Once in Royal David's City

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

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

And through all His wondrous childhood, He would honour and obey Love and watch the lowly mother, in whose gentle arms He lay Christian children all should be, kind, obedient, good as He

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 feels for all our sadness, and He shares in all our gladness

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

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 There His children gather round, bright like stars, with glory crowned