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acknowledged the sameness of their human nature and the same- ness of their wants and destinies. And we cannot imagine that this kindly custom, any more than the sitting down together of master and servant at the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in the church, and partaking together of the holy symbols, lessened the respect of the servant for the master, or weakened the interest of the master in the servant. So far from putting either of the parties out of their proper place, it drew the rela- tion between them closer, and imparted to it a more gentle and sacred character, of which neither could possibly take advantage. And assuredly, if the employer in every case treated his workmen as Boaz treated those who laboured in his harvest-field, there would be fewer grievances to complain of between them.^
I give thee joy ! 0 worthy word 1 Congratulate — A courtier fine. Transacts, politely shuffling by, The civil ceremonial lie. Which, quickly spoken, barely heard, Can never hope, nor e'en design, To give thee joy !
I give thee joy ! 0 faithful word ! When heart with heart, and mind with mind Shake hands; and eyes in outward sign Of inward vision, rest in thine ; And feelings simply, truly stirred, Emphatic utterance seek to find, And give thee joy!
I give thee joy ! 0 word of power ! Believe, though slight the tie in sooth, When heart to heart its fountain opes The plant to water that with hopes Is budding for fruition's flower — The word, potential made, in truth Shall give tliee joy.
Shall give thee joy! Oh, not in vain, For erring child the mother's prayer; The sigh, wherein a martyr's breath Exhales from ignominious death For some lost cause ! In humbler strain Shall- this poor word a virtue bear. And give thee joy ! ^
^ Hugh Macmillan. ' Clough, Poems, 3.
DEUT.-ESTII. — 16
242 A GREETING IN HARVEST
4. Boaz came down from his residence in the town to see how the harvest work was going on, and his salutation to his people and their response show to us a state of things truly idyllic. In all the beautiful story there is not a finer touch than this devout and fervent greeting between master and servants in the barley-field. It is a most charming picture of the simple piety and pleasant manners of the early days. It appeals to the heart and quickens the imagination.
(1) What a fine example of courtesy does the greeting offer. It was with no haughty airs or rough speech that Boaz entered the harvest-field that lovely April day, bringing a shadow over the innocent gladness of the reapers, and giving them a painful sense of their inferiority. " The Lord be with you," was his courteous salutation ; and they, with the reaping-hooks in their hands, and the sweat of honest labour streaming from their faces, paused in their toil among the golden sheaves, and standing up respect- fully welcomed him with the equally courteous response, " The Lord bless thee."
Something that abode endued
With temple-like repose, an air Of life's kind purposes pursued
With order'd freedom sweet and fair. A tent pitch'd in a world not right
It seemed, whose inmates, every one On tranquil faces bore the light
Of duties beautifully done. And humbly, though they had few peers,
Kept their own laws, which seemed to be The fair sum of six thousand years'
Traditions of civility.^
(2) The courtesy is not a superficial thing ; for it is the out- come of consideration. In the story of this old-world harvest there is the mutual kindliness of disposition pervading the scene. Master and men seem alike interested in each other's welfare. The employer shows a kindly spirit towards those in his service, and they reciprocate it in the expression of good wishes for their master's prosperity. " The Lord be with you." " The Lord bless thee." There is kindliness, and mutual benediction, and identity of interests in that harvest-field.
^ Coventry Patmore.
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How little regard some masters have for the feelings of their dependants ! What rough and harsh language do they address to them — a cowardly as well as an unchristian thing; for the servants cannot retaliate without the risk of losing their situation. It is of the very essence of Christianity to be tender and con- siderate, and so to regulate our speech and behaviour that those who are under us may manifest their individuality, act in char- acter, and forget their inferior condition. And no one who loves the Lord Jesus, who humbled Himself and became our servant, who came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and so made service the highest dignity and blessedness of life, can possibly act "otherwise than in the same spirit of meekness and tender courtesy towards others ; with that gentleness which makes those who serve us try to do their best, and makes them great and not mean in their own hearts; which arouses them to a truer self- respect, and leads them into a higher life. The master is as much indebted to the servant as the servant is to the master; even more, if we consider that the servant gives time and health and strength and skill, in return for wages — the life for the means of living — things for which no money can be equivalent, and which can only be repaid in kind by courteous treatment and kindly sympathy and consideration.