Back to: The Twelve Days of Christmas Carols
- What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
- Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
- So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The Virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Stanza 1
Both Stanza 1 and 2 begin with rhetorical Questions. The song begins in the manger with the Christ Child sleeping on Mary’s lap, angels and shepherds accompanying the holy scene. The poet condenses Luke 2:8-16 into a single stanza, painting a picture of a classic Nativity scene with the Christ Child sleeping on “Mary’s lap” while angels sing “anthems sweet” and shepherds “watch are keeping.” He opens the dialogue about who this newborn infant is, causing us to step back as well and genuinely consider the implications and meaning of Emmanuel, God with us.
Stanza 2
The second verse proceeds to ask why He would be lying “in such mean estate” less than ideal conditions of stanza one. In essence, he asks why the Christ Child should be in such a humble setting “where ox and ass are feeding.” The original second half of this stanza, not found in the hymnal, provides a more complete response to this question, alluding to the suffering of Christ:
Nails, spear shall pierce him through;
The cross he bore for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The babe, the Son of Mary!
Dix’s answer to the reason for the “mean estate” under which Christ was born lies in his future suffering on the cross. The second stanza of this carol written over a century earlier also alludes to the suffering of Christ:
The name day now of Christ we keep,
Who for our sins did often weep;
His hands and feet were wounded deep,
And his blessed side with a spear. . .
Stanza 3
The third verse assumes to a joyful tone, inviting believers to praise, worship, and present gifts of incense and gold and myrrh to the Messiah. The reason is simple: the King of kings has come to bring us salvation, so we should respond joyfully in his honor.
Drawing from the Epiphany season and the gifts brought by the magi, we take our place at the manger, bringing metaphorical gifts of “incense, gold, and myrrh.” This is a setting that defies the conventional class structures of the time; the invitation is open to both the “peasant” and “king.”