Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Ver. 12. Blessed is the man] Provided that God teach him, as well as chastise him, Psalms 94:12, instruct him as well as correct him. See my Love Tokens, par. 2.
He shall receive the crown] A man can be content to have his head broken with a bag of gold, so he may have it, when it is done. Eternal life is called "a crown:" 1. For the perpetuity of it; for a crown hath neither beginning nor ending. 2. For the plenty; because as the crown compasseth on every side, so there is nothing wanting in this life. 3. The dignity; eternal life is a coronation day. (Bishop Lake.) Tertullian wrote his book De corona militis Concerning the crown of a soldier, upon occasion of a certain Christian soldier's refusing to be crowned, and saying, Non decet Christianum in hac vita coronari; A Christian is to be crowned when he cometh to heaven.