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Province Of Hertfordshire.
turn men from darkness to light ; and no fitter portion of this work , I conceive , could have been proposed for us to supply than this Pulpit , whence the principles of Divine truth may be eloquently enunciated . Only here in this third recitation beforo the heathen Agrippa of the events of that wondrous turning of the heart of tho persecutor Saul from darkness to light aro these words recorded ;
spoken to him as they wero from the centre of the light of exceeding brilliancy which ontshone the light of even the midday sun . Prom that moment the whole current of his life was changed ; au entirely new future opened out before him ; that for whioh he was then commissioned to be the instrument of producing on other hearts was accomplished in his—he was turned from darkness to light . Of
course I am not forgetful that many among you , my brethren , will recognise our own symbolical use of these words , a use' justified by the whole tenour of the sacred volume , and perhaps nowhere more pointedly so than here . Let us think of this ; and first we remember how remarkably Light is used in the Bible as a symbol and type of God . From the time when first the creative voice of God
is heard sounding through the darkness of chaos , calling light into existence , down almost to the concluding words on the last page of the Book of Revelation , the symbolical meanings and uses of light are scattered broadcast over tho sacred p igo . Called first out of the darkness that brooded and hung over chaos , wo see light perfected at last in the city of God , the Grand Lodge above , wherein the
servants of God and of the Lamb shall know no light , neither shall need any candle nor light of the snn , for their light shall proceed from the centre of that glorious temple , where everlastingly dwells in effulgent beauty tho presence of the Lord God himself . And , as if to intensify this truth , we notice that the creation of light preceded in order of time the appointment of the greater light to
rule the day , or the lesser light to rule the night . Science also recognises this from her deductions . When the Almighty Being willed out of the depths of his own eternity to call forth into being a world in which His own life mi ght be manifested , He did so by bidding His own self-existent light first spread itself over the formless void ; and ever since , when He would
specially bring to the world He thus formed and to the human beings He then first made , the knowledge of His will , or the power of His majesty , or the sense of His love for sonls , it was by a special exhibition of His own uncreated light , exceeding in power and brilliancy even the light of the created snn . We see this light in the flaming sword of the avenging Angel of light that kept the way of the tree
of life at the symbolical east of the Garden of Eden ; we see it when the horror of great darkness fell upon Abram in his deep sleep , when his faith was failing , and it came to pass that when the sun went down , and it was dark , behold a smoking furnace , and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces of the sacrifice ; it was the con ° demning light of the All-holy One aud All pure . One , giving
warning of the punishment that should fall , as Jeremiah tells us , on those who should break the terms of the covenant made with the Most High ; we see it in the burning bush and the flame of fire , when the Lord appeared to Moses , and warned him that the place whereon he stood was holy ground ; we see it again , my brethren , in tho dazzling light that beamed from
Moses face , when he returned to the people from the presence of God ; we see it in the pillar of fire that led and protected the children of Israel in their journeys , the symbol and sian of the protecting Providence of God ; we see it too , I think , in the light of the Angel ascending in tbe flame of the altar of Manoah ' s sacrifice ; we see it in the translation of Elijah in the
midst of the divine light alive into heaven ; we see it , too , in onr Lord , when those two old Testament saints , who were so signally under its powers in their time , shared also the glory of the everlasting light on the Mount of the Transfiguration ; we recognise it again when tbe eye of the first martyr , St . Stephen , pierced straight through the cloud to the essential centre of being , and searching
round the light of the Eternal Presence , fixed itself on the glory of God ; and we see this special display of it , the great light from heaven , in the conversion of the persecuting Saul . Can we donbt that there is a light which essentially belongs to the being of God Himself , aud that when He would in some marked way commnnicate with His creatures , it is by this special manifestation of His own self ? Can
we donbt that there is indeed for us a light far exceeding that of the sun , eternal and everlasting , which , as it has over been , shall for ever shine forth , even thongh heaven and earth shall pass away , " shining more and moro unto the perfect day . " Yet still the word goes forth ' , Let there be light . " What means this ? There is tho thick cloud of spiritual ignorance and sin that man ' s sinful natnre has suffered to
brood over the bosom of the earth ; there is the denso veil of vice and immorality that man ' s perverted faculties and passions have drawn between himself and the Almighty God of love ; there are the chill and impenetrable mists of sorrow and of misery that yet envelope ^ each one of tho human race . To dispel and remove these has God ' s love ever striven ; every age has had its own summons to cast
off the works of darkness , and put on the armour of light . Yes , and every heart has had its own impulse to respond to thoso strivings within it of the Spirit of God , -which would have men everywhere to repent and turn to Him . " 0 , House of Jacob , come ye , and let ns walk in tho _ light of tbe Lord . " This , as it was Isaiah ' s appeal , is also the aspiration of every stricken heart in its moments of
awakening , as it symbolised the expectation and the hope of every devout Jew that ^' the Day-spring from on high would visit him , " and " the sun of Ri ghteousness arise with healing iu his wings . " Yon , my brethren in Masonry , know well when this waa the predominant wish of yonr hearts ; when in the darkness of ignorance , thongh buoyed up by hope , you stood in the centre from east to west , from north to
south , on the pavement of the world , beneath the blue vault and canopy of heaven . Then your wish was for " light . " You know well now , later on in your career , you were taught that by following the Precepts of your noble Order , you would be inspired with a holy conftdence that the Lord of Life will enable you to trample the King oi . terrors beneath your feet , and lift your eyes to that bright Morn-
Province Of Hertfordshire.
