The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1901-05-17
SPIRITUAL WORKERS
DR.. Talmage Uses Hunting as an
Illustration Of Gospel Truth.
Urges All Christian Workers TO In
creased Fidelity and Tens How
Much Effort Mt Doing
Good Fails.


In this discourse DR.. Talmage urges
all Christian workers TO increased
fidelity and shows how much effort at
doing good fails through lack of
adroitness, text, Genesis, 1850: "He
was a mighty hunter before the Lord"
In our day hunting is a sport. but in
the lands and the times infested OF
wild beasts it was a matter OF life or
death with the peopie. 1t 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 70 clear the hand 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 u 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 l think he used
the bow and the arrows with great
success practicing archery.
l have thought if il is such grand
thing and such a brave thing to clear
wild beasts out of country if il 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. 1 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: 81 will make you fishers Of
men," And so | 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-religious blunderers who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has 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 10 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 cupful of
water 80 the most practical religious
truths, which won the woman's soul
for God! Jesus in the wilderness was
breaking bread to the people. l think
il 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 10 the peo-
pie: Beware of the yeast or of the
heaven of the Pharisees." So natural
transition il 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 90 the souls of men!
The archers Of olden time studied
their art. They were very precise in
the matter. The old books gave spe-
cial directions as to how an archer
should go and as TO what an archer
should do. lie must stand erect and
firm, his left foot a little in advance
of the right foot. With his left hand
he must take hold of the bow in the
middle, and then with the three fingers
and the thumb of his right hand he
should lay hold the arrow and afiix it
TO the string-so precise was the di-
rection given. But how clumsy we are
about religious work. How little skin
and care we exercised How often our
arrows miss the mark! | am glad that
there are institutions established in
many cities of our land where men
may learn the art of doing good
studying spiritual archery and become
known as mighty hunters before the
Lord"
In the first place, il you want 10 be
etfectual in doing good you must be
Fery sure OF your weapon. There was
something very fascinating about the
archery of olden times. Perhaps YOU
do not know what they could do with
the bow and arrow. Why, the chief
battles fought by the English Plnnta-
genets were with the longbow. They
would take the arrow of polished wood
and feather il with the plume of
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 Christian friends, we have a
mightier weapon than that. 1t is the
arrow of the Gospel; 1t is a sharp ar
row; It is a straight arrow; it is feath-
cred from the wing of the dove of
Gods spirit; it flies from bow made
out of the wood of the cross. 1t has
brought down 4OO,OOO,OOO of souls.
Paul knew how TO bring the notch of
that arrow on to the bowstring, and
its whirr was heard through the Cor
inthian theaters and through the
courtroom until the knees Of Felix
I II