King of the Carols - Once in Royal David's City - Crowned in White

 

1 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.

2 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 Savior holy.

3 And thro' 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.

4 And our eyes at last shall see him,
thro' 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.

5 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

 A Children's Carol

Let's not forget that "Once in Royal David's City" is really a Children's Carol. It's a pity then that two of the verses which Cecil wrote for the instruction of children are rarely sung today.

That perhaps is a reminder of the way we grown ups tend to despise children, just as the disciples of old. Of course we would never say so, but we feel ourselves above childish things and simple truths.

But Jesus was not. All his teaching was simple and accessible to everyone. And he rebuked his disciples' proud grown-up attitudes when he said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt 19:14).

Every sermon should be so simple that a child can understand. One old preacher encouraged other preachers to "place some of the grain low near to the floor" so the children should reach it!

The mark of good preaching is not erudition and learning - that's a dark shadow cast by the ice cold university upon the church - the mark of great preaching is that a child can understand it.

It is said that when Charles Spurgeon returned to his pulpit after many weeks of leave it was the children who most welcomed him back most.

A Babe no Longer

All that may be as it is, but now to the final verse of our Children's Carol. Cecil reminds her little audience that, looking forward to the consumation of all things, when we see Jesus it will not be "in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by." No! Instead "we shall see him in heaven, set at God's right hand above."

And so we remember today that Jesus, born, crucified and raised from the dead has been exalted to the highest place and been given the name above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11).

Crowned in White

One day, our grimy clothes of time will be exchanged for the white robes of eternity and like the stars, his children wearing crowns, we will gather around the throne of God and the Lamb.

How wonderful to have our vision on December the 9th raised beyond tinsel and wrapping paper, above chocolates and Christmas trees to our final home.  

May the Lord's people be recognised this December by their other-worldliness! In a season where people are going OTT on Christmas to compensate for the restrictions of Covid, may the Lord's people set their affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

And so, again, another  song to lift our eyes above the here and now. You can sing along to "He is Worthy" HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our eternal Father,

We thank you for every good gift that comes down from you. We thank you for the amazing skill of medical experts who have come up with a vaccine to combat this new disease, and we thank you for every other medical advance that has made our lives less painful and more pleasant.

We thank you for the little ones you have placed in the midst of every Christian fellowship, whose simple faith is a rebuke to our grown up fears and doubts. Teach us the sweet humility and simple trust of a child. 

And teach us today, whatever worries press in upon us, to look upward to you and forward to the Great Day of Christ's return.

We ask this in Jesus' Name

Amen

King of the Carols - Once in Royal David's City - King Eternal

 

Children can follow too

1 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.

2 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 Savior holy.

3 And thro' 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.

4 And our eyes at last shall see him,
thro' 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.

 

Cecil Frances Alexander, who wrote our Carol, loved children and wrote words they could understand and relate to. We are missing out one of her verses - as many hymn books do:

For He is our child-hood’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.

Here Cecil reminds little children that they too can be followers of Jesus. She's probably thinking about his obedience to Mary and Joseph after he'd been found in the temple. We read in Luke  1 verse 51, "Then Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them."

Let's never forget that children can be followers of Jesus as much as adults, and let's never despise every sweet step they take in following their heavenly Master.

 

 Looking forward

But the verse we consider today looks forward to the final destiny of God's people and reminds us where Jesus is leading us. Beyond this little world and beyond temporary time, Jesus "leads his children on to the place where he is gone."

 

Cecil wrote these lines in 1848 when life was far more brutal and uncertain than today. Here are the solemns stat. In 1848 the average lifespan was about 42 (see HERE).  Today it is about 82. That means Cecil and her generation would have been surrounded by lots of folk dying at a relatively young age. 

People in ages past contemplated their mortality more than we do for death and premature death was a far more regular part of their daily experience.

 

We, by contrast, expect every cough to be cured and every and illess to be remedied by medicine - and so it happens, we are often blessed with a cure.

But the flip side of medical advances is that we are far less likely to meditate on our mortality and far less likely to ponder the world to come.

A Question

How often do we think of heaven, where "our eyes at last shall see him, through his redeeming love?" How often do we set our eyes on heavenly things, where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father on high? Will I remember this Christmas that the "child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heav'n above?" And will I remember that this world is not my home, for the Lord Jesus is leading me "to the place where he is gone" where mansions have been prepare?

 

It's so easy to get caught up in the here and now. Especially at Christmas. May the Lord enable us to lift our eyes to heaven, where we belong. 

 

A SONG FOR THE DAY

So from a carol to a song that fixes our minds on our glorious home to come. Sing "There is a Day" HERE. 

