1 The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor's brow.

2 The highest place that heaven affords
Is His, is His by right,
The King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And heaven's eternal Light:

3 The joy of all who dwell above,
The joy of all below
To whom He manifests His love
And grants His Name to know.

4 To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is given;
Their name an everlasting name,
Their joy the joy of heaven.

5 They suffer with their Lord below,
They reign with Him above,
Their profit and their joy to know
The mystery of His love.

6 The cross He bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to Him;
His people's hope, His people's wealth,
Their everlasting theme.

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 = Mark 15:17, Heb. 2:9, Rev. 19:12
st. 2 = Phil. 2:9, Rev. 19:16
st. 4 = Luke 10:20
st. 5 = 2 Tim. 2:12

Thomas Kelly (b. Kellyville, County Queens, Ireland, 1769; d. Dublin, Ireland, 1855) wrote some 760 hymn texts and com¬posed a number of hymn tunes. Of all his texts, this is his finest; it is usually included without any alteration in hymnals today. It was published in the 1820 edition of Kelly's Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture.

A poetic commentary on Hebrews 2:9-10, the text was initially entitled "Christ Perfect Through Sufferings." The opening couplet is probably borrowed from a John Bunyan poem (from "One Thing is Needful," c. 1664) which begins:

The head that once was crowned with thorns
Shall now with glory shine;
The heart that broken was with scorns
Shall flow with life divine.

Kelly's text is an ideal teaching hymn, of which Erik Routley (PHH 31) says: "All the joy and hope of the Ascension, as seen by us through Pentecost, needs to be expressed in the singing of this hymn." We move from Christ's mock crowning by Roman soldiers to his celestial crowning: from his suffering to his glory. We learn that the way of Christ is the way of discipleship: those who bear the cross of suffering for Christ will also share in his glory and reign. Here we find all the joy and hope of the Ascension! The Timothy passage referred to in stanza 5 was probably an early Christian hymn.

A brilliant student, Kelly studied law at Trinity College, Dublin, but then experienced a religious conversion, which initially turned him into an ascetic. After further study he was ordained in the Church of Ireland (1792) and began preaching in Dublin. Judged by the archbishop of Dublin to be too evangelistic, Kelly was barred from preaching. He became an independent preacher and was instrumental in building three chapels, financed largely from his own and his wife's inheritances. He also shared his means generously with the poor of Ireland, especially during the famine of the late 1840s. He published A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1802), Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (1804), and Hymns by Thomas Kelly, Not Before Published (1815); his hymns became popular in Ireland, England, and America.

Liturgical Use:
Easter; Ascension; other festive worship services.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook