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On His head are many crowns. Revelation 19:12

That head "crowned with many crowns" was once bowed in infancy as a babe. It was a head bowed in obedience to a carpenter. A head which became a reservoir of tears. A head which "sweat as it were great drops of blood." A head which was spit upon and which at the last in the grim agony of death was crowned with thorns. A head that cried out in a terrible death-shriek: "It is finished." A head which slept in the grave, but ...

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On His head are many crowns.
Revelation 19:12

That head "crowned with many crowns" was once bowed in infancy as a babe. It was a head bowed in obedience to a carpenter. A head which became a reservoir of tears. A head which "sweat as it were great drops of blood." A head which was spit upon and which at the last in the grim agony of death was crowned with thorns. A head that cried out in a terrible death-shriek: "It is finished." A head which slept in the grave, but now is alive forever. Who would have thought that a head, the visage of which was more disfigured than that of any man, should now be surrounded by these many diadems-these star-studded crowns!

The crowns upon the head of the victorious Jesus Christ are numberless. For on His head are the crowns of creation-for it is He who created and holds everything together. Think of it, if it were not for Christ, the center of our great universe would crumble and every bit of matter would be obliterated into nothingness.

But, also on that head are the crowns of providence, grace and mercy. Jesus alone holds the key of heaven. What He opens no man can shut; He calls and the stubborn heart obeys; He wills and the rebellious spirit bends its knee; for he is Master of men and when He wills to bless, none can refuse His benediction.

His power is so great that the angels are forever singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts." The keys of heaven and hell hang at His waist; He is supreme and to Him be glory for ever and ever.

And yet the most important crowns upon His head are from those who have turned from their sin and placed their crown of life upon His head. Many of these are mentioned in Scripture: Saul of Tarsus and Rahab the prostitute come to mind at first, but there are many, many others. They were washed in the blood of the Lamb: the love of Christ reclaimed them from a future as black as hell. They sing with the angels: "Crown Him with many crowns...the lamb upon the throne."

Today, perhaps you feel that you're too weak to receive a crown, the crown of life; too faithless to deserve such a great award. But, no matter how fragile your faith, you can have life in Christ. If you crave pardon and forgiveness through the blood of Christ, then go boldly to Him right now and say:
"Jesus, I am the chief of sinners; today I trust in You. Forgive my sins and make me whole again. Please take control of my life!"

Make this day your day to crown Him as Lord of Lords. You'll sing with all the saints:
"I crown Him as my Savior and Lord."

Adapted from CS Spurgeon
For further information about making Christ the Lord of your life, see "Knowing Christ".

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The text of this great hymn is a composite or combination by two different authors, both of whom were inspired by Revelation 19:12. The first printing was a six-stanza hymn in Hymns of the Heart (1851) by Matthew Bridges, who later in his life left the Church of England and became a Roman Catholic. Bridges' hymn was originally titled: "The Song of the Seraphs."

In 1874, Godfrey Thring feared that some of the Bridges' verses spoke too much of Catholic doctrine. Verse two, for example, ...

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The text of this great hymn is a composite or combination by two different authors, both of whom were inspired by Revelation 19:12. The first printing was a six-stanza hymn in Hymns of the Heart (1851) by Matthew Bridges, who later in his life left the Church of England and became a Roman Catholic. Bridges' hymn was originally titled: "The Song of the Seraphs."

In 1874, Godfrey Thring feared that some of the Bridges' verses spoke too much of Catholic doctrine. Verse two, for example, said:

Crown Him the virgin's Son, the God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won which now His brow adorn;
Fruit of the mystic rose, as of that rose the stem;
The root whence mercy ever flows, the Babe of Bethlehem.

He wrote six new stanzas for the hymn. The new six stanza text was published in Thring's Hymns and Sacred Lyrics."

Over the years, the twelve stanzas (six by Bridges and six by Thring) became intermingled in various hymnbooks.

Hence, the hymn that had two entirely different six-stanza texts appears in most hymnals with a composite 4 stanza text.

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