We're continuing this morning the series of messages that we commenced last Lord's Day in Ruth, the Moabite Ess, the book of Ruth. The four chapters of that book tell a wonderful story of romance and redemption. If you look at the first verse of the book of Ruth, it says, Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. But if you look at the last verse of the previous book, the book of Judges, it says in verse 25 of Judges 21, In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. This is the setting of the book of Ruth. The story of Ruth is told in four chapters of the Word of God. But it is also true to say that these four chapters are not the whole story. Because to understand the contents of this little book fully, it has to be seen and studied in context. And that's true of any book of Scripture. It's true of any portion of Scripture. A lot of times what people do, preachers do it, is to take a text out of context and then make it into a pretext. And they teach something from that that the Bible doesn't teach. You should always remember that the Word of God is set in context. And while there may be secondary applications of the Word at times, we have to always remember the initial and first application of the Word. The setting of this book The timing is provided for us in chapter 1, verse 1. In the days when the judges ruled. We will consider that time in Israel's history a little later in the message. It is really important. But let me meantime say again, Ruth is the eighth book of the Bible. There are seven books that precede it. So it represents a brand new beginning for Israel in God's purpose. Eight in the Bible being the number of new beginnings. Now you can see in your Old Testament that the book appears in between the book of Judges and the book of 1st Samuel. And that's important. One writer observed, the last chapter of Judges ends rather abruptly. And the book of Ruth is necessary to correct this and also to make a connection with the books of Samuel which follow by carrying on this story by means of genealogy to David. The atmosphere changes as we enter the book of Ruth. The roughness and the violence of the book of Judges gives place to beauty and quietness were brought into touch with quiet, godly family life. And we see God working in a single family. The ancestors of David behind the scenes of turbulence that made up the public life of Israel. Another commentator says this, Judges and 1 Samuel are two momentous books that tell of varied and difficult experiences of the people of God in the Old Testament. Amid that history, Ruth's story shines through the pages of the Old Testament like a light in the darkness, like a bright star in the night sky. It is truly a wonderful book, a favourite book of many believers. But it's worth noting that there are two Old Testament books that are named after women. One is of course the book of Ruth, and the other is the book of Esther. Now if you look at these two books, you'll find that there's a contrasting storyline in each. For instance, whereas Esther was a queen, Ruth was a lowly peasant girl. Esther was a Jewess, who married a Gentile. And Ruth was a Gentile who was wed to a Jew. The book of Esther opens up with a feast. The book of Ruth begins with a famine. The book of Esther finishes with the death of an enemy, Haman. But the book of Ruth comes to a close with the birth of a child. And yet, while we can say there is a contrasting storyline, We can clearly see, despite the contrast in these books, that there is also a common subject. And that common subject of Esther and Ruth is the providential working of God in the preservation of His own people and of His church in the world. Frankly, men and women, sometimes we might be tempted to think that the church of God is a dying institution. And that's what the devil would want us to think. That the work of God has no future. That the church is a relic of a bygone day. It belongs to history. But it's no longer relevant. Satan would tell us that in this post-modern age, the church has no relevance at all. It's actually headed for extinction like the dodo bird. But I want you to know the devil is a liar. The devil is a liar and the father of lies. And these two books of the Old Testament, Esther and Ruth, remind us that the church is the preserve of God. It is His masterpiece. And the Lord will keep His Word. He will maintain His own cause in this world. Now, no matter how it appears to the eyes of men, No matter how it might even look to some Christians, as the hymn puts it, God's truth is marching on. He preserves His church and His cause in the world. You see, God has a plan of redemption, and that plan of redemption is being carried on. And the souls that Christ died for will all be saved by His power. He will use second means and causes to bring that about. People don't just get saved like a frog turning into a prince. God actually uses means. God uses His people. He uses preaching. It hath pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. How shall they hear without a preacher? The Bible teaches that it's important for us to witness for Him. He that winneth souls is wise. It is important for us to be a testimony in our day and generation. The Bible speaks of one who first findeth his own brother and bringeth him to Jesus. The Lord uses means. The Lord will use the printed page, especially the Bible. The Lord will use gospel tracts and literature. The Lord will use radio ministry and even internet preaching. to bring about the salvation of His own. The souls that Christ died for will be saved. And Ruth tells the story of a covenant-keeping God who is carrying out His eternal plan, even on the individual level. Because Ruth was an individual. She was a stranger. She was an outcast from Israel. She was not redeemed. And the Lord brought her to the place where she said to Naomi, Thy God shall be my God. And she spoke of that God in the following verse, Ruth 1, verse 17, as the Lord. And in your authorized version, you know that the word Lord, or God, when it appears in the uppercase, when it appears in large capital letters, it's always in the original Jehovah. The Lord, Jehovah, the God of Israel, she had been brought to trust in Him. And that very statement is made in chapter 2, verse 12, The Lord, there it is again, Jehovah, recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Jehovah, God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. So, if that hymn had been written, then Ruth could have sung the words under His wings, I am safely abiding." She was trusting in the Lord. So there's this wonderful story of the individual and God's dealings with her, but there's a bigger story. There's a greater back cloth to this. The purposes of God in redemption for His church, the bringing forth of the Messiah by the line of David according to the flesh. Now, as I said, we must pay close attention to the setting of the book of Ruth, the time of the book. Again, we read in Ruth chapter 1 verse 1, Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled. This was a particular time in the history of Israel. And obviously, it takes us back to the previous book. In the days when the judges ruled. The book of Judges has that name, obviously, because it tells the story of the judges. There were twelve judges, but there was a thirteenth, and the thirteenth was an apostate. In the Bible, thirteen is the number of apostasy and rebellion from God, and we find it in the book of Judges illustrated. But when we look at the book of Ruth, we might well ask the question, does it belong to the end of that period of the book of Judges, or the middle of the book, or earlier on? Well, most agree that the events in the book of Ruth belong to the early period of the rule of the Judges. And there's some evidence of that in the genealogy that's recorded in Ruth chapter 4. Because in verse 20 we read, "...and Aminadab begat Nashon, and Nashon begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz," and so on. Nashon, we see here, is the grandfather of Boaz, Ruth's husband. If you were to consult Numbers 1, verse 7, You would find in that scripture that Nashon was the leader of Judah at the time of the departure from Egypt. So that places him at a certain time in history. His son Salmon, not Salmon, he wasn't fishy. Salmon, he married Rahab of Jericho. And we learn that from Matthew chapter 1, a verse that we consulted last time. I'll read it again. And Salmon begat Boaz of Rechab, and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David the king. And so the story belongs to that time just after the death of Joshua. That takes us back to Judges 2. You wondered why I read that this morning, didn't you? Well, now you know. Judges 2, reading from verse 7, the Word of God tells us this, And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord." That's a beautiful description. If there was nothing else that was to be written of me, that could be put in my gravestone and I would be really, really happy. The servant of the Lord. And that's what you ought to desire to be. a servant of the Lord, to serve Him all your days. That's what Joshua was. And it says he died being 110 years old and they buried him in the border of his inheritance and so on. Verse 10 says, and also, all that generation were gathered unto their fathers. That means they died. All those faithful people, all those people of whom it says in verse 7 that they served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." And that's a very sad statement. Here's all these people serving the Lord faithfully, and there arises another generation, and they don't know the Lord, and they're not following the Lord, and they're not serving the Lord. That's a sad thing. In some evangelical churches you find godly grandparents and their children are not saved and their grandchildren are not saved. In some churches you see a preponderance of old grey heads and bald heads. You see a lot of older people and you wonder to yourself, where are their children? Where are they? They're not in the house of God. They don't have any desire for the things of God. What happened? What happened indeed? Well, the happenings in the book of Ruth derive their significance in large measure from the fact that they occurred in those times. Just to repeat it, it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled. It is vital for us to examine the peculiar character of those days. What sort of times were they? Well again, we consult that very last verse in Judges. Judges 21-25, In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Sound familiar? Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. To understand the book of Ruth, this summary of the period needs to be examined and it needs to be emphasized. There was no king. There was no authority figure in that sense. Nobody occupying the throne. That particular figure of authority was not there. Although, we hasten to add, God did raise up judges. And the word for judges you'll find in the Authorized Version, in the margin, is literally saviors. Men who were raised up by God to save the day in the nation. God raised up judges, one after another, to rule and to lead His people, but also to declare His Word and His will to them. And we can read about their lives. Men like Jephthah. Men like Othniel. Men like Ehud. Men like Samson. God raised them up for that particular time. Now, those judges, we notice, were mostly raised up in answer to prayer. Because the people were in great dire straits. And when they were in great trouble, they prayed unto the Lord. And when they prayed unto the Lord, The Lord raised up a judge or a deliverer. That often happened. For example, in chapter 3 of Judges, and verse 9, in a time when God's anger was raised against them, it says, And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Atheniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. These judges raised up to rule and to lead His people, to declare His Word and His will to them. They were used of God in certain instances to deliver the people from their enemies. But the one preeminent characteristic of those days, we have to emphasize, was this. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And if you examine with me carefully Judges 2, it becomes clear that three things resulted from this spirit of extreme individualism. I would call it a time of pure democracy. Now, I don't want to go down a rabbit trail here. I'll deal with this in due course. But pure democracy is not of God's. You might find that surprising for someone who classes himself as a conservative politically, but I can tell you that independence of spirit, when it's taken too far, becomes anarchy. It produces the kind of society that our society is very quickly becoming. And that is a place where every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Nobody will tell me what to do. I'll not yield to any authority. I'm the captain of my own vessel. I'll do whatever I like. If on a particular day I want to be a man, I'll be a man. If I want to be a woman the next day, I'll be a woman the next day. And I'll furthermore demand that you address me accordingly. Or I'll be offended. That's the kind of day we're living in. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. That's the purest democracy. And I say again, it's not of God's. It's not of God's. But as we look at this, what I call extreme individualism, every man did that which was right in his own eyes, it produced certain things. Judges 2 from verse 10, There arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel." So they neither knew the Lord Himself, nor did they really know anything about the mighty works that He had done. The work of God meant nothing to them. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam. Now you see that in the Bible, It speaks of Baal or Baal, B-A-A-L in the English. But actually, Baal worship was a worship of many gods. And that's why it's called Balaam. That's the plural word. They served various gods. And it goes on to say in verse 12 of Judges 2, And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods. of the gods of the people that were round about them and bowed themselves unto them and provoked the Lord to anger. And men and women, there's a lot of gods being worshipped by the people around about us today. One of them is sports. And that's why next Lord's Day evening, there's a lot of people who won't be in church. They'll be watching a pigskin oval-shaped ball being thrown about and kicked about on a field, along with all the millions of others worldwide who'd be watching the same thing. That is one of the gods of the people. And of course you can apply that to various other sports as well. And a lot of these events that take place, they take place, the finals take place on Sunday. You ever notice that? You ever notice that? There never used to be a Super Bowl Sunday when some of you were kids, when some of you were young. There was no Super Bowl Sunday because there was no Super Bowl. It's a phenomenon of the last 35 or 40 years, I guess. Tennis. Name the sport, any sport. When is the final? The finals are always on the Lord's Day. The greatest soccer tournament in the world, the World Cup, the final on the Lord's Day. The last time it wasn't on the Lord's Day was 1966, when it was held in England. Interesting that, isn't it? In England. Because the Sabbath and those days in the 60s still meant something in England. They wouldn't get away with what we call the Continental Sabbath. But then in 1970 in Mexico, it was held on Sunday for the first time, and ever since, every four years, it's on the Lord's Day. Why? Is that an accident? Is that just a happenstance? Is it just one of those things? It's because it's one of the gods of the people. I digress a little bit here, but I think it's to point as well if that makes sense. There's a soccer stadium in England called Old Trafford. It's the home of Manchester United. There's a banner that hangs there constantly and it is our religion is football, soccer. This is our church, the soccer stadium. It's their place of worship. You tell me that that's not another God. It's another God. And there are lots of other gods that people worship as well. Gods of materialism. Gods of money making. That's why a lot of people will take overtime deliberately on Sunday. Deliberately. There are people