Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-10-26

course DIR. Talmage employs a yer,
| bold figure of the Bible TO bring on
the helpfulness of religion for all thos.
in any kind of struggle. The text i!
Isaiah XIV. IL. HE shall spread fortl
his hands in the midst of them. as ht
that swimmeth spreadeth forth biz
| hands"
| In the summer season multitudes pt
| people wade into the ponds and lake:
and rivers and seas to dive or float oil
| 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
| Pewters in 1850. each stroke of that
kind carrying the swimmer distance
of six feet, and some of you may use
| the overland stroke invented by Gar
! dener, the expert who by it won the
500 yard championship in Manchester
in 1862. the swimmer by that stroke car
rying 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 call
ed the breast stroke, placing the hands
with the backs upward, 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 possible, and you
thus unconsciously illustrate the mean
ing 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 all day on the
bank of 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 l 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. | cannot understand the policy
of the minister who in Blackfriars,
London, England, every week for 30
years preached from the Epistle to the
Hebrews. 1t Is an exhilaration to me
when ! come across theme which l
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 every one has heard.
When they want chapter read. they
read a chapter that all the other people
have been reading. so that the church
today is ignorant of three-fourths of
the Bible.
Push Down Iniq uity.
You 60 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 you see that Rembrandt:" No"
did you see that RubensT' 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 confine our
selves TO one of the great corridors of
Scripture truth. and so much so that
there is not one person out of million
who has ever noticed the all suggestive
and powerful picture in the words of
my text.
This text represents God as 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 that swimmeth
spreadeth forth his hands to SWIM"
The figure Is bold and many sided.
Most of you know how to 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 ia
theirs house; some of you, since you
came to manhood or womanhood. while
on the beach of the sea. 1t
is a good thing to know how to swim.
not only for yourself, but because you
will after awhile perhaps have to help
others.
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 royal yard while trying to loosen
the sail. bringing him back to the deck
amid the huZzas of the passengers and |
crew. If man has not enthusiasm |
enough to cheer in such circumstances |
he deserves himself to drop into the |
sea and have no one help him. The |
Royal Humane Society of England was
in 177i, its object to ap- |
plaud and reward those who should |
pluck up life from the deep. Any one
who has performed such deed of dar
ing has all the particulars of that |
bravery recorded in a public record
and on his breast medal done in blue
and gold and bronze, anchor and mono
gram and inscription, telling to future
generations the bravery of the man or
who saved some one from
drowning. But If it is such worthy |
thing to save body from the deep | |
ask you if 1t Is not a worthier thing to
save an immortal soul. And you shall
see this hour the Son of God step forth
'or this achievement HE shall spread
forth his hands in the midst of them,
IS be that swimmeth spreadeth forth
his hands to SWIM"
Most Bnleful Word.
In order to understand the full force
Of this figure, you need to realize that
our race is in a sinking condition. You
hear people talking of what
they consider the most beautiful words