1 ing Star whose rising brines peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of tho hnman race . The turning from darkness to light is thus a change of the whole man from selfishness to love , from sin to God , for absence from God is darkness , presence with God is light , for God is light , and light is God . God is love , and love ia God , and the life of tho incarnate God is tho light of men . You will
perhaps ask me , therefore , do I not thus make Masonry a religion ? or exalt it into the place of one ? Let it be replied at once , we make no such claim for it , but , founded as a \\ ifca principles are on tho volume of tho sacred law ; being a system of morality , taught by allegory , and illustrated by symbol ; we hold that in the Bible alone is tho key to the interpretation of the allegories , and the
cine to the right meaning of the symbols . And if I read the teachings of Masonry aright , I am bold to assert that the high moral suggestions it continually affords are calculated not only to make the man who is already a Christian look with increased veneration and love npon the truths of the Gospel , and cling to them more closel y , but to make the stranger to Christianity crave that enlightenment
which nothing but God ' s revelation in Christ can effectually give him . If there is thns , as we know and feel , a power in Masonry when conscientiously and strictly followed , to turn men from darkness to light , it is not enough to-day that I shonld stop there . Standing in this sacred place , and invested , however nnworthily , with a sacred office , I may not hesitate in view of
the special occasion that has brought us together , to point to Him who has said of Himself , " I am the light of the world , " or to the gift of the spirit of God , the greatest display of God's own eternal light as the ono regenerating power of humanit y , better , far better , that Masonry had never existed than that the Gospel of Jesns Christ should waive any of its pretensions or bo
shorn of any of its glory . Masonry may be of use to the secular , moral , and social instincts of men ; the Gospel alone can save sonls , and provide for their eternal interests ; tho Holy Spirit of God can alone open our eyes and turn us from darkness to light . Bat this wo do say , that though the brotherhood of Masonry is distinctly a human and social association , and Christianity is emphatically a
divine religion , founded upon supernatural facts , having to do with eternal interests , seeking to restore fallen man from the misery and the darkness of sin , and to fit him to dwell in the happiness of tho light of God for ever , they nevertheless may exist together—tho human institution and the divine institntion ; the one immeasurably inferior to the other , it is true , yet serving as the handmaid ,
ministering secondary thongh powerful motives to induce men to lead Christian lives , affording hints by its symbolic teaching that may be helpful reminders of the love which the spiritual man professes for Christ's sake . Our blessed Lord , in his ministry on earth did both the divine and the human work , and does so still , and after his example we need not forego the spiritual work
because we recognise moral and social obligations , nor need our spiritual relations to Jesus Christ take us out of the world and its bonds of labour and social usefulness . We only claim that the Masonic brotherhood may help us , as that which is inferior being made helpful to attain that which is superior , to realise the obligations aud dnties of the Christian brotherhood more perfectly , for " he
that loveth not his brother whom ho hath seen , how can he Jove God whom he hath not seen ? " One bright light kindled and shining in our homes will transmit its rays to another , and this shall reproduce itself until from heart to heart , and from home to home , the light shall spread , and the darkness be dispelled . We need more sociality in our Christian brotherhood ; brother with brother striving together
for each other ' s welfare , clinging together in mutual love , because each is imbued with the love of God in Christ , one with another working as members of one family , brethren , fellow heirs of the same grace and hope , all taking heed together that the light that is in them be not darkness . Thus may the spirit of Masonry and the spirit of Christianity be united together to turn men from the darkness of
