The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1899-10-27
A STRONG SWIMMER.
From Him DR.. Talmage Draws a
Noble Lesson.
TIE Always Ready Helpfulness of
Religion for Those who Strug-
gle Against Adverse Cir
cumstances.
Copyright, Louis Klopsch, 1897
70 Oh ip Dot


In this discourse DR.. Talmage EN-
ploys very bold figure of the Bible to
bring out the helpfulness of religion fol-
an those in any kind of struggle. The
text is Isaiah 25:11: HE shall spread
forth His hands in the midst of them, as
he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his
hands"
In the summer season multltudes OF
people wade into the ponds and lakes
and rivers and seas to dive or float or
swim. In a world the most of which is
water all men and women should learn
to swim. Some of you have learned the
side stroke introduced by George Pew
tiers in 1850, each stroke of that kind
carrying the swimmer a distance of six
feet, and some of you may use the over
hand stroke invented by Gardener, the
expert who by it won the 500 yard cham
pionship in Manchester in 1862, the
swimmer by that stroke carrying his
arm in the air for a more heightened
reach, and some of you may tread the
water as though you had been made to
walk the sea, but most of you usually
take what is called the breast stroke,
placing the hands with the backs up
ward, about five inches under the water,
the inside of the wrists touching the
breast, then pushing the arms forward
coincident with the stroke of the feet
struck out to the greatest width posi-
BILE, and you thus unconsciously illus
trate the meaning of my text: He shall
spread forth His hands in the midst of
them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth
forth his hands to swim"
The fisherman seeks out unfrequent-
ed hooks. You stand to-day on the
bank of a river in the broiling sun and
fling out your line and catch nothing,
while an expert angler breaks through
the jungle and goes by the shadow of
the solitary rock and, in place where
no fisherman has been for ten years,
throws out his line and comes home at
night, his face shining and his basket
full. I do not know why we ministers
Of the Gospel need always be fishing in
the same stream and preaching from
the same texts that other people preach
from. l cannot understand the policy
of the minister who, in Blackfriars,
London, England, every week for 80
years preached from the Epistle to the
Hebrews. 1t is an exhilaration to me
when 1 come across a theme which 1
feel no one else has treated, and my
text is one of that kind. There are
paths in Gods Word that are well beat
en- by Christian feet. When men want
to quote Scripture, they quote the old
passages that everyone has heard
When they want a chapter read, they
read chapter that all the other peo-
pie have been reading, so that the
church to-day is ignorant of three
fourths of the Bible.
You go into the Louvre, at Paris. You
confine yourself to one corridor of that
opulent gallery of paintings. AS you
come out your friend says to you: Did
y~u see that Rembrandt?' NO" did
you see that Reubens?" No" Did
you see that Titian?" NO" did YOU
see that Raphael?" NO" Well"
says your friend, then you did not see
the Louvre" Now, my friends, think
we are too much apt to contine ourselves
TO one of the great corridors of Scrip
ture truth, and so much so that there is
not one person out of a million who has
ever noticed the all suggestive and pow
erful picture in the words of my text.
The text represents God as strong
swimmer, striking out to push down in
iquity and save the souls of men. He
shall spread forth His hands in the
midst of them, as he that swimmeth
spreadeth forth his hands 10 swim"
The figure is bold and many sided.
Most of you know how to swim. Some
of you learned ii 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 womanhood, while
summering on the beach of the sea. 1t is
. good thing to know how to swim, not
only for yourself, but because you will
after awhile perhaps have to help 9TH
ers.
do not know anything more stirring
or sublime than to see some man like
Norman Mckenzie leaping from the
ship Madras into the sea to save Charles
Turner, who had dropped from the roy
nj yard while trying to loosen the sail,
bringing him back to the deck amid the
huzzas of the passengers and crew. If
a man has not enthusiasm enough to
cheer in such circumstances, he de-
serves himself TO drop into the sea and
have no one help him. The Royal HUI
name society of England was estab-
lished in 1774,.i its object to applaud and
seward those who should pluck up life
from the deep. Anyone who has per-
formed such a deed of daring has allthe
particulars of that bravery recorded in
q public record, and on his breast
medal done in blue and gold and bronze,
anchor and monogram and inscription,
telling to future generations the brav-
cry of the man or woman who saved
some one from drowning. But if it is 3,
such worthy thing to save body from
the deep ask you II ii is not a worth
Ter thing TO save an immortal soul. And
you shall see this hour the Son of God \
step forth for this achievement. "He
shall spread forth His hands in the
midst of them as he that swimmeth |