Our Latter-day Hymns by Karen Lynn Davidson

Author:Karen Lynn Davidson [Davidson, Karen Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Hymns, Inspiration
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2009-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

Once in Royal David’s City

205

Text: Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895)

Music: Henry J. Gauntlett (1805–1876)

Tune name: IRBY

This popular children’s carol, new to the 1985 hymnal, can be enjoyed by both children and adults. It not only tells of the birth of Christ but also looks toward the events that will follow and bears testimony of the Savior’s mission.

Two other hymn texts in our hymnbook are by Cecil Frances Alexander: “There Is a Green Hill Far Away” (no. 194) and “He Is Risen!” (no. 199). Her purpose in writing “Once in Royal David’s City” was the same as in writing the other two hymns: she wished to make it easier for children to understand the meaning of different parts of the Apostles’ Creed, a statement of belief recited by the congregation during worship services in some Christian denominations. “Once in Royal David’s City” tells of the events that surround the section of the creed that states: “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary.” All three of these hymns first appeared in Hymns for Little Children, published in 1848.

Mrs. Alexander had a great gift for expressing Christian truths in language that even a child could understand. “Once in Royal David’s City” tells the Christmas story in such simple terms that even someone who knew nothing of the events of Jesus’ birth could begin with this hymn to learn the answers to some essential questions: Where did it take place? What was the setting? What were the names of the mother and child? What made this child different from any other child ever to be born upon the earth? Why are his life and mission significant to all people everywhere?

The tune name, IRBY, refers to a town in Lincolnshire, England.

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