The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-04-11
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BIZ The NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The spiendors and Gioriss OF
Heavenly Life A GIinPse OF the
Kings Paiace-An Impressive Half
Hour in Eternity.

G4scOlfst, prepared Dl III o-i44iss D~tS4N
his il.ness, q vivid glimpse OF the spien-
dors and glories OF heavenly lie IS pre-
sented; text, Revelation VII, !, There
was silence IN heaven about the space o.
half an hour"
The busiest place in the universe IS
heaven. II Is the centre from which al
good influences start; II Il the goal at
which all good results arrive The Bible
represents II as active with wneC.s and
wings and orchestras and procession,
mounted or charioted. But my text de-
scribes a space when the wheels ceased TO
roll and the tTumpets 20 sound and the
voices 20 chant. The riders on the white
horses reined IN their charges. The dpxo.-
oges were hushed and professions halted.
The hand OF arrest was upon all the sD.en-
dor. stop heaven" cried an omGiDo-
tent voice, and II 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 1t is the only
time heaven ever stopped II does not
stop as other cities for the night, for there
"a no night there. IL does not stop fora
plague, for the inhabitant never saws; Il
am sick" 1t does not stop for bankrupt
cies, for IT'S inhabitants never fail. 1t
does not stop for impossible streets, for
there are no fallen SHOWS or sweeping
freshets. What, then, stopped 1t for thic.
ty minutes; Grotlus and Professor Stuart
think IL was at the time OF the destruction
OF Jerusalem. Mr.. Lord thinks 1t was IN
the year 3ll, between the close OF the Do
cletlan persecution and the beginning OF
the wars by which Constantine gained the
throne. But that was all a guess, though
q learned and brilliant guess. | do not
know when II was and do not care when
IT was, but OF the fact that such an inter
regnum 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 honored silence. The
longest and widest domain that ever cx-
listed is that over which stiffness was
queen. For an eternity there had not
been a sound. World making was a later
day occupation. For unimaginable ages
II was a mute universe. God was the only
being, and as there was no one TO speak
10 there was no utterance. But that ST.
lence has all been broken up in to worlds,
and 1t has become a noisy universe.
Worlds IN upheayal, worlds in congela.
tion, worlds IN confagration, worlds in
revolution.
If geologists are right-and | believe
thry are-there has not been a 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 pro.
gress. But when among the superna.s 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 arralgned "IIe answered not a word"
That silence was louder than any thunder
that ever shook the world. Oftentlmes
when we are assailed and misreprescate1
the mightlest thing to say Is 20 say moth
ing, and the mightiest thing 70 do is to do
nothing. Those people who are always
rushing into print 70 get themselves set
right accomplish nothing but their own
chagrin. Silence! Do right and leave the
results with God. Among the grandest les
sons the world has ever learned are the
lessons of patience taught by those who
endured uncomplainingly personal or do
mestic or political injustice. Stronger
than any bitter or sarcastic or revengeiu!
answer is the patient silence.
The famous DR.. 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
out of his couch at ? o'clock each morning.
In my text heaven spared thirty min
utes, but 10 VIII never again spare one min
ute. In worship in earthly churches
where there are many 20 take part we
have to counsel breyity, but how will
heaven get on rapidly enough TO let one
hundred and forty-four thousand get
through each with his own story and then
one hundred and forty-four million a.d
and then one hundred and forty-four trili-
ion?
Not only are air the triumphs of the
past TO he commemorated, but all the
trlumphs to come. Not only what we now
know of God, but what we will know OF
Him after everlasting study of the delfc.
II my text had said there was silence in
heaven for thirty, days, | would not have
been startled at the announcement, but II
indicates thirty minutes.
Why, there viii be so many friends 70
hunt up, so many of the greatly good and
useful that we will want to sec. so many
of the inscrutable things of earth we will
need explained, so many exciting earthly
experiences we will want 20 talk over. and
all the other spirits and all the ages viii
want the same, that there will be no more
opportunity for cessation.
How busy we will be kept in having
pointed out 10 us the heroes and heroine,
that the world never fully appreclated-the
yellow fever and cholera doctors who died.
not flying from their posts. the female
nurses who faced pestIence in the laza-
rettos; the railroad engineers who stayed
at their places in order TO save the train,
though they themselves perished. Hu.
bert Coffin, the master miner, who, land
ing from the bucket at the bottom OF the
mine Just as he heard the waters rush in
and when one Jerk of the rope would have
e.
blind miner who wanted TO go to his s.cl;
child, and jeiked the rope for him 10 be
pulled up. crying, Tell them the water
has burst in and we are probably lost but
we viii seek refuge at the other end OF the
right gallery and then giving the com
mand % the other miners till they digeed
themselves 80 near out that the pCoD,a
from the outside could come 20 their res
cue. The multitudcs Of men and women
who got no crown on earth we will want
10 see when they get their crown in helv-
en-. | tell YOU heaven will have no more
half hours TO spare.
Besides that, heaven is full of children.
They are in the vast majority No child
on earth who amounts to anything can he
kept quiet half an hour, ald how are YOU
gong to keep five hundred million OF them
quiet half an hour You know heaven is
much more Of a place than 70 was when
that recess OF thirty minutes occurred
It's population has quadruPied, sextupled,
centupiCd.
Heaven has more on hand, moro OF rap
ture. more OF knowledge. more of inter
communication. more OF worship. The
most thrilling place we have ever been in
Is stupid colpared with that. and. II We
now have no time 10 spare. we viii then
have no eternity TO snare. Silence IN hcav.
en- only hall an hourl
Ny subject also imp-csses r,e with the
Immortality OF a half hour That hall
hour mentioned IN my text - more widely
known than any other period in the c1'cl-
dar OF heaven. None of the whole hogis
of heaven - measured off. none of the
years none of the centuries. Ot the mill
ions ~ ages past and the millions ot ages
20 come uot one u especially measure OF
in the Bible But the ha.. hour oi my
text Is made immortal.
The only par; Of eternity that was ever