Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor - Rose Croix

a happy and lasting effect on our lives! 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 charity to all
mankind! May all thy miracles and mighty works fill us with thy dread, and thy goodness
impress us with a love of thy holy name! May holiness to the Lord be engraven upon all
our thoughts, words, and actions! May the incense of piety ascend continually unto thee
from the altar of our hearts, and burn day and night, as a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling
savor, well-pleasing unto thee! And since sin has destroyed within us the first temple of
purity and innocence, may thy heavenly grace guide and assist us in rebuilding a second
temple of reformation, and may the glory of this latter house be greater than the glory of
the former! Amen, so mote it be.
Principal Sojourner--Companions, arise and follow me.
He now conducts them once around the Chapter, during which time he reads from the
text-book the first six verses of the third chapter of Exodus:--
"Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led
the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush;
and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."
&c.
The reading of these verses is so timed, that just when they
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are finished the candidates have arrived in front of a representation of the burning bush,
placed in a corner of the Chapter; when the Principal Sojourner directs them to halt, and
slips up the bandages from their eyes.
One of the members now personates the Deity, behind the bush, and calls out, Moses!
Moses!
Principal Sojourner (answering for candidates.)--Here I am.
Companion behind the bush--Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. I am the God of thy fathers, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Principal Sojourner directs the candidates to kneel, and he covers their faces again, and
then says--And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Principal Sojourner (to candidates.)--Arise, and follow me.
He then leads them three times around the Chapter, during which time he reads from the
text-book 2 Chronicles, ch. xxxvi., vs. 11 to 20: