Crowning Wisdom: Norway

The crown of Norway is a handsome piece, and unlike some of its European colleagues, it is made of solid gold. Topped with the usual cross above its monde, showing how Christ is the ultimate king of the world, it is decorated with strawberry leaves which I think rather delightful. Its most remarkable feature is the large, green gemstone placed into the circlet’s front. Measuring over 6cm, the stone has been described as both a chrysoberyl and a green tourmaline. Whatever its name, it was a gift from the Brazilian consul in Stockholm and has remained the crown’s centrepiece ever since.

E. E. Hewitt’s 1897 hymn I am Thinking Today of that Beautiful Land has a refrain which asks:

Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown,

When at evening the sun goeth down?

When I wake with the blest in the mansions of rest,

Will there be any stars in my crown?

The implication is that each believer receives, by grace, a crown, but the quality and quantity of its gemstones will vary depending on levels of service. The final verse justifies this apparently selfish desire for a more gem-encrusted crown:

Oh, what joy it will be when His face I behold,

Living gems at His feet to lay down;

It would sweeten my bliss in the city of gold,

Should there be any stars in my crown.

The greater the crown, the greater our pleasure and removing it and casting it before Him.

The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

-Revelation 4:10-11