Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-05-17


world flying from its orbit and bring n
back TO the heart of Christ. Give 4,
fun swing. and II viii pardon every
sin, heal every wound. cure every trou-
BILE. emancipate every slave and ran.
som every nation. Ye Christian men
aud women who 90 out this afternoon
10 do Christian work. as you go into
the Sunday schools and the lay preach
ing stations and the penitentiarIes and
the asylums | want you TO feel that
You bear in your hand weapon com
pared With which the lightning has nc
speed aud avalanches have no heft and
the thGnderbolts of heaven have nc
power. Ii is the arrow of the omnipo-
tent gospel Take careful aiml Pull
the arrow clear back until the head
strikes the bowl Then let II hyl And
may the slain of the Lord be manyI
Again, IL you want to be skillful In
spiritual archery, you must hunt Ia
unfreQuented and secluded places. WHY
does the hunter 60 three or four DAYS
into the Pennsylvania forests or over
kaquette lake into the wilds OF the
Adirondacks? 1t is the only way to
do. The deer are shy, and one "bauy'
OF the gun clears the forest. From the
California stage you see, as you &C
over the plains. here and there q coy.
ote trotting along almost within range
or the sun-sometimes quite within
range OF Ii. No one cares for that: n
is worthless. The good game is hidden
and secluded. Every hunter knows
that So many OF the souls that will
be or most worth for Christ and OF
most value TO the church are secluded.
They do not come in your way. You
viii have to so where they are. Yon-
der they are down in that cellar; yon-
der they are up In that garret-far
away from the door of any church. The
gospel arrow has not been pointed at
Them The tract distributor and the
city missionary sometimes Just catch
glimpse of them. as hunter through
the trees gets momentary sight of a
partridge or roebuck. The trouble Is
we are waiting for the game to come
to us.
Command and "a Promise.
We are not good hunters. We are
standing on some street or road. OK
pecting that the timid antelope vii,
come up and eat out of our hand. We
are expecting that the prairie fowl will
light on our church steeple. IL is not
their habit. IL the church should wait
lo,OOOOO0 years for the world to come
In and be saved, ii will wait In vain.
The world will not come. What tho
church wants now IS to lift its feet
from dnmnSk otfo,nons 81 -. -,
in the stirrups. The church wants Eot
SO much cushions as it wants saddle.
bags and arrows. We have got TO nut
aside the gown and the kid gloves and
put on the hunting shirt. We wan, n
pulpit on wheels. We have been fish
ing so long In the brooks that run un.
der the shadow of the church that the
hsh know us, and they avoid the hook
and escape as soon as we come to the
bank. while yonder is Upper Saranac
and Big Tupper's lake. where the FIRST
swing OF the gospel net would break IL
Tor the multitude OF the fishes. There
is outside work to be done. What Is IL
that sec In the backwoods? IL is n
tent. The hunters have made clear
ing and camped out What do they
care IL they have wet feet or II they
have nothing but n pine branch for n
pillow or for the northeast Storm ia
moose I'm the darkness steps into the
lake TO drink, they hear Il right away.
III loon cry In the midnight, they
near IL. SO In the service Of God we
have exposed work. We have got 10
camp out and rough 1t. We are nut.
ing all our care on the comparatively
rev people who go TO church. What
are we doing for the millions who do
not come? Have they no souls7 Are
they sinless that they need no pardoui
Are there no dead In their houses that
they need no comfort2 Are they cut
or from God 10 go into eternlty-ro
wing TO bear them. no light 20 cheer
them, no welcome 10 greet them?
near today. surging up from that lower
depth OF our cities. groan that comes
through our Christian assembla-es and
through our beautiful churches. and 4,
piots out all this scene from nv eyes.
US by the mists OF great Niagara, for
the dash and the plunge or these great
torrents OF life dropping down into the
iathomiess and laundering abysm OF
suffering and woe. sometimes think
that just as God blotted out the church.
es OF Thyatira and Corinth and Lao
dicea because OF their sloth and stolid-
ity he VIII blot out American and Eng
ilsh Christianity and raise on the ruins
stalwart, wide awake missionary
church that can take the full meaning
OF that command: go We into all the
world and preach the gospel to every
creature He that believeth and Is
baptized shall be saved, but he that be-
lieveth not shall be damned" n COM
mand, you see, punctuated with
throne OF heaven and dungeon of hell.
More backbone Needed.
remark, further. IL you want to sue
ceed in spiritual archery you must have
courage. If the hunter stands with
trembling hand or shoulder that finch
es with fear. instead OF his taking the
catamount the catamount takes him.
what would become OF the Greenland |
er III when out hunting for the bear he |
should stand shiverlng with terror on |
an iceberg? What would have become |
of Du Chaillu and Livingstone In the |
eA4NHtt viii a ldllt nc1Ft ana Il
weak knee? When a panther comes |
within 20 PAGES OF you, and it has its |
Eye on you. and it has squatted for the |
FEARFUL spring, Steady therew Cour-
lge, o We spiritual archersl There are
great monsters of iniqulty providing all |
around about the community. Shall
We not in the strength OF God 60 forth
IND combat them? We not only need
more heart, but more backbone. What
the church Of. God that IL should fear
o look In the eye any transgression?
There Is the Bengal tiger of drunken
less that prowls around, and instead
II attacking 1t how many or us hide
lnder the church pew or the commun-
on table! There is so much invested In
we are afraid to assault it-miilions
Il dollars in barrels, In watts. In spigots.
n corkscrcws. In gin palaces with mar.
lie hoors and Italian top tables, and
hased Ice coolers. and In the strych-
Inc, and the logwood, and the tartaric
cid, and the nux vomica that GO to
no 10 1