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Article WHAT IS FREEMASONRY? ← Page 4 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
What Is Freemasonry?
sible , not only for things concealed from the world , to be without harm , but to contain in them great and priceless good ? But some man will say These are secrets , it is true , but they are accessible to all who will only seek them in the right way . " Be it s ® , my Brethren . Are not the secrets of Masonry accessible to all just and upright men of sound discretion and strict morals ? The road to Masonry is open to all the good— -and surely that restriction is not to be blamed which admits such as these , and closes its door against none , save those who , by their
own misconduct , bar it against themselves . What blame can attach itself to secrets which need remain so to nothing , save vice and profligacy ? Is not the very existence of this barrier the best warrant for the purity of the treasure thus guarded ? To conclude this part of my subject , I woulp say that , in almost everything , search as we . will , there must remain secrets which we cannot understand , and , in order to try and prove the moral value of any system , I would bid you apply to it the test which is given us by our blessed Lord .,. tC Bvtheir fruits ye shall know them . " Judge of what
you do not see , by that which you see . The works of Masonry , as I before said , are plain enough . To love one another , to teach the ignorant , to assist the distressed , to provide for the needy , and to guard the orphanare these , Christian Brethren- —are these the works of the author of evil—or do they rather belong to Him in whose holy word we read that , to comfort the afilicted is as much a part of his blessed religion , as it is to keep ourselves unsnotf ed from the world .
And now , dear Brethren , with some reluctance I approach the only painful part of my duty here to-day—for a sad and ungrateful task it must always be to comment in any way upon the sins and shortcomings of those we love . It is said that many Masons lead lives inconsistent with the profession of religion , and this charge is brought against us as an argument against the whole order . Too true , as in many cases I fear it is , I can only reply that it is putting Masonry to an unfair test . You all know that the irregular lives of many Christians are constantly flung in our teeth bv
those who do not believe in our holy religion ; and you know that the charge is true . On all sides , we see our men of influence professing the religion of humility , seeking self-aggrandisement — our men of wealth , professing to be followers of Him who had not where to lay His head , yet bent upon mammon worship—our men of the world , professing the religion of self-denial , yet wallowingjin profligate pleasure , ay , and these too men who bear a fair name amongst their fellows ; and all around us , in a selfish , and lukewarm age , we hear loud professions , and find little practice . The only answer to this is , that Christianity leads and teaches men to he
gtiod , hut it does not force them , and that its spirit is directly contrary to the practice of those who are only its followers in name . Even so it is with us ; and if there be found amongst us men so lalse to the duties they learn from us , the fault is theirs , not ours . If we see a brother Mason living without God in the world , careless of His holy word , careless of the respect due to his Creator , his Redeemer , and his Judge , we say that such a man has been taught in Masonry to fear and reverence God , to venerate His holy name and word , to be humble , and constant in prayer to Him , and
to trust in Him and in Him alone . We say that one of the most impressive lessons of Masonry reminds him of the day when he must quit this fleeting world and all its allurements and treasures , and speaks trumpet tongued of the resurrection and the judgment . If Ave see a Mason given up to sensuality ( and this is , of all others , the most common charge against us ) , we say that that man has forgotten , or else is wilfully ignorant , that one of the very first things entrusted to him at his initiation in a symbol of temperance and 2 T 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
What Is Freemasonry?
sible , not only for things concealed from the world , to be without harm , but to contain in them great and priceless good ? But some man will say These are secrets , it is true , but they are accessible to all who will only seek them in the right way . " Be it s ® , my Brethren . Are not the secrets of Masonry accessible to all just and upright men of sound discretion and strict morals ? The road to Masonry is open to all the good— -and surely that restriction is not to be blamed which admits such as these , and closes its door against none , save those who , by their
own misconduct , bar it against themselves . What blame can attach itself to secrets which need remain so to nothing , save vice and profligacy ? Is not the very existence of this barrier the best warrant for the purity of the treasure thus guarded ? To conclude this part of my subject , I woulp say that , in almost everything , search as we . will , there must remain secrets which we cannot understand , and , in order to try and prove the moral value of any system , I would bid you apply to it the test which is given us by our blessed Lord .,. tC Bvtheir fruits ye shall know them . " Judge of what
you do not see , by that which you see . The works of Masonry , as I before said , are plain enough . To love one another , to teach the ignorant , to assist the distressed , to provide for the needy , and to guard the orphanare these , Christian Brethren- —are these the works of the author of evil—or do they rather belong to Him in whose holy word we read that , to comfort the afilicted is as much a part of his blessed religion , as it is to keep ourselves unsnotf ed from the world .
And now , dear Brethren , with some reluctance I approach the only painful part of my duty here to-day—for a sad and ungrateful task it must always be to comment in any way upon the sins and shortcomings of those we love . It is said that many Masons lead lives inconsistent with the profession of religion , and this charge is brought against us as an argument against the whole order . Too true , as in many cases I fear it is , I can only reply that it is putting Masonry to an unfair test . You all know that the irregular lives of many Christians are constantly flung in our teeth bv
those who do not believe in our holy religion ; and you know that the charge is true . On all sides , we see our men of influence professing the religion of humility , seeking self-aggrandisement — our men of wealth , professing to be followers of Him who had not where to lay His head , yet bent upon mammon worship—our men of the world , professing the religion of self-denial , yet wallowingjin profligate pleasure , ay , and these too men who bear a fair name amongst their fellows ; and all around us , in a selfish , and lukewarm age , we hear loud professions , and find little practice . The only answer to this is , that Christianity leads and teaches men to he
gtiod , hut it does not force them , and that its spirit is directly contrary to the practice of those who are only its followers in name . Even so it is with us ; and if there be found amongst us men so lalse to the duties they learn from us , the fault is theirs , not ours . If we see a brother Mason living without God in the world , careless of His holy word , careless of the respect due to his Creator , his Redeemer , and his Judge , we say that such a man has been taught in Masonry to fear and reverence God , to venerate His holy name and word , to be humble , and constant in prayer to Him , and
to trust in Him and in Him alone . We say that one of the most impressive lessons of Masonry reminds him of the day when he must quit this fleeting world and all its allurements and treasures , and speaks trumpet tongued of the resurrection and the judgment . If Ave see a Mason given up to sensuality ( and this is , of all others , the most common charge against us ) , we say that that man has forgotten , or else is wilfully ignorant , that one of the very first things entrusted to him at his initiation in a symbol of temperance and 2 T 2