The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-05-11
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
h Homily on the Widespread Curse
of Modern Spiritualism.
The Birth and Progress of the Heresy in
America and the Baneful Influence 1t
Has Exerted in Many Homes
a Christian Seanee.

Has Exerted in Many Homes
a Christian Seanees
sModern Spiritualism" was the subject
chosen by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage for a
recent sermon at the Brooklyn Tab
ernacle. His text was:
Dr. TaImage announced his subject:
"Modern Spiritualism." He took for his
text:
spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself
and put on other raiment and he went, ana
two men with him, and they came TO the
woman by night; and he said, ] pray thee, di-
vine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring
me him up, whom shall name unto thee
]. Samuel xviii, rs.
have recently become a Spiritualist.
At least so some of the journals of that
belief declare. This, together with the
fact that mediums" are now being tried
in the criminal courts, setting millions
of people to make inquiry in regard to
communications between this world and
the next. leads me to preach this sermon.
Trouble to the right of him and trouble
TO the left of him, Saul knew not what to
do. AS a last resort, he concluded to
seek out a spiritual medium, or witch,
or any thing that you please to call it-at
any rate, woman who had commun1ca-
ton with the spirits of the eternal world.
4
had either slain all the witches or COM
peeled them to stop business. a servant
one day said to King Saul:
ssI know of a spiritual medium down at
the village of Endor."
ssDo your" said the King. Night falls.
Saul, putting off his kingly robes and put
ting on the dress of a plain citizen, with
two servants, goes out to hunt up this
spiritual medium. It was no easy thing
g, fnT hn IL
est people in the country only came up to
his shoulder, and think from the strength
| of the man and the way he bore himself,
he must have been well proportioned. 1t
must have been a frightful thing to see a
man walking along in the night eight or
nine feet high. I suppose, as the people
saw him pass, they said "Who is thatg
| He is as tall as the King"-having no idea
| that in such plain dress there really was
| passing the King.
Saul and his servants after awhile reach
! the village, and they say: 81 wonder If
] this is the house?" and they look in and
| they see the haggard, weird and shriveled
| spiritual medium sitting by the light, and
| on the table sculptured images, and d1v1n-
! ing rods, and poisonous herbs, and bot
ties, and vases. They say: eyes, this
must be the place." One loud rap brings
the woman to the door, and as she stands
| there, holding the candle or lamp above
! her head, and peering out into the dark
! ness, she says: 'WhO is herep The tall
King informs her that he has come to
have his fortune told. When she hears
that she trembles and almost drops the
light, for she knows there is no chance for
fortune teller or spiritual medium in all
the land. But Saul having sworn that no
harm shall come to her, she says:
"Wel1, who shall I bring up from the
dead?"
Saul says: ''Bring up Samuel"
That was the prophet who had died a
little while before. I see her waving a
wand, or stirring up some poisonous
herbs in cauldron, or hear her mutter-
ing over some incantatiOns, or stamping
with her foot as she cries out to the realm
of the dead: Samuel Samuelp LO, the
freezing horrorl The floor of the tene-
ment opens, and the gray hairs float up,
| and the forehead, the eyes, the lips, the
shoulders, the arms, the feet the entire
| body of dead Samuel wrapped in sepul-
chral robe, appear to the astOnished group,
who stagger back and hold fast, and catch
their breath, and shiver with terror. The
dead prophet, white and awful from the
tomb, begins to move his ashen lips, and
he glares upon King Saul and cries out:
"What did you bring me up for? Why
did you break my long sleep? What do
you mean, King Saul?"
Saul, trying to compose and control
himself, makes this stammering and af-
frightened utterance, as he says to the
dead prophet;
''The Lord is against me, and have
come to you for help. What shall doY
The dead prophet stretched forth his
finger to King Saul and said;
'Die tomorrow! Come with me into
the sepulchre. / am going now. Come,
! como with me -
And 10! the floor again opens and the
feet Of the dead prophet disappear, and
the arms, and the shoulders, and the fore
| head. The floor closes. Nothing is left
in the room but Saul and the two servants
and the spiritual medium, and the sculpt-
ured images, and the divining rods, anc
/ the bottles, and the vases, and the poison
GUS herbs. Oh, that was an awful seance
TIearn first from this subject that Spir.
itualism is q very old religion. 1t Is
] natural that people should want TO know
the origin and the history of a doctrine
which is so widespread in all the villages
towns and cities of the civilized world
getting new converts every day-a doc.
) trine with which many Of you are already
tinged.
Spiritualism in America was born il
lS47 in Hydesville, Wayne County, n. Y.
when one night there was loud RAJ
heard against the door of Michael Week
man; a rap a second time, rap thirC
time; and all three times, when the dOol
4 was opened, there was nothing founC
there, the knocking having been made
seemingly by invisible knuckles. In tina
same house there was a young woman
who had a cold hand passed OTer her face
and, there being seemingly no arm at
tached to it, ghOstly suspicions were ex
l cited. After awhile Mr.. Fox and hi
family moved into that house, and thel
] yafrr Tue a a
. door, and one night Mr.. Fox said:
2 'sAre you a spirit?" Two raps, answer
! | ing in the affirmative.
s'Are you an injured spirit?" Tworap
answering in the affirmative. And so the.
,ound out as they say, that it was tn
ghost or spirit Of II peddler who had beer
j / murdered in that house, many year
e before, for his FIVE hundred dollars
!, Whether the ghost of the dead peddle
: had come there to collect his five hundre
i dollars or his bones / can not say, no
+ being a Spiritualist, but there was a grea
racket at the door, so Mr. Weekman de
: clared, and Mrs. Weekman and Mr. FOl
!, and Mrs. Fox, and all the little Foxes
y The excitement spread. There was a.
: universal rumpus. The Hon. Judge Ed
y wards declared IN book that be ha
l. actually seen a bell start from the TO
It shelf of a closet, heard it ring over th
people that were standing in the-closet
. then, swung by invisible hands, It ran
= over the people in the back parlor; an
foated through the folding doors TO th
front parlor, rung over the people ther
and then dropped 10 the floor.
= N 2. Talmage. Senator &C the Unite
= States, afterwards Governor of Wiscon
e siu, had his head completely turned wit
. spiritualistic demonstrations A man a
he was passing along the road said tina
he was lifted up bodily and carried tOwar
" his home through the air at such grea
speed he could not count the posts on 10