The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-02-03
SILENCE IN HEAVEN.
Rev. Dr.. Talmage Discourses Flo.
quently on the Powerof Silence.
"A Time When for Thirty Minutes Every.
thing Celestial Stood still-sald to
Have Occurred at the Date
OF the Destruction Of :,
Jerusalem.

DIR. Talmage has of late been pre- ZACH
ing on texts of Scripture that seem Ia
have been neglected and here is a ser
mon on beautiful text which probably
was never before selected for a dis. |
course: Revelation viii. /, There was
silence in Heaven about the space Of
half an hour"
The busiest place in the universe IA
Heaven. 1t is the center from which
all good influences start; it is the goal
at which ull good results arrive. The
Bible represents it as active with
wheels, and wings, and orchestras, and
professions mounted or charioted. But
my text describes space when the
wheels ceased to roll and the trumpets
to sound and the voices to chant. The
riders on the white horses reined in then
chargers. The doxologies were hushed
and the professions halted. The hand oi
arrest was put upon all the splendors
stop, Heavenr cried an omnipotent
voice, and 1t stopped. For thirty min.
utes everything celestial stood still
"There was silence in Heaven for the
space of half an hour
From all we can learn it is the only
time Heaven ever stopped 1t does moi
stop as other cities for the night, for
there is no night there. 1t does not
stop for plague, Cor the inhabitant
never says: Il am sick" It does mot
stop for bankruptcies for its inhab-
itants never fail. 1t does not stop for
impossible streets, for there are no
fallen SHOWS ncr sweeping freshets-
What, then, stopped it for thirty min.
utesp GrotiUs and Prof Stuart think
1t 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 begin
ming Of the wars by which Constantine
gained the throne. But that was all a
guess though learned and brilliant
guess do not know when il was and
do not care when it was, but of the
) fact that such au interregnum"of sound
took place, am certain "There was
silence in Heaven for the space of half
an hour.
And, first Of all, we may learn that
God and al Heaven then honored ST.
lence.' The longest and widest do
minion that ever existed isthat over
which Stiffness was queen. For an
eternity there had not been sound
Matchmaking was later day occupa-
tion. For unimaginable ages 1t was a
mute universe God was the only
Being and MS there was no one to speak
TO. there was 10 utterance. But that
silence has been all broken up into
worlds, and 1t has become noisy uni
verse. Worlds in uphearal, worlds in
congelation, worlds in conhagratiop,
worlds in revolution. II geologists are
right land believe they are there has
not been a moment of silence since this
wsrld began its travels and the crash.
ings and the splittings and the uproar
and the hubbub are ever: in progress.
But when among the supernAls a voice
cried, "HusiiI" and for half an hour
Heaven was still, silence was honored.
The full power of silence many of us
have yet 10 learn. We are told that
when Christ was arraigned HE an
swered not n word" That silence was
louder than any thunder that ever
shook the wcrld 0ftimes, when we
are assailed ,and misrepresented, the
mightiest thing TO say Is 20 say no thing,
and the mightiest thing TO do is TO dc
nothing. Those people whoare always
rushing into print to get themselves set
right accomplish nothing but their own
chagrin. Silencel Do right and leave
the results with God Among the
grandest lessons the world has ever
learned are the lessons OF patience
taught by those who endured uncom-
plainingly personal or domestic or
social or political injustice. Stronger
than any bitter OF sarcastic OF revenge
ful answer was the patient silence.
The famous DIR. Morrison, Of Chelsea,
accomplished as mnch by his silent pa
tienoe as by his tongue and pen. He
had asthma that for twenty-five years
brought him out Of his couch at Q
o'clock each morning. His four sons
and daughters dead. The remaining
child by sunstroke made insnne. The
afflicted man said: AT this moment
there is,not an inch VI my body that is
not filled with agony" Yet me was
cheerful, triumphant, silent Those
who were in his presence said they felt
mt though they were In the gates Of
Heaven. %, the power Of patient ST.
lence! 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 ihis brother uncovered the
arm OF the prisoner and showed that
his hand had been shot off at Sa1Amis.
That silent plea liberated him. The
loudest ring ON earth Is silence II II be
Of the right kind and at the right time.
There was quaint old hymn, spelled
in the old style, and once sung in the
churches:
Theraoeis not forever got
By him who fastest runs,
Nor the battel by those peopeil
That shoot with the longest guns.
My friends, the tossing sea Of Galilee
seemed most to offend Christ by the
amount of noise it made, for He said TO
N ere atil,r' Heaven has been CROWN