She came from a country of famine,
And her gleaning was more than the most,
Yet "she sat in the house but a little,"
Were the words of the mighty man's boast.
Not only much hunger, but sorrow,
Had marked out the way that she came,
Left alone by the death of her husband;
Of a race that could only mean shame.
She found that those great wings of refuge,
Would comfort, support and provide,
That her lonely heart's aching was answered
As he counselled her there to reside.
Go not to another field, gleaning,
For there's plenty of work to be done.
And the fields, they are white for the harvest:
The first‑fruits made ripe by the sun.
She lay at his feet till the morning,
To give him her heart was her wish.
He appealed to a nearer relation,
For the right of redemption was his.
He owned that he could not redeem her.
So that lover the matter must meet,
By a token of humiliation -
He must stoop and un-sandal his feet.
And such was the love that has claimed us,
Magnanimous heart bore the loss,
For the feet that had led Him to Calvary,
Were the ones they did nail to the cross.
So we gladly may loosen the sandal,
In respect of this holiest ground,
And give it up too for our David,
Give it up, give it all in His hand.
For religious ideals of reforming,
Would ne'er bring a Moabite in,
But bearing His humiliation,
Be renewed, full of Christ, freed from sin.
Mark Humber 1999
