路得記 1:1
In the days when the judges ruled. This book is a kind of appendix to the book of Judges, and a continuation of the history of the church of God in Israel, in the times of the Judges. It is a history of a particular family, and of a particular person, and of a particular event, but yet it is a history of such a family, and of such a person, and of such an event, as was of great importance to the church of God, and to the whole world, and to all ages. It is a history of the ancestors of David, and so of Christ. It is a history of the introduction of the Gentiles into the church of God, and of the union of the Gentiles with the Jews, in the person of Christ. It is a history of the redemption of the church by Christ, and of the marriage of Christ to his church. It is a history of the covenant of grace, and of the way of salvation by Christ. It is a history of the providence of God, in bringing about his great designs, by small and seemingly accidental events. It is a history of the grace of God, in raising up a family, out of which the Messiah should come, from a low and obscure original. It is a history of the faith and piety of particular persons, and of the reward of their piety. It is a history of the typical history of the church, and of the spiritual sense of the Old Testament.
在士師秉政的日子。 這卷書是士師記的一種附錄，也是以色列上帝教會在士師時代歷史的延續。它是一部關於一個特定家庭、一個特定人物和一個特定事件的歷史，然而，它所記載的家庭、人物和事件，對上帝的教會、對全世界、對所有時代都具有極其重要的意義。它是大衛的祖先，也是基督的祖先的歷史。它是外邦人被引入上帝教會，以及外邦人與猶太人在基督身上聯合的歷史。它是基督救贖教會，以及基督與祂教會聯姻的歷史。它是恩典之約，以及藉基督得救之道的歷史。它是上帝護理的歷史，藉由微小且看似偶然的事件，成就祂偉大的旨意。它是上帝恩典的歷史，從卑微無名的起源中興起一個家族，彌賽亞將從中而出。它是特定人物信心和虔誠的歷史，以及他們虔誠所獲獎賞的歷史。它是教會預表性歷史，以及舊約屬靈意義的歷史。
This book is a very remarkable instance of the providence of God, in bringing about his great designs, by small and seemingly accidental events. It is a history of the introduction of the Gentiles into the church of God, and of the union of the Gentiles with the Jews, in the person of Christ. Ruth, a Moabitess, a Gentile, is brought into the family of Judah, and becomes an ancestress of Christ. This is a type of the calling of the Gentiles, and of their union with the Jews, in the person of Christ. The marriage of Boaz and Ruth is a type of the marriage of Christ and his church. Boaz, a rich and honorable man, a kinsman of Elimelech, redeems the inheritance of Elimelech, and marries Ruth, the widow of Mahlon, Elimelech's son. This is a type of Christ, our kinsman-redeemer, who redeems us from the curse of the law, and from the power of sin and death, and marries us to himself.
這卷書是上帝護理的一個非常顯著的例子