Ruths Recompense, Commentary on Ruth · Chapter 3 · Verse 14
Verſe 14. And ſhee lay at his feet vntill the morning: and ſhee roſe vp before one could know another: for hee ſaid, Let it not bee knowne, that a woman came into the floore.
THis verſe ſheweth how Ruth reſted till the morning: then, her riſing ready to depart; with the mouing cauſe from Boaz ſpeech, being a wary Caueat vntounto her.
And ſhee lay at his feet vntill the morning.] This is added, to ſhew their chaſte and continēt behauiour: for if they had offended, the holy Ghoſt, who ſpared not Noahs drunkenneſſe, Lots inceſt, Dauids adultery, would not hauehave concealed this fact, if ſo they had thereof been guilty: They were both honeſt and feared God: and therefore they would not commit ſuch wickedneſſe, albeit they had occaſion offred. Whereby wee may learne, that where the feare of God and honesty beareth ſway, there chastity may bee preſerued, though occaſion bee offered to the contrary. Behold this here in old Boaz, and elſewhere in young Ioſeph; there was neither lechery in the one, nor ſtrength of luſt, nor youthfull wantonneſſe in the other: for there luſt is bridled, where the feare of God poſſeſſeth the heart, and honeſty lodgeth. To bee kept therefore from this euill, let theſe vertuous examples guide vsus, that luſt ouer-beare vsus not, as it doth in ſuch as ſeeke occaſions to ſinne in this kind: neighing, as Ieremie ſpeaketh, after their neighbours wiues. And ſuch alſo, though they ſeeke not occaſion, like the former; yet they eaſily take occaſion to offend this way, with virgins, with married wiues, and with thoſe whom they thinke to marry with; and this laſt is held no offence at all by them: becauſe they thinke that marriage amendeth all. But firſt it is an argument of a ſtrong and vnbridled luſt, which ſhould not beare rule in Chriſtians. Secondly, if the man hap to die before marriage, (as who is certaine of life?) the woman being with child, becommeth infamous, and ſhee that ſhould hauehave beene a wife, is left as an harlot. Thirdly, it is an offence to the Church, being knowne, and puniſhable by the ſame, which offence the godly muſt auoid: GiueGive no offence, 1. Cor. 10. 32.(ſaith the Apoſtle) to Iew, nor Gentile, nor to the Church of God. Fourthly & laſtly, it beſeemeth not the holineſſe of the publicke ſolemnization of marriage, to which the parties ſhould come vndefiled, as the Aſſembly and Congregation of God doe in charitie iudge of them. Note beſides, that theſe two godly perſons kept themſelues chaſte, and how others accounted alſo godly, and that ſo were, yet were very fowly ouertaken in this ſinne of the fleſh, as wee hauehave example in Lot in a caue with his daughters; Iudah with Tamar; and Dauid with Bathſhebah. From whence obſerue, that Gods owne deare Children hauehave not all the like meaſure of grace, nor power to reſiſt temptations, and to ſubdue their owne corruptions. In the holy Word of God wee ſhall find three ſorts of the godly: ſome hardly found fault with, their infirmities paſſed ouer with ſilence; ſuch a one was Iſaac, Boaz heere, ſo Ioſua, Samuel, Daniel, Mephiboſheth, Ionathan, Zacharie and Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, the Virgin Mary, and others. Some are noted with their frailties and light infirmities, being moſt excellent Saints of God, as Moſes, Iob, Ieremie, Hezechias, and Ioſias, and ſome others. A third ſort are ſtained with foule offences, as Dauid with adulterie and murther; Iudah with inceſt, and ſo Lot; Aaron with Idolatry; and Peter with periurie: for the Lord affordeth not the like grace in equall meaſure vntounto all. All are ſanctified: yet corruptions more ſway in one