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Bible Lesson:

Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias

Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced

From the Christian Science Quarterly

Citations from The Amplified Bible

For week of May 23-29, citations compiled by Bruce Cunningham,

e-mail: cunninghambruce123@yahoo.com

Golden Text

Psalm 9:6 The enemy have been cut off and have vanished in everlasting ruins,

7 But the Lord shall remain and continue forever; . . .

Responsive Reading

Psalm 91:1 HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain

stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

3 For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the

deadly pestilence.

4 [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust

and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil

plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your

dwelling place, 10 There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].

Section 1

Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is

[so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable.

9 The Lord is good to all, . . . 17 The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways

and gracious and merciful in all His works.

Psalm 5:4 For You are not a God Who takes pleasure in wickedness; neither will

the evil [man] so much as dwell [temporarily] with You.

11 . . let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them

ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and

defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in

high spirits.

Psalm 119:68 You are good and kind and do good; . . .

114 You are my hiding place and my shield; . . .

Habakkuk 1:13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil and can not look

[inactively] upon injustice.

1 Kings 5:4 . . . the Lord my God has given me rest on every side,

so that there is neither adversary nor evil confronting me.

Section 2

Jeremiah 10:1 HEAR THE word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2 Thus says the Lord: Learn not the way of the [heathen] nations

and be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens, though they

are dismayed at them,

Deuteronomy 4:15 Therefore take good heed to yourselves, . . . .

19 . . . lest you lift up your eyes to the heavens, and when you see the sun, moon, and stars, even all the host of the heavens, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all nations under the whole heaven.

Isaiah 47:8 Therefore now, hear this, you who love pleasures and are given

over to them, you who dwell safely and sit securely, who say in

your mind, I am [the mistress] and there is no one else besides me.

13 You are wearied with your many counsels and plans. Let now the

astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and

make known to you and save you from the things that shall come upon you

[Babylon].

Isaiah 45:22 Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

Section 3

Proverbs 26:2 Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying,

so the causeless curse does not alight.

Numbers 22:2 And Balak [the king of Moab] son of Zippor saw all that Israel

Had done to the Amorites.

5 Sent messengers to Balaam [a foreteller of events] son of Beor at Pethor,

which is by the [Euphrates] River, even to the land of the children of his people, to say to him, There is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth and they have settled down and dwell opposite me.

6 Now come, I beg of you, curse this people for me, for they are too powerful

for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.

Numbers 23:5 And the Lord put a speech in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return

to Balak and thus shall you speak. 8 How can I curse those God has not cursed? Or how can I [violently] denounce those the Lord has not denounced?

11 And Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I brought you to

curse my enemies, and here you have [thoroughly] blessed them instead!

12 And Balaam answered, Must I not be obedient and speak what the Lord has

put in my mouth? 20 You see, I have received His command to bless Israel.

He has blessed, and I cannot reverse or qualify it.

Job 5:8 As for me, I would seek God and inquire of and require Him,

and to God would I commit my cause –

12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform

their enterprise or anything of [lasting] worth.

Section 4

1 Peter 3:13 Now who is there to hurt you if you are zealous followers of that

which is good? 14 . . . . Do not dread or be afraid of their

threats, nor be disturbed [by their opposition].

15 But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord.

1 Samuel 19:1 NOW SAUL told Jonathan his son and all his servants that they

must kill David.

4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, Let not

the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and

his deeds have been of good service to you.

6 Saul heeded Jonathan and swore, As the Lord lives, David shall not be slain.

7 So Jonathan called David and told him all these things. And Jonathan brought

David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; . . . 10 Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away, so that Saul struck the spear into the wall. Then David fled and escaped that night.

Isaiah 54:14 You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in

conformity with God's will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

17 But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue

that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.

Section 5

Luke 4:14 Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the [Holy] Spirit

into Galilee, and the fame of Him spread through the whole region round about. 15 And He Himself conducted [a course of] teaching in their synagogues, being recognized and honored and praised by all.

16 So He came to Nazareth, [that Nazareth] where He had been brought up, . .

24 Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome

in his [own] town (country). 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed up for three years and six months, so that there came a great famine over all the land;

26 And yet Elijah was not sent to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in

the country of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [I Kings 17:1, 8-16; 18:1.]

27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet,

and yet not one of them was cleansed [by being healed] -- but only Naaman the Syrian. [II Kings 5:1-14.]

28 When they heard these things, all the people in the synagogue were filled

with rage. 29 And rising up, they pushed and drove Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting] upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him headlong down [over the cliff]. 30 But passing through their midst, He went on His way.

31 And He descended to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and there He continued

to teach the people on the Sabbath days.

Psalm 138:5 . . . . great is the glory of the Lord.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.

8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-

kindness, O Lord, endure forever -- forsake not the works of Your own hands.

Section 6

Luke 13:1 JUST AT that time there [arrived] some people who informed Jesus

about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

2 And He replied by saying to them, Do you think that these Galileans were

greater sinners than all the other Galileans because they have suffered in this way? 3 I tell you, No; but unless you repent (change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally.

1 Timothy 5:22 Do not be in a hurry in the laying on of hands [giving the

sanction of the church too hastily in reinstating expelled offenders or in ordination in questionable cases], nor share or participate in another man's sins; keep yourself pure.

Section 7

Luke 13:4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them-

-do you think that they were more guilty offenders (debtors) than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, No; but unless you repent (change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally.

Section 8

Matthew 8:5 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him,

begging Him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and distressed with intense pains.

7 And Jesus said to him, I will come and restore him.

8 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You

come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be

cured.

13 Then to the centurion Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have

believed. And the servant boy was restored to health at that very moment.

Section 9

Ephesians 6:10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through

your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. 11 Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

13 Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and

stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. 14 Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-

footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. 16 Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].

17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields,

which is the Word of God.

Romans 13:12 . . . . Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of

darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.