12 Days of Emmanuel (Day 12!)

“Hail the King” is a re-tuning (new music to a previous song) of Gentle Mary Laid Her Child — a lesser known Christmas Carol. What’s wonderful about this carol is that it has many of the elements of Luke’s account neatly tucked into a poetic song that covers so much of the story: the manger, the angels, the wise men, the shepherds, and of course, Mary.

In addition, the inclusio of verse one and three that he is the undefiled–once a stranger, now no longer a stranger.

The refrain, “Hail the King of glory” lifted from verse three, was a development to the song and became the new name for Sarah’s version on the album.

1 Gentle Mary laid her Child
Lowly in a manger;
There He lay, the undefiled,
To the world a stranger:
Such a Babe in such a place,
Can He be the Savior?
Ask the saved of all the race
Who have found His favor.

Refrain: Hail the King of Glory! (3x) Hail!

2 Angels sang about His birth;
Wise men sought and found Him;
Heaven’s star shone brightly forth,
Glory all around Him:
Shepherds saw the wondrous sight,
Heard the angels singing;
All the plains were lit that night,
All the hills were ringing.

3 Gentle Mary laid her Child
Lowly in a manger;
He is still the undefiled,
But no more a stranger:
Son of God, of humble birth,
Beautiful the story;
Praise His name in all the earth,
Hail the King of glory!

Listen to the whole album on one of the following:

• Spotify
• CD Baby
• iTunes

Thanks again for reading this series! More to come in 2020! Topics include: goals, refugees, reconciliation and blessing others. Stay tuned!