Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1844-01-10

CuuSC vi tHc quo uhu moon notuHuhS
Last evening, the first series of lectures
on the cause which produced the miracle
of The sun and moon standing still. and
also of The sun moving backwards on the
sun dial of Ahaz, as recorded 10 The Holy
Scriptures, 10 lie demonstrated astronomi-
cally and experimentally, aud illustrated
by diagrams and apparalus-was deliver
ed by Mr.. R. Linton, at the Royal AS
sembly Rooms, Great George street. The
lecturer commenced by stating that the
phenomena he was about 10 illustrate was
recorded in the 10th chapter Of Joshua,
and 18th verse, the 10th chapter OF Second
Kings. and 10Th verse, aud the 30th chap
Ter Of Isaiah, and Slh verse; and if he
could make it appear that the miracle in
the case of Joshua had been produced
without at all interfering with the fixed
laws of nature, hut, on The contrary, with
the present acknowledged solar system,
The cavils of the sceptic and the inidel
would be siIenced, and Gods unlimited
power magni6ed. He then reviewed the
leading circumstances connected with the
miracle. beginning with Gods promise 10
Abraham, that in his seed all nations of
the earth should he b!essed-and following
the course of The children of Israel thro'
the Red Sea and Wilderness under the
command Of Moses, aud subsequently un-
der that Of Joshua. He showed that Mo-
ses possessed the power of working mira
ees on the animal, vegetable, and mine
raj kingdoms, and that Joshua FIRST proved
that the hand Of the Almighty was with
him by dividing and passing over the river
Jordan, and next by commanding the sun
10 stand still over Gideon, and the moon
in The valley of Ajalon. He then showed
lha, the miracle had been performed at a
lime of great emergency, inasmuch as
Joshua and all Israel would have been
hemmed in among The mountain passes,
with which they were wholly unacquainl-
ed, and put to The route by. the enemy
against whom they were then encamped,
had not the light Of the sun and moon been
prolonged.
1t was somewhat unfortunate, he said,
that the Book of Jehon, which, according
to Josephus, contained minute record OF
what had occurred 10 the Jews from year
10 wear, and also Of The particulars of the
extraordinary miracle, should have been
lost, as it most probably was al the de-
slruction of the temple; but still it was
mailer Of fthankfullness that we possessed
the written evidence of both the Chinese
and the Egyptians. in addition TO the
Scriptures, that a disturbance of The sun
had taken place. The date Of the Chi
nese account corresponded with the Isra-
elitish. The Egyptian account neither
gave The date nor the motive, but it fur
nished that which was still hetter, because
it was the only point wanted in order to es-
lablsh the fact on philosophical principles.
1t gave US the observations Of the effect
produced on the Sun by the miracle in
other words. it gave us the course of the
Sun during the miracle; md those three
testimonies taken together were amply
sufficient 70 solve the problem Of the diff
Guilty of which had baffled philosophers in
all ages. The lecturer then proceeded 10
show that if Joshua had asked, what scep-
tics generally alleged he ought-for the
earth to stand still. there would have been
general deluge caused by the overflow
ing OF the ocean, and that in asking for the
sun TO stand sill (which he always does, I
he was simply asking for the.light TO stand
still-light being the primitive word for
sun. He therefore simply requested a
prolongalion Of light from both sun and
moon and the phenomenon was produced
wilhou, interfering with the earth's rota-