[No. X.]

MASONIC.

FOR THE MASONIC REGISTER.

BROTHER PRATT,

SOLOMON.

[VOL. I.]

Ignorance and error are the bane of society. The want of ideas, or the misapplication of them, has produced much evil and misery in the world. These form the foundation on which is built bigotry, prejudice, and uncharit

No. 5, and a respectable audience, in Zanesville, Ohio, Dec. 27, 1819, by the Rev. David Young; which, being delivered by one who is not a Mason, is entitled to double weight, with those who are prejudiced against Masonry. We, members of said Amity lodge, have furnished you with a copy of said sermon, as it has never appeared in print, hoping you will give it a place in your Masonic Register.

DAVID SPANGLer, JOHN BUTLER.

DISCOURSE.

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, see, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

Exodus xxxi, 1--5.

rect their shafts against deep research, and uncommon genius or great good

ness.

Who has forgotten the thraldom of poor Galileo, for simply maintaining that the earth turned upon its own axis, or the more astonishing madness of the Jews against the author of our holy religion. Not to multiply examples, it seems plainly inferable from the subject before us, that the cotemporaries of Moses were in this respect like other men, otherwise we can see no necessity for "the Lord speaking unto Moses," &c., had it not been to remove their ignorance of the great source of genius, and turn away their natural envy from Bezaleel, the chosen constructor of the ark of the tabernacle.

In the prosecution of this subject, we shall, in the first place, give you a loose exposition of that part of the text which seems obscure.

Verse 2. I have called by name Bezaleel. The meaning of which is,

I have placed him under my special protection, and made him superintendent of the whole work.

Verse 3. I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom: wisdom here denotes to be wise, skilful, or prudent. It signifies the compass of mind, and strength of capacity necessary to form a wise man; hence we with propriety say, wisdom, the power of judging what is wise, or best to be

done.

"Understanding." The capacity to comprehend the different parts of the whole; to separate, distingush, discern, connect, and arrange, until the frame be complete.

Knowledge." "This denotes a particular acquaintance with, or, of a person or thing: practical or experimental knowledge.

Verse 4. Cunning works. Works of invention, or genius in the gold and silvers mith line,

Verse 5. In cutting of stones, &c. Every thing that concerns the lapidaries', jewellers', and carvers' arts.

This is all we think necessary by way of explication. The doctrine we deduce from this subject is, that God is the author of arts and sciences; for if God inspire men with mechanical skill and scientific genius, then it will follow of course, that he is the author of those arts and sciences produced by that inspiration. At this conclusion you seem surprised, but remember, Noah's ark, and the ark of the tabernacle, together with Solomon's temple, were all erected by the special appointment of God. Infinite wisdom discovers their usefulness to

How directly does the prophet Isaiah refer to this sort of teaching as coming from God, even in the most common and less difficult arts of life. "Doth the ploughman plough all day to sew? Doth he open and break the clods of the ground? when he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches and scatter the cummin, and cast the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their place, for his God doth INSTRUCT him-Bread corn is bruised-This also cometh from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in council, and excellent in working." Isaiah xxviii, 24-29. We go further still, and not only affirm that God inspires men of genius, qualifiying them to invent, or improve those arts and sciences which are necessary, but that he inspires them for the execution of those of an ornamental kind. For the Lord said unto Moses, "thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron, thy brother, for glory (honour) and for beauty." See Exodus, chapter xxviii, verse 2, where it is added, "Speak to all the wisehearted whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they For, may make Aaron's garments." notwithstanding mankind never appear in a more contemptible point of view, than when ornament and decoration form their chief aim, yet, let any man contrast an old Jewish sandal with a modern pair of boots, or compare the dress of a real savage with a decent coat, and say if the mere badges of refinement are not grounds for gratitude to the Most High.

It is not intended, in the text last

ness inspire men to construct them. Thus we all may see with Moses, men that are wise-hearted, whom God has filled with wisdom for these very purposes, that he might help man by man, and that, as time rolls on, he might grant his intelligent creatures such proofs of his wisdom and providence as should cause them to render him that glory which is due to his

great name.

the spirit of wisdom for this purpose only; for the direction to Moses was to select those whom he found to be expert artists, and those who were such, God shows by these words, had derived their knowledge from himself. The labour of men and beasts has been exceedingly lessened by improvements on machinery, and whose hardihood prepares him to say, that the wisdom

which sought out these improvements, did not come from God? No possible reading or study can form such a genius: we say it was born with the man; Moses teaches us to consider it divine.

