Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1901-05-15
SPIRITUAL WORKERS
DR.. Talmage Uses Hunting as an
Illustration of Gospel Truth.
Urges All Christian Workers TO In
creased Fidelity md Tells How
Much Effort AIT Doing
Good Rails.
copyright. 1901. by - Klopsch, y. VI

all Christian workers TO Increased
fidelity and shows how much effort at
doing good fails through lack of
-adroitncss; text, Genesis, 1879: 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 Il was a matter of life or
death with the people. IT was very diff
ferent from going out ON sunshiny
afternoon with patent breechloader
60 shoot reed birds on the flats, when
PolluN and Achilles and Diomedes
went out to clear the land Of lions and
panthers and bears. NcDophon 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 hero, when it presents him with
broad shoulders and shaggy apparel
and sun Drowned face and arm
punched with muscle, "a mighty hunt
CT before the Lord" | think he used
the bow and the arrows with great
success practicing archery.
] have thought If it is such grand
thing and such a brave thing TO clear
y
a better and drawer thing to hunt
down and destroy those great evils of
society that are stalking the land with
hcrce eye and bloody paw and sharp
tusk and quick spring. i have won
ucrcd il there is not such "a thing as
Gospel archery, by which those who
have been flying from truth may be
captured for God and Heaven. The
1.
of angling for an illustra ton when He
'said:' Il will make YOU fishers of
Amen And so / think have authority
for using hunting as an illustration of
Gospel truth, and 1 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 u mighty
hunter before the Lord
How much awkward Christian work
there is done in the world, How many
good people there arc who drive souls
away from Christ instead Of bringing
thegn to Him! All their fingers are
1humbs-relgious blundcrcrs who up
set more than they right. Their gun
has crooked barrel and kicks as it
goes off. They are like clumsy com
rade who goes along with Skillful
hunters. 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 well
went from talking about "A cupful of
wafer to the most practical religious
truths, which won the woman's soul
for God! Jesus i'm the wilderness was
breaking bread to the people think
III was very good bread. 1t was very
1ISht bread, and the Yeast had done its
work thoroughly. Christ. after He
had broken the bread. said to the peo-
pie: beware OF the yeast or of the
Icaven of the PhariSccS." So natural n
transition it was and how easily they
all understood Him! But how few
Christian people there are who under
stand how to fasten tho truths of God
and religion to the souls Of men,
The archcrs OF olden time studied
their art. They were very precise i'm
the matter. The old books gave spc-
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 i'm advance
of the right foot. With his left hand
be must take hold Of the bow in the
middle. and then with Che three fingers
and the thumb Of his right hand he
should Jay hold the arrow and afTix IL
10 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 orr
arrows miss the mark! am clad that
there are institutions established in
many cities of our land whore men
may learn the art Of doing good
studying spiritual archery and become
known as mighty hunters before the
Iord!''
In the first place, IL YOU want TO be
ehectual IN doing good you must be
Fery sure OF your weapon. There was
something very fascinating about the
archery OF Oldcn times. Perhaps Won
10 not know what they could do with
Inc bow and arrow Why. the chief
battles fought by thc English Planta-
genets we're with the Iongbow. They
would take the arrow Of polished wood
and feather ~ with the plume of q
bird, and then 10 would hv from the
bOWstring Of plated silk. The bloody
heids of AgincOurt and Solwav Moss
and Neville's Gross heard the loud
fbrum Of the archrr's boystring
Now, my Christian friends. we have a
mightier weapon than that. Ills the
arrow Of the Gospel; b. is A sbarp ar.
rev; II Is straight arrow; IL is featb-
cred from the wing Of the dove Of
God's spirit; IL flies from bow made
out Of the wood Of the cross. n has
drought down 4OO,OOO,OOO OF souls.
Fs"i knew how to bring the notch Of
Ihst arrow on 10 the bowstrinp. and
SIS whirr was heard through tho Cor
fnthtan theateTs and through tho
s"urtrU0n until the knees of Felix