then in another, as theſe inſtances ſhew, and as experience daily teacheth. Therefore let vsus not thinke to find the like grace in all, and the like mortification of corruption: for God diſtributeth his gifts and the meaſure, as it pleaſeth him. None are then to bee condemned ſimply for bad perſons, as if they were not in the number of Gods Saints; becauſe they bee not in all things like their brothren: for they, euen both ſorts of them may bee the Lords, and yet in ſome thing bee very much vnlike. Ioſeph inticed by his miſtreſſe, preſerued his chaſtitie: but Dauid inticed another mans wife, and lay with her. Boaz alone with Ruth would not ſinne in fornication: but Lot alone with his daughters committed inceſt. Nathaniel was a true Iſraelite without guile: but Iacob firſt called Iſrael, of whom came all the Iſraelites, diſſembled, & lyed to his own father: Moſes a meeke man, but Ionah of a very froward ſpirit: and yet al of them good men, & the bleſſed Saints of God. This therefore iuſtly reproueth thoſe, who ſeeing men profeſſing Religion, and yet to differ in their courſes, ſome to liue vnreprouably, and others to giuegive great offence in their falls, though of infirmitie, doe vtterly condemne them all as hypocrites, and as diſſemblers. Yea, this checketh them themſelues for deadly cenſuring one another, when if any man be ouertaken in any fault: they which be ſpirituall, ſhouldGal. 6. 1. reſtore ſuch an one in the ſpirit of meekeneſſe, conſidering themſelues, leſt they alſo be tempted. If any man heere aske, Why doth not God make all his Children to be alike religiouſly minded one as well as another? I anſwer, the Lord may doe it for theſe reaſons. Firſt, for the good many times of the godly themſelues: for they are ſuffered to fall for their greater humiliation, the more to let them ſee their owne weakeneſſe, to ſhew that they ſtand not of themſelues; to make them the more to deny themſelues, not to bee lifted vp with any conceit of their owne goodneſſe, or merit; but to magnifie Gods mercy for their daily preſeruation, and for his goodneſſe towards them: and after their fall returning to God, and feeling peace in their renewed Repentance, they will the more cloſely ſticke to God, more earneſtly pray, and more feruently louelove him: for ſo great good the Lord workes in his Children after their falls; yea ſuch humiliation will bee wrought thereby in them; and ſuch comfort, ioy, and louelove in God after their recouerie, as no outward croſſes, nor outward deliuerances can euer doe the like. Secondly, for the further damnation of the wicked, who at the falls of the godly doe harden their hearts the more againſt all Religion, thinking it to bee a vaine thing, and that ſuch as follow and embrace it, are no better than others, and that the beſt be but hypocrites: becauſe they ſee ſome grieuouſly ouertaken; when theſe miſerable ſoules ſhould hereby be moued the more to feare their owne damnation, except they repent and take a better courſe: for if the righteous ſcarcely bee ſaued; if they ſo hardly get out of their corruptions; if they bee ſo fearefully ouertaken, who reade, meditate, heare the Word, conferre thereof, pray much, and humble themſelues with teares; where ſhall the wicked and ſinner1. Pet. 4. 18. appeare? How can the common and careleſſe Chriſtian bee ſaued? Thus ſhould they reaſon, to rowze vp their ſpirits to make them to ſeeke God, and feare damnation, and not take occaſion by the falls of ſome, to condemne the profeſſion of Religion it ſelfe in others, and ſo to make no account thereof in themſelues to the hardning of their owne hearts, and ſo heaping vponupon themſelues the iuſt deſerued vengeance.
