The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1901-05-17
SPIRITUAL WORKERS
Or. Talmage Uses Hunting as an
Illustration Of Gospel Truth.
rrre. All Christian Workers &" In
creased Fidelity and Tells How
Much Effort at Doing
Good Fails.


rS,yr.sas ~. by Louis klopseh ~ ~
In this discourse DR.. TalmaSe urges
all Christian workers 10 Increased
6dcli,y and shows how much effort at
doing good fails through lack oil
adroitness; text, Genesis, lo;9; ne
was mighty hunter before the Lord.
In our day hunting Is "A sport, Dut IN
the lands and the times infested OF
wild beasts ii was Il matter oil he OF
death with the people. 1t was very oll-
fereut from going out on sunsh'ny
afternoon with a patent breechloauer
TO shoot reed birds on the Hats, men
PolluN and Achilles and DiomedeS
went out to clear the land OF lions ana
panfhers and bears. Ncnophon grew
eloquent in regard to the art OF hunt
ing. In the far east people, elephant
mounted. chased the tiger. Francis l..
was called the father of hunting. And
Moses, in my text, sets forth Nimrod
IS hero, when il presents him Win
broad shoulders and shaggy apparel
sud sun Drowned face and arm
,unched with muscle, "a mighty hunt
er before the Lord" i think he used
che bow and the arrows with great
success practicing archery.
have thought if it is such grand
.hing and such brave thing to clear
Wild beasts out of a country if it i not
better and Drawer thing To hunt
down and destroy those great evils of
society that are stalking the land with
Serce eye and bloody paw and sharp
tusk and quick spring. | have Won
dered if there is not such a thing as
Gospel archery, by which those who
bave been flying from truth may be
r3ptured for God and Heaven. The
Lord Jesus in His sermon used the art
Of angling for an illustration when He
said: Il will make you fishers of
men" And so think have authority
for using hunting a an illustration of
Gospel truth, and | pray God that
there may be many man enlisted in
the work who shall begin 20 study
Gospel archer. OF whom ii 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 10 Him, All their fingers are
thumbs-religious blundercrS who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has a crooked barrel and kicks as it
goes oil. They are like a clumsy com
radc who goes along with skiliful
hunters. ~ the very moment he
ought 10 be most quiet he is cracking
an alder or falling over log and
frightening away the game. How few
Christian people have ever learned
how the Lord Jesus Christ a. the well
went from talking about a cupful of
eater TO the most practical religious
truths. which won the woman's soul
for God, Jesus i'm The wilderness was
breaking bread 10 the people. think
i was very good bread. If was very
light bread. and the yeast had done its
work thoroughly. Christ, after lie
had broken the bread. said to the peo-
pie: Beware of the yeast or OF the
lcaven of the PharisecS." SO natural Il
transition il was and how easily they
all understood Him. But how few
Christian people there are who under
stand how 10 fasten the truths of God
and religion 10 the souls of men.
The archers of olden time studied
their art. They were very precise in
the matter. The old books gave spc-
cial. directions as to how an archer
should go and as TO what an archer
should do. He must stand erect and
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 the arrow and affiX it
TO the string-so precise was the di-
rection given. But how clumsy we are
about religious work, How little skill
and care we exercise, How often our
arrows miss the mark, l am glad that
there are institutions established in
many cities of our land where men
may learn the art of doing good
studying spiritual archery and become
known as mighty hunters before the
Bord,"
In the first place, if you want to he
effcctual 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 Planta-
genets were with the longbow. They
would take the arrow of polished wood
and feather ii with the plume of a
bird. and then ii would fly from the
bowstring of plated silk. The bloody
fields of Agincourt and Solway Moss
aud Neville's Cross heard the loud
thrum of the archcr's bowstring
Now. my Christian friends, we have a
mightier weapon than that. 1t is the
arrow of the Gospel; it is a sharp ar
row: it is straight arrow; it is feath-
cred from the wing of the dove of
Gods spirit; it flies from a bow made
out of the wood of the cross. 1t has
brought down 400, 900 of souls
Paul knew how to bring the notch OF
that arrow on to the bowstring, and
its whirr was heard through the Cor
inthian thcaters and through the
courtroom until the knees of Felix
knocked together. 1t was that arrow
that stuck in Luther's heart when he
cried out: ''Oh. my sins. Oh. my
.iu>'r II ;, strike "A man in the head