-
Articles/Ads
Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 3 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
sented belong to the spiritual intelligences , and that the cherubim belong to an order of which the term angel is the most generic and comprehensive . The cherubim , like angels , are described as worshippers of God . When Ezekiel saw these exalted beings , he heard a great voice of adoration , saying" Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place "
( Ezek . iii . 12 ) . Their employment is to render God perpetual praise ; as Isaiah says , veiling their faces with their wings , they reverently exclaim , " Holy , holy , holy is Jehovah of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory . " The cherubim are identical with the living ones in
the apocalyptic vision . The symbols under which they are set forth , though not rigidly the same in every point of detail , are the same in all their chief characteristics—the forms of the man , the lion , the ox , and the eagle , with their wings , are prominent in each description . Nor is this all : they are the same in
numher , four , and are distinguished by the same common appellation of " living ones . " This identity of name is much more apparent in the original than in our translation . In Ezekiel i ., our version calls the cherubim " living creatures , " and in Rev . iv . 5 , the corresponding beings are called "beasts ; " but there is no
term in the Hebrew text of Ezekiel expressive of creature ; aud in the Greek text of Rev . iv . 6 , the word " beast" is by no means a correct rendering of the Greek term there employed . The words m \ 1 WlK , used by Ezekiel , have their exact equivalents in TO reo-o-apa £ 3 a , used by S . John , and " the four living ones" is the proper and literal rendering ot the word ' s in both passages . Seeing , then , they are called by the
same special name , it follows that special qualities corresponding to that name must apply to a nature common to both , and therefore the "living ones" beheld hy St . John were the same as the 4 cherubim beheld by the prophet Ezekiel . Now the "living ones" beheld by S . John Avere
worshippers—like the seraphim beheld by Isaiahwho were engaged in acts of solemn adoration , and uttered the same language of exalted praise ; "For they rest not day and night , saying , Holy , holy , holy , Lord God Almighty . " Here then we see fcliem , in both casesdistinguished by the same numberfour ;
, , characterised by the same namey the living ones ; represented , iu general , by the same emblematical -figures ; engaged in the same employment—praise ; and uttering the same words of adoration . The marks of resemblance are here so complete as to furnish the clearest reason for concluding that they are identical
in nature ; and , seeing that their dignified position and employment are identical with those of angels , we infer that they are an order of the angelic class of beings . Both angels and cherubim are described as ministers of God , aud as being actively employed as agents in
fulfUlingthe purposes of His providence . The Psalmist , speaking of God , says : " He bowed the heavens , and came down ; and darkness Avas under his feet , and he rode upon a cherub , and did fly" ( Psalm , xviii . 9 , 10 ) . Again , he says , " The chariots of God are 20 , 000 , even thousands of angels" ( Psalmkviii . 17 ) . This
lan-, guage is highly figurative , but the metaphor has a meaning , and that meaning is ministration . Now the language applied in the former passage to the cherub , and in the latter to the angels , is of a similar
character , and indicates that both are employed as Jehovah s ministers . Again , angels are said to be " ministering spirits , " and throughout the Avhole economy of providence and redemption they have taken a conspicuous part . So in the visions , both of Ezekiel and S . John , the "living ones" are instinct Avith vital energy , prompt and decisive in actionconnected with the
, Avheels of Jehovah's providence , and the dispensations of His government , executing His high behests with alacrity , and evidently finding it their element and happiness to do His pleasure . If such be the correspondence between the employment of the cherubim and the holy angels , does it not imply an intimate
resemblance or identity in their nature ? In the contemplative attitude of the cherubim we see a coincidence with the desire of angels to explore the Avonders of redemption . It was divinely commanded that the figures of the cherubim should have their faces inclined towards the mercy seat , as if reverently gazing on it ( Ex . xxxvii . 9 ) . Why this special injunction that the cherubim should be placed on the Ark of the Covenant in the attitude of solemn
interest and contemplation , as if devoutly engaged in exploring the sublime mysteries therein symbolised ? There was doubtless a reason For this—some important fact was symbolised thereby . Was it not to indicate that the " angels desired to look into" the economy of redemption ? As if more closely to mark the connection between the contemplative attitude of
the cherubim and the intense desire of angels to penetrate the mysteries of redemption , the Greek word employed by S . Peter to indicate that mental act is an expression taken from the stooping or bending of the body forward to examine an object with special attention—" E « « i-n-i 6 unovtni > ayyeAaiimpaKtyai ( Peter , i . 12 )
—the very attitude of the cherubim on the mercy seat . Can these coincidences in fact aud in language be fortuitous ? or are they not designed to mark the connection between the symbol and the objects symbolised ? Such a conclusion alone agrees with the expressive meaning of the Scriptures , and the coincidence before us shows that the apostle had the reverently meditative posture of the cherubim in his mind at the moment that he penned the sentence ; and this
mental coincidence suggested the wordAvhich at once expresses the meditative posture of the cherubim , and the pondering solicitude of angelic minds to look into redemption's wonders , and replenish their refined and expanding intellect with the discoveries it unfolds of the perfections of God . Nor is this all . The apostle Paul refers to the same beings and the same facts
when he says , " That unto now the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church , the manifold wisdom of God ( Ephesians , iii , 10 ) . The principalities and powers , as we have already seen , are appellatives in Greek , equivalent in etymological import to the word elierubimm . Hebrew , and therefore ,
probably , apply to beings of the same nature ; and here again they are described as deriving wisdom from the contemplation of gospel mysteries—bending their mighty energies to the reverential investigation of the unfolding glories of the gospel dispensation . The typical character of the " Holy of holies" leads
us to expect that the antitypes of the cherubim are to be found in some celestial beings . The earthly tabernacle , the apostle tells us , was a figure of the truea pattern of "things in the heavens . " It was
