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Article AN ADDRESS TO FREEMASONS. Page 1 of 2 Article AN ADDRESS TO FREEMASONS. Page 1 of 2 →
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An Address To Freemasons.
AN ADDRESS TO FREEMASONS .
AT a recent Sunday evening service , at All Saints ' Episcopal Church , Buckie , the Rev . J . R . Leslie , the Incumbent , and Chaplain of the Gordon Lodge of Freemasons , gave an address . There were about seventy brethren present , including a number of members of tho
Innocent Lodge , Cullen . There was also a largo attendance of the general public , tho church being quite packed . The text was the seventh verse of the second chapter of the Corinthians— " We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery , " and in the course of his remarks our Rev . Bro . Leslie said : —
The early Chnrch exercised caution in imparting religious knowledge . Indeed , for the early Christians , surrounded as they were by enemies , eager not only to turn into ridicule but to stamp out the Gospel altogether , it would have been worse than foolishness—it would have been madness—to have communicated their doctrines and rites indiscriminately . Remember that they were constantly
liable to be imprisoned , tortured and cruelly put to death ; that at any moment the cry might be raised , " to the lions with the Christians" —that they literally carried their lives in their handsand then you will see the need they had to walk circumspectly . It does not surprise us , therefore , to learn that they had a sign by which they were distinguished , and a symbol or watchword which they
jealously guarded as the safeguard of their privileges . That sign was the Cross , and that symbol was the Apostles' creed . In early times the creed was never committed to writing , "lest , " as one writer informs us , " an unworthy and profane hearer shonld hold the secret of God . " It was tanght to the converts , along with the Lord's prayer , at the close of their course of preparation for admission into the
church by baptism ; bnt it was tanght only by word of month , and was to be carried in the memory ; not written down . Addressing such a class of catechumens , the great St . Augustine says : — "Eeceive , my sons , the rule of Faith , which is called the symbol ; and when you have received it , write it in your heart , and repeat it daily to yourselves : before you sleep , before you go out , guard yourselves
with your symbol . No one writes the symbol that it can be read : but let your memory be your book for reviewing it , lest perchance forgetfulness should efface wbat carefulness has tanght . " In addition to the Creed and the Lord ' s Prayer , there were other things which were kept secret from the heathen , and even from catechumen ? . The public prayers of the Church , the ordination of clergy , and the
administration of the sacraments were things which the uninitiated were not permitted to behold . "Even the heathen may see our good works , " says Sfc . Augustine , " but the sacraments are kept hidden from them . " " We do not speak openly , " says St . Cyril of the sacraments before the catechumens , but deliver many things covertly , that the faithful who know them may understand us , and they who know them
not may receive no harm . " " We discourse of mysteries obscurely , " says Theodoret , " because of the unbaptised , but when thoy are gone , we speak plainly before the initiated . " And in like manner , Nanzianzen , speaking of baptism , says to his hearers , " You have heard so much of the mystery as we are allowed to speak publicly in the ears of all , the rest yon shall hear privately , which yon must retain secret within
yourself , and keep under the seal of baptism . Such was the practice of the early Church . "With St . Paul , the early christians might have said , " we speak God's wisdom in a mystery . " But what connection , it may be asked , has this saying of Sfc . Paul's with Freemasonry ? You are addressing Freemasons , and we should like to know what they have to do with " speaking God ' s wisdom in a mystery ? "
Before I answer this question , permit me , first of all to express the pleasure I feel at seeing the brethren of tho mystic tie for once , at least , met together to worship the Common Father , with one accord , and as one family . Snch outward unity does help ns to realise more vividly and more firmly thafc inward unity which onghfc at all times to subsist between brethren . Well , I have
chosen my text for this reason thafc people are constantly inquiring , what is Freemasonry ? They wish to know something about us , and also what object ; we have in view . In short , they demand a reason for our existence . Now , ifc seems to me thafc to all such questionings no better or more comprehensive answer could be given than the words of St . Paul , " We speak God ' s
wisdom in a mystery . " I know that many entertain a different opinion regarding ifc . They set us down as a company of men banded together merely for convivial or such like purposes . But how erroneous is such a view ! I do not know if there are any of yon whom I am addressing , who , by yonr conduct , have contributed toward * the support of snch a libel upon Masons . I hope there are not . But if ,
unfortunatel y , there are , I would say to snch , " yon are not loyal Masons ; you have not acted np to yonr engagements ; yon are deserving of the severest censure ; and the sooner that you begin , by God ' s grace , to mend your ways , the better . " No ; it is for no low , or sordid , or trivial objVcfc thafc we aro banded together . Far bo from us any such debasing aim . Our pursuits are the
highest , the noblest , and most exalted which can occupy the mind of man . " We speak God ' s wisdom in a mystery . " " In a mystery !" Yes , we do it in a mystery . There are some who raise objections against us because we do this . They wonld have ns speak openly and before all . Bnfc with equal force mighb the same objections be urged against tha mode of teaching practised by the . early Church , by St . Paul , and also throughout the whole of Scripture . " We speak
God ' s wisdom . " Yes , thafc is what wo speak . And in order to learn more and more of that wisdom , we diligently study the two books which He has given us—tho Book of Nature , and tho Holy Scriptures . What marvellous things are to be learned in those books ! We walk abroad by night , and we look np to the heavens , and when we behold the countless stars , each the centre of a system similar to what the sun is , surrounded with planets , and those planets perhaps inhabited
An Address To Freemasons.
by numberless living beings ; and when , further , we contemplate tho wonderful order and beauty of those heavenly bodies , we are simply lost in admiration of the Great Architect of tho Universe . Or we walk by the sea side , and as we think of its finny tribes , and watch tho ebb and flow of tho tide , and seo how , at God ' s word , the stormy wind ariseth and lifteth" up tho waves thereof , and how again He maketh the storm to cease , onr thoughts aro once more lifted up to tho all-wise Creator .
" Type of the Infinite . I look away Over the billows , and I cannot stay My thonght npon a resting-place , or make A shore beyond my vision , where they break ;
But on my spirit stretches , till 'tis pain To think ; then rests , and then puts forth again . Thou hold ' st me by a spell ; and on thy beach I feel all soul ; and thoughts unmeasured reach Far back beyond all date . "
Or we walk into the country , and contemplate bird and beast , and tree and herb , and we exclaim , with the Psalmist , " How manifold are Thy works , 0 Lord ; in wisdom hasfc Thou made them a 1 ! " Everywhere , in sky , on earth , and in sea , we trace the footsteps of a Deity , and discover new reasons for adoring the Sovereign Author of the Universe . Thon there is that other book which God has been
pleased to give ns—tho Holy Scriptures . With the Psalmist , you shonld be able to exclaim , " Lord , what love have I unto Thy law ; all the day long is my study in it . " Brethren , can you say this in anything like a real sense ? Do you make the Holy Scriptures your constant stndy ? I do not mean do you read them all day long , for that would be an absurd question to ask of men who have to earn
their bread , ancl do their duty in that station which God has assigned them . But do yon read a portion of yonr Bibles every day , and pray over and medidate upon that portion as you have opportunity ? If so , you will find in them that which , by God's grace , can make you wise unto salvation . They teach you that " there is but one living arid trne God , everlasting , without body , parts , or passions ; of
infinite power , wisdom , and goodness ; " but that " in the unity of this Godhead there be three Persons , of one snbstance , power , and eternity , namely—God , the Father , the " Maker of heaven and earth , and of all tinners visible and invisible ; " God , the Son , who laid aside the glory which He had with the Father before all worlds , and came down to this earth and became man , and , after living a sad and sorrowful
life , underwent the shameful death of the Cross , and all in order to redeem ns and make ns the sons of God ; and God , the Holy Ghost , who dwells in ns as His temple , and makes ns holy , and not only us , but also all who have been drawn out of this world ' s surging waves of sin , and received into the family of God . But every privilege has its corresponding duty , and in the Scriptures you are also tanght the
duty which you owe to God , to your neighbour , and to yourself . Your duty towards God is , in well-known words , "to believe in Him , to fear Him , and to love Him with all your heart , with all your mind , with all your sonl , and with all your strengtb ; to worship Him , to give Him thanks , to put your whole trust in Him , to call npon Him , to honour His Holy Name and His Word , and to serve
Him truly all the days of your life . " Your duty towards your neighhour is " to love him as yourself , and to do unto all men as you would they should do unto you . " You are not to take advantage of his necessities , or injure him in any way ; on the contrary , yon are to render to him every kind office in yonr power . You are always fo treat him with respect , and never allow yourself to speak
disparagingly of him in his absence . In a word , you are to be as jealous of his good name and hononr as you are of your own . So far as lies in your power , you aro to succour and relieve , the poor and needy . You are to comfort the sick , the afflicted , and the mourner , and oh , how many such there are in neel of our sympathy . In short , you are to be foremost in every office
which dnty demand " , which mercy requires , and which love suggests . As individuals , yon are to avoid excess of all sorts , to keep yonr bodies in temperance , soberness , and chastity , and to cultivate the fall development of your bodily and mental faculties . You will thus be the better enabled to Hvetn the glory of God , and the good of your fellow creatures . As members of society , yon are to be diliget t
