CROWN.
In that day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.—Isaiah, xxviii. 5.
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?
Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.—I. Corinthians, ix. 24, 25.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.—II. Timothy, iv. 7, 8.
They who die in Christ are bless’d—
Ours be, then, no thought of grieving!
Sweetly with their God they rest,
All their toils and troubles leaving:
So be ours the faith that saveth,
Hope that every trial braveth,
Love that to the end endureth,
And, through Christ, the crown secureth!
Bishop Doane.
The way to bliss lies not on bed of down,
And he that had no cross deserves no crown.
Quarles.
How much do they mistake, how little know
Of kings, and kingdoms, and the pains which flow
From royalty, who fancy that a crown,
Because it glistens, must be lin’d with down.
With outside show, and vain appearance caught,
They look no further, and by folly taught,
Prize high the toys of thrones, but never find
One of the many cares which lurk behind.
The gem they worship, which a crown adorns,
Nor once suspects that crown is lin’d with thorns.
O might reflection folly’s place supply,
Would we one moment use her piercing eye,
Then should we know what woe from grandeur springs,
And learn to pity, not to envy kings.
Churchill.