Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-07-04

Inspiring Discourse FOR Those Who Are
Trying to BE Successful IN Spiritual
Archery-A Plain Path.
WASHINGTON, Juno 28.-All people
who are trying to do good will find this
discourse of DR.. Talmage inspiring as
well as unique His text was Genesis
X, o.: Gle was q mighty hunter before
the Lord
In our day, hunting is q sport; but i'll
the lands and the times infested with
wild beasts it was matter of life or
death with the people. 1t was very diff
ferent from going out Oh sunshiny aft
ernoon with patent breechloader, to
shoot reedbirds on the flats, when Pol
lux 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 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.
have thought if it is such grand
thing and such brave thing to clear
wild beasts out of country, if it is not
q better and Drawer thing to hunt down
and destroy those great evils of society
that arc stalking the land with fierce
eye and bloody paw, and sharp tusk and
quick spring. 1 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 i'll his SER
mon used the art of angling for an il
lustration when he said, 81 will make
you fishers of men. l." And so think l
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 itmay, after while,
be said, Gle was a mighty hunter be-
fore the Lord. y
Conversion.
How much awkward Christian work
there is done in the world How many
good people there are who drive souls
away from Christ instead Of bringing
them to him! All their fingers arc
thumbs religious blundcrers who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has crooked barrel and kicks as it
goes off. They are like a stupid COM
rade who goes along with sSillful hunt
ers. At the very moment when he ought
to be most quiet, he is cracking an
alder, or falling over log and fright
ening away the game How few Chris
tan people have ever learned the lesson
of which 1 read at the beginning of this
service, how that the Lord Jesus Christ
at the well went from talking about a
cup of water to the most practical re-
ligious truths. which won the woman's
soul for God. Jesus in the wilderness
was breaking bread to the people. l
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 lcaven
of the Pharisees. So natural transi-
ton it was, and how easily they all un-
derstood himl But how few Christian
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 a wonderful
art in the right direction. He came to
my fathers house one day, and while
we were all seated III the room he said,
"Mr Talmagc, are all your children
Christians?" Father said, eyes 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 ho
looked me in the eye I should have been
angered when he told that story. But
he looked into the fireplace, and it was
so pathetically and beautifully done
that I never found any peace until
was sure l was inside the fold where
the other sheep were.
The archers Of oldcn times studied
their art They were very precise Ill the
matter. The old books gave special dl-
rections as to how al archer should go
and rs 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 ar
row and affix it to the string-so precise
was the direction given. But how
clumsy VIC are about religious work!
How little skill and care we exercised
How often our arrows miss the mark!
Oh, that there were more institutions
established in all the towns and cities
of our land where men might learn the
art of doing good-studying spiritual
archery, and known as mighty hunters
before the Lord!''
A Choice of Weapons.
In the first place, if you want to be
effectual 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 Plantagencts were
with the long bow They would take
the arrow of polished wood, and feather
it with the plume of a bird, and then it
would fly from the bow string of plated
mn j r - A O,,,,to r,1
Solway Moss and Neville's Cross heard
the loud thlum of the archer's bow
string. Now. my Christian friends, we
have mightier weapon than that. 1t
is the arrow of the gospel; it is sharp
arrow; it is astraight arrow it is feath-
cred from the wing of the dove of Gods
Spirit; it flies from bow made out OF
the wood of the cross. As far as can
estimate or calculate it has brought