papists, from the pope being considered by them as the supreme head of
the universal church, the successor of St. Peter, and the fountain of
theological truth and ecclesiastical honours. He keeps his court in
great state at the palace of the Vatican, and is attended by seventy
cardinals as his privy counsellors, in imitation of the seventy
disciples of our Lord. The pope’s authority in other kingdoms is merely
spiritual, but in Italy he is a temporal sovereign, Louis XVIII. and the
allies having, in 1814, restored him to his throne, and to those
temporalities of which he was deprived by Buonaparte and the French
revolution. On resuming his government, Pope Pius VII. soon restored the
order of Jesuits and the inquisition; so that the Roman Catholic
religion is now reinstated in its ancient splendour and authority. The
principal dogmas of this religion are as follows: 1. That St. Peter was
deputed by Christ to be his vicar, and the head of the catholic church;
and that the bishops of Rome, being his successors, have the same
apostolical authority; for our Saviour declares, in Matt. xvi, 18, “Thou
art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church;” by which rock
they understand St. Peter himself, as the name signifies, and not his
confession, as the Protestants explain it. And a succession in the
church being now supposed necessary under the New Testament, as Aaron
had his succession under the old dispensation, which was a figure of the
new, this succession can now, they contend, be shown only in the chair
of St. Peter at Rome, where it is asserted he presided twenty-five years
previous to his death; therefore, the bishops of Rome are his true
successors. 2. That the Roman Catholic church is the mother and mistress
of all churches, and cannot possibly err in matters of faith; for the
church has the promise of the Spirit of God to lead it into all truth,
John xvi, 13; “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,”
Matt. xvi, 18. Christ also, who is himself the truth, has promised to
the pastors and teachers of the church to be with them “always, even to
the end of the world,” Matt. xxviii, 20. “It is from the testimony and
authority of the church, therefore,” say they, “that we receive the
Scriptures as the word of God.” 3. That the Scriptures thus received on
the authority of the church are not sufficient to our faith without
apostolical traditions, which are of equal authority with the
Scriptures; for St. Peter assures us, that in St. Paul’s epistles there
“are some things hard to be understood, which they who are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own
destruction,” 2 Peter iii, 16. We are directed by St. Paul to “stand
fast, and hold the traditions which we have been taught, whether by word
or by epistle,” 2 Thess. ii, 15. 4. That seven sacraments were
instituted by Jesus Christ, namely, baptism, confirmation, eucharist,
penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony; and that they confer
grace. To prove that confirmation, or imposition of hands, is a
sacrament, they quote Acts viii, 17: “They,” the Apostles, “laid their
hands on them,” believers, “and they received the Holy Ghost.” Penance
is a sacrament in which the sins we commit after baptism, duly repented
of, and confessed to a priest, are forgiven; and which they think was
instituted by Christ himself when he breathed upon his Apostles after
his resurrection, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins ye
remit, are remitted; and whose sins ye retain, are retained,” John xx,
23. In favour of extreme unction, or anointing the sick with oil, they
argue from James i, 14, 15, which is thus rendered in the Vulgate: “Is
any sick among you? Let him call for the priests of the church, and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil,” &c. The sacrament of holy
orders is inferred from 1 Tim. iv, 14: “Neglect not the gift that is in
thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on the hands of
the presbytery,” or priesthood, as they render it. That marriage is a
sacrament, they think evident from Ephes. v, 32: “This is a great
mystery,” representing the mystical union of Christ and his church.
“Matrimony,” say they, “is here the sign of a holy thing, and therefore
it is a sacrament.” Notwithstanding this, they enjoin celibacy upon the
clergy, because they do not think it proper that those who, by their
office and function, ought to be wholly devoted to God, should be
diverted from those duties by the distractions of a married life, 1 Cor.
vii, 32, 33. 5. That in the mass, or public service, there is offered
unto God a true and propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and dead; and
that in the sacrament of the eucharist, under the forms of bread and
wine, are really and substantially present the body and blood, together
with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is
a conversion made of the whole substance of the bread into his body, and
of the wine into his blood, which is called transubstantiation;
according to our Lord’s words to his disciples, “This is my body,” &c,
Matt. xxvi, 26; wherefore it becomes with them an object of adoration.
