THE THREE SCRIPTURE READINGS
In almost all of the Jurisdictions of the United States the Volume of
the Scared Law is open at the 133rd Psalm in the First Degree, at the
Seventh Chapter of Amos in the second degree and at the Twelfth
Chapter of Ecclesiastes in the third degree.
British Freemasons open their Bible in the first degree at Ruth iv:7:
“Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning
redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man
plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the
testimony in Israel.”
In the second degree, the English use Judges xii:6:
“Then said they unto him, Say Now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth;
for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him,
and slew him at the passages of Jordan; and there fell at that time
of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.”
In the third degree the Masons of the British Jurisdiction open the
Bible at I Kings vii:13-14:
And King Solomon sent forth and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a
Widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of
Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom, and
understanding, and came to King Solomon, and wrought all his work.”
Various other passages have been used at different times; the account
of Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac in the first degree; I Kings
vi:8, and again at II Chronicles iii:17 in the second degree; and
Amos v:25,26 and II Chronicles vi:14,15 (the prayer of King Solomon
at the dedication of the Temple) during the third degree.
Whether any of these passage are more appropriate than those almost
universally in use in this country is a matter of opinion. Ours have
to us the sanctity of long use, the sacredness of the familiar, and
he would be a bold man indeed, who would try to change them. Alas,
many who would fight vigorously for their retention understand them
not; the grasshopper and the almond tree, the plumb line of the Lord
and dew of Herman are still sealed mysteries to many Masons, although
their interpretation is as beautiful as it is simple.
The 133rd Psalm used in an Entered Apprentice’s lodge reads as
follows:
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts
of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended
upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord Commanded the
Blessing, even life for evermore.”
Unity is an essential in a Masonic Lodge; unity of thought, of
intention and of execution. It is but another word for harmony,
which Freemasons are taught “is the strength and support of all well
regulated institutions, especially this of ours.” Dew is nature’s
blessing where rain is little in quantity, and the dew of Hermon is
proverbially heavy. Israel poured precious ointments on the heads of
those people honored; that which “went down to skirts of his
garments” was evidently great in quantity, significant of the honor
paid to Aaron, personification of the high priesthood, representative
of the solidity of his group. The whole passage is a glorification
of the beauty of brotherly love, which is why it is a part of the
entered Apprentice’s Degree, in which the initiate is first
introduced to that principle tenet of the Fraternity.
“Thus he shewed me; and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a
plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said unto
me, Amos, what seest thou” And I said, a Plumbline. Then said the
Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people
Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” (Amos vii:7,8)
The vital and important part is that the Lord set a plumbline “in the
midst of his people Israel.” He did not propose to judge them by a
plumbline afar off, in another land, in high Heaven, but here - here
“in the midst” of them.
This is of intense interest to the Fellowcraft Mason, since it
teaches him how he should judge his own work - and, more important,
how he should judge the work of others.
Presumably plumblines hang alike. Presumably, all Plumbs, like all
Squares and all Levels, are equally accurate. Yet a man may use a
tool, thinking it accurate, which to another is not true. If the
tools of building and the tools of judging be not alike, either the
judgment must inaccurate, or the judgment should take into
consideration the tool by which the work was done.
By the touch system a blind man may learn to write upon a typewriter.
If a loosened type drops from the type bar when the blind man strikes
the letter “e” he will make but a little black smudge upon the paper.
It would not be reasonable to criticize the blind man for imperfect
work as he has no means of knowing that his tool was faulty. If the
smudges which stand for the letter “e” are all in the right places,
then it is obvious that in spite of his handicap the blind man has
perfectly operated his machine. This is a judgment by a plumbline
“in the midst” of the man and his work. If, however, the paper with
the smudged letters “e” was examined by one who knew nothing of the
workman’s blindness or nothing of his typewriter, doubtless he would
judge it as imperfect.
The builders of the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower in Paris
both used plumblines accurate to the level of the latitude on which
these structures stand. Both are at right angles with sea level.
Yet, to some observer on the moon, equipped with a strong telescope,
these towers would not appear parallel. As they are in different
latitudes they rise from the surface of the earth at an angle to each
other.
Doubtless he who engineered the Monument would protest that the
Memorial to Washington was right and the French Engineer’s Tower
wrong. Knowing his plumbline was accurate, the Frenchman would
believe the monument crooked. But the Great Architect, we may hope,
would think both right, knowing each was perfect by the plumb by
which it was erected. Thus the lesson from Amos is that we are to
judge our work by our own plumblines, not by another’s; if we erect
that which is good work, true work, square work by our own working
tools - in other words, by our own standard - we will do well. Only
when a Fellowcraft is false to his own conscience is he building
other than fair and straight.
Of all the quotations, allusions, facts and names from the Great
Light which are a part of the Masonic ritual, none has a more secure
place in the hearts of the brethren than the first seven verses from
Ecclesiastes xii.
