M. W. Grand Master: — I here present before you

these Worshipful Brethren^ who, having been duly selected to preside over and conduct the business of this Grand Lodge for the ensuing year, now declare themselves ready for installation.
(181)
182 UNIVERSAL MONITOR.
The M. W . Grand Master will arise, call up the Grand Lodge and address the officers elect as follows :
Worshipful Brethren: — Before proceeding to invest you with the honors and responsibilities of the office to which you have respectively been elected, it be- comes my duty to administer to you the obligation of your office. You will, therefore, repeat after me that—
OBLIGATION.
I, , do solemnly promise and swear, that I
will support and maintain the constitution, laws, edicts, and general regulations of the Grand Lodge
of the State of , and that I will, to the utmost
of my knowledge and ability, discharge the duties of the office with which I am now to be invested. So help me God.
The M. W. Grand Master will then say, " Brethren, let us pray." The members all standing, the Grand Chaplain will offer the following
PRAYER.
How amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of Hosts! Praise awaiteth for thee, 0 God, in Zion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed. The heavens de- clare thy% glory, and the firmament showeth thy handiwork. In thee, 0 God, is our trust. Let us not be ashamed, but deliver us out of all our troubles, in thy righteousness. Our Father, who art in heaven, we desire at this, and at all times, to approach thee with reverence, and would most humbly invoke thy benediction upon the purposes of our present assembly.
INSTALLATION, 183
Grant, 0 Lord our God, that this our brother, who is now about to be invested with the government of our ancient Fraternity in this jurisdiction, may be a man after thine own heart, zealous in thy cause, and devoted to thy service. Endow him with a competency of thy divine wisdom, that he may be enabled to dis- charge all those important duties about to be intrusted to him agreeably to thy will. May those of his brethren, who have been selected to aid him in the discharge of those duties, be of like faith and of like wisdom, and may each and all of them move on har- moniously in the great work they have to perform, until they shall have completed the same in peace and concord. To this end, we pray thee, to fill their hearts with thy fear, that their tongues and actions may promote thy glory. Keep them steadfast in thy service. Grant them firmness of mind. Animate their hearts and strengthen their endeavors. May they teach thy judgments in truth, and thy laws in righteousness. Bless them, 0 Lord, and bless the work of their hands. And may the spirit of peace and love dwell richly with them in all their labors, so that the mountain of the house of our God may become firmly established upon the top of the mount- ains, and exalted above the hills, until the right- eousness thereof shall go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth, and all the nations shall flow unto it. 0 thou that hearest prayer, we ask thee now to have mercy on us and bless us. Cause thy face to shine upon us : so shall we take heed to our way, to walk in thy law, as thou
184 UNIVERSAL MONITOR.
wouldst have us walk before thee. And finally, O merciful Father, when we shall have finished the work thou hast assigned us in this earthly temple, may it receive thy divine approval, and we be admitted to the honors and rewards that await the true and faithful craftsman in thy upper and better sanctuary — that Sacred Temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Amen. Response — So mote it be.
The Grand Lodge will now be seated.
The Grand Marshal now invests the Grand Master elect with the appropriate jewel of his office, and presents him to the M. W. Grand Master, as follows :