 | Introductory verses to Bible Letters |  |
xviii
A POSTSCRIPT.
ON RUTH.
I
How could I pass in silence by,On Scripture's sacred page,
One, unto childhood's partial eye,
The heroine of her age?
Still peerless shines her gentle fame
For tenderness and truth;
Who can forget the honour'd name
Of warm, devoted Ruth?
II
Who can forget, when Orpah's loveTo earlier ties gave way,
How Ruth, with courage from above,
Still held her onward way?
The parting tear, the mute caress,
Her sister fondly gave;
But in that hour of deep distress,
Ruth to their parent clave!
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III
The manners, language, customs, allFamiliar habit prized,
By her, at filial duty's call,
Were freely sacrificed:
E'en Moab's gods she could forsake,
Long worshipp'd as her own,
And for her lot and portion, take
Her parent's God alone.
IV
For her, she left the home on earthIn which she had been rear'd,
By living and departed worth
Both hallow'd and endear'd;
For her, she sought a stranger land,
Embrac'd a lot forlorn,
And join'd the humble gleaner band
'Mid sheaves of “alien corn.”
V
Never did poet's proudest spell,Or fiction's sweetest art,
On elements more lovely dwell,
To touch and win the heart:
Yet this, the brightest, purest page,
Which Bible lore supplies,
Is linked unto our later age
By truly Christian ties.
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VI
Its charm is Christian! it appealsTo love, and love alone;
And every beauty it reveals,
That law of Christ makes known!
It stands out, 'mid the sterner strife
Of that dark age of dread,
A picture of a Christian's life,
On Christian precepts led.
VII
Nor less, in Ruth's rich recompense,A watchful eye may trace
An unobtrusive evidence
Of virtue crowned by grace;
Not David's ancestress, alone,
That recompense we find,
But His who fills a mightier throne,
The Saviour of mankind!
| Introductory verses to Bible Letters | |