Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
AU Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , Belvidere "Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville , London , N . " Measuring tho Pattern . A Sermon preached in All Saints ' Church , Northampton , before the Provincial Grand Lod ^ o of
North « and Hunts , his G'nee the Dnkenf Manchester R . W . P . G . M ., Worshipful Rro . Bntler Wilkins Grand Standard Bearer DP G . M ., Jnne llth 1885 , by the Worshipful B-other Rev . S . J . W . Sanders , M . A ., and M . L ., & c , W . M . 360 , P . M . 1764 1911 , P . Z . 360 , Provincial Grand Chaplain . Published by request . " Northampton Henry Brown and Co ., 18 Gold-street . 1885 .
WE have in this neat little pamphlet the ipsissisma verba of a discourse remarkable for concentrated wisdom and eloquence . We wonld cheerfully reprint the whole sermon were it not to be had in its pro . sent perect form . As it is , we shall endeavour so to whet the appetite as to send our readers to the sonroe from whence , the
following extracts are taken . Bro . Sanders took his text from Ezekiel—the " most . Masonio " of prophets—x'iii . 10 : "Thou son of man , show the honse to tho honse of I = rael , that thev mavbe ashamed of their iniquities : and le' them measure the pattern . " Before proceeding to enlarge npon the text . Bro . Sanders took care to refer to the double
tie that united the brethren—that of Masonry and Christianity . It was well , he said , to inquire into Lodge business , to review the past , after which it was right to worship in the " church of Jesns Christ to witness to the sincerity of onr religious profession ; to witness to tho ont . side world that there is nought in the whole circle of onr
Masonio rites and te ^ hing inconsistent with onr Faith . " Masonry is not < x religion , but " a religions svstem , " a fact sfrerclv urged bv th ° preacher . Ezekiel describes tho Holy City , the Holv Temple , and its ordinances , and is commanded to show that " description to
the honse of Israel that they may ' Measure th « Pattern , ' and so reform whatever may need reformation in their midst . " Bro . Sanders thinks there is much need to " Measure the Pattern" in these davs , and proceeds to point out the direction in which danger lies . He savs : —
" The Order which has stood so many centuries , with so many sworn guardians of its ancient landmarks , is in no danger of falling now : and vet , is ifc not a f ict that , among those who claim to belong to onr ranks in other countries than England , th ° ro aro found those who deny th © very first articles of our coed ? Brethren , yon know
a" well as I do , that , ifc wonld bo iu vain that he who denies the existence of a God or denies the continuance of this life into another , should knock for ever at the door of a tyled Lodge ;; no possibilit y if there of admission being granted to snch an nnhappv man in our country . And yet , for want of this ' Measuring the Pattern , ' we have
the mournful example of some foreign Lodges falling away from the faith , and the nece ° sity of exeommnnication being uttered by otn own country ' s Grand Lorlo-e , and by nearly all the Grand Lodges of tho world . So , then , looking at this melancholy example , while we
claim the glories of antiquity , while we pride ourselves on the excellence of the principles on which our practices are based , let ns not be content with history or with grandeur of ritual , but let us seek the underlying truths which that ritual embodies , and shape our conduct b y them . "
Herfl follows a word-picture , crisp , boldly conceived , graphic and true . It is a homilv in a few sentences , and worthy to bo treasured in the memory . Tho preacher exclaimed : " Yes ! I know it is an enchanting study , this history of the past Ifc is an inspiring thought that , those symbols and mark- * placed on
the very foundation stones of the Temple , and at , length discovered after centuries have elapsed , dnring which they have lain hidden from the eyes of men , we > e first p'aced there by those whom we can rightly call 'brethren' of a Craft , which even then could claim antiquity : to trace on the descent through the age of tho Roman
Empire , the age of Byzantine art , and on ancl on down to the guilds of the middle ages ; to tread the pavements of buildings erected by the operative Freemasons of those times , to marvel at their skill , to wonder at tho accuracy ottheir compasses , and the delicacy of the stroke of their hammers ; to trace them on yet further to the decav
of their brotherhood in tho last century , and its replacement by the speculative brotherhood of to-day . It is grand , too , to reflect on the universality of our Order in the present , that we can pass from land to land , and yet , in the remotest climes claim the privilege of bro . therhood , nnd have that claim allowed . We delight in recounting
instances in which distress has been alleviated , succour obtained , suffering relieved , help procured , friendship granted , all by means of onr simple Masonic claim ; and wo are proud of this grand feature of our Fraternity . We know it is no idle boast . We point with pride again to the loyalty of our members ; the links in the Masonic chain ;
'Love tbe Brotherhood , fear God , honour the King , ' are firmly fastened together , and no force shall be allowed by ns to snnder them . Liberty we prize , but liberty regulated b y law : Equality we honour , but with obedience to dnly constituted authority : Fraternity we treasure , bnt Fraternity which tolerates opinion abont which there
may be difference . Our ritual , again , is an object of assiduous study , that it may be rendered in all its beanty , that ifc shall not fail of its due impression by carelessness and slovenliness on our parts . These
are , and rightly , the objects of unceasing attention : and yet—thongh I yield to none of you in pride and elation about all these things—yet I still raise the word of exhortation , let ns ' Measure the Pattern . '"
Naturally Bro . Sanders asks— " What has been the source of all this grandeur p" Let him answer in his own words , and let our readers ponder the lesson : " Surely it was the vitality of the principles which actuated the
Reviews.
ancient professors : those majestic buildings whicb adorn onr land' Poems in Stone' they have well been called—whioh dwarf all other buildings within the extensive landscape , speak to ua , not only of the intellectual skill of those who reared them , bnt of their sel ' -sacrifice , of their life-aim , of their devotion . ' Good work and true' in every
bit of carving ; the glory of God in every stroke of their chisel ; the praise of Him v \ ho redeemed them in every nice adjnstmert of their art . Yes , indeed man ' s hand hath been npon the tree of the forest , and upon tho stone of the quarry ; nnd as ho learned to polish the one
and to shape the other , and also learned that his skill and work might not be withheld from the adoration of God , his labour was in . spired by the spirit of submission , obedience , and love . And in the principles which have spread our Order through the habitable globe there has been this same reality . "
The brethren are urged to continue to preserve this real influence of the Masonio spirit , as without it the Craft cannot live . In one o £ the finest passages of the Sermon the causes of decay are pointed out , which shonld act as a lesson to us , ancl in order that it may be learned we quote as follows :
" Other institutions as noble and imposing have died . Kingdoms have had their little day , they have declined , they have shrivelled into skeletons , and finally crumbled into dust , and on the grave where they have been buried other kingdoms have taken their place . Where are all the philosophic systems of antiquity ? Their energy
died away , vitality wns gone and the systems disappeared . What was it that gave honour and permanence to that ancient temple bnilt by the Phoenician Masons of ancient times ? Wai it the art or skill with which its work wns perfected ? No , Solomon and Hiram , and the Widow ' s son , and all their Tyrian craftsmen may have done their
best , and on that great consecration morn the result of their labours may be seen shining on the hill-top in all tho freshness of its splen . donrand beanty ; the consecration itself maybe conducted with gor . geous display ; the king may proceed with all pomp and splendour up the hill to the magnificent building : but not nntil the presence of the
Lord God was enshrined between fche Cherubim , not until the prayer of Solomon , ' Arise , 0 Lord , into Thy resting p lace , ' had been answered by the cloud of glory which filled the houso from end to side , from roof to floor , could it be called a Temple of the Lord God . Did not Ezekiel ntt » r the same truth when he speaks of the Holy
City of which he bids the sons of I-irael ' Measure tho Pattern , ' that the law of tbe house shall be that its name shall be Jehovah Shammnh , the ' Lord is there '; and when that Presence was taken away , when , as we are told in Josephus , the voice resounded in the night through the doomed bnilding , ' Let us depart hence , ' then the
Temple fell : not , one stone was left upon another to tell of its former grandeur . So lot us learn the lesson which may be drawn thafc only so long as onr system does its work and fulfils its aim , only so long as ir . has Divino lifo and vitality of princi ple , and has a Divine purpose to serve , only so long can it endure . "
Tho preacher believes there is room and scope for Freemasonry in the world , and in the following paragraph defines its place and duties " Here is an age of increasing difficulty , with increasing denial of a Great Architect and Creator : when the study of the mysteries of science is being conducted sometimes with a spirit not akin to that
Masonic reverence instilled into us the brethren of the mystic tie ; when men of the world meet together , and the name of God is never heard , but carefully excluded from the midst of their meetings ; when we are told that religion is admirable for private persons , but that it has , and it ought to have , no control over bodies of men
whfii even the eternal principles of right and wrong are treated as indifferent matters by communities ; when classes are becoming estranged one from the other , and there is an urgent need of their being drawn and banded together ; when there is an increasing uneasiness that the solidity of kingdoms is being relaxed , or if
presenting an externally solid appearance , only present that appearance from sheer despotic pressure ; when the lessons of Loyalty , Brotherhood , Reverence , Truth , Chaiity , need re-stating with increased emphasis , in every variety of form and with all possible variety of expression . Here then is room , here then is scope for Freemasonry .
