News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1896-07-02
Good Hunting Ground.


Again, if you want to be skillful in
spiritual archery, you must hunt i'll I'M
frequented and secluded places. Why
does the hunter go three or four dr., il:
the Pennsylvania forests or over Ra-
quette lake into the wilds of the Adiron.
dacks? 1t is the only way to do. The
deer are shy, and one bang" of the
gun clears the forest From the Cali
fornia stage you see, as you go over the
plains here and there, a coyote trOtting
along, almost within range Of the gun
sometimes quite within range of it, No
one cares for that; it is worthless. The
good game is hidden and secluded. Ev-
cry hunter knows that. So, many of the
souls that will be of most worth for
Christ and of most value to the church
are secluded. They do not come in your
way. You will have to go where they
are. Yonder they are down in that Gel
lar; yonder they are up i'll that garrett
Far away from the door Of any church,
the gospel arrow has not been pointed
at them The tract distributor and city
missionary sometimes catch a glimpse
of them, as a hunter through the trees
get a momentary sight of partridge or
a roebuck. The trouble is, we are wait
ing for the game to come to us. We are
not good hunters. We are standing in
some street or highway expecting that
the timid antelope will come up and eat
out of our hands. We are expecting
that the prairie fowl will light on our
church steeple. 1t is not their habit.
If the church should wait 10, 900, 900
Of years for the world to come in and
be saved, it will wait in vain. The
world will not come What the church
wants now is to lift its feet from dam
ask ottomans and put them in the stir.
rups We want pulpit on wheels. The
church wants not SO much cushions as
it wants saddlebags and arrows. We
have got to put aside the gown and kid
gloves and put on the hunting shirt.
We have been fishing so long in the
brooks that run under the shadow of the
church that the fish know us; that they
avoid the hook and escape as soon as we
come to the bank, while yonder is Up
per Saranac and Big Tupper's lake,
where the first swing Of the gospel net
would break it for the multitude of the
fishes. There is outside work to be done.
What is that see i'll the backwoods? 1t
is a tent The hunters have made a
clearing and camped out. What do they
care if they have wet feet, OF if they
have nothing but pine branch for a
pillow or for the northeast storm? If
moose i'll the darkness steps into the
lake to drink, they hear it right away.
If loon cry in the moonlight, they
hear it, So in the service of God we
have exposed work. We have got to
camp out and rough it. We are putting
all our care on the people who come to
our churches. What are we doing for
the thousands upon thousands that do
lot come? Have they no souls? Are they
sinless that they need no pardon? Are
there no dead i'll their houses that they
need no comfort? Are they cut off from
God to go into eternity-no wing to
bear them, no light to cheer them, no
welcome to greet them? | hear today
surging up from the lower depths a
groan that comes through our Christian
assemblages and through our beautiful
churches, and it blots out all this scene
from my eyes today as by the mists Of
great Niagara, for the dash and the
plunge of these great torrents of life