Farther: it is a matter of discipline, not of doctrine, in the Roman
church, that the laity receive the eucharist in one kind, that is, in
bread only. This sacrifice of the mass was, they think, predicted by the
Prophet Malachi, i, 11, who says, “In every place incense shall be
offered unto my name, and a pure offering.” 6. That there is a
purgatory; and that souls kept prisoners there do receive help by the
suffrages of the faithful. For it is said, in 1 Cor. iii, 15, “If any
man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall
be saved, yet so as by fire;” which they understand of the flames of
purgatory. They also believe that souls are released from purgatory by
the prayers and alms which are offered for them, principally by the holy
sacrifice of the mass. They call purgatory a middle state of souls, into
which those enter who depart this life in God’s grace; yet not without
some less stains of guilt, which retard them from entering heaven, where
nothing unclean can enter. 7. That the saints reigning with Christ (and
especially the blessed virgin) are to be honoured and invoked; that they
offer prayers unto God for us; and that their relics are to be had in
veneration. These honours, however, are not divine, but relative, and
redound to the divine glory, Rev. v, 8; viii, 4, &c. 8. That the image
of Christ, of the blessed virgin, the mother of God, and of other
saints, ought to be retained in churches, and honour and veneration
ought to be given unto them. And as the images of cherubims were allowed
in the temples, so images should be placed in churches, and had in
veneration. 9. That the power of indulgences was left by Christ to the
church, and that the use of them is very beneficial to Christian people;
according to Matt. xvi, 19: “I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven.” By indulgences they do not mean leave to commit sin, nor pardon
for sins to come; but only releasing, by the power of the keys committed
to the church, the debt of temporal punishment which may remain due upon
account of our sins, after the sins themselves, as to their guilt and
eternal punishment, have been already remitted through repentance and
confession, and by virtue of the merit of Christ, and of all the saints.
By their indulgences they assert that they apply to their souls the
merits of Christ, and of the saints and martyrs through him.
The ceremonies of this church are numerous and splendid, as, 1. They
make use of the sign of the cross in all their sacraments, to give us to
understand, that they have their whole force and efficacy from the
cross. 2. Sprinkling of the holy water by the priest on solemn days is
used likewise by every one going in or coming out of church. 3. The
ceremony of blessing bells is, by the Catholics, called christening
them; because the name of some saint is ascribed to them, by virtue of
whose invocation they are presented, in order that they may obtain his
favour and protection. 4. They always bow at the name of Jesus, (which
is also done as regularly in the church of England,) and they found the
practice on Phil. ii, 10: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow.” 5. They keep a number of lamps and wax candles continually burning
before the shrines and images of the saints. 6. They make use of
incense, and have lighted candles upon the altar at the celebration of
the mass. 7. The practice of washing the poor’s feet, in imitation of
our Lord’s washing the feet of his disciples, is solemnized on Holy
Thursday by all the princes of the Romish religion in Europe. The church
of Rome also professes to keep the fast of Lent with great strictness,
and observes a much greater number both of feasts and festivals than the
church of England.
The church of Rome assumes the title of Catholic, or universal, as
answering to that article in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the holy
Catholic church.” The above is perhaps a sufficient account of the Roman
Catholic faith; but as the creed of Pope Pius IV. is universally
admitted to be the true standard of that faith, it would be decidedly
wrong to conclude without inserting it. Mr. Butler says it contains a
succinct and explicit summary of the canons of the council of Trent, and
was published in the form of a papal bull, in 1564. He adds, “It is
received throughout the whole Roman Catholic church; every one who is
admitted into that church, publicly reads and professes his assent to
it.” This document commences with reciting the Nicene Creed, which, as
it is admitted by the Protestant church of England, and inserted in the
Common Prayer Book, need not be here repeated. It then proceeds with the
twelve following articles, in addition to those of the Apostles’ Creed,
which they also reckon twelve: “13. I most firmly admit and embrace
apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other constitutions
and observances of the same church. I also admit the sacred Scriptures
according to the sense which the holy mother church has held, and does
hold, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation
of the Holy Scriptures; nor will I ever take and interpret them
otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the fathers. 14. I
profess also that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the
new law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and for the salvation of
mankind, (though all are not necessary for every one,) namely, baptism,
confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order, and matrimony;
and that they confer grace; and of these, baptism, confirmation, and
order cannot be reiterated without sacrilege. 15. I also receive and
admit the ceremonies of the Catholic church, received and approved in
the solemn administration of all the above said sacraments. 16. I
receive and embrace all and every one of the things which have been
defined and declared in the holy council of Trent, concerning original
sin and justification. 17. I profess, likewise, that in the mass, is
offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living
and the dead; and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there
is truly, really, and substantially the body and blood, together with
the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there is made
a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of
the whole substance of the wine into the blood, which conversion the
Catholic church calls transubstantiation. 18. I confess, also, that
under either kind alone, Christ whole and entire, and a true sacrament,
is received. 19. I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that
the souls detained therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful.
