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Article PROVINCIAL. ← Page 4 of 7 →
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Provincial.
plating the preparation he had made for the accomplishment of that glorious work which he had had it in his mind to perform , but of which the Avisdom and justice of the Lord had seen fit to withhold the fulfilment . His devout and reverent heart thought it unseemly that , while he dwelt in royal state , and beheld all things prospering around him , the ark and service of the most High should remain even as they had remainedbefore
, God thought fit to exalt Israel so high among the neighbouring people . " See now , " was his word , " I dwell in a house of cedar , but ^ the ark of- God dwellefch within curtains . " God , however , having seen fit to deny his wish , but to console him Avith the promise that his son " who shall be born unto him should he a man of rest , " should build His house , the aged king devoted the residue of his days to accumulate the means for the
completion of the mighty work . And now the days were drawing nigh when the man after God ' s own heart should go the way of all flesh , and in humbled sadness indeed , but sadness not without hope , ho pours forth his soul in the words of the text . Alas ! my brethren , this is a time when the first of these pious words are impressed upon our minds with especial force , and sound in ourears with double solemnity . The joyfulness of our usual
festive meeting is dimmed , the badges and ensigns of our order are veiled Avith tokens of mourning ; we miss from this place one whose joy it always was , but especially on occasions like the present , to " go with the multitude and bring them forth into the house of God in the voice of praise and thanksgiving among such as keep holy day . " Of him it may well be said , " His sun has gone down Avhile it was yet day . " In all his
vigour , in the very fullness of ripened manhood , the fiat of the Almighty Grand Master has gone forth to call him , I humbly trust , from this scene of his earthly labours , to a place in the Grand Lodge above , there to advance him to a higher degree than any to ivhich we can be admitted on this side the grave . I shall not launch out into any panegyric of his many virtues . Much I miht say of the enlihtened wisdomso to all who
g g , open sought consel , of the warm heart and ready hand , both so open to all Avho were in trouble or adversity , of the frank , manly spirit always pursuing the straightforward path , without either fear or favour . Something I might say , too , were it not unseemly , of resignation under suffering , and of bumble trust in
God , but this is not the place nor the time to do more than just allude to such considerations as these . AA e loved him well , —for ourselves we lament bis loss . AVe shall miss his enlightened knowledge andhis self-denying energy ; but we , too , are strangers , exiles from our heavenly home , until it shall please our Father to call us there ; and our departed brother , we devoutly hope , is only gone a little while before us , a little sooner than ourselvesto taste the joys of the better country that is
hea-, venly . XVc are strangers and sojourners , my brethren ; but it follows not from this that wo are to be illers , wasting the time appointed for us to abide in this land of our captivity . Rather the very shortness of the space of our continuance here is an additional call to work while it is yet time—a summons to be up and doing-, lest the Master should como and find His servants' appointed task unfinished . How think you
will it fare with us if ; in that great day , when the Grand Master Most High shall take reckoning with His labourers , we find that , the temple we arc employed to build is all unfinished , or , worse still , lies scattered in scorched and disjointed ruins ; no place for the holy God to set His name there , but a habitation for unclean beasts , and a roosting place for every foul bird ? How will it fare with us if we only learn , when knowledge comes too
late to avail us , that God , out of the infinite treasury of His grace , has found for us all that is needful to finish , furnish , and decorate the house that He , had chosen to set His name , but that' we , though such treasure has been committed to our charge , have left it all unused , yea , have not even cared to know that it Avas precious , and perhaps have even ivasted it for our own and others ruin . Think not
be-, my loved brethren , that I speak now in any undue severity of reproof : rather I give you this solemn warning in earnestness of brotherly love . At the very best , all the stores that have been prepared for us to build comcth of God ' s own band , and is all His own . However well we may perform our appointed task , ive are unprofitable servants ; of His own do we give Him . The beginning and end of our service is of God . Jesus is the
author and finisher of our work as well as of our faith . It ; then , a treasure has been entrusted to our care , to be used for God , I entreat you to consider the awful responsibility of such a trust , and the great peril of the unworthy fulfilment thereof . AVe , as Freemasons , are all familiar with the record of the
glory of that magnificent temple which Solomon built for God ' s service . AA e know from the traditions of our Order how it fared ' with the unworthy labourers in that mighty task . Glorious Avas the ancient temple , hut the temple which we build is far greater than that Avhich our ancient brethren erected , as heaven is than earth , as soul is than ' matter , as eternity is than time . Glorious was the ancient temple ; but its glorylike
, that which once beamed from the face of our Grand Master Moses , was only a glory wdiich was to be done away . The glory of the temple , which we , as Free and Accepted Masons , are building , if we only by the grace of God attain , shall endure when this earth and all things in it shall have passed away for ever , eternal in the eternity of God . For the gold of David ' s treasure-house , we have the gold which maketh truly
rich gold tried in the fire and bought of Christ ; for the stones hewn in the quarry , then squared , carved , marked and numbered , we have the apostles and prophets tried and approved by the square and compasses of the Almighty Grand Master himself ; even as Bernard , of Clury , sings —• " AVith jasper glow thy bulwarks ; thy street with emeralds blaze ; The serdins and the topaz unite in Thee their rays .
Thine ageless walls are bounded with amethyst unpriced , The saint builds up the fabric , and the corner-stone is Christ . " For the voices of the Priests and Levites we have all angels crying aloud , Cherub ' m and Seraphim , and all the host of heaven with the spirits of ransomed saints , and the holy church throughout all the world , singing Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! For the brazen ewer we have the washing of Regeneration ; for
tho seven-branched candlestick , | tbo illumination of the Holy Ghost ; for the bright shakinah , filling the temple with glory , the abiding presence of Christ , with His church always , even to the end of the world . For Jachin and Boaz we have the strength wherein God will establish them that trust in Him , that His name may rest there forever ; for the altar of incense , tho prayer of the saints ; for the blood of slaughtered beasts ,
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world ; for the ark of the covenant , tbe indwelling of the Father ; for the veil of the temple , tho Jlesh of Incarnate God , through ivhich Jesus Christ our forerunner is entered into the holy of holies , and sits in
glory at the royal hand of the Majesty on high . AA ise were the master builders who designed the temple on Mount Moriah , but wiser is the humblest of those who labour in this task of ours , for that which our ancient brethren did unwittingly , or at best only partly enlightened , has to us been spiritually eloquent , being interpreted hy Christ our prophet , priest and king . AVell may we rejoice and be exceeding glad ; only while we exult in the abundance of the revelationlet this warning voice
, sound through all , "Hoiv shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation ? " You , Christian brethren , ivho have not the privilege of being members of our royal art , suffer , I beseech you , the word of exhortation . You may sometimes have asked " AA'liatis Freemasonry ? " and have very probably received , for an answer , that it is a peculiar system of morality . True ; but it is peculiar only in thisthat it is veiled in allegory and illustrated b
, y symbols , as additional means of enforcing those principles and truths which we believe in common . That it contains nothing contrary to God's holy word yon may well believe from the way I have been trying , however imperfectly , to enforce its doctrines from that Holy Book . The ivords which I have been addressing to my initiated brethren are meant no loss for youand tho doctrines I have been enforcing apply as
, much to you as to them . It is written , " He is not a Jew Avhich is one outwardly ; " and we may without irreverance , I hope , apply similar words to Masonry . Of a truth there are many , indeed , never initiated , who in a spiritual sense are far more really Masons than those who , having gone through the form of initiation , take no more care to learn the true meaning of that system of which they are called to
decipher . Brother Masons , let such provoke us to Godly emulation . AVe say we have received light , let us walk as children of the light , remembering whereunto we are called . Apprentices of the Royal Art , are you diligently and humbly doing your duty , practising brotherly love , relief and truth , guiding your steps by the triple light of God ' s revealed word , the square of strict moralityand the compasses of self-convincingconscience ;
, working , making , and indenting on the stone rough and unhewn , as taken from tbe quarry , and fitting it for the hands of the more experienced workman . Fellows of the Craft , are you making good use of the talents entrusted to you , practising morality , justice , and uprightness , keeping fast your jewels , and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial.