who worship the dollar. That's one of their gods. And as we look at this portion of Scripture, we see that there was widespread apostasy Verse 13 of Judges 2 says, they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was another of the gods of the heathen, along with Milcom and so on. There were various names for these gods. These were the gods that they went after. Why? Because every man did that which was right in his own eyes. They decided, I'll worship whatever I want to worship. I'm not going to worship Jehovah God, I'm going to worship Ashtoreth, or I'll worship Baal, or some other God. As well as widespread apostasy, there was willful arrogance. It says in verse 17, "...and yet they would not hearken unto their judges." Now, who were those judges? Well, verse 16 says, "...nevertheless the Lord raised up judges." They were men ordained of God. They were men that God raised up to rule over the nation at that particular time to teach them God's ways and His Word. God used them, verse 16, to deliver them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet, they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a-whoring after other gods and bowed. themselves unto them. There was a willful arrogance on their part. I'll do what I want to do. We're not going to hearken to the voice of the judges. And I think that's made even more clear in verse 19, because at the end of the verse, it says they cease not from their own doings. You see that? From their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. That's why I call it willful arrogance. Because in the rebellion, they thought, we're not going to go in God's way, we're going to go in our own way. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And of course, leading on from this widespread apostasy and this willful arrogance, you had wicked activity. And I know that the worship of other gods is wicked activity in itself. It says in verse 11, they served Balaam. But at the first part of verse 19 we read, And it came to pass when the judge was dead, that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers. in following other gods to serve them and to bow down unto them. They ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. And if you were to study some of the activities that went on in the worship of those false gods, it was sensualism writ large. Some of the most wicked practices, including having prostitutes in the portals of the temple, were practiced. because of that false worship. Now friends, this is what happens when men reject God's authority and make their own rules. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes. I talk there about widespread apostasy. What is apostasy? Apostasy is departure from God and His Word. That's what it is. When someone goes off into apostasy, they're departing from the truth, departing from God's Word. And that's the point. These people were not irreligious. It's not that they had no God and they had no revelation of His Word. These people had God's law as given by Moses. That's what the first five books of the Bible are all about. The law was given to Moses and then Joshua took over. And you read in the book of Joshua about him taking them into the promised land. And they served the Lord, kept His law all the days of Joshua. Then you have the seventh book, Judges. And this is where they began to reject both the Word of God and the messengers who delivered it. It was a day of apostasy. A period characterized by independence. Self-rule. Self-will. rebellion. God's law, God's absolute standards of morality and ethics meant nothing to them anymore. Why? Because every man claimed the right to live as he wanted to live. And folks, isn't that the kind of day that we're living in? This is exactly what's happening today in America and in the whole Western world. This is a day and age just like Judges 21-25. It's a summary of our own times. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And yet, speaking of America today, we not only have the law of God and the Pentateuch, but we have a completed Bible. We've got the whole of the Word of God, the Old and the New Testament. And yet, though this book sets forth God's absolute standards, men and women on every hand today are trumpeting their individual rights. I get so tired listening to this. This one's rights, and the other one's rights, and this other person's rights. What about God's rights? No, God doesn't have any rights. Don't tell me what to do. That's the attitude today. that prevails in our world. Don't tell me what to do. Doing that which is right in their own eyes. We see that as a spirit manifested today in children. And I have to tell you, it's getting worse. It's getting worse. My wife receives just for her own Pleasure and benefit, I guess, and to keep up with what's going on there. The old paper from back home in the Midwest. Small-town America. The town of Ottumwa in southeast Iowa has about 30,000 people as a population. It's a small town. An article just appeared in the paper this week There was a public meeting held at which teachers from elementary schools all around Ottumwa were complaining about the trouble that they're having with the kids in grade school. Not in high school. Already know about that. Grade school. Little kids. Can't control them. No regard for authority. Don't want to do what they're told. Now, where's that coming from? Well, you know where it's coming from in the first instance. It's coming