and exemplary in tho discharge of all yonr duties , not meddling in the affairs of others . You aro to give no countenance to those who engage in plots , rebel against lawful authority , and strive after anarchy and confusion . On the contrary , in whatever quarter of the globe yonr lot may be cast , yon will , as St . Paul directs , be subject to the higher powers , rendering " to all their dues ; tribute to whom
tribute is due , custom to whom enstom , fear to whom fear , honour to whom hononr . " Such , my brethren , ought to be the course of your daily life . Part is to be spent in the study of God ' s Word and in prayer , part in your necessary avocations and in needful refreshment and repose , part in self-improvement , and part , as occasion arises , in the service of yonr fellow men , but the whole is in
the sight and fear of God . Oh , strive so to live , leaning on the arm of the Savionr , and then , whether Ho como soon or late to call you from yonr labour , tho Kin , 'of Terrors will have no terror for you . Nay , he will come not as an enemy , bnt as a friend , to close the period of probation , and to open the age of fruition . Death will be tho " beginning of new life , the unveiling of mysteries , the disclosing of the face of Christ , the dawn of resurrection , the beginning of
immortalifcv . " " Whatsoever , " therefore , " thy hand findeth to do , do it with thy might ; for thero is no work , nor device , nor knowledge , nor wisdom iu the grave , whither thou goest . " " Days and moments quickly flying , Blend the living with the dead : Soon will you and I be lying Each within his narrow bed .
" Soon our souls to God , who gave them , Will have sped their rapid flight , Able now by grace to save them ; Oh , thafc while we can we migbt .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Address To Freemasons.
AN ADDRESS TO FREEMASONS .
AT a recent Sunday evening service , at All Saints ' Episcopal Church , Buckie , the Rev . J . R . Leslie , the Incumbent , and Chaplain of the Gordon Lodge of Freemasons , gave an address . There were about seventy brethren present , including a number of members of tho
Innocent Lodge , Cullen . There was also a largo attendance of the general public , tho church being quite packed . The text was the seventh verse of the second chapter of the Corinthians— " We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery , " and in the course of his remarks our Rev . Bro . Leslie said : —
The early Chnrch exercised caution in imparting religious knowledge . Indeed , for the early Christians , surrounded as they were by enemies , eager not only to turn into ridicule but to stamp out the Gospel altogether , it would have been worse than foolishness—it would have been madness—to have communicated their doctrines and rites indiscriminately . Remember that they were constantly
liable to be imprisoned , tortured and cruelly put to death ; that at any moment the cry might be raised , " to the lions with the Christians" —that they literally carried their lives in their handsand then you will see the need they had to walk circumspectly . It does not surprise us , therefore , to learn that they had a sign by which they were distinguished , and a symbol or watchword which they
jealously guarded as the safeguard of their privileges . That sign was the Cross , and that symbol was the Apostles' creed . In early times the creed was never committed to writing , "lest , " as one writer informs us , " an unworthy and profane hearer shonld hold the secret of God . " It was tanght to the converts , along with the Lord's prayer , at the close of their course of preparation for admission into the
church by baptism ; bnt it was tanght only by word of month , and was to be carried in the memory ; not written down . Addressing such a class of catechumens , the great St . Augustine says : — "Eeceive , my sons , the rule of Faith , which is called the symbol ; and when you have received it , write it in your heart , and repeat it daily to yourselves : before you sleep , before you go out , guard yourselves
with your symbol . No one writes the symbol that it can be read : but let your memory be your book for reviewing it , lest perchance forgetfulness should efface wbat carefulness has tanght . " In addition to the Creed and the Lord ' s Prayer , there were other things which were kept secret from the heathen , and even from catechumen ? . The public prayers of the Church , the ordination of clergy , and the
