Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring – Crown Him with Many Crowns

Roman Catholic Matthew Bridges and Anglican Godfrey Thring are both English lyricists, primarily writing hymns within the 19th century.  There was some controversy over the original lyrics to Crown Him with Many Crowns (Verses 1-6 in this review), primarily over Bridges’ references to the Virgin Mary.  The specific controversy over these Verses is unknown to me.  Nonetheless, Thring re-released it with additional Verses (Verses 7-12) to address this concern.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

The main theme of this song explores several crowns that Christ possesses, taking some poetic license to describe them by name:

1. Virgin’s Son, representing Jesus’ incarnation, that He is God who became flesh.
2. The angels sung.
3. Lord of love, that He is both love itself and showed His love through action, chiefly, dying for undeserving sinners.
4. Prince of peace, a title predicted by the prophet Isaiah.
5. Lord of years, representing His rulership over creation and space-time.
6. Lord of heaven, that His reign also extends to the heavenly realms
7. Crowns of gold, where Christ possesses the crowns that the twenty-four elders were given.
8. Son of God, another claim of His deity.
9. Son of man, another claim of His humanity.
10. Lord of light, that He defeats the shadowy places concocted by Satan.
11. Lord of life, that He defeats the last enemy: death.
12. Lord of lords, that He is God over all authority and nations on earth.

Score: 9/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Most of it aligns with God’s inspired Word except that angelic beings aren’t shown in Scripture to sing.  Perhaps they could, but it’s not supported by the Bible.

This song is public domain.

[Verse 1]

Crown him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon his throne;

The last book of the Bible describes Jesus as One who has many crowns (Revelation 19:12), the slain Lamb (Revelation 5:6), and as a King (Revelation 17:14 and Revelation 19:11-16).

Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own:

Probably a reference to Revelation 5:13.  I suppose it would drown out everything else, considering the magnitude of it: every living creature on heaven and earth was involved!  The word “anthem” implies singing; However, according to this verse, the creatures were saying, not singing.  Yet, we know from Job 38:7 that angels do, in fact, sing and it’s not directly referencing the angelic hosts in Luke 2:13-14.  I’m willing to give this one a pass.

Awake, my soul, and sing
Of him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless king
Through all eternity.

I’ve already addressed the singing/saying verb in lines 3-4.  Since Revelation 5:13 states that “every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them” were included, it seems logical to think that Bridges and Thring’s audience would join.

[Verse 2]

Crown him the Virgin’s Son!
The God Incarnate born,–

Jesus is God who became a man (Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:35, John 1:1, John 1:14, and Philippians 2:5-8) and was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26-38, and Matthew 1:18-25).

Whose arm those crimson trophies won
Which now his brow adorn!

This combines the many crowns of Jesus (Revelation 19:12) with the crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, and John 19:1-3), staining his head with blood.

Fruit of the mystic Rose
As of that Rose the Stem:
The Root, whence mercy ever flows,–

The rose is the Virgin Mary.  It literally means “born of Mary, and yet her Creator”.  For born of a virgin, see commentary on lines 1-2.  For Creator, which depends on Christ as God (see commentary on lines 1-2), see Genesis 1:1, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 8:3-8, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 96:5, Proverbs 3:19, Isaiah 37:16, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 66:1-2, John 1:1-3, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 4:11.

The Babe of Bethlehem!

This is the city in which Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-7).

[Verse 3]

Crown him the Lord of love!

Indeed, because God is love (1 John 4:8) and demonstrated His love for us through sacrifice (John 3:16 and Romans 5:6-8).

Behold his hands and side,–
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified:

Thomas came to the same conclusion when he examined Jesus’ resurrected body (John 20:27).

No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye
At mysteries so bright!

Mankind cannot fully comprehend the glory of God (Psalm 145:3). Why would we expect Angels to be different?

[Verse 4]

Crown him the Lord of peace!

That is, Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Whose power a scepter sways,
From pole to pole,–that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise:

When Jesus comes back, there will be no more wars (that is, death, pain, suffering, etc) post-white throne judgment (Revelation 21:4).  Rather than mourning, we will serve Him (Revelation 22:3).

his reign shall know no end,

Christ’s reign is eternal (Exodus 15:18, Psalm 10:16, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 145:13, Psalm 146:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:3, Daniel 6:26, Micah 4:7, 1 Timothy 6:16, 1 Peter 5:11, and Revelation 11:15).

And round his pierced feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend
Their fragrance ever sweet.

More flower language that represents the sweet aroma of Jesus’ sacrifice (Ephesians 5:2 and Philippians 4:18).

[Verse 5]

Crown him the Lord of years!
The Potentate of time,–
Creator of the rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime!
Glassed in a sea of light,
Where everlasting waves
Reflect his throne,–the Infinite!

Christ is sovereign over creation (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Who lives,–and loves–and saves.

Christ is still alive, a nod to His resurrection (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29 Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).  He also shows His love through saving us (Romans 5:6-8).

[Verse 6]

Crown him the Lord of heaven!
One with the Father known,–

Jesus is King (Exodus 15:6, Exodus 15:11, 1 Chronicles 29:11, 2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalm 24:10, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 110:2-3, Psalm 104:1, Psalm 145:5, Psalm 145:12, Job 37:22, Isaiah 24:14, Isaiah 26:10, Hebrews 1:3-4, Hebrews 8:1, Revelation 4:1-11, and Revelation 19:7-16).

And the blest Spirit, through him given
From yonder triune throne!

The Holy Spirit was given to us by Jesus (John 14:15-17, John 14:26, John 15:26, and John 16:7-15).

