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Church Services.
CHURCH SERVICES .
THE Guelph Lodge , No . 1685 held a Masonic service on Easter Sunday in Holy Trinity Church , Harrow Green . It was much to be regretted that more Brethren did not attend to support such a laudable object as that for which the service was organised—the Church Dilapidation Fund , says the "
Leytonstone Independent . " With , however , the number that was present , the whole proceedings , under the directing hand of Bro . Daniel S . W . 2411 , passed off most harmoniously . A procession of the members , who wore either Craft or Eoyal Arch clothing , was formed . at 3-15 , and filed into the church from the school .
The service , which was fully choral , was carried out by the choir under the direction of Mr . Frank Edgar ( Organist and Choirmaster ) in a manner most praiseworthy to those concerned . During the service an oration on the principles of Freemasonry
was delivered by Bro . the Eev . Eobert J . Simpson , M . A . ( Oriel College , Oxford ) , Past Grand Chaplain of England . The sermon was an excellent one , and a great treat was missed by those not attending . The collection realised the sum of £ 13 13 s 9 d .
A MASONIC SEEVICE was held at St . James ' s Church of Scotland , East Dulwich , at the end of last year , when a sermon appropriate to the occasion was preached by Bro . Eev . P . Henderson Aitken , from Eevelations xxi , 16 : " The city lieth foursquare The length , and the breadth , and the height of it are equal . "
The preacher said it was a striking and significant fact that the sacred volume opened with one picture of human life and closed with another of a very different kind . Iu the first pages of Genesis we viewed , as it were , through the vista of the far-off years , the visionary forms of our first parents in the paradise of
Eden . On the last leaf of the mysterious Apocalypse was portrayed the ultimate ideal of human life and intercourse in the heavenly Jerusalem . Life iu a garden , life in a city ; such were
the two contrasted aspects , such were the opening and the parting glimpse which divine inspiration revealed of primitive and perfected humanity—the Alpha and the Omega of mankind ' s earliest evolution and final destiny .
Now , it did at first seem strange that any symbolism , however intrepidly adventurous , could ever lay the scene of Heaven on earth of all places in a spot which our urban experience associated with so much that was sad , and sordid , and sinister . If , as we were wont to say , " God made the country , man the
town , " our modern manufacture certainl y did not compare favourably with the ancient handicraft of the Creator . We could not help picturing the innocent and blissful life of Eden , and contrasting with our hard lot its ease and enjoyment , its freedom from harassing responsibility and sorrow and pain . We could
not help wishing that we , too , might even now return to nature and the simple life of natural instinct . We could not help extolling the fresh , untainted beauty and unsophisticated pleasures of country life at the expense of that humdrum existence of hurry and worry—the weary and well-worn round of weekly toil and moil—which was the lot of most of us . Jaded with the
jarring cares of this world , galled and bitten by the deceitfulness of riches , deafened by the importunate and persistent clamour of selfish competition , jostled and hustled in the great seething crowd of modern Ishmaels—everyone ' s hand against his neighbour ( he had nearly said in his neighbour ' s pocket ) , and every
neighbours hand against him—what wonder was it that we should sigh for another and more peaceful experience , a simpler , purer , freer , form of life ? The peace and innocence of Eden
seemed to present an absolute ideal of what human life and its surroundings should always have been and should be now . The life of Eden was the only true and perfect condition of existence for man . That was what we were inclined to think .
But let us stop and ask ourselves the question : Suppose the restoration of mankind ' s first unconscious childhood and untried innocence were possible , would that afford us the highest ideal of existence ? Supposing that man could , by some magic reversal , be reinstated in the primitive life of the Garden , would
he not very soon find that the idyllic state of nature , which seemed so fair when viewed through the transfiguring haze of the past , would after all prove but an uncongenial sphere of thought and action for his maturer experience , and more comprehensive sympathies ? He was sure he would . That primitive
life was appropriate then , but human character had outgrown these aboriginal conditions , and acquired a more complex and many-sided constitution . To revert absolutely , therefore , to this pristine ideal of human society , even if such a reversal were possible , would most assuredly involve the total annulment and
obliteration of all the ingrained results of that mental development and moral training which the providence of God had wrought into the character of man . It would , in fact , imply , not regeneration , but degeneration of the race . However sore our sentiment of regret , the world ' s youth ,
Church Services.
like our own , was past for ever , and could never be restored . Strive as we might , we could not get away from the fact that we were the heirs of all the ages ; we could not dispossess ourselves of this ingrained inheritance of the bygone years . And so , whatever might be the bright and blessed future we anticipated , it
must be one that could include and transmute the sadder and more sombre elements of a mature experience . It must be able to harmonise the jarring discords of sense and self in some celestial sympathy . Hence , in fine , we were not surprised or confounded after all , to find that the apocalyptic vision of the
heavenly kingdom did not reproduce the traditional and familiar features of Paradise , but presented the other and contrasted conception of a glorious city—the New Jerusalem . The last utterance of inspiration described the ideal condition of human life and society under the symbolism of a city—a city which lieth foursquare , whose length and height and breadth were equal .
In the first place , we observed that life in a city as contrasted with rural solitude and isolation was a social existence . This social character of true citizenship involved the principles of moral symmetry which might be represented respectively by the length , breadth , and height of the New Jerusalem . For he need
not pause to say that the teaching of the Apocalypse was here most certainly veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . So we should quite miss the meaning of this apocalyptic picture , as indeed of the whole Book of Eevelation , if we took its language literally , if we pressed for an exact arithmetical rendering of its
mystical measurements , and tried to imagine , for instance , from the description of the passage before them , the holy city descending from the clouds in the guise of a monstrous golden cube , nearly 1 , 400 miles in each direction of length , breadth , and height .
We must not forget that the Johannine imagery waa based upon that of the prophet Ezekiel , and as in the case of the earlier writer , certain numbers had a secret and sacred significance . The foursquare city represented the perfect state in whose citizens the symmetry of moral rule was fully realized , among
whose members individual rights and personal duties were viewed in a broader light as common tasks and obligations binding equally upon all . As Plato taught long ago , the ideal of a state or city involved the exercise of justice or righteousness . Man ' s higher nature was called into play . His manly energies and
powers of endurance , his faculty of invention , his ability to suit himself to his social environment , the graces of courtesy , of kindly consideration and affability were all elicited by means of human intercourse . In other words , it was in the life of the city
that men learned the lessons of self-restraint , urbanity , and culture . He came to recognise that he was an integral part of a great living organism , each member of which was at once means and end to the whole .
In the heavenly city the true symmetry of individual life and social intercourse would be realised in the perfect order of the whole . Such was the prophecy of the text . The life of regenerate humanity , as typified by the New Jerusalem , involved not merely a corporate enjoyment of material blessings by its citizens ,
but also the unspeakable felicity of the communion of saints . In that ideal society and fellowship we should find at once the amplest scope for the free exercise of all our powers , the largest and most liberal opportunity for ever acquainting ourselves more
fully with the works and wonders of the Almighty Architect of the Universe , still and for ever growing into a more complete and consistent harmony with His will , and for ever developing and exercising new energies and faculties for serving Him in serving our fellows .
The foursquare city , said the preacher , in conclusion , presupposed the foursquare citizen : the man whose life was morally symmetrical , who recognised and strove to realise the threefold direction of his duty alike to God , to his neighbour , and to himself , as typified by the three edges of a cube wbich gave its length ,
and breadth , and height all equal . His attitude to God was one of reverence , never taking His holy name into his lips without the deepest awe and worship , never ceasing to implore the Divine aid in all cases of difficulty and danger , looking up with steadfast confidence for comfort and support in every hour of trial . His
attitude to his neighbour was that of the man who acted fairly and squarely by those with whom he came in contact—the just man , true as steel , the merciful man , forbearing and forgiving , the man with a clear conscience , a clean soul , and a generous
heart . His attitude to himself one of careful prudence , and of just and thankful temperance , respecting the body that encased and sheltered his soul , and respecting the soul , which was himself—the man of honour . He who realised that three-fold duty
was the foursquare man , a fit subject and citizen for the city that lieth foursquare . God grant that they each and all might find their place there one day!— " South London Press . "
The corner stone of fche new church of St . Bartholomew , Ipswich , was laid on Thursday with Masonic ceremony .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Church Services.
