News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1892-02-04


Revelation viii, 1, There was silence
III heaven about the space of half an
hour
The busiest place in the universe is
heaven. It is the center from which
all good influences start; it is the goal
at which all good results arrive. The
Bible represents it as active with
wheels and wings and orchestras and
professions mounted or charioted.
But my text describes a space when
the wheels ceased to roll, and the
trumpets to sound, and the voices to
chant. The riders on the white
horses refined in their chargers. The
doxologies were hushed and the pro
cessions halted The hand of arrest
was put upon all the splendors.
stop, heaven" cried an omnipotent
voice, and it stopped. For thirty
minutes everything celestial stood
still There was silence in heaven
for half an hour"
HEAVENS ONLY NTERAIISSIoN.
From all we can learn it is the only
time heaven ever stopped. It.does
not stop as other cities, for the night
for there is no night there. 1t does
not stop for a plague, for the inhab
liant never says, Il am sick" 1t does
not stop for bankruptcies, for its in
habitants never fail. 1t does not stop
for impossible streets, for there are
no fallen SHOWS nor sweeping fresh
cts. What, then, stopped it for thirty
minutes? Grotius and Professor Stu
art think that it was at the time of
the destruction of Jerusalem Mr.
Lord thinks it was in the year 81,
between the close of the Diocletian
persecution and the beginning of the
wars by which Constantine gained
the throne But that was all a guess,
though learned and brilliant guess.
do not know when it was and | do
not care when it was, but of the fact
that such an interregnum of sound
took place am certain. There was
silence in heaven for half an hour.
And. first of all, we may learn that
God and all heaven honored silence.
The longest and widest dominion that
ever existed is that over which still
ness was queen. For an eternity there
had not been IL sound World making
was later day occupation. For un
imaginable ages it was mute uni
verse God was the only being, and
as there was no one to speak to there
was no uttefance. But that silence |
has been all broken up into worlds, |
and it has become a noisy universe. |
Worlds in upheavel, worlds in con
gelation, worlds in confagration,
worlds ia revolution.
II biologists are right (and I be-
iieye they arel there has not been
moment of silence since this world
began its travels and the crashings,
and the splttings. and the uproar,
and the hubbub are ever in progress.
But when among the supernals a
voice cried, 'HushI' and for half an |
hour heaven was still. silence was |
honored- The full power of silence |
many of us have yet to learn. We
are told that when Christ was ar |
raigned He answered not word.
That silence was louder than any
thunder that ever shook the world
Ofttimes, when we are assailed
and misrepresented, the mightiest
thing to say is to say nothing, and
the mightiest thing to do is to do
nothing Those people who are al
ways rushing into print to get them
selves set right accomplish nothing
but their own chagrin. Sllencel Do
right and leave the results with God.
Among the grandest lessons the
xrznr,l a ino,.1,a6 f1,A loo |
sons of patience taught by those who
endured uncomplainingly personal
or domestic or social or political in
justice. Stronger than any bitter or
sarcastic or revengefui answer was
the patient silence.
The famous Dr. Morrison, of CheI-
sea. accomplished as much by his
silent patience as by his pen and
tongue He had asthma that for
twenty five years brought him out of
hiscouch at two o'clock each morning
His four sons and daughters dead
The remaining child by sunstroke
made insane The afflicted man
said. AT this moment there is not
an inch of my body that is not filed
with agony" Yet he was cheerful,
triumphant. silent Those who were
in his presence said they felt as
though they were in the gates of
heaven
Oh. the power of patient silence
Eschylus. the immortal poet, was
condemned to death for writing
something that offended the people.
A II ha III ~, l. haL e
no avail until his brother uncovered
the arm of the prisoner and showed !
that his hand had been shot off at
Salamis. That silent plea liberated
aim The loudest thing on earth is
silence if it be of the right kind and
"a the right time. There was quaint
Did hylnn. spelled in the old style,
md once sung in the churches:
The is not forever got
BE him who fastest runs.
Nor the Battel By those peopeIl
That shoot with the longest guns 1
My friends. the tossing Sea of Cali
ace seemed most to offend Christ by
che amount of noise it made. for he
said Be sE1III Heaven has been
GROWING kings and queens unto God ,
for many centuries yet heaven
never stopped a moment for any ,
such occurrence. but it stopped thirty
for the coronation OF Silence. .
-'Il"re was silence in heaven for
h&l an hnllr
THEY ARE Busy IN HEAVEN
Learn also from my text that :
heaven must be an eyentful and &C.
tive place. from the fact that if could !;
afford only thirty minutes of recess. >
There have been events ON earth and !
IN heaven that seemed to demand a :.
whole dst o. whole week or a whole T
year fol celestial consideration. IF !
irOtlus was right and this silence oc- :
cured at the time of the destructia- -
Of Jerusalem. that scene was so coney
md so prolonged that the inhand the
)f heaven could not have dfkmen's
ice to f' n many weeks. AfS when of
'ui besl cement of the two fofSnoWn it,
il Irl1I lem Antonio and Hipitff5te eas =
had been going on for long while, n
Roman soldier mounted ON the +
shoulders OF another soldier hurled =
nto the window Of the temple fire. I,
brand and the temple was all afame, y
md after covering many sacrifices to n
he holiness of God. the building il :,
elf became sacrifice to the rage of II
nan :,
The hunger of the people in that r.