayer. He hath pleased the Father to put all things into his hand.

What a fullness there is. in our Lord Jesus Christ. We read in John chapter 1, He is full of grace and truth. He's a mighty man of wealth. He's full of grace. He's full of truth. He's called the bread of life. He's the water of life. He's the wine of the kingdom.

My beloved friends, there is a fullness resides in Jesus our head and ever abides to answer our need, a fullness, a wonderful fullness of grace. And you know friends, that fullness in Christ, it's always there. It's like when we read in the book of the Kings, how that the Lord sent his servant Elijah to reside with the widow woman and her son.

It was a strange pathway. You would have thought that if the Lord was going to supply all his needs, it sent him to someone that had an abundance. But he didn't, he sent him to a destitute widow woman. And when he met with her, she was gathering sticks that she said to him, I have a little, there was a famine in the land, I have a little oil in a cruise, a little meal in a barrel, and that's all I have left. Then I and my son will die. They were destitute. But that's where the Lord sent Elijah. He said, I've commanded a widow woman to feed thee. And Elijah said to her, and it's quite a hard thing when you really consider it, Elijah said to her, go and bake me a cake first. And then he gave that wonderful promise, the barrel of meal shall not waste, the crews of oil shall not fail. until the Lord send rain upon the earth.

But that's what Christ is. He's a barrel of mule that shall not waste. He's a cruise of oil that shall not fail. There's everything in Christ. In spite of all that the Lord's people are drawing from him day by day, from his grace, from his wisdom, Yes, there's still a fullness. There always will be a fullness. We read in Colossians chapter two, in him, that's in Jesus Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

See, what we're trying to say here, as it says here in this above us, he's a mighty man of wealth. But what a beautiful type of Jesus Christ. mighty man of wealth, able to redeem, able to redeem. He was a near kinsman. What does that mean when we look at the Lord Jesus Christ? Boaz was a near kinsman unto Elimelech, Naomi's husband. The Lord Jesus is our near kinsman. When he assumed human nature, when he became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, He's a near kinsman. The hymn writer says, and he brother to our souls becomes. When he took our nature, when he lived for us, he was made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the law.

See, my beloved friends, in the text that we have before us here, in verse 11, and now my daughter, says Boaz, the heavenly Boaz, now my daughter, fear not. He speaks of gracious fear not into the heart of Ruth, fear not. It made me think of those words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel of Luke, fear not little flock. For it is your father's good pleasure to give you a kingdom. Fear not. And we can think of the many fear nots there are in the holy scriptures. And we can think of Ruth the Moabitess and how many fears she had. She was a stranger in a foreign land. How many fears she had. but the heavenly boas he speaks these words to his children and now my daughter fear not I will do to thee all that thou requirest it was what she required was to be redeemed from her state of bankruptcy because that's what happened to Naomi and obviously Ruth with her, they were bankrupt. They were bankrupt.

What a beautiful illustration this is of a poor sinner coming to Christ. Bankrupt. Nothing to pay. In actual fact, deep in debt. You see, but the heavenly boas, he comes. You know, you think of those lovely words that we have in the prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 55. And they are words relating to our heavenly Baba as the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, how everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. He that hath no money, bankrupt he that hath no money how many bankrupt souls do we have here today destitute destitute and afflicted it says and their souls fainted within them and he that hath no money he that is bankrupt come ye by And eat, yea, come by wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore, and this is a word of rebuke, wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. that fullness that is in our Lord Jesus Christ, that fullness of grace. Maybe there's one and another here and you feel to be this bankrupt sinner. And there's been a time when the Lord has blessed you, when Christ has been made precious to you. But you've come again into that same condition, bankrupt. He that hath no money.

And yet the Lord Jesus here, you see when we come to that lovely illustration of the fullness in Christ in that barrel of meal. The barrel of meal shall not waste, the cruise of oil shall not fail. We do not read that the Lord filled up the barrel of meal. We do not read that he filled up the cruise of oil. But every day, when that widow woman went to the barrel of meal, there was meal there. And every time she went to the cruise of oil, there was oil there. It didn't waste.

