Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-05-13


shows how much effort at doing good
fails through lack of adroitness; text,
Genesis Y, 0, 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 n matter of life or
death with the people. It was very
different from going out on sunshiny
afternoon with a patent breechlOader
to shoot reedbirdS on the flats when
Pollux and Achilles and DiOmedes
went out to clear the land of lions and
panthers and bears. NenOphOn grew
eloquent in regard to the art of hunt
ing. In the far east people, elephant
mounted, chased the tiger. Francis
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 bunch
ed with muscle-''a mighty hunter be-
fore the Lord 1 think he used the
bow and the arrows with great sue
cess practicing archery.
/ have thOlEht if it is such q grand
thing and such a brave thing to clear
wild beasts out of q country if it is
not better 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. 1 have Won
dered 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, Il will make you fishers Of men,"
And so l think l have authority for
using hunting as an illustration of Cos
pei truth, and l 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 be-
fore the Lord
Religious BIunderers.
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 bIunderers who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has a crooaed barrel and kicks as it
goes off. They are like a clumsy COM
rade who goes along with skillful hunt
erS. 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 a cup 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. l 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 fas-
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 90 and as TO what an archer
should do. He 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 fin
gers and the thumb of his right hand
he should lay hold the arrow and affix
1t to the string, so precise was the di-
rectiOn given. But how clumsy we are
about religious work! How little skill
and care we exercise! How often our
arrows miss the mark! l am glad that
there are institutions established in
many of the 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"
The Gospel Arrow.
In the first place. if you want to be
effectual in doing good you must be
very 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 Plan
tagenets 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 fly from the |
bowstring of plated silk. The bloody !
fields Of Agincourt and Solway Moss !
and Neville's Cross heard the loud i
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
arrow; it is straight 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.