Grand United Order of Moses
Ritual of the Deliverance or Second Degree
The C. enters as in the First Degree, except that he is loaded down with
heavy burdens on his back. When C. enters conducted by R.W.M., lodge rises and
sings a solemn ode.
1905
Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing stream doth flow
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths and hell’s Destruction
Land me safe on Canaan’s side:
Songs of praises
I will ever give to Thee.
C. is conducted to the R.W.H.P. who reads the second chapter of Exodus, 11-22
verses:
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out
unto his brethren and looked on their burdens: an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one
of his brethren.
And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man,
he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove
together: and he said to him that did the wrong, wherefore smitest thou thy
fellow?
And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to
kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this
thing is known.
Now when Pharaoh heard this thing,he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled
from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a
well.
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew, and
filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
And the shepherds came and drove them away but Moses stood up and helped
them, and watered their flock.
And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come
so soon to day?
And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hands of the shepherds,
and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left
the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his
daughter.
And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have
been a stranger in a strange land.
R.W.H.P. then says: There is an eye that sees, and an ear that
hears the cries and groans of the oppressed. He will send you deliverance if you
will only trust the God of Abraham, Isaac and Moses, even the God of Moses, our
Rock and our Salvation.
The C. is conducted around three times and brought in front of the R.W.L and
the V R.W.L. They read thus: My friends, your cry is heard and your
prayer answered. Thou shalt be loosened from thy bur dens and enjoy that God—given
right vouchsafed to all—freedom. Not only be thou free from sin, but from the
tyrant that requires bricks without straw. From henceforth let God’s Word be
as a light to thy feet and a lamp to thy path, This world is a wilderness of
woe. The Red Sea spreads before; the mountains tower above us; the parched
desert lies barren and burning around you; but trust thou in God do right live
clean; do unto others as you would have them do to you. Remember the time is
short.
Lodge g. n. 7 times. The R.W.L. then asks: Do you wish to be free
from your burdens?
C. answers: I do.
R.W.L. says to the R.W.M.: Loose him and set him free.
Burdens are then removed while lodge sings softly a few verses of
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound," etc.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found:
Was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And graced my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
C. is now conducted to the R.W.P.L. who reads thus: Judgment,
also, will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet and the hail
shall sweep away the refuges of lies. Remember there is an unseen foe from an
unseen source from whom have come the season of hastening and inevitable
retribution. The heavens above are covered with frowning blackness, from which
the sharp keen lightnings blaze and the thunders roar. What
filled their massive mountains of wrath? What stored them with fiery vengeance?
It is the criminal’s own deeds that have done it. So I warn him to beware! The
soul has its own firmament, and it is the still small voice within, more
terrible than volcanic shocks, that thunders out the sentence.
The C. is led to the desk of the R.W.S. who reads: But why is
this? The soul of man betrays in its own experience that the grasp of eternal
justice is upon it. It fears and starts at the whisper of an invisible monitor
within which simply speaks as God bids it speak. The soul trembled because the
very earth seems to shake under the tread of guilt and that tread like a
volcanic touch.
The C. is taken to the altar before the R.W.H.P. who reads: Thus
the secret of guilt is safe nowhere. It carries the tempest and the lightnings
with it. The very firmament is roofed above, whether at the equator or at the
poles whether in the caves of the earth or on the mountain top. How different
the experience of the heart conscious of Purity and winged with the hope of
immortality! See its emblem above, beneath the arch-surmounted Cross! There,
feeble as it is, abides secure. No lightnings blaze around it. No weight can
crush it. It is safe under the shelter that is like a pavilion of rocks. God,
himself, through Jesus Christ, is its security and strength ; and beneath the
cross, nothing can harm you. It is true the soul may be assaulted and pierced by
the enemy and the unseen foe; but be not alarmed if your faith is in God.
"Fear not" is the watchword. Rest quietly and securely under the
shadow of the Cross of Christ; it gives wings; it gives rest.
Lodge rises and sings the following ode in long meter.
The cross—it takes our guilt away,
It holds the fainting spirit up;
It cheers with hope the gloomy days,
And sweetens every bitter cup.
It makes the coward spirit brave
And nerves the feeble arm to flight;
It takes its terrors from the grave,
And gilds the bed of death with light.
The R.W.H.P. prays; all sing:
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms:
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
Cho. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near.
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms?
Token, distress sign, watch word and grip given.
The word token is M. G. W. D. U.
G.—F. F. and T. b. interlocked.
Distress sign. both h. l. behind you with body bent forward.
The watchword for this degree is Fear not.
Dismiss. End of 2nd. degree.