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Article MASONIC HALL AT MOULMAIN. ← Page 2 of 2 Article BROTHERLY LOVE. Page 1 of 3 →
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Masonic Hall At Moulmain.
and Ave have no doubt that , after completion , it may be available for such . On this subject , IIOAVever , Ave speak Avithout authority , ancl merely mention it in order to excite the liberality of the public in behalf of the costly undertaking , AAdiich Avill no doubt tend to ensure this desirable result . "
Brotherly Love.
BROTHERLY LOVE .
The following sermon was delivered by the Provincial Grand Chaplain , Bro . R . W . Sanderson , before the Provincial Grand Master for Suffolk , Bro . Col . A . S . Adair , and the members of the Provincial Grand Lodge , at Ipswich , on Wednesday , July 6 th . "Anew commandment I give unto you , that ye love one another ; as I loved you that ye also love one another . By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples , if ye love one another . "—St . John xiii ., 31 , 35 .
God is not a man that He should repent , that He should change , that He should grow weary of that which He once has loved . It is for men to break off what they have begun , to lay down what they have taken tip , to cool where they once were warm , to cast aside what they once earnestly cherished , to forsake what they once pursued ; but where the love of God takes root , there it strikes deep . All earthly love is but of
little worth if it be not formed after the Divine pattern . "I Avill never leave thee nor forsake thee , '' is tho heavenly word ; and the new commandment given ns by the Divine Master in His last charge while He was in this mortal life , bids us love one another , even as He has loved us . We are met together to-day as brethren ; the very
manner of our coming here testifies as publicly as we cau that we glory in the name ; we have walked to the house of God as friends ; in that house we have bowed our knees in common supplication to the Most High , and , if we have been true to our Masouic obligation , the very act has reminded us of each other ' s wants , and has disposed our hearts to mutual kindness and love ;
we have borne God's written Word in the midst of us , to testify the obedience we owe to the Divine precepts therein contained . Let us then employ the time we have yet to spend , sanctified by the presence of the Lord , in considering this subject of brotherly love , and hoAv we ought to show it . And at the outset allow me to say once for all , for the information of those who are
not members of our Order , that we Masons do not profess to bring among you any new doctrine or new discovery of the will of God . Ereemasonry has no light to give save that which beams forth from God ' s own public revelation of Himself in the Bible , and the application and practice of the doctrine and precepts therein contained . All that Masonry has to set forth of strange
and novel , is only an instructive exposition of the same truths and commandments in the form of allegory and symbolism . Does Christ tell us that whosoever would follow Him
must take up His Cross , and deny himself ? The first sign that a Mason is taught is a symbol of self-denial . Are we bidden to search the Scriptures if we would learn of God ? The first thing to which our attention is directed in a Masonic lodge when we are admitted , is tho volume of the Sacred Law , and mercy and truth meeting together . Are we told that when all else shall pass awayfaithhopeand love abide ? These form the
, , , ladder by which we hoped to ascend the Grand Lodge above . The creating wisdom of the Father , the redeeming power of the Son , the beautifying grace of the Spirit of God , all have their appropriate symbols in our lodges , and are all beautifully illustrated in our lectures to those who have understanding . The death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour have their Masonic
counterpart m the allegorical legend of tliat mysterious personage to whom I can , in the presence of the uninitiated , no more than allude . Above all , for Masonry is above all a social bond , the teaching of Christ and the teaching of Masonry are in entire-exact unison on the subject of mutual love . To be true to a brother under all circumstances , in all conditions , and in all places ; to be his companion in the right pathand his guide if he
