than of the Father, or of the Holy Ghost, is thus showed:-The Father is never said to be an angel, i. e., a messenger, or sent; nor yet is the Holy Spirit in Scripture called by that name; but the Son of God is called the Angel of the Covenant (Mal. iii. 1). in respect of his incarna tion to come, when he was sent of his Father into the world, which name of angel given unto Christ is a title of office, not showing his nature." (Hexapla in Exodum. p. 33.) 39"Some understand by the fire in the bush the divine nature of Christ which did not consume or dissolve his human nature. Some apply it to the Virgin Mary, of whom Christ was born, that carried fire and was not consumed. Some understand it as the state of a regenerate man, in whom there are two parts, the illumination of the spirit as the fire, and the corruption of the flesh as the bramble." (Ibid. p. 32.) "He 401 Tim. vi. 15, 16. Tertullian bears testimony to this fact. who spoke to Moses was the Son of God; and it is he who has always appeared. It is the Son who hath judged from the beginning; dashing down the proud tower of Babel, confounding the tongues of the impious race who built it; punishing the whole world with a flood of waters; and raining upon Sodom and Gomorrah a storm of fire and brimstone-the Lord from the Lord. It is he who hath at all times descended to hold converse with men, from the days of Adam to the times of the patriarchs and prophets, in vision, in sleep, in apparition, and in parables; preparing his way without ceasing from the very epoch of the creation. The infinite and innumerable things which he was to accomplish, he was ever learning (from his Father); and no other God to hold intercourse with mankind upon earth but the Word who was to be made flesh.” (Tertull. adver. Prax. c. 16.) 41 This putting off the shoes, some say, was commanded Moses, that he thereby should sanctify that place by making bare his feet. But the place was holy already, because of God's presence; the place was not holy because Moses put off his shoes, but because it was holy he is bid to put off his shoes. Ambrose thus applieth it" that because the shoes are made of the skins of dead beasts, Moses should put off all fear of death, for fear whereof he fled at the first from Pharoah." (Comment. in Lucam 1. vii.) Cyprian says. " that Moses by putting off his shoes, does not chal lenge any right in the spouse of the church, but resigneth it to Christ, the head and husband thereof; for this was the custom, that the next kinsman, by putting off a shoe, surrendered his right to his deceased bro ther's wife." (Advers. Jud. c. 19.) 42 Now the act of going with naked feet was always considered a token of humility and reverence, and the priests, in the temple-worship, always officiated with feet uncovered, although it was frequently injurious to their health. The command thus given to Moses did not represent the civil and legal ceremony of putting off the shoes, as the Israelites were subsequently directed to do, when they renounced any bargain or contract (Deut. xxv. 9; Ruth iv. 3); nor yet the sign of grief and sorrow, as when David entered into Jerusalem barefooted (2 Sam. xv. 30); but it was enjoined that Moses might approach that sacred place with reverence and godly fear, as if it had been a temple consecrated to divine worship. Thus the preacher says (Eccles. iv. 17)—“Take heed unto thy feet when thou enterest the temple of God." 43 It is curious to observe how widely and universally this custom was disseminated. Even in the distant isles of Britain and Ireland, the chief druid, when gathering the sacred selago, was to be clothed in white, with bare feet, as an emblem of internal purity. There is an iron fixed at the door of German synagogues to remove the dirt from their shoes; because, they say, the ground on which they are about to tread is holy. Bishop Patrick observes-" Moses did not give the first beginning to this rite, but it was derived from the patriarchs before him, and transmitted to future times from that ancient general tradition; for we find no command in the law of Moses for the priests performing the service of the tabernacle without shoes, but it is certain they did so from immemorial custom; and so do the Mahometans and other nations at this day. (Comment. vol. ii. p. 186.) 