The New Zealand Craftsman Wellington, New Zealand, August 1, 1946

THE FURNITURE OF THE LODGE.

(By V.W. Bro. Rev. David Calder, P.G.C., P.G.Lee.)

I consider it an honour, Worshipful Master, that you have assigned to me as my subject for this evening "The
Furniture of the Lodge." Any paper that must of necessity deal largely with the Sacred Volume is much to
my liking. The Lecture on the First Tracing Board states that the Furniture of the Lodge is the Volume of the
Sacred Law, the Square, and the Compasses. The same lecture states also that we have in our Lodges,
Furniture, Ornaments and Jewels, It will not therefore be out of place if, first of all, we see how these three
are related.

Furniture, says my dictionary, is whatever must be supplied to a house, a room, or the like, to make it
habitable, convenient, or agreeable—its necessary appendages.

An Ornament, says the same authority, is that which adds grace and beauty—an embellishment or
decoration; that which being added to another thing renders it more beautiful to the eye.

A jewel is an object regarded with special affection, or that is very highly valued; anything of exceeding
value or excellence.

Much as we value ornaments and jewels, we could do without them—which, however, God forbid; but
furniture stands as essential and requisite, both to the Lodge, and, according to our symbolic teaching, to life.
Let it ever be asserted, therefore, that the Masonic Craft under all circumstances puts the Sacred Volume in
the forefront as necessary to the well-being both of the Lodge as a whole and to the life of each and every
one of its members. The square and compasses also are constantly in evidence as setting forth to ourselves
and to the world the things we value as we value life itself; while their accepted position in our temples
shows that what they represent depends upon, and is the natural consequence of, the teaching of the Holy
Book.

The Sacred Volume is described in our teachings as the Divine Tracing Board whereon are set forth the lines
and proportions of a true human life in its relation to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. Thereon also
are drawn the various outline pictures to which the building of a perfect life should conform.

The Square is ever significant of the man himself. Built upon the teachings contained in the Holy Book, the
man evidences a character in which square conduct, right living and correct thinking are the resultant
qualifications. He is "a square man" in the highest sense, and—what a man be is!

The Compasses are an object lesson of the man in action. One point is the man as centre, while the other
marks out the circle of his life contacts, and the possible reach of his impacts and influence. His powers
reach out in all directions; and what he is, changes, according to the measure of his strength, the whole circle
of his particular world. Very specially the compasses represent the Grand Master of the Universe, because
He alone is equal in all His powers, going out in every direction with a perfect penetration of gracious and
stimulating Eternity of Life,

As this is a Lodge of Research, so, in the spirit of the Lodge, let us now ask: "Just what is the first great item
of our furniture, the Volume of Sacred Law?"

It had its origin with the ancient Hebrew Race, and is indeed the great classical literature of that people,
having grown to be what it is today, as grows the classical literature of any one of the greater nations. As the
great nations of the world, under the hand of the Architect of the Universe, have each contributed something
to the general life of the world's people, so the contribution of the Ancient Hebrews was a knowledge of God
Himself, both as the Architect of the World, and as the supreme Designer of the life of man.

I am sure that each of us here present has his shelf of books. They have been gathered over a lifetime, and
represent to us our personal choice of the best literature that has come to our hand. The light ephemeral
literature we have cast aside and possibly burnt; but, here a little, there a little, we have gathered and kept
what appealed to our inner selves as being worthy of a permanent place among the valued possessions of our

life. It may be a few hundred books, possibly it is only fifty; but we prize them and would not dispose of
them for money to our best friends. They are the cream of our reading; while the skim milk, although good in
its own little way, we have cast aside, and most of it we have forgotten.

Such a choice of books, as made by each of five hundred thoughful men, would be worthy of special
examination. If we were to gather the titles together, and select the fifty most often present; and then
multiply the action over all the groups of readers of our English speaking peoples from all the centuries; and
finally, from them all, detere mine the fifty most highly valued of all our books, we would have the classics
of our people—our English Classics. The work has not been done by a committee, a national council, or
conference, but by such a process as we have described—by such a process going on automatically
throughout the ages. It was thus our Classics came to be acknowledged as they are today. Thus also have
come the Classics of Ancient Rome, of Greece, and of the Hebrew People.

If, however, our classical literatures have been chosen or selected in this way, it was not thus that they came
into being. The process we have described has determined what are the greatest of the great banks; but the
writing of them has been another story. Their, writers were men of worth, who set forth, as they have done,
something of the very genius of their race. They had had a spirit of greatness "breathed" into them by a
Divine process or method that is not so easily explained. The same Divine process has determined the
peculiar genius of each one of the greatest peoples, so that their classical literatures differ vitally the one
from the other. Think for even a moment of the terms English Classic, Latin Classic, Greek Classic, Hebrew
Literature, and there arises a characteristic idea that clings naturally to each. There is a Divinity that shapes
our ends, rough hew them as we will—and, as my old theological professor once said, in his own decided
voice. "God abhors duplicates." I shall not venture to epitomise the English Classics in any one sentence—to
do so would be dangerous to my reputation—but the term Roman or Latin Classics brings to us the thought
of Law and Organisation. and Greek the thought of Art and Philosophy, while the Ancient Hebrew writer
was a specialist in the knowledge of the Eternal God. They were theologians in the very highest sense of the
term.

As we examine this literature more carefully we are at once struck by its variety. It comes to us from a period
ranging over about 1500 years; there are sixty-six books. in all, and according to the conservative
computation, they come from forty different writers. They are in three very old languages—the Hebrew,
Aramaic and a colloquial Greek of a well-known period. The authors include the prophet, the king, the
shepherd and the fisherman; and they belonged to the palace, the prison and the open air. Their subject
matter is of universal interest, being history, poetry, hymns, prophecy or sermons, prayers, wise sayings, and
even human love—as in the book of Ruth. They set forth the deeds of heroes, and the faults as well as the
good qualities of men and women. They tell of the love of man for man, of woman for woman, and of the
true man for his chosen mate in a true woman, and that love in its return. They set forth the codes of honour,
of right living, and of excellent business. In matter of fact, these writers have given us the accepted variety of
literature we should expect from a truly outstanding people; and yet withal, it everywhere breathes an
atmosphere of the knowledge of God in Whose Presence, and under Whose all-Seeing Eye they lived,
moved, and had their being.

It is natural, therefore, that when these sixty-six books are brought together in one volume, which we call our
Bible, we at once recognise its unity. It has one subject matter, one that is treated in a manner that is full,
rich, inspiring, and of universal appeal. Its subject matter may be called "The curse of sin, its origin, its
history, and its cure." In simple story form it declares the origin of sin in that it is disobedience to the Diety;
its history in that, as a fever in the human body, it infected and affected the whole of the human race; and its
cure, which is yet to come, in that Bright Morning Star whose rising brings peace and tranquillity to the
faithful and obedient of the human race. Finally it gives a picture of a future day wherein there will be no
trace of the curse; but men will brothers be, and the "earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of
the Lord; as the waters, cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2 : 4.)

Our English Bible, or, as we call it, the Volume of Sacred Law, is a translation of these ancient Hebrew
Classics, the writers of which were neither English nor European, but Asian. It was brought to us because of
its acknowledged value, and was soon recognised by our forefathers as of supreme worth. It has continued

with us until now it is acknowledged to be the first Classic of our English language. Indeed, it is justly
claimed that it has added a new beauty and dignity to our mother tongue. As a master musician discovers to
us the latent beauty in some old instrument on which he is playing, so this book has created much of the
strength and richness of our language, and has sweetened its tone and power. In short, we discovered a good
thing, and we made it our own; not because it was seen to be a Jewel of rarest worth, or an Ornament
wherewith to decorate the mind of the nation, but as Furniture that is essential to the dwelling wherein we
can profitably reside in the fullness and joy if life.

We believe that the Eternal God reveals Himself to us in its pages by a method that we call "Inspiration."
What is this inspiration of Holy Scripture, and wherein does it consist? The Book gives its own answer to
this most pertinent question. A later writer in the Book itself, says of the earliest ones that "Holy men of God
snake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost"-2 Peter 1: 2. This writer also refers to these ancients as
searching what the spirit which was in them did signify of the truths with which they dealt. Again, a writer
says "Believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits whether they are of God"-1 John 4: 1. Thus they were
constantly on guard against any personal hallucinations, against what was noisy, fanciful or bizarre, against
any exaggerations. To them the voice of God came, to give it the unique phrase that is in Dr. Moffatt's
translation, as "the breath of a light whisper." One of the most dramatic passages of Scripture is in the story
of Elijah receiving a message from the Lord (see I Kings, 19: 11-12). His description is startling in its power.
Listen to it: "The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was
not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still
small voice." Moffatt translates the last phrase as: "After the fire came the breath of a light whisper." As
these men of old tuned themselves to the finest and best by a great quietness of soul, the voice breathed into
them a whisper of purest truth. That voice still comes to men in their greatest moments, and the message is a
guide unto truth. It is well if our lives are furnished with a knowledge of the pages of this our greatest
Book—so furnished that we hear its whisper, and go forth to obey its truth.

The Book therefore stands today not because it is ancient, or because it was said to have come down from
heaven, but because of its own inherent beauty of truth and wisdom, because the reading of it causes a
constant conviction that it cannot be other than a Divine revelation to men of the way to a high and holy
manner of life and living. Good wine needs no bush. A diamond justifies itself by the flash of its own clear,
transparent beauty.

In the time that is now at my disposal I can give but a brief statement on what is called the "Canon of Holy
Scripture." The word "Canon" is derived from a Hebrew and Greek word meaning a cane or reed. It denotes
something that is straight, something that is according to rule and measurement—hence it is that which has a
right to its place as containing the revelation of the Divine Will - a right that seems to have first approved
itself, in the matter of the oldest books, to Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra dates back to the middle of the fifth
century B.C., and constant Jewish tradition connects his name with the collecting and editing of the Old
Testament in the years immediately following the return from the Babylonian Exile. The final completion of
the Canon would belong to a later generation; but Ezra seems to have given it the general shape that we have
today. Nehemiah, who appeared fourteen years later than Ezra, in the book that carries his name, describes a
remarkable scene, when "The Law" was read aloud by Ezra and his assistants. Nehemiah goes on to tell of
the religious awakening that followed.

The oldest known translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was into the Greek Language, and this has come to be
known as "The Septuagint." Its origin is a little obscure; but it is established that the version was made in
Alexandria, and that it dates back to the beginning of the second century B.C. The Septuagint contains the
thirty-nine books of our Old Testament, and also fourteen other books, written originally in the Greek, and
known to us as the Apocrypha. These later books are not universally accepted as true Holy Scriptures. The
New Testament Canon, according to historical evidence, was substantially in its present form about the
middle of the second century A.D.

The name "Bible," which comes from the Greek word "Biblia," meaning "books," came into use in the fifth
century; and our modern title of "Bible" was adopted by Wycliffe, and soon came into general use. The

ancient Jews divided the Old Testament into sections suitable for reading in their synagogue services; and
our modern system of dividing each book of the Bible into chapters was introduced by one of the Cardinals
about the year 1250 A.D., while the system of verses was introduced in the year 1551 A.D. The divisions,
both into chapters and verses, are not always wise; but as they are useful, they have been, and will continue
to be, observed.

It is not an easy task to deal adequately with the two remaining items of furniture—the Square and the
Compasses. Everyday things, and things common to the life of many ages, are like the returning seasons.
They are well known, and are taken for granted; but they are none the less alluring. We do not always rightly
assess their value; but even to imagine their non-return is tragedy itself.

The Square and Compasses are generally together as symbols, and their mystical significance ranges from
the ideas set forth in the dictum—"To square our actions, and to keep them within due boundS," to the
thought of, "The Perfection of the Diety in His justice, infinite widom, and compassion." Very rightly do we
find that even the higher degrees of F.M. retain these essential items of furniture. The Square, as used in our
Lodges, should have its arms of equal length, and be without niche markings, for it is the trying square of the
working mason, by which he tests the accuracy of the stone he is working. Symbolically it teaches that
morality, truthfulness, and perfect honesty or square dealing are essential to all true life and action.

While, however, the true mason's trying square has legs of equal length, it was only natural that once the
instrument was established as an important item of our furniture, it should appear in slightly altered forms,
by varying the length of its legs. The square with legs in the proportion of 3 and 4, and therefore 5 between
the points, found considerable favour. Scientific minds also played with the various possible methods of
finding the true square. At least two of these have been established. A perfect square can be found by
describing a circle and drawing the line of its diameter. The two lines then drawn from the end of the
diameter to any point in the circumference must contain an angle of ninety degrees. This is established in
Euclid. The second method is that of making a triange whose sides are in the proportions 3, 4, and 5, and in
which the angle subtending the longest side must contain ninety degrees. A very interesting scientific study
is to be found in the Transactions of the Leicester Research Lodge, volume 7, wherein it is shown that the
figures 3, 4, and 5, of interesting mathematical relationship, have also an important inter-relationship in
music. From these figures every ratio in music can be deduced. May I commend that article to any brother
who is also a student of musical harmony.

Meditative study has also helped to find in the square new illustrations for our moral teaching, and Bro. W.
H. Rylands in the A.Q.C., Vol. 13, page 28, deduces from the fact that the square has its points properly
disposed towards each other, that the quality in the Mason which we car "square," properly disposes the soul,
and establishes peace of mind. The whole duty of a man's life is realised in love to God and love to his
neighbour. It is a three-pointed relationship that is perfect in proportion and rich in its results.

A little time spent in browsing in our Lodge Library has been profitable, chiefly because of the excellent
system of indexing, which was the work of our present librarian to whom we owe a full measure of gratitude;
but I failed to find much about the compasses. An interesting question appears to have been raised in the
New Zealand Craftsman" some years ago as to the plural form of the word compasses. It was then shown
that the present form originated in the year 1555, probably to avoid confusion with the name of the mariner's
compass. It was also shown that many tools with duplicate working parts have come to have plural names,
i.e., pliers, scissors, etc.

Of meditative teaching on both square and compasses our Library possesses some fine examples. It is not
necessary to repeat them here.

Finally, brethren, may I say that the furniture of our Lodges gives us symbols of such exceeding worth that
frequent contemplation of their moral teaching will furnish us in mind and heart to such purpose that when
the Eternal Square is laid against the spiritual stones that are our individual lives, we shall receive the
approbation of the Great Architect of the Universe, Whom we have sought to serve.