1 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.

2 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.

Crown Him the Lord of peace;
Whose power a sceptre sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise;
His reign shall know no end;
And round his piercèd feet,
Fair flowers of Paradise extend
Their fragrance ever sweet.

Crown Him of 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.

Amen.

The Hymnal: Published by the authority of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rev. 19:12
st. 3 = Isa. 2:4, Ps. 46:9

This text is a composite of texts by two different authors, both of whom were inspired by the words from Revelation 19:12, "On his head are many crowns." Matthew Bridges' six-stanza text was published in his Hymns of the Heart in 1851. Asked to improve on Bridges' text, Godfrey Thring wrote a new text instead, which was published in his Hymns and Sacred Lyrics in 1874. Drawing from both authors' texts, the Church of England Hymn Book published a composite version of "Crown Him" in 1880. Most hymnals follow that example and include stanzas written by both Bridges and Thring; stanzas 1 and 3 are by Bridges, and stanza 2 is by Thring.

The text is a magnificent celebration of Christ's victory over sin and death and of his rule in the world. The "crown," which in Revelation refers to both the crown of royalty/ kingship and the wreath of victory given to an athlete, symbolizes both the victory and the rule.

Matthew Bridges (b. Malden, Essex, England, 1800; d. Sidmouth, Devonshire, England, 1894) was raised in the Church of England. Though he wrote the anti-Roman Catholic book The Roman Empire under Constantine the Great in 1829, he came under the influence of the Oxford Movement and left the Church of England to become Roman Catholic. Bridges wrote a number of historical works, as well as poetry and hymns, and published them in collections such as Hymns of the Heart (1847) and The Passion of Jesus (1852). He lived in Quebec, Canada, for some time but returned to England before his death.

Geoffrey Thring (b. Alford, Somersetshire, England, 1823; d. Shamley Green, Guilford, Surrey, England, 1903) was born in the parsonage of Alford, where his father was rector. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1847. After serving in several other parishes, Thring re¬turned to Alford and Hornblotten in 1858 to succeed his father as rector, a position he retained until his own retirement in 1893. He was also associated with Wells Cathedral (1867-1893). After 1861 Thring wrote many hymns and published several hymnals, including Hymns Congregational (1866), Hymns and Sacred Lyrics (1874), and the respect¬ed A Church of England Hymn Book Adapted to the Daily Services of the Church Throughout the Year (1880), which was enlarged as The Church of England Hymn Book (1882).

Liturgical Use:
A fine doxology for festive worship services (especially Easter and Ascension); many other times of jubilant praise and adoration.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook