Connecticut western news., 1896-07-02
THE MIGHTY HUNTER
ARcHERS OF oLDEN TIMES AND COS
 PEI ARROWS.

Inspiring Discourse For Those Who Are
 Trying to Be Successful In Spiritua, Archery-A Plain Path.
 WASHINGTON, Juno 2S.-All people who are trying to do good will find this discourse of Dr. Talmage inspiring as we'll as unique. His text was Genesis X, g.: ..He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. !"
 In our day, hunting is sport; but in the lands and the times infested with wild beasts it was a matter of life or death with the people. It was very diff ferent from going out on 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 a brave thing to clear wild beasts out of country, if it is not O better and braver thing to hunt down and destroy 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 a 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 ser mon used the art of angling for an il- lustration when he said, "I will make you fishers of men" And so I think have authority for using hunting as an illustration of gospel truth, and pray God that there may be many a man to. day who will begin to study gospel archery, of whom it may. after while, be said, "He was mighty hunter be- fore the Lord. d.''
 Conversion.
 How much awkward Christian work there is done in the worldl How many good people there arc who drive souls away from Christ instead of bringing . them to him! All their fingers are thumbs-religiou blunderers who up- set more than they right Their gun has a crooked barrel and kicks as it goes of. They are like stupid com rade who goes along with skillful hunt era At the very moment when he ought to be most quiet, he is cracking an alder, or falling over a log and fright ening away the game. How few Chris tian people have ever learned the lesson of which l read at the beginning of this service, how that the Lord Jesus Christ at the we'll went from talking about 0 cup of water to the most practical re- igious truths, which won the woman 8 soul for God Jesus in the wilderness was breaking 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 lcaven of the Pharisees '' So natural transi- D tion it was, and how easily they all un- derstood himi But how few Christian people there are who understand how to fasten the truths of God and religion to the souls of meni 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, MT. Taimage. are all your children Christians?' Father said, "Yes all but De Witt " Then Truman Osborne looked down into the fireplace and began to tell story of Q 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 be told that story. But he looked into the fireplace, and it was 90 pathetically and beautifully done that I never found any peace until I : was sure l 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 di- rections as to how an archer should go and 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 ar row and affi1 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 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 LordI''
 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 dc 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 the arrow of polished wood, and feather it with the plume of bird, and then it would fly from the bow string of plaited silk The broad fields of Agincourt and Solway Moss and Neville's Cross heard the loud thrum of the archer's bow string Now. my Christian friends, we have a mightier weapon than that. It is the arrow of the gospel; it is sharp arrow; it is straight arrow ; 1t is feath- cred from the wing of the dove of Gods Spirit: 1t flies from bow made out of the wood of the cross. As far as l can estimate or calculate it has brought down 400, 900. 900 souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch of that arrow on to that bow string. and it's v-hir was heard through the Corinthian theaters. and through tho courtroom, until the knees of Felix knocked together. It was that arrow that stuck in Luther's heart when he cried out: "Oh, my sins! Oh. my ssnsi" If it strike man in the head, it kills his skepticism if it strike a man in the heel, it will turn his step