Crown Him With Many Crowns

Matthew Bridges · 1851 · tune DIADEMATA
Key of D · public domain

Words

Verse 1Crown Him with many crowns
The Lamb upon His throne
Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity

Verse 2Crown Him the Lord of love
Behold His hands and side
Rich wounds yet visible above
In beauty glorified
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight
But downward bends his burning eye
At mysteries so bright

Verse 3Crown Him the Lord of years
The potentate of time
Creator of the rolling spheres
Ineffably sublime
All hail, Redeemer, hail
For Thou hast died for me
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity

The story

Matthew Bridges published six verses in 1851; Godfrey Thring wrote six more in 1874 because he was unhappy with some of Bridges' theology, and most hymnals now sing a mixture without telling you which is which. The starting point is Revelation 19:12, where the rider on the white horse has on his head many crowns. Bridges takes the plural literally and hands Him a different one in every verse, which is why the hymn can be sung at almost any point in the church year. The wounds in the second verse are the detail worth noticing: rich wounds, yet visible above. Glorified, not erased.

Chords in D

Verse 1 D G D Crown Him with many crowns A D The Lamb upon His throne D G D Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns A D All music but its own G D Awake, my soul, and sing A D Of Him who died for thee D G And hail Him as thy matchless King A D A Through all eternity Verse 2 D G D Crown Him the Lord of love A D Behold His hands and side D G D Rich wounds yet visible above A D In beauty glorified G D No angel in the sky A D Can fully bear that sight D G But downward bends his burning eye A D A At mysteries so bright Verse 3 D G D Crown Him the Lord of years A D The potentate of time D G D Creator of the rolling spheres A D Ineffably sublime G D All hail, Redeemer, hail A D For Thou hast died for me D G Thy praise shall never, never fail A D A Throughout eternity

In the app you can move this to any key and it works out the capo for you.

Common questions

Who wrote Crown Him With Many Crowns? Matthew Bridges wrote the words in 1851.

What tune is it sung to? DIADEMATA, set here in the key of D.

What scripture is it built on? Revelation 19:12.

Is Crown Him With Many Crowns free to use in church? Yes. The words are public domain, which means any church may sing them, print them in a bulletin, put them on a screen or record them, without asking permission and without paying anyone.

Themes

Worship · Christ the King · Adoration

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