All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name
Before We Sing
with Brett Taylor, Worship Director
Before we sing “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name” together this Sunday, take a few minutes to listen and reflect on the story, truth, beauty, and goodness of what we are about to sing.
The Story
When Edward Perronet first published this hymn in 1779, he titled it “On the Resurrection. The Lord Is King.” That original title gives us a lens for everything that follows.
Jesus’ kingship is not merely an idea or title of honor. It is the victory announced by his resurrection.
The crucified Christ walked out of the grave. Death could not hold him, and no rival kingdom will have the final word. The empty tomb becomes a coronation announcement: The Lord is King.
The Truth
Listen for Philippians 2:9–11 in verse three: “Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all.”
Paul tells us that God has given Jesus “the name that is above every name,” and that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The hymn turns that future promise into our present practice. When we “crown him Lord of all,” we aren’t placing a crown on an empty throne. We are confessing the King who already sits there!
The Beauty
Some of the hymn’s older words are poetry that help us see the scene. Prostrate means lying facedown in reverence. A diadem is a royal crown, the sign of a king’s rightful rule. And a sacred throng is a holy multitude, a great crowd gathered in worship.
Follow the movement: angels fall prostrate, the diadem is lifted, Christ is crowned, every tribe gathers, and finally we long to join that sacred throng at Jesus’ feet.
The Goodness
The hymn isn’t describing humiliation. It’s reorientation. My little kingdom becomes less important, Christ becomes more beautiful, and I find myself shoulder to shoulder with angels, saints, and people from every tribe and tongue.
Worship puts everything back in its proper place: Christ at the center, his people gathered around him, and our voices joining a song much bigger than ourselves.
The Invitation
This Sunday, consider what little kingdom you’ve been trying to protect, control, or build. As we sing, loosen your grip on it. You might even open your hands as a quiet posture of surrender and pray, “Jesus, take your rightful place again.”
Then join the sacred throng and crown him Lord of all!