The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-04-11

The half hour = day for good books or
bad books, the half hour day FOR prayef
or Incidence, the half hour a day for help
ing others OF blasting Others, the half hour
before you 90 % Business and the hall
hour after you return from business-that
ma l.es the difference between the scholar
and the ignoramus, between the Christian
and the inhdel, between the saint and the
! demon, between triumph and catastrophe,
between heaven and he'll.
The most tremendous things OF your
life and mine were certain hall hours. The
half nour when IN the parsonage OF a
country minister j resolved 70 become a
Christian then aad there, the hall hour
| when | decided 20 become a preacher OF
the gospel, the hall hour when | first re-
allied that my son was dead, the half hour
| when | stood on the top OF my house IN
oxford street and saw our church burn,
the half hour IN which | entered Jerusa-
lem, the half hour IN which | stopped on
/ Mount Calvary, the half hour in which /
stood on Mars Hill and about ten or
fifteen other hall hours are the chief times
OF my life.
You ma, forget tAe name OF the exact
! years or most OF the important events OF
I your existence, but those half hours, like
( the hall hour of my text, will be immor-
tai. / do not query what you will do with
| the twentieth century, / do not query
what you viii 90 with this, year, but what
I
! Upon that hinges your destiny, and dur
| ing that some OF you will receive the gospel
! and make complete surrender, and during
! that Others OF you viii make final and IA
| tai rejection OF the full and free and urgent
and lmpassoned offer OF life eternal
Oh, that the next half hour might be
the most glorious thirty minutes OF your
/ earthly existence
! Far back in history a great geographer
stood with sailor looking at globe that
| represented our planet, and ne pointed
| 10 place on the g,obe where he thought
there was an undiscovered continent. The
/ undiscovered continent was America. The
| geographer who pointed where he thought
| there was new world was Martin Be-
| hahn, and the sailor 20 whom he showed
! II was Columbus This last was not satis-
! fled till he had picked that gem out of the
sea and set II in the crown of the worlds
! geography. q ye who have been sailing
| up and down the rough seas of sorrow and
! SIN, let me point out 70 YOU another con-
! tinent-yea, another world-that you may
| Yourself lind, rapturous world and that
| Is the world half hour of which we now
study! Oh, set sail for it, Here is the
ship and here are the compasses. In other
! words, make this half hour the grandest
! half hour of your lie and become Chris.
! tan: Pray for regenerated spirit. Louis
! XIV, while walking in the garden of
| Versailles, met Mansard, the great archi.
! fore the king. Put on your hat" said
/ the king, for the evening is damp and
cold" And Mansard. the architect, the
! rest OF the evening kept on his hat. The
! dukes and marluises, standing with bare
| heads before the king, expressed their sur
| prise at Mansard, but the king said, Il
! can make a duke or a marquis, but only
| God can make a Mansard.'
And | say TO you, my hearers, only God
! by His convincing and converting grace
! can make a Christian, but He is ready
| this very half hour to accomplish 1t.
! Then there are those whose hearing is
! so delicate that they get 10 satisfaction
| when you describe the crash OF the eter-
! nal orchestra. and they feel like saying, as
a good woman in Hudson, n Y, said al
ter hearing me speak OF the mighty chorus
! of heaven, That must be a great heaven,
! but what will become of my poor head.
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. Enter the Kings palace and take
only a glimpse, for we have only thirty
minutes for al! heaven. rs that Jesus"
| Yes just under the hair along His
| forehead is the mark Of a wound made by
a bunch OF twisted brambles, and His foot
! on the throne has on the round OF His
| lnstep another mark OF wound made by
a spike, and scar on the palm of the
/
| LETT hand. But what countenance!
What smile What 4 grandeur! What
| n loveliness What an overwhelming look
! OF kindness and grace! Why, He looks as
| If He had redeemed a world But como
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
| you see that immense structure? That Is
the biggest house in heaven; that is the
| house OF many mansions Do you see
! that wall? Shade your eyes against its
! burning splendor, for that is the wall OF
heaven, jasper at the bottom and amethyst
| at the top. See this river rolling through
| the heart of the great metropolis: That Is
| the river concerning which those who once
! lived on the banks of the Hudson or the
| Alabama or the Rhine or the Shannon
say, 1--WE never saw the like of this Tor
clarity and sheen That is the chief river
| of heaven-so bright, so wide, so deep.
| But you ask, Where are the asyiums for
the old"' | answer, The inhabitants are
all young" Where are the hospitals Tor
the lame?" They are all agile. Where
are the infrmaries for the blind and
| deaf?" They all see and hear" Where
are the almshouses for the poor@ They
are all multimiilionaires.' Where are
the inebrate asylums" why, there are
no saloons" Where are the graveyards"
why, they never die"
"Oh, let me 90 in and see them" you
| say. No, you cannot go in. There are
| those who would never consent to lct you
| come out again. You say, Let me stay
| here in this place where they never sin,
where they never suffer, where they never
| part" No, no, Oar time is short, our
| thirty minutes are almost gone. Come on!
| We must get back to earth before this
| half hour of heavenly silence breaks up,
| Tor in your mostai state you cannot en-
| dure the pomp and sD.eador and resonance
when this half hour OF silence is ended.
| The day will come when you can see heav-
| en- in full blast, but not now. | am now
| only showing you heaven at the dullest
| half hour of all eteraities. Come on,
! There is something IN the celestial APP
| pelrance which makes me think that the
! half hour of silence Will soon be over.
| Nonder arc the white horses being hitched
to chariot5, and yonder are seraphs finger
| INC harps As If about 20 strike them into
! symphony. and yonder are conquerors
| taking down from the blue halls OF heav-
| en- the trumpets OF victory. Remember
! we are mortal yet and cannot endure the
| full roll of heavenly harmonies and cam
not endure even the silent heaven for more
than half an hour.
| Hark! The clock in the tower of heaven
| begins 20 strike, and the half hour Is end
cd. Descend Come back, Come down
! tiii your work Is done. Shoulder a little
! longer your burdens. Fight little longer
| your battles. Weep a little longer your
| yriets And then take heaven not in its
| dullest half hour, but in It's mightiest
| pomp, and, instead of taking II for thirty
| minutes. take 1t world without end.
But how will you spend the first half
! hour of your heavenly citizenship after
| YOU have gone IN 20 stay After your