The Penn's Grove record., 1901-05-17
DIR, TALMAGE'S SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE r
DIVINE.


70 increased fidelity and shows how much
eIoft at dong good fails through lack Of
n;dIs1 teNt', GENESIS X, 0, He was
a mighty hunter before the Lord"
In our day hunting is a sport. but in tbe
lands and the times infested of wild ho,ats
II was a matter of life or death wifi III
people. 1t was very different from ao;no
out on a sunshiny afternoon with = nstant
breechloader to shoot reed birds on the
mats when Pollux and Achilles and Do.
medes went out to clear the land of hons
una partners and bears. Xenophon grew
9Ioqpent In regard to the art of hunting.
In the Far East people, elephant monnte5
chased the tiger. Francis /. was called The
father OF hunting. And Moses, in nv tent,
sets forth Nimrod as a hero when Il nre.
sents him with broad shoulders and shaggy
apparel and sun-browned face and arm
punched with muscle-"a mighty hunter
before the Lord" l think he used the
practieing archery.
have thought if it is such n grand
thing and such a brave thing to clear wild
beasts out of a country if it is not n bet-
Ter ana Drawer thing to hunt down and do.
stroy those great evils of society that are
stalking the land with fierce eve and
bloody paw and sharp tusk and quick
spring. have wondered if there is not
sueh a thing as gospel archery, by which
t, 'AN AiffV bNtl HNllR from the truth
may be captured for God and heaven. The
Lord Jesus Christ in His sermon used the
art OF angling for an illustration when He
said, Il will make you fishers of men," "
And 50 l think | have authority for using
hunting as an illustration of gospel truth,
and 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 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 to Him! All their fingers are thumbs
L,Fellgilous ~blunderers who upset more
barrel, and kicks as it goes off. They are
like a clumsy comrade who goes along with
sklllful hunters. At the very moment he
ought to be most quiet he is cracking an
alder or falling over a log and frightening
away the game. How few Christian people
have ever learned how the Lord Jesus
Christ at the well went from talking about
ious truths, which won the woman's soul
for Godl Jesus in the wilderness was
breaking bread to the people. / think it
was very good bread. 1t 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 leaven of the Phari-
sees. So natural a transition it was, and
how easily they all understood HIM But
how few Christian people there are who
understand how to fasten the truths Of
God and religion to the souls of meni
The archers of olden time studied their
art. They were very precise in the mat
ter. The old books gave special directions
as to how an archer should go and as to
tthaf ON nrnhou aha,,lI ID H. 800, r.o-I
erect and firm, his left foot a little in ad-
vance of the right foot. With his left hand
he must take hold of the bow in the mid
die, and then with the three fingers and
the thumb of his right hand he should lay
hold the arrow and afix it to the string,
so precise was the direction given. But
how clumsy we are about religious work.
How little skill and care we exercised How
often our arrows miss the mark | am
glad that there are institutions estab-
lished in many of the cities of our land
where men may learn the art of doing
gOod-studyng spiritual archery and be-
come known as mighty hunters before
the Lord"
In the first place if you want to be eff
fectual in doing good you must be very
sure of your weapon. There was some
thing very fascinating about the archery of
olden times. Perhaps you do not know
what they could do with the bow and ar
row. Why, the chief battles fought by the
11sfsh P~iantagenets were with the long
bow. They would take the arrow of pol
ished wood and feather it with the plume
of a bird, and then it would fly from the
bowstring of plated silk. The bloody
fields of Agincourt and Solway Moss and
Neville's Cross heard the loud thrum OF
the archer's bowstring. Now, my Chris
tan friends, we have mightier weapon
than that. 1t is the arrow of the gospel.
1t is a sharp arrow; it is feathered from
the wing OF the dove of Gods Spirit; it
flies from a bow made out of the wood OF
the cross. As far as L can estimate or cal
c%ulate, it has brought down 100000, 0G0 OF
souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch
of that arrow on to the bowstring, and its
whir was heard through the Corinthian
theatres 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 sinsl
Oh. my sins!" If it strike II man in the
head it kills his skepticism; if it strike
him in the heel it will turn his step; if it
strike him in the heart he throws up his
hands, as did one of old when wounded in
in the battle, crying, 20 Galilean, Thou
hast conquered
In the armory of the Earl of Pembroke
there are old corselets which show that
the arrow Of the English used to go
through the breastplate, through the body
of the warrior and out through the back
plate. What a symbol of that gospel which
is sharper than a ~two-edged sword, pierre
ing to the dividing asunder OF soul and
body and of the joints and marrow! Would
to God we had more faith in that gospel;
The humblest man in the world, II he
had enough faith in it, could bring a hun
bred souls to Christ-perhaps 800, just In
proportion as this age seems to believe
less md less in it | believe more and more
in it. What are men about hat they viii
II t accept their w deliverance! There
is nothing proposed by men that can do
anything like this gospel.
The religion of Ralph Waldo Emerson
was the philosophy OF %icleles; the rellglon
OF Theodore Parker was a slrocco OF the
desert. covering up the soil with dry sand;
the religion Of Renan was the romance OF
believing almost nothing; the religion OF
the lluXleys and the Speneers IS mereiy a
pedestal on which human philosophy sits
shivering in the night of the SOU, looking
up to the stars, offering no help to the ma
tions that crouch and groan at the base
Tell me where there is one man who mas
rejected that gospel for another VINO is
thoroughly satisfied and helped and con
tented in his skepticism; and l wlil take
the car tomorrow and ride ooo miles 10 see
him,
Inc tull power OF Tue Sosloi hn7 ~ -
heen touched. IS a sportsman throws up
his hand and catches the ball flying
through the air, just so easily will this gos;,
pei after awhile catch this round world
flying from its orbit, and bring it back to
the heart Of Christ. Give it iull swing,
and it will pardon every SIN, heal every
wound, cure every trouble, emahclpate
every slave and ransom every nation.
Again, il you want to be sklilfgl IN sRr.
quented and secluded places, Why does
the hunter 60 three or four days into the
Pennsylvania forests or over ha9uette
Lake into the wilds of the A~dirondaeks!
1t is tn, 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 t~rotting along almost within
range Of the gqn2sOmet tim ;oT quite fbet wl I Is
worthless. The good game is hidden and
secluded Every hunter knows that 50
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