Connecticut western news., 1899-10-26

kAows the Helpfulness of Religion In Fighting Ltfe's Battle-Be Bold -For the Right and Trust In the Son
 of'Gsd.
 Cepynght, Louis Klopsch, 1soo.l
 WASHINGTON, Oct. 22.-In this dis course pr. Talmage employs a very bold figure of the Bible to bring out the heipfulness of religion for all those in any kind of struggle. The text is Isaiah xxv, Il, "He shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands,"
 In the summer season mulhtudes 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 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 1t won the 6Oo yard championship in Manchester
  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 a place where no fisherman has been for ten years, throws out his line and comes home at night, his face shining and his basket \ 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 30 years preached from the Epistle to the Hebrews. 1t h an collaboration to me when I 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 every one has heard. When they want a 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 Iniauity.
 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 you see that Rembrandt" NO" "Did you see that Rubens" "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 conflne 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 1t In the city school, where this art Is taught; some of you In boyhood, In the river near your fa- ther's house; some of you, since you came to manhood or womanhood, while summering 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 huxzas of the passengers and crew. If a 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 estab ablished In 1774, It's object to ap- plaud and reward those who should pluck up life from the deep. Any one who has performed such a 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 woman who saved some one from drowning. But If 1t Is such worthy thing to save a body from the deep ask you if H Is not a worthier thing to 2 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 spreadeth forth his hands to swim"
 Most BalefuI Word.
 In order to understand the full force of this figure, you need to realize that our race Is in a sinking condition. You sometimes hear people talking of what they consider the most beautiful words In our language. One man says it fs 'home" another man says 1t Is the word mother" another says 1t Is the word "Jesus," but 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 loathsomeness and the pang and the outrage and the horpoutn0 and fhof Unrd Ia al