Its ancient teachings need not be altered to suit the times , we have only to ' Measure the Pattern , ' we bave only need to have recourse to the ancient landmarks ; no ' shifty sands' are our principles , but having their lessons for the difficulties of each age , by merely potting
our principles in practice , principles which are of eternal value and eternal power , as the chances and changes of time befal , to be useful in every age of the world ' s history : ancl never more useful than now . "
Tho concluding pages of tbe sermon are devoted to exhortation , Firab , as to brethren , Bro . Sanders says : " Let us see to it that brotherly love , relief , and truth , be practised in all tbeir integrity . Endeavour that those obligations you wot of , which knit you in a fraternal union , be sincerely and honestly
maintained . Let yonr zeal for yonr graud and noble Masonic Charities be only the outcome of , not the substitute for , that Masonic Charity to which you are sworn . Let the square , tbe level , and the p lamb rule , with their mystic lessons , be your guide in all yonr dealings with those who call you ' brother . ' Let tbe strong help the weak ,
each working in bis own place , each doing his own shire of the duties of life conscienciously and well , but all learning each to help the other , and all learning to work for the Common good . " Then as to the outer world , we are advised— "Let not yonr good be evil spoken of " to live " soberlrihteousland Godly before
; y , g y , men , " so that when men ask what is the value of Masonry , the rne of a brother may be pointed at as an example . The reward of the faithful is great ancl is thus described by the preacher :
" We work for One who watches us . That All-Seeing Eye which beholds us , looks down upon ns , not only with watchfulness and scrutiny , but with compassion and love . By-and-bye , the record or Hia Pencil shall be complete ; the end of the day will come ; the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
AU Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , Belvidere "Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville , London , N . " Measuring tho Pattern . A Sermon preached in All Saints ' Church , Northampton , before the Provincial Grand Lod ^ o of
North « and Hunts , his G'nee the Dnkenf Manchester R . W . P . G . M ., Worshipful Rro . Bntler Wilkins Grand Standard Bearer DP G . M ., Jnne llth 1885 , by the Worshipful B-other Rev . S . J . W . Sanders , M . A ., and M . L ., & c , W . M . 360 , P . M . 1764 1911 , P . Z . 360 , Provincial Grand Chaplain . Published by request . " Northampton Henry Brown and Co ., 18 Gold-street . 1885 .
WE have in this neat little pamphlet the ipsissisma verba of a discourse remarkable for concentrated wisdom and eloquence . We wonld cheerfully reprint the whole sermon were it not to be had in its pro . sent perect form . As it is , we shall endeavour so to whet the appetite as to send our readers to the sonroe from whence , the
following extracts are taken . Bro . Sanders took his text from Ezekiel—the " most . Masonio " of prophets—x'iii . 10 : "Thou son of man , show the honse to tho honse of I = rael , that thev mavbe ashamed of their iniquities : and le' them measure the pattern . " Before proceeding to enlarge npon the text . Bro . Sanders took care to refer to the double
tie that united the brethren—that of Masonry and Christianity . It was well , he said , to inquire into Lodge business , to review the past , after which it was right to worship in the " church of Jesns Christ to witness to the sincerity of onr religious profession ; to witness to tho ont . side world that there is nought in the whole circle of onr
Masonio rites and te ^ hing inconsistent with onr Faith . " Masonry is not < x religion , but " a religions svstem , " a fact sfrerclv urged bv th ° preacher . Ezekiel describes tho Holy City , the Holv Temple , and its ordinances , and is commanded to show that " description to
