Once in royal David's city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
in the manger for a 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 meek, 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.
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.
Words: Cecil Frances Alexander
Music: Irby Henry Gauntlett