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Article THE HISTORICAL DEGREES; ← Page 8 of 12 →
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The Historical Degrees;
from this particular brazen serpent , induced the Israelites to adopt the practice of serpent worship . In the wilderness their fathers had been directed to look on it and live—they did so and lived . And this direction and its consequence , misunderstood and perverted , may have formed the foundation of the idolatry into which they fell . In
what manner they worshipped the serpent does not appear , but it is most probable that , with a recollection of its origin , they regarded it as symbolizing the Divine healing power , and as such buraed incense before it when attacked with disease , much in the same manner as the classical ancients resorted on similar occasions to the serpent-symbol of the healing god .
The Prince of Mercy is the name given to the twenty-sixth degree ; it is sometimes called ' Scotch Trinitarian , ' which of course clearly designates its character and intention . It is a highly philosophical degree , and its ritual very impressive . The assembly is styled a
chapter , the Chief Prince , whose title is Most Excellent , represents Moses ; the Senior Warden represents Aaron ; the Junior , Eleazar ; and the candidate , Joshua . The jewel is a gold equilateral triangle , Avithin Avhich is a heart , also of gold , inscribed with the HebreAv letter f ! , one of the symbols of the tetragrammaton ; it is suspended from , a
tricoloured ribbon of green , white , and red . The apron is red , bordered with Avhite fringe , and has a blue flap ; on the flap is embroidered the jeAveh This is a Christian degree , and its ritual sf 3 eaks of the triple alliance which the Eternal has made with man , and alludes in the first place to the covenant entered into Avith Abraham by circumcision ; secondly , to that with His people in the wilderness through Moses ; and thirdly , to that which He made Avith mankind by the mediation of his Son Jesus Christ . With regard to the word " covenant , " Ave may notice that Mr .
Taylor , in his edition of Calmet ' s Dictionary , says , the word lestamentum is often used in Latin to express the Hebrew nH ^ berith , which signifies " covenant ; " Avhencethe titles Old and New Testament are used improperly to denote the Old and New Covenant . Without discussing the doctrine advanced in the ritual of this degree , we may remark , that the first covenant between God and man was made with Adam at
his creation , when he was prohibited to cat a certain , fruit . A second covenant God made with man , after his fall , promising not only forgiveness , on his repentance , but also a Messiah , who should redeem the human race from the death of sin and from the second death . A third covenant was with Noah , when the Lord directed him to build the ark , and which was renewed . These covenants were general ; but
that made with' Abraham was limited , the seal or confirmation Avas the circumcision of all the males in Abraham ' s family . The effects of this covenant appear throughout the Old Testament : the * coming of the Messiah is the consummation and end of it . The covenant of
God with Adam forms what we call a state of nature ; that with Abraham , explained further under Moses , constitutes the law : that ratified through the mediation of Jesus Christ is the kingdom of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Historical Degrees;
from this particular brazen serpent , induced the Israelites to adopt the practice of serpent worship . In the wilderness their fathers had been directed to look on it and live—they did so and lived . And this direction and its consequence , misunderstood and perverted , may have formed the foundation of the idolatry into which they fell . In
what manner they worshipped the serpent does not appear , but it is most probable that , with a recollection of its origin , they regarded it as symbolizing the Divine healing power , and as such buraed incense before it when attacked with disease , much in the same manner as the classical ancients resorted on similar occasions to the serpent-symbol of the healing god .
The Prince of Mercy is the name given to the twenty-sixth degree ; it is sometimes called ' Scotch Trinitarian , ' which of course clearly designates its character and intention . It is a highly philosophical degree , and its ritual very impressive . The assembly is styled a
chapter , the Chief Prince , whose title is Most Excellent , represents Moses ; the Senior Warden represents Aaron ; the Junior , Eleazar ; and the candidate , Joshua . The jewel is a gold equilateral triangle , Avithin Avhich is a heart , also of gold , inscribed with the HebreAv letter f ! , one of the symbols of the tetragrammaton ; it is suspended from , a
tricoloured ribbon of green , white , and red . The apron is red , bordered with Avhite fringe , and has a blue flap ; on the flap is embroidered the jeAveh This is a Christian degree , and its ritual sf 3 eaks of the triple alliance which the Eternal has made with man , and alludes in the first place to the covenant entered into Avith Abraham by circumcision ; secondly , to that with His people in the wilderness through Moses ; and thirdly , to that which He made Avith mankind by the mediation of his Son Jesus Christ . With regard to the word " covenant , " Ave may notice that Mr .
Taylor , in his edition of Calmet ' s Dictionary , says , the word lestamentum is often used in Latin to express the Hebrew nH ^ berith , which signifies " covenant ; " Avhencethe titles Old and New Testament are used improperly to denote the Old and New Covenant . Without discussing the doctrine advanced in the ritual of this degree , we may remark , that the first covenant between God and man was made with Adam at
his creation , when he was prohibited to cat a certain , fruit . A second covenant God made with man , after his fall , promising not only forgiveness , on his repentance , but also a Messiah , who should redeem the human race from the death of sin and from the second death . A third covenant was with Noah , when the Lord directed him to build the ark , and which was renewed . These covenants were general ; but
that made with' Abraham was limited , the seal or confirmation Avas the circumcision of all the males in Abraham ' s family . The effects of this covenant appear throughout the Old Testament : the * coming of the Messiah is the consummation and end of it . The covenant of
God with Adam forms what we call a state of nature ; that with Abraham , explained further under Moses , constitutes the law : that ratified through the mediation of Jesus Christ is the kingdom of