The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1902-04-13

washington, April 6.-In the. following
discourse, prepared by DR.. Talmage be-
fore his illness. vivid glimpse of the
spIendors and glories of heavenly life
Is presented: text Revelation viii. 1,
There was silence in heaven about the
space of half an hour"
The busiest place in the universe Is
heaven. It is the center from which all
good influences start; 1t is the goal at
which all good results arrive. The Bible
represents 1t as active with wheels and
wings and orchestras and professions
mounted or charioted. But my text de-
scribes a space when the wheels ceased
to roll and the t-umpets to sound ana
the voices to chant The riders on the
white horses refined in their charges The
doxologies were hushed and professions
halted The hand of arrest was upon all
the splendors stop. heaven! cried an
omnipotent voice, and 1t 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
saws. 81 am sick" 1t does not stop for
bankruptcies, for its inhabitants never
fail. II does not rtop for impossible
streets, for there are no fallen SHOWS or
sweeping freshets. What, then, stopped
Ii for thirty minutes? Grotius and Pro-
RI
of the destruction of Jerusalem. Mr.. LORD
thinks it was in the year 3ll, between
the close of the Diocetian persecution
and the beginning of the wars by which
Constantine gained the throne. But that
was all guess, though a learned and
brilliant guess. l do not know wnen IL
was. and l do not care when 1t was, put
of the fact that such an interregnum
OF sound took place l am certain. There
was silence in heaven about the space
of half an hour"
And, first of ALL we learn that God and
all heaven then honored silence. The
longest and widest dominion that ever
existed is that over which stiffness was
queen. For an eternity there had not been
a sound World making was later day
occupation. For unmaginable ages IL was
q mute universe. God was the only being
and as there was no one to speak to there
been broken up into worlds. and 1t has
become noisy universe Words in up
heaval, worlds in congelation, worlds In
confiagration worlds In revolution.
Power of silence.
If biologists are right-and believe
they are-there has not been moment
of silence since this world began it's
travels, and the crashing and the splitting
and the uproar and the hubbub are ever
in progress. But when among the super
mails a voice cried, Hush 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
10 say is to say nothing and the might
lest thing to do is to do nothing. Those
people who are always rushing into print
10 get themselves set right accomplish
but their own chagrin. Silence!
Do right and leave the results with God.
Among the grandest lessons the world
has ever learned are the lessons of pa
thence taught by those who endured I'M
cornplainihgly personal or domestic or
political injustice. Stronger than any
bit-rer or sarcastic or revengeful answer
is the patient silence.
The famous DIR. Morrison of Chelsea
achieved as much by his silent patience
as by his pen and tongue. He had asthma
that for twenty-five years brought him
cut Of his couch at 2 o'clock each morn
ing. His four sons and daughters dead.
the remaining child by sunstroke made
insane, the afflicted man once said, Eat
this moment there is not an inch of my
body that is not filled with agony Yet
he was cheerful. triumphant silent.
Those who were in his presence said they
felt as though they were in the gates
of heaven. Oh the power of patient 81
lence! Aeschylus the immortal poet, was
condemned to death for writing some
thing that offended the people All the
pleas in his behalf were of no avail until
his brother uncovered the arm of the
prisoner and showed that his hand had
been shot off at Salamis. That silent plea
liberated him. The loudest thing on earth
is silence If it be of the right kind and
at the right time. There was a quaint