plating the preparation he had made for the accomplishment of that glorious work which he had had it in his mind to perform , but of which the Avisdom and justice of the Lord had seen fit to withhold the fulfilment . His devout and reverent heart thought it unseemly that , while he dwelt in royal state , and beheld all things prospering around him , the ark and service of the most High should remain even as they had remainedbefore
, God thought fit to exalt Israel so high among the neighbouring people . " See now , " was his word , " I dwell in a house of cedar , but ^ the ark of- God dwellefch within curtains . " God , however , having seen fit to deny his wish , but to console him Avith the promise that his son " who shall be born unto him should he a man of rest , " should build His house , the aged king devoted the residue of his days to accumulate the means for the
completion of the mighty work . And now the days were drawing nigh when the man after God ' s own heart should go the way of all flesh , and in humbled sadness indeed , but sadness not without hope , ho pours forth his soul in the words of the text . Alas ! my brethren , this is a time when the first of these pious words are impressed upon our minds with especial force , and sound in ourears with double solemnity . The joyfulness of our usual
festive meeting is dimmed , the badges and ensigns of our order are veiled Avith tokens of mourning ; we miss from this place one whose joy it always was , but especially on occasions like the present , to " go with the multitude and bring them forth into the house of God in the voice of praise and thanksgiving among such as keep holy day . " Of him it may well be said , " His sun has gone down Avhile it was yet day . " In all his
vigour , in the very fullness of ripened manhood , the fiat of the Almighty Grand Master has gone forth to call him , I humbly trust , from this scene of his earthly labours , to a place in the Grand Lodge above , there to advance him to a higher degree than any to ivhich we can be admitted on this side the grave . I shall not launch out into any panegyric of his many virtues . Much I miht say of the enlihtened wisdomso to all who
g g , open sought consel , of the warm heart and ready hand , both so open to all Avho were in trouble or adversity , of the frank , manly spirit always pursuing the straightforward path , without either fear or favour . Something I might say , too , were it not unseemly , of resignation under suffering , and of bumble trust in
God , but this is not the place nor the time to do more than just allude to such considerations as these . AA e loved him well , —for ourselves we lament bis loss . AVe shall miss his enlightened knowledge andhis self-denying energy ; but we , too , are strangers , exiles from our heavenly home , until it shall please our Father to call us there ; and our departed brother , we devoutly hope , is only gone a little while before us , a little sooner than ourselvesto taste the joys of the better country that is
hea-, venly . XVc are strangers and sojourners , my brethren ; but it follows not from this that wo are to be illers , wasting the time appointed for us to abide in this land of our captivity . Rather the very shortness of the space of our continuance here is an additional call to work while it is yet time—a summons to be up and doing-, lest the Master should como and find His servants' appointed task unfinished . How think you
will it fare with us if ; in that great day , when the Grand Master Most High shall take reckoning with His labourers , we find that , the temple we arc employed to build is all unfinished , or , worse still , lies scattered in scorched and disjointed ruins ; no place for the holy God to set His name there , but a habitation for unclean beasts , and a roosting place for every foul bird ? How will it fare with us if we only learn , when knowledge comes too
late to avail us , that God , out of the infinite treasury of His grace , has found for us all that is needful to finish , furnish , and decorate the house that He , had chosen to set His name , but that' we , though such treasure has been committed to our charge , have left it all unused , yea , have not even cared to know that it Avas precious , and perhaps have even ivasted it for our own and others ruin . Think not
be-, my loved brethren , that I speak now in any undue severity of reproof : rather I give you this solemn warning in earnestness of brotherly love . At the very best , all the stores that have been prepared for us to build comcth of God ' s own band , and is all His own . However well we may perform our appointed task , ive are unprofitable servants ; of His own do we give Him . The beginning and end of our service is of God . Jesus is the
author and finisher of our work as well as of our faith . It ; then , a treasure has been entrusted to our care , to be used for God , I entreat you to consider the awful responsibility of such a trust , and the great peril of the unworthy fulfilment thereof . AVe , as Freemasons , are all familiar with the record of the
glory of that magnificent temple which Solomon built for God ' s service . AA e know from the traditions of our Order how it fared ' with the unworthy labourers in that mighty task . Glorious Avas the ancient temple , hut the temple which we build is far greater than that Avhich our ancient brethren erected , as heaven is than earth , as soul is than ' matter , as eternity is than time . Glorious was the ancient temple ; but its glorylike
, that which once beamed from the face of our Grand Master Moses , was only a glory wdiich was to be done away . The glory of the temple , which we , as Free and Accepted Masons , are building , if we only by the grace of God attain , shall endure when this earth and all things in it shall have passed away for ever , eternal in the eternity of God . For the gold of David ' s treasure-house , we have the gold which maketh truly
rich gold tried in the fire and bought of Christ ; for the stones hewn in the quarry , then squared , carved , marked and numbered , we have the apostles and prophets tried and approved by the square and compasses of the Almighty Grand Master himself ; even as Bernard , of Clury , sings —• " AVith jasper glow thy bulwarks ; thy street with emeralds blaze ; The serdins and the topaz unite in Thee their rays .
Thine ageless walls are bounded with amethyst unpriced , The saint builds up the fabric , and the corner-stone is Christ . " For the voices of the Priests and Levites we have all angels crying aloud , Cherub ' m and Seraphim , and all the host of heaven with the spirits of ransomed saints , and the holy church throughout all the world , singing Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! For the brazen ewer we have the washing of Regeneration ; for
tho seven-branched candlestick , | tbo illumination of the Holy Ghost ; for the bright shakinah , filling the temple with glory , the abiding presence of Christ , with His church always , even to the end of the world . For Jachin and Boaz we have the strength wherein God will establish them that trust in Him , that His name may rest there forever ; for the altar of incense , tho prayer of the saints ; for the blood of slaughtered beasts ,
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world ; for the ark of the covenant , tbe indwelling of the Father ; for the veil of the temple , tho Jlesh of Incarnate God , through ivhich Jesus Christ our forerunner is entered into the holy of holies , and sits in
glory at the royal hand of the Majesty on high . AA ise were the master builders who designed the temple on Mount Moriah , but wiser is the humblest of those who labour in this task of ours , for that which our ancient brethren did unwittingly , or at best only partly enlightened , has to us been spiritually eloquent , being interpreted hy Christ our prophet , priest and king . AVell may we rejoice and be exceeding glad ; only while we exult in the abundance of the revelationlet this warning voice
, sound through all , "Hoiv shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation ? " You , Christian brethren , ivho have not the privilege of being members of our royal art , suffer , I beseech you , the word of exhortation . You may sometimes have asked " AA'liatis Freemasonry ? " and have very probably received , for an answer , that it is a peculiar system of morality . True ; but it is peculiar only in thisthat it is veiled in allegory and illustrated b
, y symbols , as additional means of enforcing those principles and truths which we believe in common . That it contains nothing contrary to God's holy word yon may well believe from the way I have been trying , however imperfectly , to enforce its doctrines from that Holy Book . The ivords which I have been addressing to my initiated brethren are meant no loss for youand tho doctrines I have been enforcing apply as
, much to you as to them . It is written , " He is not a Jew Avhich is one outwardly ; " and we may without irreverance , I hope , apply similar words to Masonry . Of a truth there are many , indeed , never initiated , who in a spiritual sense are far more really Masons than those who , having gone through the form of initiation , take no more care to learn the true meaning of that system of which they are called to
decipher . Brother Masons , let such provoke us to Godly emulation . AVe say we have received light , let us walk as children of the light , remembering whereunto we are called . Apprentices of the Royal Art , are you diligently and humbly doing your duty , practising brotherly love , relief and truth , guiding your steps by the triple light of God ' s revealed word , the square of strict moralityand the compasses of self-convincingconscience ;
, working , making , and indenting on the stone rough and unhewn , as taken from tbe quarry , and fitting it for the hands of the more experienced workman . Fellows of the Craft , are you making good use of the talents entrusted to you , practising morality , justice , and uprightness , keeping fast your jewels , and