God became man. This is miracle stands at the heart of the Christian faith. It has inspired carefully crafted creeds (“God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made…). It has prompted elegant meditation by theological giants like Athanasius who wrote, “In short, such and so many are the Savior’s achievements that follow from His Incarnation, that to try to number them is like gazing at the open sea and trying to count the waves” (On the Incarnation 54). It is crucial to accurately explain Christ’s work to avoid error and embrace biblical truth. But the mystery and majesty of the Son of God’s incarnation moves believers in every generation to sing: “Glory to the newborn king!” Theology begets doxology.
I love to sing great Christmas carols, which beautifully and memorably express profound truth about our majestic Savior and King. Recently Desiring God published a series of edifying articles on the classic hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Here I offer brief reflections on one of my favorite Christmas songs: “Once in Royal David’s City.”
Irish poet Cecil Frances (Fanny) Alexander Alexander first published it in her 1848 book, Hymns for Little Children, to illuminate the words of the Apostles’ Creed: “who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary.” Hymnals today typically print four of the original six verses.
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.
Luke’s Gospel recounts that Joseph and Mary journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem, “the city of David,” and the angels announce, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” This king is not born in a grand palace but in “a lowly cattle shed” with “a manger for his bed.” This verse and the next highlight our Savior’s stunning humility.
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 Saviour Holy.
The first line of this verse adapts language from the Nicene Creed (“who … came down from heaven”). Fanny’s rhymes convey apparent paradoxes: how can the Lord of all enter the world in an animal stall? How can Christ our Savior be lowly yet also holy? He is majestic yet meek, the Lord of all and the servant of all. So we marvel at the God-man who went to such cosmic lengths to save us from our sins and reconcile us to God.
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.
Like many other great hymns sung at Christmas, Fanny’s third verse shifts our focus from Christ’s first advent to his second. The song reminds us of Jesus’s promise—“I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2)—which fortifies our faith and fuels our longing for our forever home with our loving Lord.
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 wait around.
This concluding verse reminds us that our Nativity scenes with baby Jesus surrounded by oxen and shepherds do not convey the whole story. The humble child is now the heavenly king, whose voice thunders with divine authority and whose face shines like the sun. The greater David rested in a Bethlehem manger but now reigns at the right hand of God, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 110.
Fanny’s classic children’s hymn uses simple lyrics to express profound truths about our Savior. As we look back with wonder and awe on Christ’s first coming, “born of a woman” in “the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4), we eagerly await the day when our faith will be sight and “we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). These truths encourage our hearts and move us to sing the praises of Christ Jesus.
Brian J. Tabb, Ph.D.
President
Prayer Requests
- Pray that God would rekindle our wonder at Christ’s first coming and our longing for his second advent.
- Pray that the Lord would provide full funding for Serious Joy Scholarship through the generosity of his people.
- Pray for Chancellor Piper as he prepares to speak at the upcoming Cross Con event. Many Bethlehem College and Seminary students will attend the conference, and Admissions Director Ryan Deck is eager to talk to prospective students about our God-centered, Bible-saturated, missions-minded programs.