Crown, Estimating a
The true value of Christ's crown is measured by His sufferings, not its outward beauty.
Inside those iron gratings that protect the ancient regalia of our kingdom, vulgar curiosity sees nothing but a display of jewels. Its stupid eyes are dazzled by the gems that stud the crown and the sceptre. The unreflecting multitude fix their thoughts and waste their admiration on these. They go away to talk of their beauty, perhaps to covet their possession; nor do they estimate the value of the crown but by the value which its pearls and rubies and diamonds might fetch in the market. The eye of a patriot gazing thoughtfully in on these relics of former days is all but blind to what attracts the gaping group. The admiration is reserved for other and nobler objects. He looks with deep and meditative interest on that rim of gold, not for its intrinsic value, but because it once encircled the brow of Scotland's greatest king, the hero of her independence, — Robert Bruce. Regarded in some such light, estimated by the sufferings endured for it, how great the value of that crown which Jesus wears! Dr. Guthrie.