Dec 20 Once in Royal David's City

Dec 20 Once in Royal David’s City
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_In_Royal_David%27s_City
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Frances_Humphreys_Alexander

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 Savior 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.

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.

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;
Where like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.

Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander was a hymn-writer and poetess who began writing verse in her childhood. By her early 20s, she was already known as a hymn writer and her compositions were soon included in Church of Ireland hymnbooks. “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is one of the hymns she wrote. She donated money from her first publications to help build a school for the deaf and dumb, and was involved in other charitable work during her lifetime.

Her book, Hymns for Little Children was published in 1848. Included in that hymnbook was “Once in Royal David’s City,” which was discovered a year later by organist and composer Henry John Gauntlett and set to music. Dr. Gauntlett wrote over 1000 hymn tunes, and edited several hymn books as well.

Since 1919, the King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England, has begun its Christmas Eve service, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, with "Once in Royal David's City" as the processional. The first verse is sung by a boy chorister of the Choir of King's Chapel as a solo. The second verse is sung by the choir, and the congregation joins in the third verse. Except for the first verse, the hymn is accompanied by the organ. This service is broadcast live on the BBC World Service, and it is estimated that there are millions of listeners worldwide who tune in to this service annually.

Craft: choirboy, manger
http://www.craftbits.com/viewProject.do?projectID=289