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Freemasonry & Israelitism.

FREEMASONRY & ISRAELITISM .

BY BRO . WILLIAM CARPENTER , P . M . & P . Z . 177

XVI . Hitherto we have regarded the Anglo-Saxons as identical with Israel , chiefly as it is seen in their relations with other

peoples and in their occupation of , or establishments in , a considerable portion of the globe , continental and insular ; and , in a general way , of the influence they

have exercised where they have mixed themselves up with other peoples , in the social , moral , and religious character they have impressed upon them . We have seen

them operating as the salt of the earth , purifying what was base , and preserving what had in it the principle of vitality , and was capable of a righteous and beneficent

expansion . Wc must now consider , more particularly , the characteristics which they exhibit amongst themselves — religious , political , and social ; and see in how far

these agree with what was predicted of Israel after the overthrow of the kingdom . For it is to be observed , that the prophecies touching Israel do not deal in generalities ,

merely—describing what was to happen to them , as a people , in fulfilling the early prophecies , which ga . ve them the earth for their possession , and depicting them as

the progenitors of many and powerful nations , the ancestors of kings , and the heralds and teachers of those divine truths which are to subdue all peoples , and ,

ultimately , in the consummation of God's gracious purposes , to bring all men and all things into subjection to the Divine will ; so that "judgment shall dwell in the

wilderness , and righteousness reside in the fruitful field—the work of righteousness be peace , the effect of righteousness be perpetual quietness and assurance . ; while the people

shall dwell in a peaceful mansion , and in secure habitations , and in resting-places undisturbed" ( Isaiah xxxii . 16-1 S ) . Amongst those things which we have

Freemasonry & Israelitism.

now to notice some may seem to be trivial , or , at best , of but small importance , hardly worth notice ; nor would they be if they stood alone ; but forming , as they do ,

parts of a great mass of the particulars which it was foretold Israel should possess , or exemplify , or perform , they assume a different character ; and all concentrating

in the Anglo-Saxons , and in them alone , they possess a weight and an importance which it is impossible to over-estimate ,

seeing that they form part of that aggregated mass of evidence which is strengthened by every added item . Amongst these items are the following .

We have seen that Israel was to lose its identity—that is , not to be known as Israel —that it was to become so far blinded as

not to know itself ; gso that being called by another name it should not , until the fulness of the time had come for the realisation of the most comprehensive of the promises and

prophecies relating to it , perceive , though performing its allotted work , that it was indeed the Lord ' s witness and- messenger to the ends of the earth , putting down all

false gods , overthrowing the inhuman and debasing rites of idolatry and demonworship , and introducing , in their place , the knowledge and worship of the one true God .

Hence , Israel was to become a pre-eminently religious people , setting up a standard for the nations , so that they should walk in its light and kings in the brightness of its

sunrising . Israel was not only to bless the nations by her presence , and her settlements ; she was , while diligent in business , to be fervent in spirit , serving the Lord .

She was to proclaim the great truths of which she had been made the depositary . Sec how clearly and repeatedly this is written on the roll of prophecy : " I , the

Lord , have called thee in righteousness , and will hold thine hand , and will keep thee , and will give thee for a covenant of the people , for a light of the nations " ( Isaiah xlii . 6 ) ;

" Israel shall blossom and bud , and fill the face of the world with fruit ' ( ch . xxvii . 6 ); "This people have I formed for myself : thou shalt show forth my praise" ( xliii , 21 );

" Thou art my servant , O Israel , in whom I will be glorified " ( xlix . 3 ); " I will also give thee for a light to the nations , that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the

earth" ( ver . 6 ); "And I will strengthen them in the Lord , and they shall walk up and down in his name , saith the Lord " ( Zech . x . 12 ); " Thus shalt thou [ Israel ] say

unto them , 1 lie gods that have not made the heavens and the earth , even they shall perish from the earth" ( Jer . x . 11 ) ; "And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst

of many people , as a dew from the Lord , and as showers upon the grass " ( Micah v . 7 ); " And tlie Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel " ( Malachi i . 5 ) . Great

and glorious as this mission was , it has been —though not fully , yet—largely fulfilled by the Anglo-Saxons , and by no other people

in the world . By their translations of the Bible into nearly every known language , and the distribution of it over the whole world , they have , indeed , testified that "the

Freemasonry & Israelitism.

gods which have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth ; " and in every region it has been said of those who have been sent forth , " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that

bringeth good tidings , that publisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good , that publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion , Thy God reigneth" ( Isaiah Hi . 7 ) . They have been , and still are , the

missionaries of the good tidings , throughout the continent and in almost every island of the oceans , so that " the uttermost parts of the

earth have heard songs , even glory to the righteous" ( chap . xxiv . 16 ) ; and the Lord has " been glorified in the valleys : even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles

of the sea" ( ver . 15 ) . Nevertheless , though thus to be made the witnesses to The Truth , and to constitute the true church , the body was not to be so religiously united as to be of one mind on

all points appertaining to religion . They were to be divided among themselves , and to have distinctive religious designations . " One shall say , I belong to Jehovah ; and another shall - be called by the name of

Jacob ; and another shall subscribe his hand to Jehovah , and shall be surnamed by the name of Israel " ( Isa . xliv . 5 ) . How characteristic this is of the church , as it exists amongst the Anglo-Saxons , and their

kindred peoples , every one knows , One is of the Church of England , another of the Church of Rome ; one is of Luther , another of Calvin ; one is of John Wesley , while others are of the Independents , Baptists ,

Swcdenborgians , or other sectional denominations . One says , " I am of Paul ; another , I am of Apollos ; another , I am of Cephas ; and another , I am of Christ . " This becomes a matter of reproach , for many

aver that if these Christians had the truth , they would be all of one mind pertaining to it . But whatever may be the object of a man ' s pursuit , however earnest he may be in that pursuit , and however disposed to

embrace and act consistently with such light as he obtains , he is , after all , but a man ; and seeing that man differs from man in the power of his intellect and in the breadth and soundness of his judgment ,

scarcely less than in the expression of his countenance , and in the height of his stature , it necessarily follows , that , though , on the broad and vital truths of religion , they who avow their acceptance of revealed

truth , and their willingness to be governed by it , may be of one mind , there will be subordinate things , such as church government , and ceremonial services , and inteprctations of particular passages of Scripture ,

on which they may separate , because holding diverse views . It may be observed , too , that if we looked more at the diversities of opinion existing among men who form part of the same body , wc should think less of

the differences which divide men into separate bodies . The Church of Rome , with its Dollingers and its Passaglias , its Antonellis and its Hyacinthcs , its Mannings and its Newmans ; that is to . say , with its latitude

of views , from the verge of Protestantism to the depths of Ultramontanism , can only be vaguely regarded as a unity . The Church of England , in like manner , docs not present the same face of a sober , and

somewhat monotonous , uniformity as it did to our forefathers . Erom Archdeacon Dennison to Dean Stanley , from Dr . Pusey to Dr . McNeil , from Canon Close to Mr .

Maurice , how wide the separation ! Among Nonconformists , the diversities observable arc fully as great as within the Church . Among the ecclesiastical descendants of the Puritans , who shuddered at the sinful-