The Three Degrees of Freemasonry
Master Mason Degree
Third Section Lecture
Third Section Lecture
WM - The Third Section of this degree explains many important particulars relating to the building of King Solomon's Temple.
This magnificent structure was supported by fourteen hundred and fifty-three columns, and two thousand nine-hundred and six pilasters, all hewn from the finest Parian marble.
It was symbolically supported by three great Pillars denominated Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, because there should be wisdom to contrive, strength to support and beauty to adorn all great and important undertakings.
These Pillars also represent our three ancient Grand Masters: Solomon, King of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abif.
The Pillar of Wisdom represents Solomon, King of Israel, because by his wisdom he erected that monument of magnificence which immortalized his name.
The Pillar of Strength represents Hiram, King of Tyre, because he aided and assisted King Solomon in that great and glorious undertaking.
The Pillar of Beauty represents our Grand Master Hiram Abif, because by his cunning work the Temple was beautified and adorned.
There were employed in its building three Grand Masters, 3,300 Masters or Overseers of the Work, 80,000 Fellowcrafts and 70,000 Entered Apprentices, or bearers of burdens. All these were classified and arranged in such a manner by the wisdom of Solomon, that neither envy, discord nor confusion was suffered to interrupt that universal peace and tranquility which pervaded the world at this important period.
Master's Carpet
I will now direct your attention to the emblems delineated on the Master's Carpet; every figure thereon affords a striking lesson of the strictest morality.
The Three Steps
The Three Steps are emblematical of the three principal stages of human life: youth, manhood and age. In youth, as Entered Apprentices, we ought industriously to occupy our minds in the attainment of useful knowledge; in manhood, as Fellowcrafts, we should apply that knowledge to the discharge of our respective duties to God, our neighbor and ourselves; so that in age, as Master Masons, we may enjoy the happy reflections consequent on a well-spent life, and die in the hope of a glorious immortality.
The Pot of Incense
The Pot of Incense is an emblem of a pure heart, which is always an acceptable sacrifice to Deity, and as this glows with fervent heart, so should our hearts continually glow with gratitude to the great beneficent Author of our existence for the manifold blessings and comforts we enjoy.
The Bee Hive
The Bee Hive is an emblem of industry and recommends the practice of that virtue to all created beings, from the highest seraph in Heaven to the lowest reptile of the dust. It teaches us that, as we came into the world rational and intelligent beings, so we should ever be industrious ones, never sitting around contented while our fellow creatures around us are in want, when it is in our power to relieve them without inconvenience to ourselves.
The Book of Constitutions
The Book of Constitutions, guarded by the Tiler's Sword, reminds us that we should ever be watchful and guarded in our thoughts, words and actions, particularly when before the enemies of Masonry, ever bearing in mind those truly Masonic virtues, Silence and Circumspection.
The Sword Pointing to a Naked Heart
The Sword, pointing to a Naked Heart, demonstrates that Justice will sooner or later overtake us, and, although our thoughts, words and actions may be hidden from the eyes of man, yet that ALL-SEEING EYE, whom the sun, moon and stars obey, and under whose watchful care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions, pervades the inmost recesses of the human heart and will reward us according to our merit.
The Anchor and the Ark
The Anchor and the Ark are emblems of a well-grounded Hope and a well-spent Life. They are emblematical of that Divine Ark which safely wafts us over this tempestuous sea of troubles, and that Anchor which shall safely moor us in a peaceful harbor, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary shall find rest.
The Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid
The Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid was the invention of our ancient friend and brother, the great Pythagoras. It teaches Masons to be general lovers of the arts and sciences.
The Hour Glass
The Hour Glass is an emblem of human life. Behold! How swiftly the sands run, and how rapidly our lives are drawing to a close. We cannot, without astonishment, behold the little particles which are contained in this machine, how they pass away almost imperceptibly and yet, to our surprise, in the short space of an hour they are all exhausted. Thus wastes man! Today he puts forth the tender leaves of hope, tomorrow blossoms, and bears his blushing honors thick upon him; the next day comes a frost which nips the shoot, and when he thinks his greatness still aspiring he falls, like autumn leaves, to enrich our mother earth.
The Scythe
The Scythe is an emblem of time, which cuts the brittle thread of life and launches us into eternity. Behold! What havoc the Scythe of Time makes in the human race. If by chance we should escape the numerous evils incident to childhood and youth, and with health and vigor arrive at the years of manhood, yet withal we must soon be cut down by the all-devouring Scythe of Time, and be gathered into the land where our fathers have gone before us.
The Last Class of Emblems
The last class of emblems to which I will call your attention are the Setting Maul, Spade and Coffin. The Setting Maul, with which our Grand Master Hiram Abif was slain, is an emblem of those casualties and diseases by which our earthly existence may be terminated; the Spade which dug his grave and must ere long dig ours, and the Coffin, which received his remains and must soon receive ours, are striking emblems of morality and afford serious reflection for a thinking mind; but the acacia, or evergreen, which bloomed at the head of his grave, is an emblem of that immortal part which survives the tomb and bears the nearest affinity to that Supreme Intelligence which pervades and animates all nature and which can never, never, no never die.
[Optional] Thus we close with the explanation of the emblems upon the solemn thought of death, which, without revelation, is dark and gloomy; but we are suddenly revived by the evergreen or everliving sprig of Faith in the merits of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; which strengthens us with confidence and composure, to look forward to a blessed immortality.
Then let us imitate the good man in his virtuous and amiable conduct; in his unfeigned piety to God; in his inflexible fidelity to his trust; that we may welcome the grim tyrant Death, and receive him as a kind messenger sent from our Supreme Grand Master, to translate us from this imperfect to that all perfect, glorious and celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the universe presides.
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