More Love to Thee

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

 

Words: bio(“Eliz­a­beth P. Pren­tiss”,”p/r/prentiss_ep”) Eliz­a­beth P. Pren­tiss, 1856. Pren­tiss wrote these words dur­ing a per­i­od of ill­ness, but kept them to her­self. When she showed them to her hus­band 13 years lat­er, he en­cour­aged her to pub­lish them. How­ard Doane saw the re­sult­ing pamph­let, and wrote mu­sic for the words.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/o/morelove.htm

Ruth – Part 4 – Hope Restored, But…

It is good to be back in my study of Ruth.   Ruth chapter 2 is all about Ruth’s first day gleaning in the fields of Boaz.  What Ruth experiences her first day gleaning truly does show God’s provision and blessing.  I left off at Ruth 2:13 so here we go starting with Ruth 2:14.  

 14At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”  When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don’t embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”

Again Boaz’s character shines through.  He offers Ruth lunch.  He knows she is there to gather food because Ruth and Naomi have just come back to Bethlehem and need to provide for themselves.  He steps in and meets their need for food.  He offers her a hearty meal and she has leftovers for Naomi.  This meal gives her strength to continue to glean in the sunny fields of Bethlehem. 

This passage also shows Boaz’s interest in Ruth.  He wants to protect Ruth.  Earlier he tells her to stay in his fields and now he tells his workers to be nice to her, do not rebuke her. He tells them to leave extra stalks for her on purpose. Boaz did not have to do that.  He went above and beyond. I am sure Ruth is pinching herself and asking “Is this really happening to me – Ruth the Moabite?”  She is experiencing true grace!

Speaking of Ruth the Moabite – Have you noticed how many times that this reference for Ruth is made in Chapter 2?  It actually starts the minute Naomi and Ruth hit the little town of Bethlehem at the end of Chapter 1 in verse 22: So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. This reference is then mentioned in Ruth 2:2, 2:6 and 2:21.  Then, only one other time is it mentioned during the remainder of the story and for good reason; but we won’t jump forward.

So, what is the reason for all of this “Ruth the Moabite” business?  Well it is the author’s way of saying Ruth doesn’t have a chance.  She was doomed the minute she reached Bethlehem according to the LAW.  With her decision to choose Naomi’s God, she also chooses her hopeless destiny. For it is written in Deuteronomy 23:3  No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, not even in the tenth generation.