three five seven #65
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
21 November 2005
“I call the book of Job,
apart from all the theories about it, one of the grandest things ever written
with pen.”
Carlyle
Bible Presentations for use in
Masonic Lodges
Dear Brethren, I have been asked from time to time if I have a presentation
talk that could be used in Lodge when the Lodge is to present a copy of the Holy
Bible to the newly raised Brother at the end of his third degree. What follows
are two presentations that could be used on such an occasion. The first one I
received from my friend and brother, W.B. Harley Johnson. I’m sure you will find
a time to use one of these presentations.
So, here are a couple of Bible presentations you might like to use. As I
mentioned the first presentation was given to me by W.B. Harley Johnson,
District Representative in district #1 for the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The
second one is by that famous Masonic Author – Anonymous.
Bible Presentation
By Worshipful Brother Harley Johnson
"My Brother, tonight you have been raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master
Mason. You have been taught how to use the working tools of a Master Mason,
learning as you progressed from being an Entered Apprentice, to Fellow Craft,
and now that of a Master of the work.
You were given a White Lambskin Apron, and informed of its meaning,
antiquity, and honor. You were informed that as stains brought recognition to
our ancient Brethren, you were to keep it spotless before God and man, while at
no time were you informed as to how this was to be done. You were shown all the
tools to do your work; you learned how our ancient Brethren used them, and that
we are to use those same tools in a symbolic way, yet you were never told how to
do that very thing.
As you took your degrees, you placed your hands on the Bible open before you.
Then you observed how the major tools of our degrees unfolded before you, as the
points of the compass were moved from covered to bare, teaching how you were
moving forward in your Masonic knowledge and gaining wisdom. Yet, where is the
guide to keep you moving forward? It is in your hand! This Masonic Bible is our
gift to you for your work to become a Master Mason.
This Bible, which you now hold has all the directions you will ever need or
desire, it is the Rule and Guide to all your future actions. It teaches you how
to work good, not evil, in your dealings with your fellow man. It teaches you
how to love your wife and children. Yet most importantly, it teaches you death
will come to all, and how you must react to that final chapter in your life.
You will see that in all well governed Lodges the Altar Bible is the first
opened and the last closed. It is opened with the light upon it and closed
before the light is extinguished as your life must be. For when you read in the
book of Ecclesiastics Chapter 12 verse's 1 through 7 it begins; "Remember now
thy Creator in the days of thy youth," for after youth comes age, then wisdom,
and then the dust from which we came and to which we return’ leaving the
buildings of Truth, Brotherly Love, and Hope of the future.
May this Bible be worn and tattered when you stand before the Great White
Throne, and hear "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Take it and may
you go with God"
“The Bible is a window in this prison-world, through which we may look into
eternity.” Timothy Dwight
From Short Talk Bulletin August 1966 “Short ‘Short Talks’ for Special
Occasions.” By the Masonic Service Association.
PRESENTING A BIBLE
By an Unknown Brother
(Not every Mason is a Christian. To a non-Christian a Bible presentation
would be inappropriate. However, frequent requests for a presentation address of
this kind have prompted its inclusion in this pamphlet.)
My Brother, the Worshipful Master has graciously requested (permitted)
me to present to you this Holy Bible, a gift from
……......—....................-.........
In Masonry, this Book is referred to as the Volume of Sacred Law, which
should be the rule and guide of your faith as a Mason and as a religious person.
The Volume of Sacred Law rests upon the altar of every Masonic lodge, where
it supports the Square and Compasses. With those two symbols of Masonic
philosophy and moral conduct, it is designated as one of the three Great Lights,
of which this Book is the greatest.
The Holy Bible opens when the Lodge opens; it closes when the Lodge closes.
No Lodge can transact its business, much less initiate candidates into its
mysteries, unless the Volume of Sacred Law lies open on its altar. Thus the Book
rules the Lodge in its labors as the sun rules the day, making its work reverent
and spiritually significant.
Let not the image of the opening and closing of this Book be stretched too
far. It is not meant to suggest that you open and close this volume only when
you come into the lodge-room.
The Volume of Sacred Law is the prime source of that spiritual Light for
which every Speculative Mason is seeking. As such, consult it on every
convenient occasion, for within its pages you will find, for example, the
historical account of the building of Solomon's Temple, the foundation stone of
Masonic ritual and teaching.
But more than that, from a perusal of its sacred pages, you may learn the
fascinating stories of God's chosen people, who gave to the world the concept of
the one true God and His expectations of the children of His creation, of the
age-long conflict between kings, priests, and prophets, wherein the kings did
battle for or against the cause of Jehovah, while the priests established
ritualistic forms for religious observances, and the prophets re-emphasized the
spiritual meaning of lives lived for God.
In the New Testament you will find the story of One who suffered and died to
establish a new idea — the Law of Love — and the account of a small band of men
who changed the world by means of that idea and their own indomitable courage.
No Mason really needs to be told of the significance of the Holy Bible in
Freemasonry. It is central and sovereign—the dazzling light of spiritual
revelation and the steady beam of moral illumination.
Upon this Book you reverently placed your hands when you took the obligations
of a Mason. Those vows are sacred because of their association with this holy
volume. Every time you witness the pledging of a newly admitted Brother, you
will silently renew the vows which you have made, until their language and their
imagery become more and more eloquent in binding you to the great moral
commitments which you made on a Volume of Sacred Law.
This Book is yours, my Brother, to consult throughout a long and useful life
for Masonry and for mankind. Read from it regularly and often, for only by its
guidance will you find the Light which will ultimately reveal "that which was
lost", the goal of our spiritual seeking.
“The sire turns o’er, wi’ patriarchal
grace, the big ha’-Bible, ance his father’s pride.”
Brother Robert Burns, in “The Cotter’s Saturday Night.”
Sicut patribus, sit deus nobis = [Latin] =
“As with our fathers, so may God be with us.”
From the Great Light of Masonry:
“And have ye not read this Scripture; The stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is
marvelous in our eyes.”
Mark 12:10-11 KJV
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