David, King Of Israel.

DAVID , KING OF ISRAEL .

seeds which we , as Masons , are to sow in our hearts , that they may become part of our lives . There is the ground spread out in hill and valley or plain , but as it lies there fallow , it is the manifestation of no energy ; it symbolizes no action . But what a contrast between it and the plant that grows in it , and holds its chalice for every raindrop ,

and in return sends forth its fragrance as an incense for all . But the unseen energies of that ground , when the seeds

that lay dry and useless in the sower ' s hand have fallen into it , contribute to their growth , push themselves through root and fibre , until , in the calling down of rain and sunlight , all are transformed into flower or harvest , and the bare and indolent fields glow with beauty or bend beneath the golden benedictions of the grain . So with this divine

truth and these symbols of truth in our Order . They may lie in Lodge or Chapter guarded as precious things , but until they are sown in the mind and conscience , they are not fruitful , they are not the inspirers and shapers of Masonic virtues and an ever growing and ripening

character . For we need not say that Masonry has gained its present power not alone by looking back on the past , but by looking inwards on its laws and teaching . In these laws are

the ever-unfolding possibilities of higher and better things —the growth of mind and character . And for each member of the Order to live without the culture of these

things is to waste opportunity and be untrue to all the high traditions and principles which are the glory of the Institution . If he is proud only of what has been done , instead of doing his part , then it needs no prophet to

foretell that the height is reached and the descent into decay is sure . ^ He can only keep the inspiration of the past as a felt-abiding power by uttering it in the present . A great truth in the material world is the truth which

has the dignity and force of law . It is the truth of mutual

An Address by Rev . James Byron Murray , Grand Chaplain , before the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of New York , 3 rd February 1886 .

( Continued from page 70 . )

WE enter the temple of Masonry as we enter the temples of worship . There is in it , as in them , an unseen presiding spirit , which transforms all and gives to everything a colour and a shape . In the Capella Di San Sisto at Rome you feel as iu the presence of Michael Angelo . From

floor to ceiling there are the visible touches of his invisible spirit . His thought has blossomed into fruitage on all , and broken into flower and foliage on arch and roof . One mind animates each ; and the rapt form of prophet and

apostle , the figure of man and brooding shape of sybyl , are joined together by one soul , which , unseen , lends a unity of design and grandeur to all that varied work . So in this temple of Masonry , there is one spirit which pervades all .

Moses , with the Divine Law , David , with the inspired Psalms ; Solomon , with his builders ; Prophets , with their prophecy of a second temple greater than the firsfc ; the Master of all , with His parable of labour and its reward ,

are joined together by one Great Spirit , who gives to all unity of design and beauty of colour . It is the Spirit whioh transforms all religion , all morality into the nature of man , until man becomes the incarnation of religion ; the visible form of morality and law ; the outward temple in

which they grow and ripen . Within its sacred folds are the altar with the inspired Word , the lesson and guide of life ; the square , with its suggestions for the shaping of character ; the compass , which , finding a fixed point , circles

life and thought ; the likeness of the ark , with its promise of a covenant between God and man ; the manna , with its historic witness of the fact that God is the supply of our necessities ; the budding and blossoming rod , which tells

us that the service rendered to God and man is our true priesthood . These are the ornaments of the temple , the great thought that breaks into flower and fruitage from tessellated floor to roof . These are the symbols of the

highest and best things that can influence the mind . And this inspired truth , these symbols of truth have attested their value and power in every age . And Masonry is in these , more than in gorgeous rite or splendid ritual ; for

these are the implements which build up not the architecture of houses of stone , but the temple which outlasts the works of art and " temples made with hands . " Or , to change the figure with the Psalmist , these are the

David, King Of Israel.

correspondence in nature that each thing gives and receives The great things and the best things are not to be laid away as if they had no use in the world but to be imparted to others . This truth underlies all growth , all movement

all life . The law of recriprocal influence is a universal law . And the value and power of anything are attested by what it imparts as well as what it receives . The visible creation is a constant witness of this mutual action . There is a

perpetual system of communication between light and heat and the animal and vegetable life on the earth . The electric forces are the healers of the atmosphere . The sea , seemingly a waste of uncultivated waters , contributes to the

air its moistures , to descend again m refreshing rains . Iu fcheir benign charities they show forth the beauty and thought of their Maker . To receive and not to give is a weakness that ends in decay . For interchange is enlarge , ment and vitality in all spheres of creation .

And the law operates in the higher world of reason and human thought . The noble ideas , the splendid utterances , the moral forces stored in books , are for humanity . They are not simply manifestations of genius which are to be admired , but profounder methods of service rendered to

man . They are the recognition of the great fact , that

each individual is not an isolated thing , but a part of a living body , joined together by a law as beautiful and as marvellous in its power as the law which pervades all fche parts of any separate organism and binds them into unity of action and life .

Ifc is the truth on which society rests . Interchange of communion , of thought , of industry , passes into all the varied elements which form it . Tastes , ideas , emotion flow in tides unseen but powerful . It is thus bound together as

one being , and the act of each individual affects all . This was the thought of David when he sent his Psalms to be the magnificent refrain of the human heart till the end of

time . It is the inspiration of all growth , and progress , and achievement , in communities or nations . Were it not , railroads , steamships , telegraphs , and the manifold

implements of labour , would pass away withered and dead ideas .

And this is the truth ou which our Order rests . When fche magnificent thought of brotherhood in social life took shape out of the higher religion , it was to be a brotherhood of receiving and giving . It was formed by ideas , it was

enlarged by hearts , and animated with the trust of mutual fellowship . And this gives scope for the mind ; furnishes a school for thought ; a seminary of education ; a place for intelligent achievement ; a form in which to mould

convictions and direct the intellect and heart of the members of the body . It lays , therefore , on every member a burden of giving all the truths within it a visible reality and manifestation in life . Else Masonry is only a receptive

thing , not a permanent moral force passing into and inspiring society . And only when its members rise to a conception of this truth , become living members with the

life-blood circulating and rejoicing through all the arteries and veins , through fibre and tissue , shall the Masonic Institution flourish as the tree flourishes and bears the fruitage of nobler service , of richer graces and larger good for mankind . Then shall it be a full and grand conception

of the brotherhood of man ; the home of purer impulses ;

the wealth of thought and force to improve itself as one of the most potent energies in the history of the world . For Masonry is a witness of this fellowship of man and man . And even if it takes , as it necessarily must , a lower

place than our divine religion , it is still to be the constant attestation of this truth . Doubtless , this was the intention of its founders when , from its beginning , they saw the structure rising and placing its roots among the deepest

and truest things of mind and conscience . Lately , as we were reading , we read of the completion of a great structure , which ended the work of centuries . In a German city beyond the sea , there is a cathedral among the noblest

of the houses of stone for the worship of God . Centuries have passed since the foundation was laid ; but year after year the work of building went on , until in the year of grace 1880 the temple stood complete . The walls massive

and strong ; the tracery delicate and refined ; flowers of stone blooming on pillar and arch ; windows pictured with the marvellous life of One of Bethlehem ; spires rising to meet the sunlight , the minster stands on a sure foundation , a monument of man's art and enduring toil .

The master mind that wrought the design had passed away , but his design remained to give finish and stateliness to the structure . His gaze passed begond the years