Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1901-05-15

snow mat the arrow OF the English
used to go through the breastpls tie.
through the body of the ,yarrisr.and
out through the backpla Dhat a
symbol of that Gospel whrlYis sharp
,Sr than a two-edged sword, piercing
70 the dividing asundcr of soul and
body and of the joints and marrow!
Would TO God we had more faith in
that Gospel! The humblest man n he
world, IL he had enough faith in il.
could bring a hundred souls TO Christ
perhaps 500. Just i'm proportion as
this age seems TO believe less and less
in it, 1 believe more and more i'm il
What are men about that they will
not accept their own dcliverance?
There is nothing proposed by men
that can do anything like this Gospel.
Again, if YOU want TO be skillful in
spiritual archery you must hunt in
unfrcqucnted and secluded places.
why does the hunter go three or
four days i'm the Pennsylvania for
ests or over Raquctte lake into the
wilds of the Adirondacks? 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 coyote trotting
along almost within range of the
gun sometimes quite within range
of II. 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 10 the church are Sc
cluded. They do not come in our
way. You will have TO go where they
are. Nonder they are down in that
cellar. Nondcr they are up in that
garrct-far away from the door of
any church. The Gospel arrow has
not been pointed at them. The tract
distributor and the city missionary
sometimes just catch Il glimpse of
them. as hunter through the trees
gets momentary sight OF n par
fridge 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 cat out of our hand
We are expecting that the prairie
fowl Will light on our church steeplc.
1t Is not their habit. II the church
should wait 10000. 900 of years for
the world to come in and be saved.
II will wait in vain. The world will
not come.
What the church wants now is to
lift its feet from damask ottomans
and put them i'm the stirrups The
1,f
rs it wants saddlebags and arrows.
We have got 10 put aside the gown
Gnd the Kid gloves and put on the
hunting shirt. We want ii pulpit on
wheels. We have been fishing so
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 yondcr is Upper
Saranac and Big IIupper's lake. where
The firSt swing of the Gospel net
would break il for the multitude of
the fishes. There is outside work TO
he done. What is il that | see i'm the
backwoodS? 1t is a tent. The hunt
crS have made a clearing and camped
out. What do they care if they have
a pine branch for Il pillow or for the
northeast storm? II moose i'm the
darkness steps into the lake to drink.
they hear it right away. If a loon
cry i'm the midnight. they hear il.
80 I'm the service of God we have
exposed work. We have got to camp
out and rough it. We arc putting all
our care on the comparatively few
people who go 10 church. What are
we doing for the millions who do
not come? Have they no souls? Are
they sinleSs that they need no par
dom Are there no dead in their
houses that they need no comfort?
Are they cut off from God TO ro into
eternity, no wing to bear them. no
light to cheer them, no welcome to
greet them? ! hear to-day surging
up from the lower depth Of our cities
groan that comes through our
Christian asscmblagrs and through
our beautiful churches. and il blots
out all this scene from my eyes to-
day as by the mistS Of n great Nj
agara. for tho dash and the plunge
of these great torrents of life drop
ping down into the fathomless and
laundering abysm OF suffering and
voc. / sometimes think that just as
God blotted out the churches of Thy
atira and Corinth and Laodicea be-
cause of their sloth and stoliditv he
will blot out American and English
Christianity and raise on tho ruins
stalwart. wide-awake missionary
church that can take the fun mean
ing of that command: eco We into
all the world and preach the Gospel
10 every creature. lie that belicveth
and is baptized shall be saved. but
he that bclieyeth not shall bc damned"
"A command, you see, punctuatcd
with a throne Of Heaven and dun
geOn Of hell.
/ remark, further, il YOU want TO
succeed in spiritual archery you must
have courage. If the hunter stands