All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name Meaning, History, and Theology
"All hail the power of Jesus' name!"
- Written
- 1779
- Category
- Hymn
- Tune
- CORONATION
- Rights
- Public domain
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Story
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name began as Edward Perronet’s resurrection hymn in 1779 and was later reshaped by Baptist hymnal editor John Rippon. Commonly sung to Oliver Holden’s CORONATION, it proclaims the exalted name, saving authority, and kingship of Christ.
Overview
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name is a hymn of public allegiance to the exalted Christ. Its central concern is not simply admiration for Jesus but the confession that his name, authority, saving work, and kingship deserve the worship of heaven and earth.
The hymn is particularly strong as congregational doxology because it enlarges the worshiper’s horizon. Praise is placed within the biblical vision of Christ raised above every power and acknowledged by a redeemed people whose worship anticipates the universal adoration portrayed in Revelation.
Pastorally, the hymn challenges divided loyalties. To acclaim Christ as Lord is to place political power, social status, personal ambition, fear, and every competing allegiance beneath his authority. At the same time, the hymn offers hope: the Jesus who is worshiped is the risen and saving Lord whose reign is not threatened by the instability of the present age.
Historical Background
The documented history of All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name begins in Canterbury in 1779. An anonymous four-page booklet printed there contained two long hymns, one on the crucifixion and another headed “On the Resurrection. The Lord is King!” The resurrection hymn consisted of eight four-line stanzas and began with the first line now associated with Perronet. This booklet is the earliest located printing of the complete text and shows that the hymn was conceived from the beginning as a celebration of the risen Christ’s kingship.
Later that year, the November 1779 supplement to “The Gospel Magazine,” edited by Augustus Toplady, printed only the opening stanza, again anonymously. It appeared with a newly composed three-part tune by William Shrubsole. The melody was later called MILES LANE and became one of the hymn’s principal British settings. In April 1780 the magazine printed the complete eight-stanza hymn under the fuller heading “On the Resurrection. The Lord is King,” still without naming the author.
Authorship became clearer through Perronet’s later publications. The text appeared in the anonymous 1785 collection “Occasional Verses Moral and Sacred,” whose family tributes and acrostics strongly identify Edward Perronet as the writer. Hymnologists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries examined these sources and established Perronet’s authorship. The hymn’s origin is therefore well documented through print evidence even though no reliable account survives describing a particular sermon, crisis, or dramatic event that inspired its composition.
The text familiar in many modern hymnals is not simply Perronet’s untouched eight-stanza original. Baptist minister John Rippon included a revised form in his influential “A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors” in 1787. Rippon altered wording, reorganized material, and contributed new text. His editorial form spread widely, so modern hymnals often credit both Perronet and Rippon. This history explains why stanza attribution and wording differ among denominational collections.
The musical tradition also branched early. MILES LANE by William Shrubsole was the first tune printed with the hymn in 1779. Oliver Holden composed CORONATION specifically for the text and published it in Boston in “Union Harmony” in 1793; it became especially prominent in North America. In 1838 the English Wesleyan choir leader James Ellor composed DIADEM, an elaborate setting with antiphonal and choral qualities. British hymnals have often favored MILES LANE or DIADEM, while many American congregations know CORONATION best.
The hymn consequently survives not as a single frozen text-and-tune artifact but as a family of closely related forms. Its public-domain text, Rippon revisions, and historic tunes allow broad congregational use, while modern harmonizations and arrangements may carry separate copyrights. Its continuing presence in Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, and evangelical hymnals reflects a long history of editorial adaptation around a stable confession of the exalted Christ.
Biblical Foundations
Philippians 2:9-11 is the clearest biblical foundation for the hymn’s emphasis on the name and lordship of Jesus. Paul connects Christ’s exaltation with universal acknowledgment: every realm of creation is summoned toward confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Hebrews 1:6 supports the hymn’s heavenly dimension by commanding the angels to worship the Son. The imagery is therefore not merely courtly decoration; it reflects New Testament teaching about Christ’s superiority and the worship due to him.
Acts 4:12 links the name of Jesus with salvation. Christian proclamation does not treat Christ’s name as a magical formula but as a way of identifying the unique Savior in whom God has acted decisively for human redemption.
Ephesians 1:20-22 places the risen Christ above every rule, authority, power, dominion, and name. This gives the hymn’s language of coronation a specifically resurrection-centered meaning: Christ’s reign is grounded in God’s raising and exalting him.
Revelation 5:12-13 supplies the hymn’s cosmic horizon. Angels and the whole creation join in praise of the Lamb, providing a biblical model for worship that reaches beyond the local congregation toward the final adoration of God and Christ.
Verse Explanation
Because hymn lyrics are not processed in this resource, this section does not reproduce, summarize, paraphrase, or analyze individual stanzas. The hymn may instead be studied through its documented historical framework: Perronet’s earliest complete text was published under a resurrection-and-kingship heading, Rippon later revised and supplemented the text for congregational use, and successive hymnals have selected different portions of those public-domain sources.
For teaching purposes, the strongest thematic anchors are Christ’s exalted name, resurrection, saving authority, kingship, and the biblical vision of universal worship. These themes can be explored directly through Philippians 2, Ephesians 1, Hebrews 1, Acts 4, and Revelation 5 without reproducing the hymn text.
Theological Reflection
The hymn’s dominant doctrine is the exaltation and kingship of Christ. Jesus is confessed not merely as an inspiring teacher but as the risen Lord whose authority surpasses every earthly and spiritual power. This makes congregational singing an act of allegiance as well as praise.
Its theology of the name of Jesus is closely connected with salvation and lordship. In Scripture, the name represents the person, authority, and saving identity of Christ. To honor his name is therefore to confess who he is and to acknowledge the salvation God gives through him.