the honse of Israel that they may ' Measure th « Pattern , ' and so reform whatever may need reformation in their midst . " Bro . Sanders thinks there is much need to " Measure the Pattern" in these davs , and proceeds to point out the direction in which danger lies . He savs : —
" The Order which has stood so many centuries , with so many sworn guardians of its ancient landmarks , is in no danger of falling now : and vet , is ifc not a f ict that , among those who claim to belong to onr ranks in other countries than England , th ° ro aro found those who deny th © very first articles of our coed ? Brethren , yon know
a" well as I do , that , ifc wonld bo iu vain that he who denies the existence of a God or denies the continuance of this life into another , should knock for ever at the door of a tyled Lodge ;; no possibilit y if there of admission being granted to snch an nnhappv man in our country . And yet , for want of this ' Measuring the Pattern , ' we have
the mournful example of some foreign Lodges falling away from the faith , and the nece ° sity of exeommnnication being uttered by otn own country ' s Grand Lorlo-e , and by nearly all the Grand Lodges of tho world . So , then , looking at this melancholy example , while we
claim the glories of antiquity , while we pride ourselves on the excellence of the principles on which our practices are based , let ns not be content with history or with grandeur of ritual , but let us seek the underlying truths which that ritual embodies , and shape our conduct b y them . "
Herfl follows a word-picture , crisp , boldly conceived , graphic and true . It is a homilv in a few sentences , and worthy to bo treasured in the memory . Tho preacher exclaimed : " Yes ! I know it is an enchanting study , this history of the past Ifc is an inspiring thought that , those symbols and mark- * placed on
the very foundation stones of the Temple , and at , length discovered after centuries have elapsed , dnring which they have lain hidden from the eyes of men , we > e first p'aced there by those whom we can rightly call 'brethren' of a Craft , which even then could claim antiquity : to trace on the descent through the age of tho Roman
Empire , the age of Byzantine art , and on ancl on down to the guilds of the middle ages ; to tread the pavements of buildings erected by the operative Freemasons of those times , to marvel at their skill , to wonder at tho accuracy ottheir compasses , and the delicacy of the stroke of their hammers ; to trace them on yet further to the decav
of their brotherhood in tho last century , and its replacement by the speculative brotherhood of to-day . It is grand , too , to reflect on the universality of our Order in the present , that we can pass from land to land , and yet , in the remotest climes claim the privilege of bro . therhood , nnd have that claim allowed . We delight in recounting
instances in which distress has been alleviated , succour obtained , suffering relieved , help procured , friendship granted , all by means of onr simple Masonic claim ; and wo are proud of this grand feature of our Fraternity . We know it is no idle boast . We point with pride again to the loyalty of our members ; the links in the Masonic chain ;
'Love tbe Brotherhood , fear God , honour the King , ' are firmly fastened together , and no force shall be allowed by ns to snnder them . Liberty we prize , but liberty regulated b y law : Equality we honour , but with obedience to dnly constituted authority : Fraternity we treasure , bnt Fraternity which tolerates opinion abont which there
may be difference . Our ritual , again , is an object of assiduous study , that it may be rendered in all its beanty , that ifc shall not fail of its due impression by carelessness and slovenliness on our parts . These
are , and rightly , the objects of unceasing attention : and yet—thongh I yield to none of you in pride and elation about all these things—yet I still raise the word of exhortation , let ns ' Measure the Pattern . '"
Naturally Bro . Sanders asks— " What has been the source of all this grandeur p" Let him answer in his own words , and let our readers ponder the lesson : " Surely it was the vitality of the principles which actuated the
Reviews.
