GCC Hymn Letter 10
'Crown Him with Many Crowns', by Matthew Bridges
For an American audience especially, the imagery of a crown may be appreciated as a fascinating (or even exciting) tradition, an element of pageantry in a period drama, but bristled at if taken to mean what it truly signifies – authoritative power. The notion of anyone ‘ruling as king’ can evoke loud proclamations of rekindling desires to throw tea into harbors and protest taxation without representation or some such retort. In short, in our modern era of the ‘self-made man’, the blessings of living in a society that allows us to have a hand in our future (more so than in previous generations, for sure) can prove a crutch when we consider our state before a God who is King over all the universe. We feel that we have a say in the matter; we enjoy the idea of Jesus as Savior, but as Lord? As someone who possesses the right to tell us how to live, how to orient (or reorient) our desires, how to engage in culture? That doesn’t tend to be the ‘Jesus’ that makes people feel all warm and fuzzy. We want a Jesus who will affirm us, not one who will remake us. We want one who loves us as we are without calling us in love to become something different. The concept of our Hymn of Praise on August 3rd, Crown Him with Many Crowns, does not tiptoe around the issues discussed above. It reads us the kingly resume of our sovereign Lord and Savior and calls us – in light of that truth – to offer praise and submit ourselves to this King.
Originally written in 1851 by (an Anglican minister turned roman catholic) Matthew Bridges, the piece was later modified in 1868 by (Anglican priest) Godfrey Thring. Both authors wrote six verses each, the former released in 1847 in a collection of hymns by Bridges titled ‘Hymns of the Heart’, the latter released in 1874 by Thring in his ‘Hymns and Sacred Lyrics’ collection. Most hymnals (including the Trinity hymnal, which is the one that we use at Grace Community Church) include a mixture of verses from both authors. Rather than sing all twelve, we have settled on five. As the music director, you are welcome. :-)
Something should also be said of the tune DIADEMATA, composed in 1874 by Sir George Job Elvey, a renowned English organist who served the royal family at Chapel Royal. If the tune evokes images of a throne room setting (which pairs nicely with the regal elements of the lyrics), that is no accident. A good tune compliments and elevates the lyrics rather than distracting from them, and Elvey’s tune proves more than a complimentary pairing.
The first verse comes out of the gate declaring Christ as the Lamb of God, evoking the throne room imagery from the book of Revelation, ‘And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…’ (Revelation 5:6)
‘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!’
One crown is not enough. Every bit of honor and glory belongs to our Lord. All of the lesser anthems and lesser praises are drowned out by the fury of this heavenly chorus as our souls are harkened to awake to the splendor of our King, against whom there is no comparison. As one author wrote, ‘No earthly treasure compares to the treasure we have in our risen, glorified Lord.’
Verse two expounds on Christ’s role as the Lamb of God who ‘takes away the sins of the world’ by pointing us to the price that was paid for such vast redemption. ‘But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Romans 5:8)
‘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 our last hymn letter, the line was stated ‘all our pains will be transfigured like the scars of Christ, our Lord’. The very things that were meant to cause revulsion cause healing; the very things that caused death, harken us to new life. The angels wonder at such glory.
‘Crown him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave,
Who 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!’
The words here evoke the power that is deserving of all crowns – triumph, victory, glory, the bringer of eternal life and the ultimate destroyer death. How could we not offer our undying fealty to this King? Let us do so, brothers and sisters. He is worthy!
‘Crown him the Lord of heav’n, One with the Father known,
One with the Spirit through Him giv’n from yonder glorious throne,
To Thee be endless praise, for Thou for us hast died,
Be Thou, O Lord, through endless days adored and magnified!
Crown him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime,
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me,
Thy praise shall never, never fail throughout eternity!’
