Crown Him the Lord of life!
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
Who 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.
Crown Him with Many Crowns (1852)
By: Matthew Bridges, v. 3 by Godfrey Thring, pub.1874
Listen to this modern arrangement as you prepare to ponder this old hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.
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Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We continue our journey through the Easter season crowning Jesus the Lord of life. In the first half of this stanza, we considered how Jesus showed us how to deal with strife. In this second half, we ponder how we can add our praise to those who have gone before and are in His presence even now.
He Rose Again, then Rose on High: A Continuation
His glories now we sing, Who died, and rose on high,
We have already considered how Jesus overcame sin, death, and the grave with His resurrection. Now we turn our sights on the hope we can draw from His ascension. He not only rose again, but then He rose on high.
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Acts 1:9 ESV
Here is another instance where those who were present have such an advantage over us. They had seen Him since His resurrection some 40 days before and were standing there with Him on the mountain. After giving them some last instructions, “these things,” Jesus was lifted up and out of sight in the clouds.
Imagine what that must have been like to see the Lord of life ascend into the clouds. He shares with them what ends up being His last words to them, “Go and make disciples”. Looking back, we knew these were His last words to them, but did they know it? Could they feel it?
What must those moments have felt like? There He is right in front of us. Wind rustling through His hair. He is smiling at us, as He speaks with an unusual weight and authority, even for Him. He promises that He will be with us, even to the end of the age, then He begins to levitate.
Did they want to protest and ask Him not to go? Did they know He would be leaving them soon? Very soon. They were probably not ready to say goodbye, but they suddenly had no choice.
What were they to do? The same thing we are to do. Sing of His glories. Tell the world all that they had seen and heard. Again, like Thomas in the upper room, we were not there, but we are invited to believe and also declare His ascension with our praise. Imagine what that must have been like to see the Lord of Life ascend to His heavenly throne. One day, He will return to take us home. Are you ready?
We crown Him the Lord of Life with our praise. We sing the glories of our Resurrected King, who is resurrecting us. He died, but then He rose again, and rose on high. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Give Him praise! Lift your voice and sing!
RESONATE!
Jesus will return the same way that He came, in glory and at an unexpected time. If He were to return today, would He find you giving Him glory, or would it have been a few days since you last did? It has been weeks since we have been at church and possibly weeks since you have lifted your voice to praise Him. Don’t wait any longer! Give glory to your ascended Lord today. Find some way to sing His glories with your lips and your life.
Death and Life: A Redirection
Who died eternal life to bring, And lives that death may die.
Read that again, and think about it. That has to be one of the best lines in all our hymnody. It captures in just a few words what Jesus did and offers us an incredible contexts of opposites.
He lives that death may die. What a powerful line! He died to bring eternal life, and He lives to defeat death. This is Jesus. Our King and the Lord of life. He became the Lord of life, or at least demonstrated that He was, by dying. It may seem counterintuitive on the surface, but it actually makes perfect sense.
What better way could He show His authority over death, than to die, and then come back to life? He lives so that death may die, and indeed, it will. How do we know? Because it is our blessed hope.
This brings us to another opposite. He left so He could come back.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21 ESV
Here is the fulfillment of His finished work on the cross and the fruit of the empty tomb. He will transform these lowly bodies to be like Him, and when He does, the last vestiges of death will be gone forever. Then we will really know life. Hallelujah!
RESONATE!
Again this brings us back to praise. Anticipate your heavenly celebration, and crown Jesus the Lord of life today! How are you going to do it? Play a recording of your favorite song and sing along? Sit down with an instrument and accompany yourself? Call up an uninhibited friend and just burst out in song with them? Some other creative way. It does not really what it is, just do it!
Jesus, thank You for giving us something to sing about today and every day. You live that death may die. May my life reflect the stunning wonder of that. Help me fill my life with praise and crown You the Lord of life! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Praise-filled Thinking!
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Podcast 38.2 Transcript (16.2 Replayed)
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
Crown Him the Lord of life! Who triumphed o’er the grave,
…I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Revelation 1:17b-18 ESV
He died but is alive forevermore. He holds the keys to Death and Hades! He is the Lord of life, and He earned that title by dying, then defeating death. He had the power to lay down His life and take it up again. GIve praise to our King, the Lord of life! Hallelujah!
Who rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV
Jesus rose victorious over death, the grave, and sin. Because He is victorious we too can be. God gives us victory through the sacrifice of His Son. Victory over death and the grave at the end of this life, and victory over sin until then. Give thanks to God who gives us the victory!
His glories now we sing, Who died, and rose on high,
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Acts 1:9 ESV
Again, like Thomas we were not there, but we are invited to believe and also declare His ascension with our praise. Imagine what that must have been like to see the Lord of Life ascend to His heavenly throne. One day He will return to take us home. Are you ready?
Who died eternal life to bring, And lives that death may die.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21 ESV
Here is the fulfillment of His finished work on the cross and the fruit of the empty tomb. He will transform these lowly bodies to be like Him and when He does the last vestiges of death will be gone forever. Anticipate your heavenly celebration, and crown Jesus the Lord of life today!
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more, with the refrain.
Crown Him the Lord of life!
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
Who 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.
Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, be Resonant.
The post Continuation and Redirection appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
His Glories Now – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/lent-easter-cruz-calvary-a-man-4893715/
Died, and Rose on High – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/illustration-easter-resurrection-4779064/
Opposites – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/arrows-plus-minus-opposites-staff-1668911
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