The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1862-07-30
McGREGOR IOWA, WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1862


lacked. In all the land of Judea there wa
none skilled in the workmanship Of tn
precious metals. In the hewing OF ston
and the fashioning of timbers, the Jews
were but Indifferent wOrkmcn. Their who'll
lives, except when disturbed by the rud,
clamors Of war, had been devoted to the
feeding Of tlocks, or the pursuits of hus
bandry. They had spent their lives as tht
Patriarchs did-in the open field or in their
tents.
In Poetry, in Astronomy, in Rhetoric, ir
all the departments Of literature, they were
far in advance Of their rude neighbOrS, yet
in the mercst rudiments Of architecture
they were entirely unskillcd. In Italy, in
Greece, in Egypt, in the Indian and Baby
lonian empires, the massive ruins of their
cities, fragmentary relics of colonades,
and arches, and galleries, and subterranean
who had attained high skill in the builder S
art. But in all Judea, no tombstone Of heI
former self is left. A few stones, 'tis true
mark the Temples ancient site, but
desolation sits on her hills and broods in her
vallies; her plains are barren an her homes
are tenantleSs.
In his dilemma, Solomon bethought him
Of Hiram, King of Tyre. On Solomon's ac.
cession to the throne, Hiram had sent to
him his congratulations. For the first time
in their history, the monarchs Of the two
people were friends. This friendship Solo
mon determined to turn to god account
Announcing to Hiram his intention of build
ing Temple to the God of Israel, hp re-
quested his assistance in cutting the ceda"s
Of Lebanon: For, said he, thou knowest
there is not among us any that have skill
in the cutting of timber equal with the ST.
domains" Hiram pondered. His people
and the Jews were old-time enemies. The
gods revered at Tyre and Sidon, were odi.
Gus in the sight of every Jew. Neither
Hiram or his p, ople had had yet known or
feared the God of Israel, to whom the pro-
posed temple was to be dedicated
But friendship for Solomon triumphed
over every other consideration. The two
kings made league Of friendship. Hiram
sent his craftsmen to cut and hew the tim
bers in the Wales of Lebanon. Solomon fed
the busy throng and rewarded them with
corn, and wine, and oil. while Jewish neo.
phytes were apprenticed to the Tyrian mas
ter workmen
Others in the quarries, near the Temple S
site, cut, and squared the marble blocks
Others still, hoated the timbers to Joppa
and from thence carried them up to Jcru-
salem. Every craftsman had his proper
place and appointed duty. Finally, when
the marble and the timber were on the
ground, Solomon ordered the rolls of the
several craft to be called, and then, with
Ceremony and rejoicing, proceeded to lay
the corner stone. In a cnnningly conceal
ed recess he hld the sacred writings of the
law of Moses, which ages afterwards was
found preserved when the Jews returned
from their long captivity in Babylon.
The Babylonian king had impously de-
creed that every copy of the sacred law
should be destroyed, but thanks to the fore
thought of King Solomon, the corner stone
had kept secure its treasure for many hun
dred years. Here, doubtless, originated the
custom of the ceremonial laying of the cor,
ner stone of modern structures, ard depos-
iting therein some scroll or record. When
st. PauPs cathedral, ages hence, shall crum-
bic to the ground, the curious antiauary
may find lmbedded in its corner stone, a
copy of the Bible, which was there depos-
tied 10y Sir Christopher Wren, its architect,
in due masonic form
At the building Of the Temple, we are
informed, there were employed three grand
masters; three thousand three hundred
masters or overseers; eighty thousand fell
low-cratt, and seventy thousand apprentr-
ces, or bearers of burdens. We Me told
the sound of axe, of hammer, or of saw,
n 70 nF
upon the Temple, but that every part fitted
with such exact nicely, that it more resem.
bled the work Of the Supreme Architect OF
the universe, than of human hands For
the purpose of adorning and beautifyinc
the Temple, Solomon employed Hiram, the
widows son, out of Tyre, one of the most
skilled artisans of those times. On the
left, and on the ight, of the porch of this
magnificent Temple, was placed those re.
markable pillars, in commemoration of the
deliverance from the Egyptian bondage
The pillar of fire and the pillar Of cloud
was typical OF the watchful care of Jeho-
vah, and were placed at the entrance of the
Temples porch to teach the Isrealites their
dependence on God and lead them to repose
their faith in Him. SO Masons place these
Ph'A . III 'Het uSeS, 10 teacn the same
great and important lessons.
Here then, we find the perfection of the
institution Of Free Masonry as it has come
down to us. We can trace the master
mind of Solomon in every department of
its organization. He divided the Craft into
orders just as we now find them. He
made merit the only sure avenue of al
vancement; not merit in operate skill
alone, but merit in the building of their
spiritual temples. They were taught to
conform their lives to the square Of virtue,
at the same time that they were taught to
square their work. The idler and the cor
rupt were cast with the useless rubbish
beyond the Temples wall.
The great wisdom of Solomon consisted,
not so much in his skill as builder of an
earthly temple, as the wisdom he manifest
ed in teaching pure system of morals !;
in building up the perfect man, as a fit
temple in which the Deity mi ght dwell,
long after his earthly tempe had crumbled
to the dust.
Every act of MaSons lif. had it's moral
The moral was as masquerade from the act,
as the shadow from the substance. Did he
use the Trowel to spread the cement? He
was therin taught to spread the cement of
Brotherly Love which makes the race kin.
Did he use the Rule? He was taught to
press forward in the path Of virtue, inclin
ing neither to the right orleft. Did he mark
the sands of the Hour Glass? 1t was to
him an emblem Of fceting human life
Did he dig with the Spade? He was taught
that it would eventually dig his own grave.
nv
sealed book ''He found music in running
brooks, sermons in stones, and good in
every thing"
1t is not strange that with the order and
system instituted by Solomon among the
that they become organized into
q society distinct from the outside world
They had labored for more than seven
years on the Temple. Their associations
had been confined within its courts. SINH
ar tastes, habits and pursuits, had accus