Freemasonry

One of the plagues with which Scotland — and especially the Highlands of Scotland — is afflicted is the cult of Freemasonry. Hardly a parish in the Highlands seems to escape the contagion of this plague. Even in out of the way parts of the country are found votaries of the Lodge.

On the surface Freemasonry appears to be an innocent association of men for social purposes and for mutual help. The charitable relief and other benefits it extends to its members would seem to place it outwith the reach of criticism and allow it to pursue its way undisturbed. Certainly if this was all there was to Freemasonry it might be harmless enough. However, when its activities and tenets are looked into more closely it is seen to be very different from what is commonly supposed. The article in this issue of the Magazine on Christ and Freemasonry is intended to expose the anti-Christian nature of Freemasonry, notwithstanding the assertion of some that they can consistently be Christians and members of the Lodge at the same time.

Freemasonry is a false cult — one so opposed to Christianity in its beliefs that, instead of giving men a title to heaven, it is closing the door of heaven on them for ever. “By the works of the law,” the Bible teaches, “shall no flesh be justified,” but Freemasons have still to learn this. It is certain that no Freemason who dies while still holding fast to the tenets of Freemasonry will ever enter heaven. He must inevitably go down to everlasting destruction.

That there will be those in heaven who were at one time Freemasons — of that we have no doubt — but these all renounced Freemasonry while they were in this world and died in the faith of the Gospel. They saw the error of their ways in belonging to the Lodge and turned their back on it forever.

We would take this opportunity to warn the young men of Scotland — and of the Highlands especially — against getting ensnared in this evil system. Have nothing to do with it for it will harden your mind against

Christ and the Gospel and make you twice dead. If you have already become entangled with it, renounce it and its blasphemous oaths and flee from it as you would from the plague. As you value your soul and would escape from the wrath to come turn away from it forever.

What a glorious day it will be for Scotland — and for other lands also — when this cult dies for lack of adherents and Scotland is rid of its terrible blight. The Gospel-day, we have little doubt, will bring this about. When that time comes men will no longer cleave to false religions but to the glorious realities of God’s Word.

Notes of a Sermon

by the late Rev. John Martin, Staffin

(Notes of a Sermon preached on the Saturday of a Beauly Communion)

“And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went; and He made as though He would have gone further. But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’

And He went in to tarry with them.” — Luke 24. 28.

Let us consider:

1. One or two things which were true of these disciples on their way to Emmaus, before this stranger overtook them.
2. One or two things which were true of them after He taught them.
3. A little concerning the effect of His teaching upon them — they began to pray, “Abide with us” — a prayer that was answered.
4. It is quite clear from this chapter of God’s word, that these two disciples were distressed by seeing their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, nailed to the cross of Calvary — a sight such as the world never saw before and shall never see again. It was a sight that had filled them with dismay, because they trusted that this Jesus should have redeemed Israel. But this was the third day since they had seen that awful spectacle — Jesus of Nazareth, their own Master nailed to a cross, and put to death. On their way back to Emmaus they are still thinking about, and discussing, what they saw. What they had seen filled them with sorrow of heart, as shown in their countenances. The One in Whom they trusted to redeem Israel, their Leader, was put to death and was swallowed up by the grave. The chief priests and scribes also witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus, but their fear was that the disciples might come by night and take the body of Jesus away. They called Him a deceiver and the only effect which His death had on them was to fill them with determination to

ensure that no human power would touch that grave.

But these two disciples were grieved because their Lord and Master was in the grave. After all the miracles they had seen Him perform, after all the wonderful words they heard from Him (“Never man spake like this Man”) they feared that all was now lost. Still, they kept speaking about Him, wondering at what had happened. Their hope seemed to be in that grave. They did not understand that the time had already come when human power and authority were brushed aside, that the angels of God had come down to the grave and removed the symbol of human enmity and authority and that the Lord was risen. There are many things which the Lord’s people do not understand. The disciples had a good teacher — the Lord Himself, and the word of God, which foretold His death, but here they were on their way to Emmaus, and greatly cast down at what had come to pass. That was indeed a sad condition to be in. There was a time when they loved to be in Jerusalem, hearing the words of their Lord and Master, rejoicing in Him, but this was a dark time in their experience. But we see here that the Lord will not permit His people to be tempted above that which they are able to bear. When the poor disciples were at their wits’ end a certain stranger overtook them, but they did not realise who He was. They did not know His voice or recognise His person. Judging by His very first question He seemed to be a great stranger. “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk and are sad?” Surely, if this were their Prophet, Priest and King He would know what manner of communications they had. They were not at all afraid to tell Him what they thought — “Art Thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?” Now, to our mind, this is a great mystery that the Lord Jesus Christ whose voice they had often heard and whose face they had often seen appeared as a stranger to them. No wonder that there are times when His people do not know Him or His ways in providence — ways past finding out. At times when He speaks to them they do not realise that words coming into their minds are from Himself alone.

The disciples could not say who He was. He did not appear to have any great interest in what happened at Calvary three days ago. They tell Him that the things which perplex them are “concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people”. That implied no little knowledge of the One who had been nailed to the cross. Little did the Pharisees think that He was a mighty Prophet in deed and word before God and all the people, but rather said

that through Beelzebub He cast out devils. Now is that your own opinion of the Lord Jesus Christ? — that He is mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. Is this your own experience of Him — that no man ever spake like this Man? Was there a day when His word spoke to you with inexpressible power, melting your heart, constraining you to follow Him, even though He may be an absent Lord now? The disciples were here testifying to some things which were true of Jesus of Nazareth. “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel.” They were not ashamed to tell this stranger, whoever He was, what they thought of Jesus of Nazareth. If you are here today and can honestly say that there was a day in which you trusted with all your heart that it was He who was indeed your Redeemer, then whatever temptations you may have today, that will soon be broken and the hour of your deliverance is not far away.

1. The stranger speaks to them and begins at Moses, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken”. When the Lord begins to teach a soul for eternity, He begins at Moses — right back to the Garden of Eden of which we read in the first book of Moses. There is a certain promise given to our first parents in the Garden of Eden, concerning the One that should redeem God’s spiritual Israel, and the Lord now goes back to that promise. There are many prophecies in the books of Moses showing that the promised Messiah must die for His people, and be buried. The paschal lamb was a type of the Lamb of God. You know, the paschal lamb had to be without blemish. This was true of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). The paschal lamb had to be put to death and the children of Israel knew much about the shelter its blood gave to them in the land of Egypt. “When I see the blood I will pass over you”. The blood could never be sprinkled on the door posts or lintels apart from the death of the lamb, and if this lamb is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ then He, too, must die in the room and stead of sinners.

The stranger then goes on to the prophets. Isaiah has much to say concerning the coming Christ. “He was oppressed and He was afflicted yet He opened not His mouth”. It was revealed also to Daniel that One was coming who would finish transgression and bring in everlasting righteousness. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” How were the disciples affected? Their hearts began to respond to this wonderful Teacher, their understandings were opened, and they accepted gladly what He taught. Their hearts burned within them. Their depression vanished in this wonderful experience. But

a testing time was coming when the stranger might leave them for “they drew near to the village whither they went and He made as though He would have gone further”. We ought to be very careful not to lose golden opportunities like this. These disciples might well have been content with this heart-burning experience, thanked Him, and parted from Him, but no! — they discovered heart union to this stranger and that brings us to our third consideration.

1. Their Prayer. “Abide with us”. In their pleading they made use of the fact that it was toward evening. Here is a sincere invitation to abide. It is usual to rest in the evening. Are we making full use of our opportunities to invite Christ to stay with us? When His word gives comfort are we seeking the Lord to bless it and leave it with us, and do we say to the word, “Come in thou blessed of the Lord”, or do we content ourselves with a superficial experience? The disciples wished to keep Christ in their company. They could easily prove that it was towards evening, and so can you. The day is far spent. The labourers are returning home from work and the sun is setting. Many labourers are going home and this is a sure sign that it is toward evening and that the day is far spent. How good it is to have the Lord in heart and home when it is toward evening. This was an honest prayer. They did not say what comforts they would offer Christ, but whatever they had would be given. Can you say that about the Lord of glory? If you are missing Him today, though poor and miserable in your own estimation, yet if He would come, you would gladly wish Him to have all your heart. If that is true of you, you have every right to be at the Lord’s Table tomorrow. The Lord hearkened to their prayer. He went in, and what happened? Were they the losers for their prayer? Verily no! Their eyes were opened and they obtained one glimpse of their Lord and Saviour who was dead but is now alive for evermore. One glimpse is enough. They knew Him. Some of the Lord’s people can say that they enjoyed the Lord’s presence for days and weeks on end, but if He is made precious to your soul that is enough. It will take you to heaven. He vanished, but had stayed long enough to enable them to recognise Him as their own Lord and Saviour. What was the effect of this? They thought of their brethren in the city of Jerusalem, and though the day was far spent, they had no thought of that, but thought of the effect that this wonderful message would have on their brethren. They stayed no longer in Emmaus. There might have been dangers in the way, but they thought of their dear brethren. “They rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem . . . saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed’.” That is your duty today if you entertain a hope that you got one glimpse

of Jesus Christ and in that moment He was made precious to your soul. Your duty is to rise up and think of your brethren, the church of God. It is your duty to go to the Session with that wonderful message that the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared unto you. The Lord will comfort you, for these two disciples were not long in Jerusalem with the brethren gathered there when Jesus Himself stood in their midst, not to find fault for their forsaking of Him, but He appeared after their witness with “Peace be unto you”. This is what the Lord will do for you. He will help you, and be your peace, and that is peace which you will enjoy throughout eternity. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you” . . . May God bless His word.

