The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1905-10-13

of the King Solomon's
Temple.
SERMON TO MASONS
Rev. Bradley Addresses the Willow City
Masonic Lodge and Draws Good
Lessons for the Temple
of King Solomon

Lessons for the Temple
of King Solomon
We are fortunate in being able to
present to our readers the full text of
sermon preached by Rev. Bradley Of
Willow City last week. This sermon
was delivered in the presence of the
Willow City lodge of Masons. It is
we'll worthy of more extended hear
ing because of the liberal, logical
treatment accorded this subject. Rev.
Bradley took for his text, II Chron.
33, 7. "God had said to David and
to Solomon his son in this house and
in Jerusalem which I have chosen
before all of the tribes Of Israel will I
put my name forever. -
Before I enter upon my subject
want to make few preliminary re-
marks in reference to secrets. Many
bad things are done in secret but be-
cause man or institution has secrets
does that fact prove that they are bad
Secrets like men are good and bad.
Secrets are everywhere, every store
keeper has his secret cost-mark, the
banker who tells all about his business
will soon have no business to attend
to, the doctor or lawyer who fails to
keep secrets fails to keep his practice
and the preacher who gossips fails to
lead his people. in fact there are some
things we know, we would be better
off if we did not KNOW them. If
man reveals to me secret as a secret,
I am unmanly if 1 tell it. Christian
ity has been promoted by secrets. All
the forces of evil which the human
imagination could devise were sum-
moned to blot out the message Of God s
word from the mind Of the people dur
| ing the past. Bibles were at one time
secretly concealed under cover and
brought forth from their hiding place
and read with profit. Christian mis-
sionaries carefully concealed their real
calling and worked ander cover of
secular calling. The day OF judg
ment alone will reveal the rich har-
vest of souls gathered by the labor of
these men who practiced secrets. Not
only families. businesses, professions
and institutions have secrets but
churches have them and perhaps the
church that declaims the loudest
against secret societies has the most
secrets The temple reveals God and
conceals God, every church reveals
God and conceals God. Now will say
I am not at liberty to say many things
but 1 am free to do my duty, as
preacher of the gospel must interpret
the bible. Masonry does not conflict
with any duty I owe to God, my
country, my neighbor, or myself; to
interpret the bible is the duty owe
to these.
The address I make tonight will not
be Masonic lecture. Yet I believe
Masons will appreciate it, this is why
I announced and desired their atten-
dance at this service, let it therefore
be borne IN mind that this is not
Masonic lecture. Nor is it a defence
of Masonry. Masonry needs no de-
fense. You might notice that it is
from the Bible I take my theme and
not from Masonry. Now am going
to make a few statements that can be
established without successful contra
diction. One is that no man can be
christian Or bible student much less a
biblical scholar or christian minister
without having some knowledge of
Masonry. Why? Because the sym
bolism of Masonry is founded on the
bible That no man can grasp the
lessons taught by Masonry without
having knowledge and reverence for
the bible. Now if these statements
are right and no man can contradict
them. no man can oppose the morality
Of Masonry without opposing the NOR
ality of Christianity and no Mason can
oppose the morality of Christianity
without opposing the morality of
Masonry.
I will speak of the symbolism of
Solomon's Temple. You will see at
the beginning it is the symbolism of
Solomon's Temple and not the Temple
itself 1t is the representation of the
Temple. desire to give you the
spiritual meaning of one of the most
wonderful buildings ever constructed
by human hands It was prominently
God House. While we call it Solo
mons Temple it was Gods Temple.
It was erected to God, that fact alone
shows that our theme is on the line
of religion and spiritual thought and
that it is biblical. Remember it is
from the bible take my theme and
not from Masonry. But why should
a Mason be more deeply interested in