Supreme Architect of universal nature, who, by Thine Almighty Word, didst speak into being the stupendous arch of heaven! And for the instruction and pleasure of Thy rational creatures, didst adorn us with greater and lesser lights, thereby magnifying Thy power, and endearing Thy goodness unto the sons of men. We humbly adore and worship Thine unspeakable perfection! We bless Thee, that when man had fallen from his innocence and happiness, Thou didst leave him the powers of reasoning, and capacity of improvement and of pleasure. We thank Thee, that amidst the pains and calamities of our present state, so many means of refreshment and satisfaction are reserved to us while traveling the RUGGED PATH of life: especially would we, at this time, render Thee our thanksgiving and praise for the institution, as members of which we are, at this time, assembled, and for all the pleasures we have derived from it. We thank Thee, that the few here assembled before Thee, have been favored with new inducements, and been laid under new and stronger obligations of virtue and holiness. May these obligations, O Blessed Father! have their full effect upon us. Teach us, we pray Thee, the true reverence of Thy great, mighty, and terrible name. Inspire us with a firm and unshaken resolution in our virtuous pursuits. Give us grace diligently to search Thy word in the book of nature, wherein the duties of our high vocation are inculcated with divine authority. May the solemnity of the ceremonies of our institution be duly impressed on our minds, and have a happy and lasting effect on our lives! O Thou, who didst aforetime appear unto Thy servant Moses IN A FLAME OF FIRE OUT OF THE MIDST OF A BUSH, enkindle, we beseech Thee, in each of our hearts, a flame of devotion to Thee, of love to each other, and of charity to all mankind. May all Thy miracles and mighty works fill us with Thy dread, and Thy goodness impress us with the love of Thy holy name. May holiness to the Lord be engraven upon all our thoughts, words, and actions. May the incense of piety ascend continually unto Thee from the altar of our hearts, and burn day and night, as a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor, well pleasing unto Thee. And since sin has destroyed within us the first temple of purity and innocence, may Thy heavenly grace guide and assist us in rebuilding a SECOND TEMPLE of reformation, and may the glory of this latter house be greater than the glory of the former! Amen. So mote it be.
Q. After the prayer what followed? A. We were again caused to travel three times around the room, during which the following passage of Scripture was read, and we were shown a representation of the bush that burned and was not consumed:
Exodus iii. 1-6. "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And He said Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."
Q. What followed? A. We again traveled, while the following passage was read:
2 Chron xxxvi. 11-20. "Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did THAT WHICH WAS evil in the sight of the Lord, his God, AND humbled not himself before Jeremiah, the prophet, SPEAKING from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, and he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, all the chiefs of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen: and polluted the house of the Lord which He had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes and sending; because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till THERE WAS no remedy. Therefore he brought upon him the King of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young men or maidens, old men, or him that stooped for age; he gave them all unto his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and treasures of the king, and of his princes; all THESE he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia."
At the close of this there was a representation of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the carrying captive of the children of Israel to Babylon. We were seized, bound in chains, and confined in a dungeon.
Q. What followed? A. We heard rejoicing, as of good news; the proclamation of Cyrus, King of Persia, was read in our hearing.
Ezra i. 1-3. "Now in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, King of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, which is in Jerusalem."
Q. What was then said to you? A. We were unbound and requested to go up to Jerusalem to assist in rebuilding the Temple, but objected, as we had no pass by which to make ourselves known to our brethren.
Q. What followed? A. The third chapter of Exodus, 13th and 14th verses, were read to us: