HoMY 19: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

This week in my series “Then Sings My Soul: The Hymns of My Youth (HoMY)” I’ve lined up the one that has been called “The National Anthem of Christendom” — All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name was written in 1779 by Edward Perronet and has been translated into almost every language to which Christianity itself has been translated.

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

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.

Crown him, you martyrs of our God,
Who from his altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesus’ rod
And crown him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesus’ rod
And crown him Lord of all.

O seed of Jesus’ chose race,
Now 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.

Hail him, you heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God Incarnate, man divine,
And crown him Lord of all.
The God Incarnate, man divine,
And crown him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can never forget
The wormwood and the gall,
Go, spread you trophies at his feet
And crown him Lord of all.
Go, spread you trophies at his feet
And crown him Lord of all.

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.

Oh, 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.

Despite the association with “Christendom” (it’s said innocently), this hymn has and continues to have good association for me. It contains good theology, though in keeping with the them of the hymn being of my youth, I have to say that I was singing this one before I knew what a “diadem” was. By that measure, it was certainly before I understood “the wormwood and the gall.” Still, the basics are easily grasped and run deep: the image of a Holy God worthy of worship who will be worshipped by every nation and tribe in a never-ending song of his glory.