All hail! Redeemer,–Hail!
For Thou hast died for me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity!

Christians respond with eternal praise (Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 52:9, Psalm 86:12, Psalm 89:1, Psalm 115:18, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 145:21, and Revelation 5:9-13) because Christ paid the penalty for our lawbreaking (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

[Verse 7]

Crown him with crowns of gold,
All nations great and small,
Crown him, ye martyred saints of old,

It is the twenty-four elders who give back to God their golden crowns (Revelation 4:1-10).  It’s difficult to be dogmatic if I were to say that the elders are not “all nations” because the elders may represent the nations.  Such is the nature of the mystery of the book of Revelation!

The Lamb once slain for all;
The Lamb once slain for them
Who bring their praises now,
As jewels for the diadem
That girds his sacred brow.

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 1 and 2.

[Verse 8]

Crown him the Son of God

Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 11:27, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 16:15–17, Matthew 27:43, Matthew 27:54, Mark 1:11, Mark 3:11, Mark 9:7, Mark 15:39, Luke 1:35, Luke 4:41, Luke 22:29, John 1:14-18, John 1:34, John 3:16-18, John 11:27, John 19:7, John 20:31, and Acts 9:20).

Before the worlds began,
And ye, who tread where He hath trod,

Before Abraham was, Christ is (John 8:58).  He is the same I AM mentioned in Exodus 3:14.

Crown him the Son of man;

This is another title Jesus attributes to Himself (Matthew 8:20, Matthew 12:8, Matthew 12:38-42, Matthew 16:27-28, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 24:30, Matthew 25:31-32, Matthew 26:64, Mark 2:27-28, Mark 8:11-13, Mark 8:31-32:38, Mark 10:32-45, Mark 14:62, Luke 6:5, Luke 9:26-27, Luke 9:58, Luke 11:29-32, and Luke 18:31-34).  Combined with the Son of God title, both give us a complete picture of Jesus: He is both 100% God and 100% man.

Who every grief hath known
That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own,
That all in him may rest.

See commentary in Verse 6, lines 5-8.

[Verse 9]

Crown him the Lord of light,
Who o’er a darkened world
In robes of glory infinite
His fiery flag unfurled.
And bore it raised on high,
In heaven–in earth–beneath,

Jesus is the light that defeats darkness (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).

To all the sign of victory
O’er Satan, sin, and death.

Christ also defeated the Devil (Revelation 20:7-10), our sins (see commentary on Verse 6, lines 5-8), and death (Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, Luke 20:35-36, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, and Hebrews 2:14).

[Verse 10]

Crown him the Lord of life
Who triumphed o’er the grave,

See commentary in Verse 9, lines 7 and 8.

And rose victorious in the strife

See commentary in Verse 5, line 8.

For those he came to save;
His glories now we sing
Who died, and rose on high.
Who died, eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.

See commentary in Verse 6, lines 5-8.

[Verse 11]

Crown him of lords the Lord,
Who over all doth reign

Jesus is Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15 and Revelation 19:16).

Who once on earth, the incarnate Word,

He is also the Word who became flesh (John 1:1 and John 1:14).

For ransomed sinners slain,

See Verse 6, lines 5-8.

Now lives in realms of light,

Where Jesus sits, there is no shadow, only light (James 1:17 and Revelation 22:5).

Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before him day and night,
Their God, Redeemer, king.

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 3 and 4.

[Verse 12]

Crown him the Lord of heaven,
Enthroned in worlds above;
Crown him the king, to whom is given
The wondrous name of Love,
Crown him with many crowns,
As thrones before him fall.
Crown him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For He is King of all.

This Verse is a summation section for the preceding crowns that Christ possesses, ending with Jesus’ sovereignty (see Verse 5, lines 1-7).

[Outro]

Amen!

So be it.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

This song is jam-packed with Christian theology baked into this song.  For those who haven’t studied Christianity, it will likely be like drinking water from a fire hydrant: an overload of Christian terminology and deep concepts that require much study to comprehend.

I’d be amazed if anyone who hasn’t heard of Jesus would interpret this song as anything other than Christian.  Who else would be the Son of God, born of a virgin creator of the entire universe, who died for sinners, rose again, and is Lord of lords?

Much like other reviews, this lower rating serves as a back-handed compliment to the depth of Bridges and Thring’s lyrics specifically geared towards Christians.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God with a bountiful array of titles, acts, and properties attributed to God, summarized by the eleven crowns listed in section 1.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring’s Crown Him with Many Crowns is a wonderful song for believers.  It provides a plethora of Christian theology, including Jesus’ sovereignty over time and space, His virgin birth, that He is 100% God and 100% man, He is the light that drives out darkness, He rose again and defeated death, and Lord over all human government, bringing Christ glory.  Unbelievers will implicitly comprehend this song as Christian; However, the unstudied will likely have a difficult time interpreting it.

I recommend this song for corporate worship for churches ready for solid food.  Not that anyone does all twelve verses…

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Crown Him with Many Crowns (listen to a shortened version of this song)

Artists: Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring

Album: N/A

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 1851 (original six Verses), 1874 (twelve Verses)

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

08/22/2023 – Updated review to include Biblical support for singing angels.  Thanks to Luis Acosta for pointing this out and J for reminding me to examine Luis’ comment.  This slightly increased my overall rating from 8.5/10 to 9/10.

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.

07/14/2020 – Commenter Kyle corrected me on my commentary of the rose metaphor in Verse 2.  This does not affect my rating.

07/05/2020 – Fixed a rating issue regarding the singing angels as it was not consistent with my Christmas reviews under similar criticism.  This slightly lowered my overall rating from 9/10 to 8.5/10.