St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-06-08
SPIRITUAL WORKERS
Dr.. Talmage Uses Hunting as an
Illustration Of Gospel Truth.

| Urges All Christian Workers to In
creased Fidelity and Tells How
Much Effort ut Doing
Good Fails.
Copyright 1901 by M Mou5s KeDseh' N. ~
In this discourse DIR. Talmage urges
all Christian workers to increased
fidelity and shows how much effort at
doing good fails through lack OF
adroitness; text, Genesis, 1859: He
was mighty hunter before the Lord.
In our day hunting is sport, but in
the lands and the times infested OF
wild beasts it was q matter of life or
death with the people. It was very diff
ferent from going out on . sunshiny
afternoon with a patent breechloader
to shoot reed birds on the fats, when
Pollux and Achilles and Diomedes
went out to clear the land of lions and
panthers and bears. Xenophon 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
as a hero, when it presents him with
broad shoulders and shaggy apparel
and sun Drowned face and arm
punched with muscle, "a mighty hunt
er before the Lord" think he used
the bow and the arrows with great
success practicing archery.
l have thought if it is such grand
thing and such a brave thing to clear
wild beasts out of a country if it is not
a better and a drawer 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 won
dered if there is not such . thing as
Gospel archery, by which those who
have been flying from truth may be
captured for God and Heaven. The
Lord Jesus in His sermon used the art
of angling for an illustration when He
said: II will make you fishers of
men," And so I think have authority
for using hunting as an illustration of
Gospel truth, and I pray God that
there may be many a man enlisted in
the work who shall begin to study
Gospel archery, of whom it may after
awhile be said: "He was q 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 Him! All their fingers are
ADMINISTRATIONS blunderers who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has a crooked barrel and kicks as it
goes off. They are like clumsy COM
rade who goes along with skillful
hunters. At the very moment he
ought to be most quiet he is cracking
an alder or falling over q log and
away the game. How few
Christian people have ever learned
how the Lord Jesus Christ at the well |
went from talking about q cupful Of |
water to the most practical religious
truths, which won the woman's soul |
for God! Jesus in the wilderness was
breaking bread to the people. I think |
It was very 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 peo-
pie: Beware of the yeast or of the
leaven Of the Pharisees." So natural a
it was and how easily they
all understood Him! But how few
Christian people there are who under
stand how to fasten the truths Of God
and religion to the souls of men!
The archers Of olden time studied
heir art. They were very precise in
he matter. The old books gave spe-
:ial directions as to how an archer
should go and as to what an archer
should do. He must stand erect and
irm. his left foot a little in advance
If the right foot. With his left hand
lie must take hold of the bow in the
middle, and then with the three fingers
Ind the thumb of his right hand he
should lay hold the arrow and afix it
o the string-so precise was the d.
'ection given. Buthow clumsy we are
bout religious work! How little skill
md care we exercise! How often our
rrows miss the mark! am glad that
here are institutions established in
many cities Of our land where men
nay learn the art Of doing good
tudying spiritual archery and become
,nown as mighty hunters before the ,
.ord!" Z
In the first place, if you want to be ,
fectual in doing good you must be
cry sure of your weapon. There was s
omething very fascinating about the I
rchery of olden times. Perhaps you
o not know what they could do with /.
he bow and arrow. Why, the chief I
attles fought by the English Planta- {
enets were with the longbow. They
'ould take the arrow Of polished wood :
nd feather it with the plume of q ,
ird, and then it would fly from the s
owstring of plated silk. The bloody
elds of Agincourt and Solway Moss :
nd Neville's Cross heard the loud !
hrum of the archer's bowstring. :
ow, my Christian friends, we have a I
Fighter weapon than that. It is the t
rrow of the Gospel; it is a sharp ar /
DIV; it is. q straight arrow; it is feath- (
red from the wing Of the dove Of t
DDS spirit; it flies from a bow made y
,,t nf tho vood ~ fbo croc. r. -.