mouth of the LORD. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart, from turning unto the LORD God of Israel. Moreover, all the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much, after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the LORD, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to him by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age; he gave them all into his band. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword car ried he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia. given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah: Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (he is the God) which is in Jerusalem." EXODUS iii, 13, 14. "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto MoI AM THAT 1 AM: and he ses, said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." PSALM CXli. "Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity; and let me, not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil which shall not break my head; for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. But mine eyes are unto thee, O Gop the LORD: in thee is my trust leave not my soul destitute. Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape." PSALM CXlii. "I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me." PSALM CXliii. "Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant : for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old, I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. Í stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning: for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine ene mies: I flee unto thee, to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake : for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant." EXODUS iv, 1-9. "And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent: and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD GOD of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom ; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again, and plucked it out of his bosom; and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water, which thou takest out of the river, shall become blood upon the dry land." Kk k HAGGAI ii, 1-9, 23. "In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. "In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. ZECHARIAH iv, 6—10. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it. Moreover, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, his hands shall also finish it: and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they chall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth." JOHN i, 1-5. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not. DEUTERONOMY xxxi, 24-26. "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee." EXODUS XXV, 21. “And thou shalt put the mercyseat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee." EXODUS XVI, 32-34. "And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it, to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. As the LORD COM MASONIC handed Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept." NUMBERS Xvii, 10. "And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not." HEBREWS ix, 2-5. And "For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shew-bread; which is called The Sanctuary. after the second veil the tabernacle, which is called The Holiest of all Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had nanna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." AMOS ix, 11. "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I || will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old." EXODUS vi, 2, 3. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: Ánd I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. The following particulars relative to king Solomon's Temple, may with propriety be here introduced, and cannot fail to be interesting to all classes of readers, and particularly so to royal arch Masons. "This famous fabric was situated on Mount Moriah, near the place where Abraham was about to offer up his son Isaac, and where David met and appeased the destroying Angel. It was begun in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon; the third after the death of David; four hundred and eighty years after the passage of the Red Sea, and on the second day of the month Zif, being the second month of the sacred year, which answers to the 21st of April, in the year of the world 2992, and was carried on with such prodigious speed, that it was finished, in all its parts, in little more than seven years. "By the masonic art, and the wise of regulations of Solomon, every part the building, whether of stone, brick, timber, or metal, was wrought and prepared before they were brought to Jerusalem; so that the only tools made use of in erecting the fabric were wooden instruments prepared for that purpose. The noise of the ax, the hammer, and every other tool of metal, was confined to the forests of Lebanon, where the timber was procured, and to Mount Libanus, and the plains and quarries of Zeredathah, where the stones were raised, squared, marked and numbered; that nothing might be heard among the masons at Jerusalem, but harmony and peace. "In the year of the world 3029, King Solomon died, and was succeeded by his son Rehoboam." Shortly after this, with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat at their head, ten of the tribes revolted, and established a separate kingdom. Thus divided, the tribes of Israel continued under two distinct governments, two hundred and fifty-four years; when the ten revolted tribes became weak and degenerated, and their country was laid waste, their government overthrown, and extirpated by Salmanezer, the Assyrian king. After a series of changes, Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and after a defence of a year and a half, it was surrendered, and delivered to the officers of Nebuchadnezzar, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. The temple was sack ed and destroyed, all the holy vessels, together with the two famous brazen pillars, were taken away, and the remnant of the people who escaped the sword, were carried away captives to Babylon; where they remained servants to Nebuchadnezzar, and his successors, till the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, who, in the first year of his reign, being influenced and directed by the same divine power by which he was invisibly led to the throne of Persia, issued an edict for the liberation of the captive Jews, with permission to return to Jerusalem, and rebuild the city, and house of the Lord. The principal people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with the Priests and Levites, immediately departed, and commenced the glorious work; many of the Jews, however, rather than relinquish the possessions they had obtained in Babylon, determined to remain there. CHARGE TO A NEWLY EXALTED COMPANION. "Worthy Companion, "By the consent and assistance of the members of this chapter, you are now exalted to the sublime and honourable degree of a royal arch Mason. "Having attained this degree, you have arrived at the summit and perfection of ancient masonry; and are consequently entitled to a full explanation of the mysteries of the order. "The rites and mysteries developed in this degree have been handed down through a chosen few, unchanged by time, and uncontrolled by prejudice; and we expect and trust, they will be regarded by you with the same veneration, and transmitted with the same scrupulous purity to your successors. "No one can reflect on the ceremonies of gaining admission into this place, without being forcibly struck with the important lessons which they teach. "Here we are necessarily led to contemplate with gratitude and admi ation the sacred source from whence all earthly comforts flow; here we find additional inducements to continue steadfast and immoveable in the discharge of our respective duties; and here we are bound, by the most solemn ties, to promote each other's welfare, and correct each other's failings, by advice, admonition, and reproof. "As it is our most earnest desire, and a duty we owe to our companions of this order, that the admission of every candidate into this chapter shall be attended by the approbation of the most scrutinizing eye, we hope always to possess the satisfaction of finding none amongst us, but such as will promote to the utmost of their power the great end of our institution. By pay ing due attention to this determination, we expect you will never recommend any candidate to this chapter, whose abilities, and knowledge of the foregoing degrees, you cannot freely vouch for, and whom you do not firmly and confidently believe, will fully conform to the principles of our order, and fulfil the obligations of a royal arch Mason. While such are our members, we may expect to be united in one object, without lukewarmness, inattention, or neglect; but zeal, fidelity, and affection, will be the distinguishing characteristics of our society, and that satisfaction, harmony, and peace, may be enjoyed at our meetings, which no other society can afford." CLOSING. The chapter is closed with solemn ceremonies; and the following prayer is rehearsed by the most excellent high priest: "By the Wisdom of the Supreme High Priest may we be directed, by his Strength may we be enabled, and by the Beauty of virtue may we be incited, to perform the obligations here enjoined on us; to keep inviolably the mysteries here unfolded to us; and invariably to practise all those duties |