Crown of life

“ The crown and glory of life is Character. It is the noblest possession of a man, constituting a rank in itself, and an estate in the general goodwill; dignifying every station, and exalting every position in society. It exercises a greater power than wealth, and secures all the honour without the jealousies of fame. It carries with it an influence which always tells; for it is the result of proved honour, rectitude, and consistency—qualities which, perhaps more than any other, command the general confidence and respect of mankind. ”

“ They call to mind that great multitude [Pg 236] whom no man can number, with whom Faith sees the dear departed walk in white, bearing palms in their hands. The crown is not the wreath of ivy or of laurel, of parsley or of bay, the coveted reward of the ancient games; nor the chaplet of earthly revelry, which, placed upon the heated brow, soon fell in withered garlands to the feet; but the crown of life, starry and unwithering, the immortal wreath of glory which the saints shall wear forever at the marriage supper of the Lamb. ”

“ Thou shouldst be eternally grateful to him and thank him, for he hath guided thee to the Kingdom, led thee to life eternal and set upon thy brow a crown whose brilliant gems shall illumine the world of existence. That crown is the Divine Guidance. Thousands of illustrious and famous women are deprived but thou hast partaken of a share of this heavenly food. The queens of the world are portionless, but thou art inexhaustibly supplied. ”

“ Life, that delights in the brave, gave it himself for a gage.
Fair was the crown to behold, and beauty its poorest part—
At once the scar of the wound and the order pinned on the heart.
The beauties of man are frail, and the silver lies in the dust,
And the queen that we call to mind sleeps with the brave and the just;
Sleeps with the weary at length; but, honoured and ever fair,
Shines in the eye of the mind the crown of the silver hair. ”

“ Soft shadowed by his mother's drooping head,
A new born Spirit, mighty, and yet meek,
O'er the whole world like vernal air shall spread!
And bid all earthly Grandeurs cast the crown,
Before the suffering and the lowly, down. ”

“ God says, 'Them that honour me, I will honour;' and,—'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' The honour that he gives will be real honour. It is worth while waiting for it. ”

“ But the highest peak of all is Character peak, and if you ever want to get there and graduate in the things that last forever, then the way runs along the paths of a kindly, courteous, pure, controlled and reverent life; and one day you will wear the white robes of a life graduate, and the great Chancellor of Life will place the mark of God upon your forehead and crown you forever as a prince of the heights of Character. ”

“ From amongst all mankind hath He chosen you, and your eyes have been opened to the light of guidance and your ears attuned to the music of the Company above; and blessed by abounding grace, your hearts and souls have been born into new life. Thank ye and praise ye God that the hand of infinite bestowals hath set upon your heads this gem-studded crown, this crown whose lustrous jewels will forever flash and sparkle down all the reaches of time. ”

“ But 'tis to you, brave youth! who now are she;
And she that heaven where secondly I live.
4 'And richer than that crown, which shall be thine
When life's long progress I have gone with fame,
Take all her love; which scarce forbears to shine,
And own thee, through her virgin curtain, shame.'
5 Thus spake the king ”

“ The “crown of life,” promised to those who are faithful unto death, is to be given at Christ's second coming, “who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and kingdom,” 2 Tim. 4:1: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing,” Ib. 8. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him,” Jam. ”

“ To tread the thornier path of life and win the hero's crown, not by deeds of glory and renown, but by that higher and holier path of suffering and renunciation which One chose that we might know He had been there before us. ”

“ What admonition given by Christ teaches the same truth?
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Rev. 3:11.
Note.—Crowns have been prepared for each of the finally redeemed. Every soul is a candidate in the race for eternal life, and hence for a crown. Faith in Jesus, and perseverance to the end, will hold it fast. 3. Upon what condition is the crown of life promised?
“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev. 2:10.
4. In whom, and from what time, have we been chosen unto holiness and salvation? ”

