Knights of the Palm-Tree
Initiation Ritual
The organization entitled The Masonic Order of the Palm-tree, is based upon
the efforts of the Masonic fraternity to explore the Holy Land, and maybe its
accumulated facts available in the study of Masonic tradition and of the Holy
Scriptures. In its structure it is, in most respects, analogous to all Masonic
systems, having Supreme, Grand, and Subordinate bodies. None can be inducted
into its mysteries, save Master Masons who are in fellowship with the American
Holy Land Exploration, the London Palestine Fund, or some other recognized
Society engaged in Oriental labors.
1873
An ordinary assemblage of Knights of the Palm-tree is denominated a
Tabernacle. A combination of Sir Knights coutrolling a jurisdiction commensurate
with that of a Grand Lodge, is termed a Grand Tabernacle. The central and
controlling body of the Rite is entitled the Supreme Tabernacle; having its
headquarters at Jerusalem.
The proper place for assemblages of this Rite is the apartment of a Masonic
Lodge; but in the want of that, any convenient secluded room may be used, in the
discretion of the governing officers. The presence of at least four Sir Knights,
together with an authorized chief, is indispensable to the Induction of a
Candidate into the Rite, or the organization, for any purpose, of a subordinate
or Grand Tabernacle. The locality where the Tabernacle is pitched is technically
styled The Desert-place, and represents the broad arid wastes of Arabia. The
theory of Induction is "the rescue of a pilgrim lost upon the deserts, by a
band of Sir Knights of this Order, and his admission, by solemn ceremonies and
covenants, into their brotherhood."
The five officers necessary to pitch and constitute a Tabernacle, are named,
located, and ranked as follows:
1. THE CHIEF. His official title is Honoured Chief. His name is Suleyman. His
place is in the East of the Tabernacle.
2. THE FIRST SHEIKH. His official title is Worthy Sir Knight. His name is
Ibraheem. His place is in the South of the Tabernacle.
3. THE SECOND SHEIKH. His official title is Worthy Sir Knight. His name is
Ali. His place is in the West of the Tabernacle.
4. THE THIRD SHEIKH. His official title is Worthy Sir Knight. His name is
Hassan. His place is in the North of the Tabernacle.
5. THE KNIGHT-ERRANT. His official title is Worthy Sir Knight. His name is
Noureddeen. He is ex officia Conductor, Inside Guard, and Recorder of the Rite.
His place is near the portals of entrance. He may be assisted by one or more Sir
Knights if necessary.
In constituting the Grand Tabernacle and Supreme Tabernacle, the same classes
of officers are introduced, with no other change of title than the word
"Grand" or "Supreme" preceding, as "Honored Grand
Chief," "Grand Worthy Sir Knight,"etc.
The requisite qualifications for a Chief (Grand, Supreme, or Subordinate) is
that he has held Chief of a Tabemacle, in the first organization of the Order in
any locality, or at the will of the Grand Tabernacle of any jurisdiction. Any
Master Mason may serve as Sheikh and Knight-Errant.
Strict usage demands that only one applicant shall be inducted at the same
ceremony, but this rule is suspended in the discretion of the Chief, and the
number enlarged at his pleasure.
The technical name of the candidate (as also the name of this book) is TAMAB,
signifying a Palmtree.
He must be a Mastor Mason and qualified as stated before. To this rule there
is no exception. The fee for Induction into the Order is such as may be ordered
from time to time by the Board of Directors of the American Holy Land
Exploration, and this must be paid before the ceremony of Induction is
performed.
Pitching the Tabernacle and Inducting the Candidate
The five officers having assembled in a secure place, together with all Sir
Knights of the vicinage, an object representing the Palm-tree is set up in the
midst, and the apartment is prepared according to esoteric instructions, and the
candidate is introduced.
The Knight-Errant conducts the candidate into the room, and the door of
entrance is securely closed. Visitors enter by means of the VIGILANT KNOCK,
answered from the inside by the Knight-Errant or his deputy.
