Crown Him with Many Crowns: The Many Crowns of Jesus
Growing up in a traditional church has given me the experience of being around hymns that have enriched the church for years. Numerous people have spoken in church about the impact and meaning their favorite hymn has had on their life. One of my earliest memories of life is singing a hymn in my grandfather’s church. The hymns of our faith have gotten us through many trials, struggles, blessings and times that remind us God is in control in all of our lives. One of my favorite hymns is “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” It is a hymn full of reminders of Jesus and His reign over the world, his death, burial and resurrection, and the praise we will give Him in heaven.
History: The text comes from Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring. In the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, it distinguishes Bridges wrote stanzas 1, 3 and 4 while Thring wrote stanza 2. Matthew Bridges was a British-Canadian hymnist who lived from 1800–1894. Bridges grew up in a Christian home and his brother, Charles, grew up to be a Church of England minister. Bridges’ career began as an author who wrote poems, prose, and books, including The Roman Empire Under Constantine the Great. Bridges was influenced by John Henry Newman and the Oxford Movement, and with this influence Bridges turned from the Church of England to the Catholic church in 1848. Bridges wrote the text to Crown Him with Many Crowns in 1851 in the second edition of Hymns of the Heart in 6 eight-line stanzas. The hymn appeared in the monumental hymnal Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1868, which assured its future in the church. Bridges wrote the original stanzas to Crown Him with Many Crowns, Godfrey Thring wrote more verses. There are 12 stanzas in all with Bridges writing the first six and Thring writing the second six. Thring, 1823–1903, was Anglican clergyman and hymn writer. There is no record of Bridges and Thring meeting in person to work on the hymn.
The tune comes from George Elvey (1816–1893). Elvey was an English organist and composer. Elvey was a chorist at Canterbury Cathedral and an expert organist, having begun his musical training under his brother Stephen’s guidance at the Royal Academy of Music. Elvey wrote nearly all his music for the church, including two oratorios, anthems, psalm chants, organ pieces, fifteen part songs, an introduction and gavotte for piano and violin, and four pianoforte pieces. The tune Diademata means crowns in Greek and was written for the hymn when it was published in Hymns Ancient and Modern.
Theology: Revelation 19:12 (CSB) “His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself.”
The overall theme of the hymn is about the nature of Jesus. He is the Lamb upon the throne because He was sent to earth to pay the price of our sins on Calvary’s cross. Stanza one mentions “the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own” because the praise of Jesus in heaven is stronger in meaning than any music on earth. In this hymn we sing about the Lord of life, peace and love in stanzas 2–4. The original six stanzas sing about six crowns: the Lamb upon the throne, the Virgin’s Son, the Son of God, the Lord of Love, the Lord of Peace and the Lord of Years. Our praise of the name of Jesus will last throughout eternity, which is how the hymn ends in stanza four in the 1991 Baptist hymnal.
Musical: The meter of “Crown Him with Many Crowns” is in short meter, 6.6.8.6. The poetic meter is iambic because the first word “crown” is treated as a pickup or anacrusis word in the text. The range is suitable for congregational singing because it is an octave in range of all notes sung. The rhythm is mostly quarter and half notes with two instances of eighth notes in each stanza. The tempo is march-like which keeps the song moving. The song is strophic, which means the music is the same for each stanza so the congregation will only have to learn one line of music to know the entire hymn. The hymn is suitable for congregational singing for all these musical reasons and it is rich in theological knowledge of Jesus our Savior.
