Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne is a Christmas hymn written in 1864 by Emily E. S. Elliott, an English rector's daughter, to teach children the meaning of Christmas. Each verse sets a picture of Christ's glory beside a picture of His humility: a kingly crown but no room at the inn, angels singing but a lowly birth, a living word but a crown of thorn. The refrain answers with a personal welcome, There is room in my heart for Thee. It is built on Luke 2:7 and 2 Corinthians 8:9: though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.
Emily Elliott wrote this hymn for the children's choir of her father's church in Brighton, England, and it has the simple, strong structure of a good teaching hymn. Every verse turns on the word But. Thou didst leave Thy throne, but there was no room in Bethlehem. The angels sang, but He came in lowly birth. Foxes and birds had homes, but the Son of God slept on the ground. He brought a living word, but they mocked Him and bore Him to Calvary. Then, in the last verse, the pattern reverses: one day He will call His people home and say there is room at His side. Below are the words as printed in 1894, and 12 KJV verses that stand behind them.
Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne: the words
Verse 1
Thou didst leave Thy throne, and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem's home there was found no room
For Thy nativity.
Refrain:
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Verse 2
Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang
Of Thy birth and Thy royal degree;
But in lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in greatest humility.
Refrain:
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Verse 3
Foxes found their rest, and the birds had their nests
In the shade of the cedar tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
Refrain:
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Verse 4
Thou camest, O Lord, with Thy living word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking and scorn, and with crown of thorn,
Did they bear Thee to Calvary.
Refrain:
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come!
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Verse 5
Heaven's arches shall ring, and its choirs shall sing,
At Thy coming to victory;
Thou wilt call me home, saying 'Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.'
Words: Emily Elizabeth Steele Elliott (1836-1897), written in 1864 for the choir and schools of St. Mark's Church, Brighton, where her father was rector, and printed privately that year. Text copied from Gospel Hymns Nos. 1 to 6 Complete (New York and Chicago, 1894), hymn 98, checked against Gospel Hymns No. 2 (1876; Internet Archive scan), where verse 1 ends For Thy holy nativity. In Elliott's own text the last verse begins When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing, and closes with a changed refrain of joy; the 1894 American wording is printed here. Music: Ira D. Sankey; British hymnals use Margaret, by Timothy Matthews (1876). Public domain.
Thou didst leave Thy throne: the Son who became poor
1. 2 Corinthians 8:9
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
This verse is the whole hymn in a sentence. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Paul wrote it to encourage generosity, and he could think of no stronger example than Christmas. The Son was rich in the glory of heaven, the throne and kingly crown of the first line. He became poor, born to a working family, laid in a manger and later without a home. And He did it for your sakes, so that you might share His riches. Christmas is grace measured by distance.
2. Philippians 2:8
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
Elliott's second verse says He came in lowly birth and in greatest humility. Paul traces how far that humility went: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The steps go down and down: from God to man, from man to servant, from servant to death, and from death to the worst kind of death. The manger was the first step and the cross was the last. That is why a Christmas hymn can end its fourth verse at Calvary. The humility that began in Bethlehem was completed on the cross.
3. Hebrews 2:9
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour. The angels who sang of His birth and royal degree had worshiped Him in heaven. Now He was made lower than them for a time, with a body that could suffer and die. Hebrews says why: that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. The writer then sees Him crowned again with glory and honour. The hymn follows the same path, from the throne He left, down to the crown of thorn, and up to His coming in victory.
4. John 1:11
"He came unto his own, and his own received him not."
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. The first verse of the hymn begins with rejection: in Bethlehem's home there was found no room. John sees a deeper pattern. The world He made did not know Him, and the people He chose turned Him away. The good news follows in the next verse: as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God (John 1:12). Every refrain of the hymn is a decision to be one of those who receive Him. See also John 1:14 meaning.
No room, and room in my heart
5. Luke 9:58
"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
The third verse is taken from Jesus' answer to a man who promised to follow Him anywhere: Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Elliott's line Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee pictures Jesus sleeping outdoors during His travels. He who had left a throne had no house of His own in His ministry. Following Him can mean sharing His homelessness in this world.
6. Revelation 3:20
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
The refrain, Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee, turns the hymn into a prayer. It echoes the risen Christ's words to a lukewarm church: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. The inn had no room. The question the hymn puts to every singer is whether our hearts will be the same. Jesus does not break the door down. He knocks, He calls, and He promises fellowship to anyone who opens.
