Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-04-19
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
"SILENOE IN HEAVEN FOR THE
SPACE OF HALF AN HOUR"
Only That Short Space in all the
Eternities of Time Given to Silence
importance of These Fragments of Our
Lises-A Glimpse of the Kingdom

copyright. 1902, Louis Klopsch. n. Y.)
Washington, April 6.-In the follow
ing discourse prepared by DR.. Talmage
before his illness, vivid glimpse of
the splendors and glories of heavenly
life is presented; text, Revelation viii,
/, There was silence in heaven about
the space of half an hour
The busiest place in the universe is
heaven. 1t is the center from which
all good influences start; it is the goal
at 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 describes a 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
their chargers. The doxologies were
hushed and professions halted The
hand of arrest was upon all the splen-
dors. "Stop, heaven" cried an omnip-
otent voice, and it stopped For thirty
minutes everything celestial stood still
There was silence in heaven about
the space of 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
there is no night there 1t does not
stop for a plague, for the inhabitant
never says. Il am sick 1t does not
stop for bankruptcies, for its inhabi-
tants never fail 1t does not stop for
impossible streets, for there are no
fallen SHOWS or sweeping freshets.
What, then, stopped it for thirty min
utes? Grotius and Professor Stuart
think it was at the time of the destruc
ton 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. l 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 1
am certain. There was silence in
heaven about the space of half an
hour
If geologists are right-and L believe
they are-there has not been moment
of silence since this world began its
travels and the crashing and the split
ting and the uproar and the hubbub
are ever in progress But when among
the supernals a voice cried "Hushi"
and for half an hour heaven was still,
silence was honored. The full power
of silence many of US have yet to
learn. We are told that when Christ
was arraigned -.he answered not a
word That silence was louder than
any thunder that ever shook the world
Oftentimes when we are assailed and
misrepresented the mightiest thing to
say is to say nothing and the mightiest
thing to do is to do nothing Silence,
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 en-
dured uncomplainingly personal or do
mestic or political injustice. Stronger
than any bitter or sarcastic or revenge
full answer is the patient silence.
In my text heaven spared thirty
minutes, but it will never again spare
one minute. In worship in earthly
churches where there are many to
take part we have to counsel brew
ity, but how will heaven get on rap
idly enough to let one hundred and
forty-four thousand get through each
with his own story and then one hun
dred and forty-four million and then
one hundred and forty-four billion
and then one hundred and forty-four
lIl1llOA NOI only are ali the Jr1-
umphs of the past to be commence
rated, but all the triumphs to come
Not only what we now know of God
but what we will know of him after
everlasting study of the deific If my
text had said there was silence in
heaven for thirty days, 1 would not
have been startled at the announce
ment but it indicates thirty min
utes. Why, there will be so many
friends to hunt up, so many of the
greatly good and useful that we will
want to see, so many of the inscrut-
able things of earth we will need ex-
planned, SO many exciting earthly ex-
periences we will want to talk over,
and all the other spirits and all the
ages will want the same, that there
will be no more opportunity for ces-
sation- The multitudes of men and
women who got no crown on earth
we will want to see them when they.
get their crown in heaven 1 tell you
heaven will have no more half hours
to spare
My subject also impresses me with
the Immortality of a half hour That
half hour mentioned in my text is
more widely known than any other
period in the calendar of heaven. The
only part of eternity that was ever
measured by earthly timepiece was
measured by the minute hand of my
~ INT