Connecticut western news. [volume] (Salisbury, Litchfield Co., Conn.) 1871-1970, 1901-05-16

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WASHINGTON, May 12.-In this dis
course DIR. Talmage urges all Christian
workers to increased fidelity and
shows how much effort at doing good
fails through lack of adroitness; text,
Genesis X, 8, "He was 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 on a sunshiny
afternoon with 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. 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 1t 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 thought If it is such a grand
thing and such a brave thing to clear
wild beasts out of country If 1t is
not a 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. l have won
dered II 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 1 think 1 have authority for
using hunting as an illustration of gos-
pei truth, and l pray God that there
may be many a man enlisted In the
work who shall begin to study gospel
bbe said, HE was 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 blunderers who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has a crooked barrel and kicks as 1t
goes of. They are like clumsy COM
rade who goes along with skillful hunt
ers. At the very moment he ought to
he most quiet he Is cracking an alder
or falling over 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 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. / 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 transition 1t was,
and how easily they all understood
him! But how few Christian people
there are who understand how to fas-
ten the truths of God and religion to
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. He must stand erect and
firm, his left foot 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 aff1x
rection given. But how clumsy we are
about religious work. How little skill
and care we exercise! How often our
arrows miss the mark! 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
enfectual 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
a bird, and then 1t 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
arrow; it is a 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
fAs far as l can estimate or calculate, it
has brought down 4O0,O00,OOO of souls.
that arrow on to the bowstring, and its
twhir was hoard through the Corlnthian
theaters and through the courtroom un-
til the knees Of Felix knocked together.
1t was that ARROWHEAD stuck In Luther's
heart when be cried out: ooh, my sins!
Oh, my sinsv' If it strike man in the
head, 1t kills his skepticism; If it strike
him in the heel, it will turn his step; If
1t strike him in the heart, he throws up
his hands, as did one of old when
wounded I'm the battle, crying, 20
Galilean, thou hast conquered
In the armory of the Earl of Penn
broke there are old corselets which show
that the arrow of the English used to
60 through the breastplate, through
the body of the warrior and out
through the backplate. What sym
Dol of that gospel which is sharper
than a two edged sword, piercing tc
the dividing asunder of soul and body
and Of the joints and marrow! Would