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Extracts From Two Sermons, Preached Before The Ancient And Honourable Society Of Freemasons,
selves ? Besides , a man ' s worth is not to be rated from his own exaggerated account of the matter , but from what he actually , uniformly , and absolutely is . The apostle hath told us , that whosoever provideth not for his own , is an infidel ; therefore we conclude , that no good Mason will ever be deficient in the due performance of all moral and relative duties . If a man is negligent in reli gious points , depend on it he is good for little in the Lodge .
. As to the second part of the objection , viz . that they will backbite and injure one another , it is too true . But what does it prove ? simply this—that in the best institutions upon earth worthless characters may occasionally be found . In the holy family itself , consisting but of twelve , one was a devil . Did that hurt the integrity of the eleven ? far from it . Why lay the faults of a few at the door of large
respectable bodies of men , who , by assiduously working at the Craft , have done honour to human nature ? Where the heart is bad what can you expect from the tongue ? After all , is it more than what happens in the most solemn duties of religion ? Have there not been wretches who could go to the table of the Lord , and the very next day traduce the moral character of the minister from whose hands they received the holy sacrament ? And if that w s not-making it to themselves the
cup of devils , I know not what the Apostle meant when he made use of those terms . Why need I multiply words to confirm it ? Built on and drawn from revelation , must it not be of divine ori g inal ? Adorned by the beneficent actions and amiable virtues of thousands , the first in point of rank , knowledge , an . d moral excellence , of every language , in every . ageand in every climemust it not possess an inherent worth ?
, , Thou heaven-descended beam of li ght , beauty , and perfection ! how oft hast thou been the means of saving life and property ; reconciled the most jarring interests , and converted fiercest foes to dearest friends ! On , on then , my dear Brethren , pursue the great lecture with alacrity and firmness , each moving on the square of truth , by the compass of God ' s word , according to your respective stations , in
all the rules of symmetry , order , and proportion . —Nor dread when your earthly Lodge shall be dissolved ; your jewels will still be safe , and you shall be admitted into a more glorious Lodge , even an house not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens ; where angels and saints shall be your Fellow-crafts and companions ; and the Supreme Architect of the Universe your ineffably great and g lorious Grand Master—your light—your life—vour joy—your all !
NEED I tell 3-011 the honours of Masonry are as illustrious as they are ancient . You know it , and firmly believe it . Still do you not agree with me , they shine the brightest when they are grounded on real piety . In all sciences there have beea pretenders , and perhaps of most secrets in the arts there have been counterfeits : Act this neither tarnishes the beauty , nor weakens this tenet of our Craft , that Masonry and Brotherly Love ought to go hand in hand .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Extracts From Two Sermons, Preached Before The Ancient And Honourable Society Of Freemasons,
selves ? Besides , a man ' s worth is not to be rated from his own exaggerated account of the matter , but from what he actually , uniformly , and absolutely is . The apostle hath told us , that whosoever provideth not for his own , is an infidel ; therefore we conclude , that no good Mason will ever be deficient in the due performance of all moral and relative duties . If a man is negligent in reli gious points , depend on it he is good for little in the Lodge .
. As to the second part of the objection , viz . that they will backbite and injure one another , it is too true . But what does it prove ? simply this—that in the best institutions upon earth worthless characters may occasionally be found . In the holy family itself , consisting but of twelve , one was a devil . Did that hurt the integrity of the eleven ? far from it . Why lay the faults of a few at the door of large
respectable bodies of men , who , by assiduously working at the Craft , have done honour to human nature ? Where the heart is bad what can you expect from the tongue ? After all , is it more than what happens in the most solemn duties of religion ? Have there not been wretches who could go to the table of the Lord , and the very next day traduce the moral character of the minister from whose hands they received the holy sacrament ? And if that w s not-making it to themselves the
cup of devils , I know not what the Apostle meant when he made use of those terms . Why need I multiply words to confirm it ? Built on and drawn from revelation , must it not be of divine ori g inal ? Adorned by the beneficent actions and amiable virtues of thousands , the first in point of rank , knowledge , an . d moral excellence , of every language , in every . ageand in every climemust it not possess an inherent worth ?
, , Thou heaven-descended beam of li ght , beauty , and perfection ! how oft hast thou been the means of saving life and property ; reconciled the most jarring interests , and converted fiercest foes to dearest friends ! On , on then , my dear Brethren , pursue the great lecture with alacrity and firmness , each moving on the square of truth , by the compass of God ' s word , according to your respective stations , in
all the rules of symmetry , order , and proportion . —Nor dread when your earthly Lodge shall be dissolved ; your jewels will still be safe , and you shall be admitted into a more glorious Lodge , even an house not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens ; where angels and saints shall be your Fellow-crafts and companions ; and the Supreme Architect of the Universe your ineffably great and g lorious Grand Master—your light—your life—vour joy—your all !
NEED I tell 3-011 the honours of Masonry are as illustrious as they are ancient . You know it , and firmly believe it . Still do you not agree with me , they shine the brightest when they are grounded on real piety . In all sciences there have beea pretenders , and perhaps of most secrets in the arts there have been counterfeits : Act this neither tarnishes the beauty , nor weakens this tenet of our Craft , that Masonry and Brotherly Love ought to go hand in hand .