The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-15
REV. DIR. TAIMAGE.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "The Mighty Hunter"

TEXT: "He was mighty hunter before
the Lord."-Genesis L,9.
In our day hunting is a sport: but In tn
lands and the times infested with wild beast
it was a matter Of life or death with th'
people. 1t was very different from goin,
out on sunshiny afternoon with paten
breech,oader, to shoot reedbiras on the fats
when Pollux and Achilles and Diomedes wen
out to clear the land Of lions and tigers ant
bears. My text sets forth Nimrod as her
when It presents him with broad shoulder
and shaggy apparel and sunbrowned face
and arm punched with muscle-"a might,
hunter before the Lord" think he uset
the bow and the arrows with great success
practicing archery,
have thought if it is such grand thin,
and such brave thing to clear wild beasts
out CT country, If it Is not better anc
braver thing to hunt down and destroy thos
great evils of society that are stalking tn,
land with fierce eye and bloody paw, anc
sharp tusk and quick spring. have won
dered If there is not such thing as gospe
archery, by which those who have been f1yinl
from the truth may be captured for God ant
heaven. The Lord Jesus In His sermon used
the art Of angling for an illustration when
He said, II will make you fishers OF men.
And 80 think I 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 it may. after while, be
said, "He was mighty hunter before the
Lord"
Bow much awkward Christian work there
Is done in the world! How many good peo-
pie there are who drive souls away from
Christ instead Of bringing them to Him! All
their fingers are thumbs-religious blunder-
ers who upset more than they right Their
gun has q crooked barrel and kicks as 1t
goes off. They are like stupid conrade
who goes along with skillful hunters. At
the very moment when he ought to be most
over q log and frightening away the game.
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 we'll went from talking about
cup of water to the most practically re-
hgious truths, which won the woman's soul
for God. Jesus in the wilderness was break
ing bread to the people. Think it was good
bread. It 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 transit
tion it 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 to the souls
of men! Truman Osborne, one of the evan
gelists who went through this country years
ago, had wonderful art in the right direc-
tion. 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 Cbristians2" Father said, "Yes, all
but De Witt" Then Truman Osborne
looked down into the fireplace and began to
tell story Of a storm that came on the
mountains, and all the sheep were in the
foIG, 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 fire.
place. and 1t was so pathetically and beauti-
fcIly done that never found any peace un-
til was sure was inside the fold where
the other sheep were.
The archers Of olGen times studied their
arr. They were very precise in the matter
The old books gave special directions as to
how an archer should go AMI as to what an
archer should do. he must stand erect and
firm, his left foot a 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 aff1x it to the string-so precise was the
direction given. But how clumsy we are
about religious work! How little skill and
care we exercise! How often our arrows miss
the mark! Oh, that there were more insti-
tutlons established in all the towns and cit
tes 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, ii you want to be effec-
tua 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 Plantagenets
were with the long bow. They would take
with the plume of bird, and then it would
fy from the bow string Of plated silk. The
broad fields of Aglncourt and Sclway Moss
and Neville's Cross heard the loud thruu of
the archer's bow string. Now, my Christian
friends. we have q mightier weapon than
that. 1t is the arrow Of the gospel; it is a
sharp arrow; 1t Is a straight arrow: 1t Is
feathered from the wing Of the dove of Gods
Spirit; 1t flies from bow made out of the
wood Of the cross. As far as can estimate
or calculate it has brought down 400, ,000, 900
souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch of
that arrow on to that bow string, and its
whir was heard through the Corinthian
theatres, and through the courtroom, until
the knees Of Felix knocked together. 1t was
that arrow that struck in Luther's heart
when he cried out: "Oh, my sins! Oh, my
sins!" If II strike man In the head, 1t kills
his skepticism; II It strike a man in the heel,
heart, he throws up his hands, as did the
Emperor Julian OF old when wounded In the
battle, crying, 20 Galilean, Thou has con-
quered!'
In the armory Of the Earl of Pembroke
there are old corselets which show that the
arrow of the English used to 50 through the
breastplate. through the body Of the warrior
and through the backplate. What symbol
of that gospel which is sharper than two
edged sword, piercing to the dividing asun-
der IF body and soul, and of the joints and
in that gospel! The humblest man, if he had
enough faith in it, could bring 100 souls to
Jesus-perhapS 500. Just in proportion as
this age seems to believe less and less in it,
I believe more and more in 1t. What are
men about that they will not accept their
own Geliverance2 THERE'S nothing proposed
by men that can do anything like this gospel.
The religion OF Ralph Waldo Emerson was
the philosophy Of icicles; the religion OF
Theodore Parker was sirocco OF the desert
covering up the soul with dry sand; the re-
ligion of Renan was the romance Of be-
lieying nothing; the religion Of the Huxleys
and the Spencers merely pedestal on which
human philosophy sits shivering in the night
of the soul, looking up to the stars, offering
no help to the nations that crouch and
groan OF the base. Tell me where
there is one man who has rejected
that gospel for another who is
thoroughly satisfied and helped and con-
tented in his skepticism. and I will take the
ear tomorrow and ride 500 miles to see him.
The full power Of the gospel has not yet
been touched. As a sportsman throws up
his head and catches the ball flying through
the air, just so easily will this gospel after
awhile catch this round world flying from its
orbit anG hr;nc. II hack to the heart of Christ