CROWN HIM THE LORD OF ALL?

By Matthias Süßen - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4597114

Is this hymn biblical?  What man or group of mortals has the authority to Crown Christ?  Any doctrine that does not put Jesus in the very center of all good works and actions of righteousness, or that gives any credit to men's actions is in error, and in its essence antichristian.

Vince Wright wrote an article concerning the hymn "Crown Him With Many Crowns".  Here is an examination concerning its scripturalness.

[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.
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. Nonetheless, 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.
Nowhere in Scripture does it state that angels sing! Perhaps they can, but it’s not found anywhere in the Bible. All the Scriptures I looked at all say that the angel say, not sing.

[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).

Despite this effort to biblically defend every verse in this hymn, there is a glaring omission - the very first verse - "Crown him with many crowns".  They defend this with the passage in Revelation 19.12, "His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself."  But this passage says nothing about humans crowning the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Of course, the defenders of this hymn could have cited Rev. 4.10-11, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will, they were created and have their being.”  But again here, there is no crowning - there is a surrender of crowns to the one to whom all things and kingdoms already belong!  

The writers of this hymn were "high churchmen".  One, Matthew Bridges was a Roman Catholic, and the other Godfrey Thring was an Anglican.  We learn more about the background of these writers and this hymn by understanding the Oxford Movement:

The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of some older Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy and theology. They thought of Anglicanism as one of three branches of the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" Christian church. Many key participants subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism.

IS THE CONCEPT OF CROWNING GOD BIBLICAL? 

If one searches the word "crowned" in an English Bible, it is listed 6 times: Psalm 8.4; Proverbs 14.18; Song 3.10; Nahum 3.16; II Timothy 2.4; and Hebrews 2.9. 

The General Meaning of Crowns in the Old Testament

What we see in the Old & New Testaments are men being crowned, never God.  Thus we read in Eerdmans Bible Dictionary:

The ancient Persian crown (Esther 1:11; 2:17; 6:8) was called kether; i.e., “a chaplet,” a high cap or tiara. Crowns were worn sometimes to represent honour and power (Ezek. 23:42). They were worn at marriages (Cant. 3:11; Isa. 61:10, “ornaments;” R.V., “a garland”), and at feasts and public festivals.

The crown was among the Romans and Greeks a symbol of victory and reward. The crown or wreath worn by the victors in the Olympic games was made of leaves of the wild olive; in the Pythian games, of laurel; in the Nemean games, of parsley; and in the Isthmian games, of the pine. The Romans bestowed the “civic crown” on him who saved the life of a citizen. It was made of the leaves of the oak. In opposition to all these fading crowns the apostles speak of the incorruptible crown, the crown of life (James 1:12; Rev. 2:10) “that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:4, Gr. amarantinos; comp. 1:4). Probably the word “amaranth” was applied to flowers we call “everlasting,” the “immortal amaranth.”

Song 3.10

 In regards to Song 3.10, we read the following:

Crown (05850 - עֲטָרָה) ('atara) is a general term for crown, should be distinguished from nezer, the royal and priestly crown. 'Atara can designate the crown of the queen (Jer 13:18), the nobility (Est 8:15) or the bridegroom (Song 3:11). While the crown could be made of gold and silver (Ps 21:3 [H 4]; Zech 6:11), it could also be a garland of flowers (Ezek 23:42). It was also used metaphorically - "crown of beauty" (Pr 4:9), "capable wife is a husband's crown" (Pr 12:4), "the crown of the wise is their wealth" (Pr 14:24, "gray hair is a glorious crown" (Pr 16:31), "grandchildren are the crown of he elderly" (Pr 17:6). The Lxx translates 'atara with stephanos from stepho = to encircle, twine or wreathe) which descrbes a wreath made of foliage or designed to resemble foliage and worn by one of high status or held in high regard. Until the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., it was customary for Jewish brides and bridegrooms to wear such crowns at their weddings.

Thus this passage has no reference to a kingly crown.

It Takes a Highert Authority To Crown A King

In the Old Testament, the prophets crowned the Kings of Israel:

As an emblem of royalty (2 Sam 1:10), the priest gave it to the king along with the royal protocol at his enthronement (2 K. 11:12; 2 Ch. 23:11). Its symbolic importance is illustrated by the use of the word in the lament over the decline of the kingdom (Ps. 89:40) as well as in the promise to David (132:18). The diadem also played a role in the investiture of the high priest (Lev. 8:9; Ex. 29:6; 39:30). Wisdom speaks of the impermanence of diadems (Prov. 27:24). (Theological Dictionary Of the Old Testament, on the word Diadem [Heb. nezer].)

As Gilbert Beebe said in his introduction to his hymnal, Christians should only sing what they believe is the truth!