What Child is This?

In our Advent music service yesterday, an 1871 hymn asked what kind of child is this? Several answers emerged in a set of two songs that we sang. First, this is Christ the King, a most basic assertion of William C. Dix, the author. Also, we sang that this child is the Word made flesh and the King of kings.

In the next hymn, we sang more answers to the question about what kind of child this is. A child of hope is the way John Morison began his 1781 hymn. His name shall be the Prince of peace, the Wonderful, the Counselor, and the great and mighty Lord.

This child, we read in Revelation 3:20, is the one who stands at the door and knocks. This child is the one who conquers, who sends the Spirit to comfort us in our struggles.

A worship scene in Revelation chapter four reveals the heavenly worship setting for praise to the child, the one born in a manger. It is fantastic imagery of a heavenly host in praise to God. To get to that scene of praise, we begin with an affirmation of Christ the King, an answer to the question, “what child is this?”