from the homes that they come from. That's part of it. They're not disciplined. They're not put in check on anything. They do whatever they like. Some of them come, of course, from dysfunctional homes. This is true. But not all. They don't all come from broken homes. A lot of them come from homes where the parents basically are morons. That's about the size of it. As regards bringing up children, they are. They may be smart enough people, they may be clever enough people, but they haven't a clue about bringing up children. Parenting is a lost art with them. What's wrong with the children? They've got no regard for authority. When you were in school, when I was in school, we turned open our cheaper or we'd be in trouble. The reason I knew I'd be in trouble was not only from a teacher, but I'd be in trouble from my parents as well when they heard about it. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. You know what parents today a lot of times are doing? They're allowing their kids to dictate to them instead of correcting them. I got so aggravated at times when we tried to get children to come to a Sunday school or to a children's meeting in our church back in Scotland. You would go to a door and the parent would be standing there. Here's this little kid who's about five or six. Do you want to go to Sunday school? No. Okay. He doesn't want to go. She doesn't want to go. End of story. Who rules in that house? Well, it's obvious who rules in that house. That was not just once or twice either. That was over and over and over and over again. It's not only true of the children that this spirit is manifesting. But that's a spirit that's, I was going to say, ruining. It's past tense. It's already ruined the colleges of our nation. You've seen it, haven't you? The snowflakes. You've seen them in their safe spaces that they demand because they're so upset because somebody said something that they didn't like politically or against their so-called sexuality. In our colleges, we've got students demanding this right and the other right and the other right and rejecting utterly all authority. Again, insisting on what's called gender neutrality. You ever heard of such a thing? Gender neutrality. Oh, I'm non-binary. What is that? A person like that when I was growing up would have been taken away by men in white coats and probably put into a straitjacket or at least a padded cell. It's unbelievable what we're hearing today. Do you know that there's speech now that's non-gender stereotypical? What does that mean? Well, you can't necessarily just assume that because he looks like a little boy and he's dressed like a little boy, that he is in fact a little boy. Nor can you assume that he's a little boy who wants to be a little girl. There's that. But he actually might be a little boy who doesn't know whether he's a little boy or a little girl. And you're not to judge him either. Friends, it's pathetic. But that's the result of every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. And I'm not overreacting here either. In Ontario, which is one of the most liberal provinces in Canada, there is a statute, I think it's called Title 16, just brought out a short time ago. And listen to this. Believe this or not, this is the truth. This statute punishes educators for their failure to use the correct gender-free speech in addressing someone. And there's a professor up there, he's not a Christian at all, but he's a very famous professor now because of his YouTube videos. And he has taken that on as a battle. He refuses to be silenced and he refuses to be made to call people by different gender pronouns. I think there's six or eight of them that some of them have come up with. It's ridiculous. But you know what it is, friends? It's not something really to be laughed at, though at times you feel like laughing. But the Bible says fools make a mock of sin. That's not something to laugh at. You see a man who is a man, obviously a man, dressed like a woman, that's not something to laugh at. That's wicked. That's wicked. And it applies the other way as well. God has put a distinction between the sexes. Our society has broken down that distinction in dress, in all manner of ways. But it's departure from God and His Word that has created this nonsense. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. That's the spirit that's seen among children, it's seen in colleges, and it's a spirit that is seen in churches. It's a spirit that is prevalent in churches. Tell me this, why is false doctrine preached from so many popes? Why? Why do people preach something that's totally contrary to the Word of God, or has absolutely no relation to the Word of God at all? Because you have men, and sometimes women. They shouldn't be anywhere near the pulpit, but anyway, they don't realize that you're supposed to be the husband of one wife. But they think that they can dispense with divine revelation. They can just throw the Bible out and proclaim the things that they feel are right. So if I believe this, I'm going to preach it and teach it. And the people will accept it. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes. In such a day, the book of Ruth is set. And therefore, you might say, well, it was a sad day, wasn't it? Yes, but with all of that, with all that spiritual rebellion, against God with all that anarchy and that independence of spirit that was bringing society to the brink of destruction. God was still at work. That's the message of the book of Ruth. God was still working to draw men and women out of the destruction and the power of sin and bring them into submission unto Himself. Bringing them into His saving grace. That's happening today, men and women. It's not all just doom and gloom. God is still at work. The Lord has not vacated the field and left the devil in control. That has not happened. The gospel of God's redeeming grace is still the one thing that can save this world from destruction. And even when people are lobbying for all their rights, this right and the other right, changing the glory of the uncorruptible God into that of the creature. The grace of God is still abounding in human experience. And it might well have been in the days when the judges ruled. But that, friends, is when Ruth was saved. That's when Ruth was converted. That's when God reached down in love and in mercy and brought her out of heathenism into submission to Jehovah God, brought her into the bond of His covenant. And whenever the covenant people forfeited the blessings of that covenant of God, this stranger, this Moabite Ruth, inherited those blessings and entered into those blessings. I know that there are many people today, and what keeps them from even thinking about coming to the Savior is this thought that to live as a Christian in this world means that I'm going to have to swim against the tide. I'm going to have to go in a way that's different from the way I have been going and the way that most other people are going. And that's what's called counting the cost. And it's something that's necessary. Now we know that this world with all of its patterns of apostasy and rebellion and wickedness is going to pass away. And it's true that the cost of Christ, the cost of following Christ is great. But infinitely greater is the reward that the Lord promises to those who know Him. And of God before us, who can be against us? We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. The Apostle Paul said on one occasion, at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a place like that in your place of employment or some other place? There's nobody else to stand with you. Nobody else thinks like you do in terms of what the Bible has to say about things. But yet, Paul pressed on and he kept the faith. It may be that we have to take up the cross and follow Christ with nobody else walking with us. And we have to say like Paul, no man stood But wouldn't you far rather be alone on the side of Christ than to be drifting into perdition with the millions? See, in the days when the judges ruled, there were indeed many who were drifting away from God in that willful, rebellious fashion. These were days of anarchy. These were days of people doing their own thing. And yet God still worked. He still saved people. He still brought sinners out of the darkness into the light. And He still does it today. I'm always encouraged in going through this life when I think about the fact that not many people seem to be getting saved these days. And then I bump into somebody or I talk to somebody and they tell me they got saved a year ago. Oh, I came to Christ two years ago or three years ago, and I'm thinking, wow, how did that happen? Because God is working. He's still using his word. He's still blessing his truth. His truth is marching on. God is working. God is blessing. We want to see more of that blessing. Yes. But let us not give up hope. or allow ourselves to be wallowing in the doldrums or thinking that, you know, there's nobody else left but me, like Elijah. The Lord has His people. And as we finish the message today, I just want to compare what it says in the last verse of Judges with the last verse of the book of Ruth. I think this is really interesting and it's encouraging. It says in Judges, in those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. No king in Israel. That's the position. Look at the last verse of the book of Ruth. What's the last word of that last verse? David. David. Who's David? David, the king of Israel. There's no longer the situation where people say, there was no king in Israel. Because David is the king. When God works, I think that's the lesson that we learn from this. When God works, men are brought under the rule of a king. They no longer are doing that which is right in their own eyes, but they're under the authority, they're under the rulership, they're under the servitude of the king. And this word David, David the man after God's own heart, causes us to think of the greater David, doesn't it? The one who is King David's greater son. even the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the one to whom this book points. When people are saved, they no longer are doing that which is right in their own eyes, but King David's greater Son reigns in their hearts. And that's what we pray for today, that the Lord would raise up many more just like Ruth, bringing them from that place where they are strangers to grace and to God, strangers to the covenant of Israel, without God and without hope in the world, but bringing them to that place where they can say, but now, in Christ, we who once were far off have been made nigh by the blood of Christ. I trust that's your experience. That you do know the Lord Jesus Christ as your King. And you can say with the hymn writer, therefore, King of my life, I crown thee now. Thine shall the glory be, lest I forget thy thorn-crowned brow. Lead me to Calvary. Amen.