Within the precincts of the ancient castle of Edinburgh, hidden from sight on the storm-swept height by its grim old masonry, lies Scotland's Memorial to her dead.
It stands apart; majestic, yet intensely human, perhaps the most wonderful building of its kind in modern times.
It is quite impossible to convey the impression of it in words. Vividly modern, yet it lacks nothing in dignity. It seems as if it is the very expression of the heart of Scotland proudly mourning for her lost sons.
The mind is almost overwhelmed by the rich conception of the details of bronze and sculpture, and the beauty and stark originality of the stained-glass windows, but, as one steps into the " inner shrine," all that fades from the mind.
Round its walls is a pageant of weariness and suffering in brozize, and there, in the center, the rugged old granite rock of the hilltop bursts through the polished granite of the floor. Upon the rock stands a rich green marble altar; upon the altar is a steel casket, and within the casket, hidden from all human eyes, lies a book which contains the name of every Scotsman, who gave his life in the Great War.
Truly a noble memorial to the noble dead! As I looked, my thoughts turned to that
inspired dream of the Apostle John, as he labored in the mines of Patmos as a slave, to the haunting words of the mystical book of the Revelation:-
" There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth... but they which are written in the Lamb's book of Life " (Rev. 21. 27).
The names of the sons of Scotland, written in Scotland's book of remembrance, will endure well-nigh as long as this old earth endures-till the memory of man has almost forgotten the blood and tears and sweat of those terrible years of war; but the names which are written in the Lamb's book of Life will endure to the farthest bound of Eternity.
The book, the casket, the altar, the very rock itself, and the shrine built upon it, must one day crumble into forgetfulness; but those who are standing upon the Rock of Ages, by simple faith in the crucified Savior, will know what it is to share in the eternal Peace of God.
Is your name written in the Lamb's book of Life?
A few humble fishermen, whose sole title to Eternal Life was their child-like faith in the Lord, were told to " rejoice because their names were written in Heaven " (Luke 10. 20), and whether you are of noble birth, or of humble origin like the • fishermen disciples, whether rich or poor, virtuous or full of sin, you, too, can by trusting your soul to His keeping, rejoice in the certain knowledge that your feet are upon that immovable Rock, and your name written in the Lamb's book of Life. That is the only way.