Not much is known about the writer of this hymn, Jennie Hussey, but you can connect the dots and get a pretty good picture. Jennie Hussey lived all her life in rural New Hampshire, and for most of it, she took care of her sister with a disability. Although this certainly restricted her in some ways, Jennie was known for her cheerful and courageous attitude.
Jennie was a member of the Society of Friends, the Quakers. In fact, she was a fourth-generation Quaker, which takes her Quaker roots back to the eighteenth century, almost back to the time of William Penn, the remarkable man who brought the Quakers to America and founded the colony of Pennsylvania.
Besides founding Pennsylvania, William Penn is also remembered for a Quaker classic entitled “No Cross, No Crown.” Maybe this explains why Jennie began her hymn with the words, “King of my life, I crown thee now,” and ended it with the words, “Lead me to Calvary.”
Scriptures: Galatians 2:20; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 3:10-11
Themes: Crucifixion, Commitment, Submission
Lyrics of the Hymn:
King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.
Lest I forget Gethsemane;
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.
Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid,
Tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed
Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.
Let me like Mary, thro’ the gloom,
Come with a gift to Thee;
Show to me now the empty tomb,
Lead me to Calvary.
May I be willing, Lord, to bear
Daily my cross for thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share,
Thou hast borne all for me.
By JENNIE EVELYN HUSSEY (1874–1958)
Credit/Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William; Petersen, Ardythe. The Complete Book of Hymns (p. 132). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
