Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-07-09
THE HUNTER.
DIR. TALMAGE'S SUNDAY THEME,
To Be Skilled in Spiritual Archery
You Must Hunt In CnfrequeDt-
ed and Secluded Places.

fhe Lord. Genesis T., 8.
In our day hunting is a sport: but in the
lands and the times infested with Wild beast.
1t was a matter Of life or death with the
people. II was very different from going
out on a sunshiny afternoon with a patent
treechloader, to shoot rcedhiras on the flats.
when Pollu1 and Achilles and Diomede- went
out u clear the land Of ions and tigers and
tears. My text sets forth Nimrod IS a hero
when It presents him with broad shoulders
and shaggy apparel and sunbrowned face.
and arm punched with ruscle-"a mighty
hunVr before the Lord. think b. used
'hs bow and the arrows With great tRdAfsc
Wacticing archery,
have thought il It il such a grand thing
and such q brave thing t. clear wild beasts
ont OF a country, if it is not q better and
hraver thing 70 hunt down and DESTROY those
Sreat ev's OF society that are stalking the
and With fierce eye and bloody Jaw. aud
nary tusk and quick spring. have Won
'lsrtd If there Is not such a thing a yospel
archery, by which those Who have been fviny
rom the truth may be captured for God and
heaven The Lord Jesus In His sermon used
the art Of angling for an illustration when
HA aid, Il will make you fishers If men"
And 81 ] think l have authority for using
bunting as an illustration ot GOSPEL truth.
AND | pray God that there may be many
van to-day who will begin 70 study gospel
archery. " whom it may. after a while, be
AID. ne wa a mighty hunter before the
Lord"
How much awkw ward Christian work there
' done in th" world How many good pco-
ole there are who drive souls away from
Ihrlst instead ri bringing them to Him All
'heir nngers are thumbs religious bl,lnder-
@ra whn upset moro than they right. Their
-Hn hasa crooked barrel and kicks as it
IpeaoH. They are like a stupid conrade
vbD goes along with skillful hunters. AT
The very moment when he ought to be most
lnlet, he is cracking an alder, or falling
over n log and frightening away the game.
How few Christian people have ever learned
she lesson Of which ! read at the b. ginning
81 this service, how that the Lord Jesus
Christ nj the we'll went from talking about
q cup Of water T. the most practically re-
iig1one truths. which won the woman's soul
Tor God. Jesus in the wilderness was break
ing bread 10 the people. Think it was good
bread, II was very light bread and the
T@zst had don" ITS work thoroughly. Gnri-t.
after n" had broken the bread. said 10 the
roople. Beware IF the yeast or Of the lea
zen OF the PhariseeS." so natural a transl-
ton IT was, and how easily thev all un-
'ier~tocl Him But how few Christian peo-
ole there are who understand how to fa-ten
'he truths Of God and religion to the souls
II men Truman Osborne, one Of the evan
xclISte who went through this country wears
'G,o. had n wonderful art in the right direc-
ion He came to my fathers house one
Gay. md while We were all seated in the
room ne said, MIR. Talmage. are Nil YOUR
children Christians?" Father said, YES. all
tut De Witt" Then Truman Osborne
looked down into the fireplace and began to
toll = story IT a storm that came on tho
mountains, and all the sheep were in tho
void, but there was one lamb outside that
persisted III the storm. Had he looked ne in
the eye ! should have been angered when h,
void that story. But he looked into the nre-
place. and it was 50 pnthetically%and beauti-
}:lly dono that l never found any peace IN
TIL was sure / was inside the fold whor,
the other sheep We're.
The archers OF OIden times stndi ed then
arr. They were very precise in the matter.
The old books gave special directions rs tc
how an archer should 90 and rs to what al
archer should do. He must stand erect an,
hrm, his left foot a little in advance Of tn.
wight foot. With his left hand nc must TAX.
hold Of the bow in the middle, and then
with the three tlngrr@ and tn thumb Of hi
right hand he shoui'l iIy hn1,! - the arrow
and affjx II to the string 50 precise was til,
direction given. But how clumsy We arr
about religious work, How little skill aut
are We exercise, How often our arrows mis-
the marx, Oh. that there were more inst
tutlons established in all the towns and eli
leo hl our land where men might learn tn,
art Of doing good-studyinc spiritual arch
DRY. and known as mighty hunters befor,
the Lord.
In the first place. il YOU want to be erre
tual in doing good. you must be VERY sure o
your wea pom. There was something yer
fascinating about the archery Of olden times
Perhaps yoll do not know what they coul
40 with the bow and arrow. Whv. the chic
battles fought BY the English Plantagenet
were with the long bow. They would tax,
The arrow OF polished wood, and feather
With tho plume Of a bird. and then it woul
ny from the bow string Of plated silk. Tn
troad fields Of Agincourt and Solway No,
and Neville's Cross heard the loud thrum /,
mo archer $ bow string. Now, my Christia
TRENDS. We have u mightier weapon tina
mat. 1t IL the arrow OF the gospel: it i.
sharp arrow: it IL p straight arrow: il
teathefed from the wlDg OF the dove Of God
spirit, il flies from a bow made out of IN
wood of tho cross. As far as | can astimat
OF calculate it has brought down 400. 600 .OC
souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch .
That arrow on to that bow string. anil i
whir was heard through the Coripthia
theatres, and through the courtroom. unit,
the knees OF Felix knocked together. 1t W;
that arrow that struck in Luther'S hea
WREN he cried out "Oh. my sins, Oh. II
sins II il strike a man in the head. il XII
his skeptlcisnI if 1t strike a man in the hae
II will turn his step. If il strike him in II
heart. he throws NJ his hands. as did I,
Emperor Julian ~ old when wounded in Il
battle. crying, 20 Galilean, Thou has GO
Quered'
In the armorv Of the Earl Of Pembro
there are old corselets which show that |,
arrow OF the English used 10 60 through I
hreastplate. through the body Of the wnrri
and through the back pla Win, A svmt
If that gospel which is sharper than a tx
edged sword, piercing to :he dividing asu
der Of body and soul. and of the Joints a
marrow. Would to God we had more faj
IN that gospel, The humblest man. If he b
enough faith in it. could bring 100 souls
Jeeus-perhaps 500. jus, in proportion
this age seems to believe less and less in
believe more and more in it. Vha: {
men about that they will not ACCEPT tn
own deliverance? Thereis nothing promo,
by men that can do anything like this Sosr
The religion Of Ralph Waldo Emerson v
the philosophy OF ~icicles: the religion
Theodore Parker was a sirocco of the DIES
covering up the soul with dry sand: the
liSlon OF Eenan was the romance Of
iievinS nothing, the religion of the Huxl,
and the Spencers merely a pedestal on VII
% philosophy sits shivering in the nj
OF the soul. looking up to the stars. oHerl
10 hep 10 the nations that crouch &
Sroan AT the base. Tell me wh
there Is one man who has rejee
that gospel for another who
thoroughly satisfied and helped and {
tented IN his skepticisn. and I will take
car tomorrow and hide 500 miles 70 see b