The Dickinson press., 1892-02-13

y KNOW ueiVen Is muCQ
more of place than it was whenthat
recess OF thirty minutes occurred. It's
population hasquadrupled sextupled,
c%entupled. Heaven has more onhand,
more of rapture, more OF knowledge,
more OF INSTRUMENTATION, moro
Of worship.
My subject also impresses
me with the Immortality of a
That half-hour men,
in my text is more widely
known than any other period in the
calendar of heaven. None of the
whole hours OF heaven are measured
off, none OF the years, none of the
centuries. OF themillions Of ages past,
and the millions OF ages to come, not
one is especially measured off in the
Bible. The half-hour Of my text
is MADE IMMORTAL.
The only part of eternity that was
ever measured by earthly timepiece
was measured by the minute hand of
my text. Oh, the half-hours! They
decide everything. | am not asking
you what you will do with the years
or months or days OF your life, but
what of the half-hours. Tell me tho
history OF your half-hours and | will
tell you the story OF your whole life in
eternity. The right or wrong things
you ~ think in 80 minutes, the
right or wrongthingsy you a say in3O
minutes, the right or wrong things you
can do in 80 minutes are glorious or
baleful, inspiring or desperate. Look
out for the fragments of time.
They are pieces of eternity.
1t was the half-hours be-
tween shoeing horses that made
Elihu Burritt the learned blacksmith,
the half-hours between professional
calls as a physician that made Aber-
combie the Christian philosopher, the
half-hours between his duties as
school-master that made Salmon p.
Chase chief Justice, the half-hours be-
tween checklists that made Henry
Wilson Sice-president OF the United
States, the half-hours between canal
boats that made James A. Garfield
president. The half-hour O. day for
good books or bad books; the half
hour a day for prayer or incidence;
the half-hour u day for helping others
or blasting others; the half-hour be-
fore you 80 to business, and the half
hour after you return from business;
that makes the difference between the
scholar and the ignoramus, between
the Christian and the infideI, between
the saint and the demon, between tri-
umph and catastrophe, between heav-
on and hell.
Again, my text suggests q way of
studying heaven so that we a better
understand it. The word "eternity"
that we handle so much is an inn
measurable word. Knowing that we
could not understand that word, the
Bible uses it only once. We say
"For ever and ever" But how long
is "For ever and eyer?" l am glad
that my text puts under our eye
heaven for 80 minutes. As when you
would see a greet picture, you pu. a
sheet OF paper into u scroll, and look
through it, or join your forefinger to
your thumb look through the circle
between, and the picture becomes
more intense, so this masterpiece of
heaven by st. John is more impress
sive when W. take only 80 minutes of
it at a time. Now, we have some.
thing that we can come nearer to
grasping, and it is a quiet heaven.
When we discourse about the multi
tudes OF heaven, it must be also q
nervous shock to those who have all
their lives been crowded by many
people, ;und who want q quiet heaven.
For the last 35 years | have been
much OF the time in crowds aud I'm.
der public scrutiny and amid excite
ments, and | have sometimes thought
for II few weeks after / reached
heaven | would like to 90 down in
some
QUIET PART OF THE REALM,
with a few friends, and for q little
while try comparative solitude. Then
there are those whose hearing is so
delicate that they get no satisfaction
when you describe the crash of the
eternal orhcestra, and they feel like
saying, rs q good woman in Hudson,
n. Y, said, after hearing me speak Of
the mighty chorus OF heaven,
"That must be q great heaven, but
what will become OF my poor head2"
Yes, this half hour of my text is a
still experience. "There was silence
in heaven for half an hour" You will
find the inhabitants all at home. En-
ter the Kings Palace and take only a
glimpse, for we have only 80 minutes
for all heaven. sis that Jesus?"
yes" Just under the hair on his
forehead is q mark OF a wound made
by a bunch of twisted brnmbles, and
his foot on the throne has on the
rounds OF his footstep another mark
OF 6 wound made by q spike, and .
scar on the palm OF the right hand,
and a scar on the palm OF the left
hand. But what a countenance'
Whatasmile! What a grandeur! What
a loneliness! What an overwhelm.
ing look OF kindness and gracel
Why, he looks as if he had redeemed
a world! But; come on, for our time
is short. Do you see that row Of
palaces? That is the Apostolic Row.
Do you see that long reach OF archi-
tectural glories? That is Martyr
Row! Do yousee thatimmense struct.
ure? That is the biggest house in
heaven: that is "the house of many
ni"lisiolls. Do you See CnaJ WALTZ
Shade your eyes against its burning
splendor, for that is the wall of heav-
ell, Jasper at the bottom, and anne
thyst at the top. See this river roll.
ing through the heart of the great me-
tropolis? That is the river concern.
ing which those who once lived on the
banks ofthe Hudson, orthe Alabama,
or the Rhine, or the Shannon, say:
1--WE never saw the like OF this for
CLARITY AND SHEEN"
That is the chief river of heaven-so
bright. so wide, SO deep. But you
ask: "Where are the asylums for the
old?" answer: 1.-THE inhabitants
are all young" "Where are the hos.
pitfalls for the lanle?" They are all
agile" "Where are the infrmaries
for the blind and deaf?" s.They
all see and hear" "Where are
the almshouses for the poor?"
They are all multi-millionaires."
"Where are the inebriate asylums?"
"Why, there are no saloons" "Whers
are the graveyards?" "Why they new
er die" Pass down those boulevards
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