The hymn also has an ecclesial and eschatological dimension. The church’s worship is never isolated from the wider people of God or from the future toward which history moves. Present praise anticipates the universal worship of the Lamb described in Revelation.
Because the earliest full text was explicitly headed as a resurrection hymn, its coronation language should be read in the light of Easter. The one acclaimed as Lord is the crucified and risen Christ. Christian triumph is therefore not an endorsement of coercive earthly power but a confession that the kingdom revealed through Christ’s death and resurrection ultimately outranks every competing dominion.
Church Impact
The hymn’s circulation has been unusually broad because both text and music developed through multiple denominational channels. MILES LANE carried the hymn in British worship, CORONATION became deeply established in American psalmody, and DIADEM created another strong Wesleyan and choral tradition. The same text can therefore sound markedly different from one church tradition to another.
John Rippon’s revisions were also important to transmission. His 1787 “Selection of Hymns” became highly influential among Baptists in Britain and North America, and the edited form of Perronet’s hymn traveled through later hymnals. Modern books frequently acknowledge both Perronet and Rippon because the common text reflects this layered editorial history.
Hymnary documents the hymn in thousands of hymnals, including Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, Reformed, Mennonite, and evangelical collections. Its liturgical uses include Easter, Ascension, Christ the King, the Holy Name of Jesus, praise, mission, and general opening worship.
The hymn’s durability also comes from the adaptability of its public-domain materials. Choirs, brass ensembles, organs, bands, and congregations have produced many later settings. Those adaptations have extended its musical life, but specific modern arrangements, translations, recordings, and harmonizations may be copyrighted even though the historic text and principal tunes are not.
Musical Notes
The hymn has three historically important tune traditions. MILES LANE by William Shrubsole was the first tune printed with the text, appearing anonymously with the opening stanza in the November 1779 “Gospel Magazine.” It was originally a three-part fuguing setting in which successive voices participated in the climactic concluding material. The tune remains particularly important in British Anglican and Free Church traditions.
CORONATION was composed by Oliver Holden specifically for the hymn and published in “Union Harmony” in 1793. Modern hymnals generally treat the text with repeated final lines as 8.6.8.6.8.6, although CORONATION itself is rooted in common meter. Holden’s tune uses strong repeated notes, clear rhythmic momentum, and a sturdy melodic profile that suits large congregational singing. Early forms placed portions of the melody in different voice parts, reflecting New England singing-school practice.
DIADEM was composed by James Ellor in 1838 while he was a young Wesleyan choir leader in Lancashire. Its more elaborate treatment and interlocking vocal writing can sound especially effective with a choir or musically confident congregation, but it demands more rhythmic and ensemble precision than CORONATION.
All three historic tunes are public domain. Modern hymnals may alter harmony, key, rhythm, descants, or accompaniment, so copyright should be checked for the particular edition or arrangement rather than inferred from the age of the melody alone.
Application
- Use the hymn as an examination of allegiance by asking which powers, identities, ambitions, or fears receive the practical loyalty that belongs to Christ.
- Pair the hymn with Philippians 2:5-11 so that Christ’s exaltation is interpreted together with his humility and self-giving obedience.
- Use it during Easter, Ascension, Christ the King, ordinations, mission services, or opening worship when the congregation needs a strong confession of Christ’s lordship.
- When teaching about the name of Jesus, connect reverence for the name with trust in the person and saving work of Christ rather than treating the name as a formula.
- When choosing a musical setting, consider whether CORONATION, MILES LANE, or DIADEM best serves the congregation’s musical ability and worship context.
Discussion Questions
- How does Philippians 2 connect the exaltation of Jesus with his earlier humility and obedience?
- What does it mean in practice to acknowledge Christ as Lord rather than merely to use royal language in worship?
- Why is the hymn’s original resurrection heading important for interpreting its coronation imagery?
- How did John Rippon’s editorial work help shape the version many congregations know today?
- How do CORONATION, MILES LANE, and DIADEM communicate different musical aspects of the same confession?
Teaching Tips
- Present the history in stages: the complete Canterbury text of 1779, MILES LANE in the November 1779 “Gospel Magazine,” the full magazine printing in 1780, Rippon’s revision in 1787, CORONATION in 1793, and DIADEM in 1838.
- Explain that Edward Perronet’s birth year is disputed in older reference works; current major biographical sources commonly prefer 1721 while some hymnals retain 1726.
- Credit John Rippon when using a modern composite version rather than implying that every familiar stanza is unchanged Perronet.
- Use Philippians 2:5-11 to prevent royal imagery from being separated from Christ’s humility, cross, and resurrection.
- Let the congregation hear or compare the three principal tunes so that text history and tune history remain clearly distinguished.
Sources
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Anonymous, “On the Resurrection. The Lord is King!”, Canterbury booklet, 1779
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The Gospel Magazine, November 1779, first stanza with the tune later known as MILES LANE
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The Gospel Magazine, April 1780, complete eight-stanza text of All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
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Edward Perronet, Occasional Verses Moral and Sacred, 1785
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John Rippon, A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, 1787
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Oliver Holden, Union Harmony, 1793, first publication of CORONATION
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Hymnology Archive, All hail the power of Jesus’ name, text and tune source study
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Hymnology Archive, biographies of Edward Perronet, John Rippon, and Oliver Holden
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Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, entries for Edward Perronet and All hail the power of Jesu’s name
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Oxford Academic, Dissenting Praise, chapter on John Rippon and Baptist hymnody
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Hymnary.org, text authority page for All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name and tune authority pages for CORONATION, MILES LANE, and DIADEM
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Discipleship Ministries, History of Hymns: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
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World English Bible, public domain text from eBible.org
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