Tf The feeble soul that may be lured to love and service by the promise of reward is unworthy to be enrolled in the regiment of Heaven. We needs must follow with assent the words in which the Saint disclaims with poignant ardour all thought of personal advantage, the desire of Heaven and the fear of Hell being alike blotted out in the burning radiance of devotion : "Thou drawest me, my God. . . . Thy death agony draws me; Thy love draws me, so that, should there be no Heaven, I would love Thee. Were there no Hell, I would fear thee." 3
K The symbol of the Gospel is a cross ; but not a cross by itself ; not a lone, bare, gaunt, naked cross. The symbol of the Gospel is a crown ; but not a crown by itself ; not a proud, cold, despotic, selfish, pitiless crown. The symbol of the Gospel is
1 David Watson, In Life's School, 160.
2 Maurice Maeterlinck, Life and Flowers, 100.
8 Lady Dilke, The Book of the Spiritual Life, 167.
272 FOR THE CROWN
a cross and a crown ; a cross lying in a crown ; a crown growing around a cross; a cross haloed by a crown; a crown won by a cross.1
I sorrowed that the golden day was dead,
Its light no more the countryside adorning; But whilst I grieved, behold! — the East grew red With morning.
I sighed that merry Spring was forced to go,
And doff the wreaths that did so well become her; But whilst I murmured at her absence, lo ! 'Twas Summer.
I mourned because the daffodils were killed
By burning skies that scorched my early posies; But whilst for these I pined, my hands were filled With roses.
Half broken-hearted I bewailed the end
Of friendships than which none had once seemed nearer; But whilst I wept I found a newer friend, And dearer.
And thus I learned old pleasures are estranged
Only that something better may be given; Until at last we find this earth exchanged For Heaven.2
1. The corruptible crown. — Think of the corruptible crowns which are to so many the objects of a fond ambition. How many are seeking the tinselled crowns of gaiety, their daily luxury being found in the thin enjoyment of the world ! How corruptible is the crown ! The first cold shower that falls occasions its destruction. One of the most pitiful sights to be seen is that of a gay and shallow woman plunged into some sudden sorrow. She is like a butterfly in the rain. How many others are seeking the crown of fame ! How many are possessed with the burning desire to be recognized, to be esteemed, to be influential, to be remembered. Yet how corruptible is the crown ! Of how very few can it be said that their fame lasts as long as their gravestones. When the clock strikes the last stroke of the
1 James I. Vance, Tendency, 207. 2 Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler.
i CORINTHIANS ix. 25 273
hour, there is a lingering and decreasing reverberation before the sound quite dies out. That reverberation represents a man's posthumous fame, the short lingering remembrance that follows the final stroke of his life. If a man wins fame, he wins a corruptible crown. Others seek the crown of wealth. All they want is money. They measure their success by money. It is their standard and their crown. Yet how corruptible ! " The wind passeth over it, and it is gone." It is the prey of many foes. The moth can destroy it. The rust can corrupt it. The thief can steal it. These are types of the crowns admired by the world, coveted by the world, sought by the world, and they are all corruptible. If a man gains one he is regarded as having had a successful career.
H The King [William rv.] ought not properly to have worn the crown, never having been crowned ; but when he was in the robing-room he said to Lord Hastings, "Lord Hastings, I wear the crown; where is it?" It was brought to him, and when Lord Hastings was going to put it on his head he said, " Nobody shall put the crown on my head but myself." He put it on, and then turned to Lord Grey and said, " Now, my Lord, the coronation is over." George Villiers said that in his life he never saw such a scene, and as he looked at the King upon the throne with the crown loose upon his head, and the tall, grim figure of Lord Grey close beside him, with the sword of state in his hand, it was as if the King had got his executioner by his side, and the whole picture looked strikingly typical of his and our future destinies.1
I saw a truant schoolboy chalk his name Upon the Temple door; then with a shout
Kun off; that night a weary beggar came,
Leant there his ragged back and rubbed it out.2
2. The incorruptible crown. — The Christian's crown is else- where spoken of as a crown of life, a crown of glory, and a crown of righteousness.
(1) The incorruptible crown is a crown of life. — If you want a summary of Biblical teaching respecting virtue and its crowns, you may find it in the Book of Kevelation — "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." A