7. Ephesians 3:17
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"
What does it mean to have room in my heart for Christ? Paul prays That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. The word dwell means to settle down and be at home. Christ does not want to be a guest who visits at Christmas and then leaves. He wants to live in the heart as its rightful owner. That happens by faith, trusting Him and opening every room of life to Him. A heart with room for Jesus will find itself rooted in His love, which Paul goes on to describe as wider and deeper than we can measure.
8. Luke 4:18
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"
The fourth verse says He came with Thy living word, that should set Thy people free. In His first sermon at Nazareth, Jesus read from Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives. Then He said, This day is this scripture fulfilled. The listeners were amazed, and then they were furious, and they tried to throw Him off a cliff. Elliott saw the pattern: He came to free people, and many answered with mocking and scorn. See our Bible verses about freedom.
Crown of thorn and coming to victory
9. Mark 15:17
"And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,"
And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head. The soldiers dressed Him as a mock king, purple robe and thorny crown, because the charge against Him was that He claimed to be King of the Jews. Elliott connects this to her first line. He had left His kingly crown in heaven, and men gave Him a crown of thorn instead. It is the deepest But in the hymn. The true King wore the false crown, and in wearing it He bore the curse of the ground, which Genesis 3:18 says would bring forth thorns. See our Good Friday verses.
10. John 14:2-3
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
The last verse reverses the first. At Bethlehem there was no room for Him; at His coming He will say Yet there is room, there is room at My side for thee. Jesus promised it on the night before He died: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. He adds, I will come again, and receive you unto myself. The One who was turned away from the inn is preparing a place for those who welcome Him. Whoever makes room for Christ now will never be turned away from His house.
11. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Heaven's arches shall ring at Thy coming to victory, the hymn says. Paul describes that day: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then those still living will be caught up to meet Him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The angels who sang at His first coming will sound again at His second. The hymn's last word, thee, is spoken by Christ to each believer by name.
12. 1 Corinthians 15:57
"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
The final verse speaks of His coming to victory, and Paul ends his great chapter on the resurrection with thanks: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The victory is over sin, death and the grave. Christ won it by the very humility the hymn describes: leaving the throne, accepting no room, bearing the thorns and the cross. Because He went down so low, He has been raised so high, and He shares His victory with all who belong to Him. A Christmas hymn that starts with a throne left behind ends with a victory given away.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, You left Your throne and kingly crown and came to earth for me, and there was no room for You in Bethlehem. You had nowhere to lay Your head, and You wore a crown of thorns on the way to Calvary. Come into my heart; I want to make room for You, not only at Christmas but every day. Dwell in me by faith and root me in Your love. And when You come again in victory, call me home to the room You have prepared at Your side. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne?
Emily Elizabeth Steele Elliott (1836-1897), a niece of the hymn writer Charlotte Elliott, who wrote Just As I Am. Emily wrote it in 1864 for the choir and Sunday school of St. Mark's Church in Brighton, England, where her father was rector. She published many hymns and edited a Christian magazine for years.
What Bible verses is Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne based on?
The hymn draws on Luke 2:7 (no room in the inn), 2 Corinthians 8:9 (He became poor), Philippians 2:5-8 (His humility), Luke 9:58 (foxes have holes), Mark 15:17 (the crown of thorns), John 14:2-3 (a place prepared) and Revelation 3:20 (Christ at the door of the heart).
Is Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne a Christmas hymn?
Yes, though it covers Christ's whole life. Its first two verses tell of His birth, and it is sung most often during Advent and Christmas. Because the later verses reach the cross and the second coming, some churches also sing it in other seasons as an invitation hymn.
Why are there two tunes for Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne?
Most American churches use the tune by Ira D. Sankey printed in Gospel Hymns. Most British churches use Margaret, written by Timothy Richard Matthews in 1876 and named after his daughter. Both are in the public domain.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Just As I Am · Away in a Manger · O Little Town of Bethlehem · In the Bleak Midwinter · The Christmas Story in the Bible · Humility · Christmas · Jesus as King
Explore more: All Bible verses by topic · KJV Bible verses · Verse of the day · Prayers · Bible study · Bible reading plans
