The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-07-17
REV. DIR. TALMAGE
THE NOTED DIvINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE
Subjects ''Tho Mighty Hunter"

IL was matter OF life or death with tho
people. IL was very different from going
out on sunahiny afternoon with a patent
hrefchlOndor, 90 shoot readblras on tho Oats.
when Pollux and Achilles and Dlomedea went
out 90 clear the land Of lions and tigers and
bears. MY text SETS forth NlmrOd AZ n hero
when u presents him with broad shoulders
and shaggy apparel and aunbrownod face.
and arm punched with musele-"a mighty
hunter before the Lord" think no used
the bow and tho arrows with great success
pmcticing archery,
ana such brave thing 10 clear Wild beasts
out OF a country, II Il Is not q better and
Drawer thing 90 hunt down and destroy those
great evils OF society that arB stalking the
lana with fierce eye aud bloody paw, aud
sharp tusk and quick spring have won-
dered n there O. not such a thing as gospel
archery, by which those who have been flying
from the truth may ba captured for God and
heaven. The Lord Jesus IN Hlssermon used
the art OF angling for an illustration when
Tie said, II will make you fishers of men,"
And so / think have authority for using
hunting ns an illustration OF gospel truth,
and pray God that there may Do many
man to-day who will begin 10 study gospel
archery of whom It may, after u while. be
SAID, He was mighty hunter before tho
AAAW NNNNN hWhWhAu ANFlHllNn MOrk INof0
i8 done In the wOrdl How many good uao-
Pile there are who drive souls away from
Christ instead OF bringing them 10 Hlml An
their fingers are thumbs-reiigiOus blunder-
ers who upset more than they right. Their
gun hasa crooked barrel aud kicks as II
/ goes on. They are like q stupid comrade
who goes along with skilful huntegs. At
the very moment when he bught 30 be most
| quiet, he Is cracking an alder, or falling
Irfs F=fFa 4.
| 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 well went from talking about
cup OF water 70 the most practically re-
| ligiOus truths. which won tho woman's soul
/ for God. Jesus In the wilderness was break
/ ing bread to the people 1 think II was good
/ bread. II 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 II 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 10 the souls
Of menl 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 ChristiansY Father said eyes, all
but De Witt" Then Truman Osborne
looked down into the fireplace and began to
tell a story OF a 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.
place, and it was so pathetically and beauti-
fcly done that l never found any peace un-
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 60 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
b with the three fingers and the thumb of his
right hand he should lay hold Of the arrow
and afiix it to the string--so precise was the
direction given But how clumsy we are
about religious work! How little skill and
care we exercisel How often our arrows miss
the mark! Oh, that there were more insti-
tutlons established in all the towns and cit
ies Of our land where men might learn the
art Of doing good-studying spiritual arch
cry, and known as "mighty hunters before
the Lord"
In the first place, 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 Plantageneti
were with the long bow. They would take
the arrow of polished wood. and feather il
with the plume Of bird, and then it would
fly from the bow string Of plated silk The
broad fields Of Aglncourt and Solway Moss
and Neville's Cross heard the loud thrum o
the archer's bow string. Now, my Christian
| friends, we have a mightier weapon thar
that 1t is the arrow Of the gospel; It is
sharp arrow; it is a straight arrow: it Il
feathered from the wing OF the dove Of God
Spirit; it flies from bow made out of tn
? wood Of the cross. As far as | can estimat
or calculate it has brought down 400, 900 90
souls. Paul knew how TO bring the notch o
that arrow on to that bow string, and it
whir was heard through the Corinthial
theatres, and through the courtroom unit
the knees of Felix knocked together. 1t wa
+ that arrow that struck in Luther's hear
when he cried out Lob, my sins! Oh IN
{ sins!' II it strike a man in the head, it kill
q his skepticism; If it strike a man in the hee
it will turn his step: if il strike him in til
S heart, he throws up his hands, as did tn
I Emperor Julian OF old when wounded IN tn
battle, crying, 80 Galilean, Thou has cor
queredr'
In the armory Of the Earl Of Pembrok
there are old corselets which show that tn
t arrow of the English used to go through II
= breastplate, through the body of the warrio
y and through the backplate. What "A symb
I OF that gospel which is sharper than n twt
edged sword, piercing to this dividing asuI
a der Of body aud soul, and OF the joints au
e marrow! Would to God we had more fat
in that gospel! The humblest man, If he hf
i enough faith in it, could bring 100 souls
>, Jesus-perhaps 500 just in proportion
Il this age seems to believe less and less in
n believe more and more in II. What a
men about that they will not accept the
9 own deliverance? THERE'S nothing propos
/. by men that can 90 anything like this gosp,
The religion Of Ralph Waldo Emerson "
IL the philosophy OF icicles; the religion
\. Theodore Parker was a siroceO OF the desc
covering up the soul with dry sand; the
10 ligion Of Renan was the romance Of !
a lieylng nothing; the religion Of the Huxle
= and the Spencers merely a pedestal on viii
q. human philosophy sits shivering IN the mig
al