The Patron Saint Of Freemasoney.

to say within yourselves , " he went ou to add , " we have Abraham to our father , " as if hereditary descent or family prestige could be accepted by either God or man in lieu of personal worth , or as cancelling the necessity of genuine religion iu the

soul ; and then he proceeded , with the true unction and earnestness of a teacher who would drive the truth home to the understanding and the heart , to warn them that the axe of divine judgment would be applied to the root of every

merely professional tree ; that " every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire ; " that , however men may deceive themselves , or suffer themselves to be deceived , the Great Husbandman will one day " thoroughly

purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner , " and just as thoroughly " burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire . " What a glorious set of doctrines , too , he

preached ! When the people stimulated and inflamed by his discourses , asked him , " What shall we do ? " his answer was , " He that hath two coats let him impart to him that hath none ; and he that hath meat let him do likewise . " When the

publicans or tax-gatherers , who were notorious for their extortions , came to him and asked what they should do , . his reply was " Exact no more than that which is appointed you . " When the soldiers , whose brutality had become proverbial ,

and their discontent and insubordination perilous to the well-being of society , interrogated him as to the way iu which they should conduct themselves , he summed up all he had to say to them iu the expressive aud powerful remark , " Do violence

to no man , neither accuse any falsely , and be content with your wages . " Thus benevolence was taught to the selfish , honesty to the unscrupulous , tenderness to the brutal , integrity to the false , and contentment to the lawless and disobedient . These

however , are only a small part of the doctrines taught by St . John . He fulfilled to the letter the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him , that he would be as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness , ' Prepare ye the way of the Lord , make

His paths straight . '" It was of his ministry it was said , " Every valley shall be filled "—that is the lowly aud humble shall be exalted—" and every mountain and hill shall be brought low "that is , the proud and haughty shall be made to

lick the dust— " and the crooked shall be made straight , and the rough ways shall be made smooth "—in other words , perversity of will and

stubbornness of purpose shall be brought into subjection to the mind and will of Christ , and every obstacle to the progress of Divine truth , aud every difficulty standing in the way of Divine mercy and grace , shall be so operated upon and

so dealt with as to bring about universal happiness and universal good . It must be a subject of world-wide regret that St . John ' s ministry should have been so shortlived , even though it was succeeded by the personal

ministry of his Great Master and Lord . The world has always had too few , and never can have too many , brave aud faithful men . St . John would not crouch to the great , nor flatter the wealthy nor the proud j on the contrary , he was bold and

fearless as a lion in vindication of all truth , and in opposition to everything false aud wrong . He would reprove the ruler as readily and as firmly as he would reprove the subject , when he found him degrading or dishonouring his high office , or

bringing law or morality to shame . What true Christian probity of conduct he displayed in remonstrating with the profligate Herod , the tetrarch

of the province in which he lived and taught ! The story though it is nearly two thousand years old , will be ever memorable as an exhibition of genuine courage and self-sacrificing zeal . Herod took to himself and lived with Herodias , his

brother Philip's wife . He did this to gratify his selfish , unlawful , and incestuous passion . To take his brother ' s wife was a flagrant crime against the laws of God and of his country ; an outrage against civilisation , and a sin of the deepest dye . St .

John knew the fact of the incestuous concubinage , and hurledhis most powerful remonstrances against it . He felt himself , as a faithful minister , bound to protest against all unnatural lust aud crime

even though it should be m the person of the king , and he made his protest so vigorously and so effectively that the king deemed himself safe , or likely to have rest , only by imprisoning and thrusting him murderously out of the way . St . John ,

who opposed crime , was cast into prison aud treated as a felon ; nay , more—that he might not again protest against an unnatural passion and incestuous connection—his life was made to pay the forfeit of his honour and his honesty . He was beheaded ,

and his head presented in a . charger to a daughter glorying in her own and her mother ' s profligacy . His body was handed over to the disciples of his affection and regard . The Scripture narrative of this most touching tale is simply told .