Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Gleanings From Masonry.
of the true and living God Most High . Am 1 wrong in my assertion ? Assuredly not ! for I have the authority of Him , who is the fountain of truth and wisdom , for what I affirm ; for , at that last supper ivhich he gave to his disciples , he prayed fervently to the Father to sanctify them through his truth ; and that there might be no error in divining what that sanctifying essence could be , he immediately added— - "Thy word is truth . " HerethenI rest—God's word is truth ! That spiritual tracing
, , board of the Great Architect of the universe , from which all our doctrines , precepts , and commands are taken , to enable us to build the spiritual temple of the mind , and dedicate it to His glory , and the welfare of our fellow creatures . This truth , whicli inspires us with Faith , Hope , and Charity , and their attendant graces , is the constant and inseparable companion of Masonry ; her wisdom , her strength , and her beauty ! without ivhich she does nothing without which she commands nothing :
and with which she fears nothing . Are Ave absorbed in the cares of the world ! Are we , in our everyday intercourse with man , hurried from enterprise to enterprise , with scarcely one moment that we can snatch from turmoil anel business , to look upon light , until we almost forget that there is light ! Masonrywhen we avail ourselves of a feAV short moments to retire from the hurry of the world , unto the peaceful calm of her holy temple—directs our eyes
again to the all-refreshing stream ; says to the whirlwind of the mind " be still , " anel teaches us to feel that , the more we are adherent to the light of truth , the more we advance our present and future felicity . Is this truth—which I have gleaned from the fields of Masonry—a mildewed ear ? Nay , ' t is a portion of the bread of life ! "f is tbe eye of Faiththe anchor of Hope—the heart of Charity ; and the vivifying essence of all virtue . Seek not to build upon any other foundation , or the structure you raise , though built of adamant , will crumble to decay , ere the Aving of time hath brushed it . Truth is eternal ; but the word of folly shall not
stand . This truth leads us to a knoivledge and contemplation of its divine author , as far as He has been pleased to reveal II is divine nature , and awful attributes to the eye of Faith . It is by His will that the desire of knoAi--ledge is awakened in our hearts ; it is by His aid that ive are enabled to cross tlie threshold of Masonry to seek it ; it is by a sincere trust , and unshaken reliance on His infinite goodness and mercy that Ave , step by step , advance to a participation in the secrets and mysteries preservetl in the
archives of Masonry ; while an expressive symbol continually reminds us , that the Omnipresent Deity continually observes us , and records our thoughts and actions ; before ivhose glance the hidden secrets of the heart , and the minds remotest thought lie open and exposed . AVhat a contemplation for the inquisitive spirit of man ! AVhat an august range for the most expansive intellect ! The mind which , from its vast researches into the hidden mysteries of nature and science , is looked upon
by its less gifted brother spirit with a feeling of awe and venerationhere beholds its insignificance , and sinks before the awful attributes of the Deity , into a creature , who , conscious of defect , finds its best virtue is humility . By the aid of those reasoning powers with ivhich the Almighty , in His goodness , has indued us , we may imagine the Creator of the vast worlds which circle us in the glorious realms of space—the wonderful author of our being—to be indeed Omnipotent . But to be morally , palpably convinced , that in the vast realms of space Ave cannot find a spot Avhere He is not ; that He is here , and in yon apparently
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Gleanings From Masonry.
of the true and living God Most High . Am 1 wrong in my assertion ? Assuredly not ! for I have the authority of Him , who is the fountain of truth and wisdom , for what I affirm ; for , at that last supper ivhich he gave to his disciples , he prayed fervently to the Father to sanctify them through his truth ; and that there might be no error in divining what that sanctifying essence could be , he immediately added— - "Thy word is truth . " HerethenI rest—God's word is truth ! That spiritual tracing
, , board of the Great Architect of the universe , from which all our doctrines , precepts , and commands are taken , to enable us to build the spiritual temple of the mind , and dedicate it to His glory , and the welfare of our fellow creatures . This truth , whicli inspires us with Faith , Hope , and Charity , and their attendant graces , is the constant and inseparable companion of Masonry ; her wisdom , her strength , and her beauty ! without ivhich she does nothing without which she commands nothing :
and with which she fears nothing . Are Ave absorbed in the cares of the world ! Are we , in our everyday intercourse with man , hurried from enterprise to enterprise , with scarcely one moment that we can snatch from turmoil anel business , to look upon light , until we almost forget that there is light ! Masonrywhen we avail ourselves of a feAV short moments to retire from the hurry of the world , unto the peaceful calm of her holy temple—directs our eyes
again to the all-refreshing stream ; says to the whirlwind of the mind " be still , " anel teaches us to feel that , the more we are adherent to the light of truth , the more we advance our present and future felicity . Is this truth—which I have gleaned from the fields of Masonry—a mildewed ear ? Nay , ' t is a portion of the bread of life ! "f is tbe eye of Faiththe anchor of Hope—the heart of Charity ; and the vivifying essence of all virtue . Seek not to build upon any other foundation , or the structure you raise , though built of adamant , will crumble to decay , ere the Aving of time hath brushed it . Truth is eternal ; but the word of folly shall not
stand . This truth leads us to a knoivledge and contemplation of its divine author , as far as He has been pleased to reveal II is divine nature , and awful attributes to the eye of Faith . It is by His will that the desire of knoAi--ledge is awakened in our hearts ; it is by His aid that ive are enabled to cross tlie threshold of Masonry to seek it ; it is by a sincere trust , and unshaken reliance on His infinite goodness and mercy that Ave , step by step , advance to a participation in the secrets and mysteries preservetl in the
archives of Masonry ; while an expressive symbol continually reminds us , that the Omnipresent Deity continually observes us , and records our thoughts and actions ; before ivhose glance the hidden secrets of the heart , and the minds remotest thought lie open and exposed . AVhat a contemplation for the inquisitive spirit of man ! AVhat an august range for the most expansive intellect ! The mind which , from its vast researches into the hidden mysteries of nature and science , is looked upon
by its less gifted brother spirit with a feeling of awe and venerationhere beholds its insignificance , and sinks before the awful attributes of the Deity , into a creature , who , conscious of defect , finds its best virtue is humility . By the aid of those reasoning powers with ivhich the Almighty , in His goodness , has indued us , we may imagine the Creator of the vast worlds which circle us in the glorious realms of space—the wonderful author of our being—to be indeed Omnipotent . But to be morally , palpably convinced , that in the vast realms of space Ave cannot find a spot Avhere He is not ; that He is here , and in yon apparently