Freemasonry And Religion.

the beginning and have continued by Divine appointment to the present hour . No man will pretend to say that God instituted Freemasonry . Then , whence came it in its appointments ? Men constituted the Lodge . They seized upon the great

principles of brotherly love , relief and truth , to effect a closer union among themselves , and doubtless , from small beginnings have , far back in the centuries , we know not how far , erected their justly and lawfully constituted Lodges . And we , brethren , should be devoutly thankful

to the Supremo Ruler and Governor of mankind , that He put it into the hearts of our ancient brethren to' constitute this great system , which not only links our hearts in closer sympathy in this world , but whose every tendency , when properly conducted , is to lead us to that standard of

Christian character before God , in whom every one of ns professesSJto trust ^ that fits us for " that , spiritual building , that house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . " Second : They differ in their work . God makes ^ men , religious , devout , and holy . " Man looketh upon the

outward appearance , " but God ' s all-3 eeing eye looks into the depth of the heart—tho innermost recesses of the soul—and cleanses from all defilemeut . He alone builds within us a spiritual temple , of which all onr outward temples and altars are but the symbol . Men make Freemasons . They

administer the obligations , teach the lectures , and point to all the high aud holy duties of the Fraternity , but they only commend their brothers , who are men of like passions with themselves , to be wiser and better , that they may be

happier . They cannot , with all tho appliances and teachings of the Lodge , change the heart , any more than the leopard can chango his spots , or the sable son of Ham his skin .

Third : they differ as to their authority . God commands all men everywhere to repent , believe , and seek a pure heart and be His obedient and loving children . This great command contains all the elements of parental love as well as parental authority . To disobey this just and loving

command incurs a fearful responsibility . God demands that every one of us should , so to speak , come into Great Lodge . All are invited to knock at the door , and if done

with sincerity , no fatal ballot will ever appear against any one making application for admission , regardless of the sex , race , colour , age , physical or intellectual qualifications of the applicant .

Freemasonry demands no man s fealty . It does not even invite a single votary . The Lodge has a door , and every man is at liberty of his own free will and accord to approach and knock on that door . Tho faithful officer has always an attentive ear to catch and report every alarm .

The Lodge receives and . carefully considers every application , and then either accepts or rejects tho applicant . The Lodgo may make a mistake and reject one worthy and well qualified to be admitted . Not so with God ' s true church .

He makes no mistakes . His servants who manage the church may commit errors , and get in tares among the wheat , but the great Master will discriminate between the precious and the vile . Freemasonry cannot do that .

Fourth : These institutions differ as to their destiny . The Masonic Lodge is an institution of time . Wo hope and believe that it may firmly stand and flourish in the

future , more than in the past . Still we must say we believe that a period is coming when the deputed Archangel will herald to the world the tidings , " That time shall be no longer . "

By God's authority he'll stand With one foot placed upon the sea , And one upon the land , Proclaiming ' , "Time no more shall be , " By God's snpreme command .

The Lodge will close for ever . For the last time the faithful Tyler will guard the outer door . The attentive Deacon will report no more alarms . The gavel will fall for the last time , and its pleasant echoes will be heard no more . Not so with the church of the living God—the

grand and celestial communication , where the Snpreme Grand Master of all created beings presides . When all earthly powers , principalities and thrones shall be dissolved , then shall His throne and dominion be just entering upon

the threshold of its existence , so far as we aro concerned . And if , as the jcycles shall pass on , and some enraptured spirit shall for a moment pause in his ecstacy and inquire , " How long can these joys abound ? " the faithful sentinel in the watch-tower of the Holy City will respond ,

" Eternity ! " Is it not written in the Holy Book , "And everlasting joy shall be upon tbeir heads ?"

Brethren of the Masonic Order and Brethren of the Church , have I fairly stated and made out my case ? Many of you belong to both the Lodge and the Church . I am more than ever convinced that these ancient and

established orders are promoting the moral and intellectual and spiritual welfare of mankind , each working in its own particular sphere , and it will be clearly seen that , as our best authorities represent , " By Speculative Masonry we

learn to subdue the passions , act upon tho square , keep a tongue of good report , maintain secrecy , and practise charity . It is so interwoven with religion as to lay U 3 under obligations to pay that rational homage to the Deity which at once constitutes our duty and happiness . "

Sorao professed ministers and laymen of the Christian chnrch misrepresent , slander and m ; dign Freemasonry ; but still it prospers . Why is it so ? It is founded upon the truth . It maintains its own pure principles and tries

to present them to the world by an honest practice . It antagonises nothing but wrong , and , as far as possible , in its own humble way stretches out its kindly hands and endeavours to be a handmaid to the true church of God on

this earth . In conclusion , permit me to suggest that the true church of God in the world ia the custodian of Religion . As such it has come down to us from the first , under the fostering and protecting hand of its great Author . Under different

forms of organisation , but having constantly in view but one object , namely , to fit mankind for the work of this life , and finally for the joys of the eternal life beyond the grave . The Masonic Lodge is the custodian of tho work of Freemasonry ; it also having one object , and that in

perfect sympathy , so far as it reaches , with that " pnre and undefiled religion" defined in these pages . When a man becomes a Freemason he is sacredly bound and obligated to receive and practice the great principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth ; and he is morally bound

to acknowledge and reverence God , and to give his influence in favour of the right , and against all that is wrong . Accomplishing all this , there will be not only no antagonism between these two ancient and powerful institutions , but they will continue in the future as in the past , to work in

harmony , each labouring in its own particular sphere , and enjoying the protection and blessing of God , and each receiving the commendation of " Well done , good and faithful servant . "

COROLLARIES . First : It is not possible that every man , or even every good man shall be a Freemason . Freemasonry , like every system of human arrangement , is not perfect enough to make it possible that this should be the case . Second : It is possible , by the perfect arrangement and

plan of our Great Creator , that every human being may be a member of His great family , and enjoy such a relationship to his family , as to be entitled to eternal happiness in the heavenly world . The true church was instituted by Divine appointment , and is , and ever will be , a perfect institution .

Third : All the institutions of human origin , no matter how wisely or well arranged by man , will finish their work and end their mission in this world ; and their votaries will have the fruits of their labour in the eternal world , in accordance with the decisions of " the Judge of all the earth . "— Voice of Masonry .

If a Lodge cannot aid in founding a school or an academy , it can still do something . It can educate one boy or girl at least , the child of some poor or departed brother . And it should never be forgotten , that in the poorest unreg > irdt-d child that seems abandoned to ignorance and vice may slumber the virtues of a Socrates , the intellect of a Bacon or a Bonsuet , the genins of a Shakespeare , tho

capacity to benefit mankind of a Washington ; and that in rescuing him from the mire in which he is plunged , and giving him the means of education and development , the Lodge that does it may be tho direct and immediate means of conferring upon the world as great a boon as that given it by John Faust , tho boy of Mentz ; may perpetuate the liberties of a country and change the destinies of

nations , and write a new chapter in the history of tho world . For we never know the importance of the act we do . The daughter of Pharoah little thought what she was doing for the human race , and the vast unimaginable consequences that depended on her charitable aot , when she drew tho little child of a Hebrew woman from among the rashes that grew along the bank of tho Nile , and determined to rear it as if it were her own . — Albert Pike .