The Three Rabbonis.

order of their succession , and also as the three Most Excellent Masters , assuming that the sixth degree was established prior io the dedication ceremonies , and to show to the brethren that in discarding their theocratical government , tho Jew ? , unknown to themselves , were

carrying out the original purpose for which they had been brought up out of the land of Egypt , that of building the grandest of all known rumples , and thus furnishing Freemasomy its most imprcs > ivo und comprehensive symbol Finding that the Jews were determined to establish a

monarchy , the Prophet sought counsel of the A ' mighty , and under the divine inspiration discovered in Saul the Benjamite the proper man to govern this discontented and turbulent people . Saul , the first king of Israel , sant by tho Omnipotent to reign over the Jews in answer to their demand for a king ,

and also , we may assume , as a punishment for their transgressions , was a man of the most extraordinary contrasts of character , and app ? ars to have been chosen for this exalted station more for his great physical power than his intellectual qualities . He is described as the son of a-man

named " Kish ... a Benjamite , a mighty man of power , " and is extolled as a " choice young man , and a goodly : and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he : from his shoulders and upwards he was higher than any of the people , " ( 1 Sam . ix . 2 ) .,

A gigantic form and indomitable courage were conditions well calculated to impress upon the people his fitness for a king . It was an age when everything depended on personal strength and valour . The sword and the javelin , the bDW and the arrow , were the weapons of the days of

Saul , and he who combined the strength and the courage to wield them was the man that commanded the respect of the multitude . So that when the Prophet Samuel presented this youthful giant to the people of Israe ] as their king , they hailed him as the saviour of the nation , sent to

rescue them from the evils of a corrupt government and to defend them from the assaults of their implacable foesthe Philistines . Saul reigned over Israel for thirty-two years , and during all those years , from the moment of grasping the sceptre until he ended bis life on the bloody

field of Gilboa , he was constantly engaged in wars and contentions . The brutal , savage nature of the man was incompatible with the dignity of the king , and his chief delight seemed to be in the shedding of human blood . Not only was his prowess directed against the enemies of

Israel , but he did not hesitate in moments of insane \ wath to destroy his own subjects . Fired by jealousy he hurled his javelin against the youthful David , and pursued him with such rancorous hatred that he was compelled to

seek refuge with the hereditary foes of his people—the Philistines . Setting at defiance the commands of God , as delivered to him by the Prophet , scoffing at religion , even naming his children in derision of tbe Jewish faith , yet there were moments when he would become an entirely

different character , his violent , brutal nature would change , and in maudlin displays of faith and piety he would endeavour to atone for his former blasphemies ; " Thus kindness and cruelty , manliness and meanness , superstition and faith , firmness and indecision , were combined with fearful extremes in this one man . "

Yet with all his violence and seeming contempt for tbe religion of his forefathers , Saul never lapsed into open idolatry . The Jews , owing to their Jong associations with the Egyptians , had contracted many of the superstitions of that

imaginative people . The belief in the supernatural was almost universal among the ancients . Tho oracle , the mysterious sounds issuing from the images representing the heathen gods , necromancers , soothsayers , interpreters

of dreams , sorcerers , were all potent factors with governments and peoples , and even in Israel they had become so powerful that they threatened to usurp the functions both of priest and king and to lead the masses from tho truo faith and turn them to idolatry .

Saul determined to rid his kingdom of those pretended prophets and diviners of the future , and mercilessly drove them out of his jurisdiction , but with characteristic duplicity he was ready to call upon them to further his own designs ,

and on the night before the last battle of his life , he stole from his camp in disguise , to consult tho witch of Endor as to the result of the impending conflict , and when she brought up before him the familiar form of tho deceased Samuel and he heard from the lips of the prophet , " tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me : the Lord

The Three Rabbonis.

also shall deliver the ] host of Israel into the hind of . tho Philistines , " ( 1 Sam . xxviii . 19 ) , he fell to tho grounl and grovelled in despair . True to the prediction , the nioirow witness-d the last desperate act of the unhappy king , He saw tl e at my of

tho Israelites melt away before tbe charging hosts of the Philistines , he saw his sons slain around him , and wounded and bleeding , stricken with the daris and arrows of his savage foes , the unconquerable spirit of Saul still asserted itself even in that supreme moment , and calling to

his armour bearer , ho said , " Draw thy sword , and thrust me through therewith ; lest these nncircumcised come and thrust me through , and abuS 3 mo . But his armonrlcarer would not ; for he was sore afraid . Therefore Saul took a

sword , and fell upon it . •••.... ¦•. "So Saul died , and his three sons , and his armourbearer , and all his men , that same day together , " ( 1 Sam . xxxi . 4 , 6 ) .

The stormy life and melancholy death of this first . king of Israel was in strict accordance with his fiery disposition and was also a legitimate part of the great drama of Jewish history begun at the crossing of the Red Sea four hundred years before , and which was to culminate with- the

dedication of the Temple . While it was a reign of wars and bloodsheds it served God's purpose in preparing tbe people for tho work before them . The discipline and experience of thirty years of almost constant struggle hardened the Israelites , developed the resources of the

nation and enabled them to command the respect and oven to bring into subjection many of the surrounding tribes , so that when Saul ' s successor ascended the throne he found himself at the head of a warlike people , ready for any work of conquest or development . The first great act

towards the erection of tbe house for His name waa consummated when night drew down her curtain on the field of Gilboa , and with all his faults , his errors , his crimes , Saul was still an agent of the Almighty in the prosecuting of His great designs .

We must also , in contemplating the character of Saul , remember the actual condition of the people over whom he reigned . The Jews were in a semi-savage state , they had not yet cast off the nomadic life to which they were accnstomed ; their wealth consisted principally in flocks

and herds ; like their heathen neighbours they sacrificed sheep and oxen ; their punishments were sanguinary and cruel , and they slaughtered their enemies , sparing neither men , women , nor children , not even the dumb beasts . In fact , the Hebrews ,

when they had reached their highest state of development under Solomon , were only voluptuous barbarians . They preserved their tribal relations at all times , and to this day , at least in theory , they keep them still . In the material works , such as architecture , bridges ,

aqueducts , roads , monuments , or any great engineering works , the Jews never reached mediocrity , much , less greatness , and the one great building with which the name and fame of the Hebrew nation is associated , was mostly planned and executed by men of other nations . It is true we speak of

the ancient Hebrews as a Great Nation ; but they were great because of their close association with God ; it was His name that made the children of Israel famous . So that with all these facts before us , the character of Saul becomes divested of most of its repulsive features , and we assume that we do not err when we pronounce him Rabboni—The

Most Excellent Master . —Keystone . ( To be continued ) .

Apropos of Freemasonry in the army , whioh exists in the service , as elsewhere , under perfectly satisfactory and well-defined conditions , there is an amusing tendenoy at times on the part of Tommy Atkins to form secret societies and attend other likewise an . authorised gatherings ; bnt when discovered , it is always very firmly snppressed . A writer refers to a oase which occurred soma years

ago in India , when a number of fantastic garments were found in a dis-used barraok-room . On inquiry these turned out to belong to a society evidently quite harmless to all intents and purposes , but nevertheless against the roles , so it was of coarse pat down , and the enterprising originator of the society received a very stiff letter on the subject from the commanding officer , —Court Journal .

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