Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1892-02-06

the Only Intermi>>inn Ever Known in
ParadIse-Thc Sermon in Full.
BROOKLYN. Jan. 81. DR. Talmage
has of late been preaching ON texts
of Scripture that seem to have been
neglected, and here is sermon ON Il
beautiful text which probably was
never before selected for Il discourse
Revelation viii, /. There was silence
in heaven about the space of half an
hour.
The busiest place i'll the universe is
heaven. 1t is the center from which
all good influences start; il IL the goal
at which all good results arrive. The
Bible represents ii as active with
wheels and wings and orchestras and
professions mounted or charioted.
But my text describes a space when
the wheels ceased 10 roll. and the
trumpets To sound. and the voices to
chant. The riders on the white
horses reined 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 INTERMlssIoS.
From all we can learn it is the only
time heaven ever stopped. 1t does
not stop as other cities. for the night.
for there is no night there 1t does
not stop for plague. for the inhab
itant never says. Il am sick 1t does
not stop for bankruptcies. for its in
habitants never fail II does not stop
for impossible streets. for there are
no fallen SHOWS nor sweeping fresh
cts. What, then. stopped il for thirty
minutesl Grotius and Professor Stu
art think that it was at the time of
the destruction of Jerusalem. Mr.
Lord thinks it was i'll the year 81
between the close of the Dioclrtian
persecution and the beginning of the
wars by which Constantine gained
the throne. But that was all Il guess.
though learned and brilliant guess.
do not know when il was and do
not care when il was hut of the fact
that such an interregnum of sound
took place am certain. There WIS
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 II was mute uni
verse. God was the only being. and
rs there was no one 10 speak To there
was no utterance But that silence
has been all broken up into worlds,
and il has become a noisy universe
Worlds i'll upheavel worlds III con
gelation, worlds in contlagiatiun
worlds in revolution.
If geologists are right tand ] be
lieve they are) there has not been a
moment of silence since this world
began its travels. and the cI.lShings.
and the splittings, and the upsoar
and the hubbub are ever i'll progress
But when among the supcrnals a
voice cried. Hush" and for half IN
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 th,, world
Ofttimes. when we are ass;;ilctl
and misrepresented, the mighiicst
thing to say is to say nothing. and
the mighticst thing to do is 10 do
nothing Those people who are al
ways rushing into print to get them
selves set right accomplish nothing
but their own chagrin Silence, Do
right and leave the results with Cod.
Among the glandest lessons the
world has ever learned are the les
sons of patience taught by those who
endured mcomplainingly personal
or domestic or social or political in
justice. Stronger than any bitter or
sarcastic or revengeful answer was
the patient silence.
The famous DR.. Morrison. of Chel
sea, accomplished as much by his
silent patience as 10y his pen and
tongue He had asthma that for
twenty-five years brought him out Of
his couch 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 filled
with agony" Yet he was cheerful.
triumphant, silent. Those who were
in his presence said they felt as
though they We're 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
All the pleas in his behalf were of
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
him. The luudest thing on earth is
silence if it be of the right kind and
at the right time There was "a quaint
old hymn, spelled i'll the old style.
and once sung i'll the churches:
The race is not forever got
Br him who fastest runs.
Nor the Baitcl by those pcoIcll
That shopt with the longest guns
My friends, the tossing Sea of Cali
lee seemed most To offend Christ by
the amount of noise il made. for he
said, BE still Heaven has been
crowning kings and queens unto God
for many centuries. yet heaven
never stopped Il moment for any
sucb occilf.Il.ut,, Int IL STONED thirty