20. Likewise, that the saints reigning together with Christ are to be
honoured and invocated; that they offer prayers to God for us, and that
their relics are to be venerated. 21. I most firmly assert, that the
images of Christ, and of the mother of Christ, ever a virgin, and also
of the other saints, are to be had and retained, and that due honour and
veneration are to be given to them. 22. I also affirm, that the power of
indulgences was left by Christ in the church, and that the use of them
is most wholesome to Christian people. 23. I acknowledge the holy
Catholic and apostolic Roman church, the mother and mistress of all
churches; and I promise and swear true obedience to the bishop of Rome,
the successor of St. Peter, prince of the Apostles, and vicar of Jesus
Christ. 24. I also profess, and undoubtedly receive, all other things,
delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and general
councils, and particularly by the holy council of Trent; and likewise, I
also condemn, reject, and anathematize all things contrary thereto; and
all heresies whatsoever, condemned and anathematized by the church. This
true catholic faith, out of which none can be saved, which I now freely
profess, and truly hold, I, _N._, promise, vow, and swear most
constantly to hold and profess the same, whole and entire, with God’s
assistance, to the end of my life. Amen.”
Such is the avowed and accredited faith of the church of Rome; but it
seems a most extraordinary circumstance, that, while this church has so
enlarged the creed, it has reduced the number of the commandments,
omitting altogether the second, “Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven
image,” &c, Exod. xx, 3–6; as if the Catholics were conscious it could
by no means be reconciled with the twenty-first article of the above
recited creed. And then, to prevent alarm, as every body must know there
should be ten commandments, the last is divided into two, to make up the
number. This is said to have been done, even before the Reformation. It
was done in the French National Catechism, published in 1806, and
sanctioned by Pope Pius VII., by the archbishop of Paris, and by the
Emperor Napoleon. It is remarkable, also, that in Dr. Chalenor’s “Garden
of the Soul,” printed in London by Coglan, in 1787, in a form of
self-examination for the penitent upon each commandment, there is no
reference to the one omitted; nor is there any reference to it in
Bossuet’s famous “Exposition of the Doctrines of the Catholic Church,”
when treating upon images, and the manner in which they are directed to
be honoured. Lastly, in Butler’s Catechism, the eighth edition, printed
at Dublin in 1811, and sanctioned by four Roman Catholic archbishops,
the commandments stand literally as follows: “1. I am the Lord thy God;
thou shalt have no strange gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not take the
name of the Lord thy God in vain. 3. Remember that thou keep holy the
Sabbath day. 4. Honour thy father and thy mother. 5. Thou shalt not
kill. 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 7. Thou shalt not steal. 8.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 9. Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour’s wife. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s
goods.” Here it may be added, that by omitting the second command, the
others are numbered differently from what they are by us. Thus, the
third is brought in for the second, the fourth is made the third, &c,
till they come to the last which is divided in two, for the purpose
above mentioned. The gross and antiscriptural errors, leading to
superstition, idolatry, and many other evils, which are contained in the
peculiarities of the papistical faith, are abundantly pointed out and
refuted by the leading Protestant writers.
ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE. This epistle was written from Corinth, A. D. 58,
being the fourth year of the Emperor Nero, just before St. Paul set out
for Jerusalem with the contributions which the Christians of Macedonia
and Achaia had made for the relief of their poor brethren in Judea, Acts
xx, 1; Rom. xv, 25, 26. It was transcribed or written as St. Paul
dictated it, by Tertius; and the person who conveyed it to Rome was
Phœbe, a deaconess of the church of Cenchrea, which was the eastern
port of the city of Corinth, Rom. xvi, 1, 22. It is addressed to the
church at Rome, which consisted partly of Jewish and partly of Heathen
converts; and throughout the epistle it is evident that the Apostle has
regard to both these descriptions of Christians. St. Paul, when he wrote
this epistle had not been at Rome, Rom. i, 13; xv, 23; but he had heard
an account of the state of the church in that city from Aquila and
Priscilla, two Christians who were banished from thence by the edict of
Claudius, and with whom he lived during his first visit to Corinth.
Whether any other Apostle had at this time preached the Gospel at Rome,
cannot now be ascertained. Among those who witnessed the effect of the
first effusion of the Holy Ghost are mentioned “strangers of Rome, Jews
and proselytes,” Acts ii, 10; that is, persons of the Jewish religion,
who usually resided at Rome, but who had come to Jerusalem to be present
at the feast of pentecost. It is highly probable that these men, upon
their return home, proclaimed the Gospel of Christ; and we may farther
suppose that many Christians who had been converted at other places
afterward settled at Rome, and were the cause of others embracing the
Gospel. But, by whatever means Christianity had been introduced into
Rome, it seems to have flourished there in great purity; for we learn
from the beginning of this epistle that the faith of the Roman
Christians was at this time much celebrated, Rom. i, 8. To confirm them
in that faith, and to guard them against the errors of Judaizing
Christians, was the object of this letter, in which St. Paul takes
occasion to enlarge upon the nature of the Mosaic institution; to
explain the fundamental principles and doctrines of Christianity; and to
show that the whole human race, formerly divided into Jews and Gentiles,
were now to be admitted into the religion of Jesus, indiscriminately,
and free from every other obligation. The Apostle, after expressing his
affection to the Roman Christians, and asserting that the Gospel is the
power of God unto salvation to all who believe, takes a comprehensive
view of the conduct and condition of men under the different
dispensations of Providence; he shows that all mankind, both Jews and
Gentiles, were equally “under sin,” and liable to the wrath and
punishment of God; that therefore there was a necessity for a universal
propitiation and redemption, which were now offered to the whole race of
men, without any preference or exception, by the mercy of him who is the
God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews; that faith in Jesus Christ,
the universal Redeemer, was the only means of obtaining this salvation,
which the deeds of the law were wholly incompetent to procure; that as
the sins of the whole world originated from the disobedience of Adam, so
the justification from those sins was to be derived from the obedience
of Christ; that all distinction between Jew and Gentile was now
abolished, and the ceremonial law entirely abrogated; that the
unbelieving Jews would be excluded from the benefits of the Gospel,
while the believing Gentiles would be partakers of them; and that this
rejection of the Jews, and call of the Gentiles, were predicted by the
Jewish Prophets Hosea and Isaiah. He then points out the superiority of
the Christian over the Jewish religion, and earnestly exhorts the Romans
to abandon every species of wickedness, and to practise the duties of
righteousness and holiness, which were now enjoined upon higher
sanctions, and enforced by more powerful motives. In the latter part of
the epistle, St. Paul gives some practical instructions, and recommends
some particular virtues; and he concludes with a salutation and a
doxology. This epistle is most valuable, on account of the arguments and
truths which it contains, relative to the necessity, nature, and
universality of the Gospel dispensation.
ROOFS. The letting down of the paralytic through the roof of the house
where Jesus was, is satisfactorily explained by the following extract
from Shaw’s Travels: “The houses throughout the east are low, having
generally a ground floor only, or one upper story, and flat-roofed, the
roof being covered with a strong coat of plaster of terrace. They are
built round a paved court, into which the entrance from the street is
through a gateway or passage room furnished with benches, and
sufficiently large to be used for receiving visits or transacting
business. The stairs which lead to the roof are never placed on the
outside of the house in the street, but usually in the gateway, or
passage room to the court, sometimes at the entrance within the court.
