Mark
Masonry
R.
E. TREBILCOCK
RITUAL
OF THE MARK MASTER DEGREE
The
degree of Mark Master has continued with as few changes as any Masonic degree
of which we have knowledge. It is
impossible for anyone to specify accurately what the ritual consisted of
previous to 1797, but in that year, Thomas Smith Webb issued the first complete
Masonic Monitor which included the Capitular degrees.
We have before us, as we write,
this edition of Webb; in it he says of the degree:
The first section explains the manner of
convocating and opening a Mark Master Lodge.
It teaches the duties of the respective officers, and recapitulates the
mystic ceremony of introducing a candidate.
In this section is exemplified the regularity and good order that was
observed by the craftsmen on Mount Libanus, and in the plains and quarries of
Zeredathah, and ends with a beautiful display of the manner by which one of the
principal events took place.
In the second section, the Mark Master
Mason is particularly instructed in the history of this degree, and the
increased obligation he is under to stretch forth his assisting hand to the
relief of an indigent and worthy brother.
The distinguishing marks and
characteristics are also explained and illustrated in this section. In the course of the lecture the following
texts of Scripture are recited, viz.:
Then follow five quotations taken from Psalms, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts all having to do with the “stone that the builders rejected.” In many jurisdictions this has been changed by using quotations that are not so monotonous, since references are made throughout the degree to the same passages.
The Charge which follows is
identical with that in use to this day; the Parable of the Vineyard occupied an
important place; and the Mark Master Song, as now used, was printed in full.
The degree of Mark Master in 1797 is that of 1964!
THE
SCRIPTURE USED IN THE MARK DEGREE
Quotations from the Scriptures appear very
prominently throughout the ritual of the Mark Master degree, beginning with the
opening and appearing also in the closing ceremonies.
These include excerpts from I Peter, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Revelations, Matthew
and Proverbs. In a instances not all of
the verse has been used, to enable it to fit into the ritual ceremony. A few changes are necessary so as to be
inoffensive to any religious belief.
An instance of this appears in the opening ceremonies as taken from I
Peter:
Wherefore,
laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all
evil speaking; 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 lively (changed to “living”) stones, are built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (“by Jesus Christ” stricken out to make
acceptable to Hebrew and Moslem).
Verse 3 is omitted entirely, having no
connection with the ritual. Instead of
continuing to quote from Peter, the next section jumps over to Isaiah 28:16:
Therefore, thus
saith the Lord God (changed to “Wherefore, also it is contained in the
Scripture”)
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a
stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; he that
believeth shall not make haste to pass it over (“to pass it over” is stricken
out of the ritual).
And there are changes made in verse 7 of I Peter 2:
Unto you
therefore who believe he is precious (ritual reads “it is an honor”) but unto
them which is disobedient (ritual says “and even to them which be disobedient”),
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the
corner.
And jumping to verse 15-17 of the same chapter, we read:
For so it is
the will of God (the ritual says “Brethren, this is the will of God”), that
with well doing ye may put to silence (“may” is left out of the ritual) the
ignorance of foolish men: as free, and
not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of
God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
Honor the King (The ritual says: “Honor all men; love the brotherhood;
fear God.”).
The Scripture of the perambulations is taken from Ezekiel 44, verses 1,
2, 3, and 5, and there is no change in the ritual from that of the
Scripture. These passages refer to the
vision of Ezekiel, to understand which we must refer to Ezekiel 40, verses 2
and 3:
In the visions
of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high
mountain . . . and he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man, whose
appearance was like the appearance of brass, . . . and he stood in the gate (of
the City of Jerusalem).
The man thereupon conducted him about the Temple giving information and
instruction to Ezekiel, when finally,
The he brought
me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the
east; and it was shut.
The follows verses 2, 3, and 5, omitting 4, which has no connection.
We encounter in the ritual the following:
. . . what you
give, give freely, for the Lord loves a cheerful giver.
The passage is taken from II Corinthians 9:7:
Every man
according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of
necessity: for God loveth a cheerful
giver.
A passage from Ezekiel is twice used in the ritual (Ezekiel 44:5), where
Ezekiel is told to listen carefully to all that has been said; this applies
equally to the instruction being given the candidate:
Mark well, and
behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, all that I say unto thee
concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws
thereof, and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of
the sanctuary.
In the Revelation of Saint John the Divine appears a passage of importance
to the Mark Master. It is in Revelation
2:17, and refers to the message to the churches:
To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he hath
receiveth it.
The white stone with the name written thereon is one of the principal
pieces of furniture of a Mark Master lodge and its traditions and symbolism are
carefully explained to each candidate.
Not only did the “white stone” convey the name, but it was also the
stone found necessary for completing the temple. Just so is the name essential for completing
the spiritual temple.