, should go astray ; to be regular in prayer for his welfare temporal and spiritual ; to remember his wants whenever we remember our own , ou our knees before God ; to rejoice with him in his joy , and to mourn with him in his sorrow ; to keep faith with him and to guard his confidence ; to speak Avell of him if possible , and if not at least to speak of him gently ; to loathe backbiting and
slander , and if we must reprove him , to do so openly but lovingly—this , in word and sign , this in symbol and token , this is the express teaching of Masonry . Say , Christian men , is not this the teaching of the Gospe ] , too ? To help the poor and needy , to feed the hungry and clothe the naked , to go to the sick , to visit tho widow and fatherless iu their affliction , to support the
feeble and aged , to teach God ' s little ones ancl to fence them in His fold ; to do this is one of the foremost and most successfully-practised , too , of all Masonic duties . Say , is it not after the mind of Him who said , " Forasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these , my brethren , ye did it unto me . " All this Ave are taught in Masonry . In practising all this , Masonry affords us an
organised system , and for our use or abuse of Masonry we shall undoubtedly have to answer when the Almighty Grand Master shall call the general muster of his workmen to receive their hire ab the sunset of the world ' s
great day . My beloved brethren , in Masonry there are indeed lofty ] irofessions ; it gravely concerns us—indeed it is a duty which we owe to the outer world—to see that they are maintained and answered by corresponding practices . Being , as we are , weak and sinful men , it is truly little to be wondered at , however much to be lamented , that in many cases Ave fall sadly short of what is required at
our hands . I suppose that most of us , from time to time , in general company , have heard idle words tossed ab random into the air of abuse of our Order and sneers at its members . Even of those who from kindness of heart or good breeding abstain from direct attacks upon it , yet most use a tone of flippancy and mockery as though Freemasonry were only a kind of mysterious
joke , which , although such an effect be unintended by them , is to the earnest Mason hardly less painful . Under such circumstances we are too apt to console ourselves , thinking " the light shineth in darkness , and the darkness comprehendcth ib not , " and either to wrap ourselves up in a proud idea of our own superior knowledge , or to give way to irritationand be betrayed into expressions
, of annoyance . Now , it may well be that there is often some truth in our notions , and that it is even the light of Freemasonry that renders it unintelligible to the thoughtless gainsayer ; for in proportion to the goodness of a thing so will it always be misunderstood by those who are not like-minded ; but my counsel to you would rather be take on such occasions a lesson in humility .
What I mean is this ; that if the outer world feel a prejudice against us , we have too often only ourselves to thank for it . That if we grieve because some sneer and jest and say hard things of us , it is too often no one ' s fault but our own .
What sight can there be more sad , what object move fib , to make angels mourn and devils laugh than an inconsistent Christian ? And yet an inconsistent Mason is only less blameAvorthy because Masonry is human and Christianity divine . In both cases the offenders are sinning against light and knowledge . Brotherly love naturally may be divided into relief and truth , arid on these grand principles rests the whole
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Hall At Moulmain.
and Ave have no doubt that , after completion , it may be available for such . On this subject , IIOAVever , Ave speak Avithout authority , ancl merely mention it in order to excite the liberality of the public in behalf of the costly undertaking , AAdiich Avill no doubt tend to ensure this desirable result . "
Brotherly Love.
BROTHERLY LOVE .
The following sermon was delivered by the Provincial Grand Chaplain , Bro . R . W . Sanderson , before the Provincial Grand Master for Suffolk , Bro . Col . A . S . Adair , and the members of the Provincial Grand Lodge , at Ipswich , on Wednesday , July 6 th . "Anew commandment I give unto you , that ye love one another ; as I loved you that ye also love one another . By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples , if ye love one another . "—St . John xiii ., 31 , 35 .
