The Windows of Sainte-Chapelle

Parisian glaziers of King Louis IX (13th century) — Consecrated 1248 · Stained glass · Sainte-Chapelle, Paris

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” — Psalm 84:11 (KJV)

About

King Louis IX built Sainte-Chapelle (consecrated 1248) as a giant jewel-case for the Crown of Thorns: fifteen windows, over a thousand scenes from Genesis to his own day, telling the whole Bible in coloured light to a largely unlettered age.

The Meaning

The chapel preaches that all Scripture is one story: kings of Israel up the walls, Christ's Passion in the apse, and the relic of the crown at the centre. History's kings process toward the King who wore thorns.

For Us Today

Hide the whole counsel of God in your heart, as these windows hid it in glass. A believer who knows the whole story — creation to crown — stands steadier than one who knows only fragments.

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.