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
sented belong to the spiritual intelligences , and that the cherubim belong to an order of which the term angel is the most generic and comprehensive . The cherubim , like angels , are described as worshippers of God . When Ezekiel saw these exalted beings , he heard a great voice of adoration , saying" Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place "
( Ezek . iii . 12 ) . Their employment is to render God perpetual praise ; as Isaiah says , veiling their faces with their wings , they reverently exclaim , " Holy , holy , holy is Jehovah of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory . " The cherubim are identical with the living ones in
the apocalyptic vision . The symbols under which they are set forth , though not rigidly the same in every point of detail , are the same in all their chief characteristics—the forms of the man , the lion , the ox , and the eagle , with their wings , are prominent in each description . Nor is this all : they are the same in
numher , four , and are distinguished by the same common appellation of " living ones . " This identity of name is much more apparent in the original than in our translation . In Ezekiel i ., our version calls the cherubim " living creatures , " and in Rev . iv . 5 , the corresponding beings are called "beasts ; " but there is no
term in the Hebrew text of Ezekiel expressive of creature ; aud in the Greek text of Rev . iv . 6 , the word " beast" is by no means a correct rendering of the Greek term there employed . The words m \ 1 WlK , used by Ezekiel , have their exact equivalents in TO reo-o-apa £ 3 a , used by S . John , and " the four living ones" is the proper and literal rendering ot the word ' s in both passages . Seeing , then , they are called by the
same special name , it follows that special qualities corresponding to that name must apply to a nature common to both , and therefore the "living ones" beheld hy St . John were the same as the 4 cherubim beheld by the prophet Ezekiel . Now the "living ones" beheld by S . John Avere
worshippers—like the seraphim beheld by Isaiahwho were engaged in acts of solemn adoration , and uttered the same language of exalted praise ; "For they rest not day and night , saying , Holy , holy , holy , Lord God Almighty . " Here then we see fcliem , in both casesdistinguished by the same numberfour ;
, , characterised by the same namey the living ones ; represented , iu general , by the same emblematical -figures ; engaged in the same employment—praise ; and uttering the same words of adoration . The marks of resemblance are here so complete as to furnish the clearest reason for concluding that they are identical
in nature ; and , seeing that their dignified position and employment are identical with those of angels , we infer that they are an order of the angelic class of beings . Both angels and cherubim are described as ministers of God , aud as being actively employed as agents in
fulfUlingthe purposes of His providence . The Psalmist , speaking of God , says : " He bowed the heavens , and came down ; and darkness Avas under his feet , and he rode upon a cherub , and did fly" ( Psalm , xviii . 9 , 10 ) . Again , he says , " The chariots of God are 20 , 000 , even thousands of angels" ( Psalmkviii . 17 ) . This
lan-, guage is highly figurative , but the metaphor has a meaning , and that meaning is ministration . Now the language applied in the former passage to the cherub , and in the latter to the angels , is of a similar
character , and indicates that both are employed as Jehovah s ministers . Again , angels are said to be " ministering spirits , " and throughout the Avhole economy of providence and redemption they have taken a conspicuous part . So in the visions , both of Ezekiel and S . John , the "living ones" are instinct Avith vital energy , prompt and decisive in actionconnected with the
, Avheels of Jehovah's providence , and the dispensations of His government , executing His high behests with alacrity , and evidently finding it their element and happiness to do His pleasure . If such be the correspondence between the employment of the cherubim and the holy angels , does it not imply an intimate
resemblance or identity in their nature ? In the contemplative attitude of the cherubim we see a coincidence with the desire of angels to explore the Avonders of redemption . It was divinely commanded that the figures of the cherubim should have their faces inclined towards the mercy seat , as if reverently gazing on it ( Ex . xxxvii . 9 ) . Why this special injunction that the cherubim should be placed on the Ark of the Covenant in the attitude of solemn
interest and contemplation , as if devoutly engaged in exploring the sublime mysteries therein symbolised ? There was doubtless a reason For this—some important fact was symbolised thereby . Was it not to indicate that the " angels desired to look into" the economy of redemption ? As if more closely to mark the connection between the contemplative attitude of
the cherubim and the intense desire of angels to penetrate the mysteries of redemption , the Greek word employed by S . Peter to indicate that mental act is an expression taken from the stooping or bending of the body forward to examine an object with special attention—" E « « i-n-i 6 unovtni > ayyeAaiimpaKtyai ( Peter , i . 12 )
—the very attitude of the cherubim on the mercy seat . Can these coincidences in fact aud in language be fortuitous ? or are they not designed to mark the connection between the symbol and the objects symbolised ? Such a conclusion alone agrees with the expressive meaning of the Scriptures , and the coincidence before us shows that the apostle had the reverently meditative posture of the cherubim in his mind at the moment that he penned the sentence ; and this
mental coincidence suggested the wordAvhich at once expresses the meditative posture of the cherubim , and the pondering solicitude of angelic minds to look into redemption's wonders , and replenish their refined and expanding intellect with the discoveries it unfolds of the perfections of God . Nor is this all . The apostle Paul refers to the same beings and the same facts
when he says , " That unto now the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church , the manifold wisdom of God ( Ephesians , iii , 10 ) . The principalities and powers , as we have already seen , are appellatives in Greek , equivalent in etymological import to the word elierubimm . Hebrew , and therefore ,
probably , apply to beings of the same nature ; and here again they are described as deriving wisdom from the contemplation of gospel mysteries—bending their mighty energies to the reverential investigation of the unfolding glories of the gospel dispensation . The typical character of the " Holy of holies" leads
us to expect that the antitypes of the cherubim are to be found in some celestial beings . The earthly tabernacle , the apostle tells us , was a figure of the truea pattern of "things in the heavens . " It was