This court is now called, in Arabic, _el woost_, or ‘the middle of the
house,’ literally answering to τὸ μέσον of St. Luke, v, 19. It is
customary to fix cords from the parapet walls, Deut. xxii, 8, of the
flat roofs across this court, and upon them to expand a veil or
covering, as a shelter from the heat. In this area, probably, our
Saviour taught. The paralytic was brought on to the roof by making a way
through the crowd to the stairs in the gateway, or by the terraces of
the adjoining houses. They rolled back the veil, and let the sick man
down over the parapet of the roof into the area or court of the house,
before Jesus.” The windows of the eastern houses being chiefly within,
facing the court, in order to see what was going on without in the
streets of the city, the only way was to run up to the flat roof. Hence
the frequent expression in Scripture, when allusion is made to sudden
tumults and calamities, to get up to “the house top.” See HOUSES.
ROSE, הבצלת, Cant., ii, 1; Isaiah xxxv, 1. The rose, so much and so
often sung by the poets of Persia, Arabia, Greece, and Rome, is, indeed,
the pride of the garden for elegance of form, for glow of colour, and
fragrance of smell. Tournefort mentions fifty-three kinds, of which the
Damascus rose, and the rose of Sharon, are the finest. The beauty of
these flowers is too well known to be insisted on; and they are at this
day much admired in the east, where they are extremely fragrant. In what
esteem the rose was among the Greeks, may be learned from the fifth and
fifty-third odes of Anacreon. Among the ancients it occupied a
conspicuous place in every chaplet; it was a principal ornament in every
festive meeting, and at every solemn sacrifice; and the comparisons in
Ecclesiasticus xxiv, 14, and l, 8, show that the Jews were likewise much
delighted with it. The rose bud, or opening rose, seems in particular a
favourite ornament. The Jewish sensualists, in Wisdom ii, 8, are
introduced saying, “Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and
ointments; and let no flower of the spring pass by us. Let us crown
ourselves with rose buds before they are withered.”
ROSH. The Hebrew speaks of a people called Rosh, Ezek. xxxviii, 2, 3.
“The orientals hold,” says D’Herbelot, “that Japheth had a son called
Rous, not mentioned by Moses, who peopled Russia, that is, Muscovy.” We
question not but Rosh, or Ros, signifies Russia, or the people that
dwell on the Araxes, called Rosch by the inhabitants; which was the
habitation of the Scythians. It deserves notice, that the LXX. render
the passage in Ezekiel, Γὼγ, ἄρχοντα Ῥὼς, Μεσὸχ, καὶ Θοβὲλ, _Gog, the
chief of Ros, Mesoch, and Thobel_; and Jerom, not absolutely to reject
this name, inserts both renderings: _Gog, terram Magog, principem
capitis_ (_sive_ Ros) _Mosoch, et Thubal_. Symmachus and Theodotion also
perceived Ros to be in this place the name of a people; and this is now
the prevailing judgment of interpreters. Bochart, about A. D. 1640,
contended that Russia was the nation meant by the term Ros; and this
opinion is supported by the testimony of various Greek writers, who
describe “the Ros as a Scythian nation, bordering on the northern
Taurus.” Mosok, or Mesech, appears to be the same as the Moskwa, or
Moscow, of the moderns; and we know, that not only is this the name of
the city, but also of the river on which it stands. See Gog.
RUBY, a beautiful gem, whose colour is red, with an admixture of purple,
and is, in its most perfect state, a gem of extreme value. In hardness
it is equal to the sapphire, and second only to the diamond. It is
mentioned in Job xxviii, 18, and Prov. viii, 11, &c.
RUE, ϖήγανον, Luke xi, 42, a small shrubby plant, common in gardens. It
has a strong, unpleasant smell, and a bitterish, penetrating taste.
RUSH, גמא, Exodus ii, 3; Job viii, 11; Isaiah xviii, 2; xxxv, 7; a plant
growing in the water at the sides of rivers, and in marshy grounds.