Temptation in Affliction

by Rev. John Willison

A time of affliction is commonly a time of temptation: for the old serpent knows the fittest season for assaulting the children of God; and he will not be wanting to improve this opportunity of advantage for setting upon the poor soul. When Pharaoh heard that the people were entangled in the wilderness, he pursued them; so when Satan sees a soul entangled with distress and troubles, he thinks it high time to make an attack. He seeks to winnow and sift away the believer’s grace, and therefore he comes when the corn is threshing by the rod. When Jacob was smitten in his estate, health, and all other comforts, then this coward falls upon him, and tempts him to impatience, murmuring, and wrong thoughts of God.

At this time, O believer, you have special need to be on your guard, and look out. Reckon always, when sickness or trouble cometh, the prince of this world cometh also. Stand then to your defence, and put on your armour, especially the shield of faith, that you may be able to quench the fiery darts of the devil. You have need at this time to put in practice our Lord’s direction, “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.” Pray for wisdom and skill to counteract him, and that you may not be ignorant of his devices; and pray particularly for grace to make you proof against all his false representations of God and His providence to you; for he that durst represent Job falsely to an all-seeing and all-knowing God, will, with much boldness, represent God falsely to you, who see and know so little. He will be ready to tempt you to think that God is angry with you, and dealing with you as an enemy: thus was

Job tempted, Job 33:10, 11, “Behold he findeth occasion against me, he counteth me for his enemy, he putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.” But observe what Elihu answers, “In this thou art not just: God is greater than man. Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.”

I shall now speak of some temptations wherewith Satan assaults God’s people when in distress; and furnish some answers thereto.

1. Saith the tempter, “Thou art nothing but a hypocrite; all thy religious performances have been done in hypocrisy, to be seen of men: thou never hast repented, or believed sincerely in the sight of God.”

Answer. I acknowledge there hath been much hypocrisy in me, but I hope it is not allowed and reigning hypocrisy; I always wrestle against it, wherefore I am not a hypocrite. I regarded the esteem of men too much, but I hope I valued the esteem of God much more. My faith and repentance are weak, but I hope they are sincere. And whatever defects and short-comings have formerly cleaved to these graces in me, I now unfeignedly repent of all my sins, I look to Him that I have pierced, and mourn. I am heartily willing to be justified by the righteousness of Christ alone, and to be cleansed and sanctified by His Spirit; and here I give up myself to Christ as my only Saviour. And this I hope is through grace, true repenting, and believing, which God will accept for Christ’s sake, whatever my former defects have been.

Temptation 2. But saith the tempter, “Thy repentance cannot be true; for thy heart is broken, and thine eyes do not shed tears for sin.”

Answer. It is my very great burden, and constant complaint to God, that I cannot attain to a greater measure of sorrow and contrition for sin; but yet it is my comfort that repentance is not to be confined to such degrees and symptoms of sorrow as some do get at. I hope, I can say through grace, that my heart is set against all sin great and small, and I would give all I have in the world to be wholly delivered from sin.

Temptation 3. Saith the tempter, “But thy day of grace is past, it is too late for thee to think of repenting or believing; God will not accept of thee now.”

Answer. But I hope it is not so with me, seeing God gives me a heart that pants after God and Christ in the way of commanded duty. The offers of salvation through Christ are made to all who believe and repent; and late penitents are not excluded from the benefits of these gracious offers more than others.

Temptation 4. But, saith the tempter, “Thou art none of God’s elect; and, if thou be not chosen to salvation, thou canst not be saved.”

Answer. Secret things belong unto God; and it were presumption in me to pry into His secret decrees; but one thing I am sure of, that every soul that is chosen to faith and repentance, is also chosen to salvation; but I trust God hath chosen me to the former, and therefore to the latter.

Temptation 5. But, saith the tempter, “You overvalue your graces and duties, and so they cannot be true and real.”

Answer. But I count them all but loss and dung in comparison of Christ. I desire always to be deeply humbled under a sense of my sinfulness and unworthiness, and to abhor every motion that would carry me away from Christ and His righteousness, and would tempt me to rely on my graces or duties, or to put them in the least in Christ’s room.

Temptation 6. “The issue of thy sickness may be death, and thou art not ready, for thou hast no assurance of thy salvation.”

Answer. A perfect certainty is not to be expected here; there will be still some questionings, some doubts and fears; but these I resolve not to indulge now, but to break through all, that I may embrace Christ, and be found in Him. The desires of my soul are to Christ, and the remembrance of His Name; and such, I believe, He will not suffer to perish. “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.”

Temptation 7. “But thou art a stranger to the invisible world; how wilt thou adventure into that world of spirits, with which thou hast so little acquaintance?”

Answer. But Christ, who is my Head and best friend, is no stranger to it; He is the Lord of that land, and provides mansions for all His people there; and He will receive every one of them home, and lodge them safely. “The spirits of just men made perfect,” were once what my spirit now is; they were strangers to that world before they came to it as well as I. But their Head being in it, encouraged them to go to it; and now they rejoice in it as the kindly dwelling-place of all the saints.

Temptation 8. “But thou art vile, and God is infinitely pure and glorious; how canst thou think of approaching so near to Him?”

Answer. Though a weak eye be not able to look upon the sun, yet I hope to be fitted and strengthened for that glorious sight. Besides, God now appears to us in His Son Jesus Christ, where His infinite glory is pleasantly veiled so that saints may behold Him. These glorified souls were once vile as well as others; but their Saviour cleansed them, and presented them to the Father without spot or wrinkle. And, whatever be my unworthiness, I am relieved by considering my union with Christ, and looking on the glory and dignity of my Head. Surely God will not despise

the members of His dear Son, nor trample on any that are His flesh and bones.

Temptation 9. “But what will become of thy wife and children, when thou art taken from them?”

Answer. If I trust God so willingly with my soul and my eternal concerns, why may I not trust Him with my relations also? Have not I seen how wonderfully He hath provided for others? Doth not every thing in the world depend on His will and pleasure? How easy is it then for God to supply His own?

Temptation 10. “But still death is terrible to nature, even the king of terrors.”

Answer. But my Redeemer hath tasted death for me, and taken out its fearful sting; He hath conquered death, and keeps the keys of death and hell. Wherefore through Him I will sing, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

Temptation 11. “But it is terrible to think of appearing before God’s tribunal to be tried and judged.”

Answer. But my Friend and Intercessor will be the Judge there. Will Christ condemn the members of His own body, and those He hath so often comforted?

But, besides all these, a holy God may sometimes suffer the tempter to assault His own people in time of their affliction, with his fiery darts and his fiercest battering engines, such as temptations to atheism, blasphemy, despair, etc., whereby their souls may be terribly shaken and sore amazed.

Your relief in this case, is to look to your Head, and remember how He was Himself buffeted by this enemy, and assaulted with the most odious temptations, that He might thereby get an experimental touch and feeling of your condition, in order to His sympathising with you, and relieving you from this enemy, whom He hath already conquered in your name. But for these things He will be inquired of by the house of Israel. You must act faith on your exalted Head.

So narrow is the entry to heaven, that our knots, our hunches, and lumps of pride, and self-love, and idol love, and world love, must be hammered off us, that we may squeeze in, stooping low, and creeping through that narrow and thorny entry.

Samuel Rutherford

Breaking Down the Carved Work

by the late Rev. John Colquhoun

(Continued from page 50)

The Carved Work of the Second Reformation — In the Westminster Standards we have the carved work of the Second Reformation brought to as near perfection as could be attained by human instruments. It is significant that the movement which culminated in the completion of these Standards began in England. Those in that country who loved the purity of the Church of God presented, through Parliament, at the Treaty of Oxford a Bill, requiring that there might be “a general Synod of the most grave, pious, learned, and judicious divines of this island, assisted with some from foreign parts professing the same religion with us, who may consider of all things necessary for the peace and good government of the Church; and to represent the result of their consultations, to be allowed and confirmed, and to receive the stamp of authority.” This was rejected by the king, and Parliament, seeing that he would not make any concessions on behalf of civil and religious liberty, on their own initiative, issued an Ordinance, dated 12th June 1643, calling such an Assembly. The result was the production of the documents which were adopted by the Church of Scotland and ratified by the Scottish Parliament, as the true Standards of that Church. In the Act of the General Assembly, dated 27th August 1647, approving the Confession of Faith, we may quote the following:— “And the said Confession being, upon due examination thereof, found by the Assembly to be most agreeable to the word of God, and in nothing contrary to the received doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of this Kirk. And, lastly, it being so necessary, and so much longed for, that the said Confession be, with all possible diligence and expedition, approved and established in both kingdoms, as a principal part of the intended uniformity in religion, and as a special means for the more effectual suppressing of the many dangerous errors and heresies of these times; the General Assembly doth therefore, after mature deliberation, agree unto, and approve the said Confession, as to the truth of the matter; (judging it to be most orthodox, and grounded upon the word of God;) and also, as to the point of uniformity, agreeing for our part, that it be a common Confession of Faith for the three Kingdoms.” Of the same tenor are the Acts of the Scottish Parliament of 1649 and 1690. While these Standards were framed for the purpose of bringing about uniformity in religious matters

in the three kingdoms, Scotland alone adhered to them, and the Protestant Churches in England and Ireland discarded them to their own loss.

The Confession of Faith is outstanding because of its comprehensiveness and accuracy when viewed as a systematic exhibition of divine truth. It was the fruit of the labours of men whose talents and acquirements were consecrated to the service of the Church of Christ, and, in examining it, one is impressed with the maturity of their judgment, their insight into the meaning of God’s Word, and their familiarity with the controversies which raged in the Christian Church down through the ages. The preciseness of their statements leaves us in no doubt as to how they regarded the doctrines of the Bible, and leaves no room for speculation as to what they meant by any given statement, so that those who gave themselves the task of framing declaratory acts to show what the Westminster Divines meant, or did not mean, in the Confession of Faith, have, by a loose use of words and phrases, obscured the meaning of that document, showing that their talents and acquirements were of a very mediocre order when compared to those of the men whose views they took upon themselves to clarify. We are indebted to the Rev. Robert Shaw, D.D., of Whitburn for one of the most lucid expositions of the Confession of Faith that has ever been published, and in his Introductory Essay, he quotes the following from Hetherington’s History of the Westminster Assembly:— “Framed as it was by men of distinguished learning and ability, who were thoroughly conversant with the history of the Church from the earliest times till the period in which they lived, it (the Confession) contains the calm and settled judgment of these profound divines on all previous heresies and subjects of controversy which had in any age or country agitated the Church. This it does without expressly naming even one of these heresies, or entering into mere controversy. Each error is condemned, not by a direct statement and refutation of it, but by a clear, definite, and strong statement of the converse truth. There was in this mode of exhibiting the truth singular wisdom combined with equally singular modesty. Everything of an irritating nature is suppressed, and the pure and simple truth alone displayed; while there is not only no ostentatious parade of superior learning, but even a concealment of learning the most accurate and profound. A hasty or superficial reader of the Confession of Faith will scarcely perceive that, in some of its apparently simple propositions, he is perusing an acute and conclusive refutation of the various heresies and controversies that have corrupted and disturbed the Church. Yet, if he will turn to Church history, make himself acquainted with its details, and resume his

study of the Confession, he will be often surprised to find in one place the wild theories of the Gnostics dispelled; in another, the Arian and Socinian heresies set aside; in another, the very essence of the Papal system annihilated; and in another, the basis of all Pelagian and Arminian errors removed. Thus viewed, the Confession of Faith might be so connected with one aspect of Church history as to furnish, if not a text-book according to chronological arrangement, in studying the rise and refutation of heresies, yet a valuable arrangement of their relative importance, doctrinally considered. And when we advert to the fact that, owing to the sameness of the human mind, there is a perpetually recurring tendency to reproduce an old and exploded error, as if it were a new discovery of some hitherto unknown or neglected truth, it must be obvious that were the peculiar excellence of our Confession, as a deliverance on all previously existing heresies, better known and more attended to, there would be great reason to hope that their reappearance would be rendered almost impossible, or at least that their growth would be very speedily and effectually checked.” The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland which adopted it, conferred an unspeakable boon on subsequent generations to the present time. While that Church adhered to it, it was, under God, the means of her preservation from error and apostacy.

The Directory for Public Worship — This is another part of the carved work of the Second Reformation, and, in the Preface to it, one can see the background which caused it to be framed. The English Liturgy which King Charles I and his minion, Archbishop Laud, tried to force upon Scotland, had become distasteful to the most learned and the most godly in England. They saw in it something which proved an offence at home and abroad because of the “many unprofitable and burdensome ceremonies contained in it,” causing a great hindrance to the preaching of the Word, the means of increasing an idle and unedifying ministry, “a matter of endless strife and contention in the Church, and a snare to many godly and faithful ministers, who have been persecuted and silenced upon that occasion.” In presenting the Directory to the Churches of the three kingdoms the Divines say, that their “care hath been to hold forth such things as are of divine institution in every ordinance; and other things we have endeavoured to set forth according to the rules of Christian prudence, agreeable to the general rules of the word of God; our meaning therein being only, that the general heads, the sense and scope of the prayers, and other parts of public worship, being known to all, there may be a consent of all the churches in those things that

contain the substance of the service and worship of God; and the ministers may be hereby directed, in their administrations, to keep like soundness in doctrine and prayer, and may, if need be, have some help and furniture, and yet so they become not hereby slothful and negligent in stirring up the gifts of Christ in them; but that each one, by meditation, take heed to himself, and the flock of God committed to him, and by wise observing the ways of Divine Providence, may be careful to furnish his heart and tongue with further or other materials of prayer and exhortation, as shall be needful on all occasions.” In the Act, establishing and putting into execution of the Directory “the Assembly doth, with much joy and thankfulness, acknowledge the rich blessing and invaluable mercy of God, in bringing the so much wished for uniformity in religion to such a happy period, that these kingdoms, once at so great a distance in the form of worship, are now, by the blessing of God, brought to a nearer uniformity than any other reformed kirks; which is unto us the return of our prayers, and a lightening of our eyes, and reviving of our hearts in the midst of many sorrows and sufferings.” The Form of Presbyterian Church Government was also a document of this famous Assembly which, broadly speaking, re-affirmed the government of the Scottish Church, and which that Church had ratified to it by the Act of 1592. This also was agreed upon “as a part of the Covenanted uniformity in religion betwixt the Churches of Christ in the kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland.”

The carved work of both the First and Second Reformations was, by no means, a piece of useless ornamentation, distinguishing the Church of Scotland from all the other branches of the Reformed Churches throughout the world. It was a strong bulwark against heresy, whether in the Church of Rome or out of it, and a means of uniting those Protestant Churches which accepted it. Dr Alex. F. Mitchell, in his invaluable Introduction to the printed Minutes of the Westminster Assembly, says of the Confession of Faith, “Such, I believe, is the general character of the Confession of Faith, such its thoroughness, yet such, on the whole, its moderation and catholicity. It is lined and scored with the marks of conflict, but the deepest and the broadest lines are those which run through all the Christian ages; which appear distinctly either in the creeds of the early Councils, or in the writings of the greatest of the Latin Fathers, or which, if they are not found so prominently there, appear broad and deep in the teaching of the ablest theologians of the middle ages, and in a few instances are to be traced more certainly in the one or in the other, than perhaps in the teaching of Calvin, certainly than in

that of Luther. The Assembly of Divines which framed it, may be said, humanly speaking, to have come at the last moment of time when such an Assembly was possible — when Conformist and Nonconformist were not yet formally separated — when men trained in the study of the Fathers, yet familiar with the principles and tendencies of the Reformation, were not so rare as they now are — when the Church was still under the happy influence of a marvellous revival — when the word of God was felt as a living, quickening, transforming power, and preached not as a tradition, but as the very power and wisdom of God, by men of ripe scholarship and devoted piety, who have remained our models of earnest preaching, and our guides in practical godliness, even unto this day.” The Westminster Standards rejected in doctrine, worship, and government, what was not expressly commanded in Scripture.

(to be continued)

Christ or Freemasonry

1. The God of Freemasonry

The god of Freemasonry — “The Great Architect of the Universe” — is not the one living and true God, but a false god, a dumb idol of man’s creation. His name, “The Great Architect of the Universe,” is given in the first degree only, to go on with or to bluff outsiders. The real name of their god is only known to Freemasons who are members of the so-called “Holy Royal Arch.”

Running through the Rituals of Masonry is the idea that the name of God has been lost. “All Masonry,” writes the Rev. C. P. Hunt, “is the quest of the lost Name, occasioned by the murder of the architect, Hiram Abiff, at the time of Solomon’s Temple. On the rediscovery of the lost Name, the Mason is brought into a perfect relationship with the Deity. The earlier degrees are preparatory to the climax reached in the Degree of the Holy Royal Arch. His secret name is JAHBULON, usually represented by the letters J.B.O. J stands for Jehovah, B for Baal and O for On or Osiris, one of the gods of Egypt.

“So the central thing in Masonic ritual — the raison d’être of the whole business — is the amazing discovery of the grand secret that God is worshipped not through Jesus Christ, but through the union of Jehovah, Baal, Osiris. And the ritual of this degree actually claims that ‘The Supreme Being inspires its members with the most exalted ideas of God.’ Of course this marvellous Name is not revealed to Masons of the

first degree. The process of degradation has to be gradual.” — The Menace of Freemasonry to the Christian Faith (p. 14), by Rev. C. P. Hunt, B.A.

All who submit to such teaching are guilty before God of trampling underfoot the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” and of repudiating the supreme claim of the Almighty, “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isa. 42, 8).

“Dr Joseph Fort Newton, late Unitarian minister of the London City Temple, and an authoritative exponent of Freemasonry, wrote, ‘Masonry is not a religion but it is Religion, a worship in which all good men may unite’ — the ‘good men’ being Unitarians, Hindus, Jews, nominal Christians, Moslems, Theosophists, etc. For a Christian then to be a Freemason is ‘to be unequally yoked with unbelievers,’ a thing expressly forbidden.” (Heresies Exposed, by W. C. Irvine, p. 96).

2. The place given to Christ in Freemasonry

In the Masonic Lodge the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is forbidden, except on the same level with Buddha, Zoroaster, Mohammed, Osiris, etc. “There is so-called ‘worship’ in the Masonic Lodge,” writes Rev. A. W. Rainsbury, M.A., in Freemasonry of God or the Devil? “but from that ‘worship’ Jesus Christ is deliberately excluded. There is so-called ‘prayer’ in the Masonic Lodge, but it is not offered in the Name of Jesus Christ — through Whom alone prayer is acceptable to God. His Name is deliberately excluded even from prayers where it is normally found. There is so-called ‘praise’ in the Masonic Lodge, but the precious Name of Jesus is excised from every hymn.”

“In every ‘form of service’ used at Masonic services in churches we have passages of Scripture having an ethical significance used, but in every case torn away from the evangelical context. Even the Beatitudes are mutilated — the last sentence omitted — ‘persecuted for My Name’s sake.’” (The Menace of Freemasonry to the Christian Faith, p. 42, by Rev. C. P. Hunt, B.A.).

In “Encyclopedia of Freemasonry,” the author, Dr Albert C. Mackey, writes: “If Masonry were simply a Christian Institution, the Brahman, the Moslem and the Buddhist could not conscientiously partake of its illumination, but its universality is its boast; in its language, citizens of every nation may converse; at its altars all religions may kneel, and to its creed every faith may subscribe.”

In connection with the boast of Freemasonry in the universality of its creed, George L. Hunt, in “Secret Societies,” says: “No Christian can

stand on that platform of universality. The moment he admits the equality of other religions with Christianity, he has denied the fundamental tenet of his faith: ‘Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is JESUS CHRIST’ (1 Cor. 3, 11 and Acts 4, 12). When a minister becomes a Mason he takes his stand that one foundation is as good as another, one religion as good as another — Buddha, Mohammed, etc. — are as good as Jesus Christ. Masonry, like Odd-fellowship, boasts in its universality, boasts that it is NOT Christian. It glories in the fact that Jesus Christ is excluded, and thereby no offence is given to the Jew, the Brahman or the Moslem. Yet it claims to be a universal system of religion that brings its votaries safe within the walls of heaven — and that without the help of Jesus Christ. Masonry excludes the name of Christ from prayer. His name is cut out of every passage of Scripture read in the Order in all degrees this side of the Knights Templar, and there it is only thrown in because the Order is the outgrowth of the Crusaders of the twelfth century, and not because it has anything to do with Jesus Christ as a Saviour of lost men.”

3. Freemasonry and the Bible

The following extract is from “The Menace of Freemasonry to the Christian Faith” (pages 31-33). “It is generally assumed that one of the chief recommendations of the Craft is the honour shown in every lodge to the Bible. The open Bible, on which are placed the Square and Compasses, is part of the essential equipment of every lodge. At least so the outsider is led to believe. But if a Mason does more than take things for granted and inquires into the matter, he will receive a rude shock. This Bible they call the V.S.L. (i.e., Volume of Sacred Law). I pass over the point that it is not called the Volume of Grace and Redemption and if the Bible is not so regarded it is lying to assert that it is honoured.

“I have already, incidentally, remarked upon the fact that Freemasonry’s fundamental principle is that the Deity is truly worshipped when all the pagan names for God — Baal, Osiris, Vishnu, etc. — are united. That alone means that all the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments stand for, goes by the board. They reject even the ‘Sacred Law’ of the Old Testament, to say nothing of Grace and Redemption. No loyal Jew could be a Mason. And I have already complained that they prostitute all the passages respecting the Temple and God’s House and apply the same to the lodge instead of the Church, and that in claiming faith in the Fatherhood of God and excluding Christ, they have no room at all for the New Testament, which states ‘He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father.’

“Now we come to something more serious still — a piece of sophistry which enables them to take up a position the very opposite to that which they pretend to the outsider. Everything in the Lodge is symbolical. Square and Compasses do not mean — square and compasses — or what they mean to a schoolboy. In the Lodge a square does not mean a square. It symbolises something else. Square and Compasses may symbolise Spirit penetrating Matter or Vesica Piscis or a number of other things. Similarly, if the Bible is there, it cannot mean the Bible. That would be taking things far too literally. Everything is symbolical.” In “Brothers and Builders,” published in London by Dr Joseph Fort Newton, p. 25, we read: “Like everything else in Masonry, the Bible, so rich in Symbolism, is itself a symbol — of the perpetual revelation of Himself which God has made and is still making in every age and land — through Old Testament — Koran — Vedas, etc.” Dr Joseph Fort Newton is quite right. Everything in the Lodge is symbolical.

The Oxford University Press has just issued a special edition of the Bible for presentation to the candidate on the occasion of his initiation. The first page contains the “Mason’s Charge,” which implicitly condemns the work of Christian Missions. “It (Masonry) encourages each man to be steadfast in the faith his heart loves best.” Later pages contain an article on the Masonic use of the Bible by Dr Joseph Fort Newton, which states that the Bible “is itself a symbol — that is, a part taken for the whole.” The whole includes the Koran and Vedas, etc. Thus BY AN OFFICIAL ACT the candidate is presented with a printed document which repudiates the work of Foreign Missions, and which reduces the Scriptures to a fragment of the “Book of Truth.”

4. The Oaths of Freemasonry

“How can it be of the mind of Him who says, ‘Swear not at all’ (Matt. 5, 34) to take solemn oaths not to divulge a secret, still unknown, and to call down on one’s person blood-curdling oaths in case of failure to keep the oaths? The ritual is really Hindu, with Bible names substituted. As the degrees advance the penalties increase. For the first degree, your tongue is torn from its roots; for the second, your heart; for the third, your bowels, and then burnt, etc., etc., and you pray that it may be so.” (Heresies Exposed, p. 95).

“The candidate for the first degree,” writes Rev. C. P. Hunt, “is introduced in a semi-naked state, blindfolded, with a cable tow round his neck, and a sharp instrument pointed at his naked left breast to indicate the peril he runs in seeking ‘Light.’ He states that he wishes to be ‘admitted to the mysteries and privileges of Masonry by the help of God.’

Note the frequent use of God’s name in association with the futilities. He is led in darkness to a kneeling-stool. The deacons join their wands over his head. This forms the sign of the Vesica Piscis of the ancient pagan rites — the phallic sign of the womb — to indicate that the candidate is now being born again (so Masonic writers tell us). A prayer is offered with the words ‘that assisted by the secrets of our Masonic art, he may the better be enabled to unfold the beauties of true godliness, to the honour and glory of Thy Holy name.’ Later, the candidate takes the Oath not to betray the secrets of this degree ‘under no less a penalty — than that of having my throat cut across, my tongue cut out by the roots, and my body buried in the sands of the sea at low water mark. So help me God.‘ After that the candidate is ‘restored to light.’ He is now a regenerated being.” (The Menace of Freemasonry to the Christian Faith, p. 43).

