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 mean, 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 must be

Mild, obedient, good as He.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,

Through His own redeeming love;

For that child so dear and gentle

Is our Lord in heav’n above;

And He leads His children on

To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,

With the oxen standing round,

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 wait around.

CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER (1818–1895)

CECIL ALEXANDER wrote a series of hymns to teach children about the Apostles’ Creed. “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (May 5) illustrated the first phrase of the Creed, about God the Father, “maker of heaven and earth.” This hymn teaches about the phrase “conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.” Later, “There Is a Green Hill Far Away” (March 20) was written for “suffered under Pontius Pilate . . .” Alexander had a knack for taking major biblical themes and boiling them down into four or six easy-to-understand lines.

She also had a heart for the “poor, and mean, and lowly.” She regularly visited the sick in the parish where her husband was pastor. She especially tended to the children.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

Luke 1:30-35