APPENDIX.

CEREMONIAL

OF

Koyal Arch, Most Excellent, and Mark Masonry.

CHAPTER I.

PRAYERS.

Prayer to be used at Opening.

Most Holy and Glorious Lord God! Thou great Architect of heaven and earth! who art the giver of all good gifts and graces, and hast promised that when two or three are gathered together in Thy name, Thou wilt be in the midst of them: in Thy name we assemble and meet together, most humbly beseeching Thee to bless us in all our undertakings, that we may know and serve Thee aright, that all our doings may tend to Thy glory and the salvation of our souls.

Prayers to be used at Closing.

May the blessing of Heaven rest on us and on all regular Free Masons; may we practice out of the Chapter [or Lodge] those principles of religion and morality we are taught within it; may every moral and social virtue cement us in the bond of peace and fraternal love, and procure Thy gracious favor, O blessed Lord God! who livest and reignest in indescribable glory and happiness for ever and ever. Amen.

:

Or the following.

Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty! just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of kings and Lord of lords! Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy for all nations shall come and worship before Thee, for Thy judgments are made manifest. By Thy wisdom may we be directed, by Thy strength may we be enabled, and by the beauty of virtue may we be incited, to perform the obligations herein enjoined upon us; to keep inviolably the mysteries here unfolded to us; and invariably to practice all those duties out of the Chapter [or Lodge,] which are inculcated in it.

Response. Amen! So mote it be !

Or the following to be used at Closing a Mark Master's Lodge.

Glorious Architect of the Universe-who alone art infinite and eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent!

We desire gratefully to acknowledge Thy protecting mercy through all the past and perilous scenes of life; and we beseech Thee still to continue to be gracious; and to increase in us all those heavenly dispositions, which are calculated to dignify our character as men, and as Masons; that we may thereby be enabled to let our light shine before men," and aid in promoting the strength and beauty of Thy spiritual temple.

And whether we be stationed by Thee, our gracious and unerring Grand Master, in the plains of Zeredathah, or on the mountains of Libanus; whether in using the chisel and the mallet on the rough ashler, or in putting on the top-stone of our mystic building; do Thou, in mercy, preserve from all evil Thy faithful workmen, until they be called off from their earthly labors, to receive the wages Thou hast promised, and be sealed in their foreheads, and receive that white stone, in which there is a new name, that none knoweth, save him who receiveth it.

And to Thee, our great Creator, and gracious Redeemer and Benefactor, we will ascribe all possible "blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, now and for evermore."

Amen.

seat.

Prayer used at the exaltation of a Royal Arch Mason.

O Thou eternal and omnipotent JEHOVAH! the glorious and everlasting I AM! permit us, Thy frail and dependent creatures, in the name of our Most Excellent and Supreme High Priest, to approach Thy divine majesty. And, do Thou, who sittest between the Cherubim, incline Thine ear to the voice of our supplication; and vouchsafe to commune with us from Thy mercyWe humbly adore Thy unspeakable_perfections, and Thy unbounded goodness and benevolence. We bless Thee, that when man had sinned, and thereby fallen from his innocence and happiness, Thou didst still leave unto him the powers of reasoning and the capacity for improvement and pleasure. We adore Thee, that amidst the pains and calamities of our present state so many means of refreshment and satisfaction are afforded us, while travelling the rugged path of life. And O Thou! who didst aforetime appear unto Thy servant Moses in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush, enkindle, we beseech Thee, in each of our hearts a flame of devotion to Thee, of love to each other, and of benevolence and charity to all mankind. May the vails of ignorance and blindness be removed from the eyes of our understandings, that we may behold and adore Thy mighty and wondrous works. May the rod and staff of Thy grace and power continually support us, and defend and guard us from every temptation and evil. May the leprosy of sin be eradicated from our bosoms; and may "Holiness to the Lord" be engraven upon all our thoughts, words and actions. May the incense of devotion ascend continually unto Thee, from the altar of our hearts, and burn day and night, as a sweet-smelling savor unto Thee. May we daily search the records of divine truth, that we may be more and more instructed in our duty; and may we share the blessedness of those who hear the sacred word and keep it. And finally, O merciful Father! when we shall have passed through the outward vails of these earthly courts, when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, may we be admitted into the Holy of Holies above, into the presence of the Grand Council of Heaven, where the Supreme High Priest forever presides-forever reigns.

Response. Amen! So mote it be !

Or the following.

Thou hast loved us, O Lord our God! with eternal love; Thou hast spared us with great and exceeding patience, our Father and our King, for Thy great name's sake, and for our fathers' sake, who trusted in Thee, to whom Thou didst teach the statutes of life, that they might do after the statutes of Thy good pleasure with a perfect heart. So we beseech Thee be Thou merciful unto us, O our Father! Merciful Father, that showeth mercy, have mercy upon us, we beseech Thee, and put understanding into our hearts, that we may understand, hear, learn, teach, keep, do and perform all the words of the doctrine of Thy law in love. Thou enlighten our eyes in Thy commandments, and cause our hearts to cleave to Thy law, and unite them in the love and fear of Thy name, and we shall not be ashamed, nor confounded, nor stumble, for ever and ever.

Do

Because we have trusted in Jehovah, mighty and terrible name, we will rejoice and be glad in Thy salvation, and in Thy mercies O Lord our God! and the multitude of Thy mercies shall not forsake us for ever, Selah: And now make haste and bring upon us a blessing, and peace from the four corners of the earth; for Thou art a God that workest salvation, and hast chosen us out of every people and language; and Thou, our King, hast caused us to cleave to Thy great name, in love and praise to Thee, and to be united to Thee, and to love Thy name. Blessed art Thou, O Lord God! who hast chosen Thy people Israel in love. Amen.

CHAPTER II.

CHARGES.

At opening a Mark Master's Lodge.

Wherefore, Brethren, lay aside all malice, and guile, and hypocrisy, and envies, and all evil speakings.

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious; ye, also, as living stones, be ye built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God.

Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Scriptures: Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious corner

stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste to pass it over. Unto you, therefore, which believe, it is an honor; and even to them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.

Brethren, this is the will of God, that with well-doing ye put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God.

BROTHER:

Charge to a Mark Master Mason.

I congratulate you on having been thought worthy of being advanced to this honorable degree of Masonry. Let me impress it upon your mind, that your assiduity should ever be commensurate with your duty, which becomes more and more extensive as you advance in Masonry.

In the honorable character of a Mark Master Mason, it is more particularly your duty to endeavor to let your conduct in the Lodge, and among your brethren, be such as may stand the test of the Grand Overseer's square, that you may not, like the unfinished and imperfect work of the negligent and unfaithful of former times, be rejected and thrown aside, as unfit for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.

While such is your conduct,—should misfortunes assail you, should friends forsake you, should envy traduce your good name, and malice persecute you; yet may you have confidence, that among Mark Master Masons, you will find friends who will administer relief to your distresses, and comfort in your afflictions; ever bearing in mind, as a consolation under all the frowns of fortune, and as an encouragement to hope for better prospects, that the stone which the builders rejected-possessing merits to them unknown-became the chief stone of the corner.

BROTHER:

Charge to a Most Excellent Master Mason.

Your admittance to this degree of Masonry is a proof of the good opinion the brethren of this Lodge entertain of your