The Candidate, standing near the door of entrance, is thus addressed by the
Kuight-Errant:
SIR KNIGHT-ERRANT: My friend! How sultry and oppressive is this
noontide of day upon the illimitable desert! All around, as far as the eye can
reach, is silence and desolation. Not a tree; not a shrub; not a blade of grass.
Even the beasts and birds have fled to the covert of den and thicket to escape
this insupportable heat. Not a trace of man; for none save pilgrims, like
ourselves, lost upon the desert, would dare this dangerous hour of noon, and we
droop and faint beneath the unpitying sun.
Wearied with our severe travel: hungry from long fasting; scorched by a
radiance only felt in these Eastern lauds, we cannot proceed farther, and unless
speedy relief is afforded us, we perish.
Rest you here, then, my friend; you are more exhausted than I, while I take a
last look over the desert, if haply some helpmay be found. Somewhere in this
vicinity there should be a tabernacle of Knights of the Palm-tree, and I will
endeavor to find it. I promise you I will return; and if we perish, we will
perish together.
The Candidate now take his seat near the door. The Knight-Errant moves a few
steps, and waits the conclusion of the following ceremonies.
The Ceremony of Pitching the Tabernacle is now begun.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knights of the Palm Tree! We are assembled
here in a desert place. The earth is barren and desolate to the extreme horizon.
The sky overhanging us is sultry and cheerless. Let us, therefore, pitch our
tabernacle, that we may enjoy shelter and repose, during the noon-tide hour, and
have wherewithal to relieve weary pilgrims should any such pass this way.
Around the base of this noble Palm-tree let us encamp; for wherever the
Palm-tree grows, there is shade and rest: water beneath the earth, and the most
bountiful fruit above. Sir Knight Ibrahim, at which of the tent-ropes will you
stand?
SHEIKH IBRAHIM: Honoured Chief! at this one in the South.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knight Ali! at which of the tent-ropes will
you stand?
SHEIKH ALI: Honoured Chief! at this one in the West.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knight Hassan! at which of the tent-ropes will
you stand?
SHEIKH HASSAN: Honoured Chief! at this one in the North.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: And I will stand at this tent-rope in the East.
The other Sir Knights station themselves right and left of the various
officers, so as to form a hollow square-oblong.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knight Ibraheem! there are four great aims had
in view in all the operations of this Masonic Order of the Palm-tree; will you
rehearse the first?
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: Honoured Chief! the first is to enlarge our
respect for the Holy Scriptures, by enlarging our knowledge of the country in
which they were written.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Truly, Sir Knights, that is a rational aim. For
the Book, and the Land of the Book are mutually explanatory: the Bible guiding
us through the Holy Land and the Holy Land guiding us through the Bible: we read
the game creative and inspiring power in both. Sir Knight Ali, will you rehearse
the second?
SHEIKH ALI: Honoured Chief! the second is to afford a means of
recognition amongst all those Masons, of every people, kindred, and tongue, who
are engaged together in exploring Bible Lands, and bringing light and truth from
the ruins of the past.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Truly, Sir Knights, that is a worthy aim. For our
labours are in a desert place. The earth is barren and desolate. The overhanging
sky is sultry and cheerless. Only in the bonds of congenial friendship can the
desert way be made safe and pleasant. Sir Knight Hassan, will you rehearse the
third?
SHEIKH HASSAN: Honoured Chief! the third is to draw more closely
the bonds of unity amongst the Masonic brotherhood at large, and to urge upon
them more forcibly the Divine duty of Benevolence in houra of adversity and
misfortune.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Truly, Sir Knights, that is a God-like aim. For in
this life we are so harassed by enemies, and by those temptations that are our
greatest enemies, and by calamities which no man can foresee, that only under
the prop of fraternal assistance can we expect to stand. Our Grand Master
Solomon left it upon record, 'iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeueth the
countenance of his friend.' It was his saying, likewise, that 'two are better
than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall,
the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falletb,
for he hath not another to help him up.'
And there is yet a fourth aim before us, which is Divine. It is to exhort
each other to honor God and the Masonic Brotherhood by a virtuous and fruitful
life. As a type of this, let us consider the Palm-tree: fragrant, aspiring, a
shade in a weary land: a tree that abounds in fruit-bearing, even to the extreme
age of seventy years. We will emulate this lesson, which the God of nature and
revelation has given us through the inanimate tree.
And now, Sir Knights! unite your strength in the erection of our Desert
Tabernacle, even as Freemasons unite theirs in erecting 'the house not made with
hands.' Sir Knights! the tent-rope is strongly stretched in the East.
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: Honoured Chief! the tent rope is strongly
stretched in the South.
SHEIKH ALI: Honoured Chief! the tent-rope is strongly stretched in
the West.
SHEIKH HASSAN: Honoured Chief! the tent-rope is strongly stretched
in the North.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knights! our Desert Tabernacle heing made
secure from the stormy winds of the East, the South, the West, and the North,
let us pray.
Here each Sir Knight puts ou his hat, in accordanee with the Oriental custom
of covering the head at prayer.
Prayer
Oh Thou, who aforetime didst lead our fathers through the wilderness, and
didst bring them by a safe way into the Land of Promise! Thou, a Pillar of Cloud
to them by day, and of Fire by night! lend us at this time, oh, Lord God, the
guidance of Thy wisdom, and the spirit of Thy benevolence, that we may worthily
impart to all enquiring minds the Divine lessons of this Order, and so bind
Freemasons the more closely to the holy work of Benevolence in which we are
engaged. Amen. So mote it be!
SHEIKH HASSAN: So mote it be.
SHEIKH ALI: So mote it be.
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: So mote it be!
As each repeats the words, So mote it be, he takes off his hat. This
completes the Ceremony of Pitching the Tabernacle. All the Sir Knights, except
the first four officers, take their seats.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knights! our Desert Tabernacle being now
pitched, before we lie down to that repose so necessary at this noontide hour,
disperse yourselves for a little while over the desert, to the South, and the
West, and the North; and look you whether, perchance, there may be pilgrims
perishing near us, who have the Divine claim upon our hospitality.
Go, Sir Knights! go promptly! go cheerfully! for as the cold of the snow in
the time of harvest, so is a faitfful messenger to him that sent him; for he
refresheth the soul of his masters.
SHEIKH HASSAN: Honoured Chief! I perceive in the north-west one
swiftly running, who seems to crave our protectiou and help.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Give him a welcome, Sir Knights. We have enough
here and to spare; prepare a bountiful welcome for him.
Here the Knight-Errant comes forward, crying out wildly, as though his mind
was affected, and in the extremity of distress.
KNIGHT ERRANT NOUREDDEEN: I beheld, and lo, there was no man! and
all the birds of heaven were fled! I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a
wilderness! Sir Knights of the Palm-tree, I claim your hospitality by our
covenant of salt. Weary, hungry, thirsty, scorched by the desert heats, I demand
your assistance by our mutual vows.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: I acknowledge you, Sir Knight, as a Knight of the
Palm-tree, bound to us indissolubly by the covenant of salt, and so entitled to
our largest welcome. For what saith our Royal founder?: Whoso giveth to the poor
shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
Make known your demands, Sir Knight.
KNIGHT-ERRANT NOUREDDEEN: For myself, water, shade, rest, food. I
also have a companion, not a member of this Order, whom I left just now,
exhausted upon the desert. I pray you, Honoured Chief, extend to lam, with me,
these hospitalities of your tabernacle.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: The claims of humanity know no restrictions of
sect or society. Sir Knights, accompany me to the relief of the stranger. Sir
Knight Ali, bear to him a cup of cold water.
The five go together to the Candidate. The Chief raises him to his feet by
the Casual Grip of the rite. Water is given him to drink. Shiekh Ibraheem takes
his right, and Shiekh Hassan his left arm, in the peculiar manner of the Masonto
Prop, and lead him forward to the Palm-tree.