And ſhe roſe vp, before one could know another.] That ſhee might bee gone away out of the floore before the light, or at the dawning of the day, very earely, ere others ſhould bee ſtirring. This ſhee did perhaps out of a ioy of heart, and deſire to bee with Naomi, to tell her the ſucceſſe of her counſell, which ſhe carefully followed, as it may ſeeme by her haſty relation of the matter vntounto her mother in law, when ſhee came vntounto her, as ſhall bee ſhewed in the 16. verſe. Note heere, that they bee not drowzie-headed, whoſe hearts are taken vp with their buſineſſe: they can riſe betimes, and preuent the day, whether it bee the deſire of getting goods, or enioying pleaſure, or to doe miſchiefe, which makes ſome not to reſt: or that it bee ſuch ioy as was heere in Ruth; or a good will to doe a thing, as in Abraham to obey God,Gen. 22. 3. and 28. 18. hee aroſe vp earely; ſo Iacob to get to his Vncles; Ioſua to find out the tranſgreſſour in the excommunicateIoſua 7. 16. thing, to put euill away from Iſrael; Dauid to go with that which his father ſent vntounto1. Sam. 17. 20. the hoaſt. So that let the heart be taken vp with louelove, care, ioy, deſire, it will doe any thing; the ſpirit of drowzineſſe will bee ſhaken off: for it is the careleſſe minde which maketh ſlothfull. To bee therefore ſtirring, and to raiſe vp our ſelues out of the bed of idleneſſe, wee muſt ſet our hearts vponupon our affaires. I might alſo note, how darkeneſse keeps vsus from the knowledge of one another: therefore in darkeneſſe man feareth not the face of man, and ſo is bold to doe euill; becauſe hee is hid from the ſight of others: and as it is in bodily darkeneſſe, ſo in ſpirituall; the ignorant and blind in ſoule dare do any thing, they bluſh not, neither be they aſhamed, which others enlightened are afraid to commit; neither can they diſcerne one another: for the light of Truth they hauehave not. But yet though men can bee hid in darkeneſſe from men, they cannot bee ſo from God.
For hee ſaid, (or as others reade) And hee ſaid, Let it not bee knowne that a woman came into the floore.] If you reade For, it is a reaſon from Boaz his ſpeech of her ſo ſoone riſing; if And, then it is his admonition to her, that beeing riſen, ſhee ſhould ſo get her into the city, that others might not know that they were alone together in the floore that night. Howſoeuer it bee read, Boaz herein ſheweth his care of his & her honeſt name and credit, which might hereby bee brought into ſuſpition, albeit their conſciences had told them, that they had done nothing worthy blame, for any act of diſhoneſtie. From hence let vsus note, Firſt, that it neuer was, neither yet is a matter of good report, but a ſuſpition rather of euill, for a man and a woman to be taken together alone in places vnfit, vnuſuall, and at times vnſeaſonable. This the words of Boaz doe plainely heere giuegive vsus to vnderſtand: for man is ſo apt to this ſinne of the fleſh; yea the beſt, without eſpecial grace, as light occaſions breed ſuſpitions: becauſe alſo men are not ſo charitable as they ſhould bee, if any leaſt ſhew of euill may ſeeme to bee giuen this way. Therefore let ſuch as would not bee ſuſpected, beware how they be in company alone together, when and where ſuſpicions may ariſe. Secondly, that it is not enough to hauehave our conſciences cleare before God, but our ſelues cleare of giuing iust ſuſpition of euill, before men. This was Boaz his care, and Saint Pauls: for it is not enough to hauehave a goodActs 24. 16. 2. Cor. 8. 21. conſcience within, but we muſt hauehave care of our good name, to be well reported of abroad; which is an excellent thing, better then riches, thenProu. 22. 1. Eccleſ. 7. 1. Hebr. 11. 2, 39. 3. Iohn 12. oyntment. And this the godly will endeuour to obtaine, to ſtop the mouthes of aduerſaries, that they may bee put to rebuke, and to procure glory1. Pet. 2. 12. to the Goſpell which they doe profeſſe. This being our duetie, then are they reproueable which make no conſcience of offence before men: becauſe, ſay they, our hearts condemne not vsus, wee know wee doe not what men ſuſpect: when yet the Apoſtle forbids offences, and to1. Cor. 10. 3…. & 12▪ 13. looke to expediencie, and not ſimply to the lawfulneſſe of a thing, and to auoid all appearances of euill. There are another ſort worſe than theſe, who are ſo farre from auoiding ſuſpition of euill, as they are not aſhamed of the euill it ſelfe, being paſt ſhame, and dare openly boaſt of their lewdneſſe, without bluſhing, of which both Eſai andEſai. 3. 9. Ier. 6. 15. & 8. 12. Ieremie doe complaine.