Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-07-02
A SEARCH FOR GAME.
REV. Or. TALMAeE USES GOSPEL
ARCHERY AS HIS THEME.

He Tells About the Mighty Hunters Of
Scripture and Shows How to Zee the
Gospel Arrow-The Kind of Game to
Seek.
WASHINGTON, June es.-An people who
ere trying to do good will find this dis
tourse of DR.. Talmage inspiring as well as
unique. His text was Genesis x, 0, He
was mighty hunter before the Lord Z"
In our day hunting is a sport, but in
the lands and the times infested with wild
beasts it was a matter Of life or death with
the people. 1t was very different from 60
ing out on a sunshiny afternoon with a
patent breechloader to shoot reedbirds on
the fats when Pollux and Achilles and
Diomedes went out to clear the land Of
lions and tigers and bears. My text sets
forth Nimrod as hero when it presents
him with broad shoulders and shaggy ap-
parel and sun Drowned face and arm
punched with muscle-'a mighty hunter
before the Lord" think he used the bow
and the arrows with great success practic-
ing archery.
Gospel Archery.
I have thought, if it is such q grand
thing and such brave thing to clear wild
beasts out of q country, If it is not a better
and braver thing to hunt down and de-.
stroy those great evils of society that are
stalking the land with fierce eye 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 sermon used the art of angling for an
illustration when he said, 81 will make
you fishers of men," And so I think
have authority for using hunting as an IL
lustration of gospel truth, and pray God
that there may be many man today who
will begin to study gospel archery of
whom it may after awhile be said, "He
was mighty hunter before the Lord"
How much awkward Christian work
there Is done in the world How many
good people there arewho drive souls away
from Christ instead of bringing them to
him All their fingers are thumbs-relig-
ious blunderers who upset more than they
right. Their gun has crooked barrel
and kicks as 1t goes off. They are like a
clumsy comrade who goes along with skill
full hunters. At the very moment when
he ought to be most quiet he is cracking
an alder or falling over log and frighten-
ing away the game How few Christian
people have ever learned the lesson Of
which read at the beginning of this SER
vice; how that the Lord Jesus Christ at
the well went from talking about cup Of
water to the most practical religious
truths which won the woman's soul for
Godl Jesus In the wilderness was break
ing bread to the people, think 1t 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 leaven of the Pharisees. So natural
a transition 1t was, and how easily they
all understood himl But how few Chris
| tian people there are who understand how
to fasten the truths of God and religion to
the souls of men. Truman Osborne, one
of the evangelists who went through this
country years ago, had 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. Tai
mage, are all your children Christians"
Father said, Eyes, all but De Witt. "
|
the fireplace and began to tell story of a
storm that came on the mountains, and
all the sheep were in the fold, but there
was one lamb outside that perished 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 pathetically and beautifully
done that never found any peace until
| was sure was inside the fold where the
other sheep were
| The archers of olden times studied theiI
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 O 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 and affix 1t to the string-sc
precise was the direction given. But how
clumsy we are about religious work. How
little skill and care we exercised How otter
our arrows miss the mark Oh, that there
were more institutions established in al
the towns and cities of our land, whert
men might learn the art Of doing good
studying spiritual archery, and known al
mighty hunters before the Lord"
Look to Your Weapon.
In the first place, If you want to be ef
fectual in doing good, you must be very
sure Of your weapon. There was some
thing very fascinating about the archery
of olden times. Perhaps you do not know
what they could do with the bow and ar
row. Why, the chief battles fought by the
English Plantagenets were with the Ions
bow. They would take the arrow Of pol
ished wood and feather 1t with the plume
of bird, and then 1t would fly from tht
bowstring Of plated silk. The broad fields
of Agincourt, and Solway Moss, and Ne
villes cross heard the loud thrum Of tht
archer's bowstring. Now, my Christian
friends, we have mightier weapon thar
that. 1t Is the arrow Of the gospel; 1t /!
sharp arrow; 1t Is strait arrow; 1t l!
feathered from the wing Of the dove O.
Gods spirit; 1t flies from bow made ou
of the wood Of the cross AS far as I car
estimate or calculate 1t has brought dow1
400, 100000 souls Paul knew how tt
bring the notch Of that arrow on to tha
bowstring, and Its whir was heard through
the Corinthian theaters, and through th'
courtroom, until the knees of Felix knock
ed together. It was that arrow that stucl
In Luther's heart when he cried out: "Oh
my sinsl Oh, my sinsl' If 1t strike mar
in the head, it kills his skepticism; If i
strike man in the heel, it will turn hi
step; If it strike him in the heart, h,
throws up his hands, as did the Emperor
- L loJ l,,k k1. u
crying, 80 Galilean, thou hast conqueredP
In the armory of the Earl Of Pembroke
there are old corselets which show that tn
arrow of the English used to go through
the breastplate, through the body of tn