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Article COIRESPGNDENCE. ← Page 8 of 11 →
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Coirespgndence.
' will be universal ?; and all the nations of the earth shall serve Him as one flock under one Shepherd , the mighty Jehovah , who is the prominent object of invocation and worship in a Mason ' s Lodge . Do the universalists reply to this assertion by asking whom it is that we designate by the great and holy Name of Jehovah ? Bishop Pearson shall tell them , "If we consider the office of John the Baptist , we know it was he of whom it is written in the prophet Malachi , " I will send my messenger , and he shall prepare
the way before mej '—we are sure that he who spake those words was Jehovah , the Lord of Hosts , and we are quite sure that Christ is that Lord before whose face John the Baptist prepared the way ; for Christ is certainly the Lord , and the Lord undeniably Jehovah . Nor is this the only notation of the name or title Lord , taken in a sense divine , above the expression of all mere human power and dominion ; for as it is often used as the interpretation of the name Jehovah , so is it also for that of Adoit , or Adonai . " The Lord said unto my Lord , " saith David , that is , in the original , < eJehovah said unto Adon "—and that Adonis the Word , and that Word is Christ . "
It will be of no avail to plead that the Jew and the pagan are as fully persuaded of the truth and vitality of their respective modes of worship as the most zealous Christian can be of the Gospel revelation ; for a fiction , how firmly soever it may be believed , will still remain a fiction , and no anaount of faith can convert falsehood into truth . Do the excruciating penances and inflictions which the Indian Yogees endure in proof of their religious sincerity tend to establish its veracity ¦? Do they not rather attest its errors ? Is the infliction of pain on the body of any avail towards the salvation of the soul ? It is exceedingly doubtful . We may respect their prejudices , and allow them a seat in our Christian Lodges , if they are
disposed to avail themselves of the privilege without being ashamed of the cross of Christ , because it is the power of God unto salvation , to the Jew first and also to the Gentile . And we are not ignorant that Jehovah himself has told us , — Whosoever shall be ashamed of ( or ignore ) me before men , of Mm will I be ashamed when I come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels ; for as Adam Clarke truly observes , " the doctrine of the cross must not only be observed and held inviolate , but must never be mixed with worldly politics . Time-serving is abominable in the sight of God ; it shows that the person has either no fixed principle of religion , or to that he is not under the influence of any .
However others may abnegate the sacred truths of the Gospel at the shrine of a vain and spurious liberality , let us as Christian masons avoid such a dangerous practice , lest we be subjected to the fearful denunciation of " tribulation and anguish and woe upon every soul of man that doeth evil . " However others may flatter themselves with the plausible sedative that the great atonement maybe compromised with impunity , let u 3 proclaim our adhesion to the cross of Christ , and allow neither "Jew nor Gentile , Greek or barbarian , bond or free , " to rob us of our faith under the inane pretext of liberality , or universality , or a timid
subserviency to the prejudices of others , lest the uninitiated world should have reason to say—as it is to be feared many do say already — that we hold all religious systems in equal honour , and consider every mode of faith to be alike either true , or frivolous , or false . It is clear , however , that as Christian Masons , we can be under no obligation to ignore our holy faith by the substitution of a visionary universality , in the hope of satisfying the scruples of those who mock our professions and despise the object of our worship . " He that knoweth what it is right and doeth it not , to him it is sin . "
When the Apostle Paul discovered that Peter was practising this latitudinarian principle of connivance , for fear of giving offence to the Jews ( Gal . ii . 11-13 ) , ho boldly admonished him , because by so doing he gave occasion of scandal to the ( 4 entiles ; that is , made them doubt whether they also were not obliged to observe the same law , as certain persons endeavoured to persuade Home of them . Which heresy , as it is termed by Bishop Fell , St . Peter should by all means have opposed , rather than , by compliance , have in any way countenanced ; and for this cause St . Paul accuses him " of fear , of simulation , and walking not uprightly . " In other words St . Peter had fallen into the same error with those Masons of the present day , who arc induced to abnegate Christianity under the apprehension
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Coirespgndence.
