Crown Him with Many Crowns

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.

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.

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.

Crown Him the Lord of life,
      Who triumphed over 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.

Crown Him the Lord of peace,
      Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease,
      And all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
      And round His pierced feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend
      Their fragrance ever sweet.

Crown Him the Lord of love,
      Behold His hands and side,
Those 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.

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.

Crown Him the Lord of lords,
      Who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth the incarnate Word,
      For ransoned sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light,
      Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night,
      Their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of years,
      The Potenate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres,
      Ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
      For Thou has died for me;
Thy praise and glory shall not fail
      Throughout eternity.


written by Matthew Bridges and  Godfrey Thring, nineteenth century
music by George Job Elvey,  nineteenth century

Note: This hymn was originally written by Matthew Bridges, a devout member of the Church of England for forty-eight years, who then converted to Catholicism.  He wrote the poem three years after becoming a Catholic.  Then George Job Elvey composed soaring music to fit the poem.  He named the music 'Diademata", Greek for "crown". Elvey was a close friend of the British crown.  Later, Godfrey Thring, an Anglican priest, was asked to create a new version of this song.  Thring prayed, read Bridges' original words and studied the Bible passages relating to Christ as King.  When the song was published in 1874, the hymn publishers studied both versions and felt both works had great substance and character, so they combined the two versions.  This great Easter hymn is unique in that it is the work of three men who didn't know each other, but shared the most important element in common, faith in Jesus Christ as King. (Found in Stories Behind the Traditions and Songs of Easter, by Ace Collins, copyright 2007, pages 97-104)