The Yazoo Whig and political register. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1840-1842, 1842-01-07

lads of Inhabitants; we behold the regularity
Of the laws by which our earth Is governed,
the harmony of every operation Of that en-
ergy by which it is supported. In all these
we discover the works Of the Lord and the
operations Of His hand, and are often brought
TO cry out under the inspiration Of these
lofty and ennobling continents, in. The LAM
euage of David, en- ancient patron of our art,
20 Lord, how manifold are thy worksl in
wisdom hast thou made them ALL" ''the earth
is full of thy riches; so is the great and wide
sea, wherein are things innumerable. These
all wait upon thee, and thou givest them
their meat in due season; thou openest thine
hand and they are filed with good" With |
what reverential emotions every truly Ma |
sonic heart has been filled in viewing the
covering of our Lodges as no less than a
clouded canopy, or asiarry- heaven
Lifting up his eyes to the celestial expanse |
above him, viewing the wonders which this
interior part of the temple of the universe
discloses; these lofty sentiments and these
enlarged conceptions are confirmed, and in
the fulness of his enraptured soul, he eX-
claims, "when ! consider thy heavens, the
work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars
which thou hast ordained, what is man that
thou art mindful of him! and the son of man,
that thou visitest him?"
Thus it is that Masonry takes hold Of the vol
ume Of nature, and unfOlds it and eliminates the
characters in which the Divine gores are therein
depicted What is thus seen, must be felt by ev.
ery heart but that Of adamani. knowledge is
thereby enlarged, and we may justly expect that
devotion will be enkindled and the soul melted
into brotherly love.
We stop not to dwell on the moral effects OF
Masonry in detail nor will we speak of many OF
those moral trumphs that surround our institution
vritb olo Vuhi
lation, nor arts can pretend to equal;-the cruel
customs it has abrogaIed, the baTbarous nations il
has civilized, the suPerstiOns and dolatres 1t has
destroyed, and the kindly influence it has shed
upon the laws and the manners of nations. We
shall not emphasize upon its opposition to slavery
and to war, and the influence it has had in regula
ting the relations of sovereign and subject, master
and servant,-I do not say master and slave,-for
no Mason will hold Mason in bondage; or upon
its no less glorious triumphs the selfshness
of man, in the thousand charities it has brought
him to perform, and which continue 10 be per-
t formed in our own day and time. The benevo-
lence OF our Order, Notwithstanding our guarded
J movements to keep the exhibition of our aims
giving, and watchfuIness to alleviate the suf-
terings of the human family from the public eve,
have become proverbial. There are things our
Order have ever been enabled to keep the world
from discovering, but the happy families we have
created, the eyes Of age we have lighted up, the
beds of sickness we have sOftened, has produced
such gladness and rejoicing in the hearts Of the
children of men, that the songs of praise have gone
forth upon the wings of the wind and have been
. sung shy every land and by every tongue"
What heart that assemblies here will not join
: with Us in saying Of such an institution this,
prosperity be within thy walls;-lOr my brethren
i and my companions sake, | will say, ''PeaCe be
within thee?' eff forget thee, o, Jerusalem.-
o, Masonry :" ''let my right hand forget her Gun
. ning."-Institution OF light, may thy glory bright
en- Substitution OF liberty may thy freedom be
u immortal ;-institutiOn of charity, may thy hand
), never lack what thou hast a heart to give; may
!, thy character be the spOtlesS un;-thy temple
never to be rodden with hostile feet may vast
ing and destruction be removed far away from,
h Ithee.-May God, even thine own God, bless thee
But should the time roll on, when sins
: shall cause God to be angry with Us, and should
u he allow some insulting foe TO domineer US
}; and deprive US of the liberty of assembling in our
t Lodges, and should any of US as MaSOns be
brought to grOan in the captivity of some despOtic
d monarch; yet, even then, we have one resource /;
we will go to our God in prayer, will stand be-
. tween the living and the dead; we will say, HBe
s not angry against US forever, draw not out thy
: wrath to all generations" Then, Q God, remem-
z Der the prayer offer this day and when thy
u grace is sought for Order, shear thou in heav-
= en-, and when thou nearest forgive and save thy
II peOple.'
is Masonry brings before the mind the amiableness
and loneliness of virtue. How virtue feeds the
> The strongest minds held under the power of sin
y are slow to understand.-They have but little
strength of will: or if they have that, they hive
e but little power to execute. See the mightiest in-
)t tellects captivated and enslaved by passion the
e conquerors OF the world held in chains; the most
profound philosophers the Hottest genius, dragged
is along by the petty feelings Of pride, envy and the
: grOsser vices,-then view institution as incul-
] eating that holiness which is strength,-the
% strength of anges,-the strength of gloTiied hui
II man spirits We are strong in prOpOitO TO its
increase, because as we are made partakers of the
e Divine nature, more vitality united to COP!
: "Brethren Of the Mystic Tie" are your minds
stamped with the seal of virtue? ifthey are not,
is in vain that lessons Of instruction have been
. given you; it is in vain that you approve of and
admire Masonry; that you speak OF and deligh in
its beauties that you feel the force Of it's doc
u trnes intellectually. Masonry is operative and
)f its precepts must be reduced to practice There
it is such thing being nominal Masons. He that
governs not his apPetites his passions, is not i'm
bued with the true spirit Of Masonry, and till the
= appetites and the passions are conquered, you
= must remain q standing mOckery Of the ma es-
" of the very institution OF which you bear the
y name.
Z There is such a thing as acknowledging the
height the depth, the glory, the excelency Of ouI
g tme-honored institutions as being convinced that
is it bears the impress Of God; the seal and sanction
Of Of our Heavenly Father and its beauties may be
Is matter OF endless WONDER and II ElaY excite all
# that is powerful and move ell that s tender in the
:, soul; knowledge may increase its stores; genius
light its fires; poetry drink its inspirations intel
lect send down its deepest lines and find the depths
% still unfathOmable! But if wonder only be grat-
e fed; if genius only be excited; if sentiment only
J. be stirred; if knowledge only be fed,-''wo" be
m to me that ever beheld in Masonic light the OBJ
i legations Of BROTHERLY LOVE, Of TRUTH, Of
i TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, PRUDENCE
and JUSTICE! If | have converted into sPecu-
! lation that which should have been reduced to