Milford chronicle., 1896-07-03
A SEARCH FOR GAME.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE USES GOSPEL
ARCHERY AS HIS THEME.

He Tells About the Mighty Hunters of
Scripture and Shows How to Use the
Gospel Arrow The Kind of Game to
Seek.
WASHINGTON, June 2s.-An people who
are trying to do good will find this dis
course of Dr. Talmnge inspiring as well as
unique His text was Genesis X, 9, He
was a mighty hunter before the Lord.
In our day hunting Is n sport, but in
the lands and the times infested with wild
beasts it was matter Of life or death with
the people 1t was very different from 60
ing out on sunshiny afternoon with Il
patent breechlOader to shoot reedbirds on
the flats when Pollux and Achilles and
Diomedes went out to clear the lana Of
lions and tigers and bears. My text sets
forth NimrOd as a hero when it presents
him with broad shoulders and shaggy APP
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.
have thought, if it is such great
thing and such brave thing TO clear wild
beasts out of country, if it is not n better
and drawer 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, bywhich those who have
been flying from the truth may he captured
for God and heaven. The Lord Jesus in
3
illustration when he said II viii make
you fishers of men" And so l think
have authority for using hunting as an IL
lustation of gospel truth, and pray God
that there may be many man today who
will begin 10 study gospel archery of
whom 1t may after awhile be said, "He
was a mighty hunter before the Lord.
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
himl All their fingers are thumbs-relig
ious blunderers who upset more than they
right Their gun has crooked barrel
and kicks as it goes off They are like n
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 frighton- ,
ing away the game How few Christian !
people have ever learned the lesson of I
which 1 read at the beginning of this ser !
vice; how that the Lord Jesus Christ mt |
the well went from talking about Il cup Of 1
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 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 leaven of the Pharisees. " So natural
transition it was and how easily they
all understood him 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 n 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 ali your children Christians"
Father said, YES 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 he looked me in the eye l
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 their
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 4
an archer should do He must stand erect I
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 arrow and afiix it to the string-so
precise was the direction given But how
clumsy we are about religious work. How
little skill and care we exercised How often 1
our arrows miss the mark Oh, that there i,
were moro institutions established in all
the towns and cities of our land, where !
mon might learn the art of doing good :
studying spiritual archery, and known as
mighty hunters before the Lord "