The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-11-30
A STRONG SWIMMER.
From Him Dr.. Talmage Draws a
Noble Lesson.
The Always Ready HelpfuIness of
Religion for Those Who StruE-
gle Against Adverse Cir
cumstances.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch, 1Sss.)

Copyright. Louis Klopsch, 1892
Washington,
In this discourse DIR. Talmage en-
ploys very bold figure OF the Bible to
bring out the helpfulness of religion for
all 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 multitudes OF
people wade into the ponds and lakes
and rivers and seas to dive or float or
swim. In world the most of which is
to swim. Some of you have learned the
side stroke introduced by George Pew
ters in 1850, each stroke of that kind
carrying the swimmer 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 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. I cannot understand the policy
of the minister who, in Blackfriars,
London, England, every week for 80
years preached from the Epistle to the
Hebrews. It is an exhilaration to me
when l come across 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 beat
en- by Christian feet. When men want
to quote Scripture, they quote the old
passages that everyone has heard.
When they want 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: Die
you see that Rembrandt?" "No." "Die
you see that Reubens?" mo" 'sDid
you see that Titan ?'' NO" ibid yor
, see that Raphael?" "No." "Well,'
says your friend, "then you did not Sc,
the Louvre" Now, my friends, / thinl
I we are too much apt to confine ourselves
{ to one of the great corridors of Scrip
| | ture truth, and so much SO that there il
not one person out of a million who ha
I 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
n iquity and save the souls of men. III
/. shall spread forth His hands in th
: midst of them, as he that swimmetl
: spreadeth forth his hands to swim.
;, The figure is bold and many sided
\ Most of you know how to swim. Som
!, of you learned it in the city school
where this art is taught; some of yo1
!. in boyhood. in the river near you
. fathers house; some of you since yo
came to manhood or womanhood, Will
summering on the beach Of the sea. It j
good thing to know how to swim, NO
' only for yourself, but because you wi
i after awhile perhaps have to help otf
. ers.
I do not know anything more stirrin
:. or sublime than to see some man lik
< Norman Mckenzie leaping from th
7. ship Madras into the sea to save Charlie
Turner, who had dropped from the 70,
al yard while trying to loosen the sal
bringing him back to the deck amid th
> huzzas of the passengers and crew.
man has not enthusiasm enough
cheer in such circumstances, he d.
: serves himself to drop into the sea an
: have no one help him. The Royal HI
: name society of England was estal
lished in 1774, its object to applaud ar
reward those who should pluck up Iii
n from the deep. Anyone who has pc
r. formed such deed of daring has all Il
r. particulars of that bravery recorded
. a public record, and on his breast
!. medal done in blue and gold and bronz
anchor and monogram.and inscriptio
telling to future generations the bra
cry of the man or woman who saw
q some one from drowning. But II it
g such a worthy thing to save q body fro
the deep 7 ask you il it is not q wort