Evening, August 2
Go To Morning Reading
“So she gleaned in the field until even.”
Ruth 2:17
Let me learn from Ruth, the gleaner. As she went out to gather the
ears of corn, so must I go forth into the fields of prayer, meditation,
the ordinances, and hearing the word to gather spiritual food. The gleaner gathers her portion ear by ear ; her gains are little by little: so must I be content to search for
single truths, if there be no greater plenty of them. Every ear helps
to make a bundle, and every gospel lesson assists in making us wise
unto salvation. The gleaner keeps her eyes open : if she stumbled among the stubble in a dream, she would have no
load to carry home rejoicingly at eventide. I must be watchful in
religious exercises lest they become unprofitable to me; I fear I
have lost much already—O that I may rightly estimate my opportunities, and glean with greater
diligence. The gleaner stoops for all she finds , and so must I. High spirits criticize and object, but lowly minds
glean and receive benefit. A humble heart is a great help towards
profitably hearing the gospel. The engrafted soul-saving word is not
received except with meekness. A stiff back makes a bad gleaner; down,
master pride, thou art a vile robber, not to be endured for a moment.
What the gleaner gathers she holds : if she dropped one ear to find another, the result of her day’s work would be but scant; she is as careful to retain as to obtain,
and so at last her gains are great. How often do I forget all that
I hear; the second truth pushes the first out of my head, and so my
reading and hearing end in much ado about nothing! Do I feel duly
the importance of storing up the truth? A hungry belly makes the gleaner
wise; if there be no corn in her hand, there will be no bread on her
table; she labours under the sense of necessity, and hence her tread
is nimble and her grasp is firm; I have even a greater necessity,
Lord, help me to feel it, that it may urge me onward to glean in fields
which yield so plenteous a reward to diligence.