Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-01-25
1.-THE IRON DID SWIM.
'. Or. Talmage Tells Of Soacc Of
the Wonders of Divinc
Power.
Superior to Every Law Of Nature Which lie
Has Made for Mankind.

attracted particular attention; text, ii
Kings vi, 6, The iron did swim"
A theological seminary in the valley of
palms near the River Jordan had become
SO popular in the time of E@ha, the pro-
phet, that more accomm ttions were
needed for the students. - classrooms
and the dorrnitorics must II enlarged or
an entirely new hdiidink constructed
What will they do? VIII they send up to
Jerusalem and solicit contributions for
this undertaking? Win they send out
agents to raise the money for a new theo-
logical seminary: Having raised the
money, will they send for cedars OF Leb-
anon and marble from the quarries where
Ahab got the stone for the pillars and
walls OF his palaceg No; the students
propose to build it themselves. They
were rugged boys, who had been brought
up in the country and who had never
been weakened by the Injuries OF city life.
AL they ask is that Elisha. their professor
and prophet. go along with them to the
woods and boss TIE Job. They start for
the WORK, Elisha and his students. Plenty
OF lumber in those regions along the Jor,
dan. The sycamore IS stout, strong
tree and good for timber. Mr.. Gladstone
. asked me il | had seen in Palestine any
sycamore tree more beautiful than the one
We stood under at Hawarden. told him
had not. OIL,
The sycamores near the Jordan are
now attacked by Elisha's students, for
they must have lumber for the new theo-
logical seminary. / suppose some OF the
students made an awkward stroke, and
they were extemporized axemen. Stand
from under! Crash goes one of the trees
and another and another. But something
now happens so wonderful that the occur
renee viii tax the credulty of the ages, so
wonderful that many still think it never
happened at all. One of the students, not
able to own an axe, had borrowed one.
You must remember that while the axe of
olden time was much like our modern axe,
it differed in the fact that instead of the
helve or handle being thrust into a socket
IN the iron head the head of the axe was
fastened on the handle by a leathern
thong. and so it might slip the helve. A
student of the seminary was swinging his
axe against one of those trees, and whether
it vas at the moment he made his first
stroke and the chips flew or was after he
had cut the tree from all sides so deep
that il was ready to fall we are not told,
but the axe mead and the handle parted.
Being near the riverside, the axe head
dropped into river and sank to the muddy
bottom. Great was the students dismay.
If it had been his own axe, it would have
long to him. He had no means to buy an
other for the, kind man who had loaned it
to him. but God helps through some good
and sympathetic soul. and in this case it
was Elisha who was in the woods and on
the river hank at the time. He did not
see the axe head fly of. and SO he asked
the student where it dropped. He was
shown the place where it went down into
the river. Then Elisha broke off branch
of tree and threw il into the water, and
the axe head rose from the depths of the
$river and hoated to the bank, so that the
student had Just to stoop down and take
up the restored property. Now you see
the meaning OF my text, The iron did
swim" :
= Suppose a hundred years ago some one
had told people the time would come when
hundreds OF thousands of tons of iron
would float on the Atlantic and Pacific
iron ships from New York to Southamp.
ton, from London to Calcutta, from San
Francisco to Canton. The man making
such a prophecy would have been sent ID
an asylum or carefully watched as incom
1etent to go alone. We have all in our
lay seen iron swim. Now, il man car
lakc hundreds of tons of metal float, !
m disposed to think tina. the Almighty
oule cake an axe head float.
What" says some one, would be the
sc of such a miracle:" OF vast, of inf
tie, of eternal Importance. Those stu
ents were preparing for the ministry
hey had joined the theological seminary
, get all its advantages. They needed &c
ave their faith strengthened; they needed
be persuaded that God can do every,
hing; they needed TO learn that God
.kes notice OF little things; that there j.
emergency of life where He is not will
to help.
Standing on the banks OF that Jordan,
nose students Of that day OF the recalled
ye- head had their faith REINFORCED, and
hing that they found out in the class
,ms of that learned institution had even
ne more in the way OF fitting them fol
cir coming profession.
| hear from different sources that there
a great deal OF infidelity in some OF the
Biological seminaries OF our day. They
ink that the Garden OF Eden is an ale
~, and that Moses did not write the
.ntateuch. and that TIE book OF job i:
ly 4 drama. and that the book of Jonah
an unreliable fish story, and that water
5 not turned into wine, although the
-tender row by large dilution turns
ne into water, and that most of the so
led miracles of the Old and the New
staments were wrought by natural
Ises. When those infdels graduate
the theological seminary and take
llpits or America as eSpounders OF
by Scriptures. what advocates they
IA be OF that gospel for the truth OF
lich the martyrs died.
Hail the Polycarps and Hugh Latimera
John knoxes of the twentieth cen.
~, believing the Bible is true in spotsl
oald to God that some great revival OF
igion might sweep through all the theo-
;ical seminaries OF this land, confirming
faith of the coming expounders OF an
tire Bible!
furthermore. in that scene of the text
d sanctions borrowing and sets forth
importance OF returning. / do not
nk there would have been any miracl.
formed ii the young man had owned
axe that slipped the helve. The young
cried out in the hearing OF the pro-
a. Alas, master, for it was borrowed"
had a right to borrow. There are
when we have not only right TO
ow, but il is a duty to borrow. There
times when we ought to lend, for Christ
His sermon on the mount declared.
him that would borrow OF thee turn
lou away"
right that one borrow the means
ting an education, as the young stu
OF my text borrowed the axe 1t is
TO borrow means for the forwarding
amercial ends. Most of the vast for
that row overshadow the land were
I'd out OF borrowed dollar. --S,~'s,-i
sc students in the valley Of palms
Jordan had a physical strength
iardihood that would help them I'M
mental and spiritual achievements
no are toiling for the worlds better
need Drawn as well as brain, strong
as well as illumined minds and con-
ioing the best work in church and
got muscle and power of endurance
the fact that in early life they were
lied n usa ave mr. rlovv mr. Rail mr.