Crown Him with Many Crowns
Reviewed by BT • 2026-4-16
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Matthew Bridges & Godfrey Thring, 1851
What This Song Teaches Us About God
Each verse of this hymn “crowns” Jesus with a different title — Lord of life, Lord of love, etc. — teaching us that no single description captures everything He is. He is the fullness of God, and we could spend eternity discovering new reasons to honor Him.
The hymn draws a direct connection between the Jesus who died and the Jesus who reigns. He bears the wounds of His crucifixion even as He wears the crown of victory. The same hands nailed to the cross now hold the scepter of a king. The hymn also looks forward to a time when the church’s praise on earth joins the praise of heaven. Each week when we gather together as a local body of believers we are joining a chorus that started long ago and will continue through eternity.
Scripture Connections
- Revelation 19:12 — Jesus is described with many crowns on His head, the conquering King whose authority is total and whose glory cannot be overstated.
- Hebrews 2:9 — Jesus was made lower than the angels so He could suffer death, and is now “crowned with glory and honor” — the cross leads to the crown.
- Philippians 2:6-8 — Jesus did not grasp at His rights as God but humbled Himself to death on a cross, and therefore God raised Him to the highest place.
Clarifying the Language
“Hark! how the heav’nly anthem drowns all music but its own” — “Hark” is an old word meaning “listen carefully.” The hymn is saying: imagine the sound of all of heaven worshiping Jesus — it is so glorious that nothing else compares.
“Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee” — The hymn is the author speaking to himself, stirring his own heart to worship. It is a reminder that worship sometimes requires us to intentionally engage our whole selves, not just go through the motions.
“Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast” — Jesus is not a distant, untouched God. He lived as a human being and experienced genuine suffering, grief, and pain. He understands what we go through.