The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-04-10

makes the difference between the scholar
and the ignoramus, between the Christian
and the infdel, between the saint and the
demon, between triumph and catastrophe,
between heaven and hell.
The most tremendous things of your
life and mine were certain half hours. The
half hour when in the parsonage of a
country minister i resolved to become a
Christian then and there, the half hour
| when L decided to become a preacher OF
the gospel, the half hour when first re-
| elized that my son was. dead, the half hour
when 1 STOOD on the top OF MY mousse In
| Oxford street and saw our church burn,
| the half hour in which I entered Jerusa-
| lem, the half hour in which | stopped on
Mount Calvary, the half hour i'll which |
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, viii be immor-
the twentieth century. | do not query
what you will do with this year. but what
will you do with the next half hourY
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 will make final and fa-
tai rejection Of the full and free and urgent
and impassioned offer of life eternal.
oh, that the next half hour might be
the most glorious thirty minutes OF your
earthly existencel
Then there are those whose hearing is
sc, delicate that they get no satisfaction
when you describe the crash of the eter-
nal orchestra, and they feel like saying, as
good woman in Hudson, N. Y, said af-
ter hearing me speak Of the mighty chorus
OF heaven, That must be a great heaven,
but what will become of my poor head 2,
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
minutes for all heaven; is that Jesusy"
Yes" just under the hair along His
forehead is the mark of wound made by
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 GRANDEUR What
a lovelinessl What an Overwhelming look
Of kindness and gracel Why, He looks as
If He had redeemed a world! But come
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 gloriesy 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 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
8F are the e1SS5fnis hospas oe
the lame!" ''They are all agile" Where
are the infirmaries for. the blind and
deaf?" "They all see and hear" Where
are the almshouses for the. poor?" They
are are all mutimillionares," Where are
no saloons" where are the eraveyards? %
Why, they never die"
oh, let me go 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
where, they never suffer, where they never
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,
Tor IN your mortal state you cannot en-
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 onl
There Is something in the celestial ap.
pearance which makes me think that the
half hour of silence will soon be over.
Yonder are the white horses being hitched
to charots, 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
till your work is done. Shoulder little
longer. your burdens. Fight little longer
your battles. Weep little longer your
griefs. And then take heaven not in its
dullest half hour, but in its mghtiest
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 stayg 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: 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
roya! family present and the royal bands
playlng-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 infelicities.
victor over mechanics shop, victor over
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
chants, 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.I
Remarkable Speed of Fiios.