Furniture.
The furniture of a lodge consists of the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses.
The Holy Bible is dedicated to God; because it is the inestimable gift of God to man. The Square to the Master, because it is the proper Masonic emblem of his office; and the Compasses to the craft, because, by a due attention to their use, they are taught to circumscribe their desires, and keep their passions within due bounds.
Ornaments.
The Ornaments of a Lodge are the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tessel and the Blazing Star.
The Mosaic Pavement is a representation of the ground floor of King Solomon's Temple; the Indented Tessel, of that beautiful tessellated border or skirting which surrounded it. The Mosaic Pavement is emblematical of human life, checkered with good and evil; the Indented Tessel, or tessellated border, of the manifold blessings and comforts which constantly surround us, and which we hope to enjoy by a firm reliance on Divine Providence, which is hieroglyphically represented by the Blazing Star in the centre.
Lights.
A Lodge has three symbolic lights; one in the East, one in the West and one in the South, represented by the W. M., S. W. and J. W. There is no light in the north, because King Solomon's Temple, of which every lodge is a representation, was so far north of the elliptic that the sun could dart no rays into the northern part thereof. The north, therefore, we Masonically call a place of darkness.