While we are now past Christmas Day, I wanted to offer one more installment in the Songs of Christmas posts here in 2024 by looking at a song that is not as well-known as many of the others but one that I have come to really like: “Once in Royal David’s City.” I was introduced to this song about 20 years ago, as the church I attended at the time sang this song during Christmas. We did not do the traditional version of it, though, but the arrangement of it by the musician Sufjan Stevens. I’m thankful to Mr. Stevens and to my church for introducing me to this song and hope the exploration of its background and words encourages us to continue to ponder and celebrate the wonderful truths Christmas reminds us of.
Story
Like many other Christmas songs, the words and the music for this song were written by different people. The words come from Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander (1818-1895). She was an Irish woman who wrote poetry and hymns and was also highly involved in charity work. She would eventually marry an Anglican clergyman named William Alexander, who would serve as a bishop in various places in Ireland. In 1848, two years before she got married, she wrote what may be her most influential work: Hymns for Little Children. This work, which would go through many editions and printing and whose profits supported a school for deaf children, was a collection of poems designed to teach children key truths of the Christian faith, such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. The poem “Once in Royal David’s City” was for the section of the Apostles’ Creed affirming “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” Therefore, this song wasn’t necessarily written to be a “Christmas song” as much as a song that teaches the theological truths that give careful attention to Christmas.
While the words came from Ireland, the music for it would come from England and the organist Henry John Gauntlett (1805-1876). In addition to playing organ at a number of churches, Gauntlett also wrote music and put together various hymnbooks, which often involved matching words with music. In 1849, when he was serving as the organist of a church in London, Gauntlett discovered Alexander’s hymn and set it to the tune known as “Irby” (the reason that tune is called that is not known!). An arrangement of that tune by Arthur Henry Mann (1850–1929) would be used to open the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service at King’s College, Cambridge starting in 1919, making it well-known in certain circles.
Song
Sufjan Stevens’ recording of the song only has three verses, but the song actually has six verses. Looking at all the verses, I can both see why he might have chosen to omit the verses he does and can also see how the song was originally written for the instruction of children in the faith.
Like many other songs, it garners its name from the opening words of the song: “Once in royal David’s city.” While we might think of Bethlehem as a “little town” at the time of Jesus’s birth (which it was), these words remind us of its connection back to King David (see Luke 2:11), as this was where he lived before being anointed as king (see 1 Samuel 16). The description of what happens in King David’s city focuses on the circumstances of Jesus’s birth, noting there “Stood a lowly cattle shed, Where a mother laid her baby In a manger for his bed” and then naming that mother and child (“Mary was that Mother mild, Jesus Christ her little Child”). The second verse then further describes the significance of this event, highlighting the heavenly origin of this child and his deity (“He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all”). After affirming Jesus’s divine nature, we then sing about the humble circumstances that the Lord of the universe entered into on this earth: “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.” I find the last word of this verse to be interesting; how often do we describe Jesus as our holy Savior? He is the holy God who has come to save us by taking on our flesh.
The third verse is one that Stevens does not include in his recording, and it moves the focus from the night of Jesus’s birth to his childhood. In particular, it would stress his obedience to his mother Mary: “And through all His wondrous childhood, He would honor and obey, Love and watch the lowly maiden, In whose gentle arms He lay.” The song then uses Jesus’s obedience as an example to kids in a line that I suspect was much to the delight of the parents whose children would be utilizing this hymn: “Christian children all must be Mild, obedient, good as He.” I can understand Stevens’ decision not to include this verse on a recording of songs about Christmas, both because it moves from Christmas and also moves to a moralistic sort of lesson; this verse is also omitted in some hymns.
The fourth verse is also omitted in some hymnal and continues the focus upon Jesus as an example for children. “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 feeleth for our sadness, And he shareth in our gladness.” These words, though, do more than say that children should be like Jesus, as they also remind us of the reality that Jesus became like us, dealing with the sort of situations in life (both good and bad) like we do. This is an implication of the reality of Jesus’s birth, but not something always stressed or noted in Christmas songs.
The fifth verse is the final verse in Stevens’ recording and focuses again on the nature of this child born in royal David’s city as well as what he will do for us. After looking back to the night of Jesus’s birth, the words then look forward to the time when we will see him (either at his return or our death): “And our eyes at last shall see him Through his own redeeming love.” The next lines highlight Jesus’s care for us and also his glory: ‘For that Child so dear and gentle, Is our Lord in heaven above.’ This verse concludes by noting that we are the children of this child who came but also has now gone back to his heavenly home: “And he leads his children on To the place where he is gone.”
The final verse of the song continues the focus on Jesus’s return, which is a great reminder of how the season of Advent invites us to not just look back at Jesus’s birth but also to look forward to his return. While we celebrate what happened on Christmas and the great humility we see in Jesus, when we see him it will not be as a child in humble circumstances: “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, Where like stars his children crowned, All in white shall wait around.”
This song not only tells us how Jesus was born but also the broader story in which this occurs. Jesus’s life did not begin at birth or at his conception in Mary’s womb through the power of the Holy Spirit. His life has always been, as he is God. He came to earth from heaven and now has returned there, giving us a promise that through faith in him and because of the redemption wrought by his blood that we will see him in his glory, and we are now called his children. We can move quickly from the cradle to the cross but should also remember that Jesus lived a life in which he experienced what we experienced. He became like us, and that should point all of us – not just children, but adults as well – to seek to become like him. So, as we journey out of the Christmas season, let us remember what happened once in royal David’s city and what awaits us in light of it.
See You Next Year
I’ve covered a number of Christmas songs over the past few years (here is the full list) and have some thoughts on which ones to do next year, but wanted to let you know if you have ideas or requests of a Christmas song to examine next year, please pass that along. Actually, that reminds me – I want to make sure this blog is helpful to readers, so if you have any suggestions or ideas for posts (not just about Christmas songs), please contact me at the email below.
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