"Spread Your Wings Over Me" Or, "The Risk Takers"

Welcome:

The kingdom is like a man who went into a field and found treasure. Seeing its worth, the man goes home and sells all his possessions to buy the field (Lk. 15).

Announcements:

Prayer: Tuesday, 8/13

Ladies’ Night (8/16): Vino Venue —RSVPs close mid-day on Wednesday, August 14th,

HYMN OF PREPARATION:

†CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 27:4, 8

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: People of God, the Lord calls out to you: “Seek my face.”

Congregation: One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in his temple.

Minister: The Lord calls out to you, his gathered church.

Congregation: Thy face, O Lord, we shall seek.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord our God, who art worthy to be praised and to be had in reverence of all those who are before you; Grant unto us, as we come to you in worship, the gift of thy Holy Spirit, that being cleansed and sanctified we may serve you with gladness, and find our joy in worshipping thy glory.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #241

“O God Beyond All Praising”

†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

BEFORE CONFESSION

““Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” (Joel 2:12–13, ESV)

As we prepare to confess our sins together, let’s take a moment for personal and silent confession.

TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION

Let’s confess our sins together

Minister: O Father, we are gathered before you, the maker of heaven and earth, whose chosen dwelling place is with the broken and contrite, to confess that:

Congregation: we have sinned in thought and word and deed; we have not loved you with all our heart and soul, we have not loved you with all our mind and strength; we have not even loved our neighbor as ourselves.

In your mercy, deepen our sorrow for the wrong we have done and for the good we have left undone, so that we may hate our sin with a holy hatred. But, please Father, do not leave us in sorrow. With you, O Lord, there is forgiveness. In your mercy, restore the joy of our salvation; so that we may love you with a holy love. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE. 2 Timothy 1

Paul Mulner, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†PSALM OF PREPARATION #119Q

“Wonderful Are Your Statues, Lord”

SERMON Ruth 3:6-18 // “Spread Your Wings Over Me”

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Almighty God, and most merciful Father, we humbly submit ourselves, and fall down before your Majesty, asking you from the bottom of our hearts, that this seed of your Word now sown among us, may take such deep root, that neither the burning heat of persecution cause it to wither, nor the thorny cares of this life choke it. But that, as seed sown in good ground, it may bring forth thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold, as your heavenly wisdom has appointed. Amen.

TEXT Ruth 3:6-18

Ruth 3:6–18 ESV

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

AFTER SCRIPTURE

Every word of God is perfect, let his people bless his Holy name.

Intro

In 1732 two young Moravian men named John Leonard Dober and David Nitschman heard that there were over 3,000 African slaves in the Caribbean on the Island of St. Thomas who had no pastor and who didn’t know the gospel. Unable to secure for themselves travel to such a place, the two men sold themselves into slavery so that they could be taken to the island to live among its people and teach them the gospel. As they boarded the ship in Hamburg, leaving their homes for the last time, they saw a small crowd of their fellow church members who were weeping at the cost of these two men’s lives. But before they were out of earshot, one of the men yelled from the ship, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering”.

For these men, there was a risk, but there was also a reward. They left their homes, their prospects of an easy life, marriage, and children, but sought the reward of Christ’s glory among the Caribbean slaves. They were following the example of Christ, who risked his life for the joy set before Him - the Lamb that was slain - to reap the reward of his suffering.

And wether big examples like these, or seemingly small and intimate ones like we will look at today in Ruth, life is built on taking risks in the hope of reward.

What I mean by risk is placing your trust and hope in something that might cost you — cost you something that you might now want to lose. And everything in life comes with risk.

Everything has a calculus of cost — the good and the bad.

Will Eve choose to trust the Lord, willing to risk never finding out if that fruit would make her wise and like God? Or will she take it and risk her soul, and her innocence, and her life?

When we’re bitter and angry, will we risk disobedience to God’s command for forgiveness seventy times seven, afraid to lose our moral high ground, our anger, and our pride, or will we risk getting hit on the other cheek, will we risk vulnerability and humility, as we turn to forgiveness and grace? Will we be afraid to obey God because it costs too much. There is seemingly too much risk?

When Jesus says, “come, follow me”. Will we risk what’s unknown to come with Him?

Life is made of risks, but risking for the Lord always comes with a reward. And here is where that term begins to not quite work anymore. After all, what do you call a risk when the odds of loss are nothing? What do you call it when you are still asked to risk letting go of something but only good will come of it? The right term is faith. Faith trusts, but it’s not in the calculus of risk; it’s the assurance of things hoped for. And the Lord blesses faith. The Lord blesses what looks like risk, what looks like loss to the world, to gain Him. As we mentioned in our welcome today, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sells everything to buy that field of gold.

In our brief scene today, one common thread runs through the actions of our characters: they each choose to risk something. And done by faith, they reap a great reward and lose nothing. Let’s turn our attention to the risks and rewards of Ruth and Boaz.

Ruth’s Risk (vv.6-9)

For Ruth’s part, she listens to the advice and the risky plan of her mother-in-law, Naomi. She was to come to Boaz under the cover of night, after he had made himself merry with food and drink, and to uncover his feet. This Ruth did, and when Boaz finally woke from the cold-feet alarm clock, it isn’t a romp in the hay that she is looking for, but a redeemer; a husband; a man; someone who would “spread their wings over her”.

That’s what that phrase meant. A husband is to be a covering to his wife. You will often hear in the Bible the phrase that someone’s nakedness had been uncovered. That was a bad thing— it meant that they were vulnerable and exposed. That’s because a husband acts as a covering to his bride — he protects and veils her in security. In some traditions to this day a wedding ceremony will include a groom covering his bride with a cloak, representing his protection. And this very phrase was exactly what Boaz himself had prayed for Ruth when he first met her and was so impressed by her hesed faithfulness to Naomi and to YHWH. In 2:12, he says, “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” And what Ruth is doing is that she is going after this covering from YHWH in faith by going after it in risk through Boaz. On the one hand she holds on to belief in God’s provision and with the other hand she is holding on to Boaz. And this is a risk. She is a penniless, Moabite widow who has a mother-in-law to provide for. And she, by coming to this threshing floor and essentially proposing to Boaz, is facing rejection, humiliation, (if Boaz were a lesser man, violation), or redemption.

And Boaz praises her for this. In fact, he says that this action of hers is even greater than her first act of kindness (hesed). If we remember, her first act of hesed (loving-kindness) was to leave her home and her land and to support Naomi, but even more to throw herself upon the mercy of YHWH. And what Boaz knows is that Ruth could have a man if she wanted one. She could secure for herself a husband and food and shelter, but she is after more than that. She pursues righteous Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. She pursues the man who can restore the name of her sons and her dead husband; a man who will redeem the land of Elimelech. Boaz is a match and full reward for her ambitions of righteousness and kindness. It’s more than pragmatic love. It’s even more than romantic love. Ruth’s pursuit of Boaz is hesed love — an overflowing in all directions of affection and protection and loyalty.

Ruth is a picture of what faith looks like. With one hand we hold on to belief and on the other hand action.

Faith holds on in two ways:

On the one hand we trust in the Lord, believing that he will save us, and with the other we let go of the things of this world, but hold on to God’s word, prayer, and obedience, doing all things in love.

We believe that God would have us be pure and people of integrity, so we act by making a covenant with our eyes and fleeing immorality.

We believe that God will save our neighbor or our children or our family members and we speak the gospel in faith.

We believe that God will restore the brokenness in our relationships and we act in grace and forgiveness.

One hand looks like it’s holding onto hope and the other looks like taking a risk and getting to work.

Ruth’s great belief should be commended in its connection to great action. Her great faith to great works. To great risk. To great obedience. That’s what faith looks like in daily life.

Boaz’s Risk (vv.10-

For Boaz’s part, He too, in his faith and hesed love, is facing a risk of his own.

As we mentioned last week about the kinsman redeemer, they were to step up and pay the redemption price for their relative and they often didn’t reap the benefit of their expense. If Boaz was to give Ruth an heir, that son would take the name of his deceased father and assume his father’s inheritance, something that was secured for him and purchased for him by his redeemer. In other words, Boaz might stand to inherit Elimelech’s land for a little while, but he will also have to one day give it over. As we will see next week, for some, that risk of redemption isn’t worth the cost. But it was for Boaz, just as it was for Christ. he’s not in it for a wise investment, He is pouring out love. God doesn’t redeem us to leverage us and use us — He loves us. Hesed, overflowing loyalty, comes from Him.