And finally, we come to the beautiful parable of the vineyard, quoted
exactly from Matthew 20:1-16. The
quotation follows a conversation between Jesus and Peter, his disciple. The discussion is on the matter of
everlasting life and the parable is used to impress upon Peter that whosoever
seeks eternal life shall find it whether that search begins in youth, in
manhood, or in age when one comes in “at the eleventh hour,” “receiving as much
as they who have borne the burden of the day.”
The closing passage of scripture is taken from Proverbs 3:1, and carries
on the story of eternal life by calling attention to those things necessary to
attain it:
Forget not
God’s law; but let thine heart keep His commandments; for length of days, and
long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind
them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart; so shalt thou
find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
And what a fine theme on which to close a Masonic degree!
A
MARK MASTER’S WORKING TOOLS
Why were the chisel and mallet chosen as the working tools of a Mark
Master? What particular relationship do
these tools have with the degree of Mark Master?
First, let us see what we are told about these implements:
The Mallet morally teaches us to correct
irregularities, and to reduce man to a proper level; so that, by quiet
deportment, he may, in the school of discipline, learn to be content.
What the Mallet is to the workmen, enlightened reason is to the passions; it
curbs ambitions, depresses envy, moderates anger, and encourages good
dispositions; whence arises among Freemasons, that comely order,
Which nothing earthly gives, or can
destroy; the soul’s calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy.
The Chisel
morally demonstrates the advantages of discipline and education. The mind, like the diamond in its original
state, is rude and unpolished; but as the effect of the Chisel on the external
coat soon presents to view the latent beauties of the diamond, so education discovers
the latent virtues of the mind, and draws them forth to range the large field
of matter and space, to display the summit of human knowledge, our duty to God
and to man.
A progressive study of Masonic working tools will show both a practical and
symbolic use of these instruments; this is the teaching of Freemasonry, and how
well we absorb this teaching will decide how good a Freemason we are.
In the first place, their practical purpose is explained in the Mark
Master lecture; but the candidate is not told that with these tools he can
communicate with another brother, for it is with these instruments that he
makes the Masonic cipher alphabet. It is
with these instruments that he can place his individual mark upon each piece of
work which he may complete for the building of the temple. And here for the first time he is taught
individual responsibility. Heretofore he
has been working for the combined interest of the human family; now he is
taught he has an individual responsibility, and that each piece of work he
presents has a distinct personal value; that his work must be square and true,
and that those who inspect will, through his mark, be able to detect imperfect
work, or work presented by imposters.
But most important is the thought that each of us must perfect our own
lives; that it is in our power to build a substantial structure or an imperfect
one. Our lives are like blocks of stone
which the sculptor, by striking off bits here and there, may form into a
beautiful work of art, the value of which depends solely on the vision of the
artist himself. The Chisel and Mallet
are his instruments for producing his masterpiece. So does the Mark Master, using his Chisel and
Mallet as spiritual instruments, perfect his character by striking off all
those vices and irregularities which mar a life, and reveal a perfect
character, the finest gift one can offer to the Great Overseer.
In the lodge we are taught the value of each stone that goes into the
temple, materially and spiritually. In
chapter we are taught we are the architects of our own lives and that it is
within our power to say whether that life be good or bad.
How important to us, as Freemasons, are the teachings of the Chisel and
the Mallet which give us an insight into our duties and our possibilities!
THE
ANTIQUITY OF THE MARK
William J. Hughan, the most famous of the English Masonic historians,
says of the Mark degree:
The antiquity of Mark Masonry cannot be doubted. Operatively considered and even speculatively,
it has enjoyed special prominence for centuries; records of the custom being
followed by speculative brethren, according to existing records, dating back to
1600, in which year, on the 8th of June,
“Ye principal
warden and chief master of maisons, Wm. Schaw, master of work to ye Kingis
Maistie”,
met
members of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Now No. 1) at Holyrood House, at which
meeting the Laird of Auchinleck was present, and attested the minutes of the
assembly by his Mark, as did the operatives, in accordance with the Schaw
Statutes of December 28, 1598, which provided
“That the day of reassauying (receiving) of
said fellow of craft or master be orderlie buikit and his name and Mark insert
in the said buik.”
Another minute book of the same lodge contains a list of members in 1797,
setting out after each name the date on which the member received the degree of
R.A. The earliest date given is 1745.
Turning to America, we find a reference in a minute book of a lodge in
Virginia of the degree of the degree being conferred in 1753.
So, we can trace the Royal Arch back with certainty to a few years
before 1744 (say 1740, and the place, England.
It is probably very much older, but there we must leave it. Some day, perhaps, some old manuscript may
turn up which will give it still greater antiquity, but it is not likely.
(Adapted from an article from The Royal Arch Mason, Volume X, Number 11,
Fall 1972, pages 332 - 336)
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