The Bossier banner., 1901-06-13
ed There we're so,eC0 armed men in
h ~ hupfipp 1,artv Thare wara c0r,.


that hunting party. There were cam
els and horses and elephants.
some princes rode, and royal ladies
under exquisite housings, and 500
coolies waited upon the train, and
the desolate places of India were in
vaded by this excursion, and the rhi.
noceros< and deer and elephant fell
under the stroke of the saber and
bullet. After awhile the party
rupees, having left the wilderness of
India CHASTITY with thc slain bodies Of
wild beasts. Would to God that in.
stead of here and there a straggleI
going out to fight these great mon
sters of iniquity in our country the
millions of membership in our
churches would band together and
hew in twain these great crimes that
make the land frightful with their
roar and are fattening upon the
bodies and souls of immortal menl
Who is ready for such party
that? Who will be mighty hunter
for the Lord?
I remark, again, # you want to bo
successful in spiritual archery you
need not only to bring down game,
but bring it in. I think one of the
most beautiful pictures of Thorwald-
sen is his Autumn" 1t represents a
sportsman coming home and stand
ing under a grapevine. He has
staff over his shoulder, and on the
other end of that staff are hung q
rabbit and brace of birds. Every
hunter brings home the game. No
one would think of bringing down a
roebuck or whipping up stream for
trout and letting them lie in the
woods. At eventide the camp is
adorned with the treasures of the
forest-beak and fin and antler.
If you GO out to hunt for immortal
souls, not only bring them down un-
der the arrow of the Gospel, but bring
them into the church of God, the
grand home and encampment we have
pitched this side the skies. Fetch
them in; do not let them lie out in
the open field. They need our
prayers and sympathies and help.
That is the meaning of the church of
God-help. o ye hunters for the
Lord, not only bring down the game,
but bring it in.
If Mithridates liked hunting so well
that for seven years he never went
indoors, what enthusiasm ought we
to have who are hunting for immor-
tai souls! II Domitian practiced arch
cry until he could stand boy down
in the Roman amphitheater with q
hand out, the fingers spread apart,
and then the king could shoot an ar
| row between the fingers without
wounding them, to what drill and
what practice ought we to subject
ourselves in order to become spirit
ual archers and mighty hunters be-
fore the Lord!" But let me say you
will never work any better than you
pray. The ola archers took the bow,
put one end of it down beside the
foot, elevated the other END, and 1T
was the rule that the bow should be
just the size OF the archer. 1t it were
just his size, then he would go into
the battle with confidence. Let me
say that your power to project good
in the world will correspond exactly
to your own spiritual stature. In
other words, the first thing in prep
aration for Christian work is person
! al conservation.
Oh, for a closer walk with God.
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon The road
| That leads me to the Lamb!
/ am sure that there are some men
who at some time have been hit by
of that conviction, and you plunged
into the world deeper, just as the
stag, when the hounds are after it.
plunges into Schroon lake, expecting
in that way to escape. Jesus Christ
is on your track to-day, 0 impeni-
tent man! Not in wrath, but in mer-
cy. O We chased and painting souls!
Here is the stream Of Gods mercy
and salvation, where you may cool
your thirst! Stop that chase of sin
to-day By the red fountain that
leaped from the heart of my Lord, /
bid you stop! There is mercy for
} you-mercy that pardons, mercy that
heals, everlasting mercy. The II
gates of Gods love stand wide open.
Enter and be forever safe.
There is in a forest in Germany a
place they call the 'deer Ieap"-two
crags, about 1s yards apart; between
them a fearful chasm. This is called
the deer leap because once hunt.
er was on the track of deer. II
! came to one of these crags. There
was no escape lor it from the pur.
suit of the hunter, and in utter de.
spair it gathered itself up and in the
/, death agony attempted to jump
: across. OF course it fell and wal
dashed on the rocks far beneath
Here is path to Heaven. 1t is plain;
: it is safe. Jesus marks it out fol
> every man to walk in. But here is
Q man who says: II won't walk il
e that path. l will take my own way
He comes on up until he confront
T the chasm that divides his soul from
: Heaven. Now his last hour has come
: and he resolves that he will lea
n from the heights of earth to tn
|