Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1901-05-17

av9lanehes have no heft and the thunder
bolts Of heaven have no power; 1t is the
arrow OF the omnipOtent gospel. Take
careful aim! Pull the arrow clear back
until the head strikes the bowl Then let
it fly. And may the slain Of the Lord be
many.
Again, IL you want to be skillful In
spiritual archery you must hunt in I'M
fEequented and secluded places. Why
does the hunter go three or four days in
the Pennsylvania forests or over Ra-
Quette lake into the wilds OF the AdirOn-
dacks? 1t is the only way to do. The
deer are shy, and one bang" Of the gun
clears the forest. From the California
stage you see, as you go over the plains,
here and there a coyote trOtting along al
most within range Of the gun-sOmetimes
quite within range Of it. No one cares
for that. 1t is worthless. The good
game is hidden and secluded. Every
hunter knows that. So many Of the souls
that will be of most worth for Christ and
Of most value to the church are secluded.
They do not come in our way. You will
have to go where they are. Yonder they
are down in that cellar. Yonder they |
are up in that garret-far away from the
door of any church. The gospel arrow |
has not been pointed at them. The tract |
distributor and the city missionary some |
times just catch a glimpse Of them, as q |
hunter through the trees gets a mOmen- |
tary sight Of a partridge or rOebuck. The |
trouble is we are waiting for the game to |
come to US. We are not good hunters. |
We are standing on some street or road |
expecting that the timid antelope will |
come up and eat out OF our hand. We
are expecting that the prairie fowl will
light on our church steeple. 1t Is not
their habit. II the church should wait
100000 Of years for the world to come
in and be saved, 1t will wait in vain. The
world will not come.
What the church wants now Is to lift
It's feet from damask Ottomans and put
them in the stirrups. The church wants
not 80 much cushions as It wants saddle
bags and arrows. We have got to put
aside the gown and the kid gloves and
put on the hunting shirt We want a
pulpit on wheels. We have been fishing
50 long in the brooks that run under the
shadow Of the church that the fish know
US, and they avoid the hook and escape as
soon as we come to the bank, while yOn-
der Is Upper Saranac and Big Tupper's
lake, where the FIRST swing Of the gospel
net would break It for the multitude Of
the fishes There Is outside work to be
done. What Is It that / see in the back
woods? II Is a tent. The hunters have
made clearing and camped out. What
do they care IL they have wet feet or If
they have nothing but a pine branch for
| pillow or for the northeast storm? If q
moose in the darkness steps into the lake
to drink, they hear it right away. II q
loon cry In the midnight, they hear It. So
In the service Of God we have exposed
work. We have got to camp out and
rough it. We are putting all our care on
the comparatively few people who go to
church. What are we doing for the mil
lions who do not Gomez Have they no
souls? Are they sinless that they need
no pardOn2 Are there no dead in their
houses that they need no cOmfort2 Are
they cut off from God to 90 into eternity,
no wing to bear them, no light to cheer
them, no welcome to greet them2 ! hear
today surging up from that lower depth
Of our cities a groan that comes through
our Christian assemblages and through
our beautiful churches, and It blots out
all this scene from my eyes today, as by
the mists of a great Niagara, for the dash
and the plunge of these great torrents Of
life dropping down into the fathomless and
I
sometimes think that just as God blotteC
out the churches Of Thyatira and Corintt
and Laodicea because OF their sloth anC
stolidity he will blot out American ant
English Christianity and raise on thu
ruins stalwart. wide awake missionar!
church that can take the full meaning o
that command: 'Go ye into all the worl,
/. and preach the gospel to every creature
: He that beleveth and is baptized shall
be saved. but he that believeth not shall
y be damned"-a command, you see. pune
. tuated with a throne Of heaven and
). dungeon Of hell.
Y remark. further, II you want to sue
q coed in spiritual archery you must hav
4 courage. II the hunter stands with trem
Q bling hand or shoulder that Ainches wit
= fear. instead OF his taking the cata
q mount the catamount takes him. Wha
would become Of the Greenlander II whe
4 out hunting for the bear he should stan
: shivering with terror on an iceberg
AZ What would have become Of Du Chaill
10 and Livingstone In the African thickC
n with a faint heart and a weak knee
IL When a panther comes within 20 pace
es VI you and It has its eye on you and
ne has sQuatted for the fearful spring
u "Steady therew Courage, o We spiritua
Of archers! There are great monsters 0
IN iniquity prOwling all around about tn
I'd community. Shall we not in the strengt
n Of God go forth and combat them? w
m not only need more heart, but more bach
II bone. What is the church Of God tina
IS 1t should fear to look in the eye an
IS! transgression? There is the Bengal tigC
be Of drunkenness that prowls around, an
Ike instead Of attacking it how many Of I
It hide under the church pew or the con
lis muniOn table? There is 70 much inves
In ed in it we are afraid to assault it. Mi
list lions Of dollars in barrels, in watts,
spigOts, in cOrkscrews, in gin palace
m with marble floors and Italian top tabl,
DIV and chased ice coolers, and in the stryc
go nine and the logwood and the tartar
dy acid and the nux vOmica that 60 to NAL
elk up our pure" American drinks. 1 loo
pei ed with wondering eyes on the "HeidC
I'd, berg tun." 1t is the great liquor vat
Oul Germany, which is said to hold 800 hog
w! heads of wine, and only three times
hat 100 years it has been filed. But as
I'D, stood and looked at it said to mysel
Ing ''That is nOthing-S00 hogsheads. WI
90 our American vat holds 100000 be
to rels Of strong drinks, and we keep 30
ore 600 men with nothing to do but to s
hat that it is filed"
Oh, to attack this great monster Of
er- temperance and the kindred monsters
Dy fraud and uncleanness requires you
lel' rally all your Christian courage. Throu
son the press, through the pulpit, through I
ION platform you must assault It. Would
the God that all our American ChristiG
dry would band together, not for crack bra
TO ed fanaticism, but for holy Christian
the form! think it was in 1893 that tn
sers went out from Lucknow, India, under
PM sovereign, the greatest hunting party 4
the was ever projected. There were 10,l
no armed men in that hunting party. Th
oah were camels and horses and elephaI
one On some princes rode and royal ladies
an der exquisite housings, and 500 COO
ana waited upon the train, and the desol
ism places Of India were invaded by this
rloe cursiOn, and the rhinoceros and deer
Z OF elephant fell under the stroke Of the
AS Der and bullet. After awhile the Dc
ana brought back trophies worth $4,000
ar, PEGS, having left the wilderness Of II
'niie CHASTITY with the slain bodies OF \
or beasts. Would to God that instead
OF here and there a straggler going ou
VIII fight these great monsters Of iniquit!
cure our country the millions OF member
ana Of our churches would band together
men hew in twain these great crimes
IN 70 make the land frightful with their
the and are fattening upon the bodies
.n ny souls Of immortal msn! Who T. n