Religion Of Masonry.

RELIGION OF MASONRY .

By Bro . Rev . Abraham Lazarus . B . A . ( Continued from page 256 . ) IT comprises the broad truths and doctrines that are common to all creeds ; it selects the permanent factors and rejects the accidental . It is religion in its essence . Eeligion pure and

undented . Religion that harmonises with reason and is independent of the restrictions and limits of iron-bound dogmas of theologians ; religion , finally , that satisfies the deepest yearnings of the human heart and affords to it its surest consolation and peace . Basing itself upon the fundamental idea of the divine

existence and the Volume of the Sacred Law , which it accepts as the unerring standard of truth and justice , and the guide and rule of daily conduct , it lays down the most sublime precepts and inculcates the practice of every social and moral virtue . It insists upon the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man . It

teaches us to set a high value on life , which it views in the light of a preparation for eternity , and it emphasises the doctrine of the soul's immortality . Longfellow accurately summed up the Masonic intrepretatiou of man ' s mission here below when he wrote " All are architects of fate working in these walls of time ,

some with massive deeds and great , some with ornaments of thyme , nothing orders is , or how each thing in its place is , but our to-days and yesterdays are the blocks with which we build . " That is why the newly entered Apprentice is presented with the working tools . They are intended to remind him that , in a

figurative sense , he must thenceforward assist in the work of rearing aloft that temple not made with bands , which the noblest and best in all ages have been engaged in constructing , and of which the bricks are deeds of benevolence and love . They are designed to impress upon him the sacredness of toil , the glorious

ends which may be subserved by performing even the most prosaic tasks . In fact the Entered Apprentice Mason in himself represents the first foundation stone upon which , by means of labour and perseverance , he is expected to erect a superstructure perfect in its parts and honourable to the builder , that shall be finished after

the pattern of the Divme , in whose image he himself is formed . But Masonry does not only embody lofty conceptions of the worth and value of life , it prescribes specific duties to those that range themselves under its banners regarding these relations with each other and to the world at large . In the first place it demands honesty and uprightness . All squares , levels and perpendiculars

are proper signs by which to know a Mason . In other words , if a Mason is true to his vowa he will set a strict watch over the rectitude of his actions . He will never do anything that is crooked or say anything that is not straightforward . His word will be his bond . He will be just and fear not , and deal fairly and squarely by one and all .

In the second place it enjoins upon him the virtue of charity , which is the distinguishing characteristic of a Freemason ' s heart . The sight of poverty and distress must ever move him to compassion and urge him to stretch forth a helping hand . He must commiserate the lot of those who are less fortunate than he .

He must be eyes to the blind , and feet to the lame , seeing in every one of God ' s creatures who applies to him for aid a brother , no matter what be his race or creed . He must open his purse to relieve his wants , knowing no limits but those of prudence . His sympathies must be broad and world-wide , not sectarian :

they must transcend the narrow boundaries of nationality or religion , and embrace the whole of humanity in their ample folds . In the third place it demands patriotism . A good Mason will be exemplary in the discharge of his civic duties . He will be lawabiding and respectful of authority . He will range himself on the

right side in public questions , and ally himself with- the forces that make for the purifying of morals and manners . Indeed , whether in the hallowed precincts of his home , in the market place , or in tbe forum , the Mason that is worthy of the name will conduct himself in accordance with the highest dictates of truth ,

conscience , honour and virtue . He will be a good husband , a good , father , a good man , a good citizen , a trusty friend ; he will be perfect in every relationship of existence . He will never soil his hands with uncleanliness of any kind , or allow the spotless purity of his soul to be stained by vice or spotted by sin . Hewill neither be a slanderer , an adulterer , or a scoffer at holy things .

In a word , he would do to others as he would be done by , and love his neighbour as himself . If there is a religion that inculcates loftier teachings than these it has not yet been my good fortune to discover it . If there is morality purer and more aspiring it has yet to find expression . For Masonry in its last analysis is humanitarianism in the broadest acceptation of the term .

It believes that the highest service of God is identical with the highest service of man , that words are nothing , and deeds are all in all , that the noblest sacrifice that we lay at the divine footstool is a good heart and a consecrated life , and the sweetest incense that we can offer is that which arises from purity of thought and holiness of soul . And it is towards the Masonic

Religion Of Masonry.

conception of the functions of religion that the ideas of the modern world are slowly but surely tending . The characters which they produce and not the theories they advance is the test which men are beginning to apply to the various fates that compete for the suffrages of the human races , and accordingly as they succeed or

fail to come up to this standard so are they considered as being worthy of reverence or cast aside with contempt . Masonry is therefore the advance guard of civilisation . It is the ultima thule of progress , the goal towards which mankind has ever been struggling with torn and bleeding feet amidst temporary failures

and reverses ever since it emerged from primeval darkness into the light of history and commenced to work out its glorious destiny upon the stage of the world . It is the power that makes for righteousness , for justice and for truth . It is Judaism to the Jew , Christianity to the Christian , Mohammedanism to the

Mohammedan . It is the religion of religions , the ground upon which they all stand , the foundation from which they draw their vitality and strength . The more society becomes leavened with its ideas the more rapidly will vice and crime disappear , and the

golden age of which the Jewish prophets dreamed dawn upon mankind . The more the principles of Masonry come into the hearts of men the surer will crime disappear , the era of universal happiness and peace be with us , and the sooner the kingdom of God will be established on earth . Sectarian strife and bitterness

will die away ; intolerance will vanish , racial animosities and natural rivalries will be things of the past , the artificial distinction set up by wealth and rank will be obliterated and , standing upon the level of equality and meeting on the square , yielding obedience to the Great Architect of the Universe all men will bind themselves

together in one vast harmonious bond of friendship and union in which there shall be neither Jew nor Gentile , bond nor free , because all will acknowledge the same eternal Father , and bend their necks to the yoke of his sovereignty . May we all look

forward for the realisation of this grand ideal . Then upon the hills of this spiritual Zion the Mystic Temple , in the building of which is heard no sound of hammer , axe , or any tool of iron or of brass , will take shape and form , and a new Jerusalem arise whose walls will be salvation and whose gates will be praise .

Bro . Lazarus , on the completion of his address , was tendered a hearty vote of thanks by the Brethren for his ably discourse . — " Masonic Sun . "

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