Saturday, December 01, 2007

Once in Royal David's City





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. 2 Corinthians 8:9

I cannot tell you how much I love this wonderful Christmal carol. I think this choir sings it beautifully, don't you? All you need to do is listen to the words to capture your heart for our wonderful Savior. What a blessing this is. The third stanza sung here is different than in our hymnal and we have a fifth stanza, which makes me want to shout "Hallelujah!" This hymnwriter, btw, is one of my favorites, for she loved to teach children about God through her hymns. I hope you'll teach this to your children. These are the words which appear in our hymnal:

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 Saviour holy.

And, through all his wondrous childhood
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden
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 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.

~Cecil Frances Alexander

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maxine, I love that hymn too!! In fact I was singing it on the way to church last night - it sure made the dark, rainy ride a lot brighter!! What a wonderful Savior we have. I hope you have a blessed week.

sparrow's song said...

you shared,
The third stanza sung here is different than in our hymnal and we have a fifth stanza, which makes me want to shout "Hallelujah!"

I know that feeling!! It's our spirit's rejoicing within us as the Spirit bears witness of His Truth to us. Verses that quickly came to mind as I read your words...

Romans 8:15-17(KJV)
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together

Galatians 4:6-7 (KJV)
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.


I'm not familiar with this hymn. But from the lyrics I can appreciate the gentle and yet honorable position it gives our Sister Mary. She is not exalted to a position beyond that which the Bible gives her and yet she has been so blessed with having delivered our Savior into the world. What a wonder it must have been to know that the child whom you delivered would some day deliver you.

Maxine said...

Hi Barb!
Always when I post a hymn, I feel that God has it for a special blessing for someone. This time it was probably you! I know how much you need these special little blessings right now and so does He. Praying for your week and for your mama.

Sparrow,

I like what you said about Mary. That is one of the reasons I like this hymn. This is a children's hymn, and I would imagine that Mrs. Alexander had specific reasons for wanting the children to know that Mary was a sweet and loving mother, but keeping the focus on her little child who had come down from heaven for the purpose of saving her as well and others. Only God could have orchestrated such a wonderful salvation plan. It makes me feel sorry for so many others whose religions are so empty.

Beka said...

This is such a rich hymn! I love the last verse:
When like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.

Theresa's Notes said...

That was very beautiful! thanks for posting that.

TO BECOME said...

I love the song. Thanks for sharing it. It has made my day. connie from Texas

Sara said...

I love this Christmas song also! Thank you for sharing it, and the video.

Cathy said...

Maxine, I don't know how in the world you found such a pretty video. I searched and searched! I do love those words, and the music was lovely.

Elise @A Path Made Straight said...

So beautiful! Thank you for sharing this.. I have it playing in the background again as I visit bloggy friends. :) Love to you!