Still Waters: Masonic Meditations on The Book of Psalms Volume II: Masonic Meditations, #4

By Jonti Marks

'To become a Mason is to acknowledge that material life ultimately lacks that which will satisfy our deepest selves. With all its joys and pains, even with great success and real accomplishment, in the end, a time will come when all earthly happiness will count for nothing and our souls will long for something more fulfilling, more lasting and more real'.

This second volume of Masonic Meditations inspired by the Book of Psalms continues where the first one left off, thus completing the cycle which offers inspiring thoughts on all 150 Psalms in a series of 165 'meditations.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jonti Marks
• Release date: Jul 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463297681

Jonti Marks

Jonti Marks was born in London and grew up partly in England and partly in Kenya. He was a school teacher for 27 years and worked in Zambia, Kenya and the UK as an English and Drama teacher and also as a Head. He left teaching in 2013 to devote himself to his writing full-time. Jonti became a Freemason in Nairobi in 1990 and has always been interested in the deeper, spiritual significance of the Craft. His Masonic writings aim to illuminate these hidden depths and to help make Freemasonry relevant, useful and inspiring for Masons and non-Masons alike. Jonti's non-Masonic writings are largely informed either by his experiences as a teacher or by his life in Kenya - and often by his life as a teacher in Kenya! Jonti's book,' Teaching from the Heart:100 Meditations for Teachers' follows the format of the Masonic books and offers 100 inspirational messages for teachers, parents, policy makers and educationalists in every sphere who do so much to determine the well-being of our society and the future of the planet. It was written as a parting gift to the profession and is the distillation of a 30-year philosophy of education that appears increasingly important and even urgent in today's moral climate. 'The Bhagavad-Gita in 18 Sonnets' also reflects a lifetime's interest and a deep connection with the spiritual teachings of India. Jonti has been familiar with the Gita for all of his life and was moved to try to capture some of the essence and spirit of this sacred text in a wholly poetic form. You can find out more about Jonti at: www.jontimarks.com

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Jonti Marks

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Copyright 2019 Jonti Marks

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Table of Contents

Discover other titles by Jonti Marks:

Level Steps: 100 Meditations for Freemasons

Hidden Depths: 100 Meditations for Royal Arch Freemsasons

Still Waters: Masonic Meditations on the Book of Psalms Volume I

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www.jontimarks.com

Table of Contents

For the Brethren of

The Old Bromsgrovian Lodge 5743,

and

The Brethren of the

Masonic Province of Worcestershire

and

Our Provincial Grand Master,

R W Bro Robert C Vaughan PGM

Table of Contents

Table of Contents:

Title/Copyright Page

Other titles by Jonti Marks

Dedication

Introduction

Psalm 84/Meditation 1

Psalm 85/Meditation 2

Psalm 86/Meditation 3

Psalm 87/Meditation 4

Psalm 88/Meditation 5

Psalm 89/Meditation 6

Psalm 90/Meditation 7

Psalm 91/Meditation 8

Psalm 92/Meditation 9

Psalm 93/Meditation 10

Psalm 94/Meditation 11

Psalm 95/Meditation 12

Psalm 96/Meditation 13

Psalm 97/Meditation 14

Psalm 98/Meditation 15

Psalm 99/Meditation 16

Psalm 100/Meditation 17

Psalm 101/Meditation 18

Psalm 102/Meditation 19

Psalm 103/Meditation 20

Psalm 104/Meditation 21

Psalm 105/Meditation 22

Psalm 106/Meditation 23

Psalm 107/Meditation 24

Psalm 108/Meditation 25

Psalm 109/Meditation 26

Psalm 110/Meditation 27

Psalm 111/Meditation 28

Psalm 112/Meditation 29

Psalm 113/Meditation 30

Psalm 114/Meditation 31

Psalm 115/Meditation 32

Psalm 116/Meditation 33

Psalm 117/Meditation 34

Psalm 118/Meditation 35

Psalm 119 Aleph, Beth/Meditation 36

Psalm 119 Gimel/Meditation 37

Psalm 119 Daleth, He/Meditation 38

Psalm 119 Vau/Meditation 39

Psalm 119 Zain/Meditation 40

Psalm 119 Cheth/Meditation 41

Psalm 119 Teth/Meditation 42

Psalm 119 Jod/Meditation 43

Psalm 119 Caph/Meditation 44

Psalm 119 Lamed, Mem/Meditation 45

Psalm 119 Nun, Samech/Meditation 46

Psalm 119 Ain, Pe/Meditation 47

Psalm 119 Tzaddi, Koph/Meditation 48

Psalm 119 Resh/Meditation 49

Psalm 119 Schin/Meditation 50

Psalm 119 Tau/Meditation 51

Psalm 120/Meditation 52

Psalm 121/Meditation 53

Psalm 122/Meditation 54

Psalm 123/Meditation 55

Psalm 124/Meditation 56

Psalm 125/Meditation 57

Psalm 126/Meditation 58

Psalm 127/Meditation 59

Psalm 128/Meditation 60

Psalm 129/Meditation 61

Psalm 130/Meditation 62

Psalm 131/Meditation 63

Psalm 132/Meditation 64

Psalm 133/Meditation 65

Psalm 134/Meditation 66

Psalm 135/Meditation 67

Psalm 136/Meditation 68

Psalm 137/Meditation 69

Psalm 138/Meditation 70

Psalm 139/Meditation 71

Psalm 140/Meditation 72

Psalm 141/Meditation 73

Psalm 142/Meditation 74

Psalm 143/Meditation 75

Psalm 144/Meditation 76

Psalm 145/Meditation 77

Psalm 146/Meditation 78

Psalm 147/Meditation 79

Psalm 148/Meditation 80

Psalm 149/Meditation 81

Psalm 150/Meditation 82

Introduction.

This second volume of Masonic Meditations inspired by the Book of Psalms continues where the first one left off. Here there are many Psalms that may be of particular interest to Masons. Psalms 120 to 134 are all subtitled with the words ‘A Song of Degrees.’ The word is also translated as ‘Ascents’ and they are thought to represent the fifteen steps of the staircase in King Solomon’s Temple that features so strongly in our rituals. I have dealt with them in a specifically Masonic way, attributing to them some uniquely Masonic interpretations.

Psalm 133 is particularly loved by Freemasons around the world as it speaks to us directly of the joy to be found in brotherhood and it is read aloud in many Lodges as part of the opening ceremony.

On another note, Psalm 119 is divided into twenty-two sections, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I have dealt with the sections separately, sometimes addressing them singly, sometimes in pairs.

It is not always easy to find something original to say inspired by each Psalm. By their nature they are often repetitive, dealing with the same themes again and again. This is natural and perhaps obvious. They are, for the most part, songs of praise, worship and adoration. But they are more than that, too. There can often be found within them a very plaintive voice that understands suffering and all the pains and travails as well as the joys of being human. As with the last book, I have tried to avoid the trap of making each meditation a treatise on or explanation of the particular Psalm to which it relates. Rather, I have often let my mind drift until it finds a way in to something within that Psalm (often rather tangentially) that may be of particular relevance or use to Freemasons.

I have used the same conventions as the previous book. God is referred to as He because that is an accepted norm and anything else becomes clumsy. Where I have used pronouns to refer to Freemasons I have tried to use ‘we’ or ‘they’ but I have, on occasion, also used ‘he’ and ‘him’ although I recognise that not all Freemasons are male.

As ever, I offer this volume in the hope that it may add something to our understanding of Freemasonry, ourselves, our world and our place within it by:

‘...diffusing the light of knowledge; aiding the strength of reason; dispensing the practice of virtue by lessening the aggregate of human misery and vice, by extending the bounties of charity and the blessings of peace to every deserving object under heaven.’

JAM

July 2019

Table of Contents

Psalm 84 (abridged)

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Meditation 1

To become a Mason is to acknowledge that material life ultimately lacks that which will satisfy our deepest selves. With all its joys and pains, even with great success and real accomplishment, in the end, a time will come when all earthly happiness will count for nothing and our souls will long for something more fulfilling, more lasting and more real.

Freemasons are not afraid to think about death and because of that they are able to live life to the full. Life is a wonderful gift: the Earth is beautiful; the joys of friends and family, loved ones, children, labour, brotherhood - all these are beautiful and valuable. And yet, while we appreciate them, our delight in them is tinged with sorrow at the knowledge of their impermanence.

In our quiet moments of contemplation, meditation and prayer, we feel the longing of our soul - our deepest self - reaching out to that which we know is there: the eternal light of Spirit; the presence of that God in whom we put our trust.

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Psalm 85 (abridged)

LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Meditation 2

We must always recognise and embrace the weaknesses and flaws that are a natural part of being human. No one is perfect and we must learn to be kind and patient with our own shortcomings as well as those of others. Of course, to seek forgiveness implies an