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We thank you for every medical advance that has made our lives more free of pain and longer in length. 

 

We remember today that it would be all too easy to forget that this world is not our home. So remind us that the babe of Bethlehem is leading us not only on this short earthly journey, but ultimately to heaven, where he has gone and where he reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Teach us to look up when the world is looking down.

For we ask these things in Jesus' Name

Amen

King of the Carols - Once in Royal David's City - Wondrous Childhood

  

Wondrous Childhood

1 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.

2 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 Savior holy.

3 And thro' all his wondrous childhood
he would honour and obey,
love and watch the lowly maiden
in whose gentle arms he lay:
Christian children all must be
mild, obedient, good as he.

I must confess that a little tinge of jealousy comes over me when I see the joy and anticipation of young families approaching Christmas. With my kids all grown up, there's no sneaking into their rooms at midnight to place a stocking on their bed and no waking up at 5:00am excited for what Christmas day will bring.

Oh to be a parent of little ones at Christmas!  Take time to enjoy it moms and dads for it quickly passes.

An ordinary Child

On the one hand, the Lord Jesus passed through a childhood much like ours. He learnt not to play with fire by the odd burn here or there and how not to touch thorns by a wound here and there. 

I know we should tread carefully in criticising much loved carols, but there is a line in "Away in a Manger" that is doctrinally weak. See if you can spot it:

The cattle are lowing

The Baby awakes

But little Lord Jesus

No crying He makes

That's right, Jesus the real human being must have cried as a baby, for the cry of a baby does not signify wrongdoing, it may shout "I'm hungry" or "I am tired" and both of those are sinless human needs.

Sorry if I have ruined Christmas for you! But we must sing truth, musn't we?

An Extraordinary Child

However, the childhood of Jesus can rightly be called, as our hymn does "a wondrous childhood," because Jesus never sinned as a child, just as he never sinned as a grown-up. So for sure, "thro' all his wondrous childhood
he would honour and obey."

His brothers and sisters must have noticed the difference. Never did Jesus hate. Never was he proud. Never did he lose his rag. Never stole a toy. 

And so, yes, he sets a model for children everywhere, who having first believed and received the Spirit of God, may aspire in his strength to be "mild, obedient, good as he."

A SONG FOR THE DAY

There is a lovely hymn for children we sang with our kids when they were young, "I love to hear the story, which angel voices tell." Sing or hum along HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our gracious Father in heaven,

How we thank you for sending your dear Son into the world for our sakes. We will never know the cost to you and we will never be able to repay the debt we owe, so we thank you for grace which does not expect a return.

We thank you for the sinlessness of your Son, the whole of his earthly life. We are in awe of it, for he faced the fires of temptation as we do, yet always without sin.

We thankyou for a sinless Saviour and we worship him, Holy, Pure and Righteous.

We bring our prayers to you in His precious Name,

Amen

 

King of the Carols - Once in Royal David's City - He came down from heaven

  

 He came down from Heaven

1 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.

2 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.

 

A 'carnivore' is a flesh-eating creature, the word 'carnis' meaning flesh, from the Latin. In the same way the word 'incarnation' also comes from 'carnis' and means 'to be made flesh.'

At Christmas time we use the big word 'incarnation' to refer to the coming of the Son of God into the world in the human form of Jesus. God becoming flesh, the Son of God adding to his divine nature a human nature. 

 

Our carol today reminds us of this great truth, "He came down to earth from heaven who is God and Lord of all."

God and Lord of All

It is second highest mystery of the Godhead, coming after the Holy Trinity, how in One Person a fully Divine and fully Human nature can combine. As one ancient writer put it "He became what he was not (that is a human being) and continued to be what he always was (that is God)." 

 

What an amazing thought and wondrous fact: the baby born in Bethlehem was both man and God. 

 

It had to be!

 

Because Jesus Christ is divine he could become the perfect sacrifice acceptable to God, not having to bear away his own sins, for he had none. 

Because Jesus Christ is divine, he could bear the weight of God's wrath against sin on his shoulders.

 

Because Jesus Christ is divine, salvation is 'of God' and not of man. Our salvation is secure!

 

But Jesus was also fully human....

 

His shelter was a stable

 
...for his shelter was a stable, and his cradle was a stall. God does not live in stables or rest in cradles. That's the lot of human beings. 

Jesus was a real human being, like you and like me, and yet without any of our sin. 

Because he was human, the Son of God has walked our walk.

Because he was human, the Son of God has suffered our sorrows.

Because he was a real man, he can understand all the painful experiences we pass through in this short life. And more than understand, by his Spirit, empathise with us, enter into them with us and comfort us.

And listen! No-one can say "Jesus does not understand my plight!".......