administration of the sacraments were things which the uninitiated were not permitted to behold . "Even the heathen may see our good works , " says Sfc . Augustine , " but the sacraments are kept hidden from them . " " We do not speak openly , " says St . Cyril of the sacraments before the catechumens , but deliver many things covertly , that the faithful who know them may understand us , and they who know them
not may receive no harm . " " We discourse of mysteries obscurely , " says Theodoret , " because of the unbaptised , but when thoy are gone , we speak plainly before the initiated . " And in like manner , Nanzianzen , speaking of baptism , says to his hearers , " You have heard so much of the mystery as we are allowed to speak publicly in the ears of all , the rest yon shall hear privately , which yon must retain secret within
yourself , and keep under the seal of baptism . Such was the practice of the early Church . "With St . Paul , the early christians might have said , " we speak God's wisdom in a mystery . " But what connection , it may be asked , has this saying of Sfc . Paul's with Freemasonry ? You are addressing Freemasons , and we should like to know what they have to do with " speaking God ' s wisdom in a mystery ? "
Before I answer this question , permit me , first of all to express the pleasure I feel at seeing the brethren of tho mystic tie for once , at least , met together to worship the Common Father , with one accord , and as one family . Snch outward unity does help ns to realise more vividly and more firmly thafc inward unity which onghfc at all times to subsist between brethren . Well , I have
chosen my text for this reason thafc people are constantly inquiring , what is Freemasonry ? They wish to know something about us , and also what object ; we have in view . In short , they demand a reason for our existence . Now , ifc seems to me thafc to all such questionings no better or more comprehensive answer could be given than the words of St . Paul , " We speak God ' s
wisdom in a mystery . " I know that many entertain a different opinion regarding ifc . They set us down as a company of men banded together merely for convivial or such like purposes . But how erroneous is such a view ! I do not know if there are any of yon whom I am addressing , who , by yonr conduct , have contributed toward * the support of snch a libel upon Masons . I hope there are not . But if ,
unfortunatel y , there are , I would say to snch , " yon are not loyal Masons ; you have not acted np to yonr engagements ; yon are deserving of the severest censure ; and the sooner that you begin , by God ' s grace , to mend your ways , the better . " No ; it is for no low , or sordid , or trivial objVcfc thafc we aro banded together . Far bo from us any such debasing aim . Our pursuits are the
highest , the noblest , and most exalted which can occupy the mind of man . " We speak God ' s wisdom in a mystery . " " In a mystery !" Yes , we do it in a mystery . There are some who raise objections against us because we do this . They wonld have ns speak openly and before all . Bnfc with equal force mighb the same objections be urged against tha mode of teaching practised by the . early Church , by St . Paul , and also throughout the whole of Scripture . " We speak
God ' s wisdom . " Yes , thafc is what wo speak . And in order to learn more and more of that wisdom , we diligently study the two books which He has given us—tho Book of Nature , and tho Holy Scriptures . What marvellous things are to be learned in those books ! We walk abroad by night , and we look np to the heavens , and when we behold the countless stars , each the centre of a system similar to what the sun is , surrounded with planets , and those planets perhaps inhabited
An Address To Freemasons.
by numberless living beings ; and when , further , we contemplate tho wonderful order and beauty of those heavenly bodies , we are simply lost in admiration of the Great Architect of tho Universe . Or we walk by the sea side , and as we think of its finny tribes , and watch tho ebb and flow of tho tide , and seo how , at God ' s word , the stormy wind ariseth and lifteth" up tho waves thereof , and how again He maketh the storm to cease , onr thoughts aro once more lifted up to tho all-wise Creator .
