December 21

140 Once in Royal David’s City

Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby in a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable, and His cradle was a stall;
With the poor and meek and lowly, lived on earth our Savior holy.

 And through all His wondrous childhood, He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly mother, in whose gentle arms He lay.
Christian children all should be mild, obedient, good as He.

Jesus is our childhood’s pattern, day by day like us He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless; tears and smiles like us He knew,
And He feels for all our sadness, and He shares in all our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him, through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heaven above;
And He leads His children on to the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him, but in heaven, set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars His children crowned, all in white shall be around.

Devotion

The hymn Once in Royal David’s City is familiar to many as the first hymn sung in the Lessons and Carols service broadcast annually from King’s College in Cambridge, England.

The verses of the hymn were originally published in 1848 in Hymns for Little Children by Irish poet Cecil Frances (nee Humphreys) Alexander. Alexander also wrote the verse to All Things Bright and Beautiful and There Is a Green Hill Far Away. She was raised in an Anglican family, eventually marrying William Alexander, who became Archbishop of Armagh in what is now Northern Ireland. Throughout her lifetime she had a special concern for children, writing the hymns in her book to aid in teaching the young. Once in Royal David’s City in particular simplifies and reinforces concepts from the Apostles Creed. Her original poem had six verses, as you see above. The third and last verses are omitted in our Presbyterian hymnals; I suspect because they are more applicable to the Victorian times when they were written than our own. The third verse reflects the stern discipline of Victorian parenting, and the last would have been a comfort, considering the high infant and childhood mortality rates common not so long ago. We can be thankful that it is not as relevant in our times.

The year after Hymns for Little Children was published, Henry John Gauntlett set Once in Royal David’s City to music. Gauntlett spent the first several years of his life as a lawyer, but luckily for us at the age of 41 he decided to become a professional organist and musician. His sweet, measured, and unassuming tune complements the verses perfectly. Traditionally, the first verse is sung by a young soprano soloist, usually but not always male, further highlighting its clear and steady, soothing tone, reminiscent of a lullaby.

The words and music of Once in Royal David’s City teach a foundational lesson, simple enough for a child, that Jesus “came down to earth from heaven” where he “lived on earth our Savior holy,” and “our eyes at last shall see him, through his own redeeming love.” It  also reminds us that Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17).

Lisa Ward

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, help us to hear the clear and simple message of your love. Amen.