The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-05-14

hAShINGlON, May LIN this discourse
Or. Talmage urges all Christian workers
to increased fidelity and shows how much
effort at doing good fails through lack of
ndroitness; text, Genesis x, 9, "He was
q mighty hunter before the Lord"
In our day hunting is a sport, but in the
lands and the times infested of wild
beasts 1t was a matter of life or death
with the people. 1t was very different
from going out or a sunshiny afternoon
with a patent breechloader to shoot reed
birds on the fats, when Pollux n
Achilles and Diomedes went out to clear
the land of ions and panthers and bears.
Xenophon grew eloquent in regard to
the art of hunting. In the far east peo-
pie, elephant mounted, chased the tiger.
Francis / was called the father of hunt
ing 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 hunter before the
Lord" 1 think he used the bow and the
arrows with great success practicing
archery.
l have thought if it is such q grand
thing and such a brave thing to clear wild
DCo6LS Jul VI q SOuulEy J. IL IL HUI IL Dcl-
ter and 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 wondered if there is not
such a thing as gospel archery, by which
those Who have been flying from the
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 / think | nave authority
for using hunting as an illustration of
gospel truth, and 1 pray God that there
may be many a mar 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 lone 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
MANIFESTATIONS ~blunderers who upset
more thar they right. Their gun has a
crooked barrel and kicks as it goes off.
They are like 4 clumsy comrade who
goes along with skillful 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
we'll went from talking about Il cup Of
water to the most practical religious
truths, which won the woman's soul for
God! Jesus in the wilderness was break
ing bread to the people. | think it was
very good bread. Ii 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 lcavpn of the
Pharisees." So natural II transition il
was and how easily they aIl understood
him! But how few Christian renpi" here
are who understand Low Ia G-S:pD TIE
truths OF God AMI rrIi"iuI I" .'r souls
of men,
The archerS OF oIdpn TITLE studied their
art. They were very precise i'll the mat
ter. The old books gave special direc-
tons as TO how an archer should go and
as to what an archer S!luIid do He
must stand erect ana firm. his lrft foot
q little in advanc, of the right foot.
With his left hand be must take hold
OF the bow IN the miLGir. 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 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
thai there are institutions established
in many cities of our land where men
may learn the art Of doing good-study-
ing spiritual archery and become known
as mighty hunters before the Lord!"
In the first place, il 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 ines. Perhaps you do not know
what they could do with the bow and ar
row. Why. the chief battles fought by
the English Plantagenets were with the
longbow. They would take the arrow Of
polished wood and feather it with the
plume of q bird. and then it would fy
from the bowstring OF plated silk. The
bloody fields Of Agincourt and Solway
Moss and Neville's Cross heard the louC
thrum of the archer's bowstring. Now
my Christian friends, we have a mightip
weapon than that. 1t Is the arrow of tn,
gospel; it is a sharp arrow; it is
straight arrow; it is feathered from tn,
wing of the dove of Gods spirit: it file
from q bow made out Of the wood of tn
cross. As far as l can estimate or calcu
late, it has brought down ~4OO.OOO.OOO q
souls. Paul knew how to bring the note
of that arrow ON to the bowstring. an
its whir was heard through the CORN
THAN theaters and through the courtroom
until the knees of Felix knocked together
1t was that arrow that stuck in Luther
heart when he cried out: "Oh. my sins
oh, my sinsr' II it strike a man in th
head, it kills his skepticism; il it strik
him in the heel, it will turn his step: if
strike him in the heart, he throws up hi
hands, as did one of old when wounded i
the battle. crying. 20 Galilean. thou has
conquered"
In the armory OF the Earl of Pen
broke there are old corselets which sho'
that the arrow of the English used to z
through the b~reastplate, through the bod
OF the warrior and out through the bach
plate. What q symbol of that gosp,
which is sharper than a two edged sworC