The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-08-15
REV. DIR. TALMAGE
The Noted Divines Sunday Sermon.
Subject: s'The Mighty Hunter.'''

the Lord. "-Genesis L., g.
In our day hunting is a sport; but In th,
lands aud the times infested with wild BEAST
1t was matter OF life or death with tbs
people. II was very different from COINS
out on sunshiny afternoon with a paten
breechloader, to shoot reedbiras on the flats
when Pollux and Achilles and Diomedes wen
out to clear the land of lions and tigers and
bears. My text sets forth Nimrod as here
when it presents him with broad shoulders
and shaggy apparel and sunbrowned face
and arm punched with muscIe-"a mighty
hunter before the Lord" think he used
the bow and the arrows with great success
| praetieing archery,
have thought il it is such grand thing
| aud such a brave thing to clear wild beasts
| out OF country, ii ii is not a better and
Drawer thing to hunt down and destroy those
! great evils OF society that are stalking the
land with fierce eye and bloody paw, and
sharp tusk and quick spring. have Won
dered ii there is not such thing as gospel
archery. by whichthose who have been flying
from the truth may be captured for God and
heaven. The Lord Jesus in His sermon used
the art OF angling for an illustration when
He said. II will make you fishers of men. !"
And so l think have authority for using
hunting as an illustration of gospel truth.
ana pray God that there may be manv a
man to-day who will begin to study gospel
archery. OF whom it may, after a while. be
SAID. HE was mighty hunter before the
Lord"
Row much awkward Christian work there
is done in the world. How many good peo-
pie there are VINO drive souls away from
Christ instead OF bringing them to Him! All
tneir ringers are ADMINISTRATIONS blunder-
ers who upset more than they right. Their
gun hasa crooked barrel and kicks as IT
goes OIL. They are like stupid comrade
who goes along with skilful hunters. At
the very moment when he ought to be most
over a log and frightening away the game
HOW lew Christian people have ever learned
the lesson of which read at the beginning
OF this service, how that the Lord Jesus
Christ at the well went from talking about
cup OF water &c the most practically re-
hgtous truths, which won the woman's soul
Tor God. Jesus in the wilderness was break
ing bread to the people. Think it was good
pread. Il was very light bread and the
yeast had done Its work thoroughly. Christ.
after He had broken tde bread, said to the
people. beware OF the yeast or of the lea
ven Of the Pharisees." SO natural a transit
ton it was. and how easily they all nm
derstood Him! But how few Christian peo-
pie there are who understand how to fasten
the truths OF God and religion to tne souls
OF men! Truman Osborne. one OF the evan
gelists who went through this country wears
ago, had wonderful art in the right direc-
ton. He came to my fathers house one
Gay, and while we were all seated in the
room he said. s'Mr. Talmage, are all your
children Christiansf" Father said, ayes. ali
but De Witt" Then Truman Osborne
looked down into the fireplace and began to
tel story OF storm that came on the
mountains. and all the sheep were in the
fo!d, but there was ore lamb outside that
pershed IN the storm. Had he looked me in
tne eye should have been angered when he !
told that story. Bat he looked into the Are
place. and it was SO pathetieally and beauti- |
fSiiy done that never found any peace un-
I'll was sure was inside the fold where /
The other sheep were
The archers of olden times studied their
art. Tbey were very precise in the matter.
The Old books gave special directions as to
now an archer should go and as to what an
archer should do. He must stand erect and
1rm, bis left foot a little in advance of the
light foot. With his left hand he must take
loid OF the bow In the middle, and then
WITH the three fingers and the thumb OF his
lgnf hand he should lay hold of the arrow
IND afffx 1t to the string-so precise was the
direction given. But how clumsy We are
lbout religious work! How little skill and
,are we exercise! How often our arrows miss
ne mark! Oh, that there were more insti-
utfohs established in all the towns and cit
es OF our land where men might learn the
&c OF doing good-studying spiritual arch
~, ana known as "mighty hunters before
he Lord
In the first place, il you want to be efYec-
uat In doing good, you must be very sure of
our weapon. There was something very ,
ascinating about the archery of olden times.
ernaps you do not know what they could
0 with the bow and arrow. Why, the chief
a'ties fought by the English Piantagenets
ERE with the long bow. They would take
le arrow of polished wood. and feather it
18th the plume OF a bird, aud then il would
from the bow string of plated silk. The |
road feds of Aglncourt and Sclway Moss
nd Neville's Cross heard the loud thrum of
le archer's bow string. Now, my Christian
lends, we have mightier weapon than !
lat. 1t is the arrow OF the gospel; 1t is a !
larp arrow; 1t is n straight arrow: it is I
afhered from the wing of the dove of Gods I
pirit; It flies from bow made out of the I
God of the cross. As far rs / can estimate !
calculate it has brought down 400, 900 coo /
'uis. Paul knew how to bring the notch of /
lat arrow on to that bow string. and its ,
hir was heard through the Corinthian
lea.res, and through the courtroom, until {
10 knees Oh Felix knocked together. 1t was {
lat arrow that struck in Luther's heart I
men ne cried out: "Oh, my sins! Ga, my .
ns! III 1t strike man in the head, it kills :
3 sxepticism; II 1t strike man in the heel, )
will turn his step: If ii strike him in the :
carr, ne throws up his hands, as cid the =
nperor Julian of old when wounded in the $
title, crying, 20 Galilean, Thou has con-
Iered!'
In the armory of the Earl Of Pembroke :
ere are old corseiets which show that the Il
row OF the English used to go through the n
eastplate. through the body of the warrior .
I'd through the backplate What a symbol q
that gospel which is sharper than a two :,
ged sword, piercing to the dividing asun- !.
n oil body and soul. and OF the Joints and y
arrow. Would TO God we had more faith -
that gospel! The humbIest man. IL he had :,
ough faith in IT, could bring 100 souls TO K;
sus-perhaps 500. Just in proportion rs =.
is age seems to believe less and less in if. ~
)eiieve more and more in IT, What are =,
IN about that they will not accept their a
7n deliverance? There is nothing proposed h,
men that can do anything like this gospel. =.
le religion OF Ralph Waldo Emerson was 81
philosophy of icicles; the religion of q,
eodore Parker was a sirocco of the desert a,
vering up the soul with dry sand; the re- in
ion OF Renan was the romance of be- 70
wing nothing; the religion of the Huxleys o,
the Spencers merely pedestal on which .
man philosophy sits shivering in the night e.
the soul, looking up to the stars, Offering a,
. help to the nations that crouch and IN
ban at the base Tell mo where =;
IRE is one man who has rejected 4,
Y gospel for another who is h,
,roughly satisfied and helped and CON &
tied in his skepticisa. aud will take the a
tomorrow and ride 500 miles to see him. 4
full power of the gospel has not yet ie
n touched As sportsman throws up a,