CHURCH SERVICES .
THE Guelph Lodge , No . 1685 held a Masonic service on Easter Sunday in Holy Trinity Church , Harrow Green . It was much to be regretted that more Brethren did not attend to support such a laudable object as that for which the service was organised—the Church Dilapidation Fund , says the "
Leytonstone Independent . " With , however , the number that was present , the whole proceedings , under the directing hand of Bro . Daniel S . W . 2411 , passed off most harmoniously . A procession of the members , who wore either Craft or Eoyal Arch clothing , was formed . at 3-15 , and filed into the church from the school .
The service , which was fully choral , was carried out by the choir under the direction of Mr . Frank Edgar ( Organist and Choirmaster ) in a manner most praiseworthy to those concerned . During the service an oration on the principles of Freemasonry
was delivered by Bro . the Eev . Eobert J . Simpson , M . A . ( Oriel College , Oxford ) , Past Grand Chaplain of England . The sermon was an excellent one , and a great treat was missed by those not attending . The collection realised the sum of £ 13 13 s 9 d .
A MASONIC SEEVICE was held at St . James ' s Church of Scotland , East Dulwich , at the end of last year , when a sermon appropriate to the occasion was preached by Bro . Eev . P . Henderson Aitken , from Eevelations xxi , 16 : " The city lieth foursquare The length , and the breadth , and the height of it are equal . "
The preacher said it was a striking and significant fact that the sacred volume opened with one picture of human life and closed with another of a very different kind . Iu the first pages of Genesis we viewed , as it were , through the vista of the far-off years , the visionary forms of our first parents in the paradise of
Eden . On the last leaf of the mysterious Apocalypse was portrayed the ultimate ideal of human life and intercourse in the heavenly Jerusalem . Life iu a garden , life in a city ; such were
the two contrasted aspects , such were the opening and the parting glimpse which divine inspiration revealed of primitive and perfected humanity—the Alpha and the Omega of mankind ' s earliest evolution and final destiny .
Now , it did at first seem strange that any symbolism , however intrepidly adventurous , could ever lay the scene of Heaven on earth of all places in a spot which our urban experience associated with so much that was sad , and sordid , and sinister . If , as we were wont to say , " God made the country , man the
town , " our modern manufacture certainl y did not compare favourably with the ancient handicraft of the Creator . We could not help picturing the innocent and blissful life of Eden , and contrasting with our hard lot its ease and enjoyment , its freedom from harassing responsibility and sorrow and pain . We could
not help wishing that we , too , might even now return to nature and the simple life of natural instinct . We could not help extolling the fresh , untainted beauty and unsophisticated pleasures of country life at the expense of that humdrum existence of hurry and worry—the weary and well-worn round of weekly toil and moil—which was the lot of most of us . Jaded with the
jarring cares of this world , galled and bitten by the deceitfulness of riches , deafened by the importunate and persistent clamour of selfish competition , jostled and hustled in the great seething crowd of modern Ishmaels—everyone ' s hand against his neighbour ( he had nearly said in his neighbour ' s pocket ) , and every
neighbours hand against him—what wonder was it that we should sigh for another and more peaceful experience , a simpler , purer , freer , form of life ? The peace and innocence of Eden
seemed to present an absolute ideal of what human life and its surroundings should always have been and should be now . The life of Eden was the only true and perfect condition of existence for man . That was what we were inclined to think .
But let us stop and ask ourselves the question : Suppose the restoration of mankind ' s first unconscious childhood and untried innocence were possible , would that afford us the highest ideal of existence ? Supposing that man could , by some magic reversal , be reinstated in the primitive life of the Garden , would
he not very soon find that the idyllic state of nature , which seemed so fair when viewed through the transfiguring haze of the past , would after all prove but an uncongenial sphere of thought and action for his maturer experience , and more comprehensive sympathies ? He was sure he would . That primitive
life was appropriate then , but human character had outgrown these aboriginal conditions , and acquired a more complex and many-sided constitution . To revert absolutely , therefore , to this pristine ideal of human society , even if such a reversal were possible , would most assuredly involve the total annulment and
obliteration of all the ingrained results of that mental development and moral training which the providence of God had wrought into the character of man . It would , in fact , imply , not regeneration , but degeneration of the race . However sore our sentiment of regret , the world ' s youth ,
Church Services.
like our own , was past for ever , and could never be restored . Strive as we might , we could not get away from the fact that we were the heirs of all the ages ; we could not dispossess ourselves of this ingrained inheritance of the bygone years . And so , whatever might be the bright and blessed future we anticipated , it
must be one that could include and transmute the sadder and more sombre elements of a mature experience . It must be able to harmonise the jarring discords of sense and self in some celestial sympathy . Hence , in fine , we were not surprised or confounded after all , to find that the apocalyptic vision of the
heavenly kingdom did not reproduce the traditional and familiar features of Paradise , but presented the other and contrasted conception of a glorious city—the New Jerusalem . The last utterance of inspiration described the ideal condition of human life and society under the symbolism of a city—a city which lieth foursquare , whose length and height and breadth were equal .
In the first place , we observed that life in a city as contrasted with rural solitude and isolation was a social existence . This social character of true citizenship involved the principles of moral symmetry which might be represented respectively by the length , breadth , and height of the New Jerusalem . For he need
not pause to say that the teaching of the Apocalypse was here most certainly veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . So we should quite miss the meaning of this apocalyptic picture , as indeed of the whole Book of Eevelation , if we took its language literally , if we pressed for an exact arithmetical rendering of its
mystical measurements , and tried to imagine , for instance , from the description of the passage before them , the holy city descending from the clouds in the guise of a monstrous golden cube , nearly 1 , 400 miles in each direction of length , breadth , and height .
We must not forget that the Johannine imagery waa based upon that of the prophet Ezekiel , and as in the case of the earlier writer , certain numbers had a secret and sacred significance . The foursquare city represented the perfect state in whose citizens the symmetry of moral rule was fully realized , among
whose members individual rights and personal duties were viewed in a broader light as common tasks and obligations binding equally upon all . As Plato taught long ago , the ideal of a state or city involved the exercise of justice or righteousness . Man ' s higher nature was called into play . His manly energies and
powers of endurance , his faculty of invention , his ability to suit himself to his social environment , the graces of courtesy , of kindly consideration and affability were all elicited by means of human intercourse . In other words , it was in the life of the city
that men learned the lessons of self-restraint , urbanity , and culture . He came to recognise that he was an integral part of a great living organism , each member of which was at once means and end to the whole .
In the heavenly city the true symmetry of individual life and social intercourse would be realised in the perfect order of the whole . Such was the prophecy of the text . The life of regenerate humanity , as typified by the New Jerusalem , involved not merely a corporate enjoyment of material blessings by its citizens ,
but also the unspeakable felicity of the communion of saints . In that ideal society and fellowship we should find at once the amplest scope for the free exercise of all our powers , the largest and most liberal opportunity for ever acquainting ourselves more
fully with the works and wonders of the Almighty Architect of the Universe , still and for ever growing into a more complete and consistent harmony with His will , and for ever developing and exercising new energies and faculties for serving Him in serving our fellows .
The foursquare city , said the preacher , in conclusion , presupposed the foursquare citizen : the man whose life was morally symmetrical , who recognised and strove to realise the threefold direction of his duty alike to God , to his neighbour , and to himself , as typified by the three edges of a cube wbich gave its length ,
and breadth , and height all equal . His attitude to God was one of reverence , never taking His holy name into his lips without the deepest awe and worship , never ceasing to implore the Divine aid in all cases of difficulty and danger , looking up with steadfast confidence for comfort and support in every hour of trial . His
attitude to his neighbour was that of the man who acted fairly and squarely by those with whom he came in contact—the just man , true as steel , the merciful man , forbearing and forgiving , the man with a clear conscience , a clean soul , and a generous
heart . His attitude to himself one of careful prudence , and of just and thankful temperance , respecting the body that encased and sheltered his soul , and respecting the soul , which was himself—the man of honour . He who realised that three-fold duty
was the foursquare man , a fit subject and citizen for the city that lieth foursquare . God grant that they each and all might find their place there one day!— " South London Press . "
The corner stone of fche new church of St . Bartholomew , Ipswich , was laid on Thursday with Masonic ceremony .