LESSON XII,

Haggar ii. 1, 9, 23. "In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying,

"Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Josedec, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in your eyes, in comparison of it, as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedec, the high priest; and be strong all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word which I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you fear ye not. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land: and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, and in this place will I give peace.”

"In that day will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a Signet: for I have chosen thee,"

LESSON XIII.

Zechariah iv. 6, 10. "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor power, but by my spirit. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, and he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shouting, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, with those seven."

AMOS ix. 11.

"In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old."

Usually reads the following passages of Scripture, near the conclusion of the ceremonies :

Genesis i. 1, 3. "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be Light: and there was light."

Deuter. xxxi. 24, 26. "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this Book of the Law, and put it in the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.”

Exodus xxv. 21. "And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above, upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the Testimony that I shall give thee."

Exodus xvi. 32, 34. "And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth: Fill an Omer of the Manna, to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a Pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept."

Numbers xvii. 10. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's Rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token.”

Hebrews ix. 2, 5. "For there was a Tabernacle made, the first wherein was the Candlestick, and the Table, and the Shewbread, which is called The Sanctuary. And after the Veils, the Tabernacle, which is called the Holiest of all; which had the Golden Censer, and the Ark of the Covenant, overlaid round about with gold, wherein was also the Golden Fot that had manna, and Aaron's Rod that budded, and the Tables of the Covenant; and over it the Cherubims of glory, shadowing the Mercy Seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly."

Exodus vi. 2, 3. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."

CANDIDATE.

CHARGE TO THE

BY BR. T. S. WEBB.

"WORTHY COMPANION:

"By the consent and assistance of the members of this Chapter, you are now exalted to the sublime and honorable degree of a Royal Arch Mason. Having attained to this degree, you have arrived at the summit and perfection of Ancient Masonry, and are consequently entitled to a full explanation of the mysteries of the Order.

"The rites and mysteries developed in this degree have been handed down through a chosen few, unchanged by time, and uncontrolled by prejudice; and we expect and trust they will be regarded by you with the same veneration, and transmitted with the same scrupulous purity to your successors.

"No one can reflect on the ceremonies of gaining admission into this place, without being forcibly struck with the important lessons which they teach.

"Here we are necessarily led to contemplate with gratitude and admiration the sacred source from whence all earthly comforts flow; here we find additional inducements to continue steadfast and immovable in the discharge of our respective duties; and here we are bound, by the most solemn ties, to promote each other's welfare, and correct each other's failings, by advice, admonitions, and reproof.

"As it is our most earnest desire, and a duty we owe to our Companions of this Order, that the admission of every candidate into this Chapter should be attended by the approbation of the most scrutinizing eye, we hope always to possess the satisfaction of finding none among us but such as will promote, to the utmost of their power, the great end of our Institution. By paying due attention to this determination, we expect you will never recommend any candidate to this Chapter, whose abilities and knowledge of the foregoing decrees you cannot freely vouch for, and whom you do not firmly and confidently believe will fully conform to the principles of our Order, and fulfil the obligations of a Royal Arch Mason. While such are our members, we may hope to be united in one object, without lukewarmness, inattention, or neglect; and that zeal, fidelity, and affection will be the distinguishing characteristics of our society. And thus may a degree of satisfaction, harmony, and

peace be enjoyed at our meetings, which no other society can afford."

PRAYER AT CLOSING.

"By the Wisdom of the Supreme High Priest, may we be directed, by his Strength may we be enabled, and by the Beauty of virtue may we be incited to perform the obligations here enjoined on us; to keep inviolably the mysteries here unfolded to us, and invariably to practise all those duties out of the Chapter which are inculcated in it." Amen.

ADDRESS то THE

CANDIDATE.

The following address, though not in general use, is frequently given:

COMPANION:- You will permit me to express the hope, that it is not an idle or vain curiosity, that merely grasps at novelty, which has induced you to receive this sublime Degree of Masonry, infinitely more important than all which have preceded it. It is calculated to impress upon our minds a firm belief in the being and existence of a God; and it teaches a due reverence for his great and holy NAME.

It also brings to light some of the most important secrets of the Craft, which had laid buried in darkness from the death of King Solomon to the erection of the second Temple, - a period of four hundred and seventy years, and without a knowledge of which the Masonic character is not complete.

I now present you with the WORKING TOOLS and principal EMBLEMS of a Royal Arch Mason.

The Working Tools are the Square and Compass, which have been presented to your view in every Degree of Masonry through which you have passed. The Square teaches us, as Royal Arch Masons, that God has made all things square, upright, and perfect. The Compass is an instrument used by operative Masons to describe Circles, every part of which is equally near and equally distant from the centre.

The Circle is, therefore, a striking emblem of the relation in which the creature stands to his Creator. As every part of the circumference of a Circle is equally near and equally distant from its centre, so is every creature, whom God has made, to Him equally near and equally distant.

The equilateral or perfect Triangle is an emblem of the three essential attributes of Deity; namely, Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence; and as the three equal legs or equal angles form but one triangle, so these three equal attributes constitute but one God.

CHAPTER V.

COUNCILS OF ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS.

THE Degrees of Royal and Select Master are intimately connected with the Royal Arch Degree, of which they are, in some measure, explanatory. They are generally conferred in Councils, which exist under separate and independent organizations. In some of the States, however, they are conferred in, and under the authority of, Chapters of Royal Arch Masons.

THE ROYAL MASTER'S DEGREE.

This Degree, though chronologically subsequent in its history, is conferred as preparatory to that of Select Master; and, although short, contains much valuable information, and possesses a high degree of interest. The officers, their titles and stations, are as follows: *1. Most Illustrious Grand Master, as S., K. of I., in the East. 2. Right Illustrious Grand Master, H., K. of T., on the right of the M. I. G. M. 3. Illustrious Conductor of the Work, (Adoniram, as Rep. of H. A.,) in the West. 4. Master of the Exchequer, as Treasurer, at the foot of the throne, on the right. 5. Recorder, at the foot of the throne, on the left. 6. Conductor of the Council, near the South. 7. Captain of the Guards, in the West, on the right. 8. Sentinel, at the door.

The following passages of Scripture are appropriate to this Degree:

1 KING. vii. 48-50, & 40.

And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shew-bread was; and the candlesticks of pure gold; five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle; with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold; and the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the

*We notice that there is some difference in the titles of the officers of Councils of these Degrees, in different parts of the country. We have given them according to the oldest and best authorities at our command.