Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

A favorite hymn celebrating the Incarnation is Emily Elliott’s, "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne." The enduring tune was first sung in 1864, in St. Mark’s Church in Brighton, England pastored by her father. Emily Elliott may have been influenced by her Aunt, Charlotte Elliott, who penned, "Just as I Am," the song often sung at the end many services in my boyhood church and the invitation the Holy Spirit used to woo thousands at Billy Graham crusade altar calls.

The language is quaint, of middle 19^th century vintage, but the message is timeless and forever speaks to a world distorted by human error and wilful sin.
Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying "Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee."
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.
When one considers the verses with care one notices that "Thou Didst leave Thy Throne" presents a powerful series of contrasts in each stanza. Notice the stark differences between "throne and crown" with "Bethlehem’s home and no room." The "living word that should set thy people free," with "mocking scorn and crown of thorn," leave me gaping in wonder. The marriage of lyric and tune calls me to thoughtful consideration of contrasts between my way and Jesus’ way.

After completing more than 48 years as a pastor and missionary, and now living in my eighth decade, I have observed that in all relational problems between individuals or groups of any size the root cause included arrogance and pride. Someone always stubbornly insists they have a special privilege, are privy to a divine insight or elevate a personal viewpoint to "the will of God." The truth is, we all graduated summa cum laude at the "College of Me First." Humility is constantly in short supply and Emily Elliott’s hymn calls us to deal with the issue!

 The refrain is simple, "O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee." If we welcome the Jesus defined by Scripture, we will welcome Him of whom it is written, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6-8, NIV)

When we kneel before Jesus, make room for Him within, we open the door to powerful possibilities for reconciliation between warring factions, we become vulnerable to the point of admitting we are wrong, and we give Jesus an occasion to teach us what we have not yet learned.

Emily Elliott’s "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" is worthy of learning and singing!