Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-01-20

course DR. Talmage makes practical
use Of an occurrence in the orient
which has seldom attracted particular
attention; text, II Kings vi, 6, The
iron Gid SWIM"
A theological seminary in the valley
Of palms, near the river Jordan, had
become so popular in the time of
Elisha, the prophet, that more accom-
modations were needed for the stu
dents. The classrOOms and the dor
mitories must he enlarged or an en-
tirely new building constructed. What
will they do? viii they send up to
Jerusalem and solicit contributions for
this undertaking? Will they send out
agents to raise the money for Il new
theological seminary? Having raised
the money, will they send for cedars
of Lebanon and marble from the quar-
ries where Ahab got the stone for the
pillars ana walls of his palace? No;
the students propose to build it them
selves. They were rugged boys, who
had been brought up in the country
and who had never been weakened by
the luXuries of city life. All they ask
is that Elisha, their professor and
prophet, go along with them to 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 sycamore is q
stout, strong tree and good for timber.
Mr.. Gladstone asked me if | had seen
in Palestine any sycamore tree more
beautiful than the one we stood under
at Hawardcn. | told him | had not.
The SycamOrCs near the Jordan are
now attacked by Elisha's students for
they must have lumber for the new
theological seminary. | suppose some
of the students made an awkward
stroke, anG they were eXtemporized
aXmen. stand from under. Crash
goes one of the trees Ond another and
another. Eut something now happens
so wonderful that the occurrence will
tax the credulity ~ the ages, 50 Won
derful that many still think it never
happened at all. One Of the students.
not able to own an RE, had borrowed
one. You must remember that while
the Ak Of Ollen time was much like our
modern AK, it differed in the fact that
instead Of the helve or handle being
thrust into socket in the iron head
the head ur Che AK was fastened on the
might slip the hclve. \ student of the
seminary was swinging his aX against
one Of those trees, ana whether II was
at the moment he made his first stroke
and the chips flew or was after lie had
cut the tree from all sides so deep that
il was ready to fail we are not told,
but the aX head and the handle parted.
Being near the riverside, the TX head
dropped into the river and sank to the
muddy bottom Great was the stu
dents dismay. II It had been his own
AK, it woa!d have been bad enough, but
the aX did not belong to him. He had
no means to buy another fer the kind
man who had loaned it to him, but
God helps the helpless. and he gcuer-
ally helps through some good and sym
pathetic soul. and in this case it was
Elisha. WHO was in the woods and on
the river bank at the time. lie ell not
see the aX head Gy off. and 30 he asked
the student where it dropped. lie was
shown the place whore it went dowl
into the rivcr. Then Elisha broke OF
q branch OF tree and threw it into the
water, and the ak head rose from Tx
Depths OF the river and 1oated to The
bank. 50 that the student had just t
stoop down and take up the restored
property. Now you SEQ the meaning OF
my text. "The iron did SWIM"
The Iron D:d Swim.
Suppose hundred years ago somt
one had ted people that the tint
would come when hundreds Of thou
sands Of tons Of iron would float OF
the Atlantic and Pacific - iron ship
from New York to Southampton, fron
Londou to Calcutta, from San Francis
co TO Canton. The man making sue
q prophecy would have been sent t
an asylum or carefully watched as il
competent TO 20 alone. We have q
in our day seen iron swim. Now,
man can make hundreds of tons G
metal float. | am disposed to thin
that the Almighty could make an 4
head float.
WHAT" says some one. would /
the use of such Il uiraclcE OF vas
of infinite Of eternal Importance. Thos
students were preparing for the mil
istry. They had joined the thgoIogic'
seminary to set all its advantage
They needed to have their fait
strengthened; they needed to be pc