Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1901-190?, 1902-02-11

course Dr. Talmage makes practical
use Of an occurrence I'm the orient
which has seldom attracted particular
attention; text. II Kings, vi. g. THE
iron did sYim.
4 theological seminary In the valley
OF balms. near the river Jordan, had
become so popular In the time of
Elisha. the prophet. that more accom-
modations we're needed for the stu
dents. The classrooms tdid the dor
mitofiCS tftst b. enlarged or an en-
iircly new building constructed. What
will they do? VIII they send up to
Jerusalem and solicit contributions for
this undertaking? Having raised the
money, will they send for cedars Of
Lebanon and marble from the quar-
ries whore Ahab got the stone for the
pillars and walls of his palace? No;
the students propose TO build 1t them
selves. All they ask is that Elisha.
their professor and prophet, go along
with them 20 the woods and boss the
job. They start for the work. Elisha
and his students. Plenty of lumber
in those regions along the Jordan.
: The sycamores are attacked by Eli
sha's students, for they must have
lumber for the new theological sem
mary. Crash goes one of the trees
and another and another. But
thing now happens so wonderful that
the occurrence will tax the credulity
of the ages, SO wonderful that many
attl thNuI IA ,,,-... ln.u,,.I ~ III
one ,of the students, not able to own
an az. had borrowed one. You nus
remember that while the AK of the
olden time was much like our modern
AK. IL differed in the fact that instead
of the hclve or handle being thrust
into a socket In the iron head the head
OF the AK was fastened on the handle
byoa leathern thong. and SO il might
slip the helve. A student of the SEM
mary was swinging his AK against one
of those trees. and the TX head and the
handle parted. Being neal the river
side, the AK head dropped into the
river and sank to the muddy bottom.
Great was the students dismay. II it
had been his own AK. It would have
been bad enough, but the Gx did not
belong to him. lie had no means to
buy another for the kind man who
had loaned II to him. but God helps
the helpless. and he generally helps
through some good and sympathetic
soul, and in this case IL v'as Elisha.
who was In the woods and on the riv-
or bank at the time. He did not see
the AK head fly of. and SO he asked
the student where it dropped. lie was
shown h place where IL went down
into the river. Then Elisha broke of
a branch Of a tree and threw 1t into
the water. and the AK head rose from
the depths of the river and noated to
tine bank, so that the student had just
to stoop down and take up the re-
stored property. Now you see the
meaning of my text, Tho iron did
swim"
suppose a hundred years ago some
one had told people that the time
would come when hundreds OF thou
sands OF tons of iron would float on
the Atlantic and Pacihc-iron ships
from New York to southampton. from
London to Calcutta, from San Fran
cisco to Canton. The man making
such a prophecy would have been sent
to an asylum or carefully watched as
incompetent To SO alone. We have all
In our day seen iron swim. Now, il
man can make hundreds Of IONS of
metal float, | am disposed to think
that the Almighty could make an AK
head float.
what" says some one, would be
the use of such a miracle?" or vast.
of infinite. of eternal importance,
Those students were preparing for the
ministry. They had Joined the theolCg-
zeal seminary to get all its advantages.
They needed to have their faith
strengthened: they needed to be per
sua led that God can do everything:
they needed to learn that God takes
notice of little things, that there is no
emergency OF life where he is not will
ing to helD.
/ near from different sources that
there is a great deal of ~infdelity in
some of the theological seminaries OF
our day. We think hat most of the
so-called miracles of the Old and the
New Testaments were wrought by nat
ural causes. When those inhdels grad
uate from the theological seminary
AID take the pulpits of America as
expoundcrs OF the Holy Scriptures
what advocates they will De of that
gospel for the truth of which the mar
tyrs died, Would to God that some
great revival OF religion might SWEEP
throngh an the theological seminaries