Three matchless diadems
are waiting for me!
(Alexander Smellie, "The Secret Place" 1907)
It is beyond astonishment, that three
matchless diadems are waiting for me!
1. John tells me of the Crown of Life.
Revelation 2:10
That is, life at its strongest, its purest,
its best. Life buoyant, elastic, unwearied.
The griefless life, the sinless life,
the deathless life--
the life which is life indeed.
The old victory-wreaths faded quickly:
the roses entwined for the revelers,
the laurel of the conquering soldier,
the oak-leaves for the well-deserving
citizen of his country,
the myrtle-sprays which were
the bride's adorning,
the pine-shoots that garlanded
the victor in the games.
But of the wreath which CHRIST
has won for me, and which by and
by HE will place on my brow, I can say,
"It will be mine through the ages of the ages!"
2. Peter predicts the Crown of Glory for me.
1 Peter 5:4
Perhaps the reference is to my own person.
I shall be transfigured, as my MASTER
was on the Holy Mount. I shall shine forth
as the sun in the Kingdom of my FATHER.
Obscured and hidden graces, crude
and half-developed virtues--
will leap to new effulgence and splendor!
Or perhaps the allusion is to the dominion
with which I shall be invested. I shall sit
on my LORD'S throne. That old kinghood
over the world, which my first parents
threw wantonly away so long ago,
will be restored to me; and I shall
reign forever and ever.
I can but dimly conceive this Crown
of Glory; but the prospect of it should
make my heart burn with joy!
3. Paul prefers to think of the
Crown of Righteousness.
2 Timothy 4:8
It is not enough that there should be
overflowing life. It is not enough that
there should be festal gladness and
wide-extending rule.
I desire the cessation of iniquity.
I crave the possession of all holiness.
Here on earth, even after precious Blood
has redeemed me, and the divine SPIRIT
has made me HIS temple, I stumble
and fall. But there I shall be stainless
and spotless. There the banner of
the Golden Prince floats from the highest
turret, and HIS sovereignty penetrates
to the inmost citadel.
It is all as unspotted, as the gates
of pearl and the foundations of precious
stones. The Crown of Righteousness is
the climax and culmination of my hopes!
~ ~ ~ ~
are waiting for me!
(Alexander Smellie, "The Secret Place" 1907)
It is beyond astonishment, that three
matchless diadems are waiting for me!
1. John tells me of the Crown of Life.
Revelation 2:10
That is, life at its strongest, its purest,
its best. Life buoyant, elastic, unwearied.
The griefless life, the sinless life,
the deathless life--
the life which is life indeed.
The old victory-wreaths faded quickly:
the roses entwined for the revelers,
the laurel of the conquering soldier,
the oak-leaves for the well-deserving
citizen of his country,
the myrtle-sprays which were
the bride's adorning,
the pine-shoots that garlanded
the victor in the games.
But of the wreath which CHRIST
has won for me, and which by and
by HE will place on my brow, I can say,
"It will be mine through the ages of the ages!"
2. Peter predicts the Crown of Glory for me.
1 Peter 5:4
Perhaps the reference is to my own person.
I shall be transfigured, as my MASTER
was on the Holy Mount. I shall shine forth
as the sun in the Kingdom of my FATHER.
Obscured and hidden graces, crude
and half-developed virtues--
will leap to new effulgence and splendor!
Or perhaps the allusion is to the dominion
with which I shall be invested. I shall sit
on my LORD'S throne. That old kinghood
over the world, which my first parents
threw wantonly away so long ago,
will be restored to me; and I shall
reign forever and ever.
I can but dimly conceive this Crown
of Glory; but the prospect of it should
make my heart burn with joy!
3. Paul prefers to think of the
Crown of Righteousness.
2 Timothy 4:8
It is not enough that there should be
overflowing life. It is not enough that
there should be festal gladness and
wide-extending rule.
I desire the cessation of iniquity.
I crave the possession of all holiness.
Here on earth, even after precious Blood
has redeemed me, and the divine SPIRIT
has made me HIS temple, I stumble
and fall. But there I shall be stainless
and spotless. There the banner of
the Golden Prince floats from the highest
turret, and HIS sovereignty penetrates
to the inmost citadel.
It is all as unspotted, as the gates
of pearl and the foundations of precious
stones. The Crown of Righteousness is
the climax and culmination of my hopes!
~ ~ ~ ~
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