Tell me, I ask, who shall wear these bright crowns? "And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Out of great tribulation into great exaltation. What a striking contrast! What a happy exchange! Like the Master, they passed from a lowly state of trouble into a lofty state of triumph. Because they were not ashamed of him in his grief, he was not ashamed of them in his glory. They were saved not because they suffered, but because they trusted in Him who suffered for them. Some of them suffered even unto the death, but the blood that made white their garments was not their own; it was "the blood of the Lamb." "_Therefore_ are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." How happy are they now! Former trials, when recalled, only lead them to new songs of praise. They remember all the way of the past, and strike the harp-strings with exultant fingers when they think of their sufferings, now exchanged for endless joys. Consider your cross, young disciple, and meditate upon it without bitter thought. It was a wise and loving Hand that laid it upon your shoulder, and that same Hand will lift it when he thinks you have carried it long enough. "He doeth all things well." The end shall be better than the beginning, and in eternity you will understand it all. Your voice will rise in higher, loftier strains when you remember the sickness that was sanctified and the sorrow that led you nearer to your God. "Oh what a load of struggle and distress Falls off before the cross! The feverish care; The wish that we were other than we are; The sick regrets; the yearnings numberless; The thought, "this might have been," so apt to press On the reluctant soul; even past despair; Past sin itself,--all, all is turned to fair, Ay, to a scheme of ordered happiness, As soon as we love God, or rather know That God loves us!... Accepting the great pledge Of his concern for all our wants and woe, We cease to tremble upon danger's edge; While varying troubles form and burst anew, Safe in a Father's arms we smile as infants do." [Illustration] XVII. _The Presence._ "My meditation of him shall be sweet" _when I remember his near and constant presence_; for he is the joy of my life and the life of my joy. Joy without him is hardly worth the name of joy, and sorrow with him is better than joy. When my heart is overwhelmed because of enemies and foes, my terrified soul turns quickly to him, and David's prayer becomes all my own: "Be not thou far from me, O Lord; O my Strength, haste thee to help me! Deliver my soul." The answer quickly comes: "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart."