Sermon Preached Before The Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmoreland.

thee ? is it well Avith thine husband ? is it well with the dead child ? " they may be able to say in faith with the Shunammite , " It is well . " What we most desire , iu order safely to pass over the tesselated pavement of this world , is " light . "

We should not , and indeed as long- as we found our belief on the volume of the Sacred Law we cannot be led away by the false and flickering lights—rushlights of their own kindling , which some have of late invented ,, and which have

received a certain amount of favour . The ignis fatuus may dance over the quagmire , but the deluded traveller who follows it will thereby becnmo imbedded in doubt and destruction . It is of

especial advantage in these clays of false teaching that we should often leave the West and go to the East in search of more light , and learn in the inspired records of the earlier prophets and apostles , and not from Western sceptics , the true

nature , attributes , and work of the light of the world . We may see many good lights in Freemasonry , and without any odious comparisons , some may admire one part more than another ; but I confess that I , for my part , in these days of

doubtful disputations , feel most the benefit of being again and again , ancl yet again sent back to the written Word to learn accurately of my hope and of my duty , as the only safe guide to eternal glory . It tells us of him whom the Eastern sages ,

led by " the blazing star , " found cradled in the inanger of Bethlehem ; who left his father ' s glory and became a man of sorrow , and to be a sympathiser—that he might by his holy life ,

contemplative and active , be a perfect pattern for all men ; and at last by his death satisfy divine justice , and in his blood open a fountain for the washing away , by faith , of human guilt . True , the foolish builders unskilled in speculative

masonry , set at nought this tried stone ; it did not answer their views of the Messiah , and they rejected it as neither oblong nor square . But Satan when thinking he was victor found himself to be the vanquished , and , unlike other kings who

cease to reign at death , he , by dying , became a ¦ king . That same stone became the head of the corner , the foundation stone was also the keystone of the arch which knit the whole together , and exhibited a temple " perfect in its parts and

honourable to the builders . " That well-known Masonic emblem of Jacob ' s ladder reminds the faithful Mason of the twofold nature of Christits foot on earth in his humanity ancl willingness

to save , its top far above the Avatery clouds in his divinity of power to save . Nor are these the only Masonic lights necessary for us in our chequered journey across the tesselated pavement , aud which I need only lightly pass over with you my brethren

in the Craft , for the purpose of merely reminding you of those virtues so often impressed upon you in your lodges , and I trust also so zealously exemplified in your lives . What are those three precious jewels , joined together by God , and not to

be put asunder by men ? What are those three graces with their arms so intertwined as to form an harmonious whole ? Three and 3 'et one—one and yet three . Faith , hope , and charity . Faith in God , hope in . immortality' ' , and charity towards

all mankind , and especially to' brother Masons . Faith which breaks through all obstacles and rests with strong confidence on the word and promises of God and the assurance that all is well . Hope of immortality which we cany like the anchor its

emblem upon the bows of our ship , and which makes us endure patiently the buffeting of the fiercest storms , because cheered by the hope that soon wo shall be wafted over the breakers on

death's stormy bar and let it drop in the sea of glass like crystal . Charity or love which dwelling dove-like in many a lowly bosom yet can turn all ifc touches into gold and make the poorest hovel a little heaven on earth . Love the greatest ,

because more enduring . For faith shall be lost in sight ; and hope shall end in fruition , but love extends beyond the grave throug'h the boundless realms of eternity . Therefore , the apostle Paul says in language dear to every true-hearted Mason

" now abidefch faith , hope , and charity—these three —but the greatest of these is charity . " And now time fails me to mention more of these lights , only may I be allowed fraternally to impress upon my

Masonic brethren especially the diligent observance of them every day . Be not content with gazing upon—be not content with theoretically knowing the meaning of the various Masonic emblems and tools presented in your lodges .

Remember that we are free and speculative Masons , and oh let our lives ancl conversation be the practical proof of the benefits of our Craft , so when the cowan shall scoff and the scorner sneer , because they say they see no advantage from it ,

we may be able to point at the ornate temj ^ les or holy lives and deeds that have under the blessing oi the Great Architect been based upon it , and how those words were connected with one Avho Avas the