ancient professors : those majestic buildings whicb adorn onr land' Poems in Stone' they have well been called—whioh dwarf all other buildings within the extensive landscape , speak to ua , not only of the intellectual skill of those who reared them , bnt of their sel ' -sacrifice , of their life-aim , of their devotion . ' Good work and true' in every
bit of carving ; the glory of God in every stroke of their chisel ; the praise of Him v \ ho redeemed them in every nice adjnstmert of their art . Yes , indeed man ' s hand hath been npon the tree of the forest , and upon tho stone of the quarry ; nnd as ho learned to polish the one
and to shape the other , and also learned that his skill and work might not be withheld from the adoration of God , his labour was in . spired by the spirit of submission , obedience , and love . And in the principles which have spread our Order through the habitable globe there has been this same reality . "
The brethren are urged to continue to preserve this real influence of the Masonio spirit , as without it the Craft cannot live . In one o £ the finest passages of the Sermon the causes of decay are pointed out , which shonld act as a lesson to us , ancl in order that it may be learned we quote as follows :
" Other institutions as noble and imposing have died . Kingdoms have had their little day , they have declined , they have shrivelled into skeletons , and finally crumbled into dust , and on the grave where they have been buried other kingdoms have taken their place . Where are all the philosophic systems of antiquity ? Their energy
died away , vitality wns gone and the systems disappeared . What was it that gave honour and permanence to that ancient temple bnilt by the Phoenician Masons of ancient times ? Wai it the art or skill with which its work wns perfected ? No , Solomon and Hiram , and the Widow ' s son , and all their Tyrian craftsmen may have done their
best , and on that great consecration morn the result of their labours may be seen shining on the hill-top in all tho freshness of its splen . donrand beanty ; the consecration itself maybe conducted with gor . geous display ; the king may proceed with all pomp and splendour up the hill to the magnificent building : but not nntil the presence of the
Lord God was enshrined between fche Cherubim , not until the prayer of Solomon , ' Arise , 0 Lord , into Thy resting p lace , ' had been answered by the cloud of glory which filled the houso from end to side , from roof to floor , could it be called a Temple of the Lord God . Did not Ezekiel ntt » r the same truth when he speaks of the Holy
City of which he bids the sons of I-irael ' Measure tho Pattern , ' that the law of tbe house shall be that its name shall be Jehovah Shammnh , the ' Lord is there '; and when that Presence was taken away , when , as we are told in Josephus , the voice resounded in the night through the doomed bnilding , ' Let us depart hence , ' then the
Temple fell : not , one stone was left upon another to tell of its former grandeur . So lot us learn the lesson which may be drawn thafc only so long as onr system does its work and fulfils its aim , only so long as ir . has Divino lifo and vitality of princi ple , and has a Divine purpose to serve , only so long can it endure . "
Tho preacher believes there is room and scope for Freemasonry in the world , and in the following paragraph defines its place and duties " Here is an age of increasing difficulty , with increasing denial of a Great Architect and Creator : when the study of the mysteries of science is being conducted sometimes with a spirit not akin to that
Masonic reverence instilled into us the brethren of the mystic tie ; when men of the world meet together , and the name of God is never heard , but carefully excluded from the midst of their meetings ; when we are told that religion is admirable for private persons , but that it has , and it ought to have , no control over bodies of men
whfii even the eternal principles of right and wrong are treated as indifferent matters by communities ; when classes are becoming estranged one from the other , and there is an urgent need of their being drawn and banded together ; when there is an increasing uneasiness that the solidity of kingdoms is being relaxed , or if
presenting an externally solid appearance , only present that appearance from sheer despotic pressure ; when the lessons of Loyalty , Brotherhood , Reverence , Truth , Chaiity , need re-stating with increased emphasis , in every variety of form and with all possible variety of expression . Here then is room , here then is scope for Freemasonry .
Its ancient teachings need not be altered to suit the times , we have only to ' Measure the Pattern , ' we bave only need to have recourse to the ancient landmarks ; no ' shifty sands' are our principles , but having their lessons for the difficulties of each age , by merely potting
our principles in practice , principles which are of eternal value and eternal power , as the chances and changes of time befal , to be useful in every age of the world ' s history : ancl never more useful than now . "
Tho concluding pages of tbe sermon are devoted to exhortation , Firab , as to brethren , Bro . Sanders says : " Let us see to it that brotherly love , relief , and truth , be practised in all tbeir integrity . Endeavour that those obligations you wot of , which knit you in a fraternal union , be sincerely and honestly
maintained . Let yonr zeal for yonr graud and noble Masonic Charities be only the outcome of , not the substitute for , that Masonic Charity to which you are sworn . Let the square , tbe level , and the p lamb rule , with their mystic lessons , be your guide in all yonr dealings with those who call you ' brother . ' Let tbe strong help the weak ,
each working in bis own place , each doing his own shire of the duties of life conscienciously and well , but all learning each to help the other , and all learning to work for the Common good . " Then as to the outer world , we are advised— "Let not yonr good be evil spoken of " to live " soberlrihteousland Godly before
; y , g y , men , " so that when men ask what is the value of Masonry , the rne of a brother may be pointed at as an example . The reward of the faithful is great ancl is thus described by the preacher :
" We work for One who watches us . That All-Seeing Eye which beholds us , looks down upon ns , not only with watchfulness and scrutiny , but with compassion and love . By-and-bye , the record or Hia Pencil shall be complete ; the end of the day will come ; the