' will be universal ?; and all the nations of the earth shall serve Him as one flock under one Shepherd , the mighty Jehovah , who is the prominent object of invocation and worship in a Mason ' s Lodge . Do the universalists reply to this assertion by asking whom it is that we designate by the great and holy Name of Jehovah ? Bishop Pearson shall tell them , "If we consider the office of John the Baptist , we know it was he of whom it is written in the prophet Malachi , " I will send my messenger , and he shall prepare
the way before mej '—we are sure that he who spake those words was Jehovah , the Lord of Hosts , and we are quite sure that Christ is that Lord before whose face John the Baptist prepared the way ; for Christ is certainly the Lord , and the Lord undeniably Jehovah . Nor is this the only notation of the name or title Lord , taken in a sense divine , above the expression of all mere human power and dominion ; for as it is often used as the interpretation of the name Jehovah , so is it also for that of Adoit , or Adonai . " The Lord said unto my Lord , " saith David , that is , in the original , < eJehovah said unto Adon "—and that Adonis the Word , and that Word is Christ . "
It will be of no avail to plead that the Jew and the pagan are as fully persuaded of the truth and vitality of their respective modes of worship as the most zealous Christian can be of the Gospel revelation ; for a fiction , how firmly soever it may be believed , will still remain a fiction , and no anaount of faith can convert falsehood into truth . Do the excruciating penances and inflictions which the Indian Yogees endure in proof of their religious sincerity tend to establish its veracity ¦? Do they not rather attest its errors ? Is the infliction of pain on the body of any avail towards the salvation of the soul ? It is exceedingly doubtful . We may respect their prejudices , and allow them a seat in our Christian Lodges , if they are
disposed to avail themselves of the privilege without being ashamed of the cross of Christ , because it is the power of God unto salvation , to the Jew first and also to the Gentile . And we are not ignorant that Jehovah himself has told us , — Whosoever shall be ashamed of ( or ignore ) me before men , of Mm will I be ashamed when I come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels ; for as Adam Clarke truly observes , " the doctrine of the cross must not only be observed and held inviolate , but must never be mixed with worldly politics . Time-serving is abominable in the sight of God ; it shows that the person has either no fixed principle of religion , or to that he is not under the influence of any .
However others may abnegate the sacred truths of the Gospel at the shrine of a vain and spurious liberality , let us as Christian masons avoid such a dangerous practice , lest we be subjected to the fearful denunciation of " tribulation and anguish and woe upon every soul of man that doeth evil . " However others may flatter themselves with the plausible sedative that the great atonement maybe compromised with impunity , let u 3 proclaim our adhesion to the cross of Christ , and allow neither "Jew nor Gentile , Greek or barbarian , bond or free , " to rob us of our faith under the inane pretext of liberality , or universality , or a timid
subserviency to the prejudices of others , lest the uninitiated world should have reason to say—as it is to be feared many do say already — that we hold all religious systems in equal honour , and consider every mode of faith to be alike either true , or frivolous , or false . It is clear , however , that as Christian Masons , we can be under no obligation to ignore our holy faith by the substitution of a visionary universality , in the hope of satisfying the scruples of those who mock our professions and despise the object of our worship . " He that knoweth what it is right and doeth it not , to him it is sin . "
When the Apostle Paul discovered that Peter was practising this latitudinarian principle of connivance , for fear of giving offence to the Jews ( Gal . ii . 11-13 ) , ho boldly admonished him , because by so doing he gave occasion of scandal to the ( 4 entiles ; that is , made them doubt whether they also were not obliged to observe the same law , as certain persons endeavoured to persuade Home of them . Which heresy , as it is termed by Bishop Fell , St . Peter should by all means have opposed , rather than , by compliance , have in any way countenanced ; and for this cause St . Paul accuses him " of fear , of simulation , and walking not uprightly . " In other words St . Peter had fallen into the same error with those Masons of the present day , who arc induced to abnegate Christianity under the apprehension