Of the two favorite interpretations of Biblical commentators, one
makes this dramatic passage a description of old age and senile
decay; the other a reference to the seldom experienced and much
feared thunder storm in Palestine.
The physical interpretation may be most easily considered verse by
verse:
1. “Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the
evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt
say, I have no pleasure in them”.
2. “While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not
darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:”
The darkening of light and luminaries refer to coming blindness
or extreme near-sightedness, and the clouds which return after
the rain to a continuation of poor sight, even after much
weeping.
3. “In the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and
the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease
because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be
darkened.”
The keepers of the house are the hands which tremble with palsy
in old age. The strong men are the legs which become bowed with
the years. The grinders which cease because they are few are
the teeth, and those that look out of the windows is a poetic
expression for sight.
4. “And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of
the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the
bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;”
The doors are the ears which grow deaf in age and can no longer
hear the sound of the grinding of grain in the little stone
mills which the women use. To rise up at the voice of a bird
may signify the light sleep of age easily interrupted by any
slight sound, or nervousness which is so extreme in some old men
that they start at any little noise. The daughters of music are
the vocal cords which lose their timber in age, resulting in the
cracked voice of senility.
5. “Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears
shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the
grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because
man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the
streets:”
The old man fears any height, knowing his brittle bones will
stand no fall. He is timid, and he has no strength with which
to defend himself. The almond tree blossoms white, like an old
man’s hair. Any little weight, even a grasshopper, is too much
a burden for extreme age to carry. The old have no desires.
The long home is the grave, in preparation for which the
mourners go about the streets.
6. “Or ever the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl be
broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain or the wheel
broken at the cistern.”
The silver cord is the spinal cord. The golden bowl is he
brain, the pitcher broken at the fountain a failing heart, and
the wheel broken at the cistern the kidneys, bladder and
prostate gland, all of which give trouble to an old man.
7. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the
spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
Whether or not the writer possessed a sufficient knowledge of
anatomy to symbolize parts of the body as the “silver cord” the
“golden bowl” the “pitcher”, the “wheel broken at the cistern”
is so problematical that much skepticism of this interpretation
has been expressed. The people of Israel were nomads, tillers
of the soil, vinyardists, tenders of flocks. Their wisdom was
of the spiritual rather than the material. That they had
dissected dead bodies enough to gather the relationship between
its parts is not impossible as animal sacrifices were so common.
But the imagery seems to be rooted in too high a degree of
scientific knowledge to be wholly credible.
The storm interpretation is not open to this objection, and
certainly it is far more in keeping with the magnificent poetry
of the words.
Think of a windy day, with clouds and rain; towards evening it
begins to clear, and the heavens turn black again as the “clouds
return after the rain.” This was a signal for caution if not
for terror in Palestine. Men and women and children feared the
thunder storm, probably because it came so seldom. Doors were
shut in the streets. The strong guards who stood before the
houses of the wealthy were afraid, and trembled, for they might
not leave their places. The little mills with which the women
ground grain eventide ceased; few would remain at their tasks in
the face of the storm. Women in upper rooms drew back into the
dark. Those outdoors became nervous; no one sang; the black
thunderheads flourished their white tops like the almond tree;
everyone feared the lightening and the thunder which was on
high; even a little weight which kept a man from running to
shelter was a burden.
Here the admonition is to remember the Creator before the terror
of death, which is worse than the terror of the storm. The rich
man with his golden water bowl hung on a silver chain must fear
it. The poor man with his earthen pitcher who must send his
women to the well for water is in terror. Even the man strong
and rough as the crude wooden wheel which drew the skin bucket
to the top of the well shook with fear. Death is the same for
all, and feared alike by all.
Such an interpretation almost equals the poetry of expression.
But read it how we will, the majestic awe-inspiring poetry rings
home the solemn warning with a shake of the head and a shiver up
the spine. . . Remember “now” thy Creator - “now,” before the
fearsome storms of life. or the decay of old age are upon you;
wait not until “fears are in the way” to cry for help to the
Almighty. Delay not until toothless, sightless, white haired
age asks for help from on high because there is no help left on
earth! Remember “now” thy Creator, while limbs are strong and
desire ardent, while life pulses readily and the world is all
before -.
Such is the intention of these ringing sentences, and such do
they mean to Freemasonry. Every Master Mason learns so that he
can never forget, when he who had received the benefit of lodge
prayer had now to pray for himself. He who had been taught to
fear not while in the hands of his brethren, stands at last, in
allegory, in danger and alone.
No man thinks of his Master Mason’s degree but hears again in his
heart at least the beginning and ending of this sermon in poetry.
“Remember now thy Creator, in the days of thy youth - then shall the
dust return to the earth as it was, the spirit shall return unto God
who gave it.” The solemn strokes on the bell which is Ecclesiastes
and the soul-gripping drama of the legend of Hiram Abif are never to
be known apart by him who met them together.
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