The Bossier banner., 1892-03-17
TINE TURNED BACK.
Rev. r. Dewitt Talmaa B's Receipt
for Happiness.
Gurn Pack the Hands of Time by Keeping
the Heart Youthful and Seeking the
Inspiration of Active Chris
tian Work.

The following interesting discourse
was delivered by Rev. L. Dewitt Tai
mage in the Brooklyn tabernacle, from
the text:
And Isaiah. the prophet, cried unto the Lord;
and He brought the shadow ten degrees back
ward by whichit had gone down in the dial OF
,Ahaz.-II Kings Xxx, IL.
Here is the first clock or watch or
chronometer or time-piece of which the
world has any knowledge. But it was
watch that did not strike. 1t was
sun-dial Ahaz, the king, invented it.
Between the hours given to the state
craft and the cares of Office he invent
ed something by which he could tell the
time of day. This sun-dial may have
been a great column, and when the
shadow of that column reached one
point it was nine o'clock in the morn
ing. and when it reached three o'clock
in the afternoon, and all the hours and
half hours were so measured. Or it may
have been a flight of stairs, such as may
be found in Hindoostan and other old
countries, and when the shadow reached
one step it was ten o'clock in the morn
ing, or another step it was four o'clock
in the afternoon, and likewise other
hours may have been indicated.
But the chronologlsts only heaped up
mountain of confusion and bewilder-
ment until in the sixth century Diony-
sus Exiguus, q Roman abbot, said:
LET everything date from the birth at
Bethlehem of the Lord Jesus Christ,
~ -. hot
proposed to have things dated back
ward and forward from that great
event. What splendid thought for
the world! What mighty thing for
Christianity! 1t would have been most
natural to date every thing from the
creation of the world. But am glad
the chronologists could not too easily
guess how old the world was in order
to get the nations in the habit of dat
ing from that occurrence in it's docu-
ments and histories. Forever fixed as
is it that all history is to be dated with
reference to the birth of Christ, and,
this matter settled, Hales, the chief
chronologist, declared that the world
was made five thousand four hundred
and eleven years before Christ, and the
deluge came three thousand one hun
dred and fifty-five years before Christ,
and all the illustrious events of the
last nineteen centuries and all the great
events of all time to come have been or
shall be dated from the birth of Christ
These things say that you may know
what watch is, what clock is, what
an almanac is, and learn to appreciate
through what tolls and hardships and
perplexities the world came to it's pres
ent convenience and comforts, and to
help you to more respectful considera-
ton of that sun-dial of Ahaz planted in
my text.
We are told that Hezekiah, the king,
was dying of boil. 1t must have been
one of the worst kind of carbuncles, a
boil without any central core and some
times deathful. A fig was put upon it
us poultice. Hezekiah did not want
10 die then. His son who was to take
he kingdom had not yet been born and
lIezelsiah's death would have been the
death of the nation. So he prays for
recovery and is told he will get well.
n But wants some miraculous sign to
make him sure of it. He has the choice
1 of having the shadow ON the sundial OF
Ahaz advance or retreat. He replied il
8 would not be so wonderful to have the
sun go down, for it always does go
down sooner or later. He asks that it go
backward. In other words, let the day,
instead of going on toward sundown,
turn and go toward sunrise. | see the
invalid king bolstered up and wrapped
in blankets, looking out of the window
upon the sundial in the courtyard.
While he watches the shadow on the
dial the shadow begin to retreat. In.
stead of going on toward o'clock in the
evening it goes back toward six o'clock
in the morning. The fig poultice had
been drawing for some time, and sure
enough the boil broke and Hezekiah
got well. Now expect you will come
on with your higher criticism and try
to explain this away and say it was ar
optical delusion of Hezekiah, and the
shadow only seemed to GO back, or q
cloud come over, and it was uncertain
which way the shadow did go, and as
IIezekiah expected it to go back he
took the action of his own mind for the
retrograde movement No; the shad
ow went back on all the dials of tha
land and other lands. Turn to II
Chronicles, xxi, 81, and find tha
away off in Babylon the mighty mel
of the palace noticed the same phe-
nomenon. And if you do not like
Bible authority, turn over your copy o.
Herodotus and find that away off in
Egypt the people noticed that there
was something the matter with tn,
sun. The fact is that the whole uni
verse waits upon God and suns, moon.
and stars are not very big things t,
Him, and He can with His little fnge
turn back an entire world as easily a.
you could set back the hour-hand O
minute-hand of your clock or watch.
My friends, can not look for on,
moment on that retrograde shadow OF
Ahaz's dial without learning that Coz
controls the shadows, and that lessor
we all need TO learn. That He controls
the sunshine is not so necessary les
son. for anybody can be happy whel
things go right. When you sleep eigh
hours q p;phf and rise with m a prat;+