KNIGHT-ERRANT NOUREDDEEN: Honoured Chief! thanks to your timely
aid, my friend is restored. Let me now explain the circumstances of our entrance
upon the desert this morning, and introduce him to you. His name is …. Under
my guidance, he was in search of a tabernacle of the Masonic Order of Knights of
the Palm-tree, craving induction. He is a member of the American Holy Land
Exploration, as his certificate will prove. He is a Master Mason, made in the
year … in … Lodge, No. … at …, and having heard of the noble deeds of
your Order, he is desirous to cast in his lot among you, and aid, to the utmost
of his ability, in bringing to light the hidden things of Masonic and Scriptural
truth, from the mother-land of both.
Let his plea enter your ears, Honoured Chief, and move you to grant him
fellowship in your Order.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knights! so many of you as accept the plea of
this applicant, make it known by the Desert Sign.
All the Sir Knights present reply by placing the right hand upon the left
breast.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: My friend! are you willing to assume the
obligations that bind the members of this Order to be charitable; and will you
honourably preserve the secrets, and observe the rules of the Masonic Order of
the Palm-tree?
CANDIDATE: I will.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: You have been informed of the four great aims that
actuate Sir Knights of this Order, in the holy work of Benevolence; are they
such as cordially meet your approbation?
CANDIDATE: They are.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Then no proper reason exists for refusing your
request. Sir Knights, our duty is imperative. Resume your places around the
palm-tree, Sir Knights, and honour, by your presence, the communication of our
rite.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knights! the Candidate has now assumed the
vows of the Order, and has become a Novitiate of the Palm-tree; join me in
saluting him by the Desert Sign of Peace.
The Desert Sign of Peace is what is known in the East as the Salaam. It is
made by placing the right hand alternately on the left breast, the lips, and the
forehead, at the same time bowing slowly and lowly, and repeating the Arabic
words, "Salaam Aleik", which signify, "Peace be with thee."
CHIEF SULEYMAN: My friend! having assumed the sacred vows of the
Order of the Palm-tree, we acknowledge you as a Novitiate, and will enter with
you into the covenant of salt. This, among Orientals and Knights of the Palm
tree, is a mutual pledge of fidelity and enduring brotherhood: the most binding
covenant known among the tribes. To taste snit together is an assurance of
hospitality and protection. Sir Knight Ibraheem! extend to the Novitiate the
dish of salt, and let us all join him in the covenant of salt.
The five officers partake of sall with the Novitiate, in the same dish.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: My brother! you are now our guest, and under our
protection. Now we give you a name among us, that of TAMAH, or the Palmtree.
Henceforth, you shall share our food and our secrets. Sir Knight Hassan,
extend to Brother Tamar the fruit of the Palm-tree, and let us all join him in a
desert repast.
The five officers partake of dates with the Novitiate, in the same dish.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knight Ali! what ceremony is next in order, in
the induction, of a Sir Knight of the Palm-tree?
SHEIKH ALI: Honoured Chief! it is our duty, before investing
Brother Tamar with the essential secrets of this Rite, to draw for him suitable
illustrations of hospitality from the Holy Pages before us, that so our Brother
may acquire the Divine spirit of hospitality from celestial sources.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knight Ali! this counsel is good and I will
select from the Holy Pages the forcible example of Abraham.
"Abraham sat in the tent at the heat of the day. And he lift up his eyes
and looked, and lo, three men stood by him, and when he saw them, he ran to meet
them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My Lord,
if now I have found favour in thy sijrht, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy
servant; let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and
rest yourselves under the tree; and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort
ye your hearts. After that ye shall pass on; for therefore are ye come to your
servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said.
Sir Knights! make the other three selections in due order."
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: I will select for our brother the example of Lot:
"Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And there came two angels to Sodom at
even. And Lot seeing them rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face
towards the ground. And he said, Behold, now, my lords, turn in, I pray you,
into your servant's house, and tarry all night; and wash your feet, and ye shall
rise up early and go on your way. And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the
street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto Mm
and entered into his house. And he made them a feast and they did eat."
SHEIKH ALI: I will select for our brother the example of the
Shunammite woman:
"Elisha passed to Shunem, where there was a great woman, and she
constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he
turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold, now, I
perceive that this is a holy man of God which passeth by us continually.
Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, and let us set for
him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick. And it shall be,
when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither."
