Opening Ode
Hail Eternal! by whose aid,
All created things were made;
Heav'n and earth, Thy vast design;
Hear us, Architect Divine!
May our work, begun in Thee,
Ever blest with order be,
And may we, when labours cease,
Part in harmony and peace.
By Thy glorious Majesty,
By the trust we place in Thee,
By the badge and mystic sign,
Hear us, Architect Divine!
So mote it be!
Closing Ode
Now the evening shadows closing,
Warn from toil to peaceful rest,
Mystic arts and rites reposing,
Sacred in each faithful breast.
God of Light! whose love unceasing,
Doth to all Thy works extend,
Crown our Order with Thy blessing,
Build; sustain us to the end.
Humbly now we bow before Thee
Grateful for Thy aid Divine;
Everlasting power and glory,
Mighty Architect! be Thine.
So mote it be!
Presentation of the Master Elect
Stand forth O Worthy Craftsmen
In order's fair array;
Stand forth with strains of gladness
To greet our festal day.
Praise we the Great Creator
Our hearts and voices raise,
His gates with songs to enter
And tread his courts with praise.
Here joined in Holy Union
Assembling year by year
With one accord to serve Him,
We in the Lodge appear.
So with a joyful anthem
Our praises shall unite
May this our humble service
Be pleasing in his sight.
So Mote It Be
The Entered Apprentice Song
(Sing seated until last verse, last 3 lines of each verse are sung by all as a chorus after the soloist)
Come let us prepare
We Brothers that are
Assembled on merry occasion
Let's drink, laugh and sing
Our wine has a Spring
Here's health to an Accepted Mason.
The world is in pain
Our secrets to gain
And still let them wonder and gaze on
They ne’er can devine
The Word or the Sign
Of a Free and an Accepted Mason
‘Tis this and ‘Tis that
They cannot tell what
Why many Great Men of the Nation
Should aprons put on
To make themselves one
With a Free and an Accepted Mason.
Great Kings, Dukes and Lords
Have laid by their swords
Our myst'ry to put a good Grace on
And ne'er been ashamed
To hear themselves named
With a Free and an Accepted Mason
Antiquity's pride
We have on our side
And maketh men just in their station.
There's nought but what's good
To be understood
By a Free and an Accepted Mason.
We're true and sincere
We're just to the poor,
They'll trust us on any occasion,
No Mortal can more,
The ladies adore
Than a Free and an Accepted Mason.
(All stand and form chain)
Then Jion hand in hand,
T'each other firm stand
Let's be merry and put a bright face on,
What mortal can boast,
So noble a toast
As a Free and an Accepted Mason