Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1902-04-11
saa,r5osYo that made james A. Garfield

and the lgn0ramus, between WIG S'i ~
and the infdel, between the SAINT ana Ine
demon, between triumph ana CATASTROPHE
between heaven and he'll.
The most tremendous things OF your
life and mine were certain half hours. line
half hour when in the parsonage or
country minister l resolved to become
Christian then and there, the half hour
when / decided to become a preacher OF
the gospel, the half hour when nrst re.
allied that my con wa9 dead. the hall how
when | stood on the top or my mousse In
Oxford street and saw our church burn,
the half hour in which l entered Jerusa-
lem, the half hour IN which stopped on
Monnt Calvary, the half hour in which L
stood on Mars Hill and about ten or
fifteen other half hours are the chief times
of my life.
You may forget the name OF the exact
years or most Of the important events OF
your existence, but those half hours, like
the half hour of my text, will be lmmor'
tai. | do not query what you will do with
the twentieth century, / do not query
what YOU will 90 with this year, but what
will you do with the next half hour?
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 yoi will make final and ia
tai rejection of the full and free and urgent
and imprisoned offer Of life eternal.
Oh, that the next half hour might be
the most glorious thirty minutes OF your
earthly existence!
Then there are those whose hearing, is
SO delicate that they get no 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 great heaven,
but what will become of my poor heady:,,,
Yes, this half hour of my text ls a still
experience. There was silence IN heaven
for half an hour"
You will find the inhabitants all at
only glimpse, for we have only thirty
minutes for all heaven. "Is that Jesusw
yes" Just under the hair along His
forehead is the mark of wound made by
a bunch of twisted brambles, and His foot
on the throne has on the round of His
instep another mark of wound made by
a spike, and scar on the palm OF the
right hand and scar on the palm of the
left hand. But what a countenance!
What smile! What a GRANDEUR What
a loveliness! What an Overwhelming look
of kindness and grace! Why, He looks as
if He had redeemed a world! But come
on, LOT our IlIue is SlOII. Do you oCO onos
row of palaces? That is the Apostolic
row. Do you see that long reach Of archi.
tectural gloriesg That is Martyr row. DO
you see that immense structure? That is
the biggest house in heaven; that is 1.-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 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 lame?' "They are all agile" Where
are the infrmaries for, the blind and
deaf?" "They all see and hear" Where
are all Observation-Disclosures" "Where are
the inebriate asylums" ''Why, there are
no saloons" where are the graveyards?"
why, they never die"
ooh, let HE 60 in and see them!" you
say. No, you cannot go in. There are
those who would never consent to let you
come out again. You say, LET me stay
here in this place where they never sin,
part" No, no. Our 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,
for in your mortal state you cannot en-
dure the pomp and splendor 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. l am now
only showing you heaven at the dullest
half hour Of all eternities. Come oni
There is something in the celestial APP
pearance which makes me think that the
half hour of silence will soon be over.
to chariots, and yonder are seraphs finger
ing harps as if about to 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 can
not endure even the silent heaven for more
than half an hour.
Hark! The clock in the tower of heaven
begins to strike, and the half hour is end
ed. Descend! Come back! Come down
longer your burdens. Fight little longer
your battles. Weep a little longer your
griefs. And then take heaven not in its
dullest half hour, but in its mightiest
pomp, and, instead of taking it for thirty
minutes, take it world without end.
But how will you spend the first half
hour of your heavenly citizenship after
you have gone in to stay? After your
prostration before the throne in worship
of Him who made it possible for you to
get there at all / think the rest Of your
first half hour in heaven will be passed in
receiving your reward if you have been
faithful: l have strangely beautiful book
containing the pictures of the medals
struck by the English Government in
honor of great battles. These medals are
pinned over the heart of the returned he.
roes of the army on great occasions, the
royal family present and the royal bands
playing-the Crimean medal, the medal
of the mutiny, the Victoria cross, the
Waterloo medal. In your first half hour
in heaven in some way you will be honored
for the earthly struggles in which you won
the day. Stand up before all the royal
house of heaven and receive the insignia
while you are announced as victor over
the drafts and freshets of the farm field,
victor over the temptations of the Stock
Exchange, victor over professional allure
ments, victor over domestic infelicties,
victor over mechanics shop, victor ovel
the storehouse, victor over home worri-
ments, victor over physical distresses, VIC
tor over hereditary depressions, victor
over sin and death and hell. Take the
badge that celebrates those victories
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Take it
in the presence of all the galleries, sanity,
angelic and divine, while all heaven
clients. "These are they who came out of
great tribulation and had their robes
washed and made white in the blood Of
the Lamb"
copyright. 1902. L. Klopsch.l