Grand United Order of True Reformers
Ritual of the Fourth, or Friendship Degree
Conductor examines the members and reports.
1875
W. G. M.: The members will rise while the D. G. M. opens the Lodge
in the Fourth, or Friendship Degree.
D. G. M.: By the desire of the W. G. M., I declare this Lodge
opened in the Fourth, or Friendship Degree, for the purpose of conferring its
honors.
W. G. M.: I declare it so opened.
A. C. gives four loud knocks on the door.
D. G. M.: Who comes there?
C.: Those of the Charity Degree desiring to be initiated into the
mysteries of the Friendship Degree.
D. G. M.: Admit them.
C. enters the candidates and conducts them to the chair of the W. G. M.
D. G. M.: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever
is deceived thereby is not wise, and he that loveth wine and oil shall not be
rich.
W. G. M.: Who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who
hath babblings, who hath wounds without cause?
D. G. M.: They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek
mixed wine.
D. G. M. and W. G. M. together: Look not upon the wine when it is
red, when it giveth its color in the cup; at last it biteth like a serpent and
stingeth like an adder.
W. G. M.: Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of
strength to mingle strong drink. You will now please listen to the love of
Jonathan and David.
D. G. M.: And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said
before Jonathan: What have I done, what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin
before thy father that he seeketh my life?
And he said unto him, God forbid, thou shall not die; behold my father will
do nothing either great or small but that he will show it me, and why should my
father hide this thing from me? Is it not so.
And David sware moreover and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have
found grace in thine eyes, and he saith let not Jonathan know this lest he be
grieved; but truly, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, there is but one
step between me and death.
Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth I will even do it
for thee.
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me, or what if thy father answer
thee roughly?
Then Jonathan said to David, To-morrow is the new moon and shalt be missed
because thy seat will be empty; and when thou hast stayed three days, then thou
shall go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when
the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel, and I will shoot
three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark; and behold, I send
a lad, saying, go find out the arrows; if I expressly say unto the lad, behold
the arrows are on this side of thee, take them, then come thou, for them is
peace to thee and do hurt, as the Lord liveth; but if I say thus unto the young
man, behold the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee
away; and as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken, of, behold the
Lord be between thee and me forever.
So David hid himself in the field, and when the new Moon was come the king
sat him down to eat meat; and the king sat upon his seat as at other times, even
upon a seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side and
David's place was empty; nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day, for he
thought something hath befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean.
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month,
that David's place was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan, his son, wherefore
cometh not the son of Jesse to meat neither yesterday nor to-day?
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to
Bethlehem. For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground thou shalt not
be established nor thy kingdom; wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he
shall surely die.
And Jonathan answered Saul, his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he
be slain? what hath he done?
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it
was determined of his father to slay David.
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the
second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had
done him shame.
And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at
the time appointed with David, and a lad with him; and he said unto his lad run,
find out now the arrows which I shoot; and as the lad ran he shot an arrow
beyond him.
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrows which Jonathan had shot,
he cried after the lad und said, Is not the arrows beyond thee?
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not; and Jonathan's
lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
But the lad knew not anything, only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad and said unto him, Go, carry
them to the city.
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South
and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times, and they
kissed one another and wept with one another until David exceeded.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn, both of
us, in the name of the Lord, saying, the Lord is between me and thee, and
between my seed and thy seed forever,
And he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the city.
W. G. M.: You discover, in the lesson just read, what true
friendship is and what a covenant of this kind implies. In like manner you are
pledged to each other, to render such aid as circumstances may from time to time
require. You will receive the obligation.
Obligation
In the presence of' the members of the Friendship Degree here assembled, I,
..., do solemnly promise, declare and say, that I will keep sacred and
inviolable all the secrets of this Degree; that I will neither write, indite, or
cause to be written or indited, in part or in whole, any of them upon anything
movable or immovable, so that the same may be by any means obtained. And I
furthermore promise that I will keep them in accordance with the instructions
contained in this Degree, as far as possible, to the faithful performance of all
which I pledge my most sacred honor.
There are to this Degree a Countersign, Token and Word.
The countersign is given by crossing both hands on each shoulder and let them
fall to your side.
The token is the word Truth.
The pass is the word Stranger, and is to be used as in other degrees.
In the name of the Grand Lodge, I declare you fully instructed in the Fourth,
or Friendship Degree. You will now salute the chairs and retire into the
ante-room.
W. G. M.: The members will rise while the D. G. M. closes the
Lodge in the Friendship Degree.
D. G. M.: By the desire of the W. G. M. I declare this Lodge
closed in the Fourth, or Friendship Degree.
W. G. M.: I declare it so closed. One
rap.