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Article SYMBOLIZATION. ← Page 7 of 7
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Symbolization.
tical meaning to the saints of old till St . Peter explained it in bis epistle ? What was tbe whole system of God ' s manifestation of Himself to the Church of Israel from the calling out of Egypt down to the minutest particular of their law , —the Red Sea—tbe Cloud and Pillar of fire—the bread from Heaven—the rock smitten — tbe water of His Spirit—their ceremonial ordinances from the priesthood of Aaron to the stones on his breast—were they not all the mirror of something
very deeper than the outward seeming , and vocal with the Spirit of Truth ? And if any reply that these things were the offspring of that system whose very essence consisted in types and shadowings forth of a better system hereafter to be revealed , what shall we say to the teaching of our blessed Lord Himself , drawn so often from the visible objects around Him ? With Him the birds of the air , the lilies of the field , are made to minister to holy instruction . The door of the sheepfold ,
the water at the feast of tabernacles , the water at the well , the wine at the feast , the ripening harvest , the elements of bread and wine , yea , the very cup and the platter , were all sanctified by Him to divine doctrine . " ( p . 12 . )
If the reader will again refer to Dr . Oliver ' s " Landmarks , " vol . ii ., p . 658 ; and to his "Theocratic Philosophy , " p . 161 , he will find passages exactly parallel to the above . As our space is limited , we have not room for the quotations . Indeed , much moi'e mi g ht be said of the Masonic character of this sermon ; but our limits have
alread y been exceeded , and we must pause , merely remarking that Mr . Holden , unwilling to leave any subject untouched that has the remotest reference to Freemasonry , casuall y mentions the Ladder of Jacob , and the Burning Bush of Moses , both of which are landmarks of different degrees ; and speaking of the houses of God , he says , —
* ' Definite forms were by degrees assigned them , and the principle of representation by symbols was at once recognized . Tbe wounded Lamb , the sacred Monogram , tbe mystical Fish , tbe Pelican , the Phoenix , the Flying Bird , by all of which our blessed Lord was represented ; the Ship is the Church , the Palm-branch for the Martyr , tbe Eagle for the renewed Christian , were some among many devices adopted in the very earliest ages of tbe faith , and still visible in the CatacombsWith
Roman . regard to the Cross , we have the testimony of the early fathers , that they saw it everywhere . In tbe expanded wings of the bird—in the fins of the fish—in tbe despised animal that bare our Lord—in trees—in flowers—in stars—in the forms of their doorways and windows—in the masts of their ships—in the soldier ' s sword—in the very furniture of their houses—everywhere and at all times they loved to recognise the symbol of their faith . " ( p . 14 . )
Here we have a rich tissue of symbolism which may prove useful to the Masonic student ; and we again thank Mr . Holden for his kindness in furnishing such an abundant source of illustration for the benefit of the Craft .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Symbolization.
tical meaning to the saints of old till St . Peter explained it in bis epistle ? What was tbe whole system of God ' s manifestation of Himself to the Church of Israel from the calling out of Egypt down to the minutest particular of their law , —the Red Sea—tbe Cloud and Pillar of fire—the bread from Heaven—the rock smitten — tbe water of His Spirit—their ceremonial ordinances from the priesthood of Aaron to the stones on his breast—were they not all the mirror of something
very deeper than the outward seeming , and vocal with the Spirit of Truth ? And if any reply that these things were the offspring of that system whose very essence consisted in types and shadowings forth of a better system hereafter to be revealed , what shall we say to the teaching of our blessed Lord Himself , drawn so often from the visible objects around Him ? With Him the birds of the air , the lilies of the field , are made to minister to holy instruction . The door of the sheepfold ,
the water at the feast of tabernacles , the water at the well , the wine at the feast , the ripening harvest , the elements of bread and wine , yea , the very cup and the platter , were all sanctified by Him to divine doctrine . " ( p . 12 . )
If the reader will again refer to Dr . Oliver ' s " Landmarks , " vol . ii ., p . 658 ; and to his "Theocratic Philosophy , " p . 161 , he will find passages exactly parallel to the above . As our space is limited , we have not room for the quotations . Indeed , much moi'e mi g ht be said of the Masonic character of this sermon ; but our limits have
alread y been exceeded , and we must pause , merely remarking that Mr . Holden , unwilling to leave any subject untouched that has the remotest reference to Freemasonry , casuall y mentions the Ladder of Jacob , and the Burning Bush of Moses , both of which are landmarks of different degrees ; and speaking of the houses of God , he says , —
* ' Definite forms were by degrees assigned them , and the principle of representation by symbols was at once recognized . Tbe wounded Lamb , the sacred Monogram , tbe mystical Fish , tbe Pelican , the Phoenix , the Flying Bird , by all of which our blessed Lord was represented ; the Ship is the Church , the Palm-branch for the Martyr , tbe Eagle for the renewed Christian , were some among many devices adopted in the very earliest ages of tbe faith , and still visible in the CatacombsWith
Roman . regard to the Cross , we have the testimony of the early fathers , that they saw it everywhere . In tbe expanded wings of the bird—in the fins of the fish—in tbe despised animal that bare our Lord—in trees—in flowers—in stars—in the forms of their doorways and windows—in the masts of their ships—in the soldier ' s sword—in the very furniture of their houses—everywhere and at all times they loved to recognise the symbol of their faith . " ( p . 14 . )
Here we have a rich tissue of symbolism which may prove useful to the Masonic student ; and we again thank Mr . Holden for his kindness in furnishing such an abundant source of illustration for the benefit of the Craft .