The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-07-03
Some MIGHTY HUNTERS.
Something Very Fascinating In
Those Of Early Times.
Rev. i. Dewitt TaimaGe Talks to His
Washington congregation About
the Archers OF Old and APP
piles the Lesson.


on subject inspiring as we'll as unique.
His text was Genesis x:9: HE was q
mighty hunter before the Lord" He
said:
In our day, hunting is a sport; but
in the lands and the times infested
with wild beasts, il was a matter of
life or death with the people. II was
very different from going out on q
sunny afternoon with a patent breech
loader, to shoot reed birds on the fats,
when Pollux and Achilles and Diome-
des went out to clear the land of lions
and tigers and bears. My text sets
forth Nimrod as hero when it repre-
sents him with broad shoulders and
shaggy apparel and sun Drowned face,
and arms punched with muscle-'a
mighty hunter before the Lord" ]
think he used the bow and the arrows
with great success practicing archery.
/ have thought that if it is such a
grand thing and such brave thing to
clear wild beasts out of country. if il
is not better and drawer thing to
hunt down and destroy those great
evils of society that are stalking the
land with fierce eve and bloody paw,
and sharp tusk and quick spring. /
have wondered if there is not such
thing as Gospel archery, by which
those who have been flying from the
truth may be captured for God and
Heaven. The Lord Jesus in his SER
mon 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 hunt
ing as an illustration of Gospel truth;
and pray that there may be many a
man to-day who will begin to study
Gospel archery, of whom it may be
said, after a while: HE was a mighty
hunter before the Lord"
How much awkward Christian work
there is done in the world! How many
good people there are who drive souls
away from Christ instead of bringing
them to himi All their fingers are
tbumbs-religious blunderers who up.
set more than they right. Their gun
has a crooked barrel, and it kicks as il
goes off They are like a clumsy COM
rade who'goes along with skillful hunt
ers; at the very moment when he ought
to be most quiet, he is cracking an
alder or falling over a log and frighten-
ing away the game. How few Chris
tian people have ever learned the
lesson Of which / read at the Begin
ming of this serice, how that the Lord
Jesus Christ at the well went from
talking about a cup of water to
Al he
which won the woman's soul for Godl
Jesus in the wilderness was breaking
bread to the people. / think it was
good bread; it was very light bread,
and the yeast had done its work thor
oughly. Christ, after he had broken
the bread, said to the people: Beware
of the yeast, or of the leaven, of the
Pharisees." So natural a transition it
was; and how easily they all under
stood Him! But how few Christian
people there are who understand how
to fasten the truths of God and re-
ligion to the souls of men. Truman
Osborne, one of the evangelists who
went through this country years
ago. had a wonderful art in the
right direction. He came to
my fathers house one day, and
while we were all seated in the room
he said: 'Mr. Talmage, are all your
children Christians?' Father said:
Eyes, all but Dewitt" Then Truman
Osborne looked down into the fireplace
and began to tell a story of storm
that came on the mountains, and all
the sheep were ia the fold; but there
was one lamb outside that persisted in
the storm. Had he looked me in the
eye should have been angered when
he told that story; but he looked into
the fireplace, and it was so pathetic
ally and beautifully done that l never
found any peace until was sure was
inside the fold where the other sheep
were
The archers of olden times studied
their art They were very precise in
the matter. The old books gave special
directions as to how an archer should
90, and as to what an archer should
do He must stand erect and firm, his
left foot little in advance of the right
foot. With his left hand he must take
hold of the tow in the middle, and
then with the three fingers and the
thumb of his right hand he should
lay hold of the arrow and afix it
to the string-so precise was the
direction given. But how clumsy
we are about religious work! How
often our arrows miss the mark!
oh, that there were more institu-
tions established in all the towns and
cities of our land, where men might
learn the art of doing good-studying
spiritual archery, and known as
mighty hunters before the Lord"
In the first place, If you want to be
effectual in doing good, you mdst be
very sure of your weapon. There was
something very fascinating about the
archery of olden times Perhaps you
do not know what they could do with
the bow and arrow. Why, the chief
battles fought by the English PlaDta-
penets were with the long bow. They
would take the arrow of polished
wood. and feather it with the plume
of bird, and then it would fly from
the bow string of plated silk. The
broad fields of Agincourt and Solway