#THE SAVIOR’S MANY CROWNS
"On His head were many crowns."
- Revelation 19:12
AH, well you know whose head this was and you have not forgotten its marvelous history. A head which once in infancy reclined upon the bosom of a woman! A head which was meekly bowed in obedience to a carpenter! A head which became in later years a fountain of water, and a reservoir of tears! A head which "sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground"! A head which was spit upon, whose hair was plucked! A head which, at last, in the grim agony of death, crowned with thorns, gave utterance to the terrible death-shriek—lama Sabacthani! A head which afterwards slept in the grave; and—glory be unto Him who lives and was dead, but is alive forever more—a head which afterwards rose again from the tomb, and looked with radiant eyes of love upon the holy women waiting at the sepulcher. This is the head whereof John speaks in the words of the text. Who would have thought that a head, the visage of which was more marred than that of any other man—a head which suffered more from the tempests of heaven and of earth than ever mortal brow before, should now be surrounded with these many diadems, these star-studded crowns!
My brothers and sisters, it needs John, himself, to expound this glorious vision to you. Alas, my eyes have not yet seen the heavenly glory, nor have my ears heard the celestial song. I am, therefore, but as a little child among topless mountains, overawed with grandeur and speechless with awe! Pray for me that I may utter a few words which the Holy Spirit may comfortably apply to your souls, for if He helps me not, I am helpless, indeed. With His divine aid, I dare to look upon the glorious diadems of our Lord and King. The crowns upon the head of Christ are of three sorts. First, there are the crowns of dominion, many of which are on His head. Next, there are the crowns of victory, which He has won in many a terrible battle. Then, there are the crowns of thanksgiving with which His church and all His people have delighted to crown His wondrous head!
I. First, then, let every believing eye look through the thick darkness and behold Jesus as He sits this day upon the throne of His Father, and let every heart rejoice while it sees the many CROWNS OF DOMINION upon His head! First and foremost, there sparkles about His brow the everlasting diadem of the King of Heaven. His are the angels. The cherubim and seraphim continually bound forth His praise. At His behest, the mightiest spirit delights to fly and carry His commands to the most distant world. He has but to speak and it is done! Cheerfully is He obeyed and majestically does He reign. His high courts are thronged with holy spirits who live upon His smile, who drink light from His eyes, who borrow glory from His Majesty. There is no spirit in heaven so pure that it does not bow before Him, no angel so bright that it does not veil its face with its wings when it draws near to Him. Yes, moreover, the many redeemed spirits delight to bow before Him. Day without night they circle His throne, singing— "Worthy is He who was slain and has redeemed us from our sins by His blood. Honor and glory, and majesty and power, and dominion and might be unto Him who sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever." To be King of heaven were surely enough! The ancients were accustomed to divide heaven and earth and hell into many monarchies and allot each of them to distinct kings. And surely heaven were an empire large enough even for an infinite Spirit. Christ is Lord of all its boundless plains. He laid the precious stones upon which was built that city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He is the light of that city, He is the joy of its inhabitants and it is their loving life evermore to pay Him honor! Side by side with this bright crown, behold another! It is the iron crown of hell, for Christ reigns supreme there, too! Not only in the dazzling brightness of heaven, but in the black impenetrable darkness of hell is His omnipotence felt and His sovereignty acknowledged! The chains which bind damned spirits are the chains of His strength. The fires which burn are the fires of His vengeance—the burning rays that scorch through their eyes and melt their very hearts are flashed from His vindictive eyes! There is no power in hell besides His! The very devils know His might. He chains the great dragon. If He gives him a temporary liberty, yet is the chain in His hand and He can draw him back lest he go beyond his limit. Hell trembles at Him! The very howling of lost spirits are but deep bass notes of His praise. While in heaven, the glorious notes shout forth His goodness—in hell, the deep growling resound His justice, and His certain victory over all His foes. Thus, His empire is higher than the highest heaven, and deeper than the lowest hell! This earth also is a province of His wide domains. Though the empire is small compared with others, yet, from this world has He perhaps derived more glory than from any other part of His dominions; He reigns on earth! On His head is the crown of creation, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." His voice said, "Let there be light," and there was light! It was His strength that piled the mountains and His wisdom balances the clouds. He is Creator! If you lift your eyes to the upper spheres and behold yon starry worlds—Jesus Christ made them! They are not self-created. He struck them off like sparks from the anvil of His omnipotence. And there they glitter, upheld and supported by His might! He made the earth and all men who are upon it, the cattle on a thousand hills and the birds that make glad the air. The sea is His and He made it, also. Leviathan He has formed and though that monster makes the deep to be hoary, yet is he but a creature of His power!