45 The Rabbins contend that he did not. Maimondes says, that by the Divinity descending, must be understood the descent of his influence on inferiors. Abarbanel and Bechai affirm the same; while Jonathan ben Uziel and Onkelos paraphrastically translate the word descended by "discovered." All the sages, both ancient and modern, confirm this version, and agree that God did not descend on mount Sinai, according to human conception. Some say that the Lord never descends below ten degrees, neither did Moses or Elijah ascend above those ten; which ten are to be understood for the ten degrees or orders of the angelic hierarchy, viz.-1, creatures of sanctity; 2, wheels; 3, supremes; 4. fiery essences; 5, seraphim; 6, angels; 7, powers; 8, sons of powers; 9, cherubim; 10, men. (See Concil. vol. i. p. 152.) 46 The holy spirit of God dwells in our hearts. See Rom. v. 5; 1 Cor. iii. 16; 2 Cor. i. 22; Gal. iv. 6; Eph. iii, 16, 17. 47 In the degree of Rose Croix he is said to have manifested his glory at the period when the word was recovered; the cubical stone changed into a mystical rose; attended with the appearance of a flaming star, dispelling darkness, restoring the true light, and making the new law visible in our works. 48 Thus hell will appear as a fierce furnace of fire, from whence will exhale the heat of wrath, envy, and all other vicious propensities. The condemned submit to the government of their evil passions, for the flame which devours them operates upon their hearts, as well as upon their flesh. The Jews believe that God has descended to the earth nine times, and that he shall descend on the tenth in the person of the Messiah :—1, in the garden of Eden; 2, at the confusion of tongues; 3, at the destruction of Sodom; 4, to Moses at mount Horeb; 5, at his appearance on mount Sinai; 6 and 7, when he spake to Moses in the hollow of the rock; 8 and 9, in the tabernacle; 10, the times of the Messiah. (See Allix's Judgment of the Jewish Church, p. 282.) 50 In the degree of Prince of Mercy, the Triple Alliance is spoken of as having the following references:-1, to the covenant made with Abraham by circumcision; 2, to that which God made with his people in the wilderness by Moses; 3, and to that which he made with mankind by the mediation of his Son Jesus Christ. 51 In the apartment prepared for the degree of Knight of the Eagle is a mount elevated to represent mount Calvary, on which are placed three crosses, and upon each a skull and cross bones. Before the mound is an altar covered with black cloth, on which is a cross and two lighted tapers. Between the altar and the mound is a sable curtain, made so as to draw back on each side. 52 In the symbolical language of the high degrees, "Masonry was destroyed at this portentous period, the veil of the temple was rent in twain, the light of the sun and moon was withheld, the earth was over spread with darkness, the Masonic tools broken, the blazing star ob Kured, and the Word lost. The whole fraternity were plunged in the lowest depths of misery and despair. They wandered about for three days in Egyptian darkness, without knowing whether their lives were secure. At the expiration of this period, by the will and pleasure of that Great Being, who orders and conducts all things by his superintending providence, the light was again restored, the tools of Masonry repaired, and the blazing star shone with unusual brilliancy, by which the Word was found, &c." 53 In a degree of the rite Ancien, there is represented in a transparent painting the resurrection of Jesus Christ, surmounted by the mysterious triangle enveloped in a nimbus. The curtains of the chapter are also painted transparently, to represent the azure firmament, studded with brilliant stars of gold, and interspersed with glory. The altar placed in the east is illuminated with transparent lights. In a word, the chapter is entirely lighted by transparencies, on all sides of which appear the awful figure of the resurrection of Christ. 54 This was followed by a tremendous judgment. The city was destroyed, and the people slaughtered by thousands and tens of thousands. Even the holy temple of God, where his sacred name had been placed, was trodden under foot by the heathen; polluted with the abomination of desolation; and at length so completely demolished, that not a vestige was left to mark its situation. 55 These, in the language of sublime Masonry, are called Knights of the Christian Mark, and refer to the man with the inkhorn, in the prophecy of Ezekiel (c. ix.), and to the men with the destroying weapons in their hands. In a certain part of the ceremony the senior Knight says to him with the inkhorn-"Stay thine hand, proceed no further until thou hast set a mark on the faithful who put their trust in the Most High. Take the signet and set the mark upon their foreheads; for having passed through great tribulation, they have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb which was slain from the foundation of the world." 