Ruth’s Reward

But let’s think of Ruth’s reward. For her faith, her reaching out to hold onto this good man, the first thing that she is rewarded with is acceptance and assurance. I can only imagine how nervous she probably was. It’s late, it’s dark, he’s an older man, he’s a worthy man, I am a foreigner, but will he accept me? And Boaz answers her tenderly, and takes her fears away. Her risk is matched with reward.

This particular picture looks just like how we approach the Lord. We aren’t sure how he will receive us. We come to him under the belief that he may can help, we come forsaking other more expedient looking options or the redeemers of this world, but we come as those who feel nervous and unworthy. But what we think is a risk turns out to be unfounded. God welcomes us warmly and tenderly.

But Ruth is rewarded with Boaz’s love and acceptance redemption, though our story knocks the wind out of us as Boaz says that there is a closer redeemer. Nevertheless, he will see to the matter immediately and regardless of the news which breaks the next morning, she can be assured that she will be married and taken care of from now on.

And as a sign to Ruth of Boaz’s great love - His great hesed opulence and of his commitment to blessing Ruth, Boaz loads her up with 6 measures of barley and sends her home. Most commentaries that I can find have this amount at around 80 lbs. The text says that He was the one who has to load this upon her, literally picking it up for her and placing it on her, and then sending her home under a huge burden of grace and love and provision. His love is to Ruth and Naomi.

Now as an aside: Boys, you might think that a six pack or cool hair might impress the ladies, but if you’re not going on a date and sending her away with at least 30 lbs of barley, you’re not even in the game.

Ruth risks in faith and is rewarded in hope and provision. She is rewarded with redemption.

Boaz’s reward

For Boaz, his reward is Ruth. If you remember when I introduced Boaz we noted that his title of worthy man was the Hebrew gibbor chayil (a mighty man, like David’s mighty men). But here in this text we see Boaz embrace Ruth with a willingness to spread his wings over her, for she is a worthy woman — the Hebrew here being Isha Chayil, the direct correlation to a mighty man. This phrase for worthy woman is only mentioned in one other place in scripture, and that’s in Proverbs 31, the chapter about the glorious and godly wife. Boaz says, everyone knows who you are, Ruth. Your name is praised in the gates. That meant where the people of the town congregated, Ruth had a reputation of love and faith and hesed. Boaz risks being the redeemer, and he is rewarded with Ruth. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband(Prov. 12:4), increasing his reputation and standing among his peers. Wives, what an ambition — to have your own character adorn your husband and his reputation.

For Boaz, the risk of redemption was a reward of Ruth.

Like the call of our Moravian missionaries, the Redeemer receives the reward for his risk. For Christ, that’s us his people. For we are not our own, but we are bought with a price. Christ who, as Philippians says, didn’t consider it a risk or a loss to leave the throne and to give his life a ransom for ours — To wash us clean, provide for us, and load us up with grace and hope. You are the reward for his suffering. He gave his life for you. Come to him and find acceptance. Come to him and find rest. Come to him and find overwhelming provision.

Conclusion

All of life is a risk. A calculation of where can we put our trust and hope? Faith isn’t running the numbers or testing different options. Faith holds onto the promises of God in the one hand and then holds onto obedience with the other. It’s a daily habit of risking. Risking one more step in the valley, risking following Jesus, risking a walk away from the things of this earth, risking, like Ruth, an approach to your redeemer, etc. But what you find is that the what loss you think you might have taken was just a mirage. That there was never anything that the Lord would let you lose that you wouldn’t easily say good riddance to.

As Paul says, “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:7-8).

Risk for Christ turns out to be no risk at all. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s not acting in faith that turns out to be the true risk.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #244

“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Leader: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Nicene Creed p. 852

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

Minister: Here is the table of the Lord, we are gathered to his supper for a foretaste of things eternal. All who have faith in the risen lord and are united with his church in baptism are invited to come. Come, you who are fearful, to find peace in him. Come, you who are weak, to be made strong in faith. Come, you who are broken, and be made whole. It is not I who invite you, but the Lord. You who trust in him, come.

Congregation: What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward us? We will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed are they who trust in him.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Note about the welcome of Ruth from Boaz

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Eat, drink, remember, and believe

CLOSING PRAYER

†OUR RESPONSE #212

“Come, Thou Almighty King”

To the great One in Three eternal praises be,

hence evermore. His sovereign majesty

may we in glory see, and to eternity love and adore.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thess. 2:16-17