Crown Him Lord of All

This year is the Diamond Jubilee, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ascension to the English throne. Her coronation was an event filled with pomp and pageantry as the crown was placed on her head.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, God crowned Him, exalting Him to the place of honor and glory He earned by dying in our place.

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9

If only we could have been in heaven on that glorious day! Imagine the pomp and circumstance then.

All hail the power of Jesus' name!  
Let angels prostrate fall; 
bring forth the royal diadem, 
and crown him Lord of all.  

Do Christians forget about Christ's kingship? We understand and emphasize the fatherly love God has for us, and rightly so. He tells us to come to Him as a child comes to his father. But do we stand in awe of the Lord and remember with wonder what he has done for us? He suffered in our place, took our sin, bore God's wrath and triumphed over death. Because of this, we have confidence that on the day of judgement, we will be declared righteous and will not have to suffer the consequences of our sin. What a truly glorious thought.

Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget 
the wormwood and the gall, 
go spread your trophies at his feet, 
and crown him Lord of all.

Our glorious God humbled himself to the point of death and afterwards received the reward prepared for him.

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

As if that weren't enough, his death purchased crowns for each of us on the last day. When that time comes, everyone who has ever lived, everyone of every race and culture and language will fall at his feet and acknowledge His kingship over us.What a glorious day that will be.

Imagine the rejoicing in heaven as all of God's people gather in His throne room and praise Him for all He has done for us. The human mind can't begin to comprehend what it will be like. Take the coronation of an earthly king and multiply it infinitely and you'll get the idea.

Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51:11

O that with yonder sacred throng 
we at his feet may fall!  
We'll join the everlasting song, 
and crown him Lord of all.  
We'll join the everlasting song, 
and crown him Lord of all.  

The Story Behind All Hail the Power

This majestic hymn, often called the National Anthem of Christendom, was penned by Edward Perronet in 1779. It first appear anonymously in Gospel Magazine that same year. Many years passed before the authorship of this hymn was discovered.

Edward knew hardship and persecution. He was friends with the Wesleys for a while, but a rift developed between them over theology and Edward spent the rest of his days ministering to a small Congregational church.

Both of the most popular tunes, Coronation and Diadem, were written by nineteen-year-old young men. Oliver Holden, a Boston musician, wrote Coronation in 1793 just for All Hail the Power. John Ellor, and Englishman, wrote Diadem in 1838. The original tune is was set to, Miles Lane, appeared with the first version of the hymn and was written by William Shrubsole. You can listen to that music here.

The story goes that missionary to India P.E. Scott went to a remote tribe and was soon surrounded by warriors, spears drawn. Knowing his death was near, he took out his ever-present violin and began to sing the hymn in their native language. When he looked up from the final verse, the warriors had lowered their spears and many were in tears. Needless to say, he survived and went on to serve that tribe for many years.

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

The featured hymn this week is the beautiful 18th century hymn by Edward Perronet. There are a couple of popular tunes these lyrics are set to. The first one I have here is my favorite, "Diadem".



The second tune is "Coronation".



Here are the lyrics without any music.

All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.

3. Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him Lord of all.

4. Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.

5. Crown him, ye martyrs of your God,
who from his altar call;
extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
and crown him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
and crown him Lord of all.

6. O that with yonder sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.