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Ecclesiastes Chapter 12, Verses 1-7
Masonic Third Degree
VERSE 1: YOUTH: Entered Apprentice
\"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth\": This alludes to the fact that as we grow older, each of us fondly remembers the glorious days of our youth when all things were possible. With the hindsight of age and experience, advice is given to youth to \"gather the harvest while they are young\" because as we age, we change and are not able to enjoy things with the same lightness of heart.
VERSE 2: MANHOOD...Fellow Craft
\"While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,\" refers to the fact that as we grow older, our eyes begin to fail. It is also an allegory to remembering back to the time when life looked bright with promise before the \"twilight years\" and \"sunset years\" of our lives.
\"nor the clouds return after the rain:\" Rest and recuperation take longer as we age.
VERSE 3: AGE....Master Mason
\"In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble\",refers to no longer being able to take care of yourself.
\"and the strong men shall bow themselves\" refers to the body\'s degeneration process and the inability to physically walk without stooping.
\"and the grinders cease because they are few,\" refers to the loss of teeth.
\"and those that look out of the windows be darkened\" refers to failing eyesight.
VERSE 4:
\"And the doors shall be shut in the streets\" refers to no longer being able to hear the noisiness of life due to deafness.
\"and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,\" refers to aged people being unable to sleep and arising early.
\"and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low\" refers to changes in the vocal chords which change and bring about a coarser and less melodious quality to the voice.
VERSE 5:
\"When they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way.\"
Elderly people become unfamiliar with the speed of which the world changes. Also, as we become older, our reflex speed decreases and things that we once tackled with abandon; we are now more cautious to attempt.
\"And the almond tree shall flourish.\"
Almond trees have large, delicate, snow-white blossoms. Figuratively, this means that our hair turns to white.
\"And the grasshopper shall be a burden.\"
When we are young, hope springs eternal. The grasshoppers that plagued the farmers were something to be dealt with by completely replanting the field, as a young man can withstand a total loss and look forward to the hope of the following seasons. However due to his decreased energies, an elderly farmer would find that the loss of an entire year\'s harvest (and all the work of replanting) to be a devastation and the elderly farmer would not look upon the same issue as \"lightly\" as when he was a youth.
\"And desire shall fail.\"
The dreams which take a long time to come to fruition are not as desirous in the elderly as in youth because they know they do not have the time to learn and work them to obtain the desired results. The gradual decrease in physical desire also diminishes in both male and female.
VERSE 6:
\"Or ever the silver chord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken.\"
The loosed silver cord is believed to denote the spinal column and therefore the physical infirmities (stooped back) of age. The golden bowl is believed to denote the brain and the gradual decline of mental powers, which in dotage is described as senility.
\"Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain.\"
Having a desire to urinate, but being unable to do so.
\"Or the wheel broken at the cistern.\"
The body contains all its blood, (the cistern is full), but the heart\'s pumping action (the wheel) ceases.
VERSE 7:
\"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.\"
This refers to \"ashes to ashes, dust to dust\", which are still the words voiced when we inter (bury) the dead.
While this Master Mason, Masonic third degree verse may seem unduly depressing to some, as it describes the deterioration of each individual part of the body; it accurately describes our journey through life and makes us ponder on our choices.
While it describes the deterioration of our physical \"temple\", and the passages of time which happen to each of us, we must remember that our ending is the same as our beginning. The LORD created us, gave us HIS commandments of law and it is to him that we return...which is the final triumph...the one treasure in life that cannot be taken away.
If you have lived your life properly, the words in the Masonic third degree verse as well as the Masonic degree verse in the previous 2 degrees take on new meaning. Old age is no longer \"the evil days\", but becomes instead reminiscent of the harvest...the love, the friendships, the experiences and the fond memories ...the true cornucopia of receiving the \"plenty\".
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