Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-08-25
THE STRONG SWIMMER.
SUBJECT OF Or. TAlMAGE'S SER
Non AT SEATTLE, AUG. 10.
~He shall Spread Forth His Hands in the
Midst OF Them. as He That swimmeth
spread.th Forth His Hands to SWIM"
the Words of HIS Text.

SEATTLE w. T., Aug. ls.-The Rev.
7. e Witt Talmage, ID. d., of Brook
Ign, preached here today His text
was Isaiah XIV, IL: He shall spread
forth his hands in the midst Of them,
as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth
his hands 10 swim" The preacher
sad:
AT this season Of the year multitudes
Of people wade into the ponds and
lakes and rivers and seas. At first
putting out cautiously from the shore,
but having learned sAe right stroke OF
arm and foot. they let the waters roll
over them, and in wild glCe dive or
float or swim. SO the text will be very
suggestive: "He shall spread forth
his hand in the midst of them, as he
that swimmeth spreadeth forth his
hands 10 swim"
The fisherman seeks out unfrequent.
ed hooks. You stand all day on the
bank of n river in the broiling sun.
and ling out your line, and catch
noihing. while the expert angler
breaks through the jungle and goes
by the shadow OF the solitary rock,
and IN a place where no fisherman has
been for ten years, throws out bis line
and comes home at night, his face
shining and his basket full. do not
know why we ministers of the Gospel
need always he fishing in the same
stream, and preaching from the same
text that other people preach from.
| cannot understand the policy Of the
minister who, in Blackfriars, London,
England, every week for thirty years
preached from the Epistle to the He
brews. II is an eXhilaration To me
when ! come across a theme which |
feel no one else has treated, and my
text is one of that kind. There are
paths in Gods Word that are well
beaten by Christian feet. When men
want TO quote Scripture, they quote the
old passages that every one has heard.
When they want a chapter read, they
read a chaIaer that all the otherpeople
have been reading, 80 that the church
today is ignorant OF three-fourths of the
Bible. You GO into the Louvre at Paris.
You conhne yourself TO one corridor
Of that opulent gallery OF paintings.
AS you come out your friend says TO
you, did you see that Rembrandt"
mo" Did you see that Rubensl"
No" Did you see that Ttian1"
No" Did you see that Raphaell"
No" Well" says your friend,
then you didn't see the Louvre"
Now, my friends. | think we are too
much apt TO conine ourselves to one
of the great corridors Of this Scripture
truth, and so much so that there is not
one person out OF a million who has
eve noticed the all suggestive and
powerful picture in the words of my
text
A BOLD FIGURE.
This text represents God as a strong
swimmer, striking out to push down
iniquity and save the souls of men.
He shall spread forth his hands in
the midst of them, as he hat swim
meth spreadeth forth his hands TO
swim" The figure is bold and many
sided Most of you know how 10
swim. Some of you learned it in the
city school. where this art is taught;
some Of you in boyhood, IN the river
near your fathers house; some of you
since you came To manhood or wo-
manhood, while summering on the
beach of the sea, You step down in
the wave, you throw your head back,
you bring your elbows 10 the chest,
you put the palms of your hands
downward and the soles of your feet
outward, and you push through the
water as though you had been born
aquatic. Ii is a grand thing 10 know
how TO swim. not only for yourself,
but because you will after a while,
perhaps. have 70 help others. ! do
not know anything more stirring or
sublime than 10 see some man like
Norman Mckenzie lcapIug from tie
ship Madras into the sea to save
Charles Turner, who had dropped from
the royal yard while trying 10 loosen
LID sail, bringing him back 10 tie
deck amid the huzzas Of the passen.
gers aud crew. If a man has not en.
thlsiasn enough 10 cheer IN such cir
cumslauccs he deserves himself 10 drop
the sen and have no one help him. into
The ROYAL Humane society Of Eng
land Was established in Iva, its object
To applaud and reward those who
should pluck up life from the deep.
Any u who has performed such a
deed OF daring has all the particulars
Of that bravery recorded in a public
record, aud on his breast a medal done
in blue, and gold. and bronze anchor,
and monogram. aud inscription, tell
ing D. future generations the bravery
ol the man or woman who saved some
one from drowning. But, my friends,
If Il is such a worthy thing 20 save a
body from the deep, | ask you If ii is
not a worthier thing to save an im-
mortal soul2 And you shall see this
hour the Son Of God step forth for
this achievement. He shall spread
forth his hand in the midst Of them,
as he hat swimmetb spreadeth forth
his hands 10 swim"
THE RACE IN A SINKING CONDITION.
In order 10 understand the full
force Of this figure, you need TO real
ize, first Of all, that our race is in a
sinking condition. You sometimes
hear people talking of what they con
slider the most beautiful words IN our
language. One man says il is 'home,'
another man says 1t is the word mo
Their" another says it is the word
.Jesus," but will tell you the bitter.
est word in all our language, the word
most angry and baleful, the word sat.
urated with the most trouble, the word
that accounts for all the loathsome.
ness, aud the pang, and the outrage,
and the narrowing; and that word is