Once in royal David's city
Choir of New College Oxford Lyrics
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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,
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.
For He 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 cares when we are sad,
And he shares when we are glad.
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.
The lyrics of "Once in royal David's city" tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, who was born in humble and simple circumstances. The song takes us back to a manger where Mary, a mild mother, laid her baby Jesus in a manger for His bed, which was a lowly cattle shed. It takes us further to the journey of Jesus' life, beginning with His coming down to earth from heaven as God and Lord of all who preferred to reside in a stable for His shelter and a stall for His cradle. He lived among the poor, the mean, and the lowly, showing his humanity by growing up day by day just like any human child.
The lyrics of this song relate that Jesus Christ represents our childhood pattern and that He was little and weak and helpless like us. He shared our tears, smiles and cares when we are sad or glad. The final stanza of the song encourages listeners to keep their eyes on the redeemer of love, the dear and gentle Child who came to earth and grew up among us as Jesus Christ. We will see Him again as He leads us to our eternal home where He has gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Once in royal Davids city,
In the past, there was a majestic city belonging to David,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Amidst this city was an unremarkable dwelling for animals,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
A woman named Mary placed her newborn child there,
In a manger for His bed:
Since there was no other place for the infant, he was laid in a feeding trough,
Mary was that mother mild,
Mary was a gentle mother,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.
Her infant son was named Jesus Christ.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Jesus left heaven and came to earth,
Who is God and Lord of all,
He is the God and ruler of everything,
And His shelter was a stable,
The only place he could find to stay was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
The animal feeding trough served as his bed,
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Jesus lived among the impoverished, the outcast, and those of little esteem,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
As a holy savior, he lived on earth.
For He is our childhood's pattern;
As a model for children, he serves as our ideal,
Day by day, like us, He grew;
Jesus matured like any other human,
He was little, weak, and helpless,
As an infant, he was small, vulnerable, and lacked agency,
Tears and smiles, like us He knew;
He experienced emotions like sadness and happiness,
And He cares when we are sad,
In times of sorrow, Jesus cares about our wellbeing,
And he shares when we are glad.
In times of joy, Jesus shares in our happiness,
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
We have yet to see him, but eventually we will,
Through His own redeeming love;
We will see him because of his redeeming love,
For that Child so dear and gentle,
That beloved and compassionate infant,
Is our Lord in heaven above:
Is now our ruler in heaven,
And He leads His children on,
He guides his followers and disciples,
To the place where He is gone.
To the location where he now resides.
Writer(s): Neary Martin Gerard James, Frank Mcconnell, C. F. Alexander, Henry Gauntlett, Gauntlet Henry John, A. H. Mann
Contributed by Charlie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.