selfishness and sin to tho glorious light of God s own love and salvation . And , I ask , was not this the very principle that St . Paul himself , when faithfully fulfilling this his divino commission at Athens trusted to the turn of the overscrupulous Athenians from darkness to light ? He preached to them that " God hath mndo of one blood all nations of men , that all should
seek the Lord . " Their common humanity was the very reason that they shonld have but one Lord and one faith , and to preach this ono Lord and Him crucified , to teach this one faith , to tell of the one Spirit , is the divinely appointed means whereby men all over the world should be turned from darkness to light , and have their eyea opened to see the things that belong to their eternal peace . Preaching was
St . Paul ' s interpretation of the commission he received when anointed with that sudden blaze of heavenly light : " Wherefore , 0 King Agrippa , I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision , but showed first unto them at Damascus , and at Jerusalem , and throughout all the coasts of Judca , and then to the Gentiles , that they shonld repent and tm-n to God , and do works meet for repentance . " And this is
the work that is to go on now from this place . Thankful shonld we be that we havo been permitted to provide a pulpit more worthy of the work , more suitable from its magnificence for God's service , more appropriate to this noble building ; praying at the same time that those who shall henceforth speak for God to men from this place may have strength and power given them to touch men ' s hearts aud sonls :
that the word spoken by thoir months may have such snecees that it may never he spoken in vain ; and that those who hear may have grace to profit by tho word preached , and to bring forth fruit with holiness , remembering the promise of the Lord Jesns that" he that fol . Inwcth Me shall not walk in darkness , bnt shall have the light of life . " Yes , my brethren , there is an illumination of the heart for which all
shonld crave , and there is this One , gentle in speech , tender in manners , loving in heart , who has declared himself the enlightener of all who come to him . Ho is . the subject of our preaching . It matters not to what stage of the spiritual life we have yet attained , we all need that li ght to guide us more and more unto the perfect day . Let not year by year go by , and find us listening to the same appeals ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Province Of Hertfordshire.
turn men from darkness to light ; and no fitter portion of this work , I conceive , could have been proposed for us to supply than this Pulpit , whence the principles of Divine truth may be eloquently enunciated . Only here in this third recitation beforo the heathen Agrippa of the events of that wondrous turning of the heart of tho persecutor Saul from darkness to light aro these words recorded ;
spoken to him as they wero from the centre of the light of exceeding brilliancy which ontshone the light of even the midday sun . Prom that moment the whole current of his life was changed ; au entirely new future opened out before him ; that for whioh he was then commissioned to be the instrument of producing on other hearts was accomplished in his—he was turned from darkness to light . Of
course I am not forgetful that many among you , my brethren , will recognise our own symbolical use of these words , a use' justified by the whole tenour of the sacred volume , and perhaps nowhere more pointedly so than here . Let us think of this ; and first we remember how remarkably Light is used in the Bible as a symbol and type of God . From the time when first the creative voice of God
is heard sounding through the darkness of chaos , calling light into existence , down almost to the concluding words on the last page of the Book of Revelation , the symbolical meanings and uses of light are scattered broadcast over tho sacred p igo . Called first out of the darkness that brooded and hung over chaos , wo see light perfected at last in the city of God , the Grand Lodge above , wherein the
servants of God and of the Lamb shall know no light , neither shall need any candle nor light of the snn , for their light shall proceed from the centre of that glorious temple , where everlastingly dwells in effulgent beauty tho presence of the Lord God himself . And , as if to intensify this truth , we notice that the creation of light preceded in order of time the appointment of the greater light to
rule the day , or the lesser light to rule the night . Science also recognises this from her deductions . When the Almighty Being willed out of the depths of his own eternity to call forth into being a world in which His own life mi ght be manifested , He did so by bidding His own self-existent light first spread itself over the formless void ; and ever since , when He would
