Exodus, chap. 6. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."

Every Royal Arch Mason is requested to read with perticular attention the i. Kings, 8th chapter. The compiler considers the 8th and 9th verses of so much importance to every one who would wish to have every thing arranged with propriety in this degree, that he has transcribed them.

"And they drew out the staves, that the end of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt."

CHAPTER X.

HISTORICAL

REMARKS RELATING,

TO KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.

These cannot be uninteresting to a Royal Arch Mason.

This famous fabrick was situated on Mount Moriah, near the place where Abraham was about to offer up his son Isaac, and where David met and appeased the destroying angel. It was begun in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon; the third after the death of David; four hundred and eighty years after the passage of the Red Sea, and on the second day of the month Zif, being the second month of the sacred year, which answers to the 21st of April, in the year of the world, two thousand nine hundred and ninetytwo, and was carried on with such prodigious speed, that it was finished, in all its parts, in little more than seven years.

M

By the Masonick art, and the wise regulations of Solomon, every part of the building, whether of stone, brick, timber, or metal, was wrought and prepared before they were brought to Jerusalem; so that the only tools made use of in erecting the fabrick, were wooden instruments prepared for that purpose, The noise of the axe, the hammer, and every other tool of metal, was confined to the forests of Lebanon, where the timber was procured, and to Mount Libanus, and the plains and quarries of Zeradathah, where the stones were raised, squared, marked, and numbered; that nothing might be heard among the Masons at Jerusalem, but harmony and peace.

In the year of the world, three thousand and twenty nine, king Solomon died, and was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, who, immediately after the death of his father, went down to Shechem, where the chiefs of the people were met together to proclaim him king.

"When Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon, and whose ambition had long aspired to the throne, heard of the death of the king, he hastened to return from Egypt, to put himself at the head of the discontented tribes, and lead them on to rebellion. He accordingly assembled them together, and came to king Rehoboam, and spake to him after this manner Thy father made our yoke grievous; now, therefore, ease somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed. And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me, to return answer to this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind unto this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the

counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them, What advice give ye, that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us? And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. For, whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me, on the third day. And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsoook the counsel of the. old men; and answered them after the