SHEIKH HASSAN: I will select for our brother the example of the
disciples of Christ at Emmaus:
"And they drew nigh unto the village whither they went. And he made as
though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with
us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry
with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and
blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they
knew him. And he vanished out of their sight."
CHIEF SULEYMAN: My brother! these examples are designed to
stimulate you to extend hospitality without grudging, as thereby, like the
patriarch Abraham, you may entertain angels unawares.
Sir Knights! let us now reward the obedience and confidence of our brother,
by exhibiting to him the forcible manner in which Knights of the Palm-tree come
up to the aid of a distressed Sir Knight in his time of adversity.
Sir Knight Ibraheem ! you will lead off in the exhibitiou of the Masonic
Prop.
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: My Brother! when misfortnnes assail you, and the
heavy burdens of life press you down, I will come up to you from the South, and
will place myself beside you thus, and will hold you strongly up in the Name of
God.
SHEIKH HASSAN: My Brother! when misfortunes assail you, and the
heavy burdens of life press you down, I will come up to you from the North, and
will place myself beside you thus, and will hold you strongly up in the Name of
God!
SHEIKH ALI: My Brother! when misfortunes assail you, and the heavy
burdens of life press you down, I will come up to you from the West, and will
place myself beside you thus, and will hold you strongly up in the Name of God!
CHIEF SULEYMAN: My Brother! when misfortunes assail you, and the
heavy burdens of life press you down, I will come up to you from the East, and
will place myself beside you thus, and will hold you strongly up in the Name of
God.
Thus sustained, how can a Freemason fall? thus encouraged, how can a
Freemason despair?
We are instructed in the Holy Pages before us, that ‘whoso stoppeth his
ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, hut shall not be heard.’
‘Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake not.’ For he that bears
the benevolent part among his fellows ‘shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf shall not
wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’
Sir Knights! once again join me in saluting our brother by the Desert-Sign of
Peace.
The Sign is made as before.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knights! we are assured in yonder infallible
guide, that the righteous shall flourish like the Palm-tree, and shall grow up
like the cedar in Lebanon. Let us, therefore, now communicate to our Brother
Tamar the mystical growth of the Palm-tree, that he may experience the full
force and application of the emblem. Sir Knight Hassan, will you begin?
SHEIKH HASSAN: Brother Tamar! raise your head manfully towards
Heaven! scorn those mean tricks and vices by which men degrade themselves to the
level of the brute. Raise it up, I say, like the Palm-tree, tall and towering,
where the soft showers and genial sunbeams of Heaven can best gladden your
exalted top!
SHEIKH ALI: Brother Tamar! raise your head slowly and prudently
towards Heaven! human character is of slow growth. When the storm of adversity
comes upon yon, bend humbly, that so, when the tempest is overpast, you may rise
again and not be broken. Eaise it up, I say, like the Palmtree, tough and
elastic, that you may f ully attain to your threescore years and ten!
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: Brother Tamar! raise your head gracefully towards
Heaven! God made man, of all his creatures, upric/ht. In you may the world see
the charms of purity, reliance upon God, and hope of immortality. Raise it up, I
say, like the Palm-tree, straight and beautiful, like the plumb-line, that
emblem of Masonic rectitude!
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Brother Tamar! raise your head usefully towards
Heaven! scorn to encumber the grouud as a barren, worthless tree. Honour God and
the Masonic Brotherhood by abundaut fruitage. Eaise it up, I say, like the
Palm-tree, genial, rich ingood works, that when you shall pass away, your memory
may be f ragrant among the sons of men!
I now proceed to create you a Knight of the Masonic Order of the Palm-tree
with a full Induction.
The Monitorial Charges
All being seated, Chief Suleyman, assisted by the Shieks, communicates to the
newly-made Knight the Monitorial Charges as follows:
CHIEF SULEYMAN: Sir Knight Tamar! we entitle this Degree, as you
are already informed, The Masonic Order of the Palm-tree. That noble and
graceful object is the pride of the Holy Land, as it was once its national
emblem. When Titus destroyed Jerusalem and queuched the life of the Jewish
nation, he struck numerous coins and medals in honour of his victory, upon which
he impressed this emblem of beauty and fruitfulness: The Palm-tree, the tall,
shadowy, fruit-bearing, enduring tree, equally a delight to the eye and a joy to
the sense.
The Palm-tree arrives at perfection at about the age of thirty years, but
continues strong and productive until seventy, thus closely assimilating to the
life of a temperate, godly man. For what pays the Psalmist, ‘He that will love
life let him eschew evil and do good, let him seek peace and ensue it;’ and
the Royal Philosopher adds, ‘The wicked shall not live out half his days.’
The Palm-tree yields year by year from two to four hundred pounds of fruit,
the most nutritious and wholesome of all that eastern lands produce. It is,
therefore, in every respect the choicest emblem that Holy Land produces for a
Knightly Brotherhood of Freemasons, chosen out of the mass of humanity for their
mental, moral, and physical character.
The Palm-tree is also the badge of our Society and worn by no other;
therefore the display of the Silver Palm-tree upon the person is prima facie
evidence, to be followed up of course by a fuller exhibition of credentials,
that the wearer is a Knight of the Palm-tree.
And most of all, bear in mind, that the Palm-tree is an emblem of
fruitfulness in good works. The Orientals celebrate no less than three hundred
and sixty uses for the Palm-tree, one for every day in the year. Make this
thought practical; and as in our improved chronology we have added five days to
the year, so under the light of religion and Freemasonry add to your faith
virtue, and to virtue knowledge; and so, step by step, ascend the mystical ladder marked out
for us in yonder Holy Book.
The four grand objects wrought out in these impressive ceremonies were fully
rehearsed in your hearing, and you expressed your assent to them. The summing-up
of the whole is to inculcate mutual aid more strongly among Masons. We look upon
human life as a desert-journey, and every man as a pilgrim, wandering over an
unknown, inhospitable way, liable at any moment to stand in need of relief. This
is the expression of all Oriental systems of Freemasonry, and we but imitate
them in making to you now our solemn declarations.
Knight Hassan, will you begin?
SHEIKH HASSAN: Whenever I discover you to be in heavy distress and
affliction, I promise you that my Heart shall be moved to share in your sorrows.
SHEIKH ALI: But I will do more than that. Whenever I discover you
to be in heavy distress and affliction, I promise you not only that my Heart
shall move for you, but my Foot shall be prompt to bring me to your relief.
SHEIKH IBRAHEEM: But I will do more than that. Whenever I discover
you to be in heavy distress and affliction, I promise you not only that my Heart
shall move for you, and my Foot bring me to you, but my Head shall be exercised
to discover means for your relief.
CHIEF SULEYMAN: But I will do more than that. Whenever I discover
you to be in heavy distress and affliction, I promise you not only that my Heart
shall move for you, and my Poot bring me to you, and my Head discover means for
your relief, but my Hand shall be open and full and emptied into yours, as far
as it may be with due regard to myself and family.
Thus, with all the organs God hath bestowed upon us for each other's benefit,
we strive to comfort, sustain, and relieve those whom He hath chastened.
You will now select from the seven Masonic Localities of the Holy Land, one
wherein you prefer that your inheritance shall be set. They are:
1. Tyre, the ancient city of King Hiram.
2. Gebal, the city of Hiram the Architect.
3. Lebanon, the mountaiu of the Cedars.
4. The Bay of Bafts, near Beyrout.
5. Joppa, the city of Transhipment.
6. The Olay Grounds, the locality of the Furnaces.
7. Jerusalem, the place of the Temple.
Let us pray:
Most Merciful God! once more Thou hast graciously regarded our prayers. We
owe Thee all gratitude for the pleasure of social communion. The bonds by which
Thou hast bound us together are pleasing and beneficial. Do Thou add thy
blessing to them and so strengthen us that we may duly keep our vows and enjoy
the reward of well-doing. Preserve us, we beseech Thee, from the heavier
misfortunes of life, but in every dispensation of Thy providence may we be
patient, knowing that they who endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Amen.