BITTERNESS WILL ROT YOUR SOUL BUT CHRIST WILL MAKE IT SWEET: Ruth 1:19-22

OUTLINE

I. Naomi and Ruth returned to the Bethlehem, the House of Bread (v.19)

II. Naomi wanted her named changed from Pleasant to Bitter because the LORD had dealt bitterly with her (v.20)

III. Naomi looked only at her current circumstance, even misconstruing the story of her life (v.21a)

IV. Naomi knew that it was the LORD who had brought calamity on her, though she wrongly understood why (v.21b)

V. Despite the bitterness of Naomi, the LORD was working to redeem both her and Ruth (v.22)

DISCUSSION Read verses 19-22.

1. How does Naomi react when she comes home to Bethlehem?

2. Did she respond more like Job or Job’s wife? See Job 1-2

3. Why is verse 22 significant in the narrative of the book of Ruth?

It Is Well

VERSE 1
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

VERSE 2
My sin, o, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

CHORUS
WOMEN: It is well
MEN REPEAT: It is well
WOMEN: With my soul
MEN REPEAT: With my soul
ALL: It is well, it is well, with my soul.

VERSE 3
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Jesus Paid It All

VERSE 1
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”
For nothing good have I —
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white —
In the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.

CHORUS
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

VERSE 2
And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side, I am divinely blest.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone, Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

VERSE 3
When from my dying bed My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,” Shall rend the vaulted skies.
And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down All down at Jesus’ feet.

BRIDGE
O praise the One who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

Jesus, Thank You

VERSE 1
The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You the perfect holy One crushed Your Son
Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

CHORUS
Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once your enemy now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You

VERSE 2
By your loving sacrifice, I’ve been brought near
Your enemy You’ve made Your friend
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace
Your mercy and Your kindness know no end

BRIDGE
Lover of my soul I want to live for You

Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder

VERSE 1
Let us love and sing and wonder
Let us praise the Savior’s name
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder
He has quenched Mt. Sinai’s flame

VERSE 2
Let us love the Lord who bought us
Pitied us when enemies
Called us by His grace and taught us
Gave us ears and gave us eyes

CHORUS 1
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He presents our souls to God

VERSE 3
Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more

CHORUS 2
He who washed us with His blood
He who washed us with His blood
He who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God

VERSE 4
Let us praise and join the chorus,
of the saints enthroned on high
Here they trusted Him before us,
now their praises fill the sky

CHORUS 3
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He will bring us home to God

Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go

VERSE 1
O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be
My life is not my own, it’s Yours
My life is not my own, it’s Yours

VERSE 2
O light that follows all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be
So light a fire in my heart, and I will burn for You
So light a fire in my heart, and I will burn for You

VERSE 3
O Joy that seeks me through the pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain That morn shall tearless be
So anoint me with joy, and joyful I will be
So anoint me with joy, and joyful I will be

VERSE 4
O Cross that’s lifting up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be
We will sing, “Holy, Holy is the King of Kings!” (repeat)

Rock of Ages

VERSE 1
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure

VERSE 2
Not the labor of my hands,
can fulfill Thy law’s demands
Should my passion never fade,
should my efforts all be weighed
These for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone

VERSE 3
Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die

VERSE 4
While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death
When I rise to worlds unknown,
and behold thee on thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Take the World but Give Me Jesus

VERSE 1
Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All it’s joys are but a name;
For His love abideth ever,
through eternal years the same

VERSE 2
Take the world but give me Jesus,
Sweetest comforts of my soul;
With my Savior watching over me,
I can sing though billows roll

VERSE 3
Take the world by give me Jesus,
Let me view His constant smile;
Then throughout this life’s long journey,
He will lead me all the while

VERSE 4
Take the world, but give me Jesus.
In His cross my trust shall be,
Till, with clearer, brighter vision,
Face to face my Lord I see!

CHORUS
Take the world, but give me Jesus! (repeat 4x)

BRIDGE
Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption
Oh the Pledge of endless life above! (repeat 2x)

The Love of God

VERSE 1
The love of God is greater far,
than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star,
and reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His only Son to win
His erring child He reconciled,
you and I pardoned from our sin.

CHORUS
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure,
it shall forevermore endure
How measureless and strong
The saints’ and angels’ song we sing “Holy! Holy!” 

VERSE 2
When ancient time shall pass away,
and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall
When men here refuse to pray,
and on rocks, hills and mountains call
God’s love so sure, will still endure,
all measureless and strong
“Redeeming grace to Adam’s race”
shall be the saints’ and angels’ song.

BRIDGE
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
and every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above,
would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky. 

The Solid Rock

VERSE 1
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

VERSE 2
When darkness seems to hide face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.

CHORUS
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

VERSE 3
His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.

VERSE 4
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.

Ekklesia Muskogee is a reformed baptist church that gathers for worship in Muskogee, Oklahoma. We confess the 1689 second London baptist confession of faith. We affirm the five solas of the Reformation as well as the doctrines of grace (otherwise known as the five points of Calvinism), and each of our pastors would not be ashamed to be called a Calvinist. We are a church led by elders, of which there is a plurality (also called pastors and overseers in the Scriptures). Our mission is to make disciples, love cities, and plant churches.