BY
S. D. GORDON
NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
LONDON AND EDINBURGH
Copyright, 1914, by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.
London: 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street
PREFACE
Crowning the Christ is an intensely practicalthing, whether taken in the personal sense or theworld sense. He has been crowned in the upperworld. With wondrous patience and graciousnessHe pleads for the personal crowning in ourlives. Some day—no one knows just when—Hewill begin to act as the crowned Christ in allthe affairs of our earth.
The initiative of all action to-day on the earthis in man's hands. Some day the initiative ofgoverning action on the earth will be in the handsof the crowned Christ, even while the personalinitiative of each man's life will still be in his ownhands.
God is intensely practical. Jesus was neverconcerned about speculation nor mere discussion;He was too intent on helping people. The Bibleis wholly a practical book. It is concerned onlywith helping us. It does not tell us all the truththere is; we shall be constantly learning morein the future life. But it does tell us all we needto know now. And its purpose in telling us whatit does is wholly practical,—to urge us to rightchoice, and to lives that square with the choice.This is the purpose that decided just what truth[Page 6]should be told in the Book.
There is one book of the sixty-six devotedwholly to this subject of the crowned Christ,—"TheRevelation of John." Every one of thesebooks touches Him at some angle, and finds itsdeepest meaning in what He was to do and diddo, and yields up its secrets only under the touchof His hand. But this book, the closing and climaxof all, the knot in the end of the inspiredthread, this deals wholly with the action of thecrowned Christ.
No book of the sixty-six has seemed so muchlike a riddle and set so many a-guessing. Andwithout doubt much of its meaning will be clearonly as events work themselves out. Events willprove the only expositor of much. But it is withthe deep conviction that this is wholly a practicalbook, written wholly from a practical point ofview, and concerned wholly with our practicaldaily lives, that I have ventured to take it up inthis series of simple, wholly practical, QuietTalks. And it is only this side of its teachingsthat will be dealt with here. The Book is a streetleading into the true overcoming life the Masterwould woo us to.
It is only after many years' study of this Bookof the Revelation, and a special study the pastthree years and a little more, that I have venturedto put these talks together. And now they aresent out with the earnest humble prayer thatothers may find some little practical help inprayerfully reading, as I have found much inprayerfully studying, under the Master's graciousfaithful touch.
CONTENTS
- ...