were directed to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the tabernacle of the congregation, although it was the duty of the Levites to bear it on their shoulders; but this was impracticable here, because they were precluded from entering even into the Holy Place, much less were they capable of intruding into the Sanctum Sanctorum, which would have been a defilement of sufficient magnitude to vitiate all the proceedings, and elicit the summary vengeance of God. Solomon was a pious prince, and intimately acquainted with all religious observances. It is not, therefore, to be supposed that he would allow any infringement of the lawful rites necessary to be used on this great occasion. The Levites might be permitted to carry it, as well as the holy vessels, from its present restingplace in the city of David to the Temple; but at the external avenues thereof their mission ended; and the priests conveyed it into the Oracle, and placed it under the wings of the golden cherubims made by Solomon, which were stretched out from one side of the Sanctum to the other. But this was before that Most Holy Place was sanctified by the appearance of the Divine glory; for after that, the High Priest alone was permitted to enter, and he only once a year. When the priests had thus deposited the ark in its proper position, and had retired from the sacred locality, 4,000 Levites, accompanied by the players on musical instruments, sang the holy anthem

"Praise Jehovah! The Lord is good! His

remission, for the expiation festival extended from the third day to the tenth; and the feast of tabernacles, commencing on the fifteenth, closed on the twenty-second.

mercy endureth for ever!" Then it was that the divine Shekinah was manifested from the thick dark cloud which adumbrated the Temple; the glory of the Lord appeared as an intense electric light which dazzled the eyes of the beholders, and finally settled on the Ark of the Covenant.3

It may not be altogether useless to add that the Ark of the Covenant was a chest made of Shittim wood, or acacia, covered with plates of gold: 2 cubits in length, 1 cubit wide, and the same in height. All round the top of it ran a golden crown, and two cherubims of the same metal were placed upon the cover, which was called the Mercy Seat, with their wings stretched towards each other, forming a magnificent throne where Jehovah was considered to be permanently seated. In an old Masonic manuscript Ritual in my possession I find the following exposition of the ark and its cover: "What do the two cherubs over the Mercy Seat point out to us? Those two cherubs looking one towards the other indicates their mutual love, concord, and harmony. Their looking down on the Mercy Seat, where the glory of God shone, denotes that angels as well as men cannot look on the face of God and live, unless it is reflected by the mercy of Christ our Mediator. What do their wings denote? Their wings being stretched out denote their swiftness in doing the will of God. Their faces looking downwards show their readiness to be employed as minis

3 In a certain subsidiary degree of Masonry this circumstance is celebrated, and the subsequent proceedings recorded by quotations from 2 Chron. vii. viii.

tering spirits to such as should be saved, that they may be directed into the paths of Christ the Lord of Glory."

Thus the sanctuary and altar were consecrated by fire from heaven-the same divine Shekinah descending upon them as had already sanctified the sacrifices of Abraham and David; and thus the three Grand Offerings were accepted and rendered perfect by the visible testimony of Jehovah himself. Throughout two whole weeks the festival was sustained. The victims bled upon the altars, and the people rejoiced in their prolonged holiday. When the prescribed time expired, Solomon took his leave of the people; and they returned thanks for his munificent kindness, and prayed that God would shower down blessings upon him and make his reign prosperous.

E

LECTURE XII.

JUST.

"Clear'd was my mental eye; I saw each grace
And each protecting genius of the place:
Friendship, on wing ethereal flying round,

Stretch'd out her arm, and blest the hallow'd ground;
Humanity, well pleased, there took her stand,
Holding her daughter, Pity, by the hand;
There, Charity, which soothes the widow's sigh,
And wipes the dew-drop from the orphan's eye;
There stood Benevolence, whose large embrace
Uncircumscrib'd took in the human race.

MASONIC PRologue.

THE Triad, Just-Perfect-Regular, is mentioned in the Ritual as being characteristic of a Lodge of Masons, and I shall therefore devote this and the following Lecture to its illustration; because it will be necessary to have a correct preliminary understanding of what a Lodge really is, before we proceed to examine its interior contents, and institute an inquiry into its peculiar Triads, Types, and Landmarks. In its most elementary form a Lodge may be described as a space enclosed between four walls, whether in a tavern or any more private locality, for the use of any exclusive society of men who assemble together for mutual instruction and other purposes at stated seasons of the year. But such a definition will by no means satisfy the conditions which the

fraternity are willing to accept as a true picture of a Lodge of Masons. The subject must be fathomed more deeply before its genuine meaning can be discovered; for, though the surface be sifted ever so minutely, it will afford little light to direct our inquiry. The above delineation may, in a certain sense, be true, but it is too restricted and commonplace to be received as the legitimate interpretation, and we must look beyond a physical medium if we would find the esoteric meaning which ought to be placed on the phrase-a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.

The true idea of a Lodge, then, may be conveyed by the definition of an assembly of true and faithful Brothers, who have congregated and united themselves together in the bond of friendship and brotherly love for the several purposes of improving their moral character, employing themselves in the advancement of scientific knowledge, and promoting the development of benevolence for the relief of widows, orphans, and worthy decayed members of a common order; being bound and knit together in an indissoluble chain of sincere affection, and acting under the auspices of a General Grand Lodge, which is invested with authority as a representative assembly, to exhort, rebuke, and punish refractory members and others whose conduct is alien to the general designs of Masonry.

All communities of men who have associated themselves for mutual protection and mutual benefit, must necessarily be subject to some code of laws for the furtherance of their common interests, and to