Together with this crown of creation there is yet another—the crown of _providence—_for He administers all things by the word of His power. Everything must cease to be, if it were not for the continual out-going of His strength. The earth must die; the sun must grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, if Christ supplied it not with perpetual strength! He sends the howling blasts of winter. He, now and then, restrains them and breathes the breath of spring. He ripens the fruits of summer and He makes glad the autumn with His harvest. All things know His will. The heart of the great universe beats by His power. The very sea derives its tide from Him. Let Him once withdraw His hands and the pillars of earth must tremble. The stars must fall like fig leaves from the tree and all things must be quenched in the blackness of annihilation! On His head is the crown of providence. And, next to this, there glitters also the thrice-glorious crown of divine grace. He is the King of _grace_—He gives, or He withholds. The river of God’s mercy flows from underneath His throne. He sits as sovereign in the dispensation of mercy. He has the key of heaven—He opens and no man shuts; He shuts and no man opens—He calls and the stubborn heart obeys. He wills and the rebellious spirit bends its knees. For He is Master of men, and when He wills to bless, none can refuse the benediction. He reigns in His church amidst willing spirits—and He reigns for His church over all the nations of the world, that He may gather unto Himself a people that no man can number who shall bow before the scepter of His love.
I pause here, overcome by the majesty of the subject, and instead of attempting to describe that brow and those glittering crowns, I shall act the part of a seraph, and bow before that well-crowned head and cry, "Holy, holy, holy, are You, Lord God of hosts! The keys of heaven, and death, and hell, hang at Your belt. You are supreme and unto You be glory forever and ever."
And now, my brothers and sisters, what do you say to this? Do not sundry thoughts at once stir in your hearts? I think I hear one say, "If this is so, if Christ has these many crowns of dominion, how vain it is for me to rebel against Him!" My hearers, it may be some of you are striving against Christ. Like Saul of Tarsus, you have become "exceedingly mad" against Him. Your wife frequents the House of God and you forbid her. You persecute your child because she follows Jesus. You hate the very name of Christ! You curse His servants. You despise His Word. You would, if you could, spit upon His ministers; and, perhaps, burn His people! Know this, that you have undertaken a battle in which you are certain of defeat! Whoever strove against Him and prospered? Go, O man, and do battle against the lightning, and hold the thunderbolt in your hand! Go and restrain the sea, and hush the billows, and hold the winds in the hollow of your hands! And when you have done this, then lift your puny hand against the King of kings, for He who was crucified is your Master, and though you oppose Him, you shall not succeed! In your utmost malice, you shall be defeated and the vehemence of your wrath shall but return upcounsel together—"Let us break His bands in sunder. Let us cast away His cords from us." Listen, O you rebels, yonder deep-sounding laugh? Out of the thick darkness of His tabernacle, Jehovah laughs at you! He has you in derision. He says, "I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion." Come on, you enemies of Christ, and be dashed in pieces! Come on in your most vehement force, and fall like the waves that are broken against the immovable rock! He rules and He will rule. And you one day shall be made to feel His power, for, "At the name of Jesus every knee must bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth."
