The book of Ruth expounded in twenty eight sermons, by Levves Lauaterus of Tygurine, and by hym published in Latine, and now translated into Englishe by Ephraim Pagitt, a childe of eleuen yeares of age

The 17. Sermon.

5 And she aunswered, all that thou biddest mee I will doo.

6 So she went downe, vnto the floore, and did ac∣cording to all that her mother in-law bad her.

7 And when Bohaz, had eaten and drunken and cheared his heart, he went to lie downe at the end of the heape of the corne, and she came softly, and vncouered the place of this feet, and lay downe.

8 And at midnight the man was afrayd, and cought hold: and loe a woman lay at his fecte.

9 Then he sayd, who art thou? and she aunswe∣red, I am Ruth thine handmayde: spread•• therefore the winge of thy garment ouer thy handmayd: for thou art the kinseman.

HOW RVTH obeyed her mo∣ther in lawe, and howe shee was accepted of BOAZ is in this place declared. She doth promise her to doe all thinges, and shee performed it in deede. In the whiche

thing shee is not to be accused. For per∣aduenture, because she was newly con∣uerted to the Iewish religiō, she thought it to be the maner, that if she should de∣maund the kinsman of the former hus∣band in marriage, this way she shuld at∣tēpt it: but if she offended, she offended of ignorance, not that ignoraunce doth altogether excuse her from sinne. It doth onely lessen the fault, it doth not wholly take it away, as good entent doth also, as they call it. GEN. 38. THAMAR also vsed a deceit that she might get IVDAH to be her husband.

This is the duetie of children, that they obey their parents, and them who are contayned vnder this name: except those thinges which they commaund them to doe, be repugnant to the word of God. As if they commaund theyr children not to heare holy sermons, if they bid thē to put on a Monkes coule, or trauell into places where pure religi∣on is bannished. If they bid them to kill or to hurt some, or robbe, or commit whordome &c. in these and others they

must not obey their parentes. For the lawes and commaundementes of God are to be preferred before the comman∣dementes of our neerest friendes. Our Sauiour sayth whosoeuer preferreth his father and his mother before me, is not worthy of me. IONATHAN SAVLES sonne would not slaye DAVID beeing commaunded of his father. 1. SAM. 17. chapter. Although it seemed that hee was bound to it by two bondes. First because that SAVLE was king, and next his father, who commaunded it him.

Next it is written that BOHAZ dyd eat and drinke and cheared his heart. It is also read that other holy fathers som∣time did refreshe themselues with a lar∣ger portion of meate and drinke. GEN. 43. The scripture sayth of IOSEPH, and of his brethren, that they did drinke and were drunken with him. Wher the scip∣ture doth not speake of that luxurious drunkenesse, whiche it doth so oft con∣dempne, but of more drinke wherwith they are made merry. Saynt AVGVS∣TINE and also HIEROME doth witnes,

that drunkenes is not vsed for excessiue drinking, but for inough as PSAL. 35. they are made drunken with the plen∣tie of thy house, that is they are ful &c. God doth command to cast away hea∣uines in solempne feastes, and celebrate his feastes with ioy: Vnder the gouern∣ment of SALOMON the Israelites came togither in great numbers, eating drink∣ing, and reioysing. The which is to bee noted for certaine Anabaptistes and hi∣pocrites, which do condemne pleasures and ioyes which are permitted. GOD doth giue vs wine, bread, flesh, fish, and other thinges which wee are to vse for meate and drinke. PSAL. 104. God doth make the wine to encrease, which doth make glad the heart of man: and especi∣ally if they who labour hard doe reioice at their meate and drinke, they are not to be enuied IERE. 31. God doth pro∣mise his people that they which should returne into their countrye shoulde a∣bound with those thinges whiche per∣tayne to honest pleasures. Yet wee must beware least wee abounding with these

giftes of God, should forget him, but we must giue diligence to vse his gifts well.

That BOAZ lay all night in the floore and slept by the heape of corne: he did so, eyther that hee might betimes in the morning returne to his labour, or that he might watch the corne, least theeues should carry it away. It seemeth that the floers or the barnes were in the fieldes and not so fully fensed, but that euerie bodie might come in. VARRO. lib. 1. cap. 51. wryteth that the flooer ought to bee in the fielde, in a higher place so that the wind might blow thorow, and especially round, and in the middle a litle a slope that if it doe rayn, the water may not stay. &c.

He doth teache housholders, by hys example to haue a care to keepe theyr thinges, and to be present with theyr la∣bouring people, for oftentimes through theyr owne negligence that is stolne frō them which they haue gottē with great labour. In the deepe of the night BOAZ tourned himselfe from one side to ano∣ther, or bowed himself. laphath signifieth

to bow, to apprehend, to lye shrunk vp together: some expound it to turn from one side to an other. When he did turn himselfe, and thrust his feet to the foot of the bed, hee vnderstoode that some∣thing laye there, and being afrayd, hee boweth himselfe and by feeling (to witt by the apparel) hee found it to bee a woman, therefore hee asked who shee was? It was no maruell that hee was a∣frayd, hee might haue suspected some euil spirit which had taken on it a body, had lain at his feet. Alexāder of Alexan∣dria in the 2. booke chap. 9. writeth of a certaine spirit, that as it seemed puttyng away the bedd clothes, lay downe in a bedd where a good man lay, and draw∣ing neere as if it would haue embraced him: and the other when he was nowe almost dead for feare, shranke to the side of the bedd, and when it came neerer he droue it away &c. Also looke in the 19. chap, book. 4. I could also bring you ma∣ny other examples of this kinde.

And it is not to be doubted but that BOAZ being amased with a sodayn feare

commended himselfe vnto the Lorde: for godly men were woont to do so in those soddaine terrours, when wicked shapes and illusions of shaddowes ap∣peared to them. The olde fathers as it is read oft times in theyr writinges doe crosse themselues and so they driue a∣waye deuils. Lactantius writeth of the vertue of the crosse in the 4. booke. 27. ••••ap. but we must not think that this ce∣••••monie of the crosse, doth driue away ••••••ils of it self, but because they belee∣•••••• that they were freed by the crosse and benefite of Christ, from the power of the deuils.

RVTH aunswered modestly that shee was his handmaid and desired him, that hee woulde couer her with the skirt of hys garment: or throwe his winge ouer her. Chanaph signifieth a wing, or a skirt of a garment, also an end and a corner. Lira noteth that the man contracting marriage in those dayes layd his winge, or the nethermost skirte of his garment on the woman: So the meaning is be∣troth me to thee: and marry me accor∣ding

to the lawe of a kinseman, or that whiche is better, hide me vnder thy wings, take me into thy tuition and de∣fend me. A metaphor borrowed from birdes, who doe couer and defend theyr young ones with theyr winges.

But in this similitude, is by the way set foorth the duetie of husbandes to∣wardes their wiues: namely that they shield and defend them, feede and pro••••uide necessary thinges for them. Good Lord, howe manie husbandes are there which doe neuer thinke of these things?

She doth shew the cause, wherefore hee ought to take her into his defence: because thou art the kinsman. Least hee should thinke, that she was a bold and vnshamefast woman to come into a mans bed in the night vnknowne: shee called to hys minde, the law of God of marrying, the widowe of the brother or co••in departed. Let not women abuse this place in the defence of their filthi∣nesse, neyther let them come night nor day to any mans bed, if he be not mar∣ried to them, especialy if he be wel drun∣ken,

or otherwise cast themselues rashely into danger: for the condition of those times was farre otherwise, then at this day it is.