We are first introduced to this scripture in the first section of the Master Mason degree, incidentally the Bible is opened to this same scripture on the altar for all Master Mason degrees. In addition to this important time of all of our Masonic journeys it is usually a part of the Masonic memorial service.
In researching this passage, I learned that the author was more than likely a student of King Solomon and used the influences of Solomon in preparing this lesson.
Remember, now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them
I doubt that it was merely a coincidence that this passage is first introduced in the Master Mason Degree when a brother is becoming fully equipped to begin his Masonic journey in full. The teacher of this lesson is stressing that one needs to become involved with his Creator early in life and not later....the earlier the better. While in our youth we do not fear life and time moves slowly....in our later years because of our life's experience we become fearful and the years fly by....and sadly some find no pleasure in their last days.
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be
not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders
cease because they are few, and those that look out of the
windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the
streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall
rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of
music shall be brought low;
In this passage the author is speaking of old age metaphorically. If you or someone you know has had cataract surgery this is very relate-able.....in that with age the vision becomes dim...however with the new technologies this is becoming less of an issue in the aging process.
The keepers of the house are said to be strong arms or strength in general and the trembling in old age when trying to exert strength....the strong men are thought to be the legs and back which bow with age....and the grinders are the teeth....with the aging process, often the number of teeth are few...again with the new technologies the aging process is better, one must remember that this passage was written probably 2500+ years ago.
The aged before the days of laser cataract surgery said that the felt they were looking out dark windows....and also in age people tend to lock the doors more than in their youth....sounds are low even the big sounds which came from grinding grain, etc....however, the older people tend to hear some of the soft sounds as the birds chirping in the morning because they tend to get up very early...and even the music seems soft because of the loss of hearing...again technology has helped in this matter.
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,
and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall
flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire
shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the
mourners go about the streets:
When folks get older they are afraid of falling thus afraid of that which is high....even a fall from a standing position for an older person is pretty scary......in fact many fears are in the way of pursuing a life worth living.
It is thought that the almond tree flourishing relates to the graying of ones hair....almond trees when they bloom are a vibrant pink and as they mature and just before the nuts are ready for harvest the blooms turn white....again a symbol of the aging process....even a pesky grasshopper becomes a burden or worrisome......man goeth to his long home, or the hereafter as the mourners go about the street attending a funeral or memorial service for the one gone to his long home-heaven.
It's interesting to study some of the metaphors and how the writer/teacher used things known to him to illustrate the lesson.....the objects he used were symbols known to him. In doing some more research the phrase concerning the mourners going about the street could be the mourners of someone who passed or they were paid mourners which were hired by families to be openly demonstrative of grieving for the one who had passed.....incredibly there are still paid mourners who attend funerals and grieve in a very public fashion.
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto Godwho gave it.
Many commentators feel that the silver cord is symbolic for the spinal cord or central nervous system an internal component of humans which age....and the golden bowl is thought to reference for the vessel holding the brain.....the pitcher being broken at the fountain is emblematic of the water of life or perhaps the blood of the body and the pitcher being the heart, just as the wheel broken at the cistern would not allow for the flow of the water of life...again the teacher of this lesson is using metaphors of things available to him over 2000 years ago.
We have all heard dust to dust.....so our bodies are returned to the earth and the spirit returns to that long home and the Supreme Architect who gave it.
Like so many aspects of our ritual....the authors of our ritual were very specific in the words they used, the symbols, metaphors, and in this case being very specific in choosing this scripture. This scripture illustrates metaphorically the aging process and that we should know our creator as soon as possible.
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