What Child Is This
The Master's Chorale with Joni Eareckson Tada John MacArthur and Robert & Bobbie Wolgemuth Lyrics

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What Child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping
This this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste haste to bring Him laud
The Babe the Son of Mary

Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding
Good Christian fear for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading
Nails spear shall pierce Him through
The cross be borne for me for you
Hail hail the Word made flesh
The Babe the Son of Mary

So bring Him incense gold and myrrh
Come peasant king to own Him
The King of kings salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
Raise raise the song on high
The Virgin sings her lullaby
Joy joy for Christ is born
The Babe the Son of Mary
Raise raise the song on high
The Virgin sings her lullaby

Joy joy for Christ is born
The Babe the Son of Mary

Overall Meaning

The song "What Child Is This" is a beautiful and timeless Christmas carol that depicts the scene of the birth of Jesus Christ. The lyrics are filled with deep meaning and significant religious symbolism. The first verse speaks of the infant Jesus lying in a manger on Mary's lap, while angels sing around him and shepherds watch. The second verse speaks of the coming crucifixion of Jesus and the reason for his birth, that he would be crucified for the sins of humanity. And the third verse speaks of the wise men bringing gifts to honor Christ, who is the savior of the world.

The lyrics beautifully describe the moment when God decided to become a human and come to live on this earth. The first two verses of the carol alternate between the peaceful and joyous moments around the birth of Jesus and the somber and tragic details around his ultimate sacrifice. The final verse speaks of the wise men bringing gifts to the newborn king, who is the savior of the world.

Overall, "What Child Is This" is a powerful Christian hymn that reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas and encourages us to remember the birth and sacrifice of Jesus Christ as we celebrate the holidays.

Line by Line Meaning

What Child is this who laid to rest
Who is this child who is lying down peacefully?

On Mary's lap is sleeping
This child is sleeping on the lap of Mary.

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
The angels are welcoming this child with sweet songs.

While shepherds watch are keeping
The shepherds are watching over this child.

This this is Christ the King
This child is Jesus Christ, the King.

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
The shepherds are guarding this child while the angels are singing for him.

Haste haste to bring Him laud
Let us hurry to give him praise.

The Babe the Son of Mary
This child is the son of Mary and is still a baby.

Why lies He in such mean estate
Why is he lying in such humble surroundings?

Where ox and ass are feeding
He is lying where the ox and ass are eating.

Good Christian fear for sinners here
Christians should fear for themselves and other sinners.

The silent Word is pleading
Jesus, who is the Word, is silently asking for mercy and forgiveness for sinners.

Nails spear shall pierce Him through
Jesus will be crucified with nails and a spear.

The cross be borne for me for you
Jesus will carry the cross for the sins of all believers.

Hail hail the Word made flesh
Let us celebrate Jesus, the Word made flesh.

So bring Him incense gold and myrrh
Let us bring him expensive gifts like gold, incense and myrrh.

Come peasant king to own Him
Even if you are a poor person, come and accept him as your king.

The King of kings salvation brings
Jesus, the King of kings, has come to bring salvation for everyone.

Let loving hearts enthrone Him
Let our hearts be full of love to make him our king.

Raise raise the song on high
Let us sing a song of praise to him.

The Virgin sings her lullaby
Mary, the virgin mother, is singing him a lullaby.

Joy joy for Christ is born
Let us rejoice because Christ is born.

The Babe the Son of Mary
This child is the son of Mary, who is still a baby.

Raise raise the song on high
Let us sing a song of praise to him.

The Virgin sings her lullaby
Mary, the virgin mother, is singing him a lullaby.

Joy joy for Christ is born
Let us rejoice because Christ is born.

The Babe the Son of Mary
This child is the son of Mary, who is still a baby.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Robert Morton

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@beckybachcucvu

6y↑6

Praise The LORD JESUS! Amazing Love, how can it be THAT THOU MY GOD SHOULDS'T DIE FOR ME!
Thank you Joni and Bobbie & The Master's College Choir for sharing with us your talented voices to lift up our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

@mariemunn3065

2y↑3

Joni s voice is so beautiful

@sharminiratnasingham9431

2y↑2

So good praise God and fix our eyes on him amidst war

@rebeccabalingit9153

Glory to God 🙏🙏🙏

@gailgomez9155

2y↑1

Wow!! This is just so beautifully sung!! Joni I love you sister in Christ!!

@mariemunn3065

2y↑2

I love this it's beautiful and so soothing

@Gorsefire

2y↑2

so good to hear words with depth of meaning and great music to complement it - thank you!

@duchessofregency

4y↑3

Love, love, love!

@brinleycarter3696

5y↑7

Beautifully done, so moving. Thank you!

@davidlancaster3144

3y↑2

Praise the Lord!

@charlenelaguer7072

2y↑1

This is so beautiful!! Thanks for sharing it

@mariemunn3065

My last message was for rodious scrolls

@sorrowinchrist3387

is there more that is sung with Joni is there a DVD or CD on this?

@rhodiusscrolls3080

This hymn sounds odd to modern ears An Interest In The Saviours Blood but it was influential in the lives of a generation of emotional fanatics and mentioned in the novels of George Eliot. Now it stands only for singing shared between the genders and the fact that the Wesleyan angels have all the best tunes. I now find the whole scheme where our sins are first responsible for Christs death and then His blood somehow forgives them unmanageable if standard theology. I wish this model of salvation had never been spread across the Christian world largely by singing things like this. Incidentally O for thousand tongues does not mean that anyone in Methodism would endorse the gibbering mania of modern charismatics. Too many think it does.

@christiannahellwig

2y↑1

I'm curious, where are you getting your theology from; the Bible or your own intellect?

@rhodiusscrolls3080

2y↑1

@@christiannahellwig Yes I have said that Methodism almost before the Charismatics replaced the mind with the emotions. Like the Arian heretics and the National Socialist monsters they used music to galvanise worshippers into a acceptance of what doctrines did to human feelings. If you felt good it was right and the music would hold you with power...this impulse is still.with the Church and it became so blatant before covid that groups and musicians took centre stage in the churches and people derived all knowledge of God from singing songs in this rite which I now despise that
they called worship. The fact that the songs even tell lies about the nature of God and His Son and convince people of untruth about the Holy Spirit is the reason for Gods silencing this racket .Unlike the Samaritan woman the Contemporary Christian Music scene dishonours the gospel and neither worships God in spirit nor in truth. Thats as far as.I go. The quotation is from the Bible whereas Wesleys thousand tongues and dungeons flaming with light and so forth are from emotions and these I hope never to mistake for the Spirit which after all inspired men to write of God and perfectly describe His purpose and being. Luther translated the Bible into German and wrote hymns next to so doing but he failed to realise something very potent about his language which caused a future disaster. German unlike Greek and Hebrew may be said to be unable to recognise the distinction between poetry and reality To use another Biblical phrase for these unfortunate days That is the beginning of sorrows.

Can I wish you well nonetheless and may I in closing say that the End of the Age and the Restoration of Gods Reign should surely occupy us more than strumming and humming the latest CCM offering . We have to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves...there may be silence in heaven for all the Bible says and then where will.all.the thousand tongues and the many words in vain repetition find themselves.?