Crown Him with Many Crowns (ELW 855)
1 Crown 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.
2 Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o’er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
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.
3 Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a scepter sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
and round his pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.
4 Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
thy praise and glory shall not fail
throughout eternity.
Devotion
Have you ever been to a sporting event when the home team was hopelessly losing the match? At that point, the fans become noticeably less noisy as they start to stream out of the stadium. No fan really enjoys watching failure. Imagine how the people felt as they watched Jesus being crucified. Any supporters probably wanted to jump off the bleachers and get home ahead of the crowd. At the moment of his crucifixion, Jesus appeared to be a failure. Nobody knew that his death was only the beginning of a great victory. While Jesus can wear any crown he wants, the most precious one to me is his crown of thorns. It wasn’t a symbol of his defeat but a symbol of his love. That crown of love is the one he wore for me when he won my life and my heart. Jesus’ victory isn’t evident in how he destroys his opponent but rather in how he builds us up.
Prayer
Jesus, our definition of victory is often the opposite of yours. Help us to define success by how much love we share with others. Amen.