“ Can prayer, can praise avert it?—Thou, my all!
My theme! my inspiration! and my crown!
My strength in age! my rise in low estate!
My soul’s ambition, pleasure, wealth!—my world!
My light in darkness! and my life in death! 590
My boast through time! bliss through eternity!
Eternity, too short to speak thy praise!
Or fathom thy profound of love to man! ”

“ All the blood in all the ages, poured out for liberty, poured out for him, cries unto him from the ground. All that life has of noble, of heroic, beckons him forward. Death itself wears for him a golden crown. ”

“ That God may prolong Your Days to the comfort of Your Royal Progeny, and the Joy of these Nations; That the Felicity of Your Life may be uninterrupted by Enemies and Misfortunes; and That after a good old Age, when Life is no longer desirable to the happyest Princes, You may be transferr'd to an heavenly and immortal Crown of Glory. ”

“ Hath grasped the noblest fame; nor yet divine
Whose brows enwound with honor, brightest shine.
In pleasant labor lurks no thought of pain;
The greatest loss oft brings the noblest gain;
The heart’s warm pulse feels not one throb of strife,
And Love is holiest crown of human life. ”

“ Its crown is meekness; its life is everlasting love unfeigned; it takes its kingdom with entreaty, and not with contention, and keeps it by lowliness of mind. In God alone it can rejoice, though none else regard it, or can own its life. ”

“ And honour, glory, immortality, and a crown of eternal life shall recompense all our sufferings in the end.
O Lord God! thou lovest holiness, and purity is thy delight in the earth; wherefore I pray thee, make an end of sin, and finish transgression, and bring in thy [365] everlasting righteousness to the souls of men, that thy poor creation may be delivered from the bondage it groans under, and the earth enjoy her sabbath again: that thy great Name may be lifted up in all nations, and thy salvation renowned to the ends of the world. ”

“ Until then we come to you daily, nestling in our sweet, old home, drawing love and sympathy from your souls, bringing peace and affection to crown your spirits. Eight 18jewels [1] flash a radiance of celestial love toward you tonight from this distant place. Eight gems, polished by the hand of the Great Lapidary, shine in the crown of light that awaits you above.”
1. Referring to herself and brothers and sisters in the spirit world. ”

“ Her drooping eyelashes seem like the points of the iron crown; her skin, which is as fresh as the calyx of a white camelia, is streaked with the purple of the red camelia; over her virginal complexion one seems to see the bloom of young fruit and the delicate down of a young peach; the azure veins spread a kindling warmth over this transparent surface; she asks for life and she gives it; she is all joy and love, all tenderness and candor; she loves her husband, or at least believes she loves him. ”

“ If he is wise in winning souls, they shall be placed as jewels in his crown; for though all will have bright crowns, some shall be surpassingly glorious, being studded with immortal souls.
Let me, dear Lord, be one of those who "turn many to righteousness." Give me a glorious crown, and I will gladly lay it at thy feet. No matter if it must be with weeping that I now go forth to win souls, no matter if my heart be weary and my hands be heavy, the reward will more than compensate for the weariness and weeping, and every redeemed soul shall shine in my diadem of glory. ”

“ Could he not boast of glory more
Than sparkles from a crown.
When human glory rises high
As human glory can;
When, though the king is truly great,
Still greater is the man;
The man is dead, where virtue fails;
And though the monarch proud
In grandeur shines, his gorgeous robe
Is but a gaudy shroud.
Wisdom! where art thou? None on earth,
Though grasping wealth, fame, power,
But what, O death! through thy approach,
Is wiser every hour;
Approach how swift, how unconfin'd! ”

“ Let us, therefore, so contend, that we may all be crowned. Let us run in the straight road, the race that is incorruptible: and let us in great numbers pass unto it, and strive that we may receive the crown. ”

“ The eternal crown of glory is the crown of character. The streets paved with gold are the fair, clear ways of virtue. The harps of whose music we never weary are the strings of sympathy and love and pain ”

