The Connection Between Freemasonry And Religion.

3 rd . The offering of David on the Jebusites threshing floor . And these are but some of the principal events treated upon in our lectures and antient charges ; they have not been placed in them accidently or

without design , and the Christian Mason must at once see what the event was which they were designed to perpetuate . Again , the 2 nd degree has a more pointed reference to this , in the very comprehensive

meaning of the Sacred Initial ancl Blazing Star . And lastly , in the sublime degree we are reminded of our immortality , and the future state of good and evil ; and thus all the important truths of religion are lucidly brought to view , ancl their inculcation enforced from the fearful doctrine of

future retribution . Thus every ceremony , however insignificant it may appear , when standing alone , is a star , small though it be , which sheds its lustre on religion , and the whole united forms a bright and burning

constellation shining out of the darkness , which comprehends it not , proclaiming with one voice , Glory to God , Peace on Earth , Good Will towards Men .

All religions emanate from the first or original worship of a God . Religion is the practice of worship , or adoration , to a Divine Being , to whom man feels his responsibility or dependence , ancl which homage man believes to be acceptable and

pleasing Dr . Watts says it is the duty of man to God and to his neighbour ; this proving the soufs existence , and permitting a freedom of will in the pursuit of good or evil , for which a personal responsibility is felt , and a knowledge that these

actions will be weighed in evidence by God as to the amount of ill or good that has been thereby produced . Taken in this large sense it is not difficult to perceive how closely the practice of our

religious and our Masonic duties are connected . In the . first ages of the world , before evil increased as it afterwards did , Masonry was a system of pure reli gion , and as idolatry kept advancing in the nations of the earth , Masonry kept more and

more aloof , holding fast to the principles first inculcated to Adam , when made acquainted with the fnature of his tenure , and taught , with the worship of his Maker , that simple science of morals which is now termed Freemasonry .

But I must distinctly assert that although the connection between Religion and Masonry is close and vital , yet it in no way attempts to usurp the place of true religion , but points out in a most striking

manner what that true religion is . Were I or any Master to inculcate any such dogma we should be exceeding to an alarming extent the limit of the powers vested in us . But on the other hand , it is my bounden duty to show you , in the most serious manner , how

these two grand principles work together , and the double responsibility hanging upon us as speculative Masons ; should we not appreciate the blessings and profit by the lessons we have in double capacity received ? One of the chief glories of Masonry is to

diffuse sterling , honest , and unsectarian truths , producing a nobility of heart and stability of mind and life , to be the better enabled to receive the precious truths of the V . O . T . S . L . with a becoming and reflective mind . Wisdom , therefore , is the principal

thing , to understand aright those truths and apply them . "Therefore , get wisdom , " said our Grand Master Solomon , " and with all Ihy getting , get understanding , '' and thus drinking in as it were on the onehand . from the fountain of Masonic wisdom ,

we can with enlightened minds and liberal views soar far above the narrow ideas and petty dogmas of a jealous religious faith , and on the other drink from

that fountain of living water which , when we have once tasted , shall never thirst again . Thus Masonry forms a most beautiful auxiliary to Religion , and every system of faith which man ' s freedom of thought has projected , to carry him to the one happy home , which is the common object of all our hopes

and wishes , leaving the way of faith to a man ' s own conscience . The cosmopolitan construction of Masonry is verified by the reputed extent of the Lodge ; it extends from the heavens to the centre of the earth , high as the heavens we see Hitn who is the

manager of all creation in the exercise of His wisdom and power , deeper than hell we see Him carrying on redemption beyond the narrow limits of all human philanthrophy , saving not only a part , but the whole ; saying unto death , I will be thy plague ,

and unto hell , I will be thy destruction , breaking its doors and setting its prisoners free . Masonry , like all other sciences , cannot be attained without diligent labour , the keys of our golden treasury must be worked by freedom , fervency , and zeal , our works

kept polished with chalk , charcoal , and clay ; doing all with a will and a might , to attain the richest prize of Masonic researches—the union of man with his

Creator . Thus a perfected Mason will feel and acknowledge the power of religion over his soul , and that the knowledge he possesses must be profitably and actively employed for the salvation of his soul and those of others . That the existence of Freemasonry can be traced

back to the building of the first Temple by the evidence of the Holy Volume is without doubt , precluding the necessity of reference either to tradition