On Christmas Eve we sang “Once in Royal David’s City.” Our music director, Wendell Kimbrough, has an amazing ability, as a psalmist, musician, and composer, to put together a rendition that is beautiful to sing. I couldn’t find anything like it on the internet, so chose the King’s College Choir rendition. It’s very formal, but it’s lovely to take in. The powerful words of the hymn (three of the four verses we sang at our church) are below the video.
Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed
There 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, oppressed and wholly
Lived on earth our Savior holy
And our eyes at last shall see him,
through 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.
The Gospel is powerful. Christmas is powerful. He has come.