HYMN 247 All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

Psalm 72; Philippians 2:9-11 Text: Edward Perronet (1726-1792). Tune: William Shrubsole MILES LANE (1760-1806); Oliver Holden CORONATION (1765-1844); 1. 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! 2. O seed of Israel's chosen 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! 3. Let every tongue and every tribe
Responsive to his call,
To him all majesty ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all! 4. Oh, that with all the 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. MEDITATION
This hymn, known as the “National Anthem of Christianity” if one can speak in that way, is a mission hymn. There are many Scripture references in it, but the main one is the notion from Philippians 2:9-11 that At the Name of Jesus every Knee shall Bow. Jesus is crowned because he defeated sin, death and the devil out of love for us. Our job is to go forward with the name and preach it around the world so at the end every “tongue and tribe” will have heard the good news. I have always loved stories of missionaries who went where they were called, regardless of dangers, illness, persecution or martyrdom simply to bring the good news to the people anywhere on earth. Here were true heroes. Many missionaries visited us when I was a kid and we learned about the countries of Madagascar, India, Japan, China and Formosa from personal accounts shared with us around the dinner table. It was the adventures and the romance of faraway places especially that caught my attention. I have noted elsewhere the generosity of the missionaries braving all these things simply because the Lord commanded it and with the dream of increasing the numbers in heaven. There was another part that became clear as I studied further the missionaries who went to China. (See my book link below.) They came in answer to the call of Hudson Taylor for thousands to come to China before the end of the 19th century. They weren't just being obedient to their Savior. They were in love. In love with Jesus. They believed that Christ would return when everyone on earth had heard the Gospel. They wanted to see Jesus soon and so they went. Hudson Taylor was the great missionary to China. His daughter-in-law, Geraldine Guinness (1865-1942) worked closely with him, helping him edit his magazine, China's Millions . She spoke and wrote tirelessly on behalf of the mission with her father-in-law. (She was from the Guinness family that owned and brewed the famous Guinness stout. Oz Guinness is a descendent.) In 1889 Taylor issued a challenge to the young—he wanted 1000 missionaries in China before the end of the century. Hundreds did answer the call. Miss Guinness tells how a young Swedish man appeared at the China Inland Mission headquarters in Shanghai to speak with Taylor and informed him that there were thirty-five young people following him. They knew that Jesus was Lord, that he reigned and one day they would worship him in heaven. And they wanted the courts of heaven to be filled with thousands they had helped bring to faith through their work. Most of all they wanted to be there, beside him. They made a difference. Though under persecution today, the church in China is surprisingly vibrant. Many Chinese have learned to call Jesus Lord and are yearning with the whole church to see Jesus in the flesh, resurrected, ascended, and Lord! All hail the power of Jesus' Name! HYMN INFO
Edward Perronet, a descendent of Huguenot refugees from France, grew up the son of an Anglican priest. He was a gifted young man who became more and more disenchanted with the established church. He became a co-worker with the Wesleys. He was a difficult person to be around, the histories say. Ultimately their disagreements separated Wesley from him. He became a dissenting pastor and wrote a book of verse, highly prized at the time. This hymn has been revised over time. It originally had some eight stanzas, but the stanzas here are the standard ones today. He was rather wealthy and left property in his will to William Shrubsole who wrote Miles Lane one of the preferred tunes for his text. Shrubsole was raised in Canterbury and was a boy chorister in the Canterbury Cathedral choir. He later became an organist at the Bangor Cathedral, but was let go as his dissenting views became stronger. He moved to become organist at Spa Fields Chapel. He taught music until his death. Oliver Holden wrote the tune Coronation . An American who fought in the Revolutionary War, Holden was a musician who worked in Massachusetts. When George Washington visited Boston, Holden wrote a piece of music a group sang for him. He published a book of sacred music, The American Harmony, in 1793, one of the first musicians to publish in the new country. This tune is the oldest American tune still in common use today. Hymnal committees usually can't decide which tune to use, so they tend to publish them both. Others have been written as well, most well known, Diadem. LINKS Duke University Chapel/Miles Lane—wow!
https://youtu.be/nth3glZF2GI Robert Shaw Chorale/Miles Lane https://youtu.be/hz5aksEcNbU
First Plymouth Church Lincoln, Nebraska/Tune: Coronation
https://youtu.be/VYqLyTPw58o Hour of Power/Tune: Coronation
https://youtu.be/KCSBWjuwWPY
Bishop Clarence E. McClendon/Coronation https://youtu.be/GKOVqFcdEgU Tommy Walker Ministries/contemporary version of Coronation https://youtu.be/aIjZxS9nDNo
My book on the missionary to China Thea Rønning with info on Hudson Taylor https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781932688795/Thea-R-nning