Another thought, right full of comfort, springs up to my mind. Believer, look to Christ’s thricecrowned head this day and be comforted! Is providence against you? Correct your speech; you have erred, God has not become your enemy. Providence is not against you, for Jesus is its King—He weighs its trials and counts its storms. Your enemies may strive, but they shall not prevail against you—He shall smite them upon the cheek. Are you passing through the fire? The fire is Christ’s dominion! Are you going through the floods? They shall not drown you—even the floods obey the voice of the Omnipotent Messiah! Wherever you are called, you cannot go where Jesus’ love reigns not. Commit yourself into His hands. However dark your circumstance, He can make your pathway clear. Though night surrounds you, He shall surely bring the day. Only trust in Him—leave your concerns both little and great in His Almighty hands and you shall yet see how kind His heart, how strong His hands to bring you out and glorify you. Repose your confidence in Him who is the King of kings! Come, bring your burdens, each one of you, to His feet, and take a song away. If your hearts are heavy, bring them here; the golden scepter can lighten them. If your griefs are many, whisper them into His ears; His loving eyes can scatter them, and through the thick darkness shall there be a bright light shining and you shall see His face and know that all is well!
I am sure there is no more delightful doctrine to a Christian than that of Christ’s absolute sovereignty. I am glad there is no such thing as chance—that nothing is left to itself—but rather Christ everywhere has sway. If I thought that there was a devil in hell that Christ did not govern, I would be afraid that devil would destroy me! If I thought there was a circumstance on earth which Christ did not rule, I would fear that that circumstance would ruin me. No, if there were an angel in heaven that was not one of Jehovah’s subjects, I would tremble even at him! But since Christ is King of kings, and I am His poor brother, one whom He loves, I give all my cares to Him, for He cares for me; and leaning on His breast, my soul has full repose, confidence and security!
II. And now, in the second place, Christ has many CROWNS OF VICTORY. The first diadems which I have mentioned are His by right. He is God’s only begotten and well-beloved Son, and therefore He inherits unlimited dominions. But viewed as the Son of Man, conquest has made Him great and His own right hand and His holy arm have won for Him the triumph! In the first place, Christ has a crown which I pray that every one of you may wear. He has a crown of victory over the world. For thus He said, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Did you ever think of what a stern battle that was which Christ had to fight with the world? The world first said, "I will extinguish Him; He shall not be known." And it threw on Christ heaps of poverty that there He might be smothered. But He shone in His poverty, and the seamless coat shone with greater light than the robe of the rabbi! Then the world attacked Him with its threats. Sometimes they dragged Him to the brow of a hill to cast Him down headlong—at another time they took up stones to stone Him. But He who was not to be hid by poverty, was not to be quenched by threats! And then the world tried its blandishments. It came with a fair face and presented to Him a crown. They would have taken Christ and would have made Him a king! But He who cared not for their frowns regarded not their smiles—He put away the crown from Him. He came not to be a king, but to suffer and to die. "My kingdom is not of this world," He said, "else would My servants fight." Have you ever thought how through 30 years the world tempted Christ? That temptation of the devil in the wilderness was not the only one which He had to endure! Trials of every shape and size surrounded Him—the world emptied its quiver and shot all its arrows against the breast of the spotless Redeemer! But all holy, all unharmed was He. Still separate from sinners, He walked among them without defilement—feasted among them and yet did not sanction their gluttony. He drank with them and yet was not a drunkard; acted as they acted in all innocent things and was the world’s man and yet united to our race by closest ties and yet evermore separate and distinguished from all mankind! I would, my brothers and sisters, that we could imitate Christ in our battle with the world! But alas, the world oftentimes gets the upper hand of us. Sometimes we yield to its smiles and often do we tremble before its frowns. Have hope and courage, believer, be like your Master! Be the world’s foe and overcome it— yield not—suffer it never to entrap your watchful feet; stand upright amid all its pressure and be not moved by all its enchantments! Christ did this and, therefore, around His head is that right royal crown of victory—trophy of triumph over the entire forces of the world!
Furthermore, the next crown He wears is the crown by which He has overcome sin. Sin has been more than a match for creatures of every kind. Sin fought the angels and a third part of the stars of heaven fell! Sin defied the perfect Adam, and soon overcame him, for even at the first blow he fell! Sin had a stern contest with Jesus, our Lord, but in Him it found its master. Sin came with all its temptations, but Christ resisted and overcame. It came with its horror and with its curse—Christ suffered, Christ endured and so destroyed its power! He took the poisoned darts of the curse into His own heart and there quenched its poisoned fires by shedding His own blood. By suffering, Christ has become master over sin. The dragon’s neck is now beneath His feet! There is not a temptation which He has not known, and therefore not a sin which He has not overcome! He has cast down every shape and form of evil and now He forever stands more than a conqueror through His glorious sufferings! Oh, my brothers and sisters, how bright that crown which He deserves, who has forever put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself! My enraptured soul restrains my voice and once again I bow before His throne and worship, in spirit, my bleeding Ransomer, my suffering Savior!