" Type of the Infinite . I look away Over the billows , and I cannot stay My thonght npon a resting-place , or make A shore beyond my vision , where they break ;
But on my spirit stretches , till 'tis pain To think ; then rests , and then puts forth again . Thou hold ' st me by a spell ; and on thy beach I feel all soul ; and thoughts unmeasured reach Far back beyond all date . "
Or we walk into the country , and contemplate bird and beast , and tree and herb , and we exclaim , with the Psalmist , " How manifold are Thy works , 0 Lord ; in wisdom hasfc Thou made them a 1 ! " Everywhere , in sky , on earth , and in sea , we trace the footsteps of a Deity , and discover new reasons for adoring the Sovereign Author of the Universe . Thon there is that other book which God has been
pleased to give ns—tho Holy Scriptures . With the Psalmist , you shonld be able to exclaim , " Lord , what love have I unto Thy law ; all the day long is my study in it . " Brethren , can you say this in anything like a real sense ? Do you make the Holy Scriptures your constant stndy ? I do not mean do you read them all day long , for that would be an absurd question to ask of men who have to earn
their bread , ancl do their duty in that station which God has assigned them . But do yon read a portion of yonr Bibles every day , and pray over and medidate upon that portion as you have opportunity ? If so , you will find in them that which , by God's grace , can make you wise unto salvation . They teach you that " there is but one living arid trne God , everlasting , without body , parts , or passions ; of
infinite power , wisdom , and goodness ; " but that " in the unity of this Godhead there be three Persons , of one snbstance , power , and eternity , namely—God , the Father , the " Maker of heaven and earth , and of all tinners visible and invisible ; " God , the Son , who laid aside the glory which He had with the Father before all worlds , and came down to this earth and became man , and , after living a sad and sorrowful
life , underwent the shameful death of the Cross , and all in order to redeem ns and make ns the sons of God ; and God , the Holy Ghost , who dwells in ns as His temple , and makes ns holy , and not only us , but also all who have been drawn out of this world ' s surging waves of sin , and received into the family of God . But every privilege has its corresponding duty , and in the Scriptures you are also tanght the
duty which you owe to God , to your neighbour , and to yourself . Your duty towards God is , in well-known words , "to believe in Him , to fear Him , and to love Him with all your heart , with all your mind , with all your sonl , and with all your strengtb ; to worship Him , to give Him thanks , to put your whole trust in Him , to call npon Him , to honour His Holy Name and His Word , and to serve
Him truly all the days of your life . " Your duty towards your neighhour is " to love him as yourself , and to do unto all men as you would they should do unto you . " You are not to take advantage of his necessities , or injure him in any way ; on the contrary , yon are to render to him every kind office in yonr power . You are always fo treat him with respect , and never allow yourself to speak
disparagingly of him in his absence . In a word , you are to be as jealous of his good name and hononr as you are of your own . So far as lies in your power , you aro to succour and relieve , the poor and needy . You are to comfort the sick , the afflicted , and the mourner , and oh , how many such there are in neel of our sympathy . In short , you are to be foremost in every office
which dnty demand " , which mercy requires , and which love suggests . As individuals , yon are to avoid excess of all sorts , to keep yonr bodies in temperance , soberness , and chastity , and to cultivate the fall development of your bodily and mental faculties . You will thus be the better enabled to Hvetn the glory of God , and the good of your fellow creatures . As members of society , yon are to be diliget t
and exemplary in tho discharge of all yonr duties , not meddling in the affairs of others . You aro to give no countenance to those who engage in plots , rebel against lawful authority , and strive after anarchy and confusion . On the contrary , in whatever quarter of the globe yonr lot may be cast , yon will , as St . Paul directs , be subject to the higher powers , rendering " to all their dues ; tribute to whom
tribute is due , custom to whom enstom , fear to whom fear , honour to whom hononr . " Such , my brethren , ought to be the course of your daily life . Part is to be spent in the study of God ' s Word and in prayer , part in your necessary avocations and in needful refreshment and repose , part in self-improvement , and part , as occasion arises , in the service of yonr fellow men , but the whole is in
the sight and fear of God . Oh , strive so to live , leaning on the arm of the Savionr , and then , whether Ho como soon or late to call you from yonr labour , tho Kin , 'of Terrors will have no terror for you . Nay , he will come not as an enemy , bnt as a friend , to close the period of probation , and to open the age of fruition . Death will be tho " beginning of new life , the unveiling of mysteries , the disclosing of the face of Christ , the dawn of resurrection , the beginning of
immortalifcv . " " Whatsoever , " therefore , " thy hand findeth to do , do it with thy might ; for thero is no work , nor device , nor knowledge , nor wisdom iu the grave , whither thou goest . " " Days and moments quickly flying , Blend the living with the dead : Soon will you and I be lying Each within his narrow bed .
" Soon our souls to God , who gave them , Will have sped their rapid flight , Able now by grace to save them ; Oh , thafc while we can we migbt .