The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-07-09
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
rME NOTED DIVINE'S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject: sThe Mighty Hunter"

lands and the times infested with wild beasts
it was a matter Of life or death with the
people. 1t was very different from going
out On sunshiny afternoon with patent
breachloader, to shoot reedbirds on the flats,
when Pollux and Achilles and Diomedes went
out to clear the land OF lions and tigers and
bears. My text sets forth Nimrod Us hero
when it presents him with broad shoulders
and shaggy apparel and sunbrowned face
and arm punched with muscle-"a mighty
hunter before the Lord" think he used
the bow and the arrows with great success
practicing archery,
l have thought If it is such grand thing
and such brave thing to clear wild beasts
out OF country, If 1t is not u 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 which those who have been flying
from the truth may be captured for God and
heaven. The Lord Jesus In Hissermon 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,
and pray God that there may be many
man to-day who will begin to study gospel
archery. of whom it may, after a while, be
said, "He was u mighty hunter before the
Lord"
How much awkward Christian work there
is done in the world! How many good peo-
pie there arc who drive souls away from
Christ instead of bringing them to Him! All
their fingers are thumbs-religious blunder-
ers who upset more than they right Their
gun has crooked barrel and kicks as it
goes off. They are like stupid comrade
who goes along with skillful hunters. At
the very moment when he ought to be most
quiet, he is cracking an alder, or falling
over log and frightening away the game.
How few Christian people have ever learned
the lesson of which read at the beginning
Of this service. how that the Lord Jesus
Christ at the we'll went from talking about
a cup Of water &c the most practically re-
| ligious truths. which won the woman's soul
| for God. Jesus in the wilderness was break
| ing bread to the people. think it was good
bread. 1t was very light bread and the
| yeast had done ITS work thoroughly. Christ,
after He had broken the 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 un-
| derstood Him! But how few Christian peo-
| pie there are who understand how to fasten
the truths of God and religion to the souls
| of men! Truman Osborne. one of the evan
| gelists who went through this country years
ago, had a wonderful art in the right direc-
ton. 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, "Yes, all
but De Witt" Then Truman Osborne
looked down into the fireplace and began to
| tell story of storm that came on the
| mountains, and all the sheep were In 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 fire.
| Mo o,,I
fclly done that | never found any peace I'M
til 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 go 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 bow in the middle and then
| with the three fingers and the thumb of his
right hand he should lay hold of the arrow
ana aflx 1t to the string-so precise was the
direction given. But how clumsy We are
about religious work! How little skill and
care we exercise! How often our arrows miss
the mark! Oh, that there were more insti-
tutlons established.in all the towns and cit
les OF our land where men might learn the
art OF doing good-studying spiritual arch
!
the Lord"
In the first place, If you want to be effec-
tual IN doing good, you must 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 Plantagenets
were with the long bow. They would take
the arrow of polished wood, and feather il
With the plume of a bird, and then it would
ny from the bow string of plated silk. The
broad fields OF Aglncourt and SolWay Moss
and Nev1lles Cross heard the loud thrum OF
the archers bow string. Now, my Christian
friends, We have mightier weapon than
that. 1t Is the arrow of the gospel; it Is a
snarp arrow; 1t Is a straight arrow; it is
leathered from the wing of the dove of Gods
Spirit; 1t flies from a bow made out of the
wood of the cross. AS far as I can estimate
or calculate 1t has brought down 400, 900 ,OOt
souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch o.
that arrow on to that bow string, and if:
Wh1r was heard through the Corinthian
theatres, and through the courtroom, until
the knees of Felix Knocked together. It wa:
that arrow that struck in Luther's heart
when he cried out "Oh, my sins! Oh, m,
slns!' If 1t strike man in the head, it kill
his skepticism; If it strike man in the heel
1t will turn his step: if it strike him in tn,
heart, he throws up his hands, as did tn,
Emperor Julian of old when wounded in tn,
battle, crying, 80 Galilean, Thou has con
quered"
In the armory Of the Earl of Pembrok
there are old cOrselets which show that tn
arrow Of the English used to go through tn
breastplate. through the body of the warrio
and through the backplate. What symbo
} OF that gospel which is sharper than a two
edged sword, piercing to the dividing asun
der OF body and soul, and of the joints an
marrow. Would to God we had more fait
In that gospel! The humblest man, if he ha
enough faith in it, could bring 100 souls t
Jesus-perhaps 500. Just in proportion a
this age seems to believe less and less in I,
believe more and more in It, Wha, ar
men about that they will not accept thei
own deliverance? THERE'S nothing propose
> by men that can do anything like this gospe
The religion of Ralph Waldo Emerson wa
, the philosophy of icicles; the religion c
= Theodore Parker was sirocco of the desel
covering up the soul with dry sand; the re
ligton of Renan was the romance of be
lieving nothing; the religion of the Huxley
and the Spencers merely pedestal on whic
human philosophy sits shivering in the Nigh
OF the soul, looking up to the stars, offerin
> no help to the nations that crouch an
= groan at the base. Tell me wher
there is one man who has reiecte
that gospel for another who
thoroughly satisfied and helped and cor
| n iojc + ~.