As we at first proposed to investigate the three progressive orders of masons, Apprentices, Craftsmen, arid Masters,* by a definition and description of the several circumstances which attended the worshippers of the true God, so have we, in the former lectures, shown, that, by the Apprentices' order, is implied the first knowledge of the God of nature, in the earliest ages of man. Under the Craftsmen, we have shown the Mosaic legation and the building of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem; together with the light which men received, for the discovery of divine wisdom, by geometrical solutions. We now proceed to the third stage, - the most sacred and solemn order of Masons, - the Master Mason's order.
(* By the Articles of Union, "it is declared and pronounced that pure ancient Masonry consists of THREE DEGREES, and no more, viz., those of the E.A.P., the F. C., and the M.M., including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch." After these Articles of Union were ratified, a new Book of Constitutions appeared under the denomination of "Part the Second." The First Part, containing a general history of Masonry, was promised from the pen of Bro. Williams, P. G. M. for Dorset, and he was well qualified for the task; but it has not appeared. The design was probably frustrated by his death. But where are the papers? The Grand Lodge will surely not abandon a work so much wanted in the Craft. If no person better qualified shall appear, I should not object, under the above sanction, to execute the design. -EDITOR.)
Under the Jewish law the service of God became clouded and obscured by ceremonies and rites, which had daily crept in upon it, through imitation of tile neighboring heathen. When the morals of the Jewish nation were corrupted, civil jurisdiction reeled upon its throne, innovations sapped the religious rule, and anarchy succeeded. No sooner was this compact loosened, than the strength of the Jews was dissolved, and the heathen triumphed in Jerusalem.
The gracious Divinity, perceiving the ruin which was overwhelming mankind, in his benevolence was moved to redeem us. He saw that the revelation which he had deigned to make of his divinity, might, majesty, and wisdom, to the nations of the earth, and more especially to the Jewish tribes, was not sufficient to preserve them in their duty; he weighed the frailty of mankind in the balance which his justice suspended, and to their imperfections he held out his mercy. The Egyptians had abused their learning and wisdom; the Jews had polluted God's ordinances and laws; and sin had made her dominion in the strong places of the earth.
Piety, which had planned the temple at Jerusalem, was expunged; the reverence and adoration due to the Divinity was buried in the filth and rubbish of the world; persecution had dispersed the few who retained their obedience; and the name of the true God was almost totally lost and forgotten among men. Religion sat mourning in Israel, in sackcloth and ashes; and Morality was scattered, as it were, by the four winds of the air.
In this situation, it might well be said, "That the guide to heaven was lost, and the master of the works of righteousness was smitten." The nations had given themselves up to the grossest idolatry; - Solomon had fallen; - and the service of the true God was effaced from the memory of those who had yielded themselves to the dominion of sin.
In order that mankind might be preserved from this deplorable estate of darkness and destruction, and as the old law was dead and become rottenness, a new doctrine and new precepts were wanting to give the key to salvation, in the language of which we might touch the ear of an offended Deity, and bring forth hope for eternity. True religion was fled; "Those who sought her through the wisdom of the ancients were not able to raise her; she eluded the grasp, and their polluted hands were stretched forth in vain for her restoration." Those who sought her by the old law were frustrated, for Death had stepped between, and Corruption defiled the embrace;" Sin had beset her steps, and the vices of the world had overwhelmed her.
The great Father of All, commiserating the miseries of the world, sent his only Son, who was innocence itself, to teach the doctrine of salvation; by whom man was raised from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; from the tomb of corruption unto the chambers of hope; from the darkness of despair to the celestial beams of faith; and not only working for us this redemption, but making with us the covenant of regeneration, - whence we are become the children of the Divinity, and inheritors of the realms of heaven.
We Masons, describing the deplorable estate of religion under the Jewish law, speak in figures. "Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast forth of the temple, and Acacia wove its branches over her monument;" a?a??a being the Greek word for innocence, or being free from sin; implying that the sins and corruptions of the old law and devotees of the Jewish altar, had hid religion from those who sought her, and she was only to be found where innocence survived, and under the banner of the divine Lamb, and as to ourselves professing that we were to be distinguished by our Acacy, or as true Acacians in our religious faith and tenets.*
(* Acacia-AKAKIA, in antiquity, a roll or
bag, represented on the medals of the Greek and
Roman emperors; some think it is only a handkerchief, which they
used as a signal; others take it for a volume or roll of memorandums
or petitions; and others will have it to be a purple bag, filled
with earth, to remind the prince of his mortality. Acacians (Acaciani),
in church history, the name of a sect of religious and professed
Christians, some of whom maintained that the Son was only of a
like, not the same substance with the Father; and others, that
he was not only of a distinct, but also of a dissimilar substance.