Who taught Newton to ascertain the laws by which God governs the universe? through which discovery a new source of profit and pleasure has been opened to mankind in every part of the civilized world. This principle, that God is the author of all arts and sciences, is too little regarded; for we have the authority of St. James, who affirms, "that every good and perfect gift cometh down from the FATHER OF LIGHTS, with whom there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning. Men of great genius and expanded minds, have, from the works of creation, drawn a profusion of proofs -overwhelming proofs, both of the being and attributes of God. We can but just refer you to the philosophical works of Derham, Bonnet, and the arch-bishop of Cambray. Who gave

these men this wisdom? God, from whom alone MIND, and all its attributes proceed. The doctrine we have raised from the text will further appear to be too little regarded, if we deliberately set down and survey Buffon, while he examines and traces all the curious laws and relations of the animal kingdom; Tournefort, the vegetable, and a host of philosophical chemists, from Theophrastus, down to Black, the mineralist. The latent properties of vegetables and minerals which they have developed; the powerful machines constructed by their discoveries, by which the human slave is restored to his own place, and our beasts of burden exchanged for steam, the lever and dashing wheels. Now, we cannot help exclaiming, the hand of God is in all this!

It was the Most High who girded these men, though many of them know him not, they were inspired by him, and to them he opened the paths to the depths of science, and made them his ministers of good to mankind.

And if it should be said, "some of these men stained their lives with vice," what then? are we not profiting day by day through the medium of their researches? If they did not profit by the genius with which they were inspired, it only proves that invention and grace are two things, but leaves us in possession of our proposition, that God is the author of arts and sciences, though men may abuse their end, or disregard their author.

The same may be said of the discernment and penetration of the medalist and antiquary, these come from God alone; they are his agents, by whom the dark ages of the world have been brought to light. A few manuscripts, busts, stones, coins, and culinary utensils, by them have been made to tell, like written documents, the history of man and of providence. The providence that preserved, and the genius that deciphers these materials, call aloud for gratitude to the Author of every good and perfect gift. This last might be greatly extended, and of them all we might say, as Moses did of Bezaleel, in the text: "God has filed them with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." On the principle we wish to establish, you will be furnished with a clue by which to remove a difficulty in theology respecting inspiration and inspired men. You cannot deny that God inspired Isaiah and Jeremiah, (for instance) though there is a surprising difference in the manner of those authors. Now, with us, admit that inspiration is two-fold, that the sacred writer was inspired with the subject matter of his communication, and that his genius was born with him, by which the manner will be determined. On this principle we admit these prophets, both to have published eternal truths, and also account for the lofty boldness of Isaiah, and see the source of the melancholy

softness of Jeremiah. The truth for which we contend is not novel, though so generally disregarded by mankind. For darkly ignorant as the heathens were, yet they admitted that talents, and the seeds of arts and sciences come from God. Homer attributes such genius and arts as we have mentioned, to Minerva and Vulcan. (Ody. 1. 6. v. 232.)

"As by some artist to whom Vulcan gives His skill divine, a breathing statue lives. By Pallas taught, he frames the wondrous mould,

And o'er the silver pours the fusile gold."

POPE:

The wisest man that ever lived, long before, spoke more to the point when he said, "I, Wisdom, dwell with Prudence, and find out knowledge of witty invention."

Having, we presume, established the origin of genius, arts and sciences, it would be pleasing, had we time, to reflect on the use made of them by moral philosophers. They have shown us the relations in which we stand to our great Creator, and our fellow men. They have demonstrated that vice is not only hateful in its own nature, but that it entails misery on its perpetrators, and that virtue gives rewards to those who follow her ways. Such reflections are calculated to enlarge our minds, as well as to expand our hearts. We are not only bound to be grateful for this source of pleasure and felicity, but for every source of health and lawful pleasure which convenience affords. The most useful and permanent of all our earthly pleasures and blessings, are derived directly, or indirectly, from mechanical skill. The great difference between the savage and the civilized, lies between the wigwam and the comfortable house. Give the sick man his medicine, the hungry man his food, but let the man who is to enjoy the conveniencies and sinless pleasures of this life, repair to a house of temperance, well furnished, which is impossible without mechani

cal skill, or the advantages of Operative Masonry.

This science in its origin, nature, and advantages, has been maintained by its real friends, from Solomon down to Christopher Wren and Inigo Jones. All that is necessary, has been said on this subject; but taking into view the time and occasion on which we are assembled, it may not be deemed irrelevant to offer, to this assembly, a few thoughts on the origin, nature, and design of Speculative Masonry. This we define to be "the constitution and laws by which the Masonic fraternity are organized and governed, as Free and Accepted Masons." On examining the history of the building of the temple, it seems impossible not to admit that the workman were regularly organized, and governed in harmony and peace. What then is more natural than that those men, (to go no further back) should have formed friendships after the temple was completed, and associated themselves together for benevolent purposes, as Masons do at this day. If this be admitted, and some think it can be demonstrated, we have no difficulty about the origin of speculative Masonry, which can make us hesitate in determining it to be of longer standing than the gospel dispensation. It is the nature of this institution to cement by charitable bands, each of its own members to all the rest, on the principle that they are "good and true;" taking special pains that none but such shall be admitted among them. Perhaps this, like many other human institutions, fails by time. In the reign of James II, an apprentice had to be no bastard, no bondsman, of a good kindred, and free born and true.* Is there the same attention paid to the admission of apprentices now? There is no difference between good and bad laws, if neither are enforced. The design of Masonry is to illuminate the minds, and enlarge the hearts of men. It teaches moral

* Vide Webb's new and improved edition of the Mason's Monitor, page 97.