Every four years in America we have an inauguration of a president. There is traditionally quite a bit of pageantry associated with the ceremony. Sometimes hundreds of thousands of people gather in Washington, D.C. along the mall and at the capitol for the ceremony and swearing in, with perhaps millions following the proceedings with the broadcast on television. It is far more impressive in countries with a monarchy, when it includes royal attire and the placing of a crown on the head of the king or queen.
But the greatest coronation of all is that of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. He has already earned that title by His substitutionary death and glorious resurrection. He ascended to His royal throne at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to claim His own, elevating them to share that throne with Him. It’s at that time that the promise of Revelation 19:12 will be fulfilled when He is crowned with many crowns.
That’s the theme of our study this time: Crown Him with Many Crowns. The hymn was written in 1851 by Matthew Bridges (1800-1894), an Anglican priest who converted to Roman Catholicism in 1848 as part of what became known as the Oxford Movement. The original version was a part of devotional poetry focused on the Rosary. Its six stanzas included a reference to the virgin Mary as the “mystic rose.” Then, in 1874, twenty-three years after the hymn first appeared, six additional stanzas were written by Anglican minister Godfrey Thring (1823-1903) as a substitute for Bridges stanzas. He felt that most Protestants would be uncomfortable with the Catholic devotion to Mary embedded in Bridges’ text. The version found in most hymnals today uses portions of the work of both men.
The hymn text identifies a number of different crowns which are placed on the Savior’s head. Revelation suggests that these multiple crowns have a connection with the crowns we shall receive in glory. We will not hold onto those crowns as rewards for anything we will have accomplished that made it possible for us to be there. Rather, we will (in the language of Revelation 4:10) cast our crowns at Jesus’ feet, demonstrating our worship of the one whose atoning work earned our place. All credit and glory belongs to Him.
But the hymn isn’t only identifying Jesus’ future coronation and His present reign in heaven. It also acknowledges the fact that when we look to Him in worship, yielding our lives to Him in joyful, loving submission, there is a sense in which we are recognizing Him as our King, and therefore crowning Him as Lord over our lives. The song of the saints and angels in heaven reflects this, as we will together sing, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:9-11)
What theme could be more stirring for a Christian than that of the royal kingship of Jesus! A good argument could be made for this being a central theme of the Bible and of the glorious work of redemption. Rather than focusing on mankind (a plan of salvation that delivers us from sin and grants us eternal life), how much better to focus on Christ Jesus (the prophecies and types that pointed ahead to His coming) and the day when His majesty will be publicly acknowledged, with every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
One of the major sections of a good hymnal will have a section on the person and work of Christ. And within that you should be able to find hymns about His fulfillment of the three-fold office of prophet, priest, and king. And in that latter category you will find such hymns as these: Rejoice, the Lord Is King; Hail to the Lord’s Anointed; O God, Your Judgments Give the King; Unto My Lord Jehovah Said; O Wherefore Do the Nations Rage; He Walks Among the Golden Lamps; O Christ, Our King, Creator, Lord; Wondrous King, All-Glorious. And to these could be added hymns about His ascension, His return, and His heavenly reign.
Returning to Crown Him with Many Crowns, here is the complete set of stanzas, including those generally omitted, and a few phrases that have been “re-located” over time.
In stanza 1, we introduce the coronation theme and name Him as the Lamb of God who is lauded as a glorious king who humbled Himself by dying for us.
Crown him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns All music but its own:
Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless king Through all eternity.
This is one of the stanzas generally omitted in Protestant hymnals.
Crown him the Virgin’s Son! The God Incarnate born,–
Whose arm those crimson trophies won Which now his brow adorn!
Fruit of the mystic Rose As of that Rose the Stem:
The Root, whence mercy ever flows,–The Babe of Bethlehem!
In stanza 2, we exalt the crown of love, evident from the rich wounds in His hands and side which will still be visible to us in heaven as marks of the payment that purchased us.
Crown Him the Lord of love! Behold His hands and side,–
Rich wounds, yet visible above, In beauty glorified:
No angel in the sky Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends His burning eye At mysteries so bright!
In stanza 3, we exalt the crown of peace that has reconciled us to the God who was once our enemy but is now our beloved Redeemer, reigning eternally, ending all wars.
Crown him the Lord of peace! Whose power a scepter sways,
From pole to pole,–that wars may cease, Absorbed in prayer and praise:
His reign shall know no end, And round His pierced feet
Fair flow’rs of paradise extend Their fragrance ever sweet.
In stanza 4, we exalt the crown of time since He has existed from eternity past, is creator of all that exists, and will continue into the infinitude of eternity future.
Crown him the Lord of years! The Potentate of time,–
Creator of the rolling spheres, Ineffably sublime!
Glassed in a sea of light, Where everlasting waves
Reflect His throne,–the Infinite! Who lives,–and loves–and saves.
Here is another stanza generally omitted, although with the last two lines usually placed at the end of stanza 4 above.
Crown him the Lord of heaven! One with the Father known,–
And the blest Spirit, through Him giv’n From yonder triune throne!
All hail! Redeemer,–Hail! For Thou hast died for me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail Throughout eternity!
Another stanza generally unrecognized today.
Crown him with crowns of gold, All nations great and small,
Crown him, ye martyred saints of old, The Lamb once slain for all;
The Lamb once slain for them Who bring their praises now,
As jewels for the diadem That girds his sacred brow.
Yet another stanza seldom used today.
Crown Him the Son of God Before the worlds began,
And ye, who tread where He hath trod, Crown him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, That all in him may rest.
And still another stanza hardly known today.
Crown him the Lord of light, Who o’er a darkened world
In robes of glory infinite His fiery flag unfurled.
And bore it raised on high, In heaven–in earth–beneath,
To all the sign of victory O’er Satan, sin, and death.
In stanza 5, we exalt the crown of life given to Him for His victory over death, not only for Himself, but for all whom He came to save, granting us eternal life with Him.
Crown Him the Lord of life Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save;
His glories now we sing Who died, and rose on high.
Who died, eternal life to bring And lives that death may die.
A fine stanza, but known today to few.
Crown Him the Lord of lords, Who over all doth reign
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, For ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before him day and night, Their God, Redeemer, King.
A final stanza, also among the unused today, although a fitting conclusion to the whole.
Crown Him the Lord of heaven, Enthroned in worlds above;
Crown Him the king, to whom is given The wondrous name of Love,
Crown Him with many crowns, As thrones before Him fall.
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, For He is King of all.
The tune (DIADEMATA) was composed for this hymn by George Job Elvey (1816-1893). He was music director at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, where the British royal family often attended. It first appeared with Bridges’ text in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern. Elvey also wrote the tune ST GEORGE’S WINDSOR which we use in singing Come, Ye Thankful People, Come.
Here’s an Easter celebration in Wales, singing Crown Him with Many Crowns.