Bias to the Poor

...because he 'lived on earth, our Saviour Holy, with the poor and mean and lowly.'

I am so glad the Lord Jesus was not born in a Kensington or Buckingham palace. If he had been 99% of the world would feel unable to relate to him. By being born in a humble stable, no-one can say 'That Jesus is only for upper-class people or educated people or aristocratic people!'

The whole of the Scriptures bear witness to God's bias to the poor, and especially the poor in heart.

Lord of heaven.

Born in a shelter.

 

Able to connect to all by his humble birth.

What an amazing Saviour!

 

 

A SONG FOR THE DAY

 

This song about Mary ponders whether Mary really understood that the child she bore was fully divine. 

 

Mary Did you Know? You can hear it HERE. 

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

We marvel at the wisdom of your great plan of salvation! We worship your Son who was both man and God.

We thank you that he was God, so that we might be forgiven.

We thank you that he was man so that we might have in heaven a sympathetic high priest.

 

Help us to take all our sorrows to you in prayer, knowing that you will listen, understand and help us by the power of your Holy Spirit.

 

In Jesus' name we ask these things,

Amen

Daily Devotions

 

King of the Carols - Once in Royal David's City (verse 1)

 

One Covid-Era Blessing

One of the spiritual side-effects of Covid-19 is that instead of singing with our voices we are forced to listen to the words of songs and hymns that are played to us.

This temporary blessing encourages us to pay closer attention to the words. 

And there are few groups of hymns that contain more majestic and glorious words than our traditional Christmas hymns. 

In the blogs leading up to Christmas let's explore and meditate on some of these wonderful carols. 

Let's begin with Once in Royal David's City, penned by Cecil Alexander who also wrote "All things Bright and Beautiful" and "There is a Green Hill far Away." 

Here's the whole hymn but we'll focus on the first verse today.

1 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.

2 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 Savior holy.

3 And thro' 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.

4 And our eyes at last shall see him,
thro' 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.

5 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

  The City, the Cattle shed, the Mother and the Child

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.

The Royal City

"Once in Royal David's City." There was a reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth where he would grow up. Bethlehem was where king David came from. King David was not only Israel's greatest human king, he was the one who most pointed forward to the Divine Messiah King to come. God promised to David a never ending throne, "I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." (2 Samuel 7:13) This did not mean that David's line would sit on an earthly throne forever. The promsie to David meant that one day Someone would come into the world and become God's never ending King.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem to remind us of God's promise to send an everlasting King. And so, if Jesus is our King, there is nothing we need fear.

The Stable 

"Stood a lowly cattle shed." The lowly cattle shed and the lowly manger remind us that God's ways are not our ways. How quickly we follow the world. How quickly we think that numbers matter and money matters and fame matters and education matters. 

Jesus is born in a humble manger to teach us not only his great humility, but to teach us God's ways. 

God is pleased to use poor fishermen, tax-collectors, church persecutors and all sorts of other ordinary folks to build his kingdom. He's not looking for brains nor brawn, but humility and servanthood, so that he can gain all the rightful glory.

Every time we hear of the manger we need to correct our thinking: God chooses ordinary people to fulfill his great purposes.

The Mother

"Where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed. Mary was that mother mild." When I pick up a new Christian book and turn over to read the blurb, I find this. The person who wrote the book boasts all about their (earthly) accomplishments and the person who commends the book does the same. The ordinary Christian thinks, "the author and I have nothing in common, and why should I read a book commended by someone who I have nothing in common with?" It's one reason Fisherman's Press has been launched - books written and commended by ordinary people. Ordinary believers like Mary, who out of the blue was called to do something extraordinary for God.

If you are an ordinary Mary or a Joe Blogs Joseph do not fear. God is pleased to take ordinary people and use them mightily in his kingdom.

The Little Child

"Jesus Christ, her little child..." To human eyes, just an ordinary human child. No visitor saw a halo, no neighbour would have sensed divinity. But born in the stable that holy night was the Son of God. The One who cast stars into space. The One through whom all things were made. The One who as I type these little words rules over the vast cosmos on behalf of the church and to his Father's glory and pleasure.

And, because he was a real human being, he passed though all the ordinary experiences that we do. He understands us and is our merciful, empathising High Priest in heaven. He will not reject us or turn us away.

SING ALONG HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in heaven,

We thank you for the beautiful and Scriptural words of so many of our carols. We thank you that we can be reminded of your ways and your saving love for us in  this strangest of Decembers.

We thank you that the Lord Jesus, though King of kings, came down to earth to carry our sorrows and endure our trials and then to bear away our sins.

We worship him and thank you Father, for him.

Amen.

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [235]