Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sermon,
SERMON ,
Preached before the Provincial Grand Lodge of Stafford , in St . George ' s Church . Ncwcastle-under-Lyne , on Thursday , August 14 th , 18-15 ,
BY THB ItEV . HENRY RAPEU SI _ ADE , D . » ., PROV . G . CHAPLAIN" Therefore judge Nothing before the time , until the Lord come , w ? io will both briug in i ' tglit the hidden thing :, of (!; a-kness , and will make _ nani _ o _ t the counsels of the heart , and then shall every man have praise of Ginl . "—l Criuthians IV ., 5 . THE Corinthian converts to Christianity had imbibed , along with the doctrines of their religion , such a degree of reverence and admiration of those who taught it , as to form themselves into parties which bore
the names of their respective teachers . The Apostle begins his admonitions , in his first Epistle to them , by condemning such misdirected zeal , and disclaiming for himself all pretensions to any higher character than that of a minister of Jesus Christ . He assures his mistaken proselytes that he places no confidence in his own judgment ; ancl that humbly and carefully striving to please the Lord only , he is perfectly indifferent to the opinions of men . In the words that I have just recitedhe advises
, them to observe the like caution and humility towards each other , and to leave all things that they could not comprehend , to the just and final decision of God . Numerous , indeed , are the subjects whicli reason is competent to unfold and to prove , according to the laws of nature , or tbe essential properties of matter ; but there are some things into which we can never penetrate , particularly the untold secrets of the human heart , and the unsearchable counsels of heaven . Men have , nevertheless ,
too often rashly determined on each others motives of action , ancl even impiously arrogated a foreknowledge of events ; but every wise and good man ivill shudder at any attempt to remove the veil which the grand Architect of the universe has drawn before tbe throne of his glory , and will spurn the thought of indulging in any liberty with others , which he knows they cannot conscientiously exercise towards himself . The immaterial and invisible God is known onl y by his works ancl his word , and
the thoughts of men are communicable onl y by the means which his providence has bestowed . These means are left to the free agency of every human being , to be employed virtuousl y , or , at his peril , viciously . We are told in other parts of Scripture , as well as in my text , that there is no secret that shall not hereafter be revealed—that we shall one day know others , as we ourselves shall then be known—ancl tbat according to " the counsels of the heart , " our secret purposes , principles , ancl motives , we shall all finally be judged by that only tribunal which cannot err .
I shall therefore examine—1 st , Into the use , and , 2 ndly , Into the abuse of secrecy ; and conclude with some observations upon the ancient and honourable society of free ancl accepted Masons . Had human nature never been depraved by sin , the world never would have known secrecy . The grand object of mankind would then have been obedience to God , in gratitude to him , ancl for the good of each other , from which source alone individual goocl could have been derived . But sin produced shame , and shame sought for refuge in secrecy . No sooner had the first pair transgressed voi _ . in . _>'_ >
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sermon,
SERMON ,
Preached before the Provincial Grand Lodge of Stafford , in St . George ' s Church . Ncwcastle-under-Lyne , on Thursday , August 14 th , 18-15 ,
BY THB ItEV . HENRY RAPEU SI _ ADE , D . » ., PROV . G . CHAPLAIN" Therefore judge Nothing before the time , until the Lord come , w ? io will both briug in i ' tglit the hidden thing :, of (!; a-kness , and will make _ nani _ o _ t the counsels of the heart , and then shall every man have praise of Ginl . "—l Criuthians IV ., 5 . THE Corinthian converts to Christianity had imbibed , along with the doctrines of their religion , such a degree of reverence and admiration of those who taught it , as to form themselves into parties which bore
the names of their respective teachers . The Apostle begins his admonitions , in his first Epistle to them , by condemning such misdirected zeal , and disclaiming for himself all pretensions to any higher character than that of a minister of Jesus Christ . He assures his mistaken proselytes that he places no confidence in his own judgment ; ancl that humbly and carefully striving to please the Lord only , he is perfectly indifferent to the opinions of men . In the words that I have just recitedhe advises
, them to observe the like caution and humility towards each other , and to leave all things that they could not comprehend , to the just and final decision of God . Numerous , indeed , are the subjects whicli reason is competent to unfold and to prove , according to the laws of nature , or tbe essential properties of matter ; but there are some things into which we can never penetrate , particularly the untold secrets of the human heart , and the unsearchable counsels of heaven . Men have , nevertheless ,
too often rashly determined on each others motives of action , ancl even impiously arrogated a foreknowledge of events ; but every wise and good man ivill shudder at any attempt to remove the veil which the grand Architect of the universe has drawn before tbe throne of his glory , and will spurn the thought of indulging in any liberty with others , which he knows they cannot conscientiously exercise towards himself . The immaterial and invisible God is known onl y by his works ancl his word , and
the thoughts of men are communicable onl y by the means which his providence has bestowed . These means are left to the free agency of every human being , to be employed virtuousl y , or , at his peril , viciously . We are told in other parts of Scripture , as well as in my text , that there is no secret that shall not hereafter be revealed—that we shall one day know others , as we ourselves shall then be known—ancl tbat according to " the counsels of the heart , " our secret purposes , principles , ancl motives , we shall all finally be judged by that only tribunal which cannot err .
I shall therefore examine—1 st , Into the use , and , 2 ndly , Into the abuse of secrecy ; and conclude with some observations upon the ancient and honourable society of free ancl accepted Masons . Had human nature never been depraved by sin , the world never would have known secrecy . The grand object of mankind would then have been obedience to God , in gratitude to him , ancl for the good of each other , from which source alone individual goocl could have been derived . But sin produced shame , and shame sought for refuge in secrecy . No sooner had the first pair transgressed voi _ . in . _>'_ >