“The glory of Christianity is AN OPEN BIBLE. Freemasonry on the contrary has secret signs, and the ritual of the Lodges is a secret code. Our Lord tells us that there is nothing secret that shall not be revealed, and instructed His disciples, ‘What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the house tops’.” (Matt. 10, 27). (Reasons Why a Christian Should not be a Freemason, p. 10, by A. J. Pollock).

5. Lodge Charities

Next to the charm of secrecy, perhaps one of the strongest inducements held out to men, is that of receiving help when in need. “Death benefits,” “Sick benefits” are promised and paid by most Orders. It is just here that they challenge comparison with the churches and Christianity. They claim to be acting like “the good Samaritan.” But whom do they benefit? to whom do they show charity? Only to members of their Order who have paid up their dues. In other words, they simply do what any insurance company does, and for the same business reasons. There may be on the part of individuals in the Orders kindness to the needy, but that is only what we will find in any kind-hearted person, and the system is not to be credited with it. (Extract from Secret Societies by George L. Hunt).

6. Freemasonry an expensive affair

Here is an extract from that Masonic enthusiast — Rev. J. T. Lawrence’s “Keystone” (p. 303): “A person . . . contemplating seeking admission to the Craft should consider not only whether he can afford it, but whether it is fair to his wife and children that he should incur

that . . . entirely selfish expense. His proposer ought to tell him about this, and ought to do so very faithfully. Proposers are not always so faithful as they should be in this matter — and then there come expensive dinners, one probable result of which will be a very rigid economy at home — there are testimonials, excursions, entertainments, all of which it requires a considerable amount of moral courage to withstand. And the accessories are such as to occasion thought. Masonic clothing and the consequent jewelry — by no means inexpensive items — the multiplication of Lodges and the consequent dining out, and the additional time involved in attendance at committees and boards will soon leave a brother with but the fag end of his leisure for other and possibly more urgent purposes.” In the same author’s “Sidelights on Masonry” (p. 221) we read this: “The new member need not dine, he need not contribute to the charities on the same scale as the rest; but he will soon find that he might as well not be a member of the Lodge at all.” (The Menace of Freemasonry, etc., p. 56).

All this time and expense wasted on the upkeep of a system that is pagan, idolatrous and anti-Christian!

7. The Order of Oddfellows a blasphemous Order

“Take the Oddfellows manual written by A. B. Grosh, which is dedicated to all inquirers who desire to know what the Order is, and this has, I understand, been endorsed by the Grand Lodge, and hence is the expression of the Lodge itself. It says on page 297, ‘Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism recognise the only living and true God; followers of different teachers, ye are worshippers of one God who is Father of all, and therefore ye are brethren.’ (p. 298). This reduces Christ to a mere teacher, and then puts Him on a common level with Mohammed; and every professed Christian member not only says ‘Amen’ to this, but links himself in a common brotherhood with the haters, revilers and murderers of his Christ, for such is and has ever been the attitude of Jew and Mohammedan.”

The Grand Lodge of Oddfellows for the State of Massachusetts asked the following question of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the World, Feb. 14th, 1889 (Report page 336): ‘Is it lawful for a chaplain to commence and finish his prayer in the name of Christ?’ Here is the answer of the Lodge on this vital question.

“Our Order only requires belief in the existence of the Supreme Being as a qualification for membership, and has no affinity with any religious sect or system of faith; hence everything savouring of sectarianism is not to be tolerated. The words ‘system or sect’ do not have reference merely

to the sects within the pale of Christianity, but have a far broader significance and include all the religions of the world. In this sense Christianity is a sect; hence it is inexpedient, and I think unlawful, to make prominent reference to it in Lodge work. We have Jews, and may have Mohammedans and others of non-Christian sects within our Order, and the rule applies to them equally with members of the Christian faith.”

Could language be plainer? Anything savouring of Christ “is not to be tolerated.” Unlawful to make prominent mention of the name of Christ in opening and closing a prayer! This is nothing but ‘crucifying Christ afresh’ so far as Oddfellowship is concerned. (Extract from Secret Societies, pp. 7 and 8, by George L. Hunt).

8. Conclusions

1 — Both Freemasonry and Oddfellowship are satanic organisations. The Scriptural reasons for rejecting the one apply to the other.

2 — Churches, whatever their claim to orthodoxy which admit Freemasons to the privileges of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are openly countenancing what is an abomination in God’s sight. “But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of devils.” (1 Cor., 10, 20, 21).

3 — Ministers who are Freemasons, or who either support or condone Freemasonry are not ministers of Christ, but wolves in sheep’s clothing.

4 — Freemasons rob Christ of the glory which is His due. By putting Him, who is the image of the invisible God, on the same level with Mohammed, Buddha, etc., they are coming dangerously near the sin against the Holy Ghost, for which there is no forgiveness. They also prove their rejection of Him and their want of love to Him. But “if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha” — let him be accursed. (1 Cor., 16, 22). “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16, 13). It is Christ or Freemasonry. Choose Freemasonry and you reject Christ. Reject Christ and you shall be damned. “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” (Ps. 2, 12).

ERGATEES.