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time before his death to create in the minds of his subjects an interest in the building of that temple , the plan of which he had worked out in its minutest detail . What a deep solemnity there is in the charge which the old man delivered to his son Solomon : " And thou Solomon , my son , know thou the God

of thy father , and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind , for the Lord searcheth all hearts , and understandeth all the imaginations of the thought ; if thou seek Him He will be found of thee ; but if thou forsake Him He will cast thee off for ever . Take heed now : for the Lord

hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary ; be strong and do it . " How profoundly these words would impress the mind of the assembled multitude in whose hearing they were spoken ? What a majestic grandeur there is

in David s thanksgiving and prayer respecting the building of the temple which he breathed into the attentive ear of his God before his death ? [ See I . Chron . 29 , verses 10 to 19 . ] How anxious he was that his subjects should be as eager to build and as thankful to God as he was ?

David said to all the congregation , " Now , bless the Lord your God . And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers and bowed down their heads and worshipped the Lord and the King . " The impression made at the time was such that Solomon felt his father had imposed

on him a duty which he was bound to discharge . When it was built , what a blessing they found it to be to them ! How eagerly they pressed within its sacred walls ! In it was the throne of their great King ; there He displayed His power and majesty : there His people were encouraged to worship and

serve Him—therein they fled for refuge when they were in danger or difficulty . God was there enthroned in all His majesty . His presence was manifested , His power was experienced , and His protection was ensured in the temple . The true Israelite knew and felt that God was in the midst

of their worshipping assemblies . What store our Lord Himself set upon the temple , using it when he was twelve years old ; cleansing it on two occasions during His lifetime when He saw men putting it to improper uses ; and using it on every occasion as " the house of prayer " whenever He had the chance .

The temple of Solomon is intensely interesting and instructive to every Freemason . He values at a very high price the teachings which it can give . "All the labours of operative or stone masonry , its tools , and its technical language have been seized by the Speculative Freemasons , and

appropriated by them as symbols , each of which teaches some important moral or religious truth . " He derives instruction from the study of its plan ; he learns something from its structure ; he finds sermons in its stones , whether they be rough or dressed ashlars . The strength and beauty

of its pillars furnish him with food for thought , and before its altar he kneels impressed with a feeling of reverential awe . The tools which the working mason has , or is using in its construction teach him much . The twenty-four inch rule , the hammer , the chisel , the square , the level , and the plumb

line , have each of them something to say to him , which , if attended to , will make him the wiser . The great object in view while we think of the structure , the furniture , and the mason ' s tools , should be to make the building up of the spiritual temple of the body the more easy .

It has been well said that to our Lord " The sole beauty of the Temple was the sincerity of its worshippers , and no gold or marble , no brilliant vermillion , or curiously carved cedar wood , no delicate sculpturing or votive gems " could satisfy Him when this was absent . No strength of structure

or design could please Him unless it could be shown that it imparted strength to the one who was in search of it . Is this the object we have in view when we study the details of the glorious structure which King Solomon erected ? Are we striving to have its teachings woven into the texture of

our daily life ? And do we find that it is a help to us in our growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ? If so , we have to thank ' God that we have been induced to make a study of it . What a blessing it would be if we saw all men trying , while building up the

temple of their spiritual life , to reproduce the care , the thought , and the labour which Solomon brought to bear on the raising of his temple . When we think of it , surely we must feel that we are engaged in a work far more important than his . He was building a structure which , however

carefully put together , must sooner or later come to the ground . Our Lord ' s disciples drew his attention to the temple as they were passing it : "Master , see what manner of stones and what buildings are here ! " Our Lord answered them that every stone must sooner or later come down . We

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on the other hand , are engaged in building for eternity . With what solemnity does this invest our work ! How carefully we should watch , in order that we may be sure that we are doing it right . Ever } ' blow of our hammer should be well directed and carefully struck ; every stone that we lay

should be first measured correctly ; with our chisel we should take care to smooth down any rough places we may find in our life , and we should at all times strive to use for their proper purpose all the tools which God has put into our hands , to be used whenever needed . What a position of

honour we occupy as workmen ! Our association with God should ennoble our work . St . Paul says "We are labourers together with God : ye are God ' s husbandry , ye are God ' s building . According to the grace which is given unto me , as a wise master builder , I have laid the foundation , and another

buildeth thereon . For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid , which is Jesus Christ . Now if any man build upon this foundation gold , silver , precious stones , wood , hay , stubble ; every man ' s work shall be made manifest : for the day shall declare it , because it shall be revealed by fire ;

and the fire shall try every man ' s work of what sort it is . If any man ' s work abide which he hath built thereupon , he shall receive a reward . If any man ' s work shall be burned , he shall suffer loss : but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire . Know ye not that v are the temple of God , and

that the spirit of God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God , him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God is holy . Which temple are ye . " Let us take care that our foundation be the Rock of Ages . Let us see to it that the stones are day by day laid in workmanlike

fashion , and that the spiritual temple of our life has been reared after the plan drawn out by God Himself , in order that when it is exposed to the all-searching eye of the Great Architect of the Universe it may be found complete in its every detail , and as strong and beautiful as He would like it to be .

The Brethren reformed in procession , and in a blinding downpour of rain went to the School Room , where tea , provided by Messrs . C . Dawson and Sons , was very tastefully served by a number of ladies . The whole affair ,

so far as the public display , was spoilt , which was to be regretted , seeing it was at the laying of the foundation-stone of the Flood Memorial Almshouses that the ' Freemasons of Holmfirth last attended as a Lodge a public service , which is close on fifty years ago . — " Huddersfield Examiner . "

Liverpool Masonic Hall Improvements.

LIVERPOOL MASONIC HALL IMPROVEMENTS .

THE annual meeting of the members of the Masonic Hall Committee was held on the 26 th ult , at the headquarters in Hope Street , the chair at the commencement of the proceedings being occupied by Bro . E . R . Latham P . P . G . Treasurer .

The report submitted showed that the receipts for the past twelve months , including a balance brought forward from the previous year of £ 342 , had been £ 1 , 123 , and that the payments for the same period amounted to £ 610 , leaving a balance to be carried forward of about £ 513 , the increased

surplus for the year thus being upwards of £ 170 . The balance carried forward , the report stated , would be available for the purpose of defraying the expenses in connection with the installation of the electric light in the buildings , which is now practically completed , at an outlay of about /" 50 o . The

mortgage on the premises remains at £ 1 , 900 , at 4 per cent , with the West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution . Further borrowing powers , it was further stated , had been

sanctioned by the Hall Committee to the extent of £ 500 , with the view of carrying out a scheme for cleaning and decorating the whole of the building during the present year . The report and balance sheet were unanimously adopted .

Bro . A . E . Povey was elected Chairman of the Hall Committee ( after which he took his position ) , Bro . E . R . Latham was chosen Vice Chairman , Bro . J . Raymond was re-elected Honorary Treasurer , and Bro . Jarman Honorary Secretary . The Auditors were appointed , twenty-one

members of the House Committee were elected , and it was resolved to give authority to this body to carry out the plan of redecoration of the building without delay . Bro . T . J . Jarman was unanimously elected to fill the position of one of the Trustees of the building , in place of the late Bro . Dr . R . Robertson .

Thanks to the past Executive , to the Merchants Lodge for their beautifying of two of the chief chairs , and to the Chairman closed the proceedings .