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Article PROVINCIAL ← Page 12 of 36 →
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Provincial
posing a Christian missionary to be preaching to an assembly of degraded and immoral heathens , would he say , ' If you will not believe all the articles of the Christian faith , you may as well go on displeasing God by your vices , and injuring your neighbour by your fraud and violence ? ' Would he not rather say , ' Nature itself—that is , the light which God -has given to every one of His
creaturesteaches yon to recognize a Supreme Being , and to live honestly with those around you ; and not , like natural brute beasts , to give yourselves over to lust , and drunkenness , and rapine . ' Such would , I think , be the language of any man who was not a fool . Such certainly was the language of St . Baul . Such is ours . Recollect then , my Brethren , once more , that we are bound as Masons to act up to our belief in God , and to the obedience which we acknowledge to be due to His revealed word . So much , then , for the first branch of our duty—that which we owe to the Great Architect of the Universe and of those mysterious bodies which
our souls inhabit for the short space of this life . And what does Masonry teach us of our duty to our neighbour ? She tells us that we are to be loyal and faithful subjects ; that we are to render to all men every kind office that justice or mercy may require , to relieve their necessities and soothe their afflictions , and do unto them in all things as in similar cases we could wish that they should do unto us . I know not what words can be more impressive than these . How have we acted up to them % Are we distinguished for honesty and uprightness in our dealings , for kindness and consideration for our inferiors ? If not , it is our own fault , and
in so far as this is the case , we are unworthy members of our Grder . We ought , my Brethren to take the lead in every scheme for the benefit of our fellows . Are the sick to be cared for , the naked to be clothed , the ignorant to be instructedwe ought to come forward to the rescue . Lastly , as regards our own selves , I must pray you to think upon what we are taught . We are urged to practice such a prudent and well-regulated course of discipline as may best conduce to the preservation of our corporeal and mental faculties in their fullest energy , thereby
enabling < ns to employ those talents wherewith God has blessed us , as well to His glory as the welfare of our fellow-creatures . Let us see , then , my Brethren , that we do not mistake the shadow for the substance—that the teachings of our Order be not forgotten , while the symbolism in which it is veiled is carefully treasured and faithfully remembered . Let it be our pride to practise in our lives what we profess with our lips to admire . If we are ever to maintain our position as we ought , we must be careful that no one is admitted to our Order who is not likely
to enter fully into its requirements ; and let us , moreover , be no less careful to maintain due discipline , by the removal from amongst ourselves of any who may by their evil lives bring discredit upon us , and set a bad , in place of a good , example to those who are without . I have attempted , my Brethren , to show you that , as regards our conduct in this world , the requirements of our holy religion and the tenets of our Order are identical . I would again beg you to bear in mind that we are under an additional obligation , beyond others , to live religious and Christian lives—to be honest and just in all our dealings . Either our
enrolment in this ancient and venerable Association will help us to recollect and perform our duty to God and man , or it will convict us of grievous insincerity , and an unworthy , not to say irreverent , trifling with solemn things . May God grant us grace to perform our allotted task while it is yet day , and before the night cometh , when no man can work ; that so passing safely under His protection through the valley of the shadow of death , we may finally arise from the tomb of transgression to shine as the stars for evermore . " At the conclusion of the service a collection was made , and £ 12 . 10 . S . realized
in aid of the Masonic charities . The Brethren then returned to the County Hall , the crowds of spectators having considerably increased . The Prov . G . M . having resumed the throne , the business of the province was proceeded with . The Eeport of the Benevolent Committee , which recommended that £ 5 should be awarded to one distressed Brother , and £ 10 to another , was , on the motion of Bro . Stebbing , confirmed by the Prov . Grand Lodge . Bro . Stebbing then moved a resolution that the Prov . Grand Lodge should tender to the widow of Bro . Capt . Savage , Prov . G . S . W ., its sympathy for the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial
posing a Christian missionary to be preaching to an assembly of degraded and immoral heathens , would he say , ' If you will not believe all the articles of the Christian faith , you may as well go on displeasing God by your vices , and injuring your neighbour by your fraud and violence ? ' Would he not rather say , ' Nature itself—that is , the light which God -has given to every one of His
creaturesteaches yon to recognize a Supreme Being , and to live honestly with those around you ; and not , like natural brute beasts , to give yourselves over to lust , and drunkenness , and rapine . ' Such would , I think , be the language of any man who was not a fool . Such certainly was the language of St . Baul . Such is ours . Recollect then , my Brethren , once more , that we are bound as Masons to act up to our belief in God , and to the obedience which we acknowledge to be due to His revealed word . So much , then , for the first branch of our duty—that which we owe to the Great Architect of the Universe and of those mysterious bodies which
our souls inhabit for the short space of this life . And what does Masonry teach us of our duty to our neighbour ? She tells us that we are to be loyal and faithful subjects ; that we are to render to all men every kind office that justice or mercy may require , to relieve their necessities and soothe their afflictions , and do unto them in all things as in similar cases we could wish that they should do unto us . I know not what words can be more impressive than these . How have we acted up to them % Are we distinguished for honesty and uprightness in our dealings , for kindness and consideration for our inferiors ? If not , it is our own fault , and
in so far as this is the case , we are unworthy members of our Grder . We ought , my Brethren to take the lead in every scheme for the benefit of our fellows . Are the sick to be cared for , the naked to be clothed , the ignorant to be instructedwe ought to come forward to the rescue . Lastly , as regards our own selves , I must pray you to think upon what we are taught . We are urged to practice such a prudent and well-regulated course of discipline as may best conduce to the preservation of our corporeal and mental faculties in their fullest energy , thereby
enabling < ns to employ those talents wherewith God has blessed us , as well to His glory as the welfare of our fellow-creatures . Let us see , then , my Brethren , that we do not mistake the shadow for the substance—that the teachings of our Order be not forgotten , while the symbolism in which it is veiled is carefully treasured and faithfully remembered . Let it be our pride to practise in our lives what we profess with our lips to admire . If we are ever to maintain our position as we ought , we must be careful that no one is admitted to our Order who is not likely
to enter fully into its requirements ; and let us , moreover , be no less careful to maintain due discipline , by the removal from amongst ourselves of any who may by their evil lives bring discredit upon us , and set a bad , in place of a good , example to those who are without . I have attempted , my Brethren , to show you that , as regards our conduct in this world , the requirements of our holy religion and the tenets of our Order are identical . I would again beg you to bear in mind that we are under an additional obligation , beyond others , to live religious and Christian lives—to be honest and just in all our dealings . Either our
enrolment in this ancient and venerable Association will help us to recollect and perform our duty to God and man , or it will convict us of grievous insincerity , and an unworthy , not to say irreverent , trifling with solemn things . May God grant us grace to perform our allotted task while it is yet day , and before the night cometh , when no man can work ; that so passing safely under His protection through the valley of the shadow of death , we may finally arise from the tomb of transgression to shine as the stars for evermore . " At the conclusion of the service a collection was made , and £ 12 . 10 . S . realized
in aid of the Masonic charities . The Brethren then returned to the County Hall , the crowds of spectators having considerably increased . The Prov . G . M . having resumed the throne , the business of the province was proceeded with . The Eeport of the Benevolent Committee , which recommended that £ 5 should be awarded to one distressed Brother , and £ 10 to another , was , on the motion of Bro . Stebbing , confirmed by the Prov . Grand Lodge . Bro . Stebbing then moved a resolution that the Prov . Grand Lodge should tender to the widow of Bro . Capt . Savage , Prov . G . S . W ., its sympathy for the