Acacy (in Johnson's Dictionary), a?a??a Gr. innocence, or being
free from sin.)
The acquisition of the doctrine of redemption is expressed in the typical character of Euramen, (???aµe?, inveni,) and by the applications of that name with Masons it is implied, that we have discovered the knowledge of God and his salvation, and have been redeemed from the death of sin and the sepulchre of pollution and unrighteousness.* Thus the Master Mason represents a man, under the, Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of iniquity and raised to the faith of salvation. As the great testimonial that we are risen from the state of corruption, we bear the emblem of the Holy Trinity, as the insignia of our vows and of the origin of the Master's order. On receiving this ensign, the Mason professeth himself in a short distich, in the Greek language, which, from the rules of our order, we are forbidden to commit to writing; the literal meaning of which is, "Vehementer cupio vitam," - ardently I wish for life: meaning the everlasting life of redemption and regeneration; an avowal which carries with it the most religious import, and must proceed from a pure faith. The ceremonies attending this stage of our profession are solemn and tremendous, during which a sacred awe is diffused over the mind, the soul is struck with reverence, and all the spiritual faculties are called forth to worship and adoration. Thus our order is a positive contradiction to the Judaic blindness and infidelity, and testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body.
(* The Mason, advancing to this state of Masonry, pronounce, his own sentence, as confessional of the imperfection of the second stage of his profession, and as probationary of the exalted degree to which he aspires in this Greek distich, ??µß???e? Struo tumalum; - "I prepare my sepulchre, I make my grave in the pollutions of the earth; I am under the shadow of death." This distich has been vulgarly corrupted among us, and an expression takes its place scarcely similar in sound, and entirely inconsistent with Masonry, and unmeaning in itself.)
The divine construction put upon this emblem of the Master's order, which he declares, is the principle by which he is raised from darkness; so it is also the emblem of moral duties professed by the Mason, and which in former ages were most religiously performed. These, also, are principles immediately resulting from the Christian doctrine. The Master Mason imposes a duty on himself, full of moral virtue and Christian charity, by enforcing that brotherly love which every man should extend to his neighbor.
First - That when the calamities of our brother call for our aid, we should not withdraw the hand that might sustain him from sinking; but that we should render him those services, which, not encumbering or injuring our families or fortunes, charity and religion may dictate for the saving of our fellow-creature.
Second - From which purpose indolence should not persuade the foot to halt, or wrath turn our steps out of the way: but forgetting injuries and selfish feelings, and remembering that man was born for the aid of his generation, and not for his own enjoyments only, but to do that which is good; we should be swift to have mercy, to save, to strengthen, and execute benevolence.
Third - As the good things of this life are variously dispensed, and some are opulent whilst others are in distress; such principles also enjoin a Mason, be he ever so poor, to testify his good-will towards his brother. Riches alone are not the only means of doing good; virtue and benevolence are not confined to the walks of opulence: the rich man, from his many talents, is required to make extensive works under the principles of virtue; and yet poverty is no excuse for an omission of that exercise; for as the cry of innocence ascendeth up to heaven, as the voice of babes and sucklings reach the throne of God, and as the breathings of a contrite heart are heard in the regions of dominion, so a Mason's prayers, devoted to the welfare of his brother, are required of him.
Fourth - The fourth principle is never to injure the confidence of your brother, by revealing his secrets; for perhaps that were to rob him of the guard which protects his property or life. The tongue of a Mason should be void of offence, and without guile; speaking truth with discretion, and keeping itself within the rule of judgment; maintaining a heart void of uncharitableness, locking up secrets, and communing in charity and love.
Fifth - Of charity, so much is required
of a Mason, in his gifts, as discretion shall limit:
charity begins at home; but like a fruitful olive tree, planted
by the side of a fountain, whose boughs overshoot the wall, so
is charity. It spreads its arms abroad from the strength and opulence
of its station, and lendeth its shade for the repose and relief
of those who are gathered under its branches. Charity, when given
with imprudence, is no longer a virtue; but, when flowing from
abundance, it is glorious as the beams of morning, in whose beauty
thousands rejoice. When donations, extorted by pity, are detrimental
to a man's family, they become sacrifices to superstition, and,
like incense to idols, are disapproved by Heaven.
As Moses was commanded to pull his shoes
from off his feet, on Mount Horeb, because the ground whereon
he trod was sanctified by the presence of the Divinity, so the
Mason, who would prepare himself for this third stage of Masonry,
should advance in the naked paths of truth, be divested of every
degree of arrogance, and come as a true Acacian, with steps of
innocence, humility, and virtue, to challenge the ensigns of an
order, whose institutions arise on the most solemn and sacred
principles of religion.
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