Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-04-11
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Sermon 81 :.
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Ing discourse. prepared by DR.. Talmage
before his illness. a vivid glimpse OF
the splendors and glories OF heavenly
life is presented; text. Revelation viii,
J, "There was silence i'm 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 il as active with
wheels and wings and orchestras and
professions mounted or chario,ed. But
my text describes 4 space when the
wheels ceased to roll and the trumpets
TO sound and the voices to chant. The
riders on the white horses refined in
their charges. The doXOiosics were
hushed and professions halted. The
hand OF arrest was upon all the splen-
doris '-Stop, heavenr' cried an omnipo-
tent 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 il 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. al ain sick" 1t does not
stop for bankruptcies. for its iphab-
itants never fail. 1t does not stop for
impossible streets, for there are no
sallen SHOWS or sweeping freshets.
What then, stopped it for thirty min
utes? Grotius and Professor Stuart
think 1t was ut the time of the destruc-
tion OF Jerusalem. Mr.. Lord thinks 1t
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. But that
was all u guess, though Il learned and
brilliant guess. j do not know when IL
was, and j do not care when it was,
but OF the fact that such an interreg.
mum OF sound took place 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 houored silence.
The longest and widest dominion that
ever existed is that over which still
ness was queen. For an eternity there
had not been a sound. World making
was later day occupation. For IN
imaginable ages IL was n mute uni
verse God was the only being, and
rs there was no one to speak to there
was no utterance. But that silence
has all been broken up into worlds,
and it has become ~ noisy universe.
Worlds in upheaval. worlds in congela-
ton. worlds in confagration. worlds in
revolution.
The Power of silence.
if biologists are right--and 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
nre ever in progress. But when among
the supernals n voice cried. "Hushr'
and for half an hour heaven was still,
silence was honored. The full power
or silence many OF us have yet to
learn. We are told that when Christ
was arraigned "he answered not n
word" That silence was louder than
any thunder that ever shook the world
Oftentimes when we arc assailed and
misrepresented the mightiest thing to
shy is TO say nothing and the mightiest
thing to do is to do nothing. Those
people who are always rushing into
print to get themselves set right ac-
complish nothing but their own cha
grin. Silencel Do right and leave the
results with God. Among the grand
est lessons the world has ever learned
are the lessons OF patience taught by
those who endured uncomplainingly
personal or domestic or political injus-
tee. Stronger than any bitter or sar-
castle or revengeful answer is the pa
tient silence.
The famous DR.. Morrison OF Chelsea
achieved as much by his silent patience
as by his pen and tongue. He had asth-
ina that for twenty-five years brought
him out OF his couch at o'clock each
morning. His four sons and daughters
dead. the remaining child by .sunstroke
made insane, the afflicted man once
said. "At this moment there is not an
Inch or my body that is not filled with
agony" Yet he was cheerful, trium-
plant. silent. Those who were in his
presence said they felt as though they
were IN the gates OF heaven. Oh, the
power or patient silencei Eschylus,
the immortal poet, was condemned to
death for writing something that Of
Tended the people. All the pleas in his
behalf were Of no avail untffhIs broth
ar uncovered the arm OF the prisoner
md showed that his hand had been
shot on at Salamis. That silent plea
liberated him. The loudest thing on
earth is silence IL 1t be OF the right
<'nd and at the right time. There was
quaint old hymn spelled I'm the old
style and once sung in the churches:
The race is not forever got
BY him who fastest runs
Nor the Battel by those peopeIl
That shoot with the longest guns
My friends. the tossing sea,of Galilee
seemed most to offend Christ by the
amount OF noise it made. for he said
To 1t, BE stlllr' Heaven has been
browning kings and queens unto God
Tor many centuries. yet heaven never
stopped moment for any such occur
renee. but 1t stopped thirty minutes
Tor the coronation OF silence. There
was silence In heaven about the snaca
or half an hour"
Heaven an Eventual Place.
Learn also from my text that heaven
must be an eventful and active place
from the fact that 1t could afford only
Shrty minutes OF recess. There have
Deen events on earth and in heaven
that seemed to demand a whole day or
whole week or whole year for celestial
consideration. IL Grotius was right
ana this silence occurred at the time
OF the destruction of Jerusalem, that
scene was so awful and so prolonged
that the inhabitants of heaven could
not have done justice to it in many
weeks. After fearful besiegement of
the two fortresses OF Jerusalem, Anto-
MA and Hippicus. had been going on for
long while, Roman soldier, mounted
on the shoulder of another soldier.
hurled into the window OF the temple
hrebrand. and the temple was all
ahame. and after covering many sacri.