The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-05-16
CHRISTIAN WORKERS.
DR.. TaImage Talks About Workers for
the Lord Who Are Religious
BIunderers.
How to Be SkiIlfui In Spiritual Archery.
More Backbone Needed.

effort at doing good fails through lack OF
| adroitness; text, Genesis x, 9, "He was
a mighty hunter before the Lord"
In our day hunting is sport, but in the
lands and the times infested of wild beasts
1t was matter Of life or death with the
people it was very different from going
| out on sunshiny afternoon with a patent
, bTeechloader to shoot reed birds on the
flats when Pollux and Achilles and Dio.
medes went out to clear the land of lions
ana panthers and bears. Xenophon grew
eloquent in regard to the art OF hunting.
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 pre-.
! sents him with broad shoulders and shaggy
apparel and sun-browned face and arm
punched with muscle-"a mighty hunter
before the Lord" | think he used the
bow and the arrows with great success
practicing archery.
i have thought if it is such a arand
thing and such brave thing to clear wild
beasts out of country if it is not bet.
ter and braver thing to hunt down and de-
stroy 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 thing as gospel archery, by which
those who have been flying from the truth
may be captured for God and heaven. The
| A-Olu OCbuc NultSb III his stI0lbn uStu tnt
art of angling for an illustration when He
said, u 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
man enlisted in the work who shall begin
to study gospel archery, OF whom it may,
after awhile, be said, "He was mighty
hunter before the Lord
How much awkward Christian work
there is done in the worldl How many
good people there are who drive souls
away from Christ instead of bringing
them to Himl All their fingers are thumbs
religious blunderers who upset more
than they right. Their gun has crooked
barrel and kicks as it goes off. They are
like clumsy comradc who goes along with
skillful hunters. At the very moment he
ought to be most quiet he is cracking an
away the game. How few Christian people
have ever learned how the Lord Jesus
Christ at the well went from talking about
cup of water to the most practical relig.
ious truths, which won the woman's soul
for God! Jesus in the wilderness was
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 it was, and
| now easily Iney all UNDERSTOOD HIN! but
how few Christian people there are who
understand how to fasten the truths of
God and religion to the souls of menl
The archers of olden time studied their
art. They were very precise in the mat
ter The old books gave special 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 ad-
vance Of the right foot. With his left hand
he must take hold of the bow in the mid
die, 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 that there are institutions estab-
iished in many OF the cities of our land
where men may learn. the art of doing
good-studyng spiritual archery and be-
come known as mighty hunters before
the Lord
In the first place if 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 times. 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 long
bow. They would take the arrow of pol.
ished wood and feather it with the plume
of bird, and then it would fly from the
bowstrng 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 Chris
tian friends, we have mighter weapon
than that. 1t is the arrow of the gospel.
1t is sharp arrow; it is feathered from
the wing of the dove of Gods Spirit; it
flies from bow made out of the wood of
the cross. As far as | can estimate or cal
culate, it has brought down 100000 900 of
souls. Paul knew how to bring the notch
OF that arrow on to the bowstring, and its
whir was heard through the Corinthian
theatres and through the courtroom until
the knees of Felix knocked together.
1t was that arrow that stuck in Luther's
heart when he cried out "Oh, my sins!
Oh, my sins" If it strike a man in the
head it kills his skepticism; if it strike
him in the heel it will turn his step; ii it
strike him in the heart he throws up his
hands, as did one of old when wounded in
in the battle, crying, 20 Galilean, Thou
hast conquered
In the armory of the Earl of Pembroke
there are old corseets which show that
the arrow OF the English used to go
through the breastplate, through the body
of the warrior and out through the back
: plate, What symbol of that gospel which
, is sharper than twoedged sword, pierre
ing to the dividing asunder of soul and
body and of the joints and marrow Would
to God we had more faith in that gospel.
: The humbest man in the world, If he
had enough faith in it, could bring hun
dred souls to Christ-perhaps 500. Just in
proportion as this age seems to believe
l less and less in it believe more and more
1 | in it. What are men about that they will
net accept their own deliverance! There
, is nothing proposed by men that can do
anything like this gospel.
! The religion OF Ralph Waldo Emerson
was the philosophy of icicles; the religion
of Theodore Parker was sirocco of the
! desert, covering up the soil with dry sand;
the religion of Renan was the romance of
] believing almost nothing; the religion of
/ the Huxleys and the Spenccrs is merely
] pedestal on which human philosophy sits
shvering in the night of the soul, looking
: up to the stars, offering no help to the ma
I tions that crouch and groan at the base.
4 Tell me where there is cns man who has
rejected that gospel for another who is
thoroughly satisfied and helped and con
{ tented in his slxepticimn. and / will take
I the car tomorrow and ride 800 miles to see
him.
, The full power of the gospel has not yet
been touched As sportsman throws up
D his hand and catches the ball flying
/ through the air, Just so easily will this COS
! pei after awhile catch this round world
lying from its orbit, and bring it back to
the heart of Christ Give il full swing
D and II will pardon every sin. heal every
: wound, cure every trouble, emancipate
b every slave and ransom every nation.
: Again, il you want to be skillful in spir-
tual archery, YOU must hunt In unfre-