“ Your principalities shall come down, the honour and power on which you value yourselves and in which you confide, even the crown of your glory, your goodly or glorious crown: when you are led away captives, where will your principality and all the badges of it be then?" Blessed be God there is a crown of glory, which those shall inherit who do humble themselves, that shall never come down. ”

“ All crowns before his crown
Triumphantly bow down,
For pride that one more great than all draws nigh
All souls applaud, all hearts acclaim,
One heart benign, one soul supreme, one conquering name. ”

“ Verily, thou art both the shame and glory of creatures: Created excellency is exalted in thee to the highest pitch; and all created excellency is beautified and obscured before thee. This is the man, men and angels by whom all things in heaven and earth do flourish and bloom. This is the Tree of Life, the great Vine of Glory, into which we are all ingrafted as so many boughs and twigs; all the glory of his father’s house hangs upon him the Offspring and Issue, as so many chips and pieces darting out from him. ”

“ Those who once have looked upon Me, upon his brow I have placed a crown that readeth in blazing letters of light, a crown of love and wisdom and humbleness. He walketh even in lowliness and reacheth away from the earth and commandeth sublimity itself to kneel at his feet.
* *
O My jewels rare! Arise, survey the kingdom you may possess. Laws you may make, barriers break, tread on the stars, and the comets themselves will rush at your command. Know I have made you heir to all I have created, I, your Maker's Self, once walk a man and as a man all men I love. To know yourself, know Me. ”

“ Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour; he that gave him his being has distinguished him, and qualified him for a dominion over the inferior creatures; for, having made him wiser than the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of heaven, (Job xxxv. 11.) he has made him fit to rule them, and it is fit that they should be ruled by him. Man's reason is his crown of glory ”

“ Verily ye deserve to adorn your heads with the crown of everlasting glory, because in sciences and arts, in virtues and perfections ye shall become equal to man, and as regards tenderness of heart and the abundance of mercy and sympathy ye are superior’. ”

“ And as we follow in the straight and narrow path, the path of our fathers, the Gods—the path of exaltation and glory, so shall we, according to the golden rule, the higher law, witness our posterity, or, at least a fair percentage of them, following after us. And thus honor will be added to honor, and glory to glory, for endless will be our increase and eternal our progression in the grand science of life, in all that is noble, intellectual and Godlike; extended will be our authority and power, enlarged will be our rule and dominion, even beyond the capacity of our frail comprehension. ”

“ The jeweled crown of purity gleams!
Thy garments
Are luminous with shimmering star-light
O truth!
Thou semblance of the living God!
What have we not borne, what suffered
For thee!
Misconception
Darkens thy fair features!
Misconstruction covers thee with her shadowy mantle!
Throwing wide
The flood-gates of sorrow
That rush from the bitter fountain
Of the grieved soul!
In thy right hand is a crown
Of glory! In thy left
A crown of thorns!
Truth
Is a spirit of glory!
A body of transcendent grandeur!
Sinewy and tenacious
For the human mind to grasp! ”

“ Her crown was made of purity, chastity, modesty, infinite tenderness and patience and underlying fidelity to her sacred cause. It is to her in this capacity, with such a crown upon her head, that the noblest of men have been willing to bow down, in humbleness and submission, not as to an equal, or a rival in worldly prowess, but as to a superior and more exquisite soul. ”

“ All who live according to the best principles in their possession, or that they can understand, will receive peace, glory, comfort, joy, and a crown that will be far beyond what they are anticipating. ”

“ But, oh, Thou Bounteous Giver of all good,
Thou art of all Thy gifts Thyself the crown! ”

“ Therefore strive ye with heart and soul—so that ye may reach this lofty and exalted position, be established on the throne of everlasting glory, and crown your heads with the shining diadem of the Kingdom, whose brilliant jewels may irradiate upon centuries and cycles. ”

“ And whereas thou seest the world is cast behind him, and that a crown hangs over his head; that is to show thee that, slighting and despising the things that are in the world, for the love that he hath to his Master's service, he is sure in the world that comes next to have glory for his reward. ”