The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1916-01-13
A CHARGE TO The MASONS.
Rev. Il. d. Bull Gives Counsel by
Which All People May Profit.

the L IeSbS lcl t<'il Nii'iS
Bull delivered special sermon to
the Masons of Kingstree. 1t was the
day set aside by the slodge for the
annual sermon. We have been
requested by members of the lodge
to publish Mr. Bulls sermon, the
full text of which follows:
Psalm 7S:S5-"And they remem-
bered that God was their strength;
and that the high God was their
redeemer.
I feel it very much of an honor to
he allowed to address you today, my
brothers. l have no hope OF being
able to instruct you in Masonry;
This will in no sense be a monitorlal
,lecture-that task must be lett TO
one more learned than myself. we
are not to treat today of the history
Of Masonry, as long and glorious as
that history is. Nor yet OF the NOR,
al teaching of the craft, as high and
exalted, as pure and inspiring as
that moral teaching is. Nor have
we to do with the ritual-the sym,
bolism-of Masonry, as hc&"!:."!
and instructive as we all know it to
he, But rather let us inquire into
those permanent elements OF Mason
~, those things which make Mason.
w endure. One can often Judge OF
the principles Of an order by Its
outward characteristics. Now, to
the initiate, as we'll as to the unlnit-
lated, there are apparent certain
striking and invariable characters
tics. For instance the order is char
acterized by a certain sort OF dlgnl-
tv. a sense of the solemnity OF Ma
sonry itself, which is the admiration
Of those who observe it. Again.
there is in the very air OF Masonry a
sort of permanentness' a sense ol
lastingness, the consciousness OF nav
ING endured, and the promise OF a
long future. And in the third place
there is the invariable characteristic
of democracy, sort of democratic
bumanness which belongs almost 10
Masonry alone.
Now, these things are not in them
selves principles, but are merely the
outward appearances, the expres-
sions. of deep underlying principles
and let us discuss today these prln-
ciples, which are we'll known to you'
as they must be to every true Mason
I take it that Masonry has en-
dured, and promises to endure pe,
cause it has that rare quality OF
timelessness, that thing which makes
Masonry not a creature of our pres
ent age not belonging to any partlc-
ular race or cline, hut a thing which
might appear on any page in hlsto-
ry. Let us see now what we mean
by this timeless quality. Perhaps
we can understand it best by NUS
tration. The ten commandments
delivered though they were thou
sands of years ago in a dltferentagee'
unto a different race of mankind,
under long past conditions, can 1t
he said that we have outgrown
them? Not so, NY brothers,w are
vet teaching the ten commandments.
Can it be said that we have out
grown the sermon on the mount be-
cause a new world and a new age
have dawned upon us? Far from 1t,
it would be truer to say that we
have not yet grown up to it. In the
political sphere, has the time come
when this country has outgrown the
Declaration of Independence-that
document which a European scholar
has called the noblest document
ever framed by the brain OF man!
We know that it is not so.
Now, these things Of which We
have spoken have that quality OF
timelessness. They represent certain
human principles which make their
appeal to the very heart OF humanl-
ity.
The first principle of Masonry
which we may speak of as timeless
is belief in God. As you well
know, a belief in God Is required OF
all who become Masons. What sort
of belief in God is required? And
what do We mean by belief in
God? If we were to approach most
any man on the streets today and
ask him if he believed in the exist
ence of God, almost certainly he
would assent. Atheism and agnosti-
Nciaaa are comparatively rare. We
who believe that God exists are
scarcely ever called upon to defend
our faith. rather the burden Of proof