once in royal davids 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 meek 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 mild obedient good as he  for he is our childhoods 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 gods right hand on high when like stars his children crowned all in white shall wait around 