56 In one of the continental degrees this doctrine is painted in hieroglyphics on the walls of the Lodge-room. Here is represented a lively picture of the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; human figures in excruciating torment, enveloped in flames, which burn but give no light, and suffering amidst the blackness of darkness. LECTURE XLII. THE FALL AND RESTORATION OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. "LET THERE BE LIGHT!"-the Almighty spoke, To illume the rising earth! Well pleased the Great Jehovah stood- And gave the planets birth. MASONIC ANTHEM. "The great outlines in the history of Creation are here unfolded; as also the primitive innocence of man, with the fall and consequent scenes of natural and moral evil."-Town. "That the first parents of mankind were instructed by the Almighty, as to his existence and attributes, and, after their fall, were further informed of the redemption which was to be perfected by Christ, and, as a sign of their belief, were commanded to offer sacrifices to God, I fully assent to the creed of Masonry in believing. It is also highly probable, that symbolical actions should have been instituted by them in memory of their penitence, reverence, sympathy, fatigue, and faith, and that these might be transmitted to posterity."-ARCHDEACON MANT. WHEN our first parents were placed in Paradise by the Almighty Father of the Universe, and made capable of perfect happiness,' they were furnished with a test to enable them to display their gratitude and obedience. Good and evil were set before them, and they were left free to choose and free to refuse.2 Their Freemasonry, so to call it, or system of moral duties, was the devotion of a guileless heart, penetrated with a deep and fervent veneration towards the gracious Author of their felicity; and a fervent charity, which is the blossom and fruit of innocence, and of more value than either of the other two theological virtues, because in their state of perfection they were unnecessary. They practised the four cardinal virtues, typified in the four streams of their beautiful garden. They had nothing to fear, nothing to hope for, and universal love was the one absorbing principle of their life and actions.5 Too short and fleeting were those golden days. The life of our great Progenitor was so happy, and his Freemasonry so pure as to excite the envy of the apostate spirit; and he resolved upon making an effort to destroy the illusion, aud pollute the divine image in which God had created man. Under the form of a serpent, he assailed the woman with the subtle and prevailing logic, that instead of death being the consequence of eating the fruit of the forbidden tree," she would enjoy, by that means, an increase of happiness, and certain immortality; and that it was mere selfishness in the Deity to restrain her from acquiring such a vast accession of knowledge and power. In a word, he persuaded her to believe that by partaking of the fruit, she and her partner would become as gods, and be able to distinguish with perfect accuracy between good and evil. 13 Thus by the wiles of the serpent tempter our common parents plucked the forbidden fruit,14 and broke the conditions on which their happiness was suspended,10 in the vain hope of some imaginary good in prospect." Thus primitive Masonry was defeated, 18 and sin, death, and every moral evil were introduced by this rebellious spirit,19 who exulted in having thrown into disorder that beautiful creation which God had pronounced to be very good.20 21 Thus the first parents of mankind, formed by the Grand Architect of the Universe in the utmost perfection, seated in a paradise of pleasure; bounteously supplied with means for the gratification of every desire, and at full liberty for enjoyment, with only one prohibition, for the trial of their obedience, violated the contract, and thereby became obnoxious to the penaltydisease, misery, and death. To preserve us from which, and as a memento to guard us against a similar error, Freemasonry has preserved the remembrance of this unhappy event in the archives of its secret chapters.29 Scarce had our great progenitors thus transgressed, than, conscious of their crime,24 and filled with shame and horror, they endeavoured to hide themselves from the presence of that Being, who had hitherto been their solace and delight; but hearing his awful voice in the garden, and unable to bear the splendour of his appearance; in a humble and lowly posture they approached him with |