Milford chronicle., 1892-02-05
A VIEW OF HGAVEN.
DR.. TALMAeE TELLS OF W. &',n' :
MINUTES GLIMPSE OF PARASAS'

DR.. TALMAGE TELLS Or NS-
MINUTES GLIMPSE OF PARAsSS'
A Sermon on the Beautiful but or Nes
Iected Text from Revelation viii, 8
ssrhere Was Silence in Heaven About tl'
Space of Half an Hour"
BRooKLYR, Jan. S1.-Dr. Talmage has o
late been preaching on texts of Scripture
that seem to have been neglected, and her'
is a sermon on a beautiful text which prob
ably was never before selected for a dis
course. Revelation viii, I, "There wa
silence in heaven about the space of hall
an hour"
The busiest place in the universe is
heaven. It is the center from which, al
good influences start. 1t is the goal al
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 de
scribes a space when the wheels ceased tc
roll, and the trumpets to sound, and the
voices to chant. The riders on the white
horses reined in their chargers. The dox
ologies were hushed and the professions
all the splendors. "Stop, heavenW cried
an omnipotent voice, and 1t stopped. For
thirty minutes everything celestial stood
still. There was silence in heaven for
half an hour,
From all we can learn it is the only time
heaven ever stopped 1t does not stop as
other cities for the night, for tFsre is no
night there It does not stop for a plague.
-sff
It does not stop for bankruptcies for its
Inhabitants never fail 1t does not stop
for impassable streets, for there are no
fallen SHOWS nor sweeping freshets W hat
then, stopped it for thirty mintuesf Grotius
and Professor Stuart think it was at tht
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 Con
stantine 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"
HoNORED SILENCE.
And first of all we may learn that God
and all heaven honored silence. The long
est and widest dominion that ever existed
is that over which stiffness was queen.
For an eternity there had not been n sound
World making was a later day occupation
For unimaginable ages it was mute uni
verse. God was the only being, and rs
there was no one to speak to there was no
utterance But that silence has been all
broken up into worlds, and it has become
a noisy universe. Worlds in upheaval.
worlds in congelation. worlds in conilagra
tion, worlds in revolution. If biologists
are right-and believe they are-there
has not been moment of silence since this
world began it's travels, and the crashings
and the splittings, and the uproar, and the
hubbub are ever in progress.
But when among the supernals voice
cried, "Hushw and for half an hour heaven
was still, silence was honored The full
power of silence many Of us have vet to
learn. We are told that when Christ was
arraigned ''He answered not n word" Tha;
silence was louder than any thunder that
ever shook the world. Oftentimes, when we
are assailed an d misrepresentd, the might
lest thing to say is to say nothing, and
the mightiest thing to do is to do nothing
Those people who are always rushing into
print to get themselves set right accom-
Dlish nothing but their own chagrin. 81
Iencel Do right and leave the results with
God. Among the grandest lessons the
world has ever learned are the lessons Of
taught by those who endured un-
personal or domestic or so
sial or political injustice.
Stronger than any bitter or sarcastic or
answer was the patient silence.
The famous DR.. Morrison, of Chelsea, nc.
,omplished as much by his silent patience
IS BY his pen and tongue. He had asthma
hat for twenty-five years brought him ont
If his couch at two o'clock each morning.
His four sons and daughters dead. The
child by sunstroke made in
iane. The afflicted man said, "At this
moment there is not an inch of my body
hat is not filled with agony" Yet he
vas cheerful, triumphant, silent. Those
Who were in his presence said they felt as
.hough they were in the gates of heaven.
Oh, the power of patient silencel Eschy
us the immortal poet, was condemned to
leath for writing something that offended
he people. All the pleas in his behalf
we're of no avail, until his brother uncov-
red the arm of the prisoner and showed
hat his hand had been shot off at Salamis,
That silent plea liberated him. The loud
st thing on earth is silence if it be Of the
light kind and at the right time. There !
vas q quaint old hymn, spelled in the old |
tyle, and once sung in the churches;
The race Is not forever got
By him who fastest runs,
Nor the Rattel by those peopell
That shoot with the longest guns.
NV friends, the tossing Sea Of Galilee |
eemed most to offend Christ by the /
mount of noise it made, for he said to it,
Re still" Heaven has been crowning |
.ings and queens unto God for many cen
uIies, yet heaven never stopped a moment |
or any such occurrence, but it stopped |
hirty minutes for the coronation Of 81 /
ence. There was silence in heaven for I
alf an hour"
HEAVEN AN ACTIVE PLACE.
Learn also from my text that heaven
1ust be an eventful and active place, from /
he fact that it could afford only thirty
liputes Of recess There have been events /
n earth and in heaven that seemed TO de-
land q whole day or whole week or whole
ear for celestial consideration. If Grotius
Tas right and this silence occurred at the
Ime Of the destruction Of Jerusalem, that
Gene was so awful and so prolonged that
he Inhabitants of heaven could not have
one Justice to it in many weeks.
AfGap fearful besiegement Of the two
ortresses Of Jerusalem Antonio and Hip
icus-had been going on for long while,
Roman soldier mounted on the shoulder
another soldier hurled into the window Of
he temple afirebrlnd, and the temple was
ii afians, and after covering many sacrif-
es to the holiness Of God, the building it
IF became a sacrifice to the rage Of man.
he hunger of the people in that city dur
lg the besiegement was so great that as
lme outlaws were passing a doorway aud
lhaled the odors of food, they burst open
be door, threatening the mother of the
ousehoId with death unless she gave
nen some food. and she took them aside