The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-03-16

make tho name Of jew respected and
honored throughout the world.-Jewish
Exponent.
HEAVEN IN EARTHLY LANGUAGE.
Heaven and heavenly things. as DIS
closed in the Bible. are necessarily pre-
scented to our thoughts in the language
I Of earth. Primarily this language re.
latcs 10 earthly things, and when APP
piled to heavenly thi1gs the use is
secondary, but not therefore unmean.
ing. The term crown, for example,
has. from time immemOrial. been used
TO denote the emblem Of royalty and
honor worn by princes. as a sign OF in
dicatiou OF their exalted station. 1t is
hence both fitting and Ineligible
term to represent the glory and honor
OF saintship in the heavenly life. and Is
so used in the Bible. Paul. in his Sec
ond Epistle to Timothy. speaks Of the
crown Of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge, " would give
to BIN in the final day, and also 10 all
that love his appearing" He says that
this crowa us laid up for him.
III Tim. iv. 81 In bis First Epistlo to
the Corinthians he characterizes this
crown as being "incorruptible,n in con-
trast with "corruptible" crowns worn
on earth. II Cor. tx. 25) So. also,
James declares the man blessed who
victOriOusly endureth temptation. and
then adds the reason i'm these words.
For when he is tried Iprovedl he shall
receive the crown Of life. which the
Lord hath promised to them that love
him" James i. 10 The auxiliary
ideas here subjOined TO the Term crown
are that il is the crown Of life, and that
II is promised by the Lord beforehand
to all who love him. Peter. in his First
Epistle says And when the chief
Shepherd shall appear. ye shall receive
a crown of glory that fadeth not away. ="
II Pet. V, 4 J Christ, in the letter which
he dictated 70 John when an exile in the
Isle of PatmOs, and directed to be sent
to the Church in Smyrna. said: BE
thou faithful unto death and 1 Will give
thee a crown of life. REV. H., l0)
The four-and-twenty elders whom
John, in one of his visions. saw sitting
round about the throne in Heaven. as
representatives of the Church triumph
ant, were clothed in white raiment.
and they had on their heads crowns of
gold.' (Rev. w., A. These crowns
they are described as casting before the
throne, saying. Thou ant worthy. O
Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power, for Thou hast created all things.
and for Thy pleasure they are and were
created. - REV. w., 10. II J In all
these passages we find the term crown.
evidently used with reference to the
heavenly life. and supplemented
with adjunct phrases for the pur-
pose Of giving fuluess, complete
ness and intensity TO the idea meant to
be conveyed. If the earthly crown Is
the emblem Of dignity and royalty,
what then, shall be said of the heaven
ly crown The latter is the crown of
righteousness. the crown of life, -
the crown "incOrruptible,' the crown
/ that fadeth not away, the crown OF
glory" aud the crown promised by
the Lord to all that love him. and are
faithful unto death. This language
| though necessarily that of figure end
| borrowed from earthly objects, is sure
/ liz not meaningless, and certainly not
unintelligible. in the general idea which
il conveys. 1t Is true that we cannot
now understand the heavenly life with
that familiarity and completeness that
mark our knowledge Of the present life:
but when that life is symtOlized 10 us
under the figure Of "a crown with
various intensive and explanatory
adiuncts. as is the fact in
the Bible. then we can under
stand that it is and must be state of
great exaltation and glory as compared
with anything attainable in this world.
The symbOlizatiOn Is not fanciful. illu-
sive or misleading in any way. but
truthful and emlnently adapted 10 I'M
press thought with the glory of Heaven
and the glory of living and acting in
that world. It's sufficient forall the pre-
sent purpO. es of faith and hope. IL rs
sufficient to establish the certainty that,
while gOdliuess has the promise of the
life that now is, " it has equally glo-
riOus promise in respect 10 that life
(which is to come. " II Tim. ", 81
1t is good and pleasant thing for the
Christian to spend the DAYS OF his earth
ly sOiOurn under the sublime inspira-
ration of what he expects, and has a
right to expect. in the heavenly man
sion. "whitber the forerunner is en-
tered for him, even Jesus that
house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. Heb. Vi, 90. and III
Cor. V, ~ It is a good thing to have a
hope that. while on earth IAN anchor
of the soul. both sure and steadfast, ~
also "entereth into that within the
veil" Heb vi. 49, This is sort Of
faith. or confidence, or assurance, which
one cannot afford to be without. and
which, having it, he cannot afford to
cast away. 1t enriches and blesses this
life. The Independent.
CATHOLICITY.
DR.. Dix's invitation to DR.. Brooks to
deliver Lenten lectures IN Trinity
Church is a matter of graduation.
/ M D.. fau.aItItr ran.