610
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
September 1927
Is Spiritism a New Revelation ? B y R ev . F. E. M arsh W HY did Joseph use the children of Israel as a scourge of judgment upon the Canaanites of old? When God warned the children of Israel against spiritism in the time of Moses, He commanded them as follows, “There shall not be found with thee anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, or an enchanter, or a. sorcerer, or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever doeth these things is an abomination unto the Lord.” And then He gives the reason why they should not follow what He calls “the abomination of the na tions,” namely, -“and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.” ( “Perfect” means upright, hence, by implication it is stated that those who have to do with the dead are crooked.) And Jehovah further adds—-“For these nations which thou shalt pos sess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto divin ers; but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do” (Deut. 18 :9-14). S piritism B efore M oses From the above quotation spiritism does not seem to have been a “new revelation” in the timé of Moses; there fore for anyone to claim it as a “new revelation” in the twentieth century shows he is either an ignoramus as to the facts of history, or a deliberate deceiver to gain ad herents for his own theory. Was not spiritism even older than the time of Mosesf In Abraham’s time Jehovah referred to “the iniquity of the Amorites” as “not yet full” (Gen. 15:16). The Amor- ites were the descendants of Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, the son of Noah, hence Canaanites and Amorites are often interchangeable words to designate the dwellers in the land of Canaan. As Canon Fausett says, “No traces appear of any distinctive government, worship, or customs, different from the other Canaanite nations.”: With these Amorites we find that King Ahab was associated, and followed their abominations, hence he is said to have sold himself “to work wickedness,” and “did very abominably in following idols” (1 Kings 21 :25, 26). What the abominations were we are not left in any doubt, for the same expression is applied to the wickedness of Manasseh, of whom we read, “He practised augury and used enchantments, and dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards . . . . and the Lord spake by His servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh, King of Judah, hath done these abominations, and done wickedly, above all the Amorites did . . . . . therefore . . . . Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, his ears shall tingle. . . . . And I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of their enemies” (2 Kings 21:6-14, R. V.). I t is rather late in the day, therefore, to talk of spirit ism as a “new revelation” when we find it in vogue so far back—nearly to the time of Noah! Nor are we left in any doubt regarding God’s thought about it. He calls it “an abomination,” and says He will punish its adherents in such a manner that they shall be like a wiped-out dish, that He will cast them off as a man discards a useless garment, and that others, hearing of the inflicted punish ment, will have their ears tingling with astonishment and terror.
O ctober 3. “It is fimfhed.’i^jn o . 19 :30.
NOT only the life of poverty, of obloquy, and of suffering, but the redemption of mankind. “It is finished”—it was one of the most stupendous announcements the world has ever heard. The great atoning work was done. Heaven was .once more joined to earth. Death and hell were conquered. The curse which had been the consequence of Adam’s .fall was at last reversed. The words flash like a gleam of summer light athwart the midnight darkness that gathers about Calvary; the echoes of their music ring on through all the ages, bringing hope and sal vation to generation after generation of sinful, burdened men. “It is finished!” Then there remains nought for me to do I I need offer no sacrifice, I need perform no pilgrimage, I need endure no penance, I need wait for no amendment. I have but to accept and believe the words of the expiring Christ. My sins need trouble me no more, at least as regards their eternal consequence. How slow we are to realize this truth. How we cumber the salvation which He offers us with limitations and conditions. How we hedge the path to peace with thorns that are not of the Divine planting. How we cling to the idea that we must do, or be, or give something that we may perfect the work which He Himself declared to be already and completely done. “It is f i ni s hedl e t us strive to grasp the phrase in all its fulness of blessing, and go free henceforth, without cavil and without unbelief. 2 Kings 5:19. WHAT did he say unto him? Not, certainly, “Go in peace,” as we have it in our Authorized translation. Here'was a man who in one breath acknowledged the claims of the LORD to his worship, and who in the next announced his intention of doing what he knew to be wrong, and asked for pardon in ad vance. To such a person the Prophet of JEHOVAH could not possibly have said: “Go in peace.” What he did say was “Peace,” a phrase as common and as meaningless (or otherwise) as our “Good afternoon.” In this case it was used half in contempt, half in pity, and amounted to no more than this: “Well, you have made up your mind to do wilful evil, rather than to risk the loss of your position; I have nothing more to say to you; good day.” Such is the inevitable answer to those who are determined to tread the paths of sin. For them there is no real peace. God will not compromise with man in matters of right and wrong; least of all (if that were possible) where the sin was one of practical idolatry; for He is “a jealous God,” and will not give His glory to another. No apparent necessity, however great, jus tifies us in pursuing a course which we know to be displeasing in His eyes; nor will any excuse save us from the punishment due to our misdeeds if we persist in our crooked ways. The holy God is “of too pure eyes to behold evil,” and He demands that we should forsake all iniquity if we desire His favor or His peace. The error in our translation of the text is an un happy one, and has been made the excuse for all kinds of un righteousness, both in words and deeds. A now sainted Methodist Bishop once said, while talk ing about religious leaders, that he would rather follow such leaders as John Wesley, Adam Clark, John Fletcher, Richard Watson and others who had lived holy lives and died well than modern leaders who were yet alive because it was not certain where they were going. Think 1 O ctober 4. "And he said unto him . .
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