The Progress., 1897-06-26


sea cannot SO easily as those living on the
other side Of the sea appreciate the two
coronatiOns to which all up and down the
Bible you and l are urgently invited.
Some Of you have such morbid ideas of re-
ligion that you think Of 1t as going down
into q dark cellar, or out on a barren COM
MONS or as a fIagellation, when, SO far
from q dark cellar, 1t is q palace. and in
stead Of q barren commons 1t Is q garden,
atoss with the brightest fountains that
were ever rainbowed. and instead Of flag
citation 1T is coronation, but q coronation
utterly eclipsing the one whose sixtieth
anniversary is now being celebrated. 1t
was q great day when David. tho little
king who was large enough to thrash Co.
Hath, took the-crown at Rabbah-a crown
weighing talent Of gold and encircled
with precious stones-and the people shout
ed, Long live the king" 1t WAS great
day when Petrarch, surrounded by -
patricinn youths clothed in scarlet, re-
ccived from senator the laurel crown,
and the people shouted, "Long live the
poct!' 1t was great day when Mark
Antony put upon Caesar the mightiest
ti-ra Of all the Garth, and In honor Of d.
vine authority Cesar had 1t placed after
ward on the head Of tho statue Of Jupiter
Olympus. 1t was a great day when the
greatest of Frenchmen took the diadem of
Charlema2ne and put It on his own brow.
1t was u great day when, about an eighth
of mile from the gate Of Jerusalem, I'M
der sky pallid with thickest darkness,
and on a mountain traInmeled Of earth
quake, and ,he air on fire with the BIAS
phemies of a mob, crown Of spikes was
put upon the pallid and agonized brow OF
our Jesus. But that particular coronation.
amid tears and blood and groans and shiv-
ering cataclysms, made your own corona
ton possible.
Paul was not man to lose his equi-
librium, but when that old missionary,
with CROOKED back and inf1amed eyes,
got glimpse of the crown coming to him
and coming to you, II you will by repent
ance and faith accept 1t, he went into
ecstasies, and his poor eyes flashed and his
crooked back Strengthened as he cried to
Timothy, "There IS laid up for me a
crown Of righteousness" and to the Co
rinthians, "These athletes run to obtain a
oorruptible, we an incorruptible' crown"
"the crown Of glory, and to the Philip
plans he says, my Joy and CROWN" The
Apostle Peter catches the inspiration and
cries out, Eye shall receive a crown .
glory that fadcth not away" and st. John
Joins in the rapture and says, Faithful to
death, and l will give thee a crown
life, and elsewhere exclaims, "Hold fast
that no man take thy crown" Crowns,
crowns, crowns! You did not expect In
coming here today to be invited to a cor
onation. You Gun scarcely believe your
own ears, but in the name of q pardoning
God, and q sacrificing Christ, and an ON
nipotent Holy Spirit, and q triumphau,
heaven offer each one q crown for the
asking. Crowns, crowns! How to get the
CROWN The way Victoria got her CROWN
on her knees. Although eight duchesses
and marQuises, all in cloth Of silver, car
fied her train, and the windows and arches
and roof Of the abbey shook with the TIE
Deum" of the organ in full diapason, she
had to kneel, she had to come down. To
get the crown OF pardon and eternal life
you will have to kneel, you will have to
come down. Veal History says that at
her coronation not only the entire assembly
wept with profound emotion, but Victoria
was in tears. So you will have to have
your dry eyes moistened with tears, IN
your case tears Of repentance, tears OF JOY
tears of coronation, and you will feel like
oryipR out with jeremiah, "Oh, that my
head were waters and mine eyes fountains