A VIEW OF THE TEMPLE
 A Masonic Ode

Words: anonymous, sung to the following tune at the
  installation of Middlesex Lodge, Framingham, Mass., 1795
Tune: Daniel Belknap, 1797 (Sacred Harp, p. 228)


 Sacred to heav'n behold the Dome appears;
 Lo, what august solemnity it wears;
 Angels themselves have deign'd to deck the frame,
 And beauteous Sheba shall report its fame.

   When the Queen of the South shall return
   To the climes which acknowledge her sway,
   Where the sun's warmer beams fiercely burn,
   The princess with transport shall say:
  "Well worthy my journey, I've seen
   A monarch, both graceful and wise,
   Deserving the love of a queen,
   And a temple well worthy the skies."

 Open, ye gates, receive a Queen who shares
 With equal sense your happiness and cares,
 Of riches much, but more of wisdom see,
 Proportion'd workmanship and Masonry

   O, charming Sheba, there behold
   What massy stores of burnish'd gold, 
      Yet richer is our Art:
   Wisdom and Beauty both combine,
   Our Art to raise, our hearts to join.

   Give to Masonry the prize,
   Where the fairest choose the wise:
   Beauty still should Wisdom love,
   Beauty and Order reign above.