I've often mentioned to you my grandparents, Jabez Field of Black Boys, and there was a time, and in particular, we knew this as children, but my auntie Lois Dobell at Tunbridge Wells, she told me on several occasions about this remarkable miracle. They had nine children. And they were in very poor circumstances. And they got half a loaf of bread to share between nine children. And she said her mother, at that mealtime, just kept taking slices of bread off. And every slice of bread she took off, there was still half a loaf of bread. And when she finished, there was half a loaf of bread. You see, the barrel of meal shall not waste. The cruise of oil shall not fail. until the Lord send rain upon the earth.

Now, that was in obviously natural things, but we speak of it in spiritual things. This wonderful barrel of meal of the gospel of the grace of God, the fullness that there is in Christ, as ever, it ever abides to answer our need. It will never diminish. It will always be there.

And hence, you see, Jesus, he says here in Isaiah 55, hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto me. These are the words of Jesus. Incline your ear and come unto me. Here and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, and these sure mercies of David, is David's greatest son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

It goes on to speak of him, behold, I've given him for a witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the people. You see, my beloved friends, behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee. This is the calling of the Gentiles. Ruth was a Gentile. Shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, for the Holy One of Israel, for He hath glorified thee, as our Lord Jesus Christ.

My beloved friends, there's a fullness in Jesus Christ. You think of in Matthew chapter 11 and those wonderful, gracious words of our Lord Jesus Christ, come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke, That means be united unto Christ, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

This mighty man of wealth, this heavenly boas, fear not my daughter. It says here again in Isaiah 55, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. He will abundantly pardon. Doesn't David say in Psalm 130, but there is forgiveness with thee, with this heavenly King, with this heavenly Boaz. this mighty man of wealth, with this one that is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He's a mighty man of wealth. He's able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. And he invites poor, lost, wretched, helpless, hopeless, bankrupt sinners to come unto him. Oh, my beloved friend, this is the barrel of meal that shall not waste.

So in these lovely words of Boaz de Ruth, we see the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest. What does she require? Well, she's a sinner. She's a sinner. So what does she require? She requires the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. From all sin. And it's this same Jesus Christ that says, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The rest, faith rests in the blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin. It's called the blood of the everlasting covenant.

You know there's that lovely word in the book of the Revelation where it speaks in chapter 7 concerning those that came out of great tribulation. Revelation 7 verse 13, And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said to him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they. And this is the church of God. These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Notice the connecting word here. They've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, therefore, are they before the throne of God. These precious souls that have been brought to Christ, to trust in him, to cleave to him, just like Ruth cleave unto Naomi, so the living soul cleaves unto Christ. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat, but the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears, from their eyes. Therefore are they before the throne of God.

Fear not, my daughter. You see, now my daughter, fear not, for I will do to thee all that thou requirest. See, that precious blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin, And that glorious everlasting robe we just read in the Revelation, these are arrayed in white Roman. Whence came they? That white Roman, the righteousness of the saints. The righteousness of Christ. The poor, wretched, helpless, bankrupt sinner receives in our Lord Jesus Christ. His precious blood to cleanse away all their sin and guilt. His glorious righteousness to cover their nakedness. My beloved friends, there is everything in Jesus Christ that a poor, wretched, needy, helpless sinner has need of. It's all found in this mighty man of wealth, in this glorious Redeemer.

See, but The wonderful thing with this, if we look at it in its spiritual light, he married, he married her, Boaz took her to be his wife. It's obviously that he was an older man, not saying he was an old man, but he was an older man and it says very clearly that she was a young woman and the Lord brought them together. But look at it spiritually. How the Lord loves his bride. In Jeremiah, he says, I am married unto you. This wonderful spiritual union between Christ and the church. I am married unto you. It says in Isaiah, he's a husband. He's a husband to his church. that beautiful passage in the epistle to the Ephesians on that sacred union between Christ and his church, that union, that spiritual union between Christ and the church.

And it says in Ephesians chapter 5, and of course it speaks of the The precept, wives, Ephesians 5, verse 22, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. This wonderful act of Jesus, the son of God, when he assumed our nature, when he lived here as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, when he fulfilled the law on the behalf of his bride, his church, when he gave his life a ransom for all to be testified in due time. For by one offering, he hath perfected forever all them that are sanctified.

This one glorious offering of our Lord Jesus Christ. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Isn't that amazing? It says in the Colossians and it says also in the Ephesians that he will present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in his sight.

Fear not. My daughter, all that thou requirest, I will do for thee. And Christ is that holy law that speaks against you, Christ has fulfilled it. He's magnified the law, he's made it honorable. And it's in that perfect obedience of Christ, that is the righteousness of Christ, which becomes a believer. They're clothed in that glorious everlasting robe.

that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but it should be holy and without blemish." What an amazing grace, isn't it? Holy and without blemish. Now, when we feel the defilement of our nature and the corruption of our nature, We say, how can this be? I'm such a wretched sinner. But in Christ, in Christ, fear not, my daughter. All that thou requirest, I will do for thee. And Christ has done it. He's fulfilled the law. He's brought in everlasting righteousness. He's offered a holy, pure, and spotless sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He poured out his soul unto death. He shed every drop of his precious blood to redeem his church.

Says, so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh.

This is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Christ and the church in union with the Lamb from condemnation free the saints from everlasting world and shall forever be. That union, my beloved friends, can never be broken. No. Once in Him, in Him forever. If once the love of Christ I feel impressed upon my breast, the mark of that celestial seal can never be erased. It's an eternal union that is made between Christ and his church.

And now my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest. I love that word the Holy Spirit has given us in the epistle to the Corinthians, all the promises of God those wonderful promises that are found in God's Holy Word, all the promises of God are yay and amen in Christ Jesus. In other words, they are divinely spoken to a poor sinner by the Holy Ghost. And that promise can never fail. Why? Because they're all yay and amen in Christ Jesus, in his glorious person, fear not.

There are many fears. You feel that you'll fall, you feel that you'll send away His mercy and His grace. You feel something of your weakness, your emptiness, your poverty, your sinfulness and the corruption of your heart and it makes you very fearful. And now my daughter, fear not. I will do to thee all that thou requirest.

She's under the sentence of death. I will do to thee all that thou requirest. He died for our sins. He rose again for our justification. And the way of life was shut off for man when he fell. And the sword of divine justice was kept the way of the tree of life. But our heavenly brothers, our kinsmen, who became brother to our souls, he's broken the bands of death. O death, I will be thy sting. O grave, I will be thy victory. That's what Jesus done when he died for our sins and rose again for our justification. He left all our sins in the grave. Fear not, my daughter.

And then he led them out as far as unto Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them, and was received up into heaven. And as the apostle says in the Hebrews, he hath made a new and living one. Jesus, in human nature, the Son of God in human nature, ascended into heaven. Open the gates of heaven, lift up your heads, O ye gates be lifted up, ye everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in, and Jesus has entered into heaven, the heavenly bowers. Fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest.

What you can't do, what you know is impossible for you to do, Jesus has done it. There's everything, there's life, there's light, there's peace, there's salvation, there's redemption. Oh, that the Lord would grant that these precious truths may be living truths in our hearts. Amen.

Let us now sing together hymn number 171. The tune is Osset 386. Join all who love the Saviour's name to sing His everlasting fame. Great God, prepare each heart and voice in Him forever to rejoice. Hymn 171, tune Osset, 386.

so Ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, ego,
? All people under Satan's hold ?
? In favor of his guiding fold ?
? For Him I pray the open sea ?
? To think of His hope for evermore ?

In thee my treasures all contain, Thy name, thy fever, thou sustain,
? From Him my hope is found, received, ?
? From Him my soul shall ever be, ?

Amen. I'm lost, I'm everywhere, I'm never where I should be. Bless me, my soul, from day to day. Trust in the making of thy day. In Him, my God, we sing aloud, With hymns ever, ever loud. Make me from strength and righteousness, and if I were to be dismissed, Come ye that come, Lord, as we join, And sing in ev'ry hymn and cry, Grace-giving, cheerful, grateful stars, Tell us in your quiet rains below,
? Dictator does your every pledge ?
? That in your sake, O God, be praised ?

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen. Bye.