What Child Is This? :: By Joe Hawkins

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?

The opening question is the question of the ages: Who is this Child? The world saw a fragile newborn, but heaven knew that the Ancient of Days had stepped into time. The Creator now rested in the arms of His creation. Angels filled the skies because prophecy was being fulfilled; shepherds hurried because hope had finally arrived.

In a time when truth is constantly questioned and the identity of Christ is distorted or dismissed, this carol draws us back to the heart of the gospel. This Child—resting in humility and wrapped in humanity—is the promised Messiah. The One who spoke galaxies into existence now sleeps beneath the stars He made.

He came quietly, but nothing about His arrival was ordinary. Heaven knew. Hell trembled. Creation held its breath. This Child was—and is—the Savior of the world.

Chorus

This, this is Christ, the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!

The chorus moves from question to proclamation. The mystery becomes a declaration: This is Christ, the King. Heaven and earth testify in unison. Humble shepherds—representing the lowly and forgotten—stand alongside angels, the mighty host of heaven. Both are witnesses to the same truth: the Child in the manger is the Sovereign King.

This is not just poetic language; it is prophetic reality. The One cradled in Mary’s arms is the very One who will one day rule the nations with a rod of iron. The manger is the beginning of the mission that will culminate in a throne.

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading. [Chorus]

The scene is jarring: the King of Glory lying in a place meant for animals. The One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills chose a feeding trough for His first resting place. His humility was not an accident of circumstance but a deliberate act of divine condescension. He entered the world not in splendor, but in poverty, identifying with the lowly, the broken, the forgotten.

Here, the “silent Word” pleads—not with noise or spectacle, but through the quiet power of His presence. The infant in the manger is the same eternal Word who spoke creation into being. Now that Word cries out without speaking, declaring through His humility that He has come for sinners. His very posture in the manger becomes a message: He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

The world often misses Him because it expects royalty wrapped in gold, not God wrapped in swaddling cloth. But those who look with the eyes of faith can see the profound truth: the Savior has stepped into our brokenness to lift us out of it.

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him. [Chorus]

The gifts of the magi—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—tell a story the world didn’t yet understand. Gold acknowledges His kingship, frankincense His divinity, and myrrh His coming sacrifice. From the very beginning, Jesus was recognized not merely as a gifted teacher but as the King of kings, the One worthy of worship from both peasant and prince.

The call to “own Him” is an invitation to surrender. No one approaches this Child from a distance; every heart must decide what to do with Him. Whether dressed in royal robes or in the garments of common labor, every person stands on equal ground before the manger. Christ came for all—yet only those who enthrone Him in their hearts truly know Him.

The final line is a declaration of His mission: “The King of kings salvation brings.” His crown at His first coming was not one of gold but of humility, yet salvation flowed from it. And when He returns, the world will see the fullness of His glory—the Child of Bethlehem revealed as the reigning Lord of all.

What Child is This – W. Chatterton Dix

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