And then again—Christ wears about His head the crown of death. He died and in that dreadful hour He overcame death, rifled the sepulcher, split the stone which guarded the mouth of the grave, hewed death in pieces and destroyed the arch-destroyer! Christ seized the iron limbs of death and ground them to powder in His hands! Death swayed his scepter over all the bodies of men, but Christ has opened the gate of resurrection for His redeemed, and in that day when He shall put the trumpet to His lips and blow the resurrection blast, then shall it be seen how Christ is universal monarch over all the domains of death—for as the Lord, our Savior rose—so all His followers must. And then again, Christ is not only Lord of the world, King of sin and King of death, but He is King of Satan, too! He met that arch fiend foot to foot. Fearful was the struggle, for our Champion sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground; but He hewed His way to victory through His own body, through the agonies of His own soul. Desperate was the encounter! Head and hands, and feet and heart were wounded, but the Savior flinched not from the fight. He tore the lion of the pit of hell as though he were a kid and broke the dragon’s head in pieces! Satan was nibbling at Christ’s heel; Christ trod on him and smashed his head. Now has Jesus led captivity captive and is master over all the hosts of hell! Glorious is that victory! Angels repeat the triumphant strain—His redeemed take up the song. And you, you blood-bought sons of Adam, praise Him too, for He has overcome all the evil of hell itself!
And yet, once again, another crown has Christ and that is the crown of victory over man. Would to God, my hearers, that He wore a crown for each of you! What hard work it is to fight with the evil heart of man. If you wish it to do evil, you can soon overcome it; but if you would overcome it with good, how hard the struggle! Christ would have man’s heart, but man would not give it to Him. Christ tried him in many ways. He wooed him, but man’s heart was hard and would not melt. Moses came and said, "My Master, let me try and open man’s heart." And he used the fire, and the whirlwind, and the hammer of God; but the heart would not break, and the spirit would not open to Christ. Then Christ came and He said, "Hard-Heart, I will win you. O, icy Soul, I will melt you." And the Soul said, "No, Jesus, I defy You!" But Christ said, "I will do it." And He came one more time to the poor Hard-Heart, and brought His cross with Him. "See, Hard-Heart," He said, "I love you. Though you love Me not, yet I love you, and in proof of this, look here, I will hang upon this cross." And as Hard-Heart looked on, suddenly fierce men nailed the Savior to the cross! His hands were pierced. His soul was torn in agony. And looking down on Hard-Heart, Jesus said, "Hard-Heart, will you not love Me? I love you. I have redeemed you from death. Though you hate Me, yet do I die for you. Though you kick against Me, yet will I surely carry you to My throne." And Hard-Heart said, "Jesus, I can bear it no longer, I yield to You. Your love has overcome me—oh, I would be Your subject forever, only remember me when You come into Your kingdom and let me be numbered with Your subjects both now and forever."
My hearers, has Christ ever overcome you? Say, has His love been too much for you? Have you been compelled to give up your sins, wooed by His divine love? Have your eyes been made to run with tears at the thought of His affection for you and of your own ingratitude? Have you ever thought this over?—"I, the blackest of sinners, have despised Him. His Bible I have left unread. His blood I have trampled underfoot, and yet He died for me, and loved me with an everlasting love." Surely, this has made you bow your knee. This has made your spirit cry—
"Oh, sovereign grace my heart subdue,
I will be led in triumph, too!
A willing captive to my Lord
To sing the triumphs of His Word!"
If this is the case with you, then you may yourself recognize one of the many crowns that are on His head.
III. Now, this brings me to the third point and may I very earnestly ask your prayers, that, feeble as I am this morning, I may be helped while I endeavor to dwell upon this sweet subject.