God is not a man that He should repent , that He should change , that He should grow weary of that which He once has loved . It is for men to break off what they have begun , to lay down what they have taken tip , to cool where they once were warm , to cast aside what they once earnestly cherished , to forsake what they once pursued ; but where the love of God takes root , there it strikes deep . All earthly love is but of
little worth if it be not formed after the Divine pattern . "I Avill never leave thee nor forsake thee , '' is tho heavenly word ; and the new commandment given ns by the Divine Master in His last charge while He was in this mortal life , bids us love one another , even as He has loved us . We are met together to-day as brethren ; the very
manner of our coming here testifies as publicly as we cau that we glory in the name ; we have walked to the house of God as friends ; in that house we have bowed our knees in common supplication to the Most High , and , if we have been true to our Masouic obligation , the very act has reminded us of each other ' s wants , and has disposed our hearts to mutual kindness and love ;
we have borne God's written Word in the midst of us , to testify the obedience we owe to the Divine precepts therein contained . Let us then employ the time we have yet to spend , sanctified by the presence of the Lord , in considering this subject of brotherly love , and hoAv we ought to show it . And at the outset allow me to say once for all , for the information of those who are
not members of our Order , that we Masons do not profess to bring among you any new doctrine or new discovery of the will of God . Ereemasonry has no light to give save that which beams forth from God ' s own public revelation of Himself in the Bible , and the application and practice of the doctrine and precepts therein contained . All that Masonry has to set forth of strange
and novel , is only an instructive exposition of the same truths and commandments in the form of allegory and symbolism . Does Christ tell us that whosoever would follow Him
must take up His Cross , and deny himself ? The first sign that a Mason is taught is a symbol of self-denial . Are we bidden to search the Scriptures if we would learn of God ? The first thing to which our attention is directed in a Masonic lodge when we are admitted , is tho volume of the Sacred Law , and mercy and truth meeting together . Are we told that when all else shall pass awayfaithhopeand love abide ? These form the
, , , ladder by which we hoped to ascend the Grand Lodge above . The creating wisdom of the Father , the redeeming power of the Son , the beautifying grace of the Spirit of God , all have their appropriate symbols in our lodges , and are all beautifully illustrated in our lectures to those who have understanding . The death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour have their Masonic
counterpart m the allegorical legend of tliat mysterious personage to whom I can , in the presence of the uninitiated , no more than allude . Above all , for Masonry is above all a social bond , the teaching of Christ and the teaching of Masonry are in entire-exact unison on the subject of mutual love . To be true to a brother under all circumstances , in all conditions , and in all places ; to be his companion in the right pathand his guide if he
, should go astray ; to be regular in prayer for his welfare temporal and spiritual ; to remember his wants whenever we remember our own , ou our knees before God ; to rejoice with him in his joy , and to mourn with him in his sorrow ; to keep faith with him and to guard his confidence ; to speak Avell of him if possible , and if not at least to speak of him gently ; to loathe backbiting and
slander , and if we must reprove him , to do so openly but lovingly—this , in word and sign , this in symbol and token , this is the express teaching of Masonry . Say , Christian men , is not this the teaching of the Gospe ] , too ? To help the poor and needy , to feed the hungry and clothe the naked , to go to the sick , to visit tho widow and fatherless iu their affliction , to support the
feeble and aged , to teach God ' s little ones ancl to fence them in His fold ; to do this is one of the foremost and most successfully-practised , too , of all Masonic duties . Say , is it not after the mind of Him who said , " Forasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these , my brethren , ye did it unto me . " All this Ave are taught in Masonry . In practising all this , Masonry affords us an
organised system , and for our use or abuse of Masonry we shall undoubtedly have to answer when the Almighty Grand Master shall call the general muster of his workmen to receive their hire ab the sunset of the world ' s
great day . My beloved brethren , in Masonry there are indeed lofty ] irofessions ; it gravely concerns us—indeed it is a duty which we owe to the outer world—to see that they are maintained and answered by corresponding practices . Being , as we are , weak and sinful men , it is truly little to be wondered at , however much to be lamented , that in many cases Ave fall sadly short of what is required at
our hands . I suppose that most of us , from time to time , in general company , have heard idle words tossed ab random into the air of abuse of our Order and sneers at its members . Even of those who from kindness of heart or good breeding abstain from direct attacks upon it , yet most use a tone of flippancy and mockery as though Freemasonry were only a kind of mysterious
joke , which , although such an effect be unintended by them , is to the earnest Mason hardly less painful . Under such circumstances we are too apt to console ourselves , thinking " the light shineth in darkness , and the darkness comprehendcth ib not , " and either to wrap ourselves up in a proud idea of our own superior knowledge , or to give way to irritationand be betrayed into expressions
, of annoyance . Now , it may well be that there is often some truth in our notions , and that it is even the light of Freemasonry that renders it unintelligible to the thoughtless gainsayer ; for in proportion to the goodness of a thing so will it always be misunderstood by those who are not like-minded ; but my counsel to you would rather be take on such occasions a lesson in humility .
What I mean is this ; that if the outer world feel a prejudice against us , we have too often only ourselves to thank for it . That if we grieve because some sneer and jest and say hard things of us , it is too often no one ' s fault but our own .
What sight can there be more sad , what object move fib , to make angels mourn and devils laugh than an inconsistent Christian ? And yet an inconsistent Mason is only less blameAvorthy because Masonry is human and Christianity divine . In both cases the offenders are sinning against light and knowledge . Brotherly love naturally may be divided into relief and truth , arid on these grand principles rests the whole