specially bring to the world He thus formed and to the human beings He then first made , the knowledge of His will , or the power of His majesty , or the sense of His love for sonls , it was by a special exhibition of His own uncreated light , exceeding in power and brilliancy even the light of the created snn . We see this light in the flaming sword of the avenging Angel of light that kept the way of the tree
of life at the symbolical east of the Garden of Eden ; we see it when the horror of great darkness fell upon Abram in his deep sleep , when his faith was failing , and it came to pass that when the sun went down , and it was dark , behold a smoking furnace , and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces of the sacrifice ; it was the con ° demning light of the All-holy One aud All pure . One , giving
warning of the punishment that should fall , as Jeremiah tells us , on those who should break the terms of the covenant made with the Most High ; we see it in the burning bush and the flame of fire , when the Lord appeared to Moses , and warned him that the place whereon he stood was holy ground ; we see it again , my brethren , in tho dazzling light that beamed from
Moses face , when he returned to the people from the presence of God ; we see it in the pillar of fire that led and protected the children of Israel in their journeys , the symbol and sian of the protecting Providence of God ; we see it too , I think , in the light of the Angel ascending in tbe flame of the altar of Manoah ' s sacrifice ; we see it in the translation of Elijah in the
midst of the divine light alive into heaven ; we see it , too , in onr Lord , when those two old Testament saints , who were so signally under its powers in their time , shared also the glory of the everlasting light on the Mount of the Transfiguration ; we recognise it again when tbe eye of the first martyr , St . Stephen , pierced straight through the cloud to the essential centre of being , and searching
round the light of the Eternal Presence , fixed itself on the glory of God ; and we see this special display of it , the great light from heaven , in the conversion of the persecuting Saul . Can we donbt that there is a light which essentially belongs to the being of God Himself , aud that when He would in some marked way commnnicate with His creatures , it is by this special manifestation of His own self ? Can
we donbt that there is indeed for us a light far exceeding that of the sun , eternal and everlasting , which , as it has over been , shall for ever shine forth , even thongh heaven and earth shall pass away , " shining more and moro unto the perfect day . " Yet still the word goes forth ' , Let there be light . " What means this ? There is tho thick cloud of spiritual ignorance and sin that man ' s sinful natnre has suffered to
brood over the bosom of the earth ; there is the denso veil of vice and immorality that man ' s perverted faculties and passions have drawn between himself and the Almighty God of love ; there are the chill and impenetrable mists of sorrow and of misery that yet envelope ^ each one of tho human race . To dispel and remove these has God ' s love ever striven ; every age has had its own summons to cast
off the works of darkness , and put on the armour of light . Yes , and every heart has had its own impulse to respond to thoso strivings within it of the Spirit of God , -which would have men everywhere to repent and turn to Him . " 0 , House of Jacob , come ye , and let ns walk in tho _ light of tbe Lord . " This , as it was Isaiah ' s appeal , is also the aspiration of every stricken heart in its moments of
awakening , as it symbolised the expectation and the hope of every devout Jew that ^' the Day-spring from on high would visit him , " and " the sun of Ri ghteousness arise with healing iu his wings . " Yon , my brethren in Masonry , know well when this waa the predominant wish of yonr hearts ; when in the darkness of ignorance , thongh buoyed up by hope , you stood in the centre from east to west , from north to
south , on the pavement of the world , beneath the blue vault and canopy of heaven . Then your wish was for " light . " You know well now , later on in your career , you were taught that by following the Precepts of your noble Order , you would be inspired with a holy conftdence that the Lord of Life will enable you to trample the King oi . terrors beneath your feet , and lift your eyes to that bright Morn-
Province Of Hertfordshire.
1 ing Star whose rising brines peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of tho hnman race . The turning from darkness to light is thus a change of the whole man from selfishness to love , from sin to God , for absence from God is darkness , presence with God is light , for God is light , and light is God . God is love , and love ia God , and the life of tho incarnate God is tho light of men . You will
perhaps ask me , therefore , do I not thus make Masonry a religion ? or exalt it into the place of one ? Let it be replied at once , we make no such claim for it , but , founded as a \\ ifca principles are on tho volume of tho sacred law ; being a system of morality , taught by allegory , and illustrated by symbol ; we hold that in the Bible alone is tho key to the interpretation of the allegories , and the
cine to the right meaning of the symbols . And if I read the teachings of Masonry aright , I am bold to assert that the high moral suggestions it continually affords are calculated not only to make the man who is already a Christian look with increased veneration and love npon the truths of the Gospel , and cling to them more closel y , but to make the stranger to Christianity crave that enlightenment
which nothing but God ' s revelation in Christ can effectually give him . If there is thns , as we know and feel , a power in Masonry when conscientiously and strictly followed , to turn men from darkness to light , it is not enough to-day that I shonld stop there . Standing in this sacred place , and invested , however nnworthily , with a sacred office , I may not hesitate in view of
the special occasion that has brought us together , to point to Him who has said of Himself , " I am the light of the world , " or to the gift of the spirit of God , the greatest display of God's own eternal light as the ono regenerating power of humanit y , better , far better , that Masonry had never existed than that the Gospel of Jesns Christ should waive any of its pretensions or bo
shorn of any of its glory . Masonry may be of use to the secular , moral , and social instincts of men ; the Gospel alone can save sonls , and provide for their eternal interests ; tho Holy Spirit of God can alone open our eyes and turn us from darkness to light . Bat this wo do say , that though the brotherhood of Masonry is distinctly a human and social association , and Christianity is emphatically a
divine religion , founded upon supernatural facts , having to do with eternal interests , seeking to restore fallen man from the misery and the darkness of sin , and to fit him to dwell in the happiness of tho light of God for ever , they nevertheless may exist together—tho human institution and the divine institntion ; the one immeasurably inferior to the other , it is true , yet serving as the handmaid ,
ministering secondary thongh powerful motives to induce men to lead Christian lives , affording hints by its symbolic teaching that may be helpful reminders of the love which the spiritual man professes for Christ's sake . Our blessed Lord , in his ministry on earth did both the divine and the human work , and does so still , and after his example we need not forego the spiritual work
because we recognise moral and social obligations , nor need our spiritual relations to Jesus Christ take us out of the world and its bonds of labour and social usefulness . We only claim that the Masonic brotherhood may help us , as that which is inferior being made helpful to attain that which is superior , to realise the obligations aud dnties of the Christian brotherhood more perfectly , for " he
that loveth not his brother whom ho hath seen , how can he Jove God whom he hath not seen ? " One bright light kindled and shining in our homes will transmit its rays to another , and this shall reproduce itself until from heart to heart , and from home to home , the light shall spread , and the darkness be dispelled . We need more sociality in our Christian brotherhood ; brother with brother striving together
for each other ' s welfare , clinging together in mutual love , because each is imbued with the love of God in Christ , one with another working as members of one family , brethren , fellow heirs of the same grace and hope , all taking heed together that the light that is in them be not darkness . Thus may the spirit of Masonry and the spirit of Christianity be united together to turn men from the darkness of
selfishness and sin to tho glorious light of God s own love and salvation . And , I ask , was not this the very principle that St . Paul himself , when faithfully fulfilling this his divino commission at Athens trusted to the turn of the overscrupulous Athenians from darkness to light ? He preached to them that " God hath mndo of one blood all nations of men , that all should
seek the Lord . " Their common humanity was the very reason that they shonld have but one Lord and one faith , and to preach this ono Lord and Him crucified , to teach this one faith , to tell of the one Spirit , is the divinely appointed means whereby men all over the world should be turned from darkness to light , and have their eyea opened to see the things that belong to their eternal peace . Preaching was
St . Paul ' s interpretation of the commission he received when anointed with that sudden blaze of heavenly light : " Wherefore , 0 King Agrippa , I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision , but showed first unto them at Damascus , and at Jerusalem , and throughout all the coasts of Judca , and then to the Gentiles , that they shonld repent and tm-n to God , and do works meet for repentance . " And this is
the work that is to go on now from this place . Thankful shonld we be that we havo been permitted to provide a pulpit more worthy of the work , more suitable from its magnificence for God's service , more appropriate to this noble building ; praying at the same time that those who shall henceforth speak for God to men from this place may have strength and power given them to touch men ' s hearts aud sonls :
that the word spoken by thoir months may have such snecees that it may never he spoken in vain ; and that those who hear may have grace to profit by tho word preached , and to bring forth fruit with holiness , remembering the promise of the Lord Jesns that" he that fol . Inwcth Me shall not walk in darkness , bnt shall have the light of life . " Yes , my brethren , there is an illumination of the heart for which all
shonld crave , and there is this One , gentle in speech , tender in manners , loving in heart , who has declared himself the enlightener of all who come to him . Ho is . the subject of our preaching . It matters not to what stage of the spiritual life we have yet attained , we all need that li ght to guide us more and more unto the perfect day . Let not year by year go by , and find us listening to the same appeals ,