I am preaching in my own spirit against wind and tide. There are times when one preaches with pleasure and delight, enjoying the Word, but now I can get nothing for myself, even if I am giving you something. Pray for me, that nevertheless the Word may be blessed, that in my weakness, God’s strength may appear.
The third head deals with the CROWNS OF THANKSGIVING. Surely, concerning these we may well say, "On His head are many crowns." In the first place, all the mighty doers in Christ’s church ascribe their crown to Him. What a glorious crown is that which Elijah will wear—the man who went to Ahab, and when Ahab said, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" reproved him to his very face—the man who took the prophets of Baal and let not one of them escape, but hewed them in pieces and made them a sacrifice to God. What a crown will he wear who ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire! What a crown, again, belongs to Daniel, saved from the lion’s den—Daniel, the earnest prophet of God. What a crown will be that which shall glitter on the head of the weeping Jeremy and the eloquent Isaiah! What crowns are those which shall rest on the heads of the apostles! What a weighty diadem is that which Paul shall receive for his many years of service! And then, my friends, how shall the crown of Luther glitter, and the crown of Calvin! And what a noble diadem shall that be which Whitefield shall wear, and all those men who have so valiantly served God, and who, by His might, have put to flight the armies of the Aliens, and have maintained the gospel banner erect in troublous times! No, but let me point to you a scene. Elijah enters heaven, and where goes he with that crown which is instantly put upon his head? Look, he flies to the throne of God, and stooping there, he uncrowns himself—"Not unto me, not unto me, but unto Your name be all the glory!" See the prophets as they stream in, one by one—without exception, they put their crowns upon the head of Christ! And mark the apostles and all the mighty teachers of the church! They all bow there and cast their crowns at His feet, who, by His grace, enabled them to win them—
"I ask them from where their victory came—
They, with united breath
Ascribe their triumph to the Lamb,
Their conquest to HIS DEATH."
Not only the mighty doers but the mighty sufferers do this. How brilliant are the ruby crowns of the martyred saints! From the stake, from the gallows, from the fire—they ascended up to God—and among the bright ones, they are doubly bright, fairest of the mighty host who surround the throne of the Blessed One. What crowns they wear! I must confess that I have often envied them. It is a happy thing to live in peaceful days. But while happy, it is not honorable. How much more honorable to have died the death of Lawrence, grilled to death upon that fiery gridiron, or to die pierced with spears, with every bone dislocated on the rack! A noble way of serving Christ, to have stood calmly in the midst of the fires, and have clapped one’s hands and cried, "I can do all things, even give my body to be burned for His dear name’s sake!" What crowns are those which martyr’s wear! An angel might blush to think that his dignity was so small compared with that of those riders in chariots of fire! Where are all those crowns? They are on the head of Christ! Not a martyr wears his crown—they all take their blood-red crowns, and then they place them on His head—the fire crown, the rack crown—there I see them all glitter. For it was His love that helped them to endure; it was by His blood that they overcame!
And then, brothers and sisters think of another list of crowns. They who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever. There are a few men whom God has enabled to do much for the church and much for the world. They spend and are spent. Their bodies know no rest, their souls no ease. Like chariots instinct with life, or dragged by unseen but resistless steeds, they fly from duty to duty, from labor to labor. What crowns shall theirs be when they come before God, when the souls they have saved shall enter Paradise with them and when they shall say, "Here am I and the children which You have given me!" What shouts of acclamation, what honors, what rewards shall then be given to the winners of souls! What will they do with their crowns? Why, they will take them from their heads and lay them there where sits the Lamb in the midst of the throne! There will they bow and cry, "Jesus, we were not saviors, You did it all; we were but Your servants. The victory belongs not to us, but to our Master! We did reap, but You did sow. We did cast in the net, but You did fill it full. And our success is accomplished through Your strength, and by the power of Your grace." Well may it be said of Christ, "On His head are many crowns."
