“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed.
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
A Christmas lullaby. A song for children to sing. I remember the Christmas pageants in which my children participated. It seemed they always sang this little Christmas lullaby. We sat in the audience and beamed, or smiled, or cried. I can still hear their sweet little voices singing Away in a Manger; the Christmas lullaby.
Jesus, lying in a manger. Jesus, who in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 1:1]
Jesus, no crib for a bed. Jesus, He was with God in the beginning. [John 1:2]
Jesus the babe, laid down His sweet head. Jesus, through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [John 1:3]
Jesus, asleep on the hay. Jesus, in him was life, and that life was the light of men. [John 1:4]
A Christmas lullaby. A song for children to sing. Within its short verse is the reflection of one of the most awesome truths of time and eternity. Jesus, who as God the Word created all things, who sustains all things, who upholds all things, who owns all the rights and prerogatives of God Almighty, came to redeem men by becoming like unto them.
He laid it all down. He made himself nothing. He took the very nature of a servant. He was made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. [Philippians 2:6-8]
A Christmas lullaby. A song for children to sing. The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