RUSSIAN CHURCH. The Russians, like other nations, were originally
Pagans, and worshipped fire, which they considered as the cause of
thunder, under the name of _Perun_, and the earth under the name
_Volata_; at the same time having some notions of a future state of
rewards and punishments. Christianity was first professed by the
Princess Olga, who was baptized at Constantinople. She recommended it to
her grandson Vladimir, on whose baptism, in 988, it was adopted by the
nation generally; and from that time the Greek church has been the
established religion throughout Russia, and Greek literature greatly
encouraged. During the middle ages, however, the doctrine of
transubstantiation, and some other popish peculiarities, were covertly
introduced; and, by the irruption of the Mongol Tartars, in the
fifteenth century, a stop was put to learning and civilization for full
two centuries; but, on the accession of the present dynasty in 1613,
civilization and Christianity were restored, and schools established for
the education of the clergy. The Russian clergy are divided into regular
and secular; the former are all monks, and the latter are the parochial
clergy. The superior clergy are called archires; but the title of
metropolitan, or bishop, is personal, and not properly attached to the
see, as in the western church. Next after the archires rank the black
clergy, including the chiefs of monasteries and convents, and after them
the monks. The secular priests are called the white clergy, including
the protoires, or proto-popes, priests, and deacons, together with the
readers and sacristans. These amounted, in 1805, throughout the empire,
to ninety-eight thousand seven hundred and twenty-six. The white clergy
must be married before they can be ordained, but must not marry a second
time; they are at liberty then to enter among the black clergy, and a
way is thus opened for their accession to the higher orders. The whole
empire is divided into thirty-six diocesses, or eparchies, in which are
four hundred and eighty-three cathedrals, and twenty-six thousand, five
hundred and ninety-eight churches. The churches are divided into three
parts. 1. The altar, where stands the holy table, crucifix, &c, which is
separated from the body of the church by a large screen, on which are
painted our Saviour, the virgin, the Apostles, and other saints. Upon a
platform before this are placed the readers and singers, and here the
preacher generally stands behind a movable desk. 2. The nave, or body of
the church, which may be called the inner court. 3. The trapeza, or
outer court. The two last are designed for the congregation, but neither
have any seats. The walls of the church are highly embellished with
Scripture paintings, ornamented with gold, silver, and precious stones,
but no images.
The church service is contained in twenty-four volumes, folio, in the
Slavonian language, which is not well understood by the common people.
Parts of the Scriptures are read in the service; but few, even of the
ecclesiastics, possess a complete Bible. The patriarch of Russia was
formerly almost equal in authority with the czar himself; but Peter the
Great, on the death of the patriarch in 1700, abolished his office, and
appointed an exarch. In 1721 he abolished this office also, and
appointed a “holy legislative synod” for the government of the church,
at the head of which is always placed a layman of rank and eminence. The
monastic life was once so prevalent in this country, that there were
four hundred and seventy-nine convents for men, and seventy-four for
women, in which there were about seventy thousand monks and nuns, &c;
but this kind of life was so much discouraged by Peter the Great and the
Empress Catherine, that the religious are now reduced to about five
thousand monks and seventeen hundred nuns. Great part of their revenues
has also been alienated, and appropriated to the support of hospitals
and houses for the poor.
RUTH. The book of Ruth is so called from the name of the person, a
native of Moab, whose history it contains. It may be considered as a
supplement to the book of Judges, to which it was joined in the Hebrew
canon, and the latter part of which it greatly resembles, being a
detached story belonging to the same period. Ruth had a son called Obed,
who was the grandfather of David, which circumstance probably occasioned
her history to be written, as the genealogy of David, from Pharez, the
son of Judah, from whom the Messiah was to spring, is here given; and
some commentators have thought, that the descent of our Saviour from
Ruth, a Gentile woman, was an intimation of the comprehensive nature of
the Christian dispensation. We are no where informed when Ruth lived;
but as King David was her great-grandson, we may place her history about
B. C. 1250. This book was certainly written after the birth of David,
and probably by the Prophet Samuel, though some have attributed it to
Hezekiah, and others to Ezra. The story related in this book is
extremely interesting; the widowed distress of Naomi, her affectionate
concern for her daughters, the reluctant departure of Orpah, the dutiful
attachment of Ruth, and the sorrowful return to Bethlehem, are very
beautifully told. The simplicity of manners, likewise, which is shown in
Ruth’s industry and attention to Naomi; the elegant charity of Boaz; and
his acknowledgment of his kindred with Ruth, afford a pleasing contrast
to the turbulent scenes described in the book of the Judges. The
respect, likewise, which the Israelites paid to the law of Moses, and
their observance of ancient customs, are represented in a very lively
and animated manner, Ruth iv. It is a pleasing digression from the
general thread of the sacred history.