But look, another host approaches! I see a company of cherubic spirits flying upwards to Christ; and who are these? I know them not. They are not numbered among the martyrs. I read not their names among the apostles. I do not even distinguish them as having been written among the saints of the living God! Who are these? I ask one of them, "Who are you, you bright and sparkling spirit?" The leader replies, "We are the glorious myriad of infants who compose the family above. We, from our mother’s breasts, fled straight to heaven, redeemed by the blood of Christ. We were washed from original depravity, and we have entered heaven. From every nation of the earth have we come—from the days of the first infant, even to the winding up of earth’s history—we in flocks have sped here like doves to their windows." "How came you here, you little ones?" They reply, "Through the blood of Christ and we come to crown Him Lord of all." I see the countless multitude surround the Savior, and flying to Him, each one puts its crown upon His head, and then begins to sing, again, louder than before! But yonder I see another company following them. "And who are you?" The reply is, "Our history on earth is the very opposite of the story of those bright spirits that have gone before. We lived on earth for sixty, or seventy, or 80 years—until we tottered into our graves from very weakness. When we died there was no marrow in our bones; our hair had grown gray, and we were crisp and dry with age." "How came you here?" They reply—"After many years of strife with the world, of trials, and of troubles, we entered heaven at last." "And you have crowns, I see." "Yes," they say, "but we intend not to wear them." "Where are you going, then?" "We are going to yonder throne—for our crowns have been surely given us by divine grace—for nothing but grace could have helped us to weather the storm so many, many years." I see the grave and reverend sires pass, one by one, before the throne, and there they lay their crowns at His blessed feet. And then, shouting with the infant throng, they cry, "Salvation unto Him who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever."
And then I see following behind them another class. And who are you? Their answer is, "We are the chief of sinners, saved by grace." And here they come—Saul of Tarsus, and Manasseh, and Rahab, and many of the same class. And how came you here? They reply, "We have had much forgiven, we were grievous sinners, but the love of Christ reclaimed us; the blood of Christ washed us, and whiter than snow are we, though once we were black as hell." And where are you going? They reply, "We are going to cast our crowns at His feet, and ‘Crown Him Lord of all.’" Among that throng, my dear hearers, I hope it may be my lot to stand. Washed from many sins, redeemed by precious blood, happy shall I that moment be when I shall take my crown from off my head, and put it on the head of Him whom having not seen, I love, but in whom believing, I rejoice with unspeakable joy and full of glory. And, it is a happy thought for me this morning, that many of you will go with me there! Come brothers and sisters, in a few more years, many of us who have met Sunday after Sunday in this Music Hall will walk up hand in hand; and without exception, you saints of God, I am persuaded we shall be prepared there to "I fear I shall never get into heaven, and therefore I shall never crown Him." Yes, but Little-Faith, do you know that one of the richest crowns Christ ever wears, and one of the brightest which adorns His brow, is the crown which Little-Faith puts on His head? For Little-Faith, when it gets to heaven will say, "O what grace has been shown to me, that though the meanest of the family, I have still been kept— though least of all the saints, yet hell has not prevailed against me—though weaker than the weakest, yet as my days, so has my strength been!" Will not your gratitude be great? Will not your song be loud, when approaching His dear feet, you lay your honors there and cry, "Blessed be Jesus who has kept my poor soul in all its dangers and brought me safely, at last, to Himself"? "On His head were many crowns."
I cannot preach any longer, but I must ask you this question, my dear hearers: Have you a crown to put on the head of Jesus Christ today? "Yes," says one, "I have. I must crown Him for having delivered me out of my last great trouble." "I must crown Him," says another, "for He has kept up my spirits when I was well near despairing." "I must crown Him," says another, "for He has crowned me with lovingkindness and tender mercy." I think I see one standing yonder who says, "Would that I could crown Him. If He would but save me, I would crown Him. Ah, if He would but give Himself to me, I would gladly give myself to Him, but I am too worthless and too vile." No, my brother, but does your heart say, "Lord have mercy upon me?" Does your soul now crave pardon and forgiveness through the blood of Christ? Then go boldly near Him this day, and say to Him, "Jesus, I am the chief of sinners, but by Your grace I rely upon You." And in so saying, you put a crown upon His head which shall make glad His heart, even as in the day when His Father crowned Him in the day of His espousals! Make this the day of your espousals to Him! Take Him to be your all-in-all, and then may you look at this text with pleasure, and say, "Yes, on His head are many crowns, and I have put one there, and I shall put another there before long." God add His blessing, for Jesus sake! Amen.