All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

In this series of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, I have shared many of my favorites or others’ favorites over the years. This morning, I share one of my favorites to lead in congregational singing. As I would prepare for Sunday morning music, I would have to refrain myself from adding this song too often. In traditional 4/4 time, an upbeat tempo, powerful words, and great key, it was fun to lead. Evidently, those who love it include many more than me. This great hymn appears in more than 3,300 hymnals – one of the most prolific ever. This song was written in 1780.

The meaning of the song, of course, is so wonderful. In this song, we rejoice in the power of Jesus’ name, who reigns as Lord of all.

Below you will find the lyrics, read a bit about the theology of the hymn, the story of the author, and be able to hear several renditions of this old, beautiful hymn. Sing along, if you like, and rejoice in the opportunity to join in with All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name! Lyrics

The Theology

This hymn is a declaration of praise, but it’s also much more than that. The words both declare the majesty of Christ and task us with making that majesty known to all. Like many hymns describing the glory of God and the hope that one day all people will see that glory, this hymn alludes to Philippians 2:9-11: “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We long for this day, and declare our hope in its arrival in the text of this hymn. But are we willing to declare that hope to those who have not heard it? The phrase, “Easier said than done” comes to mind here. After we have sung these words of victory and longing, what do we do? Do we act on those words and turn our expectancy into realities? Or do we wait for someone else to do it for us? The fourth stanza of this great hymn declares, “We’ll join the everlasting song….” Everlasting means that we are a part of that song right now – are we willing to lift our voices together to sing more than a hymn, and truly crown our God Lord of all? [1]

The Author

Edward Perronet, author

Edward Perronet (b. 1721; d. 1792) was the son of the Rev. Vincent Perronet, Vicar of Shoreham, Kent. For some time he was an intimate associate of the Wesleys, at Canterbury and Norwich. He afterwards became pastor of a dissenting congregation. In 1784, he published a small volume, entitled “Occasional Verses, Moral and Social;” a book now extremely rare. At his death he is said to have left a large sum of money to Shrubsole, who was organist at Spafield’s Chapel, London, and who had composed the tune “Miles Lane” for “All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!”. [2]

This is a hymn with a complicated history. The first verse appeared in the November 1779 Gospel Magazine to the tune of SHRUBSOLE, afterwards known as MILES LANE. In the April 1780 edition of the same magazine, the complete hymn was given with the title “On the Resurrection, the Lord is King.” Through a lot of cross-referencing, experts are quite certain the author of this text was Edward Perronet. Four years after this publication, G. Burder, in his Collection, adapted the hymn giving it four stanzas, altering some text, and titled it “The Coronation Hymn.” J. Rippon, in his 1787 Selection of Hymns, also altered the text. Most modern hymns are now based on a combination of Perronet’s and Rippon’s text. The variations and different pairings of the text abound – but many hymnals include four stanzas: 1-3 by Perronet and altered by Rippon, and stanza 4 by Rippon. [3]

CORONATION was written for this text. Oliver Holden (b. Shirley, MA, 1765; d. Charlestown, MA, 1844) composed the tune in four parts with a duet in the third phrase. The tune, whose title comes from the theme of Perronet’s text, was published in Holden’s Union Harmony (1793). It is the one eighteenth-century American tune that has enjoyed uninterrupted popularity–from the singing schools of that era to today’s congregational worship. [5]

 

Enjoy This Media

Some groups singing the song from YouTube:

Here is an all-men’s version of the song from a Shepherd’s Conference.

I grew up listening to this version of the song by the Cathedrals. This is the best I could find of it online.

Classic congregational singing of all verses.

 

Here is one of the earliest published copies I could find of the CORONATION version from The Sacred Harp or Eclectic Harmony, song #82 from 1835 [4]:

Here is a more